Posted on 09/24/2012 1:17:52 PM PDT by Dr. Thorne
PARIS (Reuters)- Germany's Roman Catholic bishops have decreed that people who opt out of a "church tax" should not be given sacraments and religious burials, getting tougher on worshippers who choose not to pay.
Alarmed by a wave of dissenting Catholics quitting the faith, the bishops issued a decree on Thursday declaring such defection "a serious lapse" and listed a wide range of church activities from which they must be excluded.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
“That’s because you aren’t very bright which most of us realize from your posting history.”
SPOT ON!!!
I’m sure curious, how does a priest talk to someone, presumably on the phone, since it seems unlikely that he would visit him in the hospital to determine if he has paid his taxes and is worthy of the “anointing of the sick”, and tell with certainty, if they are in danger of dying or not from their illness?
By the way, what is with the personal attacks that you guys are doing? What brings out that behavior from you for no reason?
This jumping on a thread to launch personal attacks seems pretty odd, what ever baggage you are dragging around with you from thread to thread, needs to be let go.
This thread is not about the tax, but about what the Catholic church is doing to Catholics, in regards to the government’s tax collecting efforts.
You wrote:
“Im sure curious, how does a priest talk to someone, presumably on the phone, since it seems unlikely that he would visit him in the hospital to determine if he has paid his taxes and is worthy of the anointing of the sick, and tell with certainty, if they are in danger of dying or not from their illness?”
I swear to you I am not saying this to offend you, but are you dense?
“By the way, what is with the personal attacks that you guys are doing?”
That too seems painfully obvious. Are you not getting it? Seriously, is this all lost on you? If it is, you should leave the thread because you will never get a clue if you continue on this way.
“What brings out that behavior from you for no reason?”
YOU are the reason. YOU bring the bahviour onto yourself. Seriiously, how can this not be readily apparent to you?
I am going to send this to you as a private message as well in case the mods delete this post.
There is a vast difference between lying to the state on a matter of the obligation to pay for the Church they practice their faith in, and lying so that you and your family wont be killed.
But lying that you follow Jesus Christ, or that you are a member of the Church of Christ is a difficult moral issue. In the ancient Church, Christians that did so were frequently ostracized because they carried fake papers saying that they sacrificed to the Roman emperor.
Such Christians were called apostates at the time.
Yep. NAILED IT!
Evidently you can’t explain your claim, but you really need to not stalk people, and to lay off the personal attacks.
You wrote:
“This jumping on a thread to launch personal attacks seems pretty odd, what ever baggage you are dragging around with you from thread to thread, needs to be let go.”
I have no personal baggage - except I do loathe stupidity.
“This thread is not about the tax, but about what the Catholic church is doing to Catholics, in regards to the governments tax collecting efforts.”
If that is so, then why are you asking questions about priests rather than the tax or what the Church is doing? See?
You wrote:
“Evidently you cant explain your claim, but you really need to not stalk people, and to lay off the personal attacks.”
No. The answer is obvious. It needs no explanation. Pointing out the problem is not a personal attack. It’s just pointing out the obvious about someone’s inability or duplicity in regard to the obvious. Get it? No? No surprise there.
Refusing to testify to the state that you are an active member of a named denomination for tax purposes, is a subject worth it’s own discussion.
They aren’t denying that they are Christians, only refusing to accept the state tax designation, by denying the level of their participation in a particular church.
In this case, the church is requiring them to submit to the state, or else Christian rites are withheld, like confession.
They must comply with the state, before they can be Catholics, inside the church.
Does a state give an option of refusing to pay taxes?
Yes, you can refuse to claim membership.
Look at the larger question.
Does the threat of coercion in order collect taxes entail a state is an unjust authority?
In principle no, because it is believed that the money is going to an important cause that is supporting the community, firemen, armed forces, ect.
Guess what the Catholic Church is in the Catholic Community.
Therefore,
This is not an unjust collection.
Jesus was not forcing Ananias to do anything, Ananias refused to act with honesty. St. Peter called him to account for his dishonesty because it was over the obligations of a member of the Church who had promised support, but acted with duplicity in that pledge. Because the sin was grave, Ananias and his wife were struck dead by God.
I found it interesting that you put Jesus in the place of Peter, its not an incorrect exegesis.
Wow, that is some weird, hostile, irrelevant to the thread, angry personal feelings, nonsense.
They deny they are members of the Church of Christ when they uncheck that box that states they are Catholic.
This is known as lying about your status before the eyes of God and men. All the other stuff doesn’t matter much because the notion of justice is confused there.
It is just to support the Church you are a member of and receive sacraments from.
If you do not act in justice, than the reception of sacraments in a state of injustice is itself a sin. Therefore, denying them sacraments is actually pastoral in the long run.
You wrote:
“Wow, that is some weird, hostile, irrelevant to the thread, angry personal feelings, nonsense.”
It’s not weird, not hostile, not irrelevant to your posting, not angry on my part, not at all about personal feelings, and not remotely nonsensical.
It’s just the truth - and you’re reacting like someone who knows it.
It would be an interesting quandary for Americans to have to deal with, with our views on government control and religious coercion.
Those Catholics who are shut out, will just have to pay, before they can confess.
I think that I would have left confession off the list of what is denied them.
So a sneering insult or two is supposed to shut the other person up.
As regards this tax levied by the churches but collected by the state one can hardly imagine Jesus requiring a tax on the 5000 he fed without cost to them. He said, ‘You received free, give free’ to his disciples.
One can go to confession, this is not denied. Where did the Church say otherwise?
It is being reported that confession is forbidden as well.
For instance the Telegraph said that.
I understand things heating up, but these posters launched out of the blue, with no other interaction.
Personal attacks seems to be their only speed, evidently they felt hurt from some other thread in the past, held onto it, and brought it here.
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