Acceptance of Idol Worshipping/Other Faith's

[PePPaR]

Just something that has been on my mind. Why is there such an acceptance for other religions in the Catholic faith when other things are so stringently condemned?

We constantly here how other religions should be ‘accepted’…or we should respect those who commit to divergent faith’s – such as Buddhists and Hindi’s worshiping the great Shiva. Is this not breaking the fundamental commandment of ‘thou shall not worship false idols’? Yet, the Catholic faith holds a widespread ‘acceptance’ of these religions and essentially let’s them into the Catholic relationship also. For instance, my school is a Catholic college but we allow anyone into the school as long as they agree to learn the Catholic tradition in classes, and participate in the mass (they don’t have to take communion however). In a sense, is this not basically accepting false idol worshipping? There is this whole condemnation against homosexuals and their activity and I read so many posts here about people not wanting to go to gay marriages and what not. Yet the essence of other religions (which is arguably ‘worse’ than homosexual actions as it is a stated commandant) is widely accepted.

Now I’m not saying that we should NOT accept other faiths and religions. And nor am I against other religions. But I’d just like to get some posts back on this.

 

[thistle]

Just something that has been on my mind. Why is there such an acceptance for other religions in the Catholic faith when other things are so stringently condemned?

**We constantly here how other religions should be ‘accepted’…or we should respect those who commit to divergent faith’s – such as Buddhists and Hindi’s worshiping the great Shiva. **Is this not breaking the fundamental commandment of ‘thou shall not worship false idols’? Yet, the Catholic faith holds a widespread ‘acceptance’ of these religions and essentially let’s them into the Catholic relationship also. For instance, my school is a Catholic college but we allow anyone into the school as long as they agree to learn the Catholic tradition in classes, and participate in the mass (they don’t have to take communion however). In a sense, is this not basically accepting false idol worshipping? There is this whole condemnation against homosexuals and their activity and I read so many posts here about people not wanting to go to gay marriages and what not. Yet the essence of other religions (which is arguably ‘worse’ than homosexual actions as it is a stated commandant) is widely accepted.

Now I’m not saying that we should NOT accept other faiths and religions. And nor am I against other religions. But I’d just like to get some posts back on this.

Where is that in Catholic teachings?

 

[PePPaR]

Where is that in Catholic teachings?

I don’t know? My basic point is that the general vibe in the Catholic faith is essentially promoting the acceptance of other faiths. And this in turn creates inconsistency because we see condemnation of other things such as homosexual actions and abortion for instance - yet there is seldom ever any condemnation of other religions when this is arguably worse since it is not accepting Christ as our savior.

But then again one can state that individuals who pursue other faiths have not been given the opportunity to be brought up in a Catholic community or spectrum; then again the same can be said for an African child who is brought up by gangs to become a murderer.

 

[ASD]

Where is that in Catholic teachings?

Nowhere, obviously. It’s not Catholic teaching, but we get it shoved down our throats anyway. That’s OP’s point, right?

Consider: The NO/OF parish where I teach 8th grade catechism uses a Catechism series called Blest Are We (BAW). Although this silly series is egregiously bad, apparently it’s widely used. See, e.g., recommendation against it at CatholicCulture.org.

Example: The introduction has a picture of some people in the Ganges River. The caption says, “Hindu believers bathe in the sacred waters of the Ganges River.” The catechist is instructed to say, “The photograph shows people in India taking part in a sacred act. The Ganges River is a sacred river in the Hindu religion.”

For a little perspective on that large-minded, open-hearted gesture of inclusivity toward the polytheists, consider: I don’t think BAW includes a single positive word about RC liturgy before NO/OF. So, to add insult to injury, we’re open-minded about polytheists, but not RC traditionalists.

Look, I’m certainly no expert on comparative religions. But, the little I do know about Hinduism reminds me of exactly the kind of thing our religious tradition has struggled from the start not to be; exactly the kind of “religion” that our tradition has opposed from the first. In fact, I don’t think it’s going too far to say that our religious tradition is literally defined in opposition to stuff like polytheism and “sacred” rivers.

So, I consider it scandalous that:

1. 
   *]The publisher markets this to Catholic religious education programs.
   *]Religious education directors choose it and spend our hard-earned money on it.
   *]Parish Priests let religious education directors choose it and spend our hard-earned money on it.
   
   But, of course, the real scandal to be avoided at any cost is the possibility that a liberal somewhere might accuse Catholics of being insufficiently worshipful before Almighty Diversity.
   

   ASD​

   Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar

 

[Leopard]

…For instance, my school is a Catholic college but we allow anyone into the school as long as they agree to learn the Catholic tradition in classes, and participate in the mass (they don’t have to take communion however). In a sense, is this not basically accepting false idol worshipping?..

No. Provided that the Catholic Faith taught in the classrooms is sound and clear, that the liturgies the students participate in are correct and reverent, and that the example shown by the Catholic students and staff is respectable, moral and welcoming, this is education and evangelization.

 

[StCsDavid]

Just something that has been on my mind. Why is there such an acceptance for other religions in the Catholic faith when other things are so stringently condemned?

We constantly here how other religions should be ‘accepted’…or we should respect those who commit to divergent faith’s – such as Buddhists and Hindi’s worshiping the great Shiva. Is this not breaking the fundamental commandment of ‘thou shall not worship false idols’? Yet, the Catholic faith holds a widespread ‘acceptance’ of these religions and essentially let’s them into the Catholic relationship also. For instance, my school is a Catholic college but we allow anyone into the school as long as they agree to learn the Catholic tradition in classes, and participate in the mass (they don’t have to take communion however). In a sense, is this not basically accepting false idol worshipping? There is this whole condemnation against homosexuals and their activity and I read so many posts here about people not wanting to go to gay marriages and what not. Yet the essence of other religions (which is arguably ‘worse’ than homosexual actions as it is a stated commandant) is widely accepted.

Now I’m not saying that we should NOT accept other faiths and religions. And nor am I against other religions. But I’d just like to get some posts back on this.

I think people often confuse acceptance with tolerance. I can tolerate that other people have a faith different from my own, but that doesn’t meant I accept their practices and beliefs. In fact, I believe I’m called to evangelize the truth. How could I do that if I accepted everyone’s faith?

If one was seeking a faith that accepted everyone’s belief, then the Unitarians provide a good example of that.

 

[thistle]

I think people often confuse acceptance with tolerance. I can tolerate that other people have a faith different from my own, but that doesn’t meant I accept their practices and beliefs. In fact, I believe I’m called to evangelize the truth. How could I do that if I accepted everyone’s faith?

If one was seeking a faith that accepted everyone’s belief, then the Unitarians provide a good example of that.

I agree with what you said.

 

[ASD]

Relevant article at FIRST THINGS:

No one doubts (least of all Benedict) that Vatican II’s embrace of what he calls “the essential principle of the modern state” has led to a resurgence of relativism inside the Church. But for the pope, this is not the fault of the [Second Vatican] Council but of a categor[y] mistake arising from the fact that the liberal democratic state must be neutral to religious truth claims while the Church cannot be. Many liberal Catholic theologians, however, took Dignitatis Humanae as a license to attribute equal saving significance to other world religions: If the state must be neutral to religious truth claims, so must we!