Posted on 02/15/2012 3:30:52 PM PST by Toaster tank
Where are you?
I think that good, accurate, Christian teaching in church, leads to good, conservative voters in the voting booth, they know how to choose leaders, and how to decide the right and wrong of the political issues, and how to write and influence the writing of their party's platform.
In a free nation with the universal vote, and a Democrat party representing anti-Christianity, nothing is apolitical.
It was the FIRST Christian Church.
The word “Catholic” means UNIVERSAL>
However, the Priesthood has been infested with Socialists who do not really understand economic issues.
“Subsidiarity” is still Catholic Doctrine, and it is a rebuke of Socialism and Communism
Unfortunately, few Priests and Bishops understand that Doctrine.
As a Catholic, I know that Peter was the first Pope, and I know that the history, relics, manuscripts and all early artifacts of Christianity are in the hands of the Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church, which was the first to separate from Rome.
I also know that Martin Luther and the Protestants were wrong to strip several Books OUT of the Bible, Books that were part of the teachings available in the synagogues Jesus visited, while on this Earth.
There would be no Bible without the Catholic Church.
There would be no Christianity without the Catholic Church.
Having said that?
The Catholic Bishops are really getting on my nerves! I do not expect you to accept all that I have stated, here, but --- if you wish to recruit Catholics to any other faith, I ask you to understand where we are coming from!
Are you sure it’s not PSUSA and not PCA? Just a guess.
I went through the exact same thing beginning in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s. I was equally frustrated by all of the liberal “Spirit of Vatican II” priests and parishes. However, I wanted to remain Catholic, so I went on a search for “Conservative Catholicism”, so to speak. It IS out there. However, it is a small percentage of the overall Church in the West.
What I found is that those who attend the Traditional Latin Mass, and the parishes that are dedicated to it, tend to be very Conservative. I have found the within the Catholic Church, “Traditional” and/or “Latin” and/or “Latin Mass” tend to equate to “Conservative”. However, be prepared. Most of the rest of the left-wing Catholic Church can’t stand Traditional Catholics, or Traditional Catholicism. In fact, Conservative Catholics seem to be the only allowable target for “intolerance” by a large portion of the institiutional Catholic Church. By way of example, however, I live in the left-wing SF Bay Area, and I found a Catholic Parish that does the Latin Mass out here. The Mass is very reverent, and the sermons are very good. Plus, I can actually attend the after-mass Sunday receptions, and hear lots of people discussing Rush Limbaugh in positive terms (for example), and talking about what a bad president Obama is. And this is in the left-wing extremist SF Bay Area, believe it or not!!
The bad news is that less than 10% of the Catholic Church is Traditional, although that number has been increasing in slowly in recent years (much to the dismay of the mainline Catholics!!). This can make the Traditional Rite difficult (or impossible) to find in some areas (some liberal Bishops forbid it outright, even though this violates mandates from the Pope).
I would suggest that you check around, and see if you can find a Traditional Latin Mass in your area, and try it out. I really value the Conservative Catholic parish that I have found. I was like you, but they have helped to save my sanity. I have to drive 25 miles to go there each Sunday, but I do so willingly (and I also now do Alter Serving one weekday per week). God is good.
There is a Vatican Commission called Ecclesia Dei (spelling??) which is dedicated to the Traditional Latin Mass. They have a Web Site for the United States. I would suggest Googling it, and checking it out. One thing they do there is list every “official” Traditional Latin Mass in the United States that is held on a regular basis (the one’s that are in union with Rome). The list is broken down by State. Hopefully, there is one close to you.
In addition, there are a few priestly organizations within the Church that are dedicated to the Latin Mass. Two of the largest of these in the USA, that I know of anyway, are called The Priestly Society of Saint Peter (or FSSP), and The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest. If you Google their USA Web Sites, you can see where each of their apostlates are located (although their locations are also listed in the list on the Ecclesia Dei Web Site mentioned above).
Anyway, those are some suggestions. Please don’t give up on the Cathoic Church just yet!!
I taught a class using Tozer’s Pursuit of God last summer. First, let me point out that the text is available on the internet for free. I found a free version for my iPad in the iBook store. I also found a pdf versions online.
Second, your suggestion that it has a “sola scriptura” viewpoint is interesting. Really? Tozer is simply telling the believer that they must change their attitude and heart in order to meet God for worship and allow God to have a say in their daily lives.
Finally, I would certainly recommend this book. It is worth the read. However, my sister and I found it lacking for ‘recipes’ on HOW to pursue God; e.g., regular times for Bible reading. It is more of an entreaty pointing out how we currently don’t pursue God and why we should pursue God.
I would introduce each class session with the point that when we do not pursue God we are (1) cheating ourselves, since we are not living the life of an adopted Son and (2) cheating God. God is cheated out of the worship that he deserves and he is cheated since you are not living up to your potential to be His witness to others.
It’s either about the Sacraments or it isn’t. You were in the Catholic Church for 50 years, so you know no way is it more liberal now than in the 70’s and 80’s. The late 70’s and early 80’s is when the liberalism peaked after Vatican II.
Freegards
You could try a church that practices first century Christianity:
Is it a PCUSA church (liberal), PCA (conservative), OPC (conservative), or some other “Presbyterian” Church (mixed results)?
We have many consistent visitors, regular attenders and members from the ranks of former Catholics.
I have a number of friends who left the Catholic church to attend the Episcopal Church but wound up going to the African Anglican Church and quite happy there.
I do dearly love bible studies learning for my self what the bible really says about such things as are found in the New Testament but also love learning about the history of man in the Old Testament.
If you're unable to part with the liturgical tradition, you might be comfortable at a Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (the conservative Lutheran church as opposed to the very liberal ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is anything but "Evangelical.")
I have found that most all of my childhood religious traditions can be found in a Southern Baptist Church, as so many other denominations have left Christian teachings and beliefs far, far behind.
You might try looking at things from the top down. Try the pope’s “Jesus of Nazareth,” in two volumes. Pretty much ignore the preface, which academic talk. Except that the pope makes it plain that he is writing as Joseph Ratzinger, not as pope. These are meditations on Jesus Christ as revealed in the Gospels, and it is all about Scripture.
I suggest that you start in the middle of Volume two, where he is discussing the Last Supper and the Eucharist.
Write to Tom Cruise, Hollywood, CA. He’ll set you up.
Without Jesus ONLY there would be no Bible or Christianity (the Bible pre-dates catholicism—see the Old Testament, of which Jesus is very much a part).
I’m sorry, but I will never agree with the strange doctrines of catholicism—things such as praying to dead people like the mother of Jesus and others, the pope’s “infallibility,” the false claim that the pope is God’s representative on earth (Jesus is the ONLY mediator between God and man—Jesus’ words, not mine), the worshipping of idols (bread, etc.), and the catholic claim that Peter was the first pope, etc. No, I will never accept these false teachings.
This is not meant to offend you two; it’s just the way it is here.
It's quite near the Greek Orthodox church (the big round one) where they have several festivals a year. About half that congregation doesn't have Greek surnames! Everybody's gotta' have a home eh!
Nonpartisan. Political in its broader meaning refers to public matters. The Church is not a sect, hiding behind walls.
Don’t know....
But then "Religious" folks killed Jesus......
They were first called Christian at Antioch.
That said, I recommend Tozer’s book precisely because it is a book that shows the way and invites the reader to follow. In my copy, each chapter was ended with a simple prayer. For me, in my time of discovery, the simple and powerful truths that Tozer brings to the reader were precisely what I needed to make the steps the Holy Spirit led me into. Moving from the laws, customs and edicts of men was the hard part and into the freedom and light of Christ was facilitated by the simple and powerful ideas he plainly put down on paper.
For the truly penitent soul, God will have no problem directing his path.
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