On Lawn's Journal: Conversion

The last JE I wrote has me thinking a lot about conversion. I do not know of many philosophies, religions, political parties, that do not attempt in some degree to handle a strange human phenomenon that people may change their minds and wish to join another's point of view.

So, how does your political party, philosophy, or religion handle conversion?

What steps precede a conversion, and what steps certify, mark, or account for the conversion?

How would you tell someone they can be sure that their conversion has set them on a valid path, what re-assurances does the converted have of knowing their change is really for their own good? How do you measure if they are truly converted or just (to borrow from the Republicans) RINO's?

For Roman Catholicism

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Conversion isn't a point, it's a journey. A journey we are on as long as we are alive. With every new piece of data, with every new experience, we are being converted. We can be converted towards God. We can be converted towards Sin. We can be converted towards Satan. The direction is what is important.

Now having said that, we have seven conversions towards God that are common to every human being on the planet, even if it takes an extraordinary person to experience all seven, and are so powerful tha

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[RailGunner]

Well said.

Christianity is not just about Salvation and Eternal Life (though those are both significant), but also about growing in out relationship with God and always striving to be more like Christ.

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[Marxist Hacker 42]

From a Roman Catholic Theology point of view, in fact the question "Are you saved?" is a question that can't be answered by anybody still in the Church Militant. Those completely outside of the Church the answer is always NO. Those in the Church Suffering and the Church Triumphant, the answer is always YES. But until the moment of death, those of us in the Church Militant can always be tempted to conversion to sin- or worse yet, conversion to the Seven Deadly Sins.

Given the recent "explanations" Pope Be

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[On Lawn]

Many thanks,that is most enlightening.

A question from the JE that I look forward most to hearing may still remain, so I will try to rephrase. How does your political party/ philosophy/ religion prescribe one find assurance for ones self of not only their own conversion but the virtue in the ideals they are accepting before and after application of those ideals?

The following might help lead to the answer or they might not. But I will give them a try:

For instance would one best be Jesuit (my personal favorite

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[Marxist Hacker 42]

My favorite theologian would say, you're asking the wrong question. :-)

But I think the Catechism puts it better in the definitions of moral assurance and absolute assurance. We can have moral assurance through the sacraments (especially the sacrament of reconciliation for me) that we are attempting to live up to the ideals the Church teaches. We can have moral assurance in the councilar method and the magisterium, in communion with the Holy See, that those ideals are correct and within the historical lim

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[Marxist Hacker 42]

How does your political party/ philosophy/ religion prescribe one find assurance for ones self of not only their own conversion but the virtue in the ideals they are accepting before and after application of those ideals?

It occurs to me that the older Baltimore Catechism answers this question in another way. Or rather, answers a different question, and in doing so, answers this question. "What is a Sacrament?" "A traditional rite, instituted by Jesus Christ, as an outward sign of inward grace." A prop