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Harland
Guest
Dr. Colossus:
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Andreas_Hofer
Guest
How do we know that what the Church teaches is true? Well, how do you know that Germany has a population of ca. 80 million? (If you didn’t know that before, well, you do now.) Even better, how do you know that in 1492 Christopher Columbus undertook a voyage that led to his landing in the Americas? My guess is that you’ve never done an eye-witness head count of the entire German population and that you were not around in 1492 to accompany Columbus on his voyage. But in the 15th century Columbus did come back and tell of his travels, and he had other witnesses to back him up. Lots of other people, believing all these witnesses to be credible, took thier testimony as fact, some recorded it. That line of witness continued throughout the generations of humanity until you were informed of the fact by the most recent link in the chain of human testimony. When it boils down to it, the only “proof” you have of Columbus’ expedition is that someone trustworthy told you it was true. The same probably applies for the veracity of the theories of relativity, the distance of the sun from the earth, and the age of the United States of America. You don’t remain agnostic about Siberia just because you never been there.
What’s the point of all that? Well, despite the fact that we sometimes do conduct our own experiments to “prove” current states of affairs, most of our knowledge is derived from testimony of other people. We don’t really “know” these things so much as we “believe” what we’ve been told. That’s one of the main reasons we believe in the Truth taught by the Church. The Apostles and many others were witnesses to Christ. They testified to his teachings and deeds, and, since they were credible, many people believed them. Through time, those teachings have been passed from credible witness to credible witness. If that’s the same standard of proof you use for 99.9% of your “knowledge”, why create a double standard for matters of faith?
Obviously, once one has accepted that one has to figure out, amid all the supposed witnesses of today, who is reliable. But thanks to the fact that witnesses throughout time have left writings, one can check current testimony against all the written testimony passed on in the chain of witness. This will back up the witness of the Catholic Church.
What’s the point of all that? Well, despite the fact that we sometimes do conduct our own experiments to “prove” current states of affairs, most of our knowledge is derived from testimony of other people. We don’t really “know” these things so much as we “believe” what we’ve been told. That’s one of the main reasons we believe in the Truth taught by the Church. The Apostles and many others were witnesses to Christ. They testified to his teachings and deeds, and, since they were credible, many people believed them. Through time, those teachings have been passed from credible witness to credible witness. If that’s the same standard of proof you use for 99.9% of your “knowledge”, why create a double standard for matters of faith?
Obviously, once one has accepted that one has to figure out, amid all the supposed witnesses of today, who is reliable. But thanks to the fact that witnesses throughout time have left writings, one can check current testimony against all the written testimony passed on in the chain of witness. This will back up the witness of the Catholic Church.
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puzzleannie
Guest
that is what many well-meaning people thought back in the 60s when the campaign to legalize birth control and abortion began, and that is why people like me reluctantly supported the campaign. Unfortunately, history has proven we were wrong. As the number of abortions escalate, so has the number of out-of-wedlock and unplanned pregnancies. We thought that if artificial birth control was made cheap, convenient and available to all those of child bearing age, including and especially teens, there would be no need for abortion. In fact, more than half of all abortions are sought because of contraceptive failure.
In addition, the rate of STDs has soared (not even considering the AIDS crisis) in spite of pushing condoms as a preventive. Virtually everyone sexually active outside of marriage contracts an STD at some time, and of course puts all their partners at risk. Condoms do not prevent transmission of the leading cause of cervical cancer, HPV, which has resulted in cancer, sterility, chronic infections and an entire host of disorders of the reproductive tract in women. Since the culture has dictated that virtually all men be sexually promiscuous at least before marriage (enforcing rather than eliminating the double standard) all women are at risk even in marriage or monagamous relationship.
The predictions of Pope Paul 6 in Humanae Vitae have come true, in spades. Marriage and family have deteriorated in every country that legalized contraception and abortion, with grave social consequences. In spite of the availability of contraception and abortion, parents of unwanted babies are still murdering newborns, and assaulting pregnant mothers in hopes of killing the unborn child.
All the promises about the good effects of contraception have come to nothing, and the culture of death they spawn has overtaken western society to the extent of threatening its destruction due to negative population growth.
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Iwesshome
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Dr. Colossus:
I believe in God more than ever now and I am trying to find a Religion that will suit me best but I do believe that the Catholic religion is the true Christian choice so I am in more favor of this direction. As another member pointed I am not Catholic and I am still learning. No one is perfect and no one thinks the same way. I am sure that even people raised a Catholic have a hard time following all the laws of the church. I cannot sit here and tell myself that overnight I am going to drop everything I know and believe in to be wrong for something else. I don’t think I ever will but I do think I can learn to look at things in a different light.
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Iwesshome
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Condoms are never 100% effective but you are better off to use than not in today’s society. People are going to have sex, some while being Single and other while in Marriage. Some people have STD’s that are not treatable and are married with a family. I am sure that steps are taken to protect the other spouse from contraction and I am sure they use Condoms. Yes it is a form of BC but it isn’t being used to prevent life but disease and possible death.
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ppcpilot
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You said:
Condoms are never 100% effective but you are better off to use than not in today’s society. People are going to have sex, some while being Single and other while in Marriage. Some people have STD’s that are not treatable and are married with a family. I am sure that steps are taken to protect the other spouse from contraction and I am sure they use Condoms. Yes it is a form of BC but it isn’t being used to prevent life but disease and possible death.
Ah! But you can’t use an evil means to attain something good! Is it okay to steal diapers from a store because you can’t afford any?
I thought like you at one time…the Church needed to stay out of my bedroom!. Once you are open to God, do some searching and reading, and realize that life is not all about having sex, your eyes will be open! I promise! That’s all that the world teaches now…sex. sex. sex. sex. sex.
Desp. Housewives, rap videos, sex & city, Friends, Las Vegas, soaps…all sex sex sex sex sex.
Self-mastery over this will make you strong! We should not be slaves to sex! Yes, it is beautiful and natural, but only in a married situation open to life. If I needed to, I would abstain now until the end of time. God’s grace would help me through it. Before you think I’m an old fogey, I’m only 27, and should be peaking in my sexuality.
I wish I would have had this wisdom in my younger days…it would have made life so much easier!!
I pray for you that you may get the answers to the questions that you ask, and that they may let you see the beauty of their meaning. They are so profound! I used to think that some old not-married dude had no clue about sex and the world…turns out they are right after all!
Give up the sex. Break free of this instinct, and stay pure untill marriage!
Condoms are never 100% effective but you are better off to use than not in today’s society. People are going to have sex, some while being Single and other while in Marriage. Some people have STD’s that are not treatable and are married with a family. I am sure that steps are taken to protect the other spouse from contraction and I am sure they use Condoms. Yes it is a form of BC but it isn’t being used to prevent life but disease and possible death.
Ah! But you can’t use an evil means to attain something good! Is it okay to steal diapers from a store because you can’t afford any?
I thought like you at one time…the Church needed to stay out of my bedroom!. Once you are open to God, do some searching and reading, and realize that life is not all about having sex, your eyes will be open! I promise! That’s all that the world teaches now…sex. sex. sex. sex. sex.
Desp. Housewives, rap videos, sex & city, Friends, Las Vegas, soaps…all sex sex sex sex sex.
Self-mastery over this will make you strong! We should not be slaves to sex! Yes, it is beautiful and natural, but only in a married situation open to life. If I needed to, I would abstain now until the end of time. God’s grace would help me through it. Before you think I’m an old fogey, I’m only 27, and should be peaking in my sexuality.
I wish I would have had this wisdom in my younger days…it would have made life so much easier!!
I pray for you that you may get the answers to the questions that you ask, and that they may let you see the beauty of their meaning. They are so profound! I used to think that some old not-married dude had no clue about sex and the world…turns out they are right after all!
Give up the sex. Break free of this instinct, and stay pure untill marriage!
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Iwesshome
Guest
What? That made no sense at all. It sounds almost like you are accusing of me of sleeping around or being too promiscuous in my lifestyle. I don’t know abut staying pure before marriage but I am not one to go out and sleep with anyone. I have been divorced for 5 years and have had two sexual partners in the timeframe. Sadly I must say they were not relationships but they were with people I knew. Now if I meet someone who I cared for, like let’s say I was going to marry them and they wanted to remain pure before Marriage I would respect that because I loved her. But if I found someone I cared for and was in a relationship and we believed in Pre-Martial sex then that’s that but we would use protection not for the issue of pregnancy but because of safety issues with STD’s. If we didn’t have STD’s out there that couldn’t be cured or that killed you I could understand the not using BC. But we don’t so we have to take steps… Some choose abstinence and other BC.
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mercygate
Guest
Just a brief comment on your points which I have highlighted.
Truth is not about what suits us. Truth DOES suit us because we are made for God, and Truth is His, but it doesn’t always feel comfortable, especially at first.
Keep learning.
A lot of people raised Catholic have no idea what the Catholic Church teaches. We converts have an advantage because we come aboard with a certain caution. Then we drive everybody nuts because we’re so zealous!
No. It doesn’t happen overnight! Took me decades!
Again, **get Christopher West’s ***Good News about Sex and Marriage. *This pithy little book is absolutely GREAT at giving the Catholic perspective on contraception, abortion and other issues surrounding sexuality. Don’t have another thought about sexuality until you have read this book. The Catholic view is a complete paradigm shift from the secular culture.
Godspeed!
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