Anyone that has attended a Catholic mass is undoubtedly familiar with the blood moving activity described by this post's subject. I myself never kneel in a mass service. Something about not being in that faith but still going through the motions didn't seem right. And that was when I still claimed Christianity as my faith. I did enjoy mass for the most part. Depending on the priest, it could actually be a quite interesting homily. For those that know Father Dennis from Incarnation Catholic Church in Collierville, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
It obviously wasn't enough to make me convert to Catholicism. The obvious problems are still there, just as all religions. I wanted to hold true to my own beliefs or non-beliefs, regardless of my wife's faith. I've heard all the doom sayers claiming that our marriage will fail, that a shared faith is necessary for a marriage to work. I listened to your words, stored them away for future reference, and wiped the BS off my shoes. The assumption was made that I don't care about my wife's beliefs. True, at times I get wrapped up ranting about how someone made a religious comment that was absolutely ignorant and it's all peachy until I make the mistake of generalizing. That's when I get the wife glare. It happens, but it's certainly not a threat to our marriage, we decide that.
Anyway, before I dive way off the planned topic for this post, I would like to bring up our plan for this child. We have talked about it extensively, finally deciding that for the first portion of the child's life we will raise it Catholic. Atheist/Agnostics will groan (I will), Christians will say "oh boy, there is hope for this kid," and hardcore protestants will spout on about worshiping Mary or some other crap they're uneducated about. I don't want him or her to be a Catholic baby, Christian baby, Jewish baby, Muslim baby, or any other ridiculous labeling children get before they even know what the hell is going on around them. Although, I can rightly gloat that the child will be born agnostic. Literally, he or she won't know! Score!
When the child is old enough to start making decisions and realize more about what is going on in life, I can present my non-beliefs. It's true though, my beliefs without a fun youth group or beautiful church will seem shallow. It's a start though, a step that I was never offered. Ultimately the child's religion will be his or her own choice. My hope is that we can clearly represent these options in a manner that never shuts anyone else out for their beliefs. I want nothing more than to instill a sense of humanity, a passion for learning, and to respect life above all.
Am I excited about him or her going to a Catholic church for a while? I'm not bouncing up and down at the concept, but I know the church that we will be closest to hopefully and I trust it. Looking at my wife and her acceptance of evolution as a tool of her God, that alone gives me more faith, if you'll pardon the term. With Alicia, she doesn't shoot down science because of what she believes. She doesn't point her finger at any person and claim they are going to hell. She doesn't judge others according to their faith, obviously, and she isn't homophobic. She is as free thinking as me, and still maintains a faith in her God without limiting herself from learning about the universe. That is why I trust her church. Hopefully soon we will be moving down closer to her family and closer to that church. I may attend now and then, but I will not be giving a false sense of church presence for the sake of the child. If my child tells me some day that he or she wishes to be Catholic, I will accept and love them just as much as if he or she had told me they want to be the next Richard Dawkins.
Though maybe that was a skewed comparison. You know what I mean.
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