What are these forums for?

[gospel_life]

They’ll know we are Christians by the way we love one another.

I wonder how many of us would be picked out of a lineup as Christians… Or as the question has been asked, “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

At times I think Ghandi was pretty justified in saying that he probably would have been a Christian if it wasn’t for the Christians he observed.

As Blaise Pascal said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

 

[Arthur_of_Lancs]

Beautifully put, Kestrel Rose. Amen to that.

 

[The_Prodigal]

One thing to remember, however, people hid under a clock of anonymity and feel that they are free to say what ever they want without censor.

I think that is the heart of the matter.

Start a thread that lends itself to exchanging mainly information, and you will get a few views and responses.

Start a thread that lends itself to polemics and personal opinion, and your views and responses go way up.

If anonymity weren’t possible in these forums, I suspect that the vitriol would not be so much in evidence.

I too am reluctant attach my real world identity to my posts, for a variety of reasons. My rule of thumb when posting is to ask myself whether I would say the same thing if my name were attached to the post.

 

[Cat]

We are a family but the idea that this is an excuse to hurt each other needs to be addressed.

In this very scular and often vicious world. We as Catholics need to learn how to debate and solve problems among ourselves with grace and dignity. It is important to discuss the problems that divide us, but if we can’t solve these problems with the “love that passes all understanding” how can we hope to be a force for peace in the rest of the world.

This is an excellent post. I have a real problem with the expectation that families should “fight.” Obviously conflicts arise that families have to deal with, but I wonder if sometimes, we “think” our families should fight because that’s what the families on TV do and we are subconciously trying to be like them thinking that it’s the norm for families.

E.g., Everybody Loves Raymond, from what I have seen, is nothing but a never-ending argument between people who supposedly are “family.” Yet Christians love it. Why?

And even the older sitcoms are often nothing but fighting, e.g., I Love Lucy. (Funny how the show titles with “love” in them have so much fighting on the show!)

 

[sseason]

I am a relative newcomer to these forums. I was baptised Catholic, but am a former agnostic currently coming into the faith through RCIA and will be confirmed at Easter vigil this year.

I must say, I am absolutely dismayed at much of what I see in this forum. The insinuations of heresy and apostasy, the unanswerable debates that only serve to inflame passions of Catholics against other Catholics, the barely informed accusations, and on and on.

What of Christian charity? And more importantly, why?

Why these debates? What is the point? What will be answered? Will a papal commission read these threads and put the debates to rest with more definitive statements? No. Since the Pope or the Magisterium is the only entity that can end these debates, and since those entities will or will not do without any reference to what is going on here, what positive result comes from all this?

How many here are theologians? How many are canon lawyers or church historians? Some, to be sure, but many more are not, and their half-informed or uninformed opinions on both sides of this unfortunate divide and biases only poison the well, and shock and scare less opinionated or new Catholics like myself who come to this site to learn about the Church.

I would humbly ask everyone here to read Romans 14:

Peace

My 2 cents

1. As far as Christian Charity- yes it is sad when we don’t always keep our composure. But it is human weakness and will occurr in real life as well as online. Especially when debating about things so important to us.
2. Passing judgment- judgement is not good. But a lot of what I see here is not personal judgment but only stating what the Church believes. Which would be informing someone of Truth, not judging.
3. My own experience- LEARNING…I have learned much by being on this site. Not often by what others have said but by questions that were asked. I would go search the Catechism, Bible, Canon Law, etc. so that I could have an answer for them. And in the process I am educating myself.
   Again, there will always be people who can’t keep their composure, who judge, etc. But there are much more who have solid faith in Christ and His Church and share their knowledge of that faith here in the forums. For me it is a breath of fresh air. I can come here and know that I am not alone. That there IS an army standing up for the Magisterium of the Church. And that is what I see and is a great comfort to me.

Also…there are seeds being planted here. When unbelievers post something negative and a believer posts some Truth of the Church, even if we see the thread closed, we don’t know what happens along the path of the unbelievers life. The words he/she reads here may ring true in his/her ear someday.

Faith, HOPE, Love! Vivo Cristo Rey!

 

[Snerticus]

I sometimes get upset and use strong words, but usually in response to the same. I hope I don’t ever start out harsh. That said, there are posts in which I’m also “sickeningly sweet”, even to myslef. But I try to tell it like it is. You know by the very nature of some of the threads that opinions are strong and emotions run high. But even then, it’s a learning lesson.

I have learned quite a bit about non-Catholics and even those angry bitter responses tell me something, and not all of it is bad. They truly love Christ and want to convince us that what they believe is true. Not everyone is going to be a Saint using these forums. Or should I say rather that sometimes you’ll find that perhaps St. Jerome may have written that nasty thread response!

He was peerless in his generation and his contributions to civilization and the church are extraordinary and unmatched. His biblical scholarship and intensity, passion and fury, in which he wrote, are emblematic of his personality traits. Our saint showed anger and deep compassion and he was held in high esteem by those who disliked and loved him. He is commonly called Hieronymus in Latin or Jerome.

 

[BSHoop96]

I plan to go tend to my own faith, and don’t intend to come back here. Everyone is free to do as they wish, but please consider what I’ve written here, as I doubt I am the only one who has had the same experience.

Peace

While I am often dismayed at some of the “discussions” on here I continue to return. I am shocked at how many Catholics do not know their own faith and I, for one, have learned a lot from people on here. You can pretty much figure out who puts forth accurate posts (and can back them up with documents).

 

[ARFF]

Without reading too many of the responses, I will venture my opinion.
This is literally what it’s called: a “Catholic forum” - a place for Catholics - (and even those who aren’t) - to share views about their Faith…be it questions, opinions, problems, and so on. The heated debates are particularly found in the Traditional forum since this topic (Traditional vs. Novus Ordo in the celebration of the Mass or other Catholic practices) has been a close-to-the-heart/soul issue for Catholics everywhere - but most particularly for those who’ve lived pre- and post-Vatican II. We’ve watched the Church evolve - not over centuries but within less than a lifespan. And yes, sadly, at times we as Catholics - become almost a little less “Christian” in our debates - but I suppose it’s the fervor of our beliefs.

Catholic Forum also is a place where we join in prayer for one another or share knowledge of prayers, spiritual books, or just comraderie - amongst Catholics AND other Faiths. You’ll notice that not only Catholics post here. It’s a great place to feel welcome to air our views and discuss in detail religious topics that we can’t do in daily life. And that’s what Catholic Forum is.

I agree with these comments. I am a new member and like this website very much. It is important to read these posts and understand how Catholicism is interpreted by all of those who apply it to their daily lives. We are not perfect. God knows this and gave his only son Jesus so that we may be forgiven for our imperfections. There is nobody I am aware of that can say they do not need to be forgiven for their sins on a regular basis. Not even the clergy.

I heard something on the news that was quoted by Michelle Obama’s mother. She said that Michelle’s father used to tell his children,

“A smart man is one who learns from his mistakes. A wise man is one who learns from his mistakes and the mistakes of others”. I found this very true.

The information and misinformation presented on this website coupled with reading the bible allows a cogent person to better understand the Catholic interpretations of the bible. There is a subjective argument for many of the scriptures many times between different members of the church and the clergy. All Catholics do not necessarily have the same understanding or reasoning because the scriptures are many times subjective and the readers are products of their environments in how they learned to interpret those scriptures. I have heard different scriptures used during Homily in several different contexts and examples.

Again, even in our religion there is room for subjectivity. Who is right? I believe that the answer resides in us to understand the Catholic interpretations of our teachers and apply it in our lives the best that we can. Sometimes there are conflicts that we cannot overcome and must pray for God to give us strength to understand and to forgive us for our sins. Our religion is not static. It is dynamic and has changed in may areas since the 4th century when the church was created.

 

[DavidPalm]

FWIW, I do think that one downside to such forums is the anonymity given by the user names. I realize that there are very good reasons to have some anonymity on the Internet, but it is also a pretty serious temptation to say things that you would never say if people knew who you were. For me, at least, it’s just too much so I always post openly under my own name on the Internet. Not that I’m not still a knucklehead sometimes, but at least it makes me stop and think just a little more (and you all know exactly who to blame.) At the very least, perhaps a pause and a prayer before posting is in order, as others here have suggested. Again, FWIW.