A minor

I cut & pasted (and slightly edited) the following from an extended conversation some friends and I recently had with a buddy who's becoming Roman Catholic. In my usual conflicted way, I both sympathized with him and gave him my unabashed reasons for deciding against his path.

Lately I've wondered if the main thing keeping me from becoming Catholic is fear. I'm afraid of losing dear friends and being viewed as an idolater by heroes and mentors. What scares me, though, is how lame a reason that is. Fear. "Have I not commanded you, 'Be strong and courageous'? Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for Yahweh your God will be with you wherever you go." Call me a weaker brother for kinda wanting to be Catholic, and I'll tell you I'm a weaker brother because I'm too chicken to do it.
Even though I'm about as ecumenical as they come, I'm pretty stubborn theologically, and I don't buy a lot of Roman Catholic stuff, from magisterial infallibility and celibacy as the norm for priests to anti-contraception and all manner of lingering Marian superstition. I wouldn't be willing to "renounce my former heresies" or whatever (if there's really such a line in the vows) and commit to being a blind follower. In my less wussy moments, it's that stuff that keeps me from becoming Catholic, not fear of rejection by my Protestant friends.
Have you ever seen the "true church" syndrome run amuck? It's not pretty. That's really what keeps me from converting. (I know, this is the third reason I've given for why I'm "really" not Catholic.) I can imagine myself as a Roman Catholic, but not as a "true church" convert. I've already had my fill of that BS in my short, blessed life. Consider the arrogance and divisiveness (KJV, "heresy") of "true church" claims. No thanks, man.