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AmateurPianist
Guest
This is what happens when you are away from the computer for a while. I probably can only respond to a limited number of posts.
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AmateurPianist
Guest
What got me going specifically this morning was the thread “Why do Protestants dislike Mother Mary” where 16 pages in after reasoned arguments by both Catholics and Protestants to the effect that…No Protestants don’t dislike Mother Mary…there are still (some) Catholics that maintain (some) Protestants do dislike Mother Mary. Whatever.
And then I read a post that said something like “Catholics are closer to Jesus than Protestants”. And that is what got me going. I started a hot-under-the-collar reply to this post that fortunately I deleted before ther 20 minute time period.
But then that started a question in my mind as to whether I am really getting an accurate reading on what Catholics are like by observing them here. If the sample that post here are not representative of the sample at large, perhaps not.
In real life I have known a few devout Catholics and none of them have seemed like some that I have witnessed here.
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AmateurPianist
Guest
Perhaps.
But in High School debate there are rules and protocol as to what constitutes a fair debate.
The internet of course lacks these rules and protocol.
Maybe also because sometimes I feel that of all the reasons God had in mind for giving us His Written Word…one of them was not as a debating tool.
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AmateurPianist
Guest
Actually I have read your stuff and you impress me as one Catholic that does not have this superior complex.It is strange how different the usual charges are against Catholics. One person will say that Catholics have a superior attitude while another will argue that Catholics are automatons who can’t think for themselves and therefore need “someone” to tell them what to think
I had always felt in my days before conversion as an agnostic that it took a lot of humility to be Catholic (to be a Christain at all in fact).
God bless
Too bad there weren’t more like you.
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rev_kevin
Guest
Just Baptist.
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PJM
Guest
**
At first I thought you might be asking do Catholics active on this Forum, reflect the level of understanding of our Faith as do the majority of Catholics? I suspect the answer to that is sadly 
No.The answer to your OPQ however is YES:thumbsup: Because friend it is not simply our understanding, it is God’ Will, God’s mandate and the teachings as verified in the Complete Bible.
Christ only Founded One Church
The “Key’s to the GATES of Heaven” were given to the Catholic Church [Mt. 16; 15-19]
Fogiveness of sins can ONLY be assuredly forgiven by Christ through His CC [John 20:19-23]
Eph. 2:19 19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [singular] built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; [singular] in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
So friend it’s not “attitude” it’s our Catholic Faith, belief in what God wants and desires.
Love and prayers,
Pat**
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AmateurPianist
Guest
AmateurPianist,
No one here can speak for all Catholics. My experience with Catholic.com is that you are probably getting a accurate view of how a narrow, conserative wing of Catholics view non-Catholics. Catholics and Catholic thought and practice, however, are not uniform, i.e. we don’t all “spiritually look alike.”
No doubt you do sense a feeling of superiority by some of posters here toward Protestants, particularly. Moderate and progressive Catholics feel that same “heat” on this forum.
To answer your question specfically,** NO**, this forum does not represent the attitude of a cross-section of practicing Catholics toward any one of a number of subjects, particularly political and social issues. To ascertain that, I suggest you try one of the Catholic discussion sites on the internet.
Thank you, AmateurPianist, for your thoughtful question.
Thank you. This is the type of answer I was looking for. I think you are correct.
And your comment on Moderate and progressive Catholics is spot on from what I have seen. There is one Catholic here who seems to have her own personal inquisitors following her whenever she posts. I found that very offensive.
I have thought about moving to a part of the internet that is more Christian-faith-neutral to satisfy my thing about arguing Christianity over the internet or learning about other faiths depending how you view it. BTW I once tried an Evangelical site under another name where I took great offense at how we treated Catholics. I prefer this site to that site probably because it is not my side who is being offensive for the most part.
po18guy
Well-known member
Some excellent reading would be that of Evangelical convert Mark Shea. He has written books regarding how he came to believe in Church authority, the need for Sacred Tradition in addition to scripture, as well as the presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This is My Body (An Evangelical Discovers The Real Presence) is an excellent and illuminating read, all in just 51 pages.
To this day, he is extremely thankful to his evangelical roots for leading him to take the first tentative steps toward Christ. I have yet to see a convert in these forums speak ill of their former faith tradition. Each of them is thankful for the groundwork of faith which was laid when they worshipped in those communities.
Cradle Catholics, having never experienced the “coming to faith” of so many visitors here, may not have a sincere appreciation of fellow Christians - each of us being on a journey of faith, and none of us being completed at this point. Again, which do we remember more vividly: conversations with which we agree with, or with which we disagree? A slap in the face is generally remembered much longer than a pat on the back.
Questions? You ask and we will do our level best to answer with charity.
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rev_kevin
Guest
I don’t believe I have come here and started to tell the Catholics how wrong they are without first getting into a discussion and see how heated it gets and what is being said about me and my religion however if think you are talking in general. But if I feel they are wrong for some things that they said then yes it should be corrected and this goes for both sides, but to immediately attack should not happen from either side. Now as you know this is a kind of a debate site and there are going to be differences in beliefs and both sides would say their right and the other is wrong. Now along the same lines as your analogy with the furnishings, is it really correct to invite or let someone into your home and then start to criticize them for, lets say, their shoes or the way they are dressed. I believe in both cases they should show equal respect for one another.
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AmateurPianist
Guest
I was not raised A/G. I was born Methodist and yes had a born again experience.
And come to think of it, I did tick off my family. But just a little. Me as a religious fanatic was preferable to me as a pothead.
I do observe that Catholics do want unity…which is defined as everybody else becoming Catholic. Now if that truly is something that God is doing…fine…but I don’t see Him doing that now.
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AmateurPianist
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I think Truereligion is JW, which would then be classified as restorationalist, not Protestant.
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AmateurPianist
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I have known some devout Catholics in my life. Most of them have been through the Catholic Charismatic movement, particularly when I was a young 'un.
po18guy
Well-known member
Unfortunately, they are pseudo-Christian, teaching that Christ is not Divine. Their bible has been altered to reflect this.
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wmscott
Guest
That explains a lot then, thanks
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izoid
Guest
I wasn’t implying that you behave that way. My ideas were more in a general sense than a specific sense. I find you to be more balanced in your approach than many.
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rev_kevin
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I didn’t think you meant it towards me thats why I said the I believe you meant in a general way. I hope you found my response not to be one sided because I believe some on both sides are guilty of immedatly going on the attack. It might be to make some kind of point, to show that they will not be pushed around or what ever reason they may have, its just not right to do that.
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Gabriel_of_12
Guest
IF you want an official accurate representation of the Catholic Faith read a Catechism of the Catholic Church alongside a bible.
If you want a living witness who practices his Catholic faith day by day through test and trials, this forum is a good medium.
What you may be mistaken as a superior attitude, is when a Catholic is trying to hand on the Apostolic biblical teaching that Jesus is the Head of the Catholic Church, and the Catholic church is the body of Jesus Christ. This is not a surperior attitude this is a biblical, historical fact. This biblical Apostolic teaching can come across as arrogant, your persecution to this truth, fulfills Jesus prophecy that his Catholic Church members will be persecuted just as he was, when he proclaimed to the World that He, Jesus was God come in the flesh. This teaching of Jesus revealing the Father to us, was just as hair-raising back then for which he was crucified, is the same when the Catholic Church proclaims Jesus True Presence in our (Catholic liturgies) midst.
If you want fruit from the Tree, look at how the Apostles, Catholic Saints and Martyrs who lived out their Catholic faith since the first century to the present time in Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II of late.
The church militant, which encompasses these Catholic forum sites, come in all colors and shapes. Personally I dont think these forums express exactly what each person’s attitude reflect here truthfully, be it Catholic or non catholic. If a non catholic community possesed the history from its members who walked and lived with the Orginal Apostles, canonnized the bible, and throughout history since the resurrection defended the Apostolic biblical faith for the past 2000 years, you better believe that these non catholics would be shouting from the roof tops.
The Catholic Church is the only one that possesses Apostolic authenticity, authenticated the bible, and possesses the 2000 year old recorded Christian history to date. To practice love your enemies, is a life long commitment for Catholics that comes with tests and trials, Do we fail at times? Yes we do, but thank God for the ministry of reconciliation.
To those who do not reach far back to the resurrection as the Catholic Church does, may see my comments are very arrogant, I assure you these comments are not from my attitude, but from much research and eyewitness accounts to these facts. The one who rejects the biblical Apostolic Traditional Faith from afar, hold to a new man made christianity and protests the “Rock” of Christianity in the Catholic Church.
I challenge the reverse here for non catholics; Why do you protest the Catholic church without learning and accepting her proven historical unbroken succession 2000 year old Christian Apostolic faith?
Peace be with you
K
Kirk_O
Guest
Right on:thumbsup:IF you want an official accurate representation of the Catholic Faith read a Catechism of the Catholic Church alongside a bible.
If you want a living witness who practices his Catholic faith day by day through test and trials, this forum is a good medium.
What you may be mistaken as a superior attitude, is when a Catholic is trying to hand on the Apostolic biblical teaching that Jesus is the Head of the Catholic Church, and the Catholic church is the body of Jesus Christ. This is not a surperior attitude this is a biblical, historical fact. This biblical Apostolic teaching can come across as arrogant, your persecution to this truth, fulfills Jesus prophecy that his Catholic Church members will be persecuted just as he was, when he proclaimed to the World that He, Jesus was God come in the flesh. This teaching of Jesus revealing the Father to us, was just as hair-raising back then for which he was crucified, is the same when the Catholic Church proclaims Jesus True Presence in our (Catholic liturgies) midst.
If you want fruit from the Tree, look at how the Apostles, Catholic Saints and Martyrs who lived out their Catholic faith since the first century to the present time in Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II of late.
The church militant, which encompasses these Catholic forum sites, come in all colors and shapes. Personally I dont think these forums express exactly what each person’s attitude reflect here truthfully, be it Catholic or non catholic. If a non catholic community possesed the history from its members who walked and lived with the Orginal Apostles, canonnized the bible, and throughout history since the resurrection defended the Apostolic biblical faith for the past 2000 years, you better believe that these non catholics would be shouting from the roof tops.
The Catholic Church is the only one that possesses Apostolic authenticity, authenticated the bible, and possesses the 2000 year old recorded Christian history to date. To practice love your enemies, is a life long commitment for Catholics that comes with tests and trials, Do we fail at times? Yes we do, but thank God for the ministry of reconciliation.
To those who do not reach far back to the resurrection as the Catholic Church does, may see my comments are very arrogant, I assure you these comments are not from my attitude, but from much research and eyewitness accounts to these facts. The one who rejects the biblical Apostolic Traditional Faith from afar, hold to a new man made christianity and protests the “Rock” of Christianity in the Catholic Church.
I challenge the reverse here for non catholics; Why do you protest the Catholic church without learning and accepting her proven historical unbroken succession 2000 year old Christian Apostolic faith?
Peace be with you
Yes this is the best view to see true Catholics:thumbsup:
I especially love this:
I love all of my fellow Christen brothers and sisters, which is why I pray they come to the truth about the Church. I see many God loving and God fearing bible only Christians but there is all ways (almost always) self-righteousness present in them (self interpreting leads to this). To be a TRUE Catholic you have to totally submit yourself to the Church and her teachings, which in turn, is submitting and humbling oneself to Christ. If one is not submitting fully to the Church one is being double minded.
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courtiswa
Guest
Personally, if the Catholics had respect for other religious convictions recognizing they are not going to convert to Catholicism due to anything said here — those interested will go to the nearest parish and prepare for RCIA without any bias here, possibly from the good things
Catholics do.
The arrogance that everyone else is going to hell if they do not convert does not convince me to consider converting. I am grounded where I am.
Respect others religion even if it is not Catholicism, Catholics would be wise in following that counsel.
Catholics do.
The arrogance that everyone else is going to hell if they do not convert does not convince me to consider converting. I am grounded where I am.
Respect others religion even if it is not Catholicism, Catholics would be wise in following that counsel.
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izoid
Guest
The Catholic Church is more ecumenical and inclusive than virtually all other Christian denominations. I do not know where you have gotten your information that the Catholic Church believes only Catholics are going to heaven but wherever it was it is false. Please do not make the typical, uninformed, statements about what Catholics believe and actually do some research first.
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