Posted on 09/24/2016 8:59:07 AM PDT by AC Beach Patrol
One thing that has totally caught me off guard in this election is the group of people I had allied with in the past and assumed they and I were simpatico. Romney, Beck, Levine, et al. I never thought that in a Presidential election with a candidate who is pro-life, anti-Islamic terrorism, anti-illegal immigration, pro-American, etc., I would find myself at odds with Glenn Beck, Mark Levine, Mitt Romney and on the side of Ice Cube, Roseanne Barr, and Louis Farrakhan. We are indeed in very bizarre times. But one thing that has really thrown me for a loop, as a Catholic, are the neo-Catholic (former Evangelicals Catholic converts) NeverTrumpers. Mark Shea, Dwight Longenecker, Francis Beckwith, Ross Douthat, et al. Not to even mentioned the staunch Catholic intellectuals, e.g., who have posted hysterical and immature calumny against Trump.
Fr. Dwight Longenecker[see link above]: Viewing a few clips of Donald Trump and realizing that he has millions of Americans cheering him on, I wonder, does anybody in the United States stop to question the underlying values that so many Americans seem to swallow without thinking?
I’m talking about what I call the Alpha American Achievement culture. Go, go go! Win, win win! Be Beautiful! Be Successful! Be Great! Be Powerful! Positive Thinking! Beat the other guy! You can do it!
Putting a braying windbag like Donald Trump up as a candidate for President?
Mark Shea: Just when you think Trump could not be any lower
(Excerpt) Read more at patheos.com ...
Please explain to this low church Protestant what a neo-Catholic is. I have an idea but am not sure.
Former Evangicals now more Catholic than the Pope (not that this Pope is all that Catholic ;-). A better definition: those smug, vainglorious people who are so enamored with themselves they feel Evangelical Christianity is too small a pond for their great talents and become Evangelical Catholics. I.e., insufferable to a whole new group of people. So, with these people leaving Evangelicalism, Evangelicalism’s loss is now Catholicism’s loss. :-)
It seems the author’s definition simply means ‘Catholic convert.’ There is no such thing as a neo-Catholic.
In any case, they are all a bunch of asses and will rue the day if HC is elected. Haven’t they had enough of Obama??
My Irish-Catholic relatives (all long gone, sadly) always rolled their eyes when dealing with converts.
Thank you both. Yes, I’ve seen similar, analogous situations.
I didn’t know it was an issue in the Catholic church in any numbers. I pretty much turned my back on God for twenty years, and left my own low church Protestant fellowships for the wilderness. Upon my repentance and return, I found a much diminished fellowship and spirit, for the most part in most places where I looked. Still kind of adrift.
I’ve noticed some moved to more structured beliefs, such as the Catholics and the Orthodox.
We are Catholic converts, after 20 years as Protestants/ non-denomination. There is definitely a divide. We bring a wonderful Protestant heritage of knowing the Lord, praying freely, understanding Scripture which the poorly catechized Catholics are lacking.
We get to learn about Church history before 1400s, the Church Fathers and the great traditions they knew even before Scripture. We often challenge cradle Catholics, though, when they start with, “the Protestants all believe xx, “ or in other ways bad-mouthing Protestants.
I have to say I am very drawn to the Orthodox. Can’t quite go the whole way, however. I don’t put a lot of weight on denominational affiliations, as long as we can agree on the person of Christ and salvation through Him.
Yeah, what I don’t get is Orthodoxy has never really had much of a tradition in the West, and for any Westerner to embrace it always seems a little unnatural. Whereas Catholicism lies at the heart of Western Civ. Universities, art, literature, etc. came from the Catholic Church. And, no small footnote, Ss. Peter and Paul went to Rome, not Constantinople. But I am a fan of Orthodoxy and say let a thousand flowers bloom.
Neo-Catholic = Non-Catholic
That simple really.
This cradle Catholic with a K-12 Catholic education was never taught disparagement of Protestants or Jews. With that background, the services in other faiths that I have attended over the years impressed me as being sincere efforts to approach the Divine aspect of human existence. A simple, small denomination Baptist funeral service for a friend was especially impressive in its appreciation of the life of the deceased and plain Christian faith.
Same here: not once was I taught disparagement of non Catholics in Sunday school and along the way to Confirmation.
When Vatican 2 began to hit the suburban churches in the early 70s, my mother went to a Russian Orthodox church for a while. Eventually, she found St. Agnes in Manhattan which had the great Father George Rutler as a priest for several years. It is still a great parish right in the heart of mammon.
“Yeah, what I don’t get is Orthodoxy has never really had much of a tradition in the West, and for any Westerner to embrace it always seems a little unnatural.”
The Bible itself strikes me that way though. I really struggle with that, as its message and mores are so counter to my own instinctive reactions. Perhaps this is just the flesh as opposed to culture, but I am a child of the Cold War, and it is very hard to acquire the perspective and patience shown in scripture.
That said, I have been blessed to be the recipient of four transcendent moments in Christian services, where everything came together. One was in a little cinderblock and metal fundamentalist church. One was at a Catholic mass at Loyola, NO. Two times at Orthodox services, one outside of Moscow and the other locally. The last was almost frightening in intensity, and I was keenly aware that there is a sea of saints giving praise and adoration to God, all the time. ‘Transported’ would be a fair description.
Heart versus Head, I am torn but patient. The tilt will come when it is time.
That is an awesome witness, miss marmelstein. Thank you.
Still kind of adrift.
I’ve noticed some moved to more structured beliefs, such as the Catholics and the Orthodox.
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When I returned to the Church after a long hiatus, I was appalled to discover that the Protestants, Modernists, and sexual deviants had gotten control of the Second Vatican Council and successfully desacralized virtually all of the teachings and traditions of the faith. I would have gone over to the Orthodox but didn’t because I discovered that a remnant of the old Church still could be found in what are known as Tridentine Mass communities in many Catholic dioceses around the world. Unfortunately the nearest such community to where I now live is in Pittsburgh, which is about a hundred miles away.
Interesting, thanks. One speaker is a young man, enthusiastic but not moderated. I called him on it and he was happy to learn. We love the Catholic Church, don’t get me wrong. I just think, to both groups, the others are an unknown. It’s too bad. ‘That we all may be one.’
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