Thanks for the enlightening read. I can relate to much of it. My father’s side of the family was Catholic, my mother Protestant - I was raised a Protestant.
In college, very naive and impressionable, I got sucked into extreme Fundamentalism that not only was very anti-Catholic, but anti-most Protestants. (There little group and those like them were the only “true church”.) It almost destroyed my faith.
Ironically and providentially, a Catholic friend, very tactfully helped me to wake up and smell the coffee. I got the strength to set boundaries and get out of that very cult-like group, who very quickly showed their nature - wolves in sheep clothing. I really think the Lord was teaching me a lesson on the order of the “Good Samaritan”.
I could go on and on, but I better stop for now ...
At the library,Jack Chick pamphlets placed in books concerning Catholicism. Tacky.
::sigh:: Even if you didn't agree with everything I said--even if you scolded me for something--you could at least tell these people the difference between total inerrancy and "sola scriptura" (netmilsmom really needs help with this, btw).
Hope you are well.
I am not going to argue against anything you say, nor agree to anything. I am just going to state a perception and a feeling: Do you hate Jews and/or Judaism? If you don’t, edit your piece a little, because that is what I got from it.
As for the Rabbi, he is an example of the aggrieved descendants of the abused. Don't follow his error. Tell him to grow up.
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In the article the writer mocks a rabbi’s lamenting that Jewish children are encouraged to sing Christmas carols in school. Of course the rabbi would feel this way! If a Christian child was asked to sing a song to the Muslim diety, the Christian parents would rightly protest, as would be their right and responsibility.
Wow what a vile article. This person obviously hates anyone that is not a Catholic, how sad for him or her whatever.
What kind of 'tract' would this have to be to fall into this guy's definition of 'hate'? I can't say I've ever seen one that would qualify.
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First, when Protestants say sola Scriptura they mean that the Bible is the ultimate authority on matters of faith — nothing else equals it. Ever read Jesus Christ’s words that man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God — the Bible is our inerrant written standard ultimately for the Word of God.
Second, the Catholic Church has abandoned some basic biblical tenets and former church teachings by opposing the death penalty for first degree murder, which must never be abrogated (Numbers 35:31).
Third, the Bishop of Rome was always considered first among equals; he is not the head of the Body of Christ, Jesus is (in fact, Paul himself rebuked Peter at one point, according to Galatians).
Finally, the economic/political problems of Latin America have been increased by the poor teachings of the Catholic Church, as Michael Novak has shown in his comparison of Latin American countries with the United States of America. The Protestant work ethic and its endorsement of capitalist democracy under God, not under the leader of one Christian sect, has made this Protestant land of liberty the best country in history, a beacon to humanity, as long as it obeys the Word of God as interpreted by the great Protestant Reformers and their descendents, including me.
Anti-Catholicism rots the mind. It blinds people and they become obsessed with the destruction of something that they cannot destroy.
Wow...the author must be a Catholic Freeper.
Those two statements cover it in a nutshell.
I am glad to be of a faith where not once have I ever heard a theological argument made with reference to another faith, either from the pulpit or in a social context. The focus is always on Heavenly things. I was well into adulthood before I realized that many hate us and the venom spews out regularly from the pulpits. It leads one to wonder what kind of faith it is that is dependent on tearing down other faiths in order to "justify" their creed.
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**Get them OUT of the god-less government schools!**
The following was written by Bruce Shortt ( a Protestant) but has application to the education of Catholic children:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48001
“Interestingly, a careful study by Orthodox Jews strongly confirms that how a child is educated clearly trumps all other factors with respect to whether a child retains his faith into adulthood.”
“The authors of the study, Anthony Gordon and Richard Horowitz, spent years researching the effects of educating Jewish children in Orthodox Jewish day-schools. Their findings demonstrate the pivotal role that parochial education plays in the religious formation of a child: “... multiple research studies have come to the same conclusion: Within three generations there will be almost no trace of young American Jews who are currently not being raised in Orthodox homes with a complete Jewish Day School education ... the less time-intensive forms of Jewish education have almost no effect on intermarriage.” [emphasis added]
“How is it that giving Jewish children an education based on the worldview of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings has such a profound effect? Gordon and Horowitz find that the child so educated is equipped to answer the ultimate question, “Why be Jewish?”:”
“Orthodox parents and Orthodox day schools seem to give their children enough good reasons for staying Jewish that even when the children are grown and have the option to intermarry and disappear from Jewish life, virtually none of them do. Somehow, they reach adulthood with solid answers to the question of “Why be Jewish?”
“Moreover, as Gordon and Horowitz point out, a less committed approach to the training up of children leads to catastrophe:”
“There is finally a dawning recognition that Jewish continuity and survival cannot be sustained in what has been an American lifestyle devoid of serious Jewish education and Jewish living. One might have believed in the 1950’s or 1960’s that it was sufficient to have minimal Jewish exposure. Examples of such exposure includes simply to be a member of a Temple, have Jewish friends, play basketball at the Jewish Center and live in a generally Jewish neighborhood to ensure that one's children would be Jewish. However, we now have the data and studies to know that children who are left without an education leading to deep Jewish beliefs and practices have little chance of having Jewish descendants.”
“No less than Christians, Jews are enjoined to train up their children in the way they should go all of the time. But, also like Christians, relatively few do. Moreover, just as our disobedience in the education of our children has weakened Christianity, Jewish leaders are concerned about the loss of future Jewish generations as their children become more estranged from Judaism as a result of their parents’ failure to provide their children with a Jewish education and intermarriage. “
“Not surprisingly, then, at virtually every point in the Gordon-Horowitz study, we could substitute the word “Christian” for “Jew” and the result would be an accurate picture of the situation facing Christians today. As Christian Smith, George Barna and others have pointed out, our children neither know what Christianity is nor can they answer the question “Why be Christian?”
“Gordon and Horowitz make their point poignantly to Jews by asking Jewish parents, “Will your grandchildren be Jews?” For Christians the relevant question is, “Will your children be Christians.” Unless parents and pastors decide to change their priorities, the data from Barna and others demonstrate that the answer is clearly “no” for 90 percent or more of Christian parents. Do you care? If you do, you and your church will follow Dr. Mohler’s advice and begin developing an exit strategy from the public schools today. Now.”
In my college years I essentially fell away from the faith.
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The author of this article was likely educated in government K-12 schools and was utterly unprepared to defend his faith in the hostile environment of the university
Don't you understand? It's not whether it's true or false, it's the seriousness of the charge.