Mixing Religions
Posted by: tony on 11/20/2005 10:17 PM
Updated by: tony on 11/20/2005 10:51 PM
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Expires: 12/20/2005 12:00 AM
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 Beth at Catholic Slumber Party has some questions about "mixing religions". I notices this on her blog entry Mixing Faiths: Is That Actually Real? I was going to comment, but heck, this justifies a separate blog entry. She writes:
Are you practicing a "real" religion if you merge ideas from more than one faith? I have heard even of Christo-Pagans, which would seem like a very hard one to connect...
Well, my friend once told me the word for someone who mixes many beliefs to get what they believe, and I can't seem to remember it, although I think it started with an "a."
There have been a number of religions who have done that. They have taken which doctrines they like from other religions, and have tossed out what they didn't want. They have even made up stuff as they went along.
Catholic have the benefit of the deposit of faith which has remained pretty much stable since Jesus' time. Some things have been clarified. Other things (heresies) have been disproven. Other things we have to rely on faith, like Thomas the apostle failed to do after Jesus resurrection.
But are you still going to get into heaven if you believe... (Insert hypothetical situation here:)
If you believe (God doesn't exist), no. Why would you want to be in eternal communion with a God you don't believe in? Hell, basically is reserved for those who reject God.
CCC 1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1033.htm
Will others who don't formally reject God go to hell? I certainly don't know. I know I don't want to take the chance. Jesus gave us the path to Heaven in the scriptures and the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church.
I liken it to this. If you don't buckle your seat belt when you drive, will you, 100 percent of the time, die in a car crash? Maybe not. But if you know your chances orders of magnitude better if you buckle up, why would you not do it, and additionally, why would you not urge your friends to do it?
What if you believe in God, Jesus, Mary, most of the Catholic belief. You do good, you help others, you spread the news of Jesus, and God as your saviors, but you also believe the more earthy side of Paganism. (I am not refering to "spellcraft" and "witchcraft.") I mean, the different properties of colors, herbs, stones, what is affected by different days, and when prayers for certain things will most likely be answered with a yes.
Then in that case you are worshipping a false god. If you think that you can affect the outcome of answered prayers by something you do then you are committing a sin against the First Commandment.
This is the same error that John Constantine made in the movie Constantine. He believed he could buy his way into Heaven with something he did, rather than submitting to God's will in humble belief.
We don't get into Heaven because we are good people. We get into Heaven because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead three days later.
In a comment she clarifies:
Erm. Not the tarot aspect...the earty related things, such as worshiping outside...
Not the divination aspect of it...
I enjoy sitting outside in the summer, at night, with a fine cigar looking up at the stars and contemplating the enormity of creation and thanking God for His most precious gifts. Is this worshipping God "outside". Sure. You can worship God outside, at work or school, in the shower or on the can.
But we as Catholics are required to attend mass for a number of reasons. One, Jesus instituted a church community (ecclesia), not a book club. Worshipping all by ourselves is well and good, but Jesus wants us to worship as a community ("where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there"). He is present in the word. He is real and present Body, Soul and Divinity in the species of bread and wine after the consecration.
Also, the use of candles, incense, chant and images has a long and rich history in our faith. There is nothing wrong with using aids like this in worship as long as they draw you toward God. When you have to worry is if you start to believe that the candles, incense and chant have powers of their own, or can affect the outcome of anything by influencing God or having any other effect all by themselves. Intent is of paramount importance in worship.
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