I was born and raised Catholic. I attended Catholic school, was an altar boy, and was confirmed.
I remember standing outside as an altar boy so we could crown a statue of Mary in the school courtyard with a crown of roses, much as is depicted in this video-
https://youtu.be/8aEVIwW6smA?t=652
Unlike many Catholics, I actually read the Bible. When I found numerous contradictions between what the Bible said and Catholic traditions, including things that were not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, such as the supposed Assumption of Mary into heaven, which wasn't even Catholic dogma until 1950, I became an agnostic.
I studied all religions in college (not in classes, but on my own using the library), including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. I never studied Christianity, though, and I suppose it was because I assumed it was just more of the same, with Luther or Wesley replacing the Pope.
I didn't find what I was looking for in my studies of the other world religions, and stuck to my agnostic mindset for many years. I studied conspiracy theories of all kinds and played video games, for the most part.
Amazingly enough, it was an atheist who asked me what NIV stood for that got me looking into Christianity again.
He had seen it listed after a Bible verse when he picked up his son from his ex-wife's church for visitation. I was able to tell him the NIV was a version of the Bible, and then he started attacking me for not knowing what the letters stood for yet still believing that nonsense. When I explained to him I wasn't a Christian (he had assumed I was for some reason), he was surprised and quit berating me.
Because of that experience, when I got home, I googled NIV Bible and discovered it stood for New International Version. Then I discovered a whole new world I'd never knew about, which was Christians arguing about which version of the Bible was the correct version. After going down that rabbit hole, I found a site comparing Bible verses in the modern Bibles (which matched up with the RSV Bible I'd owned as a child) and how they had been changed to reduce the divinity of Christ. I accepted Jesus as Savior that day and looked for a church to baptize me by immersion soon afterwards.
In the course of my studies, I have discovered the Jesuits won the war they were created to win at the Council of Trent. The Protestant churches are the image of the beast, which is the Roman Catholic Church. They no longer preach the gospel and instead are focused on inclusivity, just like Pope Francis is.
https://northhavenchurch.net/2013/07/30/pope-francis-and-inclusivity/
And I know there are many other Catholics who are being called out of Babylon, who see Pope Francis for what he is, and Protestants who see this inclusivity message is ignoring the gospel message. If your church doesn't preach about sins and the need for repentance, it's part of Babylon and it's time to come out.
I was born and raised Catholic. I attended Catholic school, was an altar boy, and was confirmed.
I remember standing outside as an altar boy so we could crown a statue of Mary in the school courtyard with a crown of roses, much as is depicted in this video-
https://youtu.be/8aEVIwW6smA?t=652
Unlike many Catholics, I actually read the Bible. When I found numerous contradictions between what the Bible said and Catholic traditions, including things that were not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, such as the supposed Assumption of Mary into heaven, which wasn't even Catholic dogma until 1950, I became an agnostic.
I studied all religions in college (not in classes, but on my own using the library), including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. I never studied Christianity, though, and I suppose it was because I assumed it was just more of the same, with Luther or Wesley replacing the Pope.
I didn't find what I was looking for in my studies of the other world religions, and stuck to my agnostic mindset for many years. I studied conspiracy theories of all kinds and played video games, for the most part.
Amazingly enough, it was an atheist who asked me what NIV stood for that got me looking into Christianity again.
He had seen it listed after a Bible verse when he picked up his son from his ex-wife's church for visitation. I was able to tell him the NIV was a version of the Bible, and then he started attacking me for not knowing what the letters stood for yet still believing that nonsense. When I explained to him I wasn't a Christian (he had assumed I was for some reason), he was surprised and quit berating me.
Because of that experience, when I got home, I googled NIV Bible and discovered it stood for New International Version. Then I discovered a whole new world I'd never knew about, which was Christians arguing about which version of the Bible was the correct version. After going down that rabbit hole, I found a site comparing Bible verses in the modern Bibles (which matched up with the RSV Bible I'd owned as a child) and how they had been changed to reduce the divinity of Christ. I accepted Jesus as Savior that day and looked for a church to baptize me by immersion soon afterwards.
In the course of my studies, I have discovered the Jesuits won the war they were created to win at the Council of Trent. The Protestant churches are the image of the beast as they have all joined the World Council of Churches and no longer preach the gospel message. They do not preach against sin and the need for repentance these days.