Of course not. "Everybody" knows that the Roman Catholic Church is the tool of Satan, and that the Catholic faithful are the spawn of Hell.
At least that appears to be the general jist of the thinking of not a few people around here.
SOME of us pointing out hard to hear things do not subscribe to that blackwash either.
However, that also does NOT mean that the Vatican warrants a whitewash either.
And, I STILL prefer to think of you as above such recent prickliniess.
Satan uses the bad in all of us as well as the bad in ALL human organizations--including the Vatican/Roman Catholic et al edifice and ALL its sub-units, schools, universities, congregations.
As well as all AoG, Baptist, Lutheran, etc. congregations and organizations as I've persistently asserted hereon for more than 10 years.
The Vatican/Roman Catholic et al junk gets a lot of press and flack hereon for a number of reasons.
1. Some of the Roman Catholic et al rabid clique hereon are relentlessly determined to try and turn this into a sub-unit of the Vatican.
2. Some of them are seemingly addicted to posting baiting threads and other outrageous stuff that more or less REQUIRES a forceful Protty response.
3. Some of them are extremely hostile, narrow, rigid, haughty, self-righteous, vengeful, authoritarian, !!!!DEMANDING!!!! of Protty kowtowing to their dictionaries, their sensibilities, their goals and expectations. And they wail and whine outrageously--AS WELL AS engage in harsh personal personhood attacks (e.g. as on sanity, IQ, education etc.)--when they cannot get their way or have to put up with a forceful Protty response. Tough tacos.
4. Normally, you are quite brilliant and Biblical as well as gracious and Christ-like in a list of ways. However, it seems that recently, on a number of issues and points I'd have liked to have interacted with the depth and breadth of your mind and spiritual insights on, virtually all I get in response is the seemingly quite narrow prickliness as well as wholesale avoidance of the points and issues I'd like to dialogue about. Certainly that's your right and perogative. However, it's a bit shocking to me . . . and disappointing.
5. Facts are facts regardless of what label the are discovered under, occur under, are presented and discussed under. Honorable Christ-like people are not afraid of facts regardless of where they come from or what they are about. And, usually, they can discuss them without undue narrowness or undue brittleness.
6. Recently, you noted rather admirably and courageously that--essentially--you couldn't imagine that anyone in their right mind would pretend to believe that Mary did NOT have other blood children than Jesus. I was delighted to see your excellent reality testing and authentic Biblical understanding in that regard.
7. I believe that The Lord is working hard on and with a lot of us getting us as ready as possible for looming festivities.
8. I believe He is confronting stuff within us and around us and in our thinking and sensibilities as well as about our personhood, beliefs and actions which He would like to become more focused on and more submitted TO HIM. I don't believe He is leaving you out of that broad mission.
9. He is doing this with believers who claim Him as Lord REGARDLESS OF THE RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION THEY ARE IN OR NOT IN. NO ONE CALLED BY HIS NAME WILL ESCAPE THIS FIERY FURNACE, SANDING, POLISHING, SHAPING, REMOLDING process.
10. The stakes are too high in the coming battles for any of us to enter those battles less prepared than we might have been.
11. EVERYTHING HAS TO GO ON THE ALTAR.
12. EVERYTHING. I don't know this for a fact . . . however, my impression is that Alamo-Girl had to go through some very serious fiery furnaces to be changed from a mean-spirited gritch to the rather saintly character we all see and love hereon so much. I can't imagine that she did so without putting EVERYTHING ON THE ALTAR.
13. EVERYTHING MEANS EVERYTHING--INCLUDING RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, CONGREGATIONS, RITUALS, FAVORITE PAST-TIMES, FAVORITE PEOPLE, FAVORITE BELIEFS, FAVORITE WHATEVER'S.
14. And then we receive back FOR HIS USE--WHATEVER AND ONLY WHATEVER HE decides is FITTING for HIS USE in and through us.
15. And, for some of the slow-learner types on some of that stuff like me, we can go through such EVERYTHING OFFERING UP fiery furnaces and altar scenes several times.
16. In my experience and observation, brittleness, affrontedness, flesh that has not gone sufficiently to The Cross and The Altar--rears it's head from whatever provocation. And that provocation is a GIFT FROM GOD regardless of whether satan himself is involved, or not.
17. Being conformed to THE IMAGE OF HIS SON means that . . . like Him, when pierced and crushed . . . sweet wine comes out instead of vinegar.
18. My natural inclination along the lines of my sensibilities and preferences as well as my insecurities would likely be to be super sweet and gracious with you . . . treat you with kid gloves wrapped in rabbit fur and tiptoe on by such times, exchanges, issues, brittleness.
19. However, that wouldn't be CALVARY LOVE in Amy Carmichael's terms . . . as described so penetratingly in her marvelous book: IF.
20. And, I wouldn't be acting faithfully to you as my Sister in Christ nor to my Lord.
21. I can't guess what all The Lord might be trying to put HIS finger on toward realignment, adjustment, overhaul or whatever. I just know that once the Hound Of Heaven is on a project, the only way is THROUGH. Running away just never works. Pretending otherwise never works. Slipping and sliding around on the issues never works.
22. In that post, I used the word "some" very deliberately. I did NOT MEAN all. And "some" is quite accurate on that issue. Denial of that doesn't change the facts.
23. I enjoy being gracious with you as you are typically a gracious person. However, when The Lord presses me with His big boot in my behind to be firm, I must comply.
BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.
BLESSED BE THE WORD OF THE LORD.
BLESSED BE THE WAYS OF THE LORD.
I'd say you are corrrect on the first part but no on the second...
Most Catholics I'm familiar with appear to want to be associated with a religion...I can not tell the difference between the Catholics I know and the heathen...
I go to work and watch the guys tell the dirty jokes, make sexual remarks about the women and they God damn this and Jesus Christ that and when the topic of religion comes up, many of them proudly say, 'oh ya, I'm a Catholic...
Just this morning on the radio I listened to a news program that stated 59,000 Catholic nuns have joined together to give their support to Obama's healthcare bill, abortion and all...They justified themselves by claiming that the new health care bill provides better for pregnant women...
Now I'd be hard pressed to believe that any one of those 'holy' nuns is filled with the Holy Spirit or that they are in Jesus Christ...
Now that's not to say that I don't believe that some Catholics are actually saved...As Alamo Girl states, you appear to have the fruits of the Spirit...
The big question is, what is a person counting on to get to Heaven...The only answer is 'the shed blood of Jesus Christ'...He did it all...There's nothing we can do...
And like the fella asks, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved'??? And the answer is; Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved...
Fortunately you can be saved even if your religion doesn't teach you that...And your religion doesn't teach you that...