Am I still Catholic? (part 2)

08/31/20 - In an attempt to answer “what does it mean to be Catholic?” and “am I still Catholic?” I am putting down the tenants of the catholic creeds and my explanation of it, as I see things now. In this part two, I am explaining the words and meaning of the “Nicene Creed” since it is the newer and second written creed of the Catholic Church. This creed was written to separate “Catholics” from “Christians”. For the purposes of this essay, the term “alien” implies anything that is not human. Alien could be a literal alien from another planet, another time, a parallel universe or a human from the future. An alien could also be “energy” from a higher level of existence somewhere between where we dwell on Earth and where we end up in Heaven. Also, Heaven is the final resting place of our human souls but is not a physical place. It is another level of existence which is anywhere that is not Earth. Finally, I refer to the Creator of the universes and everything within, as God and as a “he”, although gender is non-existent to the Creator.

MY CREED, PART TWO.

II. NICENE CREED:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. Yes. I believe that something (someone) outside of the human space-time continuum created everything and everyone on our planet and in our universe. This creed adds “visible” and “invisible” which clarifies those things we can’t “see” but “feel” or “experience” are also created by God.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. Yes. An alien was sent by God and came to this earth and took human form. This alien was either conceived by another alien or just entered the body of Mary without the act of human on human procreation. Mary could also have been an alien but either way, Jesus was sent from God to take human form. Joseph was, most likely, a complete human but could have also been an alien. In this creed they added “only begotten” and “before all ages.” To me this is the writer’s way of specifying that Jesus was the only “son” of God since many Christians at the time were stating that Jesus had brothers from Mary. I do believe that Mary only had one son, Jesus, but I also believe that God has sent numerous alien sons to earth throughout the ages. So, in the sense of what the writer is stating here in regards to siblings, I agree. When the writer states “before all ages” he is just trying to convey that God and Jesus have existed before “time” began, which I still agree with. They always were and always will be.

God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, Yes. This sentence is trying to say that Jesus is God and created, not made, from himself. I did hear a metaphysical theory once that said that God is “all energy and matter” and that all the energy and matter in the universe is a piece of him. If that is the case, then Jesus, as well as all humans, plants and animals have a piece of God in them. I don’t really believe this theory. What I believe is that God created all energy and matter in the universe. Jesus was an alien that was created by God and sent to mankind on earth a few thousand years ago. Is Jesus equal to God? I don’t know. I want to say yes, since I was raised Catholic, but recently I’ve started thinking that Jesus was just another alien from another place and/or time that came to teach mankind stuff, just as many other ancient teachers. However, since any “being” that comes from another place and time is often considered a “god” to humans, Jesus would be God in the sense that they are both from a place outside of human comprehension. So, in the sense that Jesus did not come from Earth and God is not of this earth, then, yes, Jesus is God.

consubstantial with the Father; Yes. The word “consubstantial” means “of the same substance” and therefore to the human mind could be considered equivalent to God but probably isn’t the same “entity”. I also think that this statement, as well as the “God from God” statement above, is trying to clarify that Jesus is not just another human being. He was from God and not just a holy human being.

through him all things were made. Yes. God made everything and everyone in the universe.

For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, Yes. Jesus came down from heaven (or wherever) to “save” us by teaching us the way to get back to Heaven. The part about “for us men”” simply clarifies that the whole purpose of Jesus’ human journey was for the sake of mankind to listen and learn.

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. Yes. An alien was sent by God and came to this earth and took human form. This alien was either conceived by another alien and Mary, or just entered the body of Mary without the act of human on human procreation. Mary could also have been an alien but either way, Jesus was sent from God to take human form. Joseph was, most likely, a complete human but could have also been an alien. The “virgin” part could mean that Mary did not experience “human on human” sex or, as mentioned, the alien just entered her body.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. Yes. Jesus did “suffer” in his human body, was crucified and was buried. On the third day his body was buried, it rose up again. His physical body was dormant/dead so to humans it would seem that he “came back from the dead” but I’ve always believed that the soul carries on when the physical body stops working. If Jesus was an alien, then he could be outside of human laws of physics and he could re-inhabit his physical body and get back up. Generally, the soul leaves the physical body and moves on towards heaven but why can’t it come back. There is no “proof” that I am aware of that the soul can’t come back. The added part about “in accordance with the scriptures” was put in the creed to clarify that Jesus had been prophesized about. He may or may not have been but since prophecies are usually vague and open to interpretation, he could have been. The added part about “for our sake” simply clarifies that the whole purpose of Jesus’ human journey was for the sake of mankind to listen and learn.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Yes. He ascended into the skies and went somewhere away from the Earth. Where, exactly, he went is up for debate. He could have gone to another energy level, another level of consciousness, or another physical place. Did he go to “heaven” where the one creator of the universe is? Perhaps, or perhaps he went to a level of existence just below the creator and only the creator is at the final level. As a Catholic I can believe that Jesus went back to Heaven and is next to God. It doesn’t take away from the theory of “levels” of existence. Wherever Jesus went, there is still one final creator that made everything and everyone and Jesus could be a piece of that creator.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead Yes, but this statement t assumes that Jesus is sitting up in Heaven and when our bodies die, our souls go in front of him and he sends our soul to heaven or hell. This could be the way it works or not. Either way, when our physical bodies die, our souls go up or down a level of existence. If our souls go up they are closer to Heaven. If they go down they are closer to Hell. The final destination of our souls is either the lowest level of existence (Hell) or the highest level of existence (Heaven). Do our souls go straight to their final Heaven/Hell place after our journey on Earth? Who knows? Reincarnation may be a plausible theory as our souls have to keep “scoring points” like a game until we are done gaining knowledge. Or, our life on Earth is the only journey our soul takes and when we die we go to our final destination. Either way “judge the living and the dead” is a human expression that assumes a body sits in a courtroom and the judge (Jesus) sends our soul to Heaven or Hell. More likely our soul just goes up or down based on the quality of life we lived while on Earth and there is no courtroom style judgment.

and his kingdom will have no end. Yes. The kingdom of heaven was before time and will be after time ends. Time is an illusion.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Yes. The Holy Spirit is the “energy” that we feel in our souls. It is our “conscience”. The Holy Spirit is not “physical” and is the energy that pushes our bodies and souls towards good decisions. This energy also alters itself into matter, to make life and proceeds (came from) the Creator of the universe who made all energy and matter in the universe.

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, I don’t know. This is a constant question in my mind and I don’t know if it’s a “yes” or “no” for me. For many years now I have questioned why no matter how much I pray and how good of a life I live, I get alot of shit thrown into my life by God (the universe). So, does prayer do any good? Also, if God is the creator or everything and everyone, does he want us to “worship” him as a god or just thank him for making us? Is that the same thing? Over the last several months I have wondered what “prayers” should consist of. Does God actually interfere in our life or did he create everything and is enjoying the game we’re all playing. Are all the good things and bad things that happen in our life just energy coming back at us in return to the energy we give off? Even if that is the case though, I still get way more than my fair share of bad things despite being a very good person. On the other hand, my two biggest “bad” things are my girls and they have enlightened me so much to the point where I am now ready for the next level of existence. Outside of them though, it still seems like I struggle alot while trying to “do things right” when everyone around me cheats through life and is getting way ahead of me. I don’t want to go on too long on this sentence so I will simply say that I don’t know if God and Jesus want us to adore and glorify them or simply be thankful that they gave me a physical body to enjoy this human journey.

who has spoken through the prophets. Yes. Aliens have come to mankind, before and after Jesus walked the earth, to give us knowledge and technology. The church calls these people prophets. These prophets are either aliens, in human form, or an alien “possesses” them for a time to teach something to humans. They still do to this day.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Yes and no. Originally this statement was “the holy catholic Church” which is vague but truer. This sentence was amended from the original creed to clarify that the Catholic Church is the one and only church founded by Jesus and kept going by his twelve apostles as his first priests. True as this may be, this statement was written this way for the purpose of ostracizing all non-Catholic Christians. Over the years this statement has been warped to mean that the Catholic Church is the only “religion” that has all the teachings of Jesus and is the only religion that can get you to Heaven. That is absolutely not true. So, yes, I still believe that the Catholic Church holds all of the teachings that Jesus taught but I do not believe that it is the only way to Heaven as this statement is trying to say.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins No, not really anymore. This statement was changed from the original creed for some strange reason. (The original sentence made more sense.) This sentence means that “I believe in one baptism, when you are born into this earth for the forgiveness of original sin.” Growing up Catholic I always felt that original sin was the Adam and Eve apple and we were born with sin in our souls. Today, I believe that this statement could simply be a ritual to welcome a new physical body into the earthly world. Also, when our soul enters a physical body in this earth, our soul is not worthy to enter Heaven, yet, even though it came from there. Our soul is here to learn and grow and bring that knowledge back to Heaven. If you think of the baptism of an infant as a “welcome to your journey” ritual, it makes sense. However, I don’t think I believe in “original sin” anymore but the author could simply be explaining to shepherds that each child needs to be welcomed into this world as a member of the human race. I do believe, though, that souls that were not baptized can make it to heaven, so baptism is not a requirement to ascend to the next level. So, basically, baptism is a really cool welcoming ceremony for Christian families but meaningless in the road to Heaven.

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead Yes, but not in the physical body sense that most people think. Our physical human bodies will never “rise up” but our souls carry on. At one point our souls will stop their upward journey and will take a final “form”. What that form will be is unknown to humans. Will it be a “body” as we think of bodies now? Or will it be something else? Who knows? Our soul will rise continuously though until it doesn’t. That is the “resurrection” that is mentioned here.

and the life of the world to come. Amen. Yes. In this sentence the “life of the world to come” is referring to just that. Our soul’s life after it leaves our physical body.