by skeeter1 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Oops, guess I should not have taken communion as I was never "baptised" Catholic. If I ever convert to Catholism, I guess I'll have to make another confession.
The candles were nice, and there was no mention of the Pope or the Vatican. But, I wonder if that's saved for the hard-core Catholic services (like we JWs saved the hard-core dogmas for last).
Sorry if I'm pessimistic. Think of me as optimist, but with experience.
Skeeter
Flying high now, No I wasnt reffering to you going to the Anglicans thats OK as they have open communion.Actually I do know some Anglican people I used to go to there scripture classes at school. Also Im an SDA and occasionally we have had Anglicans taking the Divine service at the church. Thats the main service the SDAs have.
Barry, what is SDA? Please pardon me, I can be kind of dense and flakey and not figure out the obvious.
Andy's family are devout Catholics. His mother is the most liberal of them. They do believe the Pope is infallible and for a lot of Catholics (even American Catholics), the Pope holds as much control over them as the gov bod does the org. It's really upsetting to watch his sister's engagement to a good Catholic man. She's basically marrying him because he's a good Catholic and they can raise their kids in the church. It reminds me so much of my reasons for marrying my former husband who is a JW. She's not being true to who she really is. She's controlled by the fear the church instilled in her. She actually left the room recently when her mother expressed her doubts in the Assumption of Mary and the Immaculate Conception.
Mary worship is still alive and well in the Catholic Church. They believe that Mary was perfect. They believe she was taken bodily to heaven. They believe she a mediator between Catholics and God.
One thing though is that the Catholic Church has learned that they can't be so harsh anymore with doubters. They'd lose most of their members if still kicked people out like they used to.
They still will not allow priests to marry. For this reason, they lose many priests to the Anglican/Episcopal Church. They lose a significant number of members and clergy to the Anglican/Episcopal church. Mother Val was Catholic. Father Mick at our church was Catholic. Father Mike from St. Andrews, our sister church was a Catholic priest. We have a lot of members who are former Catholics. They leave because of reasons such as the priest sex scandal, birth control, gay rights, etc.
Hey, hey...Easy on the Catholics...
Cause at least we don't get shunned, we don't get "calls" and we don't get disfellowshipped...
All in all, after seeing a lot of what goes on in JW lives, IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, I'D BE CATHOLIC ALL OVER AGAIN.
OH, AND WE DON'T WORSHIP MARY, WE VENERATE HER = RESPECT HER FOR BEING THE MOTHER OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. SOME RELIGIONS DON'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT!!!
OK, I'M JUST TRYING TO DEFEND MY RELIGION...BUT YOU KNOW WHAT...I AM FULLY AWARE OF ALL OUR FAULTS TOO AND ALL THE STUFF THAT GOES ON. WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NOT PERFECT...UNLIKE THE JWS (they swear up and down that they are perfect and righteous)
I believe God still operates within the Catholic Church, LaCatolica. I don't believe God is exclusive to one faith, Catholic, non Catholic or non-Christian. I think the Catholic form of worship works for many, many Catholics. It doesn't work for some of them, like Andy, because of the power of the Pope and the use of fear to control. A lot of churches and non-Christian faiths use fear to control though. What works for an individual is what works. We look for God in what way fits us personally. The Anglican Church is very similar to the Catholic Church in sacrement and ritual. They don't share everything though.
A note on the word venerate: it can also mean to idolize.
