Like this one...I mean how ludicrous to even think such a thing, let alone write it...
Jesus didn't say you couldn't smoke a crack pipe before you go to Mass...I guess that means,,,,,blah, blah, blah.....
2 Peter 1:20 - interpreting Scripture is not a matter of one's own private interpretation. Therefore, it must be a matter of "public" interpretation of the Church. The Divine Word needs a Divine Interpreter. Private judgment leads to divisions, and this is why there are 30,000 different Protestant denominations.
I mean, doesn't the average Catholic emit a little nervous chuckle and feel a little embarrassed every time your religion puts this one out???
You claim to have been a Catholic, you tell me.
33,000 Protestant denominations? Again? Really?
I’ve asked Catholics before to give us one example of the 33,000 different interpretations they’ve found of even ONE verse of Scripture and not had any takers. Most verses have one, or possibly two interpretations.
The doctrinal differences aren’t because any one verse can be interpreted a multitude of different ways, but rather that the doctrinal positions can be supported by several to many verses found within the whole of Scripture.
That aside, the claim that there is unity within the Catholic church rings hollow in light of this......
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Nor is there unity within the Catholic church. For all the Catholic criticism of Protestantism for differing *interpretations* etc, Catholicism is no better.
There is no unity within Catholicism. Catholics are in no position to point fingers.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2678253/posts?page=357#357
(Courtesy ping to rogator for referencing a comment of his.)
“Catholics look on diocesan bishops (Catholic and Orthodox) as the successors of the apostles who founded the particular church of their locale. In this manner a person could be a member of the Church of Corinth, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Tucson or Pittsburgh.
Those of us who prefer Roman Catholic (actually Latin Catholic) are emphasizing our connection with the Roman Pontiff rather than the (e.g.) Maronite or the Melkite Patriarch.
Emphasizing the connection with the particular church rather than the Roman Church is IME common among very liberal Catholics and liberal bishops, many of whom actually see Roman Catholic as a derogatory term.”
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Not to mention the different flavors of Catholicism such as.......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sect
Sects
Roman Catholic sects
There are many groups outside the Roman Catholic Church which are regarded as Catholic sects, such as the Community of the Lady of All Nations, the Palmarian Catholic Church, the Philippine Independent Church, the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, the Free Catholic Church, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, and others.
The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae started in Lima, Peru, has multiple cases of psychological abuses experienced by youth that were attracted to the movement.[16]
There is also Russian orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Coptic (Egyptian) to name a few more.
They most certainly do not adhere to the doctrinal position established by Rome on a number of fronts which many FRoman Catholics consider critical to Catholic faith.
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There is hardly the unity in Catholicism or Catholic faith that Catholics like to put forth. Differences ranging from the doctrines concerning Mary to recognizing the primacy of the pope. Not insignificant differences.
For example.....
http://www.ukrainian-orthodoxy.org/questions/2010/intercommunion.php
Question:
What are issues that need to be discussed before a marriage should take place between a Roman Catholic and a Ukranian Orthodox Catholic? Is the Eucharist believed in the same way?
Response:
Dr. Alexander Roman alex.roman@unicorne.org
The theology of the Eucharist is the same in both the Roman Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. But the Churches are not in communion with one another which means that Roman Catholics cannot receive Communion in any Orthodox Church as a result.
http://www.ukrainian-orthodoxy.org/questions/2007/appostolic.html
Question:
I’m a Roman Catholic considering conversion to the Orthodox Faith. I’ve read some articles on the internet and am confused as to whether I need to bere-baptized. Do you consider baptism in the Latin rite invalid?
I’m planing to attend my very first mass in your Faith and was wondering if I would be allowed to receive the Eucharist or do I need to go through some sort of training first?
Answer:
Very Reverend Ihor Kutash kutash@unicorne.org
The Church preserves unity in diversity. In the Orthodox Church there is no hierarch with universal jurisdiction since its One True Shepherd, our Lord Jesus, has never left His Church (Matthew 28:20). The Apostle Peter does not replace or substitute for Him. The Scriptures do indeed indicate that Peter exercises an important role as leader among the Apostles but his primacy is exercised in equality or collegiality (”primus inter pares”) as the Book of Acts clearly shows. The Rock upon which the Church is built is our Lord Himself as we proclaim during Matins: “The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone; this is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes” (from Psalm 118:2 - also the most often repeated phrase from the Old in the New Testament: Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7). Peter, a leader among the Apostles, was first to proclaim the Church’s faith in our Lord upon Whom it is built: “You are the the Christ (i.e. the Messiah, God’s Chosen and Annointed One - igk), the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:15). He did not see himself as that Rock. Such, at any rate, is the conviction of the Orthodox Church.