Why the catholic church is most the target

[KC91]

yes the boogy man is coming to get you. Holy paranoia batman

What one least expects to happen can happen anytime anywhere.

 

[cazayoux]

The Pharaohs ruled for a mere 2,600 years - so where does that leave the argument from comparative longevity ? Judaism has survived every persecution, included the worst that Christians could do for 1600 years. It’s older than Christianity, & its life-span goes back 35 centuries, & possibly longer. As for Hinduism, that’s even older. The Japanese Empire goes back 2,000 years. So the longevity of Christianity is not unusual, nor is it unsurpassed.​

I definitely stepped into it with this one.
Sorry about that.

As I stated in a post later than the one you responded to, longevity or numbers do not define truth.
I won’t do this again.
Please forgive.

That said, the pharaohs were hardly of the same ‘cloth’.
Judaism is the longest surviving religion still in existence today.
Hinduism is not older than Judaism, even if an article says hints of what might be parts of Hindu worship have been found that are older. Hinduism is an amalgamation of older religions that came into the area. These older religions do not exist today. Just because something from these older religions was found that ‘might be parts of Hindu worship today’ does not mean Hinduism is at least the same age.
It would be like saying Christianity is much more than 2000 years old because Melchizedek’s offering was bread and wine, exactly like Catholics do in the mass today. Finding ‘possible’ hints of a religion in an older religion doesn’t make the religion of discussion that same, older age.

Again … forgive the appeal to longevity.
Lesson learned.

Cheers!

michel

 

[Peter_J]

I think this is still largely illusory.

Depends on the definition you’re using and if Catholics use that word in some kind of special way.

You could be a little more helpful, you know. :tsktsk:

 

[Peter_J]

I think the main point is that there is nobody that can claim perfect unity. The level of disunity among “Protestants” is indeed alarmingly excessive when compared to Catholicism vs. Orthodoxy.

Right.

Yes, I suppose so. But don’t Protestant do the same thing, in reverse? (I believe they do, although I admit I don’t know for sure – I don’t spend a lot of time on Protestant forums.)

Exactly. Catholic forums like CAF are neither much better than nor much worse than the typical Protestant forum.

 

[CAS64]

I have a theory about why the catholic church is targeted more than any other group much of the time. Its because the worldly people take the RCC more seriously than other religious groups. This is not an attack or denigration of those groups. Its just that the RCC has been around the longest, and is the most well known and among the most outspoken, and its also the one which has changed the least overall, and is probably the least likely to compromise or negotiate beliefs to fit the world.

It is because the RCC wishes to make itself the victim, period.

 

[Peter_J]

It is because the RCC wishes to make itself the victim, period.

I would hardly say “period”.

Certainly there is such a thing as putting oneself into a victim-role, but that’s really not the whole story here.

Nor is playing-the-victim something that only Catholics do.

 

[KC91]

The RCC did not wish itself to be a victim, it was made one by different forces and circumstances

 

[Peter_J]

The RCC did not wish itself to be a victim, it was made one by different forces and circumstances

I reckon CAS64 was talking about “playing the victim card” or whatever you want to call it – which is not so much something Catholics do as it is something people (Catholic and otherwise) do.

 

[CAS64]

I would hardly say “period”.

Certainly there is such a thing as putting oneself into a victim-role, but that’s really not the whole story here.

Nor is playing-the-victim something that only Catholics do.

It is period. Catholics make erroneous claims throught history that directly put themselves into the victims role. From claiming poverty (which is an abject lie), to shouting from the rooftops that the mainstream media is out to get them during the child sex abuse scandal, the RCC has played the classic victim.

 

[NDfan]

Its not too obvious yet, mostly now its just speeches about how we need to change, or how we suck because of scandals, differing opinions. Most protestant/fundamentalists don’t get it as bad as we do. The blatant targeting is coming in the near future, as catholic churches and hospitals are forced to close over abortion, gay marriage, etc…

No disrespect traillius but your post makes no sense. You first make a bold statement that the Roman Catholic church is the most blatantly attacked, then follow it with an I don’t know how it’s blatantly attacked but blatant attacks are coming in the future

I would agree that the RCC gets attacked but it’s usually over a statement they release or a position they take. The attacks on the church for the pedophile scandal are to be expected and Christianity as a whole is under attack not just the RCC branch. It’s meaningless to make comparisons as attacking the largest denomination of Christianity would probably make sense to those wanting to attack it.

 

[mangy_dog]

I have a theory about why the catholic church is targeted more than any other group much of the time. Its because the worldly people take the RCC more seriously than other religious groups. This is not an attack or denigration of those groups. Its just that the RCC has been around the longest, and is the most well known and among the most outspoken, and its also the one which has changed the least overall, and is probably the least likely to compromise or negotiate beliefs to fit the world.

Because it is the One, True church that Christ intended to exist after His ascension into heaven and of which He left Peter as its first pope…264 popes later to Pope Benedict XVI,… and the gates of hell will not prevail against her.

Gospa Mir!

 

[Peter_J]

CAS64,

I agree with you that Catholics play the “victim card” a lot; the thing is, I don’t think that Catholics do it more than non-Catholics (on average).

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Yes, I suppose so. But don’t Protestant do the same thing, in reverse? (I believe they do, although I admit I don’t know for sure – I don’t spend a lot of time on Protestant forums.)

They do the same. CARM is like CAF, but Protestant rather than Catholic: all that differs is the religion. ​

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

I would hardly say “period”.

Certainly there is such a thing as putting oneself into a victim-role, but that’s really not the whole story here.

Nor is playing-the-victim something that only Catholics do.

Catholics do it, SDAs do it a bit, Protestant Fundamentalists do it. OTOH, Protestantism as a Church does not do it. At a guess, I would say that claiming victimhood tends to be a feature of Churches that have a strong interest in the “Last Days”. It is certainly a trait of Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism needs an enemy, or the conviction that it has one, as part of its self-understanding; even if it is not being opposed. It is not very good at co-existing with people who don’t agree with it. Maybe that is why the USSR was so paranoid - because it was a Fundamentalist regime.​

Needing enemies is a form of self-affirmation - this is a psychological need; it’s not confined to people with a religion. It’s just unfortunate that there is a lot in the Bible that can set it off. I blame King David

 

[masuwerte]

Judaism is the longest surviving religion still in existence today.

Or maybe Zoroastrianism

 

[Peter_J]

Catholics do it, SDAs do it a bit, Protestant Fundamentalists do it. OTOH, Protestantism as a Church does not do it. At a guess, I would say that claiming victimhood tends to be a feature of Churches that have a strong interest in the “Last Days”. It is certainly a trait of Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism needs an enemy, or the conviction that it has one, as part of its self-understanding; even if it is not being opposed. It is not very good at co-existing with people who don’t agree with it.​

I disagree. I think liberals do it just as much as conservatives.

Needing enemies is a form of self-affirmation - this is a psychological need; it’s not confined to people with a religion.

True.

 

[Peter_J]

CARM is like CAF, but Protestant rather than Catholic: all that differs is the religion. ​

I have to disagree.

As I said earlier, I think that Catholic forums like CAF are neither much better than nor much worse than the typical Protestant forum. But I don’t consider CARM to be a typical Protestant forum. From what I hear, it has more than it’s share of uncharitableness.

 

[cazayoux]

Or maybe Zoroastrianism

Z’ism doesn’t seem to be as old.
“Although older (roughly early first millennium BCE, see Zoroaster), Zoroastrianism only enters recorded history in the mid-5th century BCE.”

The wiki article also discusses how other younger religions affected Z’ism throughout the centuries, so I’m not sure what exists today is too close in concept to what existed 1000 B.C.

Cheers!

michel

 

[peacefulwarrior]

We’ll i’m going to answer the original question. The tallest nail is always the one who gets hit. So the catholic church is the the tallest now. Sooner or later, another religion will become the target, then another, then the other, then back to the catholic church. It’s a never ending cycle.

 

[Peter_J]

We’ll i’m going to answer the original question. The tallest nail is always the one who gets hit. So the catholic church is the the tallest now.

Meaning what, exactly? Are you talking about us having the largest membership (over 1 billion), or do you have something else in mind?

Sooner or later, another religion will become the target, then another, then the other, then back to the catholic church. It’s a never ending cycle.