Posted on 01/03/2010 1:53:57 PM PST by NYer
We Catholics have all encountered fundamentalists on various FR threads. Sometimes it feels as if we were speaking different languages. Perhaps this thread will help to clarify our understandings.
bfltr
Now, I think i'll need popcorn...
I doubt it. Since this seems more like a ‘this is why those people are the way they are. God love em’.’ article. *pat pat on head* Ish!
I'm guessing that most of the fundamentalists aren't going to react that way.
Wanna make a bet?
“fundamentalists think the Catholic Church is under the control of Satan”
I don’t know if this is true. Maybe I’m just uninformed but I didn’t think fundamentalists were so anti-Catholic. Do they hate Pope John Paul II and his work against Communism and other evils?
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
“Catholics agree with fundamentalists that Scripture is sufficient in that it contains everything necessary to know for salvation”
This is a fine and yet accurate statement. Catholics believe in Sacraments necessary for salvation, whereas fundamentalist don’t. This is a crucial difference.
Two problems with this statement:
1 - It's ludicrous to suggest that "the church" sits in authority on the Bible. Without the Bible, nobody would have the slightest clue what "the church" even is. there wouldn't even BE a "church" without the Bible to define and establish it.
2. Roman Catholicism is the product of a great deal of late theological development, primarily taking place between the 3rd and 6th centuries, long after the Bible was already completed.
Neither one of you took the time to actually read the thread. Why? Too long? Too intricate?
For those Catholics, like myself, who have been in this forum for many years, it is very frustrating to post a thread, ping a Catholic list for discussion, and have non-Catholics post comments or statements that challenge our beliefs. Worse still are those who don't take the time to read through the thread but feel compelled to make a statement or comment, "for what it's worth".
I posted this thread in a sincere attempt to quantify those differences that separate our mutual understandings. I welcome input from Evangelicals, Fundamentalists and other non-Catholic christians, as a means of discussion, not critique. If this topic is of interest to you, then please post a comment, accordingly. We Catholics are all tired of Catholic bashing threads. These are un-christian and serve no purpose whatsoever.
Unfortunately I've learned that it isn't just "fundamentalists." I was quite naive about the extent of animosity towards Catholics and the Church but FR has taught me a lot over the years.
Well, I’ll tell ya, if you’re going to start off by insinuating first that I didn’t read the thread, then talk down to me by asking if it was too long or too intricate you get nowhere with me. Perhaps a little less condescension might help you.
How about an apology for the mystery fish every Friday for school lunch ?
It's right there in the above article. :-)
Be careful with that statement. Although it is not widely known in our Western world, the Catholic Church is actually a communion of Churches. According to the Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, the Catholic Church is understood to be "a corporate body of Churches," united with the Pope of Rome, who serves as the guardian of unity (LG, no. 23). At present there are 22 Churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The new Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, uses the phrase "autonomous ritual Churches" to describe these various Churches (canon 112). Each Church has its own hierarchy, spirituality, and theological perspective. Because of the particularities of history, there is only one Western Catholic Church, while there are 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Western Church, known officially as the Latin (Roman) Church, is the largest of the Catholic Churches.
Most Catholics think that Vatican II did away with the requirement of not eating meat on any Friday of the year. Most think it is now just Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent that we cannot eat meat.
This is what the new Code of Canon Law brought out in 1983 says about the matter:
Canon 1251
Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Canon Law still requires that Catholics not eat meat on Fridays! Mystery fish or otherwise.
Catholics and Protestants both yearn to be "men under authority," disciples.
Catholics place priority on the Church that created the Bible.
Protestants emphasize the Bible, which defines and creates the Church.
We would agree with G. K. Chesterton, though, whose short story The Broken Sword dealt with the inadequacy of reading the Bible, alone, by ourselves. The villain in the story did so, and found therein things like polygamy and torturing his enemies! Christians need to read together, and compare notes with one another.
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