Introductions are in Order
My name is Joshua, although I tend to use the handle of Patorikku. I am a happily married man with a loving wife and 5 adorable children (Joshua, Corrine, Carly, Emi, and Rowan). I am a licensed teacher, with major areas of expertise in world history and government. I also minored in German while I was in college.
I feel that if I am going to tell the story of how I am becoming Catholic, I should give a brief overview of my spiritual past.
When I was growing up, my family attended the non-denominational Church of Christ (CoC). Any of you from the South, especially Middle Tennessee, will understand just how abundant CoC congregations are in almost any given area. For those of you who do not know what a CoC is, it is a denomination that was a result of the Restoration Movement in the 1800s. The CoC is fundamentalist and congregationalist. Anyone who has attended, even though they may not agree with the theology, has always said the one great quality was the singing. That aside, the CoC believes in the Holy Trinity, no musical instruments, no dancing, that the Lord’s Supper is symbolic, refuses to hold to any creeds, immersion baptism, weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist), and believe that the Bible is the Holy, Infallible Word of God and the ONLY doctrine to be used.
My parents divorced when I was 4 (for theologically sound reasons most, if not all, denominations would allow) and my father remarried when I was 6, introducing me to older step-sisters. We never stopped attending the CoC until after both of my paternal grandparents passed. We didn’t just stop abruptly. Rather is was a gradual “loss of interest” and an eventual “oh, we haven’t been to church in months, better go on Easter”. When I was in high school, 11th grade to be precise, a bunch of my friends convinced me to go to a revival meeting t a local Baptist church. by the end of the week, I had went forward and asked to be saved. I told my father who proceeded to laugh at me saying that did nothing. To be saved I had to be baptized for the remission of my sins (this coming from a man who had quit going to church altogether). I was understandably upset, but instead of being angry, I started attending our old CoC.
I wish I could remember the preacher’s name of the time, but he had a large influence on me. He got me to do daily readings (for a while; being a teenager, I was distracted quite a bit) and was the man to eventually baptize me into Christ on my 18th Birthday. After he moved due to family issues, the congregation, after a handful of “tryouts”, settled on hiring Bro. Bill Bouldin as the new preacher, with John Bush being the assistant preacher. Both were great men and Bro. Bill was one of the reasons I chose to go to David Lipscomb University (now Lipscomb University). A couple of years after I had been at Lipscomb, Bro. Bill passed due to cancer. I knew a number of his family from both church and school (Lipscomb) and it was a great sadness.
While at Lipscomb, I attended Granny White Church of Christ and it was the most spiritual and community friendly church I had ever seen (and still is). While they were CoC, they were also open-minded to other viewpoints and alternate ways to worship. Many of the elders and regular attendees were my professors at Lipscomb as well. During my first 2 years at Lipscomb, I also went through a terrible romantic breakup in which both my then fiance and I were both at fault. I took it hard, she rebounded. I was talked into going to Europe to study abroad for a semester by my favorite professor (who would also be the man to marry me to my future wife and still is a great mentor). My breakup and sudden lack of spiritual output helped me make the final decision to go. I needed to be away from everything and away I was!
While we spent the bulk of the time in Vienna (Wien), Austria, we also traveled. I personally ended up in 11 different countries by the end of it all. I had two favorite places. One was the park in front of the government building in Wien. The other was the Stephansdom, a large Gothic cathedral and the center point of Wien.
Something I have not shared was what I was taught about Catholicism while growing up. I was taught that Catholics believed certain things:
-that the Pope is God/Perfect
-they use unbiblical sources (Apocrypha, doctrines, etc.)
-they baptize babies (true, but I was never given a good expaination)
-that Peter was the chosen one to lead the Church (true, but I was never given a good explanation)
I could go on and on about what I was taught by the CoC. However, when I was in Europe, I noticed a great community within the Catholic Church (CC), one that I had never seen. People seemed to care about others a lot more and were willing to help complete strangers all the time. While this was common in the CoC, the CC went even further.
The next semester, I met the woman who would become my wife. One thing we both agreed on was our fundamental view of the Bible. I was even asked by her parents (well, her step-father to be precise) if I intended to marry her (this was the first time I had even met them, by the way). After a few laughs, they asked me my view of the church and the only thing I could think to say was that I didn’t follow the Pope and that we were saved by grace and baptism. That was god enough, I suppose, and everyone was appeased.
By the time we had gotten married, I was experiencing some health issues and within a few years, I was bound to a wheelchair at times. I had a history of epilepsy, but when I developed a few new symptoms, my neurologist determined I had MS and pumped me full of drugs. After a few years (and three children) I told my wife I Wanted off of everything. We prayed and she put me on a regiment of natural herbs will I weened myself off all medications. I’ve went now 2 1/2 years without anything and only had one stress-induced seizure this whole time.
Our first year of marriage brought forth our son 2 months before our anniversary. Then, two years later, we had our twins! Another two years and we had our little Emi Rei. Then, 2 more years later, just over 6 months ago, we had our little Rowan. My wife is a strong advocate of homeschooling, so we are doing just that. One thing she has always wanted was for me to lead Bible studies with her and the children. But a problem arose.
I had all but lost my faith. I had stopped going to church. In part, it was our schedules, but in part, I had just gotten to a point where sin had taken over my life and I didn’t care. I started to feel God tugging at me again one day. I started going back to church when I could. But something was wrong. I felt empty inside. I have an old co-worker who is Greek Orthodox and he asked me a great question: “Why would you attend a church that’s less than 500 years old?” I was dumbfounded. While we disagreed on many theological issues, he was right. So, I started compiling a list of denominations and then weeded them down to 3 main churches: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Lutheran.
As I did my research I opened my mind to issues that I had never thought of. Many churches practiced things I disagreed with, but then it occurred to me: are my disagreements salvation issues? I let this guide me on picking a new church. My old professor, Dr. David Lawrence, suggested Lutheranism for me, as he himself is affiliated with that church and he knew how well I had studied Martin Luther. As I studied Greek Orthodox, it occurred to me early on that that wasn’t for me. The primary reason being that there was the belief that since they were the one true church, that no other “Christian” was actually a Christian and therefore subject to Hellfire. So, I was stuck between the Catholic and Lutheran churches. How would I decide?
I was introduced to the story of Scott Hahn by complete coincidence (or God’s intervention) and learned a few things I had not known before. The major one being that the entire basis of Lutheranism is that man is saved by grace alone. The issue is that “alone” in in none of the original texts when it comes to the verse Luther used. He quite literally added the word “alone”. Knowing this, I had to toss Lutheranism aside and focus on the Catholic Church.
This is the story of what lead me to the Catholic Church. Future posts will describe the issues I have dealt with, am currently dealing with, and my journey to becoming Catholic.
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