RCAA Day2

Tonight was my second night at what Catholics call their RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation Adults). I've committed to giving it an honest try for at least 8 weeks before making any decision on whether or not to continue. I must say that I'm very impressed with the general academic rigor and scholarly aspect of the class. It's a legitimate class and the instructors are all very learned individuals. The first class last week was interesting and this week's was even better. Immediately, an issues rises to the forefront of my mind.

I don't really get the point of this. Why do I care what the Catholic Church thinks about the Immaculate Conception or the Assumption? I mean it's certainly interesting and the part of my mind that devours information like this is definitely satiated but I don't see what this has to do with becoming a better person through your relationship with God. Does knowing some minutiae about what some men decided about the Mother of Christ have anything to do with anything? I don't know.

The other thing that really bugs me is the intellectual level of my fellow students. Tonight, I got a glimpse of why people get so made at Christians when I had a gentleman indignantly tell me that a person couldn't have character without faith. Ridiculous. I also took another person to task about vague comments she was making and another person jumped to her defense by attacking me. Clearly, intellectual integrity is not very important in this group. I don't think there was anything sinister. I just think they didn't have the intellectual horsepower to think at those levels. All of a sudden, I felt like Christopher Hitchens and that's never a good thing!

Trying to shame people in believing something you cannot defend is always a bad idea. Maybe it works for kids but it's stupid with adults and it's particularly stupid with me because I have no shame.

It seems to me that most people are there for fellowship and while that's nice, cupcakes and lousy company aren't particularly motivating to me.

So what's the upside? I'm not sure yet. I do enjoy going because I like the intellectual challenge. I also like dispelling a lot of the misinformation I've gotten about the Catholic Church. I'll keep you informed.