I was born and raised Roman Catholic. My parents baptised me as an infant. I had First Communion, First Penance, and Confirmation, and was an altar boy from 8 until 15 as well as a member of the Columbian Squires, a Knights of Columbus youth organization. My mother was a Catholic convert, and she was zealous in ways many multiple generation Catholics are not. I come from a very large family.
I became an agnostic in my later teens after reading the Bible.
The reason? There were too many contradictions in what the Word actually said as compared to the traditions and rituals I had been taught in Catholic school.
I remember serving as an altar boy for the May Crowning of Mary, right before school was out for the summer. I was standing in front of a statue of Mary in our Catholic school courtyard. We were singing hymns, starting out with Ave Maria. The priest then recited a prayer from his hymnal and sprinkled the statue of Mary twice with holy water before some of the younger children carried a crown of roses they presented to him. He placed the crown on the statue's head and we then sang Salve Regina.
I just so happened to have been reading Exodus and the story of the golden calf as well as the 2nd commandment forbidding the worship of idols.
Exodus 20:4-6
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
I realized this statue of Mary should never have been constructed in the first place, if we were truly following what the Bible said. I questioned why we were singing hymns to and crowning a statue, even though the training I received about the difference between worship and veneration was also kicking in as well, creating cognitive dissonance.
However, my rational, thinking brain won out. It was at this point I realized the Popes were just making things up.
And, yes, my memory can be both a blessing and a curse.
Of course, the Catholics pretend this commandment doesn't even exist and split the 10th commandment into two commandments to cover up that fact.
Reconcile this commandment about graven images with the statues of Jesus, Mary, and the saints, and it's no wonder they had to throw it out.
Here's the Catholic Ten Commandments taken from a Catholic source-
I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Here's the 10th commandment as it reads in the King James Version-
Exodus 20:17
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Compare that to
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
The Catholic Catechism covers these in great detail-
For the record, I love my family and many of them are still devout Catholics. I know they love Jesus and follow the teachings devoutly. I pray they can remain faithful and claim the promise to the members of the church in Thyatira who have not known the depths of Satan.
Revelation 2:18-25
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
I believe there are Catholics who are demonic and do understand the symbolism of what they really worship (esoteric vs. exoteric), and are the ones who knowingly teach falsehoods to the millions upon millions of Catholics who were born into this religion and do believe in God, and do worship his Son, and do many works and donate their time and money to the poor and less fortunate. I believe these Catholics who practice these things in error will be covered and corrected, but not condemned, on the Day of Judgment.
And after all of that, I would say when I did become a believer again, I was compelled to be baptised by water and did so with my wife.
You said you are/were ROMAN Catholic. Then you know there are Catholics who are not of the Latin/Roman rite. I too have seen people talking to plaster statues in Roman churches but I cant see into their hearts if that statue is meant to remind them of that particular saint. We have icons in our churches specifically made to not look like a photo of a saint; Most icons in our churches show events in Jesus' life.
I am old enough to remember Vatican 2. Every day in religion class sister said she will follow the developments and report to us. Finally she said all the developments were related to Roman Catholics and does not affect us at all. All our churches stayed the same, very traditional.
In the years that followed I would occasionally go to a Roman Catholic church and was appalled at the level of disrespect before the Tabernacle, immodest dress*, parishioners fussing coming late and leaving early, mothers shouting over pews talking about Johnny's birthday party yesterday while others are praying the rosary. Even some homilies by Vat 2 priests.
Only 1 RC priest I heard say when he was in seminary the priest in charge would tell him 'you can skip that part' in mass. His response was I want to do it right, according to canon law.
Though we are considered 'under Rome' we have a Patriarch who oversees all that comes from Rome and determines if this is correct and can be followed.
I once saw in church a 30-something year old woman with a very low cut halter top and short-SHORT cut off jeans. She literally had to put her fingers up her crotch to pull down a little bit. As she went to communion her husband seemed pleased at all the people watching her.
I was born and raised Roman Catholic. My parents baptised me as an infant. I had First Communion, First Penance, and Confirmation, and was an altar boy from 8 until 15 as well as a member of the Columbian Squires, a Knights of Columbus youth organization. My mother was a Catholic convert, and she was zealous in ways many multiple generation Catholics are not. I come from a very large family.
I became an agnostic in my later teens after reading the Bible.
The reason? There were too many contradictions in what the Word actually said as compared to the traditions and rituals I had been taught in Catholic school.
I remember serving as an altar boy for the May Crowning of Mary, right before school was out for the summer. I was standing in front of a statue of Mary in our Catholic school courtyard. We were singing hymns, starting out with Ave Maria. The priest then recited a prayer from his hymnal and sprinkled the statue of Mary twice with holy water before some of the younger children carried a crown of roses they presented to him. He placed the crown on the statue's head and we then sang Salve Regina.
I just so happened to have been reading Exodus and the story of the golden calf as well as the 2nd commandment forbidding the worship of idols.
Exodus 20:4-6
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
I realized this statue of Mary should never have been constructed in the first place, if we were truly following what the Bible said. I questioned why we were singing hymns to and crowning a statue, even though the training I received about the difference between worship and veneration was also kicking in as well, creating cognitive dissonance.
However, my rational, thinking brain won out. It was at this point I realized the Popes were just making things up.
And, yes, my memory can be both a blessing and a curse.
Of course, the Catholics pretend this commandment doesn't even exist and split the 10th commandment into two commandments to cover up that fact.
Reconcile this commandment about graven images with the statues of Jesus, Mary, and the saints, and it's no wonder they had to throw it out.
Here's the Catholic Ten Commandments taken from a Catholic source-
https://www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-ten-commandments
Here's the 10th commandment as it reads in the King James Version-
Exodus 20:17
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Compare that to
The Catholic Catechism covers these in great detail-
9th commandment - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a9.htm
10th commandment - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a0.htm
For the record, I love my family and many of them are still devout Catholics. I know they love Jesus and follow the teachings devoutly. I pray they can remain faithful and claim the promise to the members of the church in Thyatira who have not known the depths of Satan.
Revelation 2:18-25
18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
I believe there are Catholics who are demonic and do understand the symbolism of what they really worship (esoteric vs. exoteric), and are the ones who knowingly teach falsehoods to the millions upon millions of Catholics who were born into this religion and do believe in God, and do worship his Son, and do many works and donate their time and money to the poor and less fortunate. I believe these Catholics who practice these things in error will be covered and corrected, but not condemned, on the Day of Judgment.
And after all of that, I would say when I did become a believer again, I was compelled to be baptised by water and did so with my wife.
You said you are/were ROMAN Catholic. Then you know there are Catholics who are not of the Latin/Roman rite. I too have seen people talking to plaster statues in Roman churches but I cant see into their hearts if that statue is meant to remind them of that particular saint. We have icons in our churches specifically made to not look like a photo of a saint; Most icons in our churches show events in Jesus' life.
I am old enough to remember Vatican 2. Every day in religion class sister said she will follow the developments and report to us. Finally she said all the developments were related to Roman Catholics and does not affect us at all. All our churches stayed the same, very traditional.
In the years that followed I would occasionally go to a Roman Catholic church and was appalled at the level of disrespect before the Tabernacle, immodest dress*, parishioners fussing coming late and leaving early, mothers shouting over pews talking about Johnny's birthday party yesterday while others are praying the rosary. Even some homilies by Vat 2 priests.
Only 1 RC priest I heard say when he was in seminary the priest in charge would tell him 'you can skip that part' in mass. His response was I want to do it right, according to canon law.
Though we are considered 'under Rome' we have a Patriarch who oversees all that comes from Rome and determines if this is correct and can be followed.