Posted on 03/27/2002 10:38:26 AM PST by malakhi
I've reviewed the critiques and suggestions from Thread 2, have incorporated those I could, and have come up with the following Topic list. One point that was questioned by a number of people were the names of the Denominational Topics categories. I have tried to stay with names that are in common use, and/or are preferred by members of those groups. If you suggested a change here and I did not put it in place, that is probably why.
What I would like to do is to have all interested parties vote a straight up or down on the topics as they stand. If over half of the voters oppose the present list, then we'll reopen it for further changes. If the majority is in favor of the present list, then this is what we'll go with. Keep in mind that additions to the list are always possible down the road.
I will be offline from sunset tonight until Saturday night for the first two days of Passover and then for Shabbat. That will give everyone a chance to weigh in and vote. I'll tally the votes Saturday night, and let Jim Robinson know the results.
Thanks for your participation and the many great suggestions!
General Topics
Activism Opportunities to make your voice heard. Apologetics Defense of doctrine. Current Events Religion or religion-related news of the day. Ecumenism Pertaining to discussion, cooperation and understanding among denominations. History History of religion, religion and secular history, tradition, sacred texts. Humor If at first you don't succeed, don't skydive. Ministry/Outreach Pastoral issues, proselytization, missions. Moral Issues Abortion, divorce, sexuality, social justice, ethics. Prayer Requests for prayer, articles about prayer, spirituality. Religion & Culture Religious critique of secular culture, influence of religion on culture. Religion & Politics Church/state issues, legislation, court cases, 1st amendment, the political process. Religion & Science Creation, evolution, ethical issues posed by scientific advances. Theology Nature of God and religious truth, rational inquiry into religious questions. Worship Methods of worship, liturgy, communal prayer.
Denominational Topics This is not intended to be a complete list, but rather to indicate broad categories. Catholic Latin rite, Eastern rites. Charismatic Christian Assemblies of God, pentacostalism, charismatic movement. Eastern Religions Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism. Evangelical Christian Baptist, sola scriptura, non-denominational, independent fundamentalist Bible believers. Islam Sunni, Shiite, Sufism, Wahhabism. Judaism Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Karaite. Mainline Protestant Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, UCC. Orthodox Christian Greek, Russian, Armenian, Antiochian etc. Other Christian 7th Day Adventist, Churches of God, Messianic Christians, LDS, etc. Other non-Christian Baha'i, Zoroastrianism, animism, Wicca, etc. Skeptics/Seekers Agnosticism, atheism, secular humanism, etc.
I'll wear that with pride, thanks.
Only one caveat. Chick couldn't care less about Truth.
ALL I care about is Truth.
And if you cannot see the logic and reason and Truth of what I am saying here, that is not my problem.
I'm not called to be successful.
I'm only called to be faithful.
By the way, the hormonal contraceptives accepted by your church but condemned by mine are killing the babies of even pro-life Christian evangelicals, besides the fact that Christianity always and everywhere taught contraception to be inherently sinful.
2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
BigMack
This is very much worth discussing, but I've got to go for now. I would also like to look at what is it that has caused a largely Protestant nation like Germany to accept Hitler, or what caused the Netherlands to endorse euthanasia, and what caused a largely Protestant nation like Denmark to allow child pornography for a period of time. I raise these examples not to discount that democracy has flourished in protestant countries, but to look at the ultimate end of that kind of democracy and how it lost its Christian way.
Oh, you must be talking about protestant America, land of Freedom, Democracy, 4400 surgical abortions per day, thosands of chemical abortions per day via the Pill, morning after pills, RU-486, Norplant, Depoproves, the world's number one exporter of population control, where population control is a national security directive and the elimination of population growth among third world nations comes before humanitarian aid, the number one export or porn and the feminist and homosexual agenda...do you mean thatprotestant country.
Don't get me wrong, but I have seen the other side of the fruits of the reformation, and I'm not impressed.
There are GOOD protestants. Maybe more "good protestants" than "good Catholics." Only God can judge men's souls.
But protestantism was a decadence and decay waiting to happen. It has. And you refuse to even consider the fruits of your flawed theology and rejection of God's authority.
Omnipresent is...all present. Everywhere. Sun. Moon. Stars. In creation, space and time. Outside creation, space and time, where there is no time, there only IS.
In you. In me. In the souls of the just, in a fundamentally different way, dwelling there with the Son and Holy Spirit jast as Christ promised. In the Holy Eucharist, in a supernatural, MYSTERIOUS way, Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity, just as Christ promised in John 6.
Everywhere, holding everything in existence simply by the merest act of His divine Will, and by the very fact of His presence everywhere.
Awesome. All powerful (OMINPOTENT, if you will, if that is our next step.) Everywhere.
Fine, but if you get to blame Nazism on Protestants then I get to blame RC's for Hitler, for he was raised as a RC. The other situations you wrote about can be explained by their straying from Christ as a whole, not Protestantism. Apostasy happens to RC's as well as NC's, you know.
My Church condemns the sin officially, constantly, for all time.
Sinners sin. The Church teaches. Kennedies sin. Their priests and bishops sin when locally they do not condemn them. Catholic voters sin when they vote for them.
Your church itself teaches evil is good and good evil, and members of your church sin. Your church officially teaches that contraception is ok, and thus, because most contraception is abortifacient, that abortion is OK. Show me anywhere that Catholic doctrine accepts non-procreative sex. Abortion. Homosexualy.
I can give you thousands of protestant sources that officially call evil good and good evil.
My Church never has and never will. Period.
There is no comparison.
Catholics sin.
Protestants sin.
Protestantism teaches that evil is good (contraception, many other issues.)
Catholicism's teachings are right there in the Catechism for all the world to see. She never teaches evil is good, even if Catholics and non-Catholics do not any longer listen.
My Church never has and never will. Period.
There is no comparison.
Ever hear of THE INQUISITION?
BigMack
It was a joke, I am not superstitious either.
A very fine institution much maligned by popular pseudo-history and hysterically parodied by Monty Python.
Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Would you prefer a monarchy, like the old countries, or dictators maybe, or a theocracy - but I think you would only like that if the RC's were in charge, right?
So you would be for the killing of heretics?
BigMack
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