Some lingering theological questions

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benjohnson said:
On #2: even if we Protestants are right, it still doesn’t mean that the Catholic church ins’t a great place to receive the salvation granting love of Christ.

On #2: You will always find thing to doubt, hence the need for faith. Remember, doubt is a gift to be explored with faith - Christianity is a religion of Love, not a religion of brutal knowledge to be imposed.
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The only problem with considering the Catholic Church to be capable of teaching error is that it lends instant credibility to the LDS “great apostasy” claim. Either there is a Church that is guided by the Holy Spirit continuously since day 1, or there is none. God simply would not allow His people to walk in darkness for 1,500+ years. He said as much.

Did the Church need reformation of her behaviors? Yes!

Did it need to have entire doctrines and practices thrown out? No.
 
Meh, I have to agree with our Lutheran friend.

If I ever came to the conclusion that Catholicism is false, as in, the Church’s claims of infallibility, supremacy, and key dogmas are untrue (something, BTW, that I just don’t see happening), I would certainly not give up Christianity completely. I’d become a Protestant.

Does this make me a bad Catholic? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. 🤷
 
You do sound less than convinced, however. As I see it, we either believe 100% in something, or we have a moral duty to keep looking. No one can be blamed for searching - I wish more people did, actually.
 
po18guy said:
You do sound less than convinced, however.
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You would be wrong. 🤷 I DID search. I am a Catholic. If I sound less than convinced, well, that’s an example of the internet not conveying speech nuances correctly.
 
Marc_Anthony said:
Thank you. 🙂

Speaking of nuances, that post wasn’t supposed to sound angry either, so sorry if it did. 😊
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You are helping to disprove sola scriptura. The printed word needs authoritative interpretation, correct? I could interpret your words as non-comittal, angry or worse. You are the only one who can give the true meaning and intent of your words. You are the Magisterium of your own words.
 
Marc_Anthony said:
Meh, I have to agree with our Lutheran friend.

If I ever came to the conclusion that Catholicism is false, as in, the Church’s claims of infallibility, supremacy, and key dogmas are untrue (something, BTW, that I just don’t see happening), I would certainly not give up Christianity completely. I’d become a Protestant.

Does this make me a bad Catholic? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. 🤷
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If the Church turned out not to be everything she claims to be, then it would be proof that God doesn’t exist. I would become a believer in radomness - that we are an accidental collection of atoms and nothing more.

There is no middle ground. Either God exists and he left an authority on earth or we are all accidents.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
There is no middle ground. Either God exists and he left an authority on earth or we are all accidents.
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Don’t Aquinas’s arguments hold true even if the Catholic Church is false?

True, they’re not arguments for Christianity in particular, but they DO prove the existence of God and Natural Law.
 
CaptFun responds in RED and green.
minion said:
So, I came back from RCIA today, and some topics kind of struck out at me…forgive me if I’m being disrespectful in some way, I didn’t really feel it was my place to question the teacher, but here goes.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
<not aimed at your teacher here, but a general rule is you can question the teaching for truth (test the spirits and the fruits of the teaching). You are wise. Also
respectful in avoiding a possibly needless confrontation. 🙂
  1. Discussed was that thing on the news about that scrap of paper saying Jesus was married. My teacher said it didn’t matter if Jesus was married or not. ! :eek: uh, doesn’t sound good. Don’t know what he/she was trying to do there. To me, it did matter, because it meant the Catholic Church had incorrect doctrine, was fallible, and the institution crumbles from teaching error for 2000 years. Am I wrong? In this case, no (IMOpinion). But this “standard” of yours might be suspect for discerning other things. For example the Church didn’t teach specifics about there being a “new world” until Columbus’ expedition revealed it to all of Europe. It did not teach in error. It didn’t teach about it at all.
Your teacher might be unconfident or shaken by this “news” - and yet unshaken in her faith in Jesus. Hedging a bet but allowing for the worst case scenario (popular belief in this thing) to “not matter”. HOPEFULLY he/she is not a person with a contrary agenda and bringing up his/her own takes on controversies in opposition to Church teaching.

At any rate, yes, Jesus was single, unmarried, a virgin all His life … and Mary, His mother, was married, a mother (of just Jesus) … but also a virgin all her life. You are correct. It matters.
  1. Whether or not the Virgin Mary remained virgin after she gave birth didn’t matter. I suppose whether Mary remained a virgin after she gave birth is none of my business, but I was under the impression that that was Catholic doctrine, and not optional to believe in. Am I wrong? No you aren’t wrong. But now this tepid teaching has you “supposing” about things that are settled.
If this teacher taught Geometry and someone chirped in with “I don’t believe in Pi- you’re just guessing. No one can find the area of a circle!” Would they put up with it? Ruminate for hours wringing hands and looking for an open-minded approach?

There ARE those who don’t want there to be any absolutes in faith. But Jesus has taught with authority and so does His Church. You are wise to be cautious, IMO.

I’m not sure what I’m asking for exactly, but if someone could…“clarify” for me the Catholic view, please do.

tyia
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Sirach 50:27 - Wise instruction, appropriate proverbs, I have written in this book,** I, Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach,** as they gushed forth from my heart’s understanding. < Jesus of Nazareth isn’t the only Jesus in the Bible! :eek: It was a common name actually. Mary more so. Since this paper isn’t about THE Jesus or THE Mary or Mary Magdalen - in that case, your teacher is right (it doesn’t matter). Teaching that THE Jesus and THE Mother of God weren’t virgins is another matter entirely and DOES matter (to clarify the Catholic*** TEACHING*** as I understand it). 🙂
 
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