I didn't mean to imply that I thought you personally didn't understand something.
The typical Catholic knee jerk reaction to some former Catholic's exposing the inconsistencies in Catholic doctrine is to accuse them of having never *REALLY * understood the Catholic doctrine, usually due to being poorly catechized by the church. (Something which MANY of us former Catholics have been accused)
I think you may be on to something about the knee jerk reaction though. I've heard one too many protestant sermons of late telling me that it's sufficient to KNOW what scripture says but amending my life to DO what scripture says is optional. Doesn't sit too well when some who are willing to set aside portions of scripture tell me I'm the one relying on loopholes and failing to adhere to Biblical teaching ;) Thanks be to God not all Protestants preach that message but it's the one I'm hearing of late.
Sad to say, I couldn't agree more. I think in large part it's backlash against the works based salvation/legalism which has pervaded the church over the decades.
The problem is, holy living is not really an option for the believer and I think too many churches are throwing out the baby (the holy living to which we are called) with the bathwater (legalism).
The typical Catholic knee jerk reaction to some former Catholic's exposing the inconsistencies in Catholic doctrine is to accuse them of having never *REALLY * understood the Catholic doctrine, usually due to being poorly catechized by the church. (Something which MANY of us former Catholics have been accused)
Ah, I see what you meant. That never crossed my mind actually. You raise an interesting point though. When an exCatholic misstates Catholic doctrine or otherwise misrepresents the Church's position, what are we to conclude? (Not accusing you of doing this, just asking in general as it does happen on this site.) I'm not talking about presenting a position accurately and disagreeing with it. I'm talking about stating something false about the faith. It seems more charitable to say someone wasn't given proper instruction on the topic than to state the other possibility--that it's intentional distortion. Or is there another perspective I'm missing?
Peace be with you.