CAF vs general population

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As I see it, this is the difference…

😎… … … . … …🎃
🧥 … …VS . . … 🧥
👖… … … … … 👖
 
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My experience is that it’s much the same.

I live in a place that is still very religious. My village is only Catholic, but the next one over, there are Methodists, Anglicans, and Presbyterians, then when I go to where my grandmother is from, we have Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Protestants - Pentecostal, and Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Salvation Army. I am constantly bombarded with people of different faiths. It makes for interesting conversation. On CAF I find the same. We have this diverse group of people all convinced of our opinion, yet conversing over the truth and debating it.
 
Come from a traditional culturally Catholic family, in a heavily Catholic area. Baptism and mass is a way of life, no questions asked.

In the church, involved with a committed group of Christians, so there are probably a bit of fanatic in us.

First came to CAF to argue against Muslims on Islam vs Christianity topics. Then with non-Catholic Christians. And now answering some random questions on Catholicism. The liturgy and Sacraments sub-forum can be filled with very nasty Catholics, one needs to get used to their attitude over there. I don’t think they meant any harm, just that those topics are close to their hearts.

You will get a group of very regular posters, which is often the case when a forum has existed for too long. You kind of knowing their views already.

We have less new people. Those with different ideas, probably would take much courage to come in here as he/she would get a barrage of responses against him/her.

CAF people, obviously to me, are not those typical Catholics whom I meet in daily life, who are far less argumentative.

As for differences in spirituality, the typical Catholics, who think those who don’t agree with them are considered inferior or heretics, seem to manifest themselves here too.

Well, that I can see here. Posting in CAF is quite addictive but hopefully there would be certain people who find the discussion / posts here helpful.

God bless.
 
Lara said:
I think it’s best to think of people as Catholic or not Catholic rather than liberal or conservative. Liberal Catholics are basically faking it to make it. They want to be in the bosom of the Catholic Church but they don’t want to believe what it teaches in its entirety. So for instance, they will practice artificial contraception or be in favour of same-sex marriage. If that’s the case, they are not Catholic in my view, but rather Protestant posing as a Catholic.

Conservative Catholics are people who believe what the Church teaches.

I don’t meet too many Catholics in real life.
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If you think it’s best to think of people as Catholic or not Catholic, you might want to rethink what you said about “in your view”. Because your view doesn’t match what the Catholic Church says. The Catholic Church says they are Catholic.
 
CAFers seem much more conservative to me than IRL Catholics I know. When I first became a member of the forum, I actually made the mistake of asking if anybody knew of a more liberal Catholic forum because I wasn’t able to relate to most of what I read here. Let’s just say I didn’t receive the responses I was hoping for. LOL.
 
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There is an interesting movie called “Exodus - God and Kings” It stars Christian Bale and tells a story of Moses. In an early scene, Moses, while still a prince of Egypt, gets into a discussion with an Egyptian official. The official states to Moses that, “Israelite means he who fights with God.” Moses corrects him and says, “He who wrestles with God.” Whether this is accurate or rather the choice of the screenwriter I am not sure, but the line somewhat reminds me of CAF. Seems a lot of Catholics wrestle with God, and with His Church, and with each other. Better than hanging out of the street corner getting into trouble.
My two cents.
 
I don’t know many people in real life with scrupulosity/anxiety disorders/OCD. The internet is full of them.
 
QwertyGirl said:
CAFers seem much more conservative to me than IRL Catholics I know. When I first became a member of the forum, I actually made the mistake of asking if anybody knew of a more liberal Catholic forum because I wasn’t able to relate to most of what I read here. Let’s just say I didn’t receive the responses I was hoping for. LOL.
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If you did find a “liberal Catholic forum” it would likely not be that interesting, for long. Most of the views would be very similar to what you already find in the mass media. It would be redundant. At least in CAF you may not find “better views” but you find views that don’t repeat what you already read elsewhere.

Most of the internet is either “Right” or “Left”. But Catholicism often offers a third alternative. For instance, Distributism would be an alternative for economics. The Theology of the Body would be somewhat of an alternative to both Puritanism (hatred of the body) and hedonism (worship of the body, especially sex).

Some posters on CAF are informed on these things, so they offer the “third way” on lots of issues. Others, of course, tend to reflect whatever is Trending Now on the internet.
 
Nothing like real life.
People in real life, in my parish, are very loving to each other, give one another the benefit of the doubt and do not in general, peer into each other’s souls. And if they DID, our pastor sits them down and corrects them.
We don’t care how you receive communion, it’s your choice.
We don’t watch to see if you’re in the communion line or the confessional line or not.
We don’t criticize the cantors.
We don’t tell Father his homily is not Catholic enough.
We don’t mind giving to the poor.
We respond kindly when a small child is in distress.
We support the religious educators with time, talent, and donations.
We host seminarians and visiting priests with open arms.
We don’t complain about Fathers accent.
We don’t run to the Bishop for every imagined slight.
We get excited about the people in RCIA and walk the path with them in prayer.
We’re very welcoming to immigrants.
We speak in several languages. And like it.

It’s a beautiful place.
 
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IRL, no one has ever walked into a room full of strangers at church and asked if their accidental eejaculation was a mortal sin. And that is where the difference lies. Most of what is said on CAF would never be said out loud to anyone. So in that sense, there is no sense in making a comparison between CAF and IRL.
 
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I was referring more to the concept of posters believing there is only one moral way for issues that comes up. I tend to see a lot of that here. The in real life Catholics I know are a little more diverse in the way they view the world.
 
I don’t know a single “conservative” Catholic that thinks voting Republican makes one devout. Even a lot of “conservative” Catholics don’t vote Republican. They just vote for anyone other than a Democrat.
 
Good list, but, I’m curious, who on here is honestly against giving to the poor? At most, I see disagreements on how best the poor can be served.
 
I generalized. Some Catholics made it seem like it was either Hilary vs Trump during election season and if you didn’t endorse Donald Trump it was a waste of vote to vote for a third party
 
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You must not have seen the many threads telling people they are crazy for giving to poor on the side of the road.
 
Well, I would not give a person I find on the street straightup money. Maybe a giftcard for a place to eat, if I had the cash to spend on them.

Some people just do not like the idea of someone overdosing and dying on their dime.
 
I can’t read minds, so I have no problem giving money. People need money to rent a room for the night.
 
If the IRL Catholics say the same good ideas you already get from the media, you may like the person, but you did not learn anything new. “Diverse thinking” means the mainstream thinking. On CAF you encounter some ideas you did not hear elsewhere. Yes, some of us believe there are some things absolutely true/false, good/bad.

Almost all intelligent people prior to 1900 accepted absolutes. On CAF you encounter maybe some good ideas from this point of view. For you, personally, it helps YOUR diverse thinking to encounter unfamiliar POV.
 
Why not direct someone to a homeless shelter, a church, or some other place that can offer free shelter?

But, anyway, one cannot say someone minds giving money to the poor just because they won’t give cash to anyone asking on the street.
 
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