Well There is one thing for sure the Roman Church is not currently producing a St. Ambrose, nor a St. Bernard Of Clairvaux.
How do you know this?
There are many saints in the making that you might not know about.
"Well There is one thing for sure the Roman Church is not currently producing a St. Ambrose, nor a St. Bernard Of Clairvaux."
Meet John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Ever read their writings? Which denominations are producing? The self-interpreters/non-affiliates? Bitter ex-Catholics? Funky-haired televangelists? Or how about one of these "Reverends"?"Instant Ordination" (great for taxes!)
I'm so sick of the Church being blamed for all the problems in the world. The Church pedophile scandal- it's a horrible thing- but has anyone ever heard O'Reilly talk about NAMBLA? Have any of you complained against it, even in forum? It's the Church which gets targeted. Those people don't, and wouldn't be publicized by the other msm.
Those who are non-affiliates have it easy. Churches of all denominations build schools, hospitals, orphanages, food pantries, etc. Those who complain about organized religion- do you ever use these services? Have you tried to start your own? One person alone can't do it as well as people who work together. We're not all Mother Theresa, or Father Damien.
Organized religions have rules-not always followed, not always enforced- but there are good ministers, deacons, elders, priests- and people who do follow the rules- Biblical or man-made, because following God takes fellowship, supervision, guidance and discipline and leadership (Reverend Billy Graham once stated on national TV that he was a virgin when he got married- how many can say that? It takes an extraordinary man to be that committed to his faith!); people who follow the whole Bible, not just St. Paul, a Greek lexicon, and Strong's Concordance. People who commit themselves to a family in faith- not just saying magic words, "I'm saved!" then gleefully condemning the rest of the world to hell. What do you do to serve your neighbor- and don't give me the "not letting your good deeds be seen" or "we're saved by faith alone" memes. That's a cop-out.
If you left the Church, fine, God bless you on your journey, and I genuinely mean that. But no one is ever 100% right or wrong. I left once myself, I get it. But I'm sick and tired of those who whine and blame the Church because "I didn't get anything out of it"; "I went through all the motions and I didn't feel a thing"; yada yada yada. Maybe you just couldn't cut it. Maybe you didn't put anything into it. Maybe instead of being a Pelosi and non-compliant, you chose to just leave: too many rules- is that any better?
Finally those who are just plain hateful of what they don't understand, and fear it- please go and seek solace in what you believe, and save the snarling for the Muslims if you're so anxious to preach the Word. The Franciscans did- on the Muslims' turf, and were martyred. The Jesuits, whom our detractors SO love to knock, came to the New World, preached to native Americans and were martyred. Are you ready? Or is it easier to sit at a keyboard and bash online, or perhaps treat the people who come to your door like they're dirt? Who are the persecutors there?
Wake up, people- anyone who professes a faith is going to have problems down the road- if they stick with it. It's time to stop demonizing and start discussing. We're going to need each other sure enough- maybe more than we realize. One religion? No. One cause: serving God in a godless nation helping and supporting one another to keep on a steady course- Christian, Jew, Independent, whichever, YES!