Why I Won't Be Leaving

Many people assume that those raised Catholic or Christian who retain their faith as adults haven't really thought about it and are just blindly following what their parents told them. 
     I don't know how common that really is. Most of the practicing Catholics and Christians I know have thought a lot about it. It's kind of necessary when you live in a culture that belittles or outright attacks your beliefs left and right.
     At least that's the case for me. I certainly studied and tested other worldviews. As a young adult, I  began researching--and today still continue to learn more about--the claims of Jesus to be the Christ and of the Catholic Church to be the Church He founded. I've been struck by just how solid both claims are, on so many levels: historical, logical, philosophical, theological, and evidential. To me the most compelling proofs were 

• the mysteriously empty tomb--to which history attests in multiple ways;
• the apostles’ honesty and sincere witness, verified by their willingness to ... 
• leave everything, including their homeland, to share the Gospel,
• be rejected, punished, and imprisoned, and 
• ultimately to die for proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead; 
• the conversion of Paul, who originally disbelieved and persecuted Christians and had nothing to gain by joining them; and
• the writings of the early Church Fathers.

     But with the recent "summer of shame" for Catholics, we have a different reason to just walk away. And many have. Over the past two months, my own parish has seen a significant decline in Sunday Mass attendance.
      Not I, though; I'm staying with the Church in this dark hour. The article link below explains ... 

      Why I Won't Be Leaving