Posted on 08/16/2006 5:31:28 PM PDT by Coleus
Far from denying the Deity of Jesus, I'm the one who insists that He is God and that as God He can save whomever he wants however he wants, whether or not the sinner in question has come forward to the altar as the organ wheezes out another weepy rendition of "Just As I Am". I'm the one who insists that God has pity on all humanity, and that His Divine Mercy extends to all humanity, not just the ones lucky enough to live in a country where Sunday School is legal. (St. Peter looks up from the Big Book and says, "So you were born in Saudi Arabia, huh? Well, sorry -- that's no excuse. Goodbye." With a flick of his saintly wrist, the trap door opens beneath the hapless Arab.) And I'm the one who maintains that Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, bore a Man who was God -- not 50% God, 75% God, or 99 and 44/100ths% God, but 100% God, which was the point of my original post.
Let's say the path is very broad and one can find a place to start the spiritual journey from where ever one is. It's a very long topic, I have an article in the works to post on FR one of these days, I hope in a few weeks.
This is from Bengalore, but there IS a local Christian church in Kerala that dates back years... St Thomas Christians The Catholic view of mixing (AKA "Baptizing") non Christian elements in culture and redesigning them to point to Christ is an ongoing argument that goes back to the time of the Apostles (see Paul saying we should not argue about such things, and the discussion about gentiles in Acts).
If we want to be "pure" we'd have to get rid of Christmas, Christmas trees, Easter eggs, Processions, incense, and go back to dietary laws.
But as Paul says if it helps you praise God, it's okay. If it offends you, don't do it. But don't argue about it...he was discussing eating meat sold at temple butcheries (i.e. used in temple sacrifices) and arguments over the Sabbath and feast days (something that Catholics do but others like Seventh day Adventist disagree).
Usually the Catholics allow such things to go on unless they start destroying faith. This one sounds like it went "too far", but one would have to be a Hindu convert to say yes or no...
I am struck with the similarity of Filipino Catholicism with Thai Buddhism and Chinese pagan cultures...but then I am not sure the "pure" Protestantism here, with it's emphasis on honesty, hard work and making money, but not mercy toward the poor, is any closer to Jesus than the easy going Catholics who fiesta, give food to all at their celebrations, and overlook petty thievery by their very poor staff...
UNLESS you are of the opinion that any mention of the RC hierarchy in other than the most obsequious of terms is criticism. In that case it would be difficult to find many Catholics who would qualify as other than "Catholic bashers".
BTW, I had a very difficult time finding that Papal decree I posted. Not used to digging up that stuff, but I knew there was an ongoing "debate" regarding the Church in India (in whatever form it takes), and one or the other Pope had stepped in to prevent the mistakes made by Ricci from being made again.
BTW, this Ricci is the fellow who raised the art of the Memory Palace to a high art. I enjoyed the book about him.
That's the problem, every thread about Catholics turns into a debate about dogma.
Like I said, I'll stick with the Baptists. They are truly Christlike. All of my friends from that church have asked me questions about my faith, but never questioned it.
That is the difference.
Gotta' tell you, much as I like my Hindu friends, when they get to the burnt offering, I don't do that and end up standing at the back of the room with the Moslems.
Now that's a strange feeling.
Likely it's one of the infamous eco-nuns from the Sisters of St. Joseph up on Bayview Avenue. They do frequent this out-of-control parish. Here's one of their events:
"Canticle to the Cosmos"
Explore the exciting new story of the Universe with a feeling for its sacred nature. (your new is our OLD sister...Pagan alert!)
"Set up a study group on ecology in your church" (A Pastoral Letter on the Christian Ecological Imperative, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, October, 2003)
Where: At St. Ann's Parish Rectory, 120 First Avenue (Broadview and Gerrard)
To register contact Sister Janet Fraser, jfraser@csj-to.ca
4,5,11, 24... all posts that could be suggestive of ridicule. I say 'could be suggestive' so Relig Mod doesn't slap me for straying outside of very narrow boundaries of correct speech for Catholics. The same posters can be found mocking/ridiculing on other threads.
There - "correct" enough for you?
Can't have any suggesting now, can we? As one of those posters (#4 is mine), I suggest you get to know me a little better before you slander me any further. I also suggest you ping me the next time you talk about me, regardless of any slander therein.
It should be, but the Church is currently in the worst crisis it has ever gone through since the time of St. Athanasius and the Arian Heresy. The Church survived that one, it will survive this too, but like in the Arian crisis, there has been and will continue to be a high soul casualty rate before it is over.
Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us.
Here's what the Carechism says:
1058 The Church prays that no one should be lost: "Lord, let me never be parted from you." If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4), and that for him "all things are possible" (Mt 19:26).
1281 Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, can be saved even if they have not been baptized (cf. LG 16).
2005 Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. However, according to the Lord's words "Thus you will know them by their fruits"- reflection on God's blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.
A pleasing illustration of this attitude is found in the reply of St. Joan of Arc to a question posed as a trap by her ecclesiastical judges: "Asked if she knew that she was in God's grace, she replied: 'If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.'"
Assuming that you have a sincere interest in this question, the catechism citations can be read in context here:
http://ccc.scborromeo.org.master.com/texis/master/search/?sufs=0&q=can+be+saved&s=SS
Back to the Hindu-influenced Catholic Liturgy in Tronta: I suppose the questions should be: (1) Are false gods being worshipped? (2) Are false doctrines being taught? and (3) Is this being conducted in knowing defiance of binding liturgical norms?
If the answers are NO, NO, and NO, they're probably on safe ground.
I say "probably" because there can still be a problem here, even if there are no overt deliberate violations of Christian doctrine and discipline, if things are scandalously ambiguous. I have enough experience with feminist Catholics flirting with apostasy, to know that a finely-crafted ambiguity can be part of a very dangerous program.
Well, Namaste. Pax vobiscum. And Shalom.
We had a Sikh temple up the road have a regular battle with blood letting several years back. They were breaking into two congregations ~ didn't plan on it, but it happened.
RCs are hardly violent anymore, but sometimes the invective tossed around is the sort you expect in the more robust groups who regularly experience this sort of thing.
BTW, thanks for the opportunity to once again help Freepers learn this exceedingly useful word. There are so terribly many times it applies to some of the "new stuff" peddled Christians.
Watch out! What are your girls doing going to a Baptist VBS anyway? Why not let them go to a Catholic one? Of course they welcomed them with open arms, next they'll be trying to pull them out of the Church.
Perhaps your Baptists friends are okay, but Baptists are notoriously anti-Catholic. Have you ever visited Baptists websites? Did you grow up in the South like I did and have Baptists tell you all the time you were going to Hell just because you were Catholic?
Some of them here on FR exhibit anti-Catholicism.
They send missionaries into predominantly Catholic countries trying to steal people out of the Catholic faith.
They spread anti-Catholic materials all over the internet. Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon and David Cloud are well known Baptists that spend a great deal of time and energy running down the Catholic Church.
I don't know what Baptist sect you are dealing with, perhaps they are American Baptists which tend to be more liberal, but the majority of Baptists would MOST definitely question your faith and try to get you out of it.
>>I don't know what Baptist sect you are dealing with, perhaps they are American Baptists which tend to be more liberal, but the majority of Baptists would MOST definitely question your faith and try to get you out of it.<<
They haven't yet and won't do it even if they tried.
I'm very comfortable with my faith.
And at least they are not so rude and to be openly critical.
Unlike some FReepers.
They did Catholic VBS. Really Catholic, not the same one that the progressive Catholic churches and the Protestant churches are doing. Starts with the "Our Father", "Hail Mary" and "Glory Be" every session.
We were invited and I stayed. They are may be looking to change us, but they didn't question at all and didn't push dogma. I stayed because I didn't want that. But my girls were invited by fellow GS and good friends. We went one day and the girls had a blast.
I am strong enough in my religion, as are my children, wearing their miraculous metals, that having a good time with children from another religion will not harm them. Afterall, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
And BTW, I'm a traditional Catholic. They couldn't get me to change at all.
Here it is. First one on the list:
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