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| Born Again Catholic? an oxymoron? not really! |
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How does the Catholic church interpret John 3:3? Or… are Catholics “born again”?
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again… I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:3-5 (all the way through 5 cuz I like context J )
Mary Ann asked this great question! The Church would usually interpret this verse as talking about Baptism. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (official Church Teaching): 1215 [Baptism] is also called "the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit," for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one "can enter the kingdom of God." (Jn 3:5) Now. I don’t know much about Evangelical Theology, so please, PLEASE, correct me if my understanding is wrong. It seems to me that when they refer to “being born again” they refer to an experience of conversion from a life of sin into a life of grace in a personal relationship with Christ… right? Well. The Church doesn’t generally use the word “born again,” but that’s only a cultural barrier cuz’ catholics are definitely called to Conversion of Life and an Intimate Life with Christ. Would you describe a “born again” experience as a “radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil… a new life—pure, worthy, and joyful—of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of his family”? well…that’s a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church about what a Christian should experience: 1431 Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, … with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace 1439 The process of conversion and repentance was described by Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son, …The beautiful robe, the ring, and the festive banquet are symbols of that new life—pure, worthy, and joyful—of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of his family, which is the Church. So see, Catholics also believe and are called to be “born again”, we just call it a different name. We call it being “converted” J So, if you have ever asked a catholic “are you born again?” and he looks at you with a “duh-what?” expression. Fear not. It’s a case of cultural misunderstanding. Now. Just like other kinds of Christians there are Catholics that “converted” at some specific point in their life (you know, Paul-like style), there are those who were raised in the faith and their conversion is an ongoing process, and there are those who even though raised in the faith were never really “converted” and haven’t found the joy of a life with Christ… just like in any other Christian group. So yeah… pretty sweet! |
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Hi Ali, thanks so much for responding to my question. When I think of conversion, I think of it as from one religion to another. If I'm already raised Catholic, how does conversion apply to me within the Catholic church?
I was trying to explain to a friend the language barrier of "Christianese". When I was a Catholic, I could not wrap my mind around the concept of "born again". It was always described to me using symbolic words... never concretely (as you just did above). I should add that you are the first Catholic to explain it to me... and, I understand.
I think of being "born again" as making a commitment to put Christ first in your life and examining the rest of your life and future choices based on your commitment to Him.
muchas gracias mi hermana!
Mary Ann |
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BlewJ |
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August 31, 2007 at 4:38am |
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The interpretations to this verse are always funny to me, but it's like people use the language of Nicodemus while still getting the meaning from Christ; what I mean is this: John wrote in Greek and has Jesus saying to Nicodemus, "You must be born 'anothen' (from above/again) to enter the kingdom of God". Nicodemus didn't understand Jesus' meaning (above) and took it as "again," asking how that was even possible. Jesus, ever the ulterior meaning-sayer, continues with "anothen" with his "higher" meaning but Nicodemus had the "lower" understanding (a common problem with people in the Gospel according to John) of "again," thinking about how could this fool think we could come out of our mother's wombs a second time. Jesus is, of course, talking about the Spirit of God and being born "from above," yet most English translations, and so most Churches and Christians I've seen, use the language of "born again". I'd like to end with a quote from my hero in the faith, Rich Mullins (a Christian musician who, as a Protestant, became a follower of St. Francis, his hero in the faith - complete with a vow of poverty, celibacy, and obedience):
"You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again because Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the Kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy, too ... [awkward silence]. But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest." |
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ali |
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August 31, 2007 at 6:26am |
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| True that Blew! I had heard about that mis-translation but did not mention it because I was not sure... I guess it still denotes the necessity of Baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit! thanks for calling it out Blew! |
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