Hi Tiffany - this is another great question. I have been thinking all day how I might answer it propery and, quite honestly, I think I would like to consult with others in order to answer your quesiton correctly.
Coming from the RCC, I have also struggled with this question and I can give you some my initial thoughts on it...I read somewhere that (before you are made aware of the truth) God winks at ingnorance (I am sure that He also cringes a bit at the same time as well) but everything changes once you have been exposed to the truth - then you are obligated to carefullly consider it and choose/act accordingly.
Truth is truth - while it might be painful, it should never offend.
Again, I want to respond further but I did also want to include a passage from YY that I thought was pertinent:
So that leaves us with a choice. If we want to avoid being forsaken we need to know God, understand Him, the universe, and our place and role in it. To accomplish this we must immerse ourselves in His light as He reveals truth in His Scripture. Because if we don’t replace man’s misleading version of god with the real one, ignorance with knowledge, and errant opinions with truth, we will be left destitute - separated from Yahuweh and thus be lifeless for all eternity. And that is not my opinion; it is God’s conclusion..."Therefore, God surrendered them to their own filth and immorality, to the desires, carnal appetites, and lusts of their hearts and minds, so that their bodies might be rejected and set aside, dishonored and suffer shame. For they exchanged (metallasso - replaced, changed, converted, and transformed) the truth (aletheia - reality, verifiable essence as evidenced by the facts, that which is manifest and forms the basis of reason and acceptance) of God for a lie (pseudos - myths, deceit, guile, error, and false deities). They religiously venerated and served the creation, civilizations, and the creature rather than the Creator." (Romans 1:24-25)You can find the complete chapeter here:
http://yadayahweh.com/Yada_Yahweh_Genesis_Owr.YHWHIn my case, since all of this is also new to me as well, I try to take it step by step (especially with family and close friends). Remember that you do not have to convert or convince anyone - simply be truthful and expose what is not.
I do not know if my approach is correct as I have also found that with others with whom I am more direct, while there is initial shock and resistance, very often they respond more quickly - so, I just do not know which approach is better.
I know this is a little bit off point but, I wanted to share my experience with you. Specifically regarding your question about prayer - I can tell you that, since I have read the truth contained in YY, I have put away my rosary (which I used to pray quite frequently) and, I feel much better since now I think I have a much deeper, direct, and real relationship with the person I was trying to reach - Yahweh.
I will work on on getting you a more complete answer to your question.
Regards.
Edited by user Monday, June 18, 2007 5:19:48 PM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified