Do we always have to agree with the Church?

[Michael_Francis]

Merged duplicate threads. Please post only one thread per topic in future.

 

[GoldenArrow]

The Natural Law and the Divine Laws (both Old and New Law) are for our own good.

Having pre-marital sex is nothing but trouble. Take it from someone who’s been there and done that. Getting your heart broken AFTER having pre-marital sex is no different than having your beating heart cut out with a dull knife and then stuffed down your mouth so that you can choke on it.

Had I actually obeyed the Commandments, I’d have not had my heart butched in such a matter and I’d have a more peaceful soul today. The memory of this heartbreak haunts me to this very day. I will never break this commandment again!

The laws are for our own benefit!

God Bless!

 

[AlegreFe]

Merged duplicate threads. Please post only one thread per topic in future.

I believe it could’ve been an accidental double post. It happens sometimes when your 'puter goes on the fritz so you may think that it’s not going through and so you hit the “Submit reply” button again just to find out you hit it a second time for nothing. :whacky: It happens.

 

[Riley259]

Krisn, Tell your friend that Jesus Christ built His Church upon Peter (Mt 16:18), leaving for us a living, continuing authority to teach, govern, and sanctify in His name…

Jesus Christ’s Church is
1) guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth (Jn 16:13)
2) led by a chief shephard (Jn 21:17)
3) with bishops, priests and deacons (1 Tim 3:1, 8; 5:17)
4) protected, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mt 16:18)

In Colossians 1:18, we see that Jesus Christ and the Church are “one”.

These are the words of Jesus Christ to St. Peter; the first Pope, and the Church:
“Whoever listens to you, listens to me. Whoever rejects you (Pope-Church) rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Lk 10:16)

So as “Catholics”, when we’re following the teachings of the Church, we’re following the teachings of God, and when we’re rejecting the teachings of the Church, we’re rejecting the teachings of God.

**Does she have to follow the teachings of God? **
No, she has a “free will” to choose.

But remind your friend about the “Big Lie” to which all death entered the universe, “that we could be like gods, deciding for ourselves what is good and what is bad” (Gn 3:4) seperate from God’s law…

We can choose to be disobedient to God and follow that ancient serpent, that we know as the devil; the father of all lies…

Hoped this helped,
Santos

Great explanation for why we must obey the Church’s teaching. Yes, we need to follow our conscience but we are also obligated to inform our conscience. Once adequately informed then it becomes clear that the Church teaches the truth.

 

[fix]

I have a German friend who considers herself Catholic, but admits she doesn’t agree with everything the Church teaches, especially on the “difficult” moral issues such as pre-marital sex. She thinks her opinion is valid because it’s right for her. How can I effectively explain the role of the Church as our infallible guide in faith and morals and what’s the proof?

Many thanks for the help.

It may help if you try to explain the role of conscience. Conscience is not mentioned much anymore except for folks to say we must follow it. The topic is central to our faith.

     "Good conscience" simply means good grasp and good application of moral         truths —         it is the truth that is primary, it is the truth that is grasped and         applied by the practical mind, or, if you prefer, by the conscience. ...

     When we receive messages, we listen to them. We do not make them up and         reword them to reflect what we wish had been said. If we disagree with         the Church's message so seriously that we cannot follow its terms, then         we cannot reinvent it to make it easier or more palatable.

     Much of the debate over conscience in Catholic circles focuses on the         possibility of a conscience against the Church's teaching. This seems to         me a peculiar notion. For a start, it would mean that dissenters         believed that following the Church on, for example, contraception or         same-sex relationships, would actually give them a guilty conscience,         not just frustrated wishes. Yet it seems clear that most dissenters do         not fear guilt if they obey the Church: What they fear is precisely the         frustration of their unsatisfied wishes. ...

**** Cardinal Pell on True and False Conscience****