A couple of weeks ago in our RCIA class, a deacon was covering for the regular teacher. It was very interesting, but a little confusing. He brought up a number of things the Church does, and said they were things borrowed from pagans.
venerating relics
clergy/laity distinction
vestments
incense
genuflection
special cups, bowls, etc for Eucharist
holidays
If this is the case, then I don’t know if I should join. How do I know this is the church Jesus intended if so much has been added or borrowed?
Why is there such a clergy/laity divide when there wasn’t one in the beginning? Everyone just met together and broke bread together.
oneseeker2
Over two thousand years, developing globally across a myriad of cultures and traditions, it ought not be suprising that there are a wide range of eclectic practices that have come about.
Vatican II reintroduces the idea that the divide between laity and clergy need not be a chasm at any rate. The priesthood of believer is still very much a part of what Christianity is.
The Bible itself gives an idea of why the informal Agape or Eucharistic Love Feast fell out of favor. The richest and the most influential were getting the lions share of the food and the wine, with the poor waifs often leaving with nothing at all. What developed was more formal, more equitable, but unfortunately lends itself more to symbolism and metaphorical understanding that the more earthy understanding of sharing an actual meal of Christ himself.
Christianity is a very sacramental relgion though, and Catholicism brings this out very richly indeed. It is all about bringing Christ into this world, as it exists for us today. The elements of this world, be they food, or water or wine, of the sexual relations we have, are sacramentalized and validated through the faith, so it should not be a surprise that the elements of the culture as they exist and have existed are offered up to the Lord as our gift to him.
Holidays of old become holidays dressed up in Christian garbs of remembrance to the reason for the season for sure.
Many of the traditions and practices for all intents and purposes stop having meaning for many Catholics centuries removed from the time when relics and the like were more profound to the lives of the people of those times.
For some there is continuing reverence, for others it is all quaint, and for others still we are all part of the practice, and our voices matter to in protesting against practices that offend our own cultural standards and sensibilities. That must be part of the faith too. Every part of the body of Christ is essential and has a right to be heard.
Conversely, as we bring our faith into our modern situations, different elements unique to our own culture become sacramentalized as well now, in a thousand and one different ways.
The whole point of the Incarnation was to make God real in our own lives, as we are living them now. Formal cups, and kneeling and signs of respect and reverence are the ways that we establish a relationship with the Most High in a way that everybody from everywhere can understand that it is our loving Creator who we are dealing with.
. But as to that list in your post, all of it is in the Bible. Don’t worry about it. Some RCIA teachers are really bad, unfortunately. I’m in RCIA now and it’s not nearly as edifying as I had hoped.