Protestantism Is A Lifeboat On Stormy Seas

In my Protestant experience, compared with my faith deconstruction of my young adult years, Christianity was a Lifeboat. It preserved me from drowning in the stormy seas of life, and kept my soul afloat even when I couldn't see bottom. The great thing about a lifeboat is that it is the feeling of security and hope, knowing you're safe for now and hoping that you will be rescued from the terrible perdicament surrounding you.
However, the drawbacks are large.

The lifeboat analogy reminds me of an author named Don Miller. He is not a Catholic himself, but he has some brilliant insights on conversion and Christianity in general. In his book "Searching for God Knows What" he details in some length his own conversion story. This book is so frank and honest, it literally blew my mind and totally changed my life. No exaggeration. Anyhow I digress.
In the book he uses an analogy called the Lifeboat theory. It says that the world is behaving as if it is in a lifeboat and that all our selfish behaviours stem from the desire to impress others so as to raise our status in the lifeboat, so if the time comes to throw someone out of the lifeboat for some reason, it won't be us. The Pharisees of Jesus' day are a good example of Lifeboat theory in action: "Thank you God for not making me like other men.", walking around with sad faces so you know they are fasting and are therefore more holy than thou, etc. The analogy explains that Jesus is the ultimate anti-Lifeboat. He didn't care what others thought, only what the Father willed. He didn't need status, only holiness and he didn't need validation from others, only the Father's favour (which was given). He stands outside of the Lifeboat beckoning us to abandon our vain attempts to jockey for position inside the Lifeboat, abandon the sense of fear and pride that keeps us in the Lifeboat. Once we step outside the Lifeboat, suddenly nothing else but Jesus matters anymore and we have nothing to be ashamed of except for what went on in the Lifeboat.

What does any of this have to do with being a Protestant you ask? Well, although Mr. Miller does not take the analogy this far, I would assert that Protestants are in their own Lifeboat of sorts, we'll call it the S.S. Luther for the sake of humour (S.S. standing for sola scriptura of course). They sail along in it thankful they are not swimming in vain for their lives as they did without their Saviour, they ration their available provisions as frugally as possible to make what they have go further, and they throw overboard everything that isn't necessary for survival to lighten the load. This is simply prudent action in a storm tossed sea, but to my amazement, they do all this in plain sight of a lush tropical island with plenty of food, shelter and fresh water. The island of course is the Catholic Church. It is a bastion of truth and graces, with more than we could possibly need to survive and best of all, it is where the Creator of the universe is actually present. The Island is frequently buffeted by hurricanes of anger from the harsh environment and is subject to frequent earthquakes, but we know that we will not drown in the rain, nor since our Saviour is present, will we sink into the oceans around us. We are truly safe on the island.

At some point in the past, I guess Luther figured that the Island was being overrun with dogs and built a Lifeboat (named after himself of course) and put out to sea until the dog problem was taken care of, but after spending so much time at sea, I guess he couldn't find his way back. Protestants born in the boat or who swim to it are told of all the horror stories about how the Island is an inhospitable place that isn't what it started out as or was intended to be and unfortunately the Catholics who continue to quit the island are all to ready to confirm these misconceptions either by ignorance or vehemence.

I bring this story up at all because of the wonderful responses I received about my previous post Salvation Ave. where I was in a bit of a theological pickle. Everybody was helpful to the best of their ability and gave extra resources where they could and I was truly touched. We in the Catholic Church, and fellow converts especially, know that we are all on the same island, for better or worse and are in unity under the Eucharist and the Magisterium. We are happy to help out a Christian sibling without condecension, arrogance or fear that somehow even having the conversation is a temptation from the Evil One, and I appreciate it very much.
On the other hand, I unfortunately did not find this trait in the "S.S. Luther". I found that if you struggled with something, people were sometimes 'surprised' you didn't know something, prepared to duke it out with you theologically with one finger pointed at you and the other stuck in Romans 8 (you former Calvinists know exactly what this passage is), or ready to give you the textbook answers to demonstrate how much they knew and how together their life is and how if you were a really strong Christian and knew your Bible better you wouldn't be having this quandry. The textbook answers include but are not limited to:

• 'well pray about it'
• 'read your Bible'
• 'don't give in to Satan and his lies, trust in Jesus'
• and the overused and abused 'I guess we'll find out when we get to Heaven'

All this crap is just a game, just something they use to feel like they are ahead in the Lifeboat so if the Arminians are actually right they aren't the first in line to cry "Lord, Lord" before being tossed into the Lake of Fire. I know this because I did it. So did my friends. So did the people at Church. It's all done in the name of 'Christian Unity' and 'Edification of the Body of Christ' which is why it stings so bad when you get pricked by their thorns.

When I bailed on the S.S. Luther (I was in the Baptist row, which was obviously in the front because it would be impossible to be thrown out of the Lifeboat unless you were never in the Lifeboat to begin with) I tried to make a swim for it. When I tired of swimming against the current, I lay on my back and rested and the storm washed me ashore on the Island of the Church. Thankfully I didn't have to get back in the boat, looking like something the cat dragged in. Jesus gave me another option. The option was complete surrender to the Lord and the Laws of the Island in exchange for perfect peace and safety, and Communion with my Lord. Obviously, the island isn't without it's dangers or pitfalls, but when I am struggling to make my way, I know that I have the help and support of all my siblings on the island and all the siblings past who are still present on the Island even if not physically.
As Father John Corapi, S.O.L.T. said once "1000 struggles still does not equal one single doubt. I struggle with things all the time, and boy do I struggle. That does not mean however that I have doubted". I hope to be able to help you all when you struggle, as you helped me.

In Christ Jesus
Joel