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HashemEchad
Guest
Yep, I agree…I have a very close Russian Orthodox friend who rants about them all the time! (as she does about the Old Calendarist Russian Orthodox as well.)
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distracted
Guest
I wouldn’t have said this a yr ago, but i have “matured”…. It’s difficult to know which authority to trust, and I’m not sure I would trust myself either.
It is actually a blessing (though you don’t feel that way, i am sure) to not be too trusitng… Uncertainty is not a good way to feel… but it is good to ask questions and… well… be open-minded (just not so open-minded your brains fall out…
- heard some priest say that once.)anyway, i have been Catholic (and “Catholic”) all my life… I wasn’t taught my faith when a child so messed up my life believing the osas thing… Yikes… Then i studied the Faith myself years ago. In some ways it was good to learn late in life, after i had made horrendous mistakes… because then i appreciated the Church SO much, possibly more than if taught as a child (?)… Even so, i barely made it to Jesus… because of terrible cirucumstances… etc… and don’t recommend learning too late…
Anyway, I don’t know if you are reading any of my other posts… but i have been struggling with this one thing about the Church that bothers me… Well, to be honest, there is one or two… but anyway, the thread is Do you Believe Priests Should Marry… (Morals forum??). Other than that, i don’t question anything about the Church teachings because iknow them ot be true and trustworthy… I suppose everything is trustworthy, but eveyrthing is not always easily understood by every member of the Church… becaue we are human and our minds are frail… to one degree/another…
Anyway, I feel i can answer many basic questions because i have read and studied about the faith a lot… I questioned the Mary thing myself (when making my way back to Church yrs ago…). I understand why that is hard to accept…
I may not have much time righ now, though… to go into anything…
the way I look at it is: If Christ established one Church andthe RCC is it… we have no choice but to accept everything. Basically, the only thing i don’t accept is People in the Church… Not all of them even understand the teachings themselves… even priests don’t sometimes… So you are right to be cautious… I’ve heard priests say, for instance, that masturbation is no big deal… That is NOT what the Church teaches… (mortal sin)…
i think most Catholics do this…
Mary was immaculately conceived… Adam and Eve were created sin-less also… You have to agree that if God wnats to do [whtever] He can… and does… She must have been assumed because no bones or anything else belonging to her are kept by the Church… and in those early days, people always collected relics from saints… In Luke, it speaks of Mary’s vow of virginity… She was incredulous that she could have a baby because she knew that, though she planned to marry Joseph, she was vowed to virginity… Why would she be surprised at the angel’s announcemnet if she was going to have a “regular” marriage to Jospeh??
God bless.
A
auss1e_guy
Guest
G’day Distracted. Hope you are well.
This is my first post on the Catholic Forum. I am a non-Catholic Christian, born again. I am following Paul’s instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to 'Test all things and hold fast to which is good…" I’ve read a few anti Catholic web sites but now it’s about time I go to the source and test this out for myself. I am not anti Catholic. I believe Catholics can be saved (as well as Protestants) if they repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus alone there are too many people sitting in Churches on a Sunday morning who don’t know the Lord…more of that to come.
There’s a couple of things I can’t seem to get my head around.
- The over focus on Mary
- The Pagan practices adopted.
Thanks
God Bless
A.G.
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mercygate
Guest
Hi, A.G. Yup. We hear that a lot. If it were true we wouldn’t be Catholic either.
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auss1e_guy
Guest
Do you know much about the claims by non catholics about Pagan practices within the RCC?
I’d like to hear what you think.
God Bless
A.G.
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mercygate
Guest
If you start a thread, I’ll try to find it. let’s not derail this one.
But for starters, some of the things people point to as Pagan are from our Jewish roots.
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peacelight
Guest
Hey A.G. Peace be with you I am not sure whether this link will help or not on issue #2 The Pagan Practice adopted - salvationisfromthejews.com/ - Christian Root
God bless!
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East_and_West
Guest
Just curious. What pagan practices do you think Catholics practice?
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peacelight
Guest
First of all I do not think that you are ignorant and
I am glad you are here to learn. May the Holy Spirit of truth show you the way. I ask this in Jesus name Amen!Ya I am not sure either what you mean by Pagan practices but what ever it is one need to understand the purpose not just on the outside. I am not thelogian but
As for me being a Catholic I never never feel or aware of any pagan practices in our Catholic life or our Catholic faith. All our prayers focus on the one who create. Yes we do ask Mary to pray for us but in not in any way we worship her and treat her like God. It may seems to be to the outside the Catholic faith that we worship idol or whatever you call it. The fact is we are not. Kind of sad that we often misunderstood. But that is okay one day and some day many many would understand if they just ask the Holy Spirit of truth to show them the way if the truth you are searching for.
A good way to test the spirit as for me is you go to any Catholic Church near by and witness and see and experience it for yourself no better witness than that. Whether we worship idol or statues if that pagan practices you meant because no matter how many times Catholic explained many may still do not understand. Praise God for those who came to see the truth because they were lead by the spirit of truth. Blind and now see. I pray to God that many many will follow soon.
With Mary issue again make no mistake we did not worship her and I do not feel that we over focus on her either. Without her there will be no Jesus and it is logical to pay respect towards her just the way you and I respect our own mother who brought us to this world. She is the mother of our Lord our God and it is right to give her respect and she is our spiritual model our mother figure that we all should imitate especially mothers out there. Her patient, her agony seeing her son being tortured - she still stood still stay firm to her faith. Must be very very very painful to see your son in that situation. And Mary teaching us to be strong to stay firm …
Fellow Catholic please correct me if what I said above is not accurate.
God bless!
G
Gabriel_of_12
Guest
Since the Apostles and the Early Church Fathers; the hardest thing to believe is how all these including Popes, bishops, priests and lay persons went to their deaths for their Catholic faith, without resistance, but with JOY! These Catholic men and woman even today will go to their deaths, never denying Jesus Christ and his teachings in the Cathoilc church. One knows where the true church of Jesus Christ when they are ready to lay down their lives for another.
Peace be with you
U
ufamtobie
Guest
Hi Hilde,Hi, thank you for the answer:wave:
I’m having more problems with adhering to the doctrines and interpretations from the magisterium and the pope. It’s difficult to know which authority to trust, and I’m not sure I would trust myself either.
About Mary…I believe that she has a big role, but I’m having trouble with things such as the assumption, immaculate conception and her perpetual virginity.
And the cleansing, I’m having trouble understanding it…
I’m Lutheran-Evangelical by the way - not that Protestant…if that makes any sense
The true reason you are having trouble understanding is the fact that at this moment you don’t have the Grace to understand all of the Catholic Church teaching regarding The Assumption, Immaculate Conception and her Perpetual Virginity. ect…
The Bible is a wonderful gift given to us, However the Truth is that Jesus Christ Left His Church to guide us and “The gates of hell will not prevail against it.” And that Church is the Catholic Church.
Jesus Left His Church in the hands of his Apostles. Now for the first 1500 years there was only the Catholic Church. The Gates of hell tried to prevail it when Martin Luther started his protest, however the gates of hell could not prevail, the Catholic Church still stands tall and strong for over 2000 years and counting.
The Church that Martin Luther started is not the church that Jesus Christ handed to the Apostles. Fact show this to be true Martin Luther built his house on sand and not on ROCK.
Martin Luther, started a “domino effect” of new churches rising to this very day over 30,000 different protestant churches alone in the USA not to mention the world and many don’t agree with one another because they are founded on Sand and what is built on sand crumbles into tens of thousands of pieces like the Protestant churches
Hilde, who brought you here to this Catholic Site? Surely it was the Holy Spirit!
Many Non-Catholics come here to bash the Catholic Church and that is a form of “of the Gates of hell trying to prevail.” The Devil knows he can not prevail it, he tries and tries to, such as the small handful of molestation by Catholic Priests this is the devils work, scandals come as they may Jesus said.
Did not Judas betray Jesus, who was one of Our Lords Apostles, does this mean that Our Lord failed with his Church From the Begining? NO!
The Truth is, The Devil by so many means will try to prevail the Catholic Church , such as Entering Judas, “Betrayer” entering Martin Luther “Domino Effect” A small handful of Catholic Priests, “Molestation” even Non Catholics “Bashing” etc…
The Devil will win some battles with the People such as Judas, Martin Luther, A small handful of priest to make the Catholic Church look wrong! However the Devil will not win any Battles or the WAR with the True Teachings of the Catholic Church. Again the gates of hell will not prevail!
Ufamtobie
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carjack
Guest
Are you saying that Protestant churches are Devil inspired?
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distracted
Guest
Gee, i wish everyone would do that… would make the world a better place…
Oh my goodness… I have been subjected to that kind of thing… Scary…
barely.
You need not tell me the “more to come”. I could write a book on that subject… about how going to Church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going into a garage makes you a car.
and its funny u mention that subject… because, well… because of some things i have been going through in the Church lately… but anyway, maybe i will elaborate later…i understand this. I was out of the Ctholic Church for years and when i decided to think about coming back (meaning whole-heartedly), i was also “stuck” on the Mary thing… but i have leanrd a lot about that… or enough to make me not worry about it one bit anymore… One thing that really did that fr me was hearing of this one priest’s story, a Fr. Shier (spelling?? Shyer?). He had an after-death experience… and, well, maybe you could find the story on the i-net… very interesting…
I don’t have a lot of time right now, but another thing is that Mary is referred to as the new Ark of the Covenant and there are places in OT and New about that… but i don’t know off the top of my head where you could look (Deuteronomy? Exodus?). In Revelation, there is mention of a woman clothed with the sun with 12 stars… (the Apostles, i think)…
The Catholic Church does not adopt pagan practices simply because they are pagan but for some valid reason. For instance, some pagan practices are ways of symbolically showing some Christian reality… Actually, i am not too strong on this subject but suffice it to say that the Church does not adopt un-Christ-like practices…
Oh wait… that’s not true… There is this one un-Christ-like thing that (i feel) most Catholics (the ones i know) are guilty of: they don’t love each other.
Seriously… OK… so i am only speaking about the ones I know… but… well, its another one of those long stories…
Don’t worry - they will like you because you are not one of them…
Again, maybe i am speaking for myself… (and it is another one of those long stories… so maybe i will elaborate later…).
In any case, you say you are here to learn… Well, i am an OK person to learn from in some ways (I know the basics of Church history and i know the moral teachings of the Church, about Purgatory and, etc…) but if you want someone who can tell you how to get along with other Catholics… well, forget it… (again, i can explain later).
I have been “born again” myself… (the Catholics call it being filled w/ the Holy Spirit)… I fell away from all “religion” yrs ago when young… my life became a mess and… long story, i ended up wanting to go back to the Church… But when i did… well, i feel that some people think i am a fanatic… and i suppose in some ways i might be (?)… but, well, i think i am treated shabbily by some Catholics i know because of that… my fanaticism so i am kind of cynical at this time in my life… about certain things going on in the Church (and NOT going on
)… but i am not cynical about the most important things… things having to do with the Church teachings, etc…I guess what i am saying, mostly, is that you have to separate the two. Otherwise, you may never accept or even understand… Catholicism… I guess we just have to keep in mind that Catholics are human… a little more “human” in my opinion than non-Cathlics…
:hypno:Lately i am feeling that i want out… it has been THAT bad… but again, only because of the un-Christian behavior i see in so many “believers”… not anything else… I guess the devil is tyring to get me
well, i am running out of time, so i will write later.
God Bless
A.G.
U
ufamtobie
Guest
The house built on rock already exists; we just have to go inside! It is the Church. Obviously it is not the one built of bricks and mortar but that made up of “living stones,” who are the believers built upon the cornerstone, who is Christ Jesus. The house built upon the rock is the one about which Jesus spoke to Simon:** “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18). **
To build one’s life upon rock therefore means to live in the Church, not staying outside, forever pointing your finger at the inconsistency and defects of the human side of the Church. Only a few souls were saved from the great flood, those who boarded Noah’s ark; only those who enter the Church will be saved from the deluge of time that swallows up everything (cf. 1 Peter 3:20).
**This does not mean that everyone who is outside of her will not be saved; there is another way of belonging to the Church, “known only to God,” the Second Vatican Council says, that regards those who without knowing Christ, live according to the dictate of their conscience. **
Ufamtobie
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sires6
Guest
I have heard a great man say that the damage most often afflicted on the Church comes from within. That being said, may I say that often we look at others behavior and say, “I should stay” or “I should go” because of this or that… If you know the truth, stand fast to the truth.Lately i am feeling that i want out… it has been THAT bad… but again, only because of the un-Christian behavior i see in so many “believers”… not anything else… I guess the devil is tyring to get me
well, i am running out of time, so i will write later.
God Bless
A.G.
Our Lord said in St. John 17:17 “Be sanctified to the truth, Thy Word is truth.” [Sanctifica eos in veritate; sermo tuus veritas est.]
You know where the truth lies.
Christ endured the many failings of his people.
Christ loves you, wants you in communion with him and his mother.
Stand by the faith and the truth that have been handed on to you by word and by epistle and know that no matter what happens, what anyone else says or whatever happens, you know where the truth lies.
I too have struggled with the hypocrisies of others but God doesn’t ask us to look to others for our faith, but to look to him. go, spend time with him in the Eucharist, in Adoration, in prayer. Love him and lean on him and he will set you free.
Praying for you most fervently…
J
justinthemartyr
Guest
Many men, including Luther, were well intentioned in their efforts at trying to “reform” Christianity.
It seems that the one thing that is a common failure among them, is the idea that scripture alone is the authority of God on this earth. Neither scripture states this, nor did anyone previous to Luther claim it, and now we see the result of this idea over the past 500 years. The main fruit is division because no two churches see scripture in the same way, making it evident that this formula has failed utterly.
So is this the work of God? God is Uniting, not divisive, and called His church to be one. God is a God of order and peace not chaos.
You tell me.
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Namesake
Guest
The old testament presented a God of division and violence. That God was a mass murderer and compelled people to sin, kill. The God of the old testament was not a God of peace, He was a God of violence and brutality.
J
justinthemartyr
Guest
It would be easy to see it that way, that being of course if you did not understand and know this God, who is unchanging.
what, was God divisive and murderous and then change into a different God?
I think not.
God has total power over His creation and is not limited as we are. God’s foolishness is greater than man’s wisdom.
So to try to equate protestantisms failings with your idea of what God did in the OT is ludicrous. That is far from a justification for the divisions and chaos in protestant realms.
Christ commanded the church to be one as he and the father are one, and that there be no divisions among them and to avoid dissenters, of which Luther was.
what, was God divisive and murderous and then change into a different God?
I think not.
God has total power over His creation and is not limited as we are. God’s foolishness is greater than man’s wisdom.
So to try to equate protestantisms failings with your idea of what God did in the OT is ludicrous. That is far from a justification for the divisions and chaos in protestant realms.
Christ commanded the church to be one as he and the father are one, and that there be no divisions among them and to avoid dissenters, of which Luther was.
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carjack
Guest
I think the people within the different Christian religions who condem each other for practising their faith differently are the ones who divide themselves. So I guess the answer would be no.
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Gabriel_of_12
Guest
So why was Jesus attacked, persecuted by the religious of his day including the worldly powers? Doesn’t this sound like the Catholic church today, which is the body of Jesus Christ? We are sheep among wolves, Praise God, we have a mighty Shepherd in Jesus and his body, Peter(present day Pope) and the magisterium of the Catholic church.
Peace be with you, and may God’s will be done always
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