Posted on 10/30/2013 8:09:25 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
It’s fascinating, the amount of emotion at least some non-Catholics seem to have about Catholic teaching. I can tell you that when I was in the anti-God period of my life, I did not give one whit what any church taught. I paid them the ultimate diss of not giving a care.
But from what I’ve seen on this blog, there are a large number of people who claim to be atheist or some what-not version of what I was in my anti-God period, who appear to think about Christianity, the Catholic Church in particular, 24/7. They appear to be, in a word, obsessed with the minutiae of Catholic teaching.
If you doubt this, go to some of the atheist blogs. All they ever talk about is God, Christian teaching, and the Bible.
There are a few issues in particulate that really rev their engines. They are:
When someone confronts them with the obvious inconsistency implied in their obsessive demands that a Church they claim is a stupid cult alter teachings that they claim are based on a myth, they start denouncing Catholics for using their rights as American citizens to vote and advocate according to their consciences.
It’s as if it offends them that Catholics have the same rights to vote, free assembly and to petition their government as other citizens. I suppose it’s true that it does offend them. Because one takeaway I get from reading the comments from most (not all, there are a couple of clear exceptions) of these people is that they are, at base, bullies.
I also think that the core reason they keep coming around here to drop off their load of insults (most of the truly insulting ones never see the light of day on this blog) is that they are either mental on some level, or, whether they will admit it or not, they are God haunted people who desperately want what the Church offers, which is peace with God, eternal life and a spiritual home. It’s just that they can’t bring themselves to go to God on God’s terms. They want Him — meaning HIs Church — to come to them on their terms.
These are people who refuse to be forgiven for their sins. What they want is to have the Almighty ratify their sins. They are obsessed with finding, not absolution, but vindication, from a Church they claim they believe is a fraud.
However, that’s just my reaction. Yours may be different. I’m going to throw this open for discussion.
Why do you think nonbelievers are so obsessed with the Catholic Church?
Imagine how much prosperity and peace that would bring to **everyone** Catholic and non-Catholic in this nation and world.
I am not going to read the article. Mostly articles like this are negative and divisive. In these last days I choose to support and stand together with my Catholic friends and family in the coming hard times ahead of us.
As for the video, I rather thought it was taking a humorous look at Catholicism, not at you. Again, I ask your forgiveness for thoughtless trespasses on my part.
But then, she's fun.
There ain't no answer.
There ain't gonna be any answer.
There never has been an answer.
That's the answer.
Gertrude Stein
They don’t want any prominent people talking against abortion on demand, or talking against homosexual marriage. They don’t want any prominent voices being heard on any moral issues at all. They want to be liberal and secular. They want to shut down discussion of moral questions. They want to be amoral, and want the rest of society structured so they don’t have to hear about morality.
I think you nailed it right there. Catholics may be the biggest target in their efforts but make no mistake about it: first the Catholics, then the Protestants, Baptists, Lutheran's, Evangelicals, etc..
Hearty applause, wintertime!
Because their consciences are convicting them and they want to assuage their consciences. If they really believed what they were doing is “OK”, they wouldn’t “need” the approval of anyone else.
“A new take on Stein’s comment is that gay men think they can unload their guilt if they can get world religions to endorse their acts.”
Even if they could force every religion to agree with them, it still wouldn’t unload their guilt. God’s work firmly condemns homosexual behavior and that is never changing no matter how much they try to censor it.
“I think it’s because non-religious types, who tend to be liberal, want to denigrate religion and religious influence......They want to intimidate religions so that they stay out of the public arena, and so that they don’t have to be exposed to any errant religious/moral message.”
Any religious beliefs that compete with an official state ideology to promote the perfect society cannot be tolerated by totalitarian governments, since religion appeals to a higher authority than any earthly dictator.
Totalitarian politicians have worked hard to promote themselves as replacements for God. The 20th century has produced dictators like Hitler and Stalin, who openly repressed religion even as they successfully developed cults of hero worshiping fanatics. Atheistic Americans are so creative in elevating their mediocre politicians to god-like status that they inspired the Nobel committee to award peace prizes to slugs like Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and Barak Obama.
ZC, how do you define yourself (religion)? You’re Jewish, right? If so, what kind of Jewish? Orthodox?
My apologies if I am completely off base.
First of all, I think THIS is the most important question you can/SHOULD ask wrt this issue. It's why I'm going to respond to it first in the limited time I have now. I hope to try to respond to your other points some other time but I must be honest with you to tell you I might not for quite some time. I also want to at least paruse what you have sent me privately before that.
To your question above: Whoever told you that is simply wrong. Flat out without a question wrong!! It truly saddens me to the point of tears you have been told this! You (and any one in the Church) are perfectly free to believe whatever you want about Genesis, or the creation of the world. As long as it doesn't violate Church teaching, meaning you can't believe aliens created the earth or man or believe the devil did. The point is though a literalistic belief in the Genesis account does not violate Church teaching and never will. Anyone in the Church who insists differently, anyone who insists you must "at least" accept "the possibility" of evolution to be a real Catholic is an ignorant elitist jerk and should be ignored (really the charitable thing would be to take such a person aside and educate him or her to the Truth!).
That's just a flat out fact and I'd debate anyone who insisted otherwise for the full 10 rounds! It's no wonder you left the Church for that reason! You had every good reason to do so! This actually confirms (yet again) that many hate/leave the Church for what they THiNK she teaches not what she actually DOES teach. I'd strongly encourage you to give the Church "another look", talking with more priests and established lay people in your area about this, given this fact. Again, through no fault of your own you have been lied to; for every Carholic everywhere I apologize sincerely.
I do not know what else to add at this juncture other than to briefly add that the true act of any authentic human is/should be to seek the truth wherever that leads as God is Truth thus to discover truth in anything is to actually discover some of God in anything. This is how reality is a sign of God. In this way, science is not at odds with Faith but rather both are their own, unique methods of knowledge. I will leave things there as that is leading into what I would like to discuss in more detail. I do not have the time however right now to adequitely address this.
FReepmail me anytime if you encounter similar elitist snobbery should you choose to give the Church another chance. I will help you the best I can to direct you to places you may find refuge. Make no mistake there aren't many Creationists in the Church, I don't want to lead you to believe there are many, but they do exist and are in perfect communion. And no one is permitted to exclude them from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for merely believing God created the Universe in 6 actual 24 hour consecutive. periods.
I love Gertrude Stein. Some of her books are filled with the most marvelous observations on life. A woman of great common sense.
It isn’t just non-Catholics. I went to a “Catholic” university and the Catholic students and the Jesuit priests were for the most part right there with the non-Catholics in trying to justify abortion and gay marriage.
Oh absolutely. There a lot of individuals -— and institutions (Catholic Theological Society of America, anybody?) —— buzzing, muttering and festering in and around the Catholic Church, who are essentially agents of the Enemy.
You also may find this useful. http://www.catholicbridge.com/catholic/catholic_creationism.php
“Catholics are free to believe in Creationism, they are also free to believe in an old earth. Some faithful Catholics believe that God created the universe and all that is in it exactly word for word as it is laid out in Genesis 1 - a young earth. Other good Catholics believe in an old earth. The Church has no defined Dogma regarding the specifics of how the earth and the human body were created. Nor does it think that we have to nail that down to be saved.”
Why is that? Planets do not move in perfect circles and epicycles, as they would if the Copernican system were true.
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.
There's no doctrinal issue to discuss with someone who denies the fact that Jesus Christ id the only begotten Son of God and who begins the discussion believing that Christians are hooples duped by carnival barkers and various conspiracies. Especially if such folks have based their conclusions on having their little feelers hurt by a single individual they may or may not have ever met as opposed to creating as a foil to use as a starting point for preaching their anti-Christ trash.
Well, with all due respect, these God-haunted atheists are our enemies, and thus they are to be the especial objects of our love, as Christ commanded. So we try to know them and understand them, so we can the better pray and act for their well-being and redemption.
What's wrong with people being clued in on where someone in a thread stands with regard to Christ our King when they don't make that point themselves?
They don't make the point themselves because doing so would allow people to be aware that while they mention Scripture in their anti-Catholic diatribes they don't accept Christ and the NT even as much as a Muslim does. Don't you think that is something lurkers should be aware of?
Shouldn't people know that someone attacking a particular Christian group thinks Jesus Christ is a fraud? Do you deny or hide the fact that you're Catholic? No, far from it.
As wise as serpents and as harmless as doves absolutely precludes digging trenches, filling sandbags, and playing along with your enemies propaganda games.
Love your enemy? Pray for them, don't aid aid abed their little games.
I understand your well-made point, Rashputin, and I accept it.
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