The Road to Damascus... part deux

Let's see . . . where was I?

Ah, yes. I spent a lot of time in that church. I spent some time in some other Catholic churches nearby also, depending on which had the convenient Mass schedule. I also spent a lot of time being indoctrinated into Catholicism. Looking back now, I spent a lot of wasted years feeling that religion was something to be tolerated. God was someone to be feared (if there was, in fact, a God). Jesus was the Son of God, a great role model, and the guy that hung from the cross above the altar who was covered in a purple sash during Lent. The "Holy Ghost", who became the "Holy Spirit" after Vatican II (I think that was the impetus for the change of name...I was a little young at the time, so I'm not positive about that) was like Casper, the friendly ghost.

All that Catholic education and time spent in church and my Bible knowledge consisted of:

John 3:16;

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will not die but will have eternal life."

[Aside:] I also learned that he, him, and his, should always be Capitalized when referring to God, but that convention seems to have dropped by the wayside . . . or maybe it was a Catholic thing, or maybe I'm just missing something. I've already proven a propensity for missing things . . . like the way for my immortal soul to go to heaven.

Corinthinans 13:4-13;

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

[From Biblegateway.com]

and Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,

¹
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

[Again, from Biblegateway.com]

Although it's entirely possible that I learned the first one from the guy who holds that sign up at major sporting events, and the last one from the The Byrds.

[Aside again:] I never knew that Turn, Turn, Turn was written by Pete Seeger, who is a great American songwriter and, furthermore, I don't remember it being in the movie Forrest Gump, but the internet says so, so it must be true.
Note to self: Watch Forrest Gump again just to be sure.

I've also just learned that a knowledge of HTML is helpful in formatting this blog correctly, but I digress. . .

Now don't get me wrong. These are some great Bible verses, they hold a lot of wisdom. BUT...take John 3:16 for instance; I always thought that the part about

"whoever believes in Him will not die. . . "

referred to God the Father , but it seems clear to me now that it refers to God the Son . . . Jesus . . . the one who said:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. Whoever believes in me will not die but will have eternal life."

John 14:6

Where have we seen those words before?

Maybe I'm just slow on the uptake. All I know right now is that I'm tired. Good night friends.