Catholic Views

In relation to my current faith, the position I most identify with is that of the Catholic view. I have reached this conclusion partly because I feel the contribution to Church, State and Public Justice: Five Views written by Clarke Cochran is the clear and easy to understand, but also because of the views he has presented. I find myself aligning with the Catholic views, specifically that the mission of the church is “incarnational, sacramental, social, and committed to the poor,”
I have a hard time accepting the idea of an incarnational emphasis; they are emphasizing on the good and happy side of Christianity, and ignoring the difficult parts. I find that it is important for the individual to know the weight of their decision to follow Christ,
I believe in the dedication of an infant, however, my baptism beliefs align more with the Social Justice belief of adult baptisms. Eucharist, or communion is a common belief held by many different Christians, but I believe that the importance and ritual given to it by the Catholics is very appropriate, and not experienced everywhere. The idea of reconciliation is one that I strongly believe in the idea, but do not agree with the way it is carried out. From my understandings, reconciliation involves talking with the priest about your sins and asking for forgiveness. I do agree with asking God for the forgiveness of sins, however, I do not feel like we are in need of a priest to bring our sins before God for us, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which has allowed us to talk to God through Him. The Conformation resonates with me as what I associate with as adult baptisms. I feel as though the Catholic baptism and confirmation is symbolically the same but actively different than my belief of child dedication and adult baptisms. I have a high respect for the Catholic’s views on marriage as Holy, and as a sign of the love of God and as an acceptance of His values for man and wife. The last two sacraments are important, however it is hard for me to understand the idea that all Catholics should achieve all seven sacraments when women and married men can not become priests, which is also the step necessary before being able to anoint the