Why are catholics so controlling?

[Rence]

The difference seems to be in what people classify as “controlling.” Someone hovering over you to watch your every move would, yes, be controlling, but I was more referring to the situation which I quoted, where someone accuses someone else of being “controlling” just because they take a stance on morality.

Yeah, with DNA I was just referring to “the way things are” rather than what we do.

Whether or not a person believes they are taking a stance on morality, a controlling person is one who puts their two cents in a given situation when their two cents is not wanted, even unwelcomed and pressures people into conformity, again when their two cents is not wanted, and even unwelcomed. We can’t change the world. We can only make a difference in our part of it by living our faith. Not by trying to control the actions and the thoughts of others around us.

 

[animalis]

Personally, I would say Catholics do not have any control - that in regard that we do not manage the world. Those who shall manage the world, would be the ones who control. We walk through the times in the centuries with the Spirit of the Living God. And right now, I would say with Pope Benedict XVI that we undergo a crisis in reason. And reason is defined by St. Thomas Aquinas, as the ruling and commanding function of the intellect. All reasonable people control. This is a quality that businesses look at when they hire managers.

 

[animalis]

The follow is from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 255:

The Old Testament presents God as the omnipotent Creator (cf. Gen 2:2; Job 38-41; Ps 104; Ps 147) who fashions man in his image and invites him to work the soil (cf. Gen 2:5-6), and cultivate and care for the garden of Eden in which he has placed him (cf. Gen 2:15). To the first human couple God entrusts the task of subduing the earth and exercising dominion over every living creature (cf. Gen 1:28). The dominion exercised by man over other living creatures, however, is not to be despotic or reckless; on the contrary he is to “cultivate and care for” (Gen 2:15) the goods created by God. These goods were not created by man, but have been received by him as a precious gift that the Creator has placed under his responsibility. Cultivating the earth means not abandoning it to itself; exercising dominion over it means taking care of it, as a wise king cares for his people and a shepherd his sheep.

vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#The duty to cultivate and care for the earth

 

[sennincatholic]

I think your response and the very narrow minded way that you interpreted my post only proves my point even more.

By the way, I have been surrounded by Catholics all of my life and so I have an idea of what a lot of Catholics are like. I’ve lived in many cities and they all kind of seem the same.

I don’t mean to say that other Catholics aren’t spiritual or less Catholic than I am, I am just saying that the emphasis always goes towards the same things. There’s always the tendency to condemn people who do the sins they don’t do and ignore the sins that they are most guilty of.

Sure you can choose not to be a product of your own culture but it is very rare from what I have seen, particularly of American Catholics.

:manvspc: wao! what an open-minded response!!!

 

[sennincatholic]

Anyone who takes a stance for right and against wrong (or at least their possibly flawed perceptions of it) is going to appear “narrow minded” at times.

I think most people are very narrow minded when it comes to running red lights or driving recklessly in general. You have to drive on the correct side of the road, in one lane at a time, go a certain speed, not bump into anyone, follow all the signs. Seems pretty narrow minded in comparison to driving all over the place regardless of whether there are roads to take, structures or people in the way! But it’s necessary to drive safely.

What else are we narrow about? Any sort of test at school where there are right and wrong answers. Notably, mathematics. You cannot just put down random numbers and demand that your teacher says it’s right. It’s not.

There are grammar rules, where we use the same 26 letters to form words and make sense with them. Not following them runs the risk of confusion or misinterpretation.

How about building things? You have to know the right math for the right physics for the right engineering. Not much room for mistakes, because you’ll put others or yourself in danger.

Or knitting a sweater. Do it right or you won’t have a sweater but a mess of yarn.

The way biology works is often narrow minded. If one amino acid is changed in someone’s DNA, it could give them a terrible disease.

I could go on.

See, while there are definite rules governing the world and society, most of the time we think nothing of them, because they are not “restraints” but guides on how to do something, rather than shrivel into failure. Catholics recognize that this doesn’t suddenly end when it comes to our moral lives. We aren’t perfect either, but some of us at least want to be good, and help others to be good too.

:tiphat: Brilliant post