The Authentic Christian

By Irene S. Roth

As I argue throughout this e-book, it isn’t overwhelmingly difficult to become an authentic Christian. However, it is the only path to living a life that is worthy to God. And that is truly something that we all should be trying to do as Catholics.

I always believe that if we are not growing, we are becoming stagnant in our faith. We should always strive to become closer to God and to become more worthy of God. This is part of what an authentic Christian does.

There is so much inauthenticity among Christians today. I have witnessed it in my church community. There is also so much room for improvement, not only for us lay people but also for priests and all religious. If you spoke to any priest, he would tell you that openly. None of us worthy enough to say okay, that’s it. I am fine now and I don’t have to grow any longer.

Instead, our live should represent a continuous journey or growth and renewal. We should always be trying to read and to grow and to become better than we are. And when it comes to the catholic faith, there is always so much that we can do to improve. That is why it is such a deep religion and why it is made for people to be not only whole but increasingly better and more authentic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Irene S. Roth
• Release date: Jul 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463289945

Irene S. Roth

Irene S. Roth, MA is an academic and freelance writer. She writes academically, for teens and tweens and adults. When she isn't writing, she is teaching. She is also pursuing a Master's of Social Work Degree.

Book preview

The Authentic Christian

Irene S. Roth

Copyright 2019 Irene S. Roth

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

The Problem With Being an Inauthentic Christian

Chapter 2

Being an Authentic Christian

Chapter 3

Habit 1: Start and End the Day with God

Chapter 4

Habit 2: Examine your Conscience Daily

Chapter 5

Habit 3: Live with Grace, Kindness, Patience and Compassion

Chapter 6

Habit 4: Focus on Jesus

Chapter 7

Habit 5: Live Joyfully

Chapter 8

Habit 6: Pray Fervently

Chapter 9

Habit 7: Make a Holy Hour Regularly

Chapter 10

Habit 8: Prepare for Mass

Chapter 11

Habit 9: Take Time to Refresh and Replenish

Chapter 12

Habit 10: Practise Divine Mercy

Conclusion

About the Author

Introduction

Christians are in a state of flux and hypocriticalness now. Something has infected the most successful and ubiquitous religion in the world. Part of it may be attributed to our distracted culture and how technology has reshaped our minds. But there are other factors that may also have contributed to this lack of authenticity and meaningfulness which I intend to delve into in this e-book.

Modern society is obsessed with outside appearances and we seem to have transferred this attitude into our faith. To be authentic, we must not live a life merely focused on earthly things. Otherwise, we are going to live as enemies of the cross. And this is no way to become an authentic Catholic.

I believe that one of the worse kinds of hypocriticalness is religious inauthenticity. If you can’t be real in front of your Lord and God who can you be real with? If you can’t develop an authentic connection with God, who can you have an authentic connection with? These are questions that Christians should worry about and try to answer for him/herself. The days of not caring and allowing each person to fend for themselves is over because the behavior of the inauthentic is affecting and negatively impacting the behaviour of other Christians who are not yet strong enough to develop that authentic relationship with God.

To be an authentic Christian, we must want to live a consistently moral and meaningful life. To do so, we should practise honesty and authenticity. We should connect with others in the community and be the light of Christ to all we meet. We should also care about our political leaders in our community and make sure we choose people with wholesome values. Further, we should fight against the culture of death and take the time to voice our opinions if we don’t agree with something that is said or done in our community and further abroad.

But how many of us take the time to be countercultural? I would wager a guess from my observations over the years that not too many Christians really put themselves out to this extent. We simply believe that if we go to church on Sundays, follow the Ten Commandments, and go to confession once a year that this is all that we are required to do. But can we live an authentic faith by simply performing these few obligatory actions?

Unfortunately, I believe these actions only scrape the bottom of what is required. Therefore, a lot more is required to be an authentic Christian and not simply a minimal one. I believe that we are either a genuine and authentic Christian, or we are not a Christian at all. Unfortunately, there is nothing in between these two alternatives. The inauthentic Christian simply pays lip service to living a