I have been raised Catholic, but in recent months I've begun to doubt and look out at other traditions. This has left in a state of doubt, swinging from wanting to try something else (hermeticism, buddhism, magick & occult) to wishing to stay deeply Catholic. Does anyone have any advice for this?

>>40748491 (OP)
I feel wrong about trying to convince someone to leave a faith. I wouldn't recommend leaving if you have a sense of community. I think hermeticism and buddhism can be syncretic with catholicism if your careful and selective. Magick and occult is bad though, but maybe you can learn in like a defense against the dark arts kind of way.

>>40748491 (OP)
Being Catholic is rough these days. The Vatican isn't trustworthy anymore, so it feels groundless. Best advice I can give is to work out a lot so you burn off your nervous energy, and then... Just behold, I guess.

>>40748627
That might work, thanks

>>40748491 (OP)
I'll say this. I was baptized Catholic as a baby, baptized as a Latter-Day Saint at 8, renounced and became atheist at 18, found Solomonic magick at 21, dabbled in a variety of beliefs thereafter (ceremonial magick, Hermeticism, Thelema, modern science deductions, mushroom trips etc.) Now that I'm almost 30 I've found myself going back to the Catholic Church with my grandma with new eyes.

I'm not Catholic, can't even properly call myself a Christian, though I do believe in Jesus the Christ in my own lens. Leaving the Churches of Man to find my own path has given me better insight into her mysteries as I've returned to visit. I don't plan on getting baptized or converting back, I'm very comfortable in my own faith, but as I go I recognize the symbolism of it all and I see what the church is trying to do. Personally, I say follow what feels right in your heart. No matter what path you take, you'll end up finding God all the same.

>>40748491 (OP)
I remember hearing how Abraham was looking for his god and kept turning away from the Sun and the Moon, from everything that presented itself as a god but was ultimately false.
My take away from this is that to be 'stiff-necked' as Abraham was, you need to test your faith as much as the faith tests you. If you find it lacking then you know it was false. The true faith for you will be utterly convincing and without flaw in your eyes and you will believe in it wholly.

>>40748674
I'll read the story of Abraham again and try that, thanks.

>>40748653
Thanks for the advice man

>>40748491 (OP)
Doubt is a good thing. It's honesty towards what's beyond this world. It's okay to take a step back, so long as you strive towards noble goals. Gods and beings, if real, can manifest in a truthful and direct way, leading not to mental slavery or blind faith, but just a heartfelt manifestation. Make up your mind on what you expect from the spiritual world and think critically, with curiosity and really stare down inconsistencies and sources of doubt. It's through that struggle and rejecting blind faith that the real stuff comes around. Distance and overview give new perspectives as well.

>>40748491 (OP)
You won’t be let go if you are one of his. I tried going and sinning and was punished badly. If you successfully leave you were never one of his to begin with.
Picrel link https://www.gotquestions.org/no-one-snatch-out-Fathers-hand.html

>>40748868
Thank, do you have any books to help me in this field?