Good source for what Catholics DON'T believe?

[DarkLight]

There will never be a complete list of what catholics do not believe. Can’t be.

What catholics must believe is what the church infallibly defines in faith and morals.
Yet there is also tradition which contains all truths of the faith. But tradition is the unbroken continuity of the Church in her teachings which have yet to be completely defined.

And the morals are defined as science developes new technologies which are constantly being created. The morality of these is defined as they develope over time.

So there will never be such a list.

There will be an incomplete list of those things that the church does not approve. Because as new ideas in faith are presented, the church looks into their validity and then determines if they are correct or not. This is also an unending process.

Just a few thoughts.

No I get that. Like I said, the difficult is more in going from a system in which there was a definite view on everything, to one with more freedom. The young-earth creationism thing was a good example. A more relevant one…the church I grew up with had much more strictly defined men’s and women’s roles than the Catholic church does, it is not mandated that a married woman be a stay at home mother. Or another one, it was forbidden to read texts of other religions. As far as I can tell none of these are things the Church has much teaching on what we believe. But it’s sort of hard to tell, especially since on most of these issues there are a LOT of personal opinions out there.

 

[JRKH]

No I get that. Like I said, the difficult is more in going from a system in which there was a definite view on everything, to one with more freedom.

I have to say that it is a little refreshing to see a post like this. So often we hear about how the Catholic Church “has too many rules”….

The young-earth creationism thing was a good example. A more relevant one…the church I grew up with had much more strictly defined men’s and women’s roles than the Catholic church does, it is not mandated that a married woman be a stay at home mother. Or another one, it was forbidden to read texts of other religions. As far as I can tell none of these are things the Church has much teaching on what we believe. But it’s sort of hard to tell, especially since on most of these issues there are a LOT of personal opinions out there.
You are quite right. The Church does not have much “teaching” (rules) on these things.

St Paul in His first epistle to the Corinthians makes a remarkable statement in regards to the Law…One that I bet you never heard at your old Church…
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. (1 Cor 10:23)
One might ask, “How can Paul make such a statement?” It is because with the fulfillment of the OT covenant by Jesus on the Cross, and the subsequent pouring out of the Holy Spirit into the world and the believers, We are now governed by the single Law of Love written on our hearts. All of the Church’s teaching on faith and morals stems from this Law of Love (Mt 22:36-40).
Thus we need not fear the texts of other faiths.
Thus we need not fear the discoveries of science.
Thus we need not embrace “laws” that limit the gender roles in marriage…
Instead we look for (as Paul says) what builds up; what things are helpful and in accordance with the law of Love.

Peace
James

 

[haastiin]

Nicely done, James! and Kudos to everyone else, too. This is a refreshing thread because it’s throwing light n the freedoms we have as Catholics. As a former 5-point Calvinist, I can totally agree with the idea that being Catholic and knowing the tenets of faith in this Church is gloriously simple. Thank you all for reminding us how better = simple and simple = better.

The 7-day-creationism takes a lot more explaining that saying “God made it all in his own time and in his own way.” There are only 10 Commandments, and none of them says anything about dancing. Or BINGO. We attend one Mass per week without feeling pressured to go to Sunday night services, Wednesday night prayer meeting, Thursday evening Bible-study and breakfast prayer meetings (although it wouldn’t hurt us if see did do things like that more often!). Perhaps the fact that it is so simple is what makes it too simple so that Mass becomes a perfunctory obligation rather that a constantly-renewed font of blessing for some Catholics.

 

[jayjay777]

Ruthie again:

Since your old church was probably a “Bible-only†church, a good forum for specific questions would be “Sacred Scripture.†Just be aware that not all posters there are Catholics – and that some Catholics can be ignorant of what the Church believes.
forums.catholic-questions.org/forumdisplay.php?f=30

Here’s the Catechism on Scripture:
scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a3.htm
Pay special attention to the section, “The senses of Scriptureâ€.

The first thing that drew me to the Church was the way she studies Scripture! We don’t take everything literally - it has to make sense. For instance, we take “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned†(Mark 16:16, RSV) literally, but not “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell.†(Mark 9:47, RSV)

To search the Catechism, go here:
scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

I must thank JRKH for the website on dogma! It is based on Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, by Dr. Ludwig Ott, which is still in print. That book is pretty difficult reading, though, like a graduate-level textbook. I’m glad JRKH mentioned the website – it’s like the Cliff’s Notes for Ott!
theworkofgod.org/dogmas.htm

P.S. be aware of Catholic-speak. Sometimes we define words a little differently. For instance, “charity” doesn’t mean only donating to good causes. It is our translation of “agape,” the Greek word for “unselfish love;” the word Jesus used when he said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31, RSV)

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