God or the Girl

[rainbabies]

I have seen this advertise, but have not watched it. It does look interesting and has gotten good reviews.

I have a family friend whos (now deceased) dh was in seminary school to become a Catholic priest. He and a good friend of his quit and married the girl. They had the most beautiful romance, love for each other, family and marriage. He is greatly missed .

[Auspicious]

I watched it. I thought it was good, too, and I was wondering what someone in the church would think of it.

From the perspective of a non-churchmember, though, it's making a strong argument that the church should allow priests to marry. The guy with the girlfriend, Aly, especially looks like he'd be a great family man and a great clergyperson and he seems really motivated to do both--it seems such a shame to make him choose.

I think the red-haired guy really isn't cut out for it but can't quite let go of the pathological need to please his parents (and he's 28!). Yikes. At least he seems aware that he has that problem, though.

The guy carrying the cross just kind of makes me groan. He might actually be cut out for it, but he needs to settle down and develop better judgement (like maybe not make the cross 80 pounds! Jeez, think a little!) He's very 21, and I didn't really feel like his mentor was being a very good mentor.

I don't know what to make of the missionary guy. It's like he was so successful so young he didn't know what to do with himself. I'm not sure if he's picked the right direction or not.

The cross guy is annoying but the other three seem really nice.

I'm sure it all looks different if you have an understanding of the church from the inside.

My husband had a former girlfriend who left him for someone more Catholic (it would be hard to get less Catholic than my husband though--they were never a proper match and they knew it), and that guy then turned around and left her to become a priest. She's happily married now to someone who shares her beliefs, though, so it all worked out.

Sounds interesting....we haven't had the tv on in ages so I don't know anything about it. When/what channel is it on?

[Meenah]

My Dad considered becoming a Priest and them married my Mom and had 6 kids. I grew up Catholic, went to some Catholic schools and then started going to the Presbyterian Church. Now, I am "Mississippi Catholic" married to a "New York Jew"!!!!!!

I caught part two of the series and really enjoyed it. It was revealing and engrossing. I grew up culturally Jewish and at my most faithful, agnostic. I went to Yiddish Shule (in rented space at a local church), but not Hebrew School and didn't have a bat mitzvah. Most of my friends were and are Christian (largely Catholic) and my best friend from high school became a nun in an order so strict, she can no longer communicate with me because I am pro-choice and haven't formally accepted Jesus.

Religion was never something I knew much about until meeting SO. In college, he became born again, led his campus group and did a lot of missionary work. His faith dwindled as he began reading philosophy and he pretty much abandoned it once his first marriage failed. This show is really insightful and provides a window for someone like me to look through and see what a religious struggle is really like. I've never known faith like these people have.