Those of us who grew up in the Catholic Church take it for
granted that Catholicism is, in fact, a Christian religion. For us, “Christianity”
is any religion that believes Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of
humankind. So, Catholicism falls under that categorization. It never really
occurred to us that other Christian religions have a different definition of
what “Christianity” is. For example, growing up in the South, for many of my
friends, to be a Christian is to believe what I said, AND in order to develop a
relationship with God, the Bible is essential. There is a reason why they call
it the Bible Belt, after all. Of course, Catholicism also says the Bible is God’s
Revelation to humankind and is certainly necessary in the development of a
relationship with God, but I explain a few other facts about Catholicism that
makes it a distinct form of Christianity.
I reiterate
that Christianity refers to the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and
that the goal of Christianity is to develop a relationship with God for the purpose
of what is normally called “salvation”, although I am more precise in my
lessons on this point. Instead of simply saying “salvation”, I teach my
students that a relationship with God allows us to encounter our Authentic Self
and to experience Authentic Love in a way that we cannot do on our own. I am getting
ahead of myself here, but this Authentic Self is, effectively, “salvation”.
I break it
down a bit here; Catholicism is oldest and largest denomination of
Christianity. It also happens to be the most diverse, single religious sect in
the history of humanity. This takes students aback a bit, but I explain to them
that currently there are over a billion Catholics in the world on every
continent, in nearly every country, speaking almost every language, in nearly
every culture in the world. I stress to my students that it is a pretty major
feat for one central set of doctrines to be shared by such a diverse selection
of people. Later on, I will explain how the structure of the Church really only
has two goals: to maintain a balance between central doctrine and diverse
cultures. I think we do a pretty good job. In case you wonder how difficult
this process is, consider how the United States maintains a central
Constitution despite the thousands of distinct communities with varying beliefs
and agendas. If you are saying, “Well, the United States does not do a good job of that,” then maybe
you get my point.
The great
thing about Catholicism is, actually, the Beautiful tension between doctrine
and diversity. This is where Catholicism differs from many other forms of
Christianity. Let me go back to the Bible. The Bible is definitely a major way
in which God reveals Himself to humanity and by which we can grow in
relationship with Him. But Catholicism also sees the Bible as part of how God
reveals Himself to us. But there is so much more to His Revelation. Scripture,
Creation, Sacraments, Service, Community… the list goes on. Catholic theology looks at
everything in Creation as potential manners by which God reveals Himself. This
does not decrease the importance of Scripture in our relationship with God; it
increases our understanding of just how much God desires to be in relationship
with us. This is a theme I continue as the year goes on. In short, the
diversity of the Church and the diversity of how God reveals Himself to us
allows more avenues to the development of that relationship.
(Watching over the front yard; rabbits are his enemy.)
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