Page 2 of 8 [ 126 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 8  Next


Are Catholics the only Christians?
Yes 11%  11%  [ 9 ]
No 89%  89%  [ 70 ]
Total votes : 79

BazzaMcKenzie
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Aug 2006
Age: 64
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,495
Location: the Antipodes

01 Aug 2007, 6:12 pm

criss wrote:
... as a Spiritual Director, working with the poor and marginalized in London, my work brings me in touch with many people who struggle with personal problems and addictions....

seems an unusual job for an aspie :? Good luck.

criss wrote:
Sadly most of them were brought up in Conservative Christian homes ...

By Christian, as a catholic, you mean the majority were brought up in catholic homes. Curious that catholics are over represented in marginalised addicts :?


_________________
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.
Strewth!


DataSage
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 30 Nov 2006
Gender: Male
Posts: 114
Location: Florida

02 Aug 2007, 2:27 am

I'm a Catholic, and a huge fan of Pope B17 "The Bomber". These are hardly new concepts, but his philosophical work on moral relativism is f'ing astounding. I suggest everyone read some of it sometime.



Ragtime
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Nov 2006
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,927
Location: Dallas, Texas

02 Aug 2007, 8:50 am

From Wikipedia's entry for "Lord Acton":

Quote:
Lord Acton's Dictum

In 1870 came the great crisis in the Roman Catholic world over the promulgation by Pope Pius IX of the dogma of papal infallibility. Lord Acton, who was in complete sympathy on this subject with Döllinger, went to Rome in order to throw all his influence against it, but the step he so much dreaded was not to be averted. The Old Catholic separation followed, but Acton did not personally join the seceders, and the authorities prudently refrained from forcing the hands of so competent and influential an English layman. It was in this context that in a letter dated April, 1887, to Bishop Mandell Creighton, Acton made his most famous pronouncement:

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."


A central cultic element is that one mere human proclaims himself to have supreme power in a religious capacity over all of his followers. This is a patently un-Christian concept. For, Jesus told his disciples, "The kings of the nations lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves" (Luke 22:25-27).


_________________
Christianity is different than Judaism only in people's minds -- not in the Bible.


criss
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Age: 58
Gender: Male
Posts: 507
Location: London

04 Aug 2007, 1:33 am

Hey Calandale, check out the Catholic worker, just google Dorothy Day or Catholic worker and find out for yourself about how you can be a catholic and not not be a fan of the institution.

The early Christians wd be thrown to the lions rather than put a pinch of incense on the alter to caesar, and whilst the modern Christian may delight in joining the lions club, (Bush & co)) that does not mean there is any lack of credibility or of integrity in liberating Christ from Christianity/catholicism.

Being an Aspie I find does help me find my own way, and supports me in not following the mainstream. I hear this is quite common with us. Christian anarchism is not everyones cup of tea, but it takes something of the aspie spirit to see it's beauty i feel.

Much peace to you and all

Cx


_________________
www.chrisgoodchild.com

"We are here on earth for a little space to learn to bear the beams of love." (William Blake)

Thank God for science, but feed me poetry please, as I am one that desires the meal & not the menu. (My own)


Rjaye
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Nov 2006
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 823

04 Aug 2007, 3:06 am

Ragtime wrote:
Rjaye wrote:
The Catholic Church as an organization has the right to determine what constitutes a Catholic, and I don't understand the big todo about it. Why do Babtists or Lutherans care? As groups they have the right to believe as they do.

Why'd you change the word "Christian" to "Catholic"? Their position is, and has been, that non-Catholics as Catholic leaders define them aren't Christians. When, if they'd read the Bible, they'd see that many Catholics aren't Christians, because they don't trust in Christ alone to save them. They trust in bread, wine, Mary, and various works that the pope tells them to do in order to cleanse their sins. It's its own spin-off religion.


The reason I separated out the Catholics is that they are setting the parameters for what constitutes a Catholic Christian, just as your church sets the parameters for what it takes to be a Christian. There are many Christian groups that do this, and for some reason, how the Catholic Church defines a Christian somehow is of some importance to you. Why would it matter to your faith? I've had people question my philosophy, and it meant nothing to me because those people obviously didn't understand, or were jackasses--it was their problem, not mine.

As to the comment about the publicity around boys abuse (a gay issue? Puhleeze.) within the church (and it goes beyond the Catholic Church) is that for some reason it's more accepted for females to be abused. Why this is could take books, and countless years of study, and others have already done so. This is why it's mostly women who are sexually abused, raped, and who are not likely to be believed, or told to not tell anyone, because it's more shameful for a female child to have been assaulted, than for a male child. It's not news for females to be abused--it's still scandalous for boys to have been abused--it's the carwreck theory of voyeurism. People are shocked at boys' abuse by priests; no-one is surprised at girls being abused.

And there are women involved in the lawsuits against the Catholic Church (and against the other sects as well). We just don't hear about those cases. Why? Not shocking enough.

There is a value judgement being made here, both by the media and the public. Why aren't people more up at arms about these Mormons marrying off thirteen year old girls to old guys wanting another wife? The boys end up escaping, and finding help--but the girls? It's the value judgement. The abuse of girls is there, but it's not talked about.

Metta, Rjaye.



TheZach
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 392
Location: Michigan, USA

11 Aug 2007, 2:54 pm

Not to be rude here, but I could really care less about what the pope says. The pope is a person, and as a person he is falible like everyone else. I really dis-like how he is the only person who is to make religious rules on the earth and interpet the word for today's world.

I'm a christian, that means I follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The pope is not Jesus Christ and I fail to see how he has been endorsed by God or Jesus.



Sylvius
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 97
Location: Canada

13 Aug 2007, 4:36 pm

I actually applaud the pope's decision on this one, and I'm not even a christian.

A religion only makes sense if its bound by some sort of doctrine, and its practitioners can't reasonably opt out of that doctrine just because they don't like it. Since the pope claims to be the infallible voice of god, he needs to be willing to tell people who disagree with him, even on small matters, that they're wrong. Otherwise he's not playing the role of infallible divine mouhtpiece convincingly.

So, for the first time since the end of open persecution of protestants, the Catholic church again makes sense.



TheZach
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 392
Location: Michigan, USA

13 Aug 2007, 7:17 pm

I'm sorry, where in the bible does it say the pope is the 'voice of God'



calandale
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Mar 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 12,439

13 Aug 2007, 7:22 pm

Sylvius wrote:

So, for the first time since the end of open persecution of protestants, the Catholic church again makes sense.


So, the counter-reformation should have
continued? 'Twas really weakening the
papal authority. I doubt the church could
have survived.



Sopho
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Apr 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,859

13 Aug 2007, 7:25 pm

TheZach wrote:
I'm sorry, where in the bible does it say the pope is the 'voice of God'

It doesn't need to. They just make it up as they go along anyway.



Sylvius
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 97
Location: Canada

15 Aug 2007, 7:08 pm

TheZach wrote:
I'm sorry, where in the bible does it say the pope is the 'voice of God'

It doesn't. But since Catholic doctrine holds it to be true, they need to dismiss other denominations and unchristian in order to remain logically consistent.

This is just about the first time I've ever seem clergy do something I deemed reasonable.



Pandora
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Age: 63
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,553
Location: Townsville

16 Aug 2007, 9:36 am

Ah Ragtime, I would like to know where you got your information?

For instance, where did you get the idea that the current pope was a Nazi soldier? I've never heard of that one and find this assertion quite far-fetched! He would not have been elected Pope if he had such a murky past.

Saying "up to 50% of priests and monks are homosexual" is a meaningless figure designed to spark a huge outcry because people assume there must be about 50%. Even 1% is "up to 50%" and even that is probably on the high side.

I'm not condoning paedophilia and think it is particularly reprehensible coming from people who are respected in the community and whose position generally inspires trust.


_________________
Break out you Western girls,
Someday soon you're gonna rule the world.
Break out you Western girls,
Hold your heads up high.
"Western Girls" - Dragon


Sylvius
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 97
Location: Canada

16 Aug 2007, 12:06 pm

Pandora wrote:
Ah Ragtime, I would like to know where you got your information?

For instance, where did you get the idea that the current pope was a Nazi soldier? I've never heard of that one and find this assertion quite far-fetched! He would not have been elected Pope if he had such a murky past.

Saying "up to 50% of priests and monks are homosexual" is a meaningless figure designed to spark a huge outcry because people assume there must be about 50%. Even 1% is "up to 50%" and even that is probably on the high side.

I'm not condoning paedophilia and think it is particularly reprehensible coming from people who are respected in the community and whose position generally inspires trust.

The pope was a member of the Hitler Youth, but that wasn't unusual for kids his age.



Sopho
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Apr 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,859

16 Aug 2007, 12:08 pm

Sylvius wrote:
Pandora wrote:
Ah Ragtime, I would like to know where you got your information?

For instance, where did you get the idea that the current pope was a Nazi soldier? I've never heard of that one and find this assertion quite far-fetched! He would not have been elected Pope if he had such a murky past.

Saying "up to 50% of priests and monks are homosexual" is a meaningless figure designed to spark a huge outcry because people assume there must be about 50%. Even 1% is "up to 50%" and even that is probably on the high side.

I'm not condoning paedophilia and think it is particularly reprehensible coming from people who are respected in the community and whose position generally inspires trust.

The pope was a member of the Hitler Youth, but that wasn't unusual for kids his age.

I think that was when membership was compulsory anyway.



Sylvius
Blue Jay
Blue Jay

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Posts: 97
Location: Canada

16 Aug 2007, 5:09 pm

Sopho wrote:
Sylvius wrote:
Pandora wrote:
Ah Ragtime, I would like to know where you got your information?

For instance, where did you get the idea that the current pope was a Nazi soldier? I've never heard of that one and find this assertion quite far-fetched! He would not have been elected Pope if he had such a murky past.

Saying "up to 50% of priests and monks are homosexual" is a meaningless figure designed to spark a huge outcry because people assume there must be about 50%. Even 1% is "up to 50%" and even that is probably on the high side.

I'm not condoning paedophilia and think it is particularly reprehensible coming from people who are respected in the community and whose position generally inspires trust.

The pope was a member of the Hitler Youth, but that wasn't unusual for kids his age.

I think that was when membership was compulsory anyway.

Even if it wasn't, from his point of view (as a child) it just would have been a really popular social organisation (sort of like boy scouts). You can't hold the kids responsible for their parents enrolling them in that.



calandale
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Mar 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 12,439

16 Aug 2007, 5:29 pm

Hitler Youth was based on the sprouts,
so it's not surprising.

Really, the sprouts at that time were
far scarier than they are now - downright
paramilitary.