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mercygate
Guest
Slam dunk! You’re right!That’s just 'cause it’s not printed on that fancy, thin paper.
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opdsgt
Guest
I’m overwhelmed with the response on this one gang, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the time and thoughtfulness of your views and opinions.
This thread has helped me a great deal. I’m already pretty well versed on apologetics (I have devoured everything John Martignoni’s put out, as well as the work of others), but I still had that lingering question about the amount of homework a guy needs to do in order to be a Catholic.
Then again, it could just be that I’m a born cynic and I have to investigate such things. In any case, the effort I’ve put into this has been great for my relationship with Jesus.
Matter of fact, today I’m driving up to the local parish to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration, bible in hand. While I can’t partake in communion just yet, I think it will be a great way for me to spend some quiet, prayerful time with Him.
God bless you all!
This thread has helped me a great deal. I’m already pretty well versed on apologetics (I have devoured everything John Martignoni’s put out, as well as the work of others), but I still had that lingering question about the amount of homework a guy needs to do in order to be a Catholic.
Then again, it could just be that I’m a born cynic and I have to investigate such things. In any case, the effort I’ve put into this has been great for my relationship with Jesus.
Matter of fact, today I’m driving up to the local parish to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration, bible in hand. While I can’t partake in communion just yet, I think it will be a great way for me to spend some quiet, prayerful time with Him.
God bless you all!
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Church_Militant
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mercygate
Guest
Mil – does the CHSS *pay *you to refer people to them??? You must be their number one promoter!
And it IS great!
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Church_Militant
Guest
you to refer people to them??? You must be their number one promoter!
And it IS great!
Nah, I’m just one who completed all their courses and begged for more. They are that good!Pax tecum,
P.S. I’d’ve recommended John Martignoni’s BCS if he hadn’t said he was already a fan of John’s.
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mercygate
Guest
I’ve been in the Church for 6 years now, and I STILL do this often. Talk about a feast!
The Church where I attend daily Mass used to have an elderly bishop in residence. Every morning by 6:30 he would be sitting in his place – often reading Scripture. He told me that his old mentor, “Fulty” (Archbishop Fulton Sheen, of course), had advised him in his youth that if he were to spend an hour a day in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, he would never go wrong as a priest.
I guess it works.
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Gunger
Guest
Opdsgt:
Being a cradle Catholic, the detail of the faith still amazes me. A skeptic or critic might call such detail “man-made law,” “extra-biblical,” or even heresy. The problem with such feelings, while natural, is that they are simply an excuse not to actually opening the cover of the book (whether it be the Catechism or the Bible). The fact is that Catholicism, while simple at its core, is a very intellectual faith. Impotantly, by calling Catholicism “intellectual,” that is not to suggest that it is “complicated.”
Indeed, because we are an apostolic faith, because the Church is empowered by Christ-- and precisely because we are a biblically consistent faith…those things necessarily MUST have application in our lives. The rules, teaching, doctrines, dogmas…they are nothing more than the Church providing precisely what Christ promised: not a mess, not a mishmash of individual interpretations, but a consistent, authoritative TEACHING of the Faith.
Why have a Catechism? Precisely because of the very question you ask in your original post: to provide authoritative answers to those searching for the answers. And therein you have one of the most important things often lost on our Protestant brothers: all of these Church teachings, dogmas, doctrines, rules…they are not the interpretation of one man, or even one local church. They are the affirmation of an eternal, unified and consistent FAITH. Billions of people. Thousands of years. Scrutinized by the finest theologians, philosophers and scientific minds of each age (straight down to the “new” issues of our day like abortion, birth control, etc.), confirmed by the faithful of each age and-- while certainly not a democracy–once again affirmed by the belief of the individual Catholic who submits to the teaching.
In short, the “rules” are evidence that your salvation is more than a moment…it is a process. The “rules” ensure that the Church remains consistent, the Rock. And the “rules” prove that your faith means something more than simple belief…rather, it is a way of life…and the way to eternal life.
For Him.
G.
Being a cradle Catholic, the detail of the faith still amazes me. A skeptic or critic might call such detail “man-made law,” “extra-biblical,” or even heresy. The problem with such feelings, while natural, is that they are simply an excuse not to actually opening the cover of the book (whether it be the Catechism or the Bible). The fact is that Catholicism, while simple at its core, is a very intellectual faith. Impotantly, by calling Catholicism “intellectual,” that is not to suggest that it is “complicated.”
Indeed, because we are an apostolic faith, because the Church is empowered by Christ-- and precisely because we are a biblically consistent faith…those things necessarily MUST have application in our lives. The rules, teaching, doctrines, dogmas…they are nothing more than the Church providing precisely what Christ promised: not a mess, not a mishmash of individual interpretations, but a consistent, authoritative TEACHING of the Faith.
Why have a Catechism? Precisely because of the very question you ask in your original post: to provide authoritative answers to those searching for the answers. And therein you have one of the most important things often lost on our Protestant brothers: all of these Church teachings, dogmas, doctrines, rules…they are not the interpretation of one man, or even one local church. They are the affirmation of an eternal, unified and consistent FAITH. Billions of people. Thousands of years. Scrutinized by the finest theologians, philosophers and scientific minds of each age (straight down to the “new” issues of our day like abortion, birth control, etc.), confirmed by the faithful of each age and-- while certainly not a democracy–once again affirmed by the belief of the individual Catholic who submits to the teaching.
In short, the “rules” are evidence that your salvation is more than a moment…it is a process. The “rules” ensure that the Church remains consistent, the Rock. And the “rules” prove that your faith means something more than simple belief…rather, it is a way of life…and the way to eternal life.
For Him.
G.
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rwoehmke
Guest
That old question of what’s the minimum I have to know/believe to become a Catholic always bothers me. First of all is accepting that the Catholic Church is the church founded by Christ, second it always was and still continues to be that church. third to have the trust and obedience of a child (unless you become as a little child you will not enter the Kingdom etc. ) A lot of knowledge is not a bad thing, but it is not a requirement. Being willing to accept blindly a lot of what the Church teaches because Jesus does not lie, nor does his Church is a necessity. Having a basic knowledge of the prayer life required and what the Sacraments are is needed, but no deep knowledge required to be on one’s way in the Church. Many will study a lifetime and still possess only a fraction of the knowledge that exists. It is more important to know, love, and have a close relationship to the one who is at the head, Jesus Our Lord. One can have all the head knowledge in the world and still go to hell. I am not knocking all the study the OP has done and is doing. I enjoy that too, but I just don’t think that one ever knows it ALL when they state at the Vigil Mass that they accept and believe all that the Catholic Church holds and believes. Just is not possible to grasp it all.
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Gilbert_Keith
Guest
Jeff
Catholicism certainly doesn’t have the “ease” of bible only Protestantism. My feelings on this almost have me worried. What say you?
What the Catechism does is not to produce new difficulties or complexities or rules, but rather to ponder and comprehend all the old ones as fully as possible.
The catechism is not easy either, but in reply to Protestants who complain that the CC is too swallowed up in rules, I’d ask them to remember that the most interesting and worthwhile games in town are the ones that are most complex. Chess, for example, is a lot more interesting than checkers. The chess player wants more. The Catholic wants more … as with all things in life, the more you want the harder you have to work.
No one gave Jesus an easy ladder to climb up on the cross. Instead they gave him four agonizing nails … that he accepted for love of us.
Catholicism certainly doesn’t have the “ease” of bible only Protestantism. My feelings on this almost have me worried. What say you?
What the Catechism does is not to produce new difficulties or complexities or rules, but rather to ponder and comprehend all the old ones as fully as possible.
The catechism is not easy either, but in reply to Protestants who complain that the CC is too swallowed up in rules, I’d ask them to remember that the most interesting and worthwhile games in town are the ones that are most complex. Chess, for example, is a lot more interesting than checkers. The chess player wants more. The Catholic wants more … as with all things in life, the more you want the harder you have to work.
No one gave Jesus an easy ladder to climb up on the cross. Instead they gave him four agonizing nails … that he accepted for love of us.
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PauloFreire2
Guest
Some of the OP’s concerns are legitimate. We Catholics do have too much baggage to drag around, after existing, as we have, for nearly two millennia. What must be emphasized, however, is that LOVE is the glue that holds Catholicism together, whereas FAITH is the glue that holds Protestantism together. That’s the bottom line for me. What’s your view of God, Man and their relationship? Is God a rather cold, distant JUDGE, or is He close-by always, helping us, out of profound love, cheering us on, in our struggles against evil, especially that which at times dwells within us? Is God a JUDGE, or a FRIEND, FATHER, and ADVOCATE for humanity and a more humanized world? I say he’s the latter, and that’s why I’m Catholic. 
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PauloFreire2
Guest
There was once a religious leader named JERRY FALWELL. He was Protestant.
There was once another religious leader called Mother Teresa. She was Catholic.
Any questions?
There was once another religious leader called Mother Teresa. She was Catholic.
Any questions?
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Spirithound
Guest
First, i must say, THANK the LORD for Adoration!!! A couple things that i don’t think have been addressed by my esteemed colleagues (conveniently editted above
). Jesus did not come to earth eliminate rules. He came to fulfill the prophecies. If your Protestant friends insist that He did come to abolish rules, ask them how someone loses salvation…you may have to give scenarios here…write out all the “rules” that you come up with.Next, the amount of homework needed to enter the Church is totally up to you. If you need a whole lot of research to mesh with the doctrines, then that’s what God wants you to do. I’m very happy your relationship with Jesus has benefitted greatly from this
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opdsgt
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More outstanding replies gang, thank you for your time and inspiration!
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WBB
Guest
My reply to you is simply this. Let go and let God. I understand that you are on fire for the faith, but let Catholicism take hold of you rather than you taking hold of it. I hope that makes sense.More outstanding replies gang, thank you for your time and inspiration!
Brian
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