Should the Non-Catholic Religions Forum be abolished?

[ppasa316]

I stand by my opinion. In the year and 3 months that I have been part of this forum. I have seen many people being anti-Catholic, Ant-Protestantism, Anti-Islam, Anti-Buddist and even Anti-religion in general. I believe getting rid of the Non-Catholic forum would eliminate many of the anti(fill in the blank denomination).

If you don’t like the Non-Catholic Religion Forum just don’t get on here instead of abolishing it. There are some people who say that others are anti catholic or anti whatever because they don’t like what others have to say. God Bless You my Friend:thumbsup:

 

[tobinatorstark]

If you don’t like the Non-Catholic Religion Forum just don’t get on here instead of abolishing it. There are some people who say that others are anti catholic or anti whatever because they don’t like what others have to say. God Bless You my Friend:thumbsup:

I just believe you have a bad attitude towards Christianity. If you don’t have anything nice to say to me then don’t comment. I don’t care for your condescending attitude and I really don’t care who knows it. Like I said in another thread we all should be focusing more on charity and that is what I am trying to. Maybe you should give it a try. Here is a hint let other people on this forum help you

 

[bobzills]

I just believe you have a bad attitude towards Christianity. If you don’t have anything nice to say to me then don’t comment. I don’t care for your condescending attitude and I really don’t care who knows it. Like I said in another thread we all should be focusing more on charity and that is what I am trying to. Maybe you should give it a try. Here is a hint let other people on this forum help you

One suggestion is that if you find an objectionable post, you may report it to the moderator by clicking on the red and white triangle with the exclamation sign inside.

 

[tobinatorstark]

One suggestion is that if you find an objectionable post, you may report it to the moderator by clicking on the red and white triangle with the exclamation sign inside.

I have already reported him several times in the past and yet he has not been banned

 

[bobzills]

I have already reported him several times in the past and yet he has not been banned

We do what we can… But in the end it is up to the moderators to decide whether or not a given post is appropriate. I guess if I did not like a particular thread, I would just ignore it.
I still think that in this age of ecumenism, it is worthwihile for Catholics to become acquainted with nonCatholic religious groups…

 

[ppasa316]

I just believe you have a bad attitude towards Christianity. If you don’t have anything nice to say to me then don’t comment. I don’t care for your condescending attitude and I really don’t care who knows it. Like I said in another thread we all should be focusing more on charity and that is what I am trying to. Maybe you should give it a try. Here is a hint let other people on this forum help you

I don’t have a problem with christians. I was just commenting on your post. I don’t dislike you, never have or said anything mean. God Bless My Friend:thumbsup:

 

[Peter_J]

I stand by my opinion.

No problem. I didn’t think you would change your opinion, just because I responded to it.

In the year and 3 months that I have been part of this forum. I have seen many people being anti-Catholic, Ant-Protestantism, Anti-Islam, Anti-Buddist and even Anti-religion in general. I believe getting rid of the Non-Catholic forum would eliminate many of the anti(fill in the blank denomination).

I quite agree that there’s a lot of anti-(fill in the blank denomination), but I don’t think eliminating the Non-Catholic Relgions Forum would help matters.

 

[Peter_J]

I still think that in this age of ecumenism, it is worthwihile for Catholics to become acquainted with nonCatholic religious groups…

I think you should examine your hidden assumptions. Catholic-Protestant dialogue (or Catholic-nonCatholic dialogue in general) doesn’t only take place on CAF.

 

[Jeeda555]

I quite agree. Indeed, it scares me little to imagine what kind of impression non-Catholics must get of Catholicism, based on some of the things that are posted here.

sigh, I hear ya. And remember it goes both ways. Just remember that the next time you hear Joel Osteen or some other Protestant denomination feel-goodery preacher preaching the wonderful things about God (but choosing to leave out things like sin and other “unpleasant topics” that may turn large masses away), or that reverend picketing a gay man’s funeral with a big sign that says “GOD HATES FAGS!”, or that little-too-zealous pastor who kills abortion doctors.

BTW, I’ve quoted this before, but I think it’s worth posting again. It’s one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes:

“Certainly I have met with little of the fabled odium theologicum from convinced members of communions different from my own. Hostility has come more from borderline people whether within the Church of England or without it: men not exactly obedient to any communion. This I find curiously consoling. It is at her centre, where her truest children dwell, that each communion is really closest to every other in spirit, if not in doctrine. And this suggests that at the centre of each there is something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice.”

Awwww, that’s very nice. I was not familiar with it.

 

[Jeeda555]

Sorry about that, the SSPX or Society of Saint Pius X is a group of “Traditionalist Catholics”. I guess I’ve been on this forum so long that I tend to forget that most people (including Catholics) have never heard of the SSPX. (CAF has, if I’m not mistaken, the largest “Traditionalist Catholic” forum on the whole internet.)

Really?!! Now that *is *interesting! I am not familiar with this group. So, do they have different traditions than other Catholics? How do they differ from “your typical Catholic” so to speak? (Oh wait a minute…are they the Catholics who weren’t too happy with the Vatican II meeting, therefore they kind of hold on to the teachings from beforehand? Or am I thinking of another group?).

It’s just interesting to me because Catholicism tells the world that they’re a unified front (and for the most part I’d certaintly agree); I told a Catholic friend that once however and she laughed (politely) at me. “The truth of the matter Heidi, is that while catholics have a set belief system we’re all to embrace, every parish is very very different. Some are much more conservative than others, some even choose to ignore certain things taugh. We’re united, but not as much as you’d think”.

So to learn that there are other “branches”, if you will, of Catholicism is rather interesting indeed.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Hi all,

I think it’s pretty well-known that this forum, although it is officially intended for dialogue with other religions, actually contains a lot of intra-Christian dialogue as well. (Note: I’m more or less assuming that my readers agree that Christianity is one religion. I don’t mean any offense to Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, etc. who believe that Catholicism and Protestantism are two different religions.)

With that in mind, I’m curious how many people believe that CAF should crack-down on intra-Christian dialogue happening in this forum. And, if so, how? (I’m not suggesting that it would have to be by abolishing this forum – even though I think that makes a pretty good thread title. It could be done by less drastic means, e.g. CAF could simply warn everyone that any threads that are not related to dialogue with other religions will be closed.) Also, where should intra-Christian dialogue go instead of this forum?

Thanks in advance to all responders,

In the end the main discussions on this particular forum will be intra-Christian anyway. Most of the people who view this site are going to be of Christian or quasi-Christian belief, with some Moslems, and a smattering of other faiths and beliefs.

To my mind, its chiefly a place of debate for Catholics to defend their faith "against’ Protestants and Orthodox Christians, and to a lesser extent Moslems. If you took out the intra-Christian debate, there would hardly be a forum remaining.

 

[Jeeda555]

Methodism (or insert any other Protestant form) is a “religion”. (It’s a “denomination”, true, but it is also a “religion” - “a system of beliefs and practices involving realities not accepted by modern Western science”.)

Methodism is “non-Catholic”.

Methodism, thus, is a “non-Catholic religion.” (And this statement says nothing about whether Methodism and Catholicism are both “Christian” or not. The “Christian” issue is a whole 'nother issue.)

No need to be offended by the simple truth.

Hello SedesDomi. I will have to politely disagree with you (at least for the time being). I understand what you mean, however protestants and Catholics *do *believe the same thing, when the basics are involved. When you strip away everything except the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, we agree. Isn’t that what makes a Christian Christian? (and maybe you don’t agree with that, and that’s okay).

Sure, we certaintly don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, and some members of our groups are more hostile than others regarding these matters, but for the most part we really are “spiritually related”, Judaism has different…what’s the word?..sects? Yet they all consider it Judaism; some are more observant or “enlightened”, if you will, but they’re still members of Judaism.

But I also understand where you’re coming from. When I hear Catholics share such beliefs, I can’t help but reflect on my views of JWs or Mormons. I’ve met some very nice, sincere Mormons/JWs in my life who truly believed they were part of the church. But here lies the difference: they changed the basic message of who Jesus was and what he did. They don’t see it that way, but I do, as a bible-believing Christian.

And I’m sure as a Catholic who feels as you do, you must look at me and think “What a sincere young lady…” and leave it at that. Well, I truly understand. I don’t agree, but I *do *understand.

 

[Peter_J]

I quite agree. Indeed, it scares me little to imagine what kind of impression non-Catholics must get of Catholicism, based on some of the things that are posted here.

Quite right!

 

[Peter_J]

Really?!! Now that *is *interesting! I am not familiar with this group. So, do they have different traditions than other Catholics? How do they differ from “your typical Catholic” so to speak? (Oh wait a minute…are they the Catholics who weren’t too happy with the Vatican II meeting, therefore they kind of hold on to the teachings from beforehand? Or am I thinking of another group?).

I believe you are thinking of the right group.

It’s just interesting to me because Catholicism tells the world that they’re a unified front (and for the most part I’d certaintly agree); I told a Catholic friend that once however and she laughed (politely) at me. “The truth of the matter Heidi, is that while catholics have a set belief system we’re all to embrace, every parish is very very different. Some are much more conservative than others, some even choose to ignore certain things taugh. We’re united, but not as much as you’d think”.

So to learn that there are other “branches”, if you will, of Catholicism is rather interesting indeed.

It’s kind of a two-edged sword: some people hold a misconception about Catholics that says that we are more homogenous than we really are, and some people hold a misconception about Catholics that says that we are more heterogenous than we really are. Hence when we try to disabuse people of one of those misconceptions, it often inadvertently reinvigorates those people who hold the other misconception. (I’m guessing you guys have the same problem, with respect to people’s perceptions of “Protestantism”.)

 

[Peter_J]

P.S. I think one of the worst mistakes that people makes is to imagine the Catholic Church as a kind of “two-party system”, compartmentalizing Catholics into a “liberal party” and a “conservative party”. This is wrong firstly because the differences among Catholics are not one-dimensional. But even if they were one-dimensional, we still couldn’t compartmentalize Catholics that way, since there are all different degrees (extremely liberal, moderately liberal, moderate, moderately conservative, extremely conservative).

 

[Jeeda555]

It’s kind of a two-edged sword: some people hold a misconception about Catholics that says that we are more homogenous than we really are, and some people hold a misconception about Catholics that says that we are more heterogenous than we really are. Hence when we try to disabuse people of one of those misconceptions, it often inadvertently reinvigorates those people who hold the other misconception. (I’m guessing you guys have the same problem, with respect to people’s perceptions of “Protestantism”.)

Pfft! And how!

Sometimes I think part of the problem is how the media reports things (and this is just my own little opinion, I could be way off) and when you hear it enough of something, people just kind of believe it without sometimes using their heads. For instance, people hear more about Protestants “starting weird groups” and “just believing/doing things that are clearly against God’s wishes” more often than Catholics, yet of course both groups suffer from this in one way or another. Hence why every group that arises with wacky ideas that aren’t biblically sound lump it under the protestant umbrella. (“Waco? HeavensGate? Fundementalists Mormons who marry 15 year old girls against their will? Thanks a lot Protestants! Look what ya did! Way to go!”).

And Catholic priests abusing children? Again, one would think this never happens in Protestant churches, yet of course it does! This isn’t a “Catholic problem” as it’s sometimes presented. It’s a *humanity *problem! A sin problem! Yet how many Protestant-backgrounded people dislike priests or the Church, or point fingers for this very reason?

I remember in college in a class called “Spirituality” (which was kind of a crash course in The Belief System, although since it was a Catholic college there was a “Catholic flavor” to it) a bunch of students (ages 20 somethings-mid 40s) talked and laughed among themselves about all these weird little things they/their parents did; the one I most clearly remember is “throwing a rosary on the front bushes so there would be good weather” (“And it worked!” the 30-something squeeled with delight.). And I remember sitting there thinking Now I don’t know a whole heck of a lot about Catholic beliefs and what not…but I’m almost positive the Church would be against that… LOL!!!

So yeah, I think Christ’s Church will always be plagued with this sort of thing, which unfortuantely will give “outsiders” the wrong idea. I think that’s why God calls us to just love our neighbors, be slow to anger and quick to forgive. Because you *have *to when you have all this garbage going on! You know what I mean?

 

[Jeeda555]

P.S. I think one of the worst mistakes that people makes is to imagine the Catholic Church as a kind of “two-party system”, compartmentalizing Catholics into a “liberal party” and a “conservative party”. This is wrong firstly because the differences among Catholics are not one-dimensional. But even if they were one-dimensional, we still couldn’t compartmentalize Catholics that way, since there are all different degrees (extremely liberal, moderately liberal, moderate, moderately conservative, extremely conservative).

I quite agree. And actually, I think the same thing can be said, not only about Protestants, but humanity in general (at least in America). I mean, people like to think the country is “two-partyed” (and to a point it is, I mean “Democrates” and “Republicans” *are *the two biggest parties in America)…but there are so many *degrees *of both! I mean you can’t judge conservative-minded folks bases on everything you read/hear from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, just like you can’t listen to NPR and lump all more-liberal minded people with *everything *discussed. You know what I mean?

 

[Contarini]

Hi Eleve,

Well it really depends what you believe. Like you said, the name of the forum is “Non-Catholic Religions”. So then if Catholicism and Protestantism are two different religions (which is how Evangelicals and Fundamentalists typically consider them)

Evangelicals do not typically think this. When people say things like this I have to wonder what evangelicals they have been talking to.

Edwin

 

[Peter_J]

Evangelicals do not typically think this. When people say things like this I have to wonder what evangelicals they have been talking to.

Edwin

Hi Contarini. I just noticed that I never responded to your post. I admit I’m no expert on Evangelicalism (I tend to gravitate more toward dialogue with Orthodox, Lutherans, and Anglicans) and I may sometimes lump Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism together a little bit. (Not to mention that CAF has shown that there are a good number of Catholics who believe that Catholicism and Protestantism are too different religions, so I guess we should think twice before pointing a finger at Protestants who believe that.)

 

[Peter_J]

I quite agree. And actually, I think the same thing can be said, not only about Protestants, but humanity in general (at least in America). I mean, people like to think the country is “two-partyed” (and to a point it is, I mean “Democrates” and “Republicans” *are *the two biggest parties in America)…but there are so many *degrees *of both! I mean you can’t judge conservative-minded folks bases on everything you read/hear from Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, just like you can’t listen to NPR and lump all more-liberal minded people with *everything *discussed. You know what I mean?

I hear what you’re saying, Jeeda555. Definitely a lot of people see the two-party system in the US, and interpret it to mean something that it doesn’t (like Republicans are all clones of each other, and likewise with Democrats).

But I also want to stress that in the RCC there is no two-party system. None.