Those countries, bastions of Roman Catholicism, are third world hell holes.
Poverty is rife, class systems abound, and Catholicism is mixed with superstition, which is a bigger indicator of not being taught adequately in their faith than just elderly ladies are.
Poverty is rife, class systems abound, and Catholicism is mixed with superstition, which is a bigger indicator of not being taught adequately in their faith than just elderly ladies are.
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RIGHT YOU ARE, AS USUAL.
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NOW to comment on the specific items . . .
2. Fridays Are Still Days Of Penance . . . In the United States, the bishops have declared that it is permissible to substitute some other form of penance, but we are still urged to fast from “something” in remembrance of the Lord’s death on the cross.
Personally, this is an individual-before-God personal issue. I do think it is admirable that any Christian organization would set such a standard. Playing mental and other rationalizing games with it would negate any benefit, it seems to me.
3. The Bible Is A Catholic Book –
NONSENSE.
1. The Vatican did not exist as any kind of formalized, structured, organized etc. existence until AFTER 350AD, IIRC.
2. Noise to the contrary is rubbery history, rubbery logic, rubbery dictionaries and rubbery 'Bible.'
3. God was NOT that incompetent at protecting HIS WORD. He used lots of groups here and there in protecting parts or all of HIS WORD--as the Ethiopian church has demonstrated--including yet again with a very recent finding of an early text of the Scriptures.
4. This notion is yet again another example of the elitist, bureaucratic political magicsterical power-mongering EXCLUSIVIST mentality that has horrifically polluted & infested the Vatican system from the beginning.
5. By the time one subtracts out for the Vatican's distortions and manglings of Scripture . . . I'm not sure how much positive is left on the side of their ledger for their part in 'helping protect' the texts from approx 350AD on.
6. By the time one subtracts out for the Vatican's trashing and burning all the evidence they could that failed to support their monopolistic constructions on RELIGIOUS 'reality,' they are likely quite horrifically in the red, before God.
4. The Mass Is The Same Sacrifice As Calvary –
This may not set well with some Proddys . . . however, I don't write for man's approval, per se.
1. I strongly adhere to the Proddy interpretation of The Lord's Supper as a memorial vs a re-enactment.
2. I ALSO believe God meant it when HE SAID--according to your faith, so be it unto you. Certainly we can take that and jump off the cliff irrationally with it and I don't support that.
3. However, it IS plausible to me, that folks who construe the bread and juice/wine as mystically becoming Christ's broken body and shed blood in their behalf--may receive some benefit from such a faith-filled construction on reality in those regards.
4. I do NOT believe there's any magicsterically orchestrated elitist magical managing of such a 'transformation' on behalf of any organization in the name of Christ--at the hands of an elite cadre of 'priests' or whatever.
5. Any such transformation would be a very personal intimate interaction between God and the individual--to the exclusion of ALL else, imho.
6. And even at that, I do not believe that the elements would be transsubstantiated into the mortal flesh & blood of Jesus The Christ as He walked this globe's Middle East 2000 years ago. I believe the transformation--to whatever degree the word would fit, at all--would be a mystical SPIRITUAL one.
7. I have often prayed during Communion that The Lord would make His Broken Body as healing for my body, mind, spirit, soul, emotions . . . and the juice/wine as His cleansing, delivering, protecting, saving Blood to me and to my life. I believe He does so according to His will and priorities for my life on the basis of such a prayer of faith.
8. The whole exclusivist hierarchically managed schtick as some sort of mystical authoritarian tyrannical gate-keeping function to the Roman System's 'holy of holies' has to be a huge stench in the nostrals of God.
9. The 2' thick veil to the Holy of Holies was RENT ASUNDER during the Golgatha Supreme Drama. God is certainly likely to be VERY UNamused at the Vatican's systems of reinstating it in layer upon layer and burden upon burden on the backs of the sheeple.
Thus endeth this posting of the Quixicated pontifications on these issues.