For 33 years I was a Roman Catholic. I came from a family that were actually founding members of the Catholic Church in our community. My grandparents help start the church in our town in the early 1900's. Therefore it was inconceivable that I would be anything BUT catholic. Of course, I went to Catholic School, mass 6 days a week and was totally ingrained into the religion. My heart ALWAYS loved God. I couldn't get enough. Like most little girls I had at one time thought of becoming a nun. However, high school and the discovery of boys quickly changed that.
At 24 I was married in the Church and subsequently had both my children baptized as Catholics. By this time, my faith was ALIVE, but my worship practices were DEAD. No longer did I feel ANYTHING when I went to Mass and stopped going. When I got divorced 4 years later at 29, I was LONGING for something more. As I was going through the annulment procedures of my marriage, I suddenly realized something was terribly wrong with this procedure and the church in general.
Both of my sisters had left the church; one never to return to ANY religion and my twin had joined the Disciples of Christ church. God bless her, she never gave up on me, she kept asking, and asking for me to attend church with her. For a LONG time I refused. Instead, I turned to the NEW AGE movement -- NO ONE knew more about the movement or had more books than I did. I was convinced beyond ANY doubt, that God had bestowed psychic powers on me and I was constantly seeking new ways of "enlightenment" from the new age movement. NEVER having studied the Bible in the Catholic church, I was LOST and confused when I tried to read the King James Version, and told myself that "new age" material was much better. I understood everything. Then my sister purchased for me "the Book" which is basically a simple every day language version of the Bible.
The year was 1989 and as I read The Book, God opened my mind and my heart. Once again, I was on fire, I couldn't get enough, study enough, read enough, only THIS TIME it was from God. In March, 1989 I visited for the first time in my ENTIRE life, a church other than a Catholic Church. That day was like a miracle for me. The scriptures came alive and I believe I was "reborn" by hearing the REAL truth. Not long after, I committed myself to Christ and joined the Disciples of Christ Church.
It has been a LONG process. Frequently I am tempted by the devil to question the differences between Catholics and Christians. I HAVE learned how to overcome these doubts. Unlike some people, I wasn't instantly "changed." It has taken me years of study, and practice to get to the place I am today. My heart ACHED when, as a child, people would ridicule my faith or try and "convert" me. I didn't understand why the world hated Catholics and why we were so misunderstood. Therefore, I am EXTREMELY careful about how I view my former faith. PEOPLE MUST REALIZE that most Catholics come from families where this faith has been passed from generation to generation. Because Catholics are instructed it is WRONG to go to another church even for one service, often times Catholics have never head the TRUE gospel. Therefore it is important to proceed GENTLY when explaining the gospel or witnessing to Catholics. They are NOT KNOWINGLY practicing the wrong way. They simply don't know any better. I thank God each day that he opened my heart.
Praise be to God.
Ann

I became a Christian a year ago tomorrow. I’ve grown up in a non-Christian family but I never doubted the existence of God and Jesus but I was never told about God’s grace. 18 months to almost a year ago I described myself as an atheist. To most people who knew me I think I seemed together, happy and intelligent but in reality I was warring with my family, I was lost, confused and hurting. I had no purpose to my life other than ‘enjoy it’ and I wasn’t even succeeding at that.
I never seemed to fit in anywhere, at home I was the odd one out at home, I’d been bullied in primary school and I couldn’t hold on to friends for very long. I guess I was searching but in all the wrong places.
My schoolbus driver was the pastor of a local church. He talked to me about God, heaven and hell. I don’t know how much I took in. I said to him, “I will never become a Christian.” My friend Rose took me to the church of which Graham was the pastor (Church in the Barn) and I fit in, for the first time in my life I truly belonged.
But for a while I doubted not God but myself. I read Matthew 13:3-8 and hoped and prayed I had fallen on good ground but feared I had not. I was afraid I wasn’t even a real Christian, that I was just there, not really believing, deceiving everyone and that I was on my way to hell. I guess it just seemed too good to be true that a perfect God could forgive me when I still couldn’t forgive myself.
Soon my doubts were removed and I can see how far I’ve come but at the time it felt like I was going nowhere but I’m here. I can’t bear to think where I might be today if God hadn’t found me.
Jesus is the best thing that ever happened or will happen to me or to anyone else. He’s been changing me a lot and I can tell because I have so many friends that I don’t have half as much time to spend with each one as I’d like.
I’m overflowing with love for people and I just thank God that He’s equipping me to share His love with those people, and He’s put me in a position where I can.
He’s given me confidence, kindness and my patience is improving, along with many other qualities I never had before.
I’ve made so many mistakes this year but if there’s one thing I have learnt to do it’s follow God WHEREVER He loads you or you will find only the hurt of the world we live in. it is difficult to get back to God, but once you turn back around He will carry you.
God bless, Laura (petite-malteser) xxx

No, sex before marriage is sinful even if you love each other. Being in love doesn't alter the reality that the sexual act is outside of marriage, marriage being the ceremonial union of a man and woman in matrimony. Sex outside of marriage is called fornication and the Bible definitely condemns it.

* Matt. 15:19-20, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 “These are the things which defile the man."
* Acts 15:29, "...that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well."
* 1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
* Heb. 13:4, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."

So, very clearly fornication is condemned in scripture and there is no provision for it being acceptable just because someone loves each other. Besides if this couple is so much in love, then why don't they carry out what true love is and marry each other? True love is when you put another person first, not when you take from them. For a man and woman to engage in fornication is to declare that such love for the other person is more self centered, than other centered.
See "What do I do if I have committed sexual sin?"

Can Be Found on www.carm.org