Non-Catholics: Why are you on CAF?

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I’ve shared before that my oldest son’s girlfriend is Catholic. They became “boyfriend/girlfriend” when he was in the 8th Grade. They are now Juniors in College. He is planning on asking her to marry him this summer. He has been going to Mass with her for a couple of years and even goes without her sometimes so I expect him to eventually become Catholic.

I came here to learn about Catholicism from Catholics instead of anti-Catholic propaganda. I now mostly lurk and will only chime in when I see an Evangelical belief misrepresented or someone ask a questions to Evangelicals.

Ironically, since coming to CAF I’ve become somewhat of a hobbyist about Theology. I’m currently reading a book comparing the teachings of Augustine to Pleagian and Semi-Pleagian theology.
 
RCIA is for anyone! If you’re interested in Catholicism you can go and ask questions, they’re not going to force you through to convert. 🙂
 
AugustTherese said:
May I ask why you attend Mass once a week? Also, which dogmatic issues do you have?
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Actually I generally attend twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am at work very early on those two days and am done by noon, with Mass at 12:10 just up the street. It’s a very beautiful liturgy and I feel at home with it. I love the prayers, the responses and the ritual.

The differences I have are basic doctrinal ones; Transubstantiation for one. I am just not convinced of the plausibility despite excellent explanations from Dr. Anders, Father Mitch and others. For me, it’s still just symbolic, not the actual body and blood. But this alone would keep me from converting formally to the faith. The Sunday obligation does not sit well with me either, having spent 22 years in a strict Sabbath keeping cult where attendance was kept track of. The others are less important, but you get the idea. 🙂
 
I have three agendas that I practice on here, and I have found that helpful in developing my arguments:
  1. The miraculous Image on the Holy Shroud.
  2. Global nuclear war as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy:
    Isaiah 2:19 & 66:15-16
    Jeremiah 25:32-33
    Luke 12:49 & 21:34-35
    Psalm 9:15-16
  3. The Prophecy of the Popes (which, unfortunately, I am currently prohibited from talking about.)
 
I’m a Catholic - and have learned some great things.
It’s cool to kick about topics - and see the responses.

But I was thinking about finding a better Catholic site.
40% of the questions here - are for pot kids, it seems.
But I suppose they’re on all sites -

I laugh, thinking they may be wearing black ski masks -
while typing out the next question 😛
 
I suppose if I had to vote, it’d be a mix of 1 and 2. I enjoy learning about other faiths, in general. Initially, CAF was useful when I married my Catholic wife. As I took part in more discussions, I realized a great need to explain my faith’s teachings since they are so often and so horribly misrepresented. That’s why the majority of my posts are in the Non-Catholic section, where Roman Catholics used to ask earnest questions in an effort to learn about others’ faiths.

For a time, I would’ve subscribed to a sixth option for ‘I just enjoy fellowship with other Christians?’ I miss the old CAF’s set-up for that reason. It was more conducive to that sort of thing.

Unfortunately, this new system of moderation and flagging doesn’t seem to promote charitable conversation or ecumenical discussion, so I’ve begun to spend less time here. It’ll decrease even more in the coming months, as life is pulling me to new adventures.
 
Lia said:
RCIA is for anyone! If you’re interested in Catholicism you can go and ask questions,
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I wondered about that. So if i show up next fall they won’t automatically assume I’m there to prep for the Easter Vigil? Good to know, thanks. 🙂
 
I am a believer (non-catholic, non-Protestant).

I wanted to know why Catholics believe what they believe. Catholicism is filled with secular traditions and laws, there is contradiction in the belief system, and therefore I wanted to understand if Catholics genuinely believe that what they believe is real, or if they are simply defending a position they have been told is true.
 
I am a believer, so I don’t believe there are contradictions in the Bible, but rather how the Bible has been translated, interpreted, and practiced by most all of Christianity (Catholic & non-catholic).

The contradiction I was referring to was the 3 days & 3 nights of the Resurrection. Friday evening - Sunday morning is a biblical impossibility based on the words of Jesus as well as Luke & Mark.

I have explored this topic for some time by talking to Catholics & Protestants, and I found a good deal of talk on this particular matter here, so I joined.
 
Thomas_Dogood said:
The contradiction I was referring to was the 3 days & 3 nights of the Resurrection. Friday evening - Sunday morning is a biblical impossibility based on the words of Jesus as well as Luke & Mark.
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Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Which of those days are first, second, and third?
 
Jesus said, when asked by the Pharisees, the only sign He would give would be the sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:40), and Jesus acknowledged that there were 12 hours of light in a day (John 11:9). This means there would be 12 hours of night in a day as well, making a full 24 hour cycle (you can trace the full day back to Genesis 1 - sunset to sunset). Also, the word used for “day” in the verse literally means the 12 hours from sunrise to sunset. So, 3 days & 3 nights would constitute a full 72 hours. Friday evening to Sunday morning is 36 hours at best.

Furthermore, the Bible proves the impossibility of a “Good Friday” to “Resurrection Sunday” timeframe. Remember that when Jesus was crucified, Joseph rushed to get his body down & buried because it was the preparation day, which is the day before the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread (Luke 23:50-55, Mark 15:42). Mark 16:1 states that the women bought spices when the Sabbath (High) was over, and Luke 23:56 states that the women prepared the spices and perfumes & they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. How is it possible to have 2 FULL Sabbath days (one High, one weekly) and a FULL day in between the Sabbaths where the spices were bought & prepared between Friday evening & Sunday morning? That is literally impossible.

Friday would be the only day the women could “buy & prepare” spices as no work is done on High Sabbaths or the weekly Sabbath. And if the women has to wait until the 1st Sabbath (High Sabbath) had past, that means that the 1st day & night in the grave would have been Thursday (24 hours), then all day Friday (24 hours) to buy and prepare, then rest all day Saturday (24 hours) on the weekly Sabbath = 72 hours.

It’s important to note that there were 2 separate visits by women to the grave (Mary in John 20:1 when it was dark - this means the new day had begun & the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) was over - and the grave was EMPTY - which means Jesus had risen on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) before the new day had begun. The evidence for two visits is in the fact that on the first visit Mary was not allowed to touch Jesus, and on the second visit the women were permitted to touch Him (this cannot be fully understood without an understanding of First Fruits). Many attempting to disprove Christianity use the “visit to the grave stories” as being contradictory, not realizing that there were two separate visits.

Friday evening - Sunday morning is 36 hours even providing the most possible amount of minutes for Friday evening just before sunset and Sunday morning before sunrise.
 
Interesting thought. IDK however it says evening and morning so what was causing the evening and morning? However after the fourth day there can be no argument against a 24 hour day.

Jesus did say the sign of Jonah would be fulfilled in Him. That’s 3 days and 3 nights. It has to be pretty close to a 72 hour period of time. Matt 12:40 and Jonah 1:17.
 
Thomas_Dogood said:
I wanted to understand if Catholics genuinely believe that what they believe is real, or if they are simply defending a position they have been told is true.
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Why would you think for a minute that Catholics might not consider what they believe is real?
 
Because most Christians only repeat what the preacher says or what someone has told them what the Bible says. When you ask them the “why” they can’t answer for themselves.
 
Evening came then morning. When does the sun set & when does it rise? Sunset & sunrise. The time period was established.

That’s a minor issue. I’d like to actually address the 2 Sabbaths with a full rest day in between & the Scriptures used for those statements.
 
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