I agree there is a lot of scrupulosity, but I’m not so sure it is the fault of something like the Baltimore Catechism which teaches the faith.
IMHO, Catholicism is legalistic in general. There are lots and lots of rules.
For example, when you enter a Church and the blessed sacrament is in the sanctuary, genuflect. If it is someplace else like a side room/sanctuary, then bow to the altar.
There are tons of encyclicals and there is even Canon law!
So it is very easy to become scrupulous.
That doesn’t change the fact that our faith is what it is.
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it–there are many more rules in evangelical Protestantism, but they are not written down and they are not usually spoken, yet somehow evangelical Protestants in each church/felllowsihp know the "rules"and hold themselves and OTHERS to these rules. This makes the evangelical rules very very difficult to follow, as you aren’t even sure what they are!
Often, evangelical Protestants will run foul of the unwritten, unspoken rules and offend each other. This leads to anger and bitterness, and often, a split in friendships and in churches/fellowships. I believe it’s one of the reasons why evangelical Protestants choose to “church hop”–they can’t quite cotton onto the “rules” of a particular church/fellowship and they feel left out and/or conflicted.
About ten years ago, in a Protestant online forum, I wrote out a list of about 20 evangelical Protestant “rules”. Most people on that forum agreed with me about all those rules.
Within evangelical Protestant churches, if someone “breaks” one of the rules, they are often considered “out of fellowship” or “carnal,” and they may be shunned (the Bible says that we are to have nothing to do with those who continue to practice sin).
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll give an example. “No drinking alcohol.”
Now this rule is changing, and the changes are causing conflicts within the evangelical churches. But in most evangelical Protestant churches, at least in the past, it was a rule. In the church that I grew up in, it was actually a WRITTEN rule, which made it easier to follow. The rule was very well-stated–"NO drinking of alchol, and no alcohol-related paraphernalia (e.g., a shot-glass collection), decor (e.g., a drippy wine candle) or apparel (e.g., a Budweiser frogs t-shirt).
But I think that my church was an exception (I’m guessing the rule was written into the church constitution when Germans and a few brave Italians started attend the primarily Swedish church!), and in most evangelical Protestants, the rule about alcohol is not written down. But it’s understood. You would never expect to be offered alcohol in the home of an evangelical Protestant, and you would not see alcohol in the frig, in the cupboard, or in their basement. Maybe…and this is pushing it…in the medicine cabinet in the form of Nyquil, or in the cupboard in the form of vanilla extract, but that’s pretty much it.
Another example of a rule is, “Homeschool, and if you don’t, Christian school. If you send your children to a public school, you must get very involved and present ‘evidence’ that you are making constant attempts to be a witness in that school.”
One more rule is the attendance rules. Evangelicals are supposed to be in the church every time the doors are open. That’s a tough one, and makes Catholicism, with its “one obligation Mass per week” seem very easy!
Been there. Done it. It’s hard. If you know the rules, you’re okie dokie. But heaven help you if you run afoul of these unwritten, unspoken “rules” of evangelical Protestantism.
I don’t find Catholicism full of rules, but rather, “rubrics.” These are different. They guide the liturgy, not people’s hearts. They are written out and fairly clear-cut, except for things like music. Also, we are given bishops to help us follow the rubrics.
I guess you believe that Christ doesn’t accept his own teaching of forgiving seventy times seven, You must also believe that the sacrament of confession doesn’t really mean anything, either.
