We're not really that different...

[BryanM27]

I’ve been thinking over the past few days about what some of our major problems are as people. Not just as Catholics or Protestants or Jews or Muslims. Not just blacks and whites and Asians and Arabs. But all of us. What I’ve realized is that we constantly teach each how we are different.

Think about any cultural education class you’ve been too. You probably had the chance to eat some “traditional” food there. Was it something unique and foreign? Or was it something only slightly different from what you eat everyday? My best guess is probably the former, because that’s what was expected of the people preparing the food.

Rather than talking about how different we are, why can’t we discuss how similar we are? Why can’t we make a point to discuss the things we have in common, rather than what separates us?

Please use this thread to start that discussion.

 

[BryanM27]

I’ll start with an easy one…

Did you know that Muslims believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary? In fact, Mary is almost as important to them as she is to Christians.

Muslims pray to the God of Abraham. Guess which God is the Father that Jesus spoke of? That’s right! The God of Abraham!

Remember this thread is about how we’re similar, not different.

 

[BryanM27]

here’s another one:

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Catholics say these words (or a version of them) at every mass. But these words are not unique Catholic beliefs. These are CHRISTIAN beliefs. All Christians believe these words to be true.

 

[benidict]

here’s another one:

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Catholics say these words (or a version of them) at every mass. But these words are not unique Catholic beliefs. These are CHRISTIAN beliefs. All Christians believe these words to be true.

ill help ya out bryan. the pentacostals believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. we as Cathoics have services where the sick are annointed by the priest, and i have seen healings take place. we may not get as excited as they do on some things, but that same sense of spirituality, and the charismatic experience is found in Catholocism as well. have you ever been to a first friday adoration, and while saying the rosary, had an intense spiritual experience. i have. the entire alter, and surrounding area was bathed in a gold light. not to mention what i saw in the monstrance. Peace

 

[Sam_777]

Muslims pray to the God of Abraham. Guess which God is the Father that Jesus spoke of? That’s right! The God of Abraham!

You are right, read this thread for further inspiration, however, the issue at the end is how to enter paradise without passing through purgatory/Jahannam.

 

[larkin31]

I was always taught that this is the unifying pledge of Christians:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
By whom all things were made;
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man;
He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

 

[BryanM27]

ill help ya out bryan. the pentacostals believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. we as Cathoics have services where the sick are annointed by the priest, and i have seen healings take place. we may not get as excited as they do on some things, but that same sense of spirituality, and the charismatic experience is found in Catholocism as well. have you ever been to a first friday adoration, and while saying the rosary, had an intense spiritual experience. i have. the entire alter, and surrounding area was bathed in a gold light. not to mention what i saw in the monstrance. Peace

No, I have not had an amazing experience of my own. I have witnessed others having awesome experiences. I was recently at an Interview/Retreat Weekend for NET Ministries (check them out at netusa.org). During out final prayer session one of our members, Max, passed out and fell head-first onto the floor. He woke several minutes later and told us a remarkable story of seeing his body covered in wounds, and beautiful women (I think one of them might have been the Virgin Mary) tending to them. He came to realize those wounds as sin, and these women were here to help him heal. It was awesome just to witness that happening to someone else.

 

[BryanM27]

You are right, read this thread for further inspiration, however, the issue at the end is how to enter paradise without passing through purgatory/Jahannam.

Yeah I took a class on Islam when I preparing to be an officer in the USMC. Didn’t make the cut, but that class was great. My professor didn’t focus on the ways in which we were different. He told us about his religion, and took special care to point out the ways in which we’re the same.

 

[benidict]

No, I have not had an amazing experience of my own. I have witnessed others having awesome experiences. I was recently at an Interview/Retreat Weekend for NET Ministries (check them out at netusa.org). During out final prayer session one of our members, Max, passed out and fell head-first onto the floor. He woke several minutes later and told us a remarkable story of seeing his body covered in wounds, and beautiful women (I think one of them might have been the Virgin Mary) tending to them. He came to realize those wounds as sin, and these women were here to help him heal. It was awesome just to witness that happening to someone else.

that is an incredible account. many of mine have been internal. i believe that the Holy Spirit is doing a great work inside, and outside his Church. bringing people closer to him. look what is going on between us and the Anglican communion. and the orthodox. wouldnt it be awesome, if we all came under one banner in our lifetime? peace

 

[pinay]

I love this thread! It’s an oasis from the please-not-another-anti-lds-thread that has greeted me today. Bryan, you lit up my day! Er, night, actually.

Okay, here are some causes where the Roman Catholic Church and the LDS Church stood side-by-side:

On June 25, 2009, Florida Today.com, in an article by John A. Torres, reported the following:

Starting today, hungry families struggling to provide can go to the nearest Catholic Church for a week’s supply of food.

More than 12,000 pounds of food collected and donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was picked up Wednesday by volunteers with Catholic Charities of Central Florida. The partnership is expected to ease the economic crunch for struggling families for the next three weeks. The food is available for anyone, regardless of faith.

It’s the first time an LDS Stake has connected with the local Catholic Church to work on this type of project. There are a large number of Catholic Churches in Brevard County that can serve as distribution centers. The project follows a successful fund-raising campaign called Project Hunger, aimed at providing food for the poor during the summer months. Donations are typically lower during the summer than during the winter holiday season, so it’s difficult to keep food banks stocked. This recent donation will help provide needed food until the Project Hunger funds are allocated. Funding for the effort was provided by donations from Latter-day Saints (Mormons) throughout Central Florida.

We all have CHARITY in common - not just Catholic and LDS - but all other Christian churches and even non-Christian ones.

 

[benidict]

I love this thread! It’s an oasis from the please-not-another-anti-lds-thread that has greeted me today. Bryan, you lit up my day! Er, night, actually.

Okay, here are some causes where the Roman Catholic Church and the LDS Church stood side-by-side:

On June 25, 2009, Florida Today.com, in an article by John A. Torres, reported the following:

We all have CHARITY in common - not just Catholic and LDS - but all other Christian churches and even non-Christian ones.

i do apologize for those threads my friend. i do not understand them. what i like about the Mormons. how they build their neighborhoods around their meeting houses in utah. i think its beautiful. and gives off a sense of community, and family. Peace

 

[BryanM27]

I love this thread! It’s an oasis from the please-not-another-anti-lds-thread that has greeted me today. Bryan, you lit up my day! Er, night, actually.

Okay, here are some causes where the Roman Catholic Church and the LDS Church stood side-by-side:

On June 25, 2009, Florida Today.com, in an article by John A. Torres, reported the following:

We all have CHARITY in common - not just Catholic and LDS - but all other Christian churches and even non-Christian ones.

Glad I could lift peoples’ spirits. Another great one, speaking of LDS happened to me on my way to the retreat I mentioned above. I was sitting on a plane, preparing to interview for a mission trip where I would spend a year travelling the US in a van and spreading the Gospel (unfortunately I was not accepted). Sitting next to me, on the other side of the aisle, was a college student on his way home for spring break. He happened to be LDS and was as excited for his mission trip as I was for mine.

Whether or not our beliefs are correct, we all share the same passion for spreading the Word of God and for helping those in need.

 

[BryanM27]

Here’s a Memorial Weekend special for you:

Right now there are men and women that are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and just about every religious belief you could imagine serving to protect YOUR freedoms. How great is it that at this very moment there is a Jew willing to give up his/her life for my right to be a Christian? How great is it that there are Muslims willing to fight against other Muslims in defense of our right to choose to be Jewish and Christian?

President John F. Kennedy said “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

Nowhere is this more evident to me than in the outstanding service of the volunteers who make up our United States Armed Forces. God bless them for willingly placing their lives on the line for people they will never meet.

 

[pinay]

Here’s a Memorial Weekend special for you:

Right now there are men and women that are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and just about every religious belief you could imagine serving to protect YOUR freedoms. How great is it that at this very moment there is a Jew willing to give up his/her life for my right to be a Christian? How great is it that there are Muslims willing to fight against other Muslims in defense of our right to choose to be Jewish and Christian?

President John F. Kennedy said “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”

Nowhere is this more evident to me than in the outstanding service of the volunteers who make up our United States Armed Forces. God bless them for willingly placing their lives on the line for people they will never meet.

Bryan, I love you, man!

This is one post I will put in my favorites. I hope it will stay accessible to me forever. I would never want to forget this even if I succumb to alzheimer’s.

My father-in-law is a retired Navy - he is LDS. One of my best friends is a Marine and he believes in Jesus Christ but does not believe in religion. My sister-in-law’s father, sister, and brother are in the Navy and they are Roman Catholic. Another friend is in the Navy and he is Taoist or some such. They all serve willingly and are ready to die so that we can be free. It is amazing.

 

[pinay]

i do apologize for those threads my friend. i do not understand them. what i like about the Mormons. how they build their neighborhoods around their meeting houses in utah. i think its beautiful. and gives off a sense of community, and family. Peace

Hello benidict! What a lovely name - named after the pope.

No need to apologize. It is expected that in a forum of diverse backgrounds, one would encounter opposition. Some more pronounced than others. We are all trying our very best to serve God in the way we know how…

What I like about the Catholics… their commitment to family is outstanding! Their fight against divorce, adultery, sexual impurity, and abortion plus all the activities they have geared towards family traditions is something we can all look up to.

 

[benidict]

Hello benidict! What a lovely name - named after the pope.

No need to apologize. It is expected that in a forum of diverse backgrounds, one would encounter opposition. Some more pronounced than others. We are all trying our very best to serve God in the way we know how…

What I like about the Catholics… their commitment to family is outstanding! Their fight against divorce, adultery, sexual impurity, and abortion plus all the activities they have geared towards family traditions is something we can all look up to.

actually after my patron st. but i like the current pope just fine. utah is actually one of the places im looking at when i get out of the military someday. beautiful state. i used to drive truck, and got through there frequently. what was really strange, was salt lake city on a sunday. no joke its a ghost town. everyone was at church. any other day… used to stop at a flying j in toole. snow covered mountain behind me. and the great salt lake in front. just gorgeous. have actually reached out to Mormons with my local parishes blessing in reguards to the 40 days for life campaign. they didnt take part. i think it was due to the shock that another Church would actually approach them, to work together for something like this. but they are on the list, so they will be contacted when this event is held again. i think at some point they will say yes. now if i can just keep the fundamentalist from trying to convert them… and mine… Peace

 

[GaryTaylor]

First time I have seen this thread. Pretty much hits the nail on the head Bryan.

To continue to focus on that which makes us different from each other. Is to further divide. That would be the way of evil, to divide and conquer. How could we possibly come together as the human race if we continue to entertain the reality of that which makes us different? To dwell on these fundamental differences is what keeps the real issues skirted. Have we really come that far in time. Where we can finally put our petty differences aside and respect and love each other, for each others unique qualitys? This isn’t even a matter of being the right and noble thing to it. Its a choice to survive as a Race, the Human Race. Its a conscious, rational decision for life on earth to continue to exist on a positive non-destructive path.

So many religions, so many different cultures, and many skin colors…But “one” Evil?

 

[BryanM27]

Since those of you who have posted here seem to agree this is an important topic, let’s try and keep it at least on the front page of this forum. If you see it falling, lift it up with a great story of how we’re similar despite differences in gender, race, creed or even sexual preference (can’t deny some of the nicest people i know aren’t straight, while some of the meanest are. which one shows Christ’s love better?).

 

[TriuneUnity]

I’ll start with an easy one…

Did you know that Muslims believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary? In fact, Mary is almost as important to them as she is to Christians.

Muslims pray to the God of Abraham. Guess which God is the Father that Jesus spoke of? That’s right! The God of Abraham!

Remember this thread is about how we’re similar, not different.

That’s true, Bryan, vis a vie the Virgin Mary. This isn’t anything exceptional, however. To Christians, He was born of a virgin so that He would not be conceived in the normal manner, which involves transmission of the sin nature through Adam. To Muslims, it’s no different than the parting of the Red Sea.

As to the God of Abraham. The God of Abraham is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Muslims do not pray to this God, therefore, they do not worship Him.

 

[BryanM27]

That’s true, Bryan, vis a vie the Virgin Mary. This isn’t anything exceptional, however. To Christians, He was born of a virgin so that He would not be conceived in the normal manner, which involves transmission of the sin nature through Adam. To Muslims, it’s no different than the parting of the Red Sea.

As to the God of Abraham. The God of Abraham is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Muslims do not pray to this God, therefore, they do not worship Him.

You’re limiting yourself by viewing others through your own faith. You are correct that they do not accept the trinitarian belief system, but they do accept the same God that Abraham accepted.

In the future, please stick to posting ways in which we are the same. That is why I created this thread and that is what I would like to see it remain as. If you want to discuss differences there are plenty of other threads to do so.