Finding My Religious Roots

So far, I have shared how I started down the spiritual path. It is a long road that I have traveled on for many years. Yet, I still feel that the journey is only beginning.

A few years ago I was listening to an interview on the radio that lead to a sort of epiphany. The interview was with a woman who had studied Native American culture and beliefs. She became very well-learned in their spiritual wisdom, and wanted to learn even more. After many years, an elder finally said to her, "You have learned much about our ancestors, but now it is time you learned about yours." This lead to her returning to Ireland to learn about her Celtic origins.

What the elder told the woman really hit home with me, and I understand that the message came at just the right time. I had already learned through my own exploration that all religions are valid. They all teach the same underlying truth, which is that life is love. Knowing this, the last piece of the puzzle that was missing for me is to put two and two together and realize that I have a heritage, a religious tradition, that I received as a gift from my family. (Mostly, here, I was thinking of my maternal grandmother because she was very devout and it was she more than anyone else who tried to share religion with me, and she did it in a loving, non-forceful way.) So, at that point, I went from thinking, "If I were to choose a religion, I would choose the Baha'i faith because I like everything I have learned about it," to thinking, "I don't have to choose a religion. I already have one."

While this realization was very clear to me, I still was not 100% sure about anything. I knew I had a lot to learn, and I didn't want to walk blindly into anything. Also, I was still hesitant because some of the things I have observed in the Catholic Church left me uneasy. (For example, the concept of Hell. If God rules over all things in all places, how can a place exist where He doesn't rule?) Not to mention that I had my own way of interpreting certain things and I was put off by the way scriptures seemed to be taken literally by many Catholics, whereas I looked for the hidden meaning, the message in them. I wanted to learn, to seek out other Catholics who might have the same views as I, like the professor I had had in university. I considered Bible study classes, but they were all at night, when I have to be home with the kids. I didn't really want to hire a babysitter and leave them with a stranger while I went on my way, so I dropped the idea.

Then, something unforeseen happened. (If I think about it, it wasn't that unexpected. I knew they were gonna come knocking sooner or later, but I didn't realize what my reaction would be.)

One Saturday morning two Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door. They asked if I had five minutes to talk with them and, since I was feeling generous and, I admit, a bit curious, I said yes, I did.

Speaking with those two people was very interesting. They read a passage from the Bible and we talked about it briefly. They left me a copy of their publication which, I admit, I forgot about and never read. After that, they came back every once in a while and we talked every time. Eventually, they left me a little booklet that took some aspects of the Bible and discussed them. Again, once they left, I hardly had time and I didn't really look at the book.

Time passed and eventually the one lady who always came, (she always had a different person accompanying her), asked if I would be interested in studying the book with her. I agreed to try, and she started coming once a week for us to study and talk, staying for about an hour each time.

Then, two things happened. First, I learned a lot about the Bible, and at first none of it seemed to contradict anything I had ever heard before. Second, at the same time as we were studying the booklet, I took the Catechism of the Catholic Church out of the library and started reading it. (Not the tiny booklet like the one my grandmother gave me. A huge volume of several hundred pages written by  Catholic Church staff that discussed everything in great detail.) In this way, as I read the two books in parallel, I discovered some similarities that made me feel good. If something is found in more than one source, I figure it gives it more authenticity. At the same time, I also discovered differences that, for the moment, I have decided to classify under Food for Thought.

The little booklet is called Qu'enseigne réellement la Bible? (What does the Bible really teach?) and looks like this:

Studying it finally gave me some of the background knowledge that I always felt I missed, not only from a religious point of view, but also from a scholarly one. Had I learned these things before, I would have had a much easier time in my high school English Lit class.

At the same time, I saw these same themes in the Catechism, (with some differences of course), and while reading that huge volume I was very pleased to see that some of what I had really liked while learning about the Bahai faith was also written in the Catechism, like how all religions are regarded as valid. Nowhere in the Catechism does it say that if you aren't Catholic, you will go to hell. Quite the opposite! This is a great source of joy and relief for me, but also sadness that some Catholics nevertheless believe that people of other religions won't get into Heaven. My own grandmother held this belief, and I don't doubt that she heard it from a priest. In fact, the Catechism says that although it may not agree with the beliefs of the churches who decided to separate from it, the Catholic church does not regard the people who are members of these other churches as sinners. There was a division, but God will bring all the good people into His kingdom. But getting back on subject, the reading that I did was very enlightening and useful. I never would have understood all this if I hadn't studied it with someone who was knowledgeable. I know this for a fact because I once read the New Testament cover-to-cover, but did not understand it at the level I do now, for having studied with my Jehovah's Witness friends.

While writing this post, I remembered many other things that I didn't mention, like the funny story of how Mormon missionaries came to our door one day, and about a book that appeared in my apartment quite mysteriously. I guess I skipped ahead to get caught up to where I am today on my journey. I will get back to those stories another week. For now, I really do think I have caught up to the present. I am still studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and at the same time reading Catholic literature to learn more. I would still like Bible study classes and work towards the rites I never had because I wasn't raised that way. (I was baptised, but never had my First Communion of my Confirmation.) I consider that I am still at the beginning of my journey, but whereas before I was wandering, I now feel that I am finally on the right track, following a path, to be continued...