Why do Catholics do that?

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Hope_Philomena said:
Their crusade against a select few sins that seem to have been deemed as more important than all the others.
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Hi, I’m the OP:)

If you could be more specific please. I’d be happy to disucss this with you:thumbsup:

GBY

Patrick
 
Redd_Jackal said:
I sometimes wonder why my fellow churchgoers raise the kneelers when they rise to stand, only to have to lower them moments later.
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In our church the space between the pews is less than in most churches, so I think ts a matter of comfort:)

GBY
 
TheTrinitySaves said:
Why do so many come to mass right after the Gospel, and then the same people who came right after the Gospel, leave right after communion.

But in all seriousness,

Why do we believe that God does not punish us on earth for our sins? Why does he wait until we die?
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The 1st Q is IGNORANCE

They have not been rightly taught:eek:

The second Q is more complex:

Suffering, illness, death are ALL consequences of SIN. So your understanding is a bit off here.

ALL Souls that die without unconfessed / unforgiven Mortal SINS; have the opportunity to REPAY the Temporal Punishment ALL sins [even those confessed & forgiven accrue] through Indulgences, prayer, sacrificing and good-works; so that in an absolute sense our Souls CAN be perfected, as is essential foe entry into heaven, while we are still on earth.

God Bless you.

Please ask let me know if this is not specific enough for you?

Patrick [the OP]
 
tm21 said:
What actions are you seeing that make you feel that these Catholics are actually being judgmental? I ask this because sometimes when we see people living upright and holy lives (as we all should be), we often assume that they must be judging the rest of us as beneath them, when in fact that is not true at all. Ironically, it is us being judgmental, not them.
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Good point, thanks

GBY
 
Hawkmaid said:
I’ve come to terms with this (in bold) recently myself, actually; I was pretty dang high on my hobby horse. 😊

You are correct, it is wrong to be prideful, and it is incredibly hard to be aware of that. I can sadly count myself among those numbers who acted as such, but I’m trying my hardest to step back and see myself in their number. And thank you, you’re correct, not all Catholics are like that. But as a fallen one myself, I can speak to the Catholics who are "holier than thou"ish. I’m not really sure why we do that aside from sheer human pride; I know it’s not church teaching to act like that! So frankly, I would say it’s just weakness. It’s a flaw that many of us, of all religions, have to face.

As C.S. Lewis said in Screwtape letters, God didn’t make us at varying levels so that we could disdain one group or another; He gave us varying “levels” of holiness so that the ones who were farther in their journey could humbly help those whom they could, and put them IN FRONT of themselves, and so that the ones who were behind in their journey could humbly accept help. It’s all a cycle of humility, and it’s difficult to operate without humility, which is all too common nowadays - myself included.

And for those who are going to pick up the “but some sins are still worse!”, sure, but who are we to really say? Yes, somebody who commits murder and is happy about it might have a special place in hell, but they might repent before their death, while another person might just tell little white lies and never confess those and end up in hell anyway. Again, humility; we aren’t called to judge the sins and call ourselves better than that; we’re just called to see all sins as evil in the end, and do God’s will to help those who need it, and ask for help ourselves.

We’re all in this together, guys. (: Thank you for bringing this up, Philomena! (:
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THANKS so much!

While the topic is based in truth, there is nevertheless a line we need to carefully not cross; and that is simply accepting sins like active homosexuality and of abortion, and simply ;looking the other way.

As Catholics and as Christians we are CALLED to lights on the hillside of truth. While we should NEVER look down upon these souls; we also must never simply ignore their intrinsic evil.

We must PRAY MUCH for ourselves and for them!

GBY

Patrick [the OP]
 
Can I cheat and reverse it to a negative?

Why do Catholics refrain from talking about Jesus? Do they take “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing then in the name of the father, son, holy spirit” seriously?

I’ve never had a Catholic approach me once to talk about Jesus, and the Catholics I do know are very quiet about their faith.
 
What is it about Catholicism that you don’t understand?
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First, let me preface the following by stating that these misunderstandings on my part are most emphatically not a criticism of the Church. I am also familiar with counter-arguments to these statements below. It is my genuine struggle to understand, and not meant as a sign of disrespect.

In no particular order:

1.) The history of the Church’s anti-semitism, as outlined in great detail in Fr. Flannery’s book, “The Anguish of the Jews: 23 centuries of anti-semitism”. The book outlines many actions that the Church took throughout history that were very harmful to the Jewish people.

2.) The concept of the Trinity in light of clear and unmistakable directives in the Book of Deuteronomy that there is only one Lord, and no other. This is perhaps the most confusing theological concept to many people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.

3.) The “de-Judaizing” of the Church for the purpose of converting Gentiles throughout the world, and the adoption of what one might consider to be “pagan” religious practices that have no basis in the Bible, some of which are actually prohibited in the Old Testament.

4.) The Gregorian calendar compared to the Jewish calendar. Particular dates follow on different times of the year when they should be aligned, such as Passover.

5.) The Christian Sabbath as falling on Sunday, versus Saturday, the 7th day.

6.) Ascribing to Mary some “divine” attributes in particular prayers which should only really be attributed to the Creator.

7.) The heavy use of and promotion of statuary in light of the prohibitions against idolatry.
 
Hope_Philomena said:
The bolded part is an important consideration which I suppose I was addressing. Obviously there are certain sins that are widely accepted and worse than other sins in gravity as others mentioned in their replies to me.

While it is important to emphasize these sins, a common belief in many Catholics that I have come across is that those who commit these sins are somehow more depraved than they are. I’m not sure if this is Church teaching or not, but my understanding is that we are all equal in our fallen natures.

If I am correct, then I am confused as to why so many (Catholics, Protestants, etc.) look at homosexuals, women who have had abortions, etc. and see themselves as above said homosexuals. Of course you are meant to advocate for morality, but this feels inherently wrong to be prideful about not having committed a sin others have committed.

Not all Catholics are like this, of course! But I have noticed it many times in my experiences, and thus thought I might as well mention it in this thread.
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There is also a third type of sin__the unforgivable sin which is when people leave the church. If a women has had an abortion she can still regain her salvation by confessing and receiving penance from the archbishop.
 
tm21 said:
What actions are you seeing that make you feel that these Catholics are actually being judgmental? I ask this because sometimes when we see people living upright and holy lives (as we all should be), we often assume that they must be judging the rest of us as beneath them, when in fact that is not true at all. Ironically, it is us being judgmental, not them.
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Well, I have come across a different number of actions.

Sometimes, there are explicit statements on Catholics genuinely being “better” than everyone else. Catholics should naturally believe that they are following the one true religion, but I think an important distinction should be made: It is not that you are “better” it is that you are on the direct path towards salvation and pray for those who have yet to find this path. You are not above those who haven’t discovered the beauty of Catholicism. (I have not seen these explicit statements on this forum thankfully, only on other websites)

Sometimes the actions are more grey in nature, and while I cannot think of a specific example that wouldn’t reveal too much information, grey areas are certainly capable of being misinterpreted. I attempt to never be judgmental, but of course do not always succeed. It is perfectly possible that I have wrongly judged some.
 
dronald said:
Can I cheat and reverse it to a negative?

Why do Catholics refrain from talking about Jesus? Do they take “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing then in the name of the father, son, holy spirit” seriously?

I’ve never had a Catholic approach me once to talk about Jesus, and the Catholics I do know are very quiet about their faith.
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Good question! I’ve found that, often, Catholics are aware that there is a LOT in Catholicism; a lot of traditions, dogmas, and whatnot that are hard to explain, or they don’t feel that they know enough about them to explain well. So by opening the “can of worms”, so to speak, of talking about religion via Jesus, Catholics can be worried about confusing the person they’re talking to.

Sometimes we’re shy, sometimes we don’t know enough, and sometimes we just don’t want to talk about it at all (which, honestly, is the saddest option to me). I LOVE talking about Catholicism; I’m no apologist, and I don’t know everything, but I strive to share my faith with others when I can, when others want to learn. (: But yeah, I’ve found it’s pretty common for Catholics to be withdrawn like that; sometimes for good reason, sometimes not.

I will say, though, I know quite a few Catholics like me, and I know even more who won’t personally bring up religion, but if you address them politely and curiously, and are willing to learn rather than debate, they’ll open right up. (:
 
Zerg said:
There is also a third type of sin__the unforgivable sin which is when people leave the church. If a women has had an abortion she can still regain her salvation by confessing and receiving penance from the archbishop.
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Correct me if I’m wrong, though; can’t the sin of apostasy be cleansed if the person is genuinely contrite and returns to the Church to fulfill his or her penance?
 
Hawkmaid said:
Correct me if I’m wrong, though; can’t the sin of apostasy be cleansed if the person is genuinely contrite and returns to the Church to fulfill his or her penance?
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I think that would be the sin against the Holy Spirit, which I believe is only unforgivable if someone refuses to ask for forgiveness.
 
What motivates catholics to be pro-life? are there any Bible verses that speak about it?
 
drac16 said:
What motivates catholics to be pro-life? are there any Bible verses that speak about it?
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I don’t think the Bible mentions abortion specifically but Catholics are not Sola scriptura. I think they didache if I recall correctly prohibits abortion.
 
I guess I’d say, why we need so many threads about it.

Kidding, more or less.
 
drac16 said:
What motivates catholics to be pro-life? are there any Bible verses that speak about it?
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Yes, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Hence why we’re also against, except in extreme cases, war and the death penalty.
 
Peter_J said:
Yes, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Hence why we’re also against, except in extreme cases, war and the death penalty.
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Oh yes, the oft misunderstood consistent life ethic. Peter J, you mind explaining this to some folks? I’m too lazy too. 😛
 
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