A
at_peace
Guest
I think my biggest reason for ceasing my involvement with the Catholic Church, and my reluctance to join any other, is that organized religion inevitably is a flawed system of spiritual progress.
People involved in churches and church organisations always succumb to the ordinary evils of bureaurocracy. They hold positions of power that is in their personal self interest to protect. They do this in usual ways, such as squelching their opposition, securing their power base, creating political alliances.
Of course, the Catholic Church, with it’s size and hierarchy, has one of the most strongly established traditions of political intrigue that permeates the culture of its institutions.
Many current religions, including Chrisitianity and its varying sects, originally sprang up in opposition to the organized religion of the day. Buddhaism arose out the corruption of Hinduism, Christianity out of that of the Jews, Protestantism was a response to the failings of the Catholic Church, and some of the newer forms of Chrisitanity sprang from stagnant Mainline Protestant Churches.
All religions form around a strong leader and wants to aspire to form a community that adheres to its founding ideals. They inevitably, though, succumb to the same failures and corruptions across the board, losing their founding ideals and becoming just another manmade bureaurocracy mainly interested in maintaining itsself, even at the expense of truly serving God.
People involved in churches and church organisations always succumb to the ordinary evils of bureaurocracy. They hold positions of power that is in their personal self interest to protect. They do this in usual ways, such as squelching their opposition, securing their power base, creating political alliances.
Of course, the Catholic Church, with it’s size and hierarchy, has one of the most strongly established traditions of political intrigue that permeates the culture of its institutions.
Many current religions, including Chrisitianity and its varying sects, originally sprang up in opposition to the organized religion of the day. Buddhaism arose out the corruption of Hinduism, Christianity out of that of the Jews, Protestantism was a response to the failings of the Catholic Church, and some of the newer forms of Chrisitanity sprang from stagnant Mainline Protestant Churches.
All religions form around a strong leader and wants to aspire to form a community that adheres to its founding ideals. They inevitably, though, succumb to the same failures and corruptions across the board, losing their founding ideals and becoming just another manmade bureaurocracy mainly interested in maintaining itsself, even at the expense of truly serving God.
