Is it really so that some people here became Catholic after leaving the Borg? (page 3)

wobble

Having left a minor Cult, some think it is a good idea to join the 2nd. biggest Cult in the world.

chickpea

i was reared as a catholic, in
an especially vibrant variation
as i grew up anglo in an area
that was predominately hispanic

i surely do not see the appeal
but if anyone else does, then
fair play to them.... the trappings
alone can bedazzle! why, i am betting
there are scapulars and holy cards and
rosaries, mantillas, first communion
dresses and suits, patron saint medals,
good friday rituals finding their way into
the psyche of many a displaced JW even
as we speak! what is not to love about
a gold chalice within a golden tabernacle...
if spectacle means anything, the RCC has
that market cornered

i am dodging pesky lutherans, myself...
i work in a social justice organization
with several and they think because
i am bereft of a faith group that i am
open to being wooed into another...

i am in the process of disabusing them
of such a notion, with abundant and
sincere graciousness regarding their
concern for what they deem a "lack"
in my life.... boy have they got THAT
one wrong!!!

Think About It

The only religious service I've attended since leaving the JW's was a Catholic service at Notre Dame in Paris. It was night and the Cathedral was closed to tourists, but I noticed a small door on the side that people were going in. I ask about it and it was for the Mass service. Went in and was scared at first. because of the JW teachings background. I ended up working my way up to within 50ft of the Priest at the altar. It was an awesome experience and very beautiful.

Think About It

Quandry

The Watchtower relishes the image of being a pure congregation, a "showcase of saints." The church considers itself to be the "hospital for sinners."

Very nicely put.

Titus

Dalibor Durdov, Croatian "Randy" became Catholic after he left Jehovah's Witnesses.

Today he is the leader of one right-wing (fascist) political party (HCSP - "Clear Croatian Party of Rights").

He wrote the book "Embraced by Jehovah's Witnesses" ("U zagrljaju Jehovinih svjedoka"). Something like Ray's "Crisis of Conscience".

He, and his book:

PSacramento

My only issue with Catholicisim is the role.authority of the bishops and Pope, beyond that, I love their Universal ( Catholic) approuch to God, Jesus and the HS.

I guess I am at heart an "Old Catholic".

With its particular view of the Church, the Old Catholic theology joins those theologians who see the Eucharist as the core of being a Church. From that point the church is a communion of believers. All are in communion with one another around the surrender of life by Jesus Christ, as the highest expression of the love of God. Therefore in the celebration of the Eucharist is the faithful experience of how the Lord prevailed by the surrender of his life to sin. Sin is that power that divides life in all of its dimensions. The defeat of sin consists in bringing together that which is divided. [ 5 ]

Through communion, discrepancies between people are reconciled, what was scattered brought together. As communion belongs to the core of human life, so we can see in the relation of Jesus with all men and women the restoration of human community. Therefore the Eucharist can be seen as a symbol which prefigures the total restoration of all creation in a new covenant with God. It prefigures the reconciliation of all that and who have been broken in one or another way.

In the Old Catholic theology, “Church” means reconciliation. “Church” means the restoration of broken relations between God and men and men with each other. It is the leading to a new communion in which the old differences and discriminations between people are removed. Distinctions in position and places are there to manifest the unity in differences and reflect in that way the being of the triune God.

The Old Catholic Church does not consider communion as uniformity, but unity in diversity. Communion aims at personal human well being, so that reciprocally individual persons enrich the community at large. And what is said of believers is true for churches as well. Individual churches are too restrained to reflect the richness of Gods love, therefore it is necessary that they are also in communion with one another. It is the communion of churches that can reflect – unified as they are in diversity – the creativity of the Lord’s care about humanity.

That this ecclesiological opinion, then, can be carried back to orthodox theologians and to the Church fathers, is recently more and more elaborated by Old Catholic theologians as the special mark of Old Catholic ecclesiology. Old Catholics usually refer to the Church Father St. Vincent of Lerins in his saying: "We must hold fast to that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all the Faithful." [ 6 ]

The Old Catholic Church shares most of the same doctrine and liturgy with the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Christianity, and High Church Protestants. Old Catholics hold an open approach to most issues, including the role of women in the Church, the role of married people within ordained ministry, the morality of same sex relationships, the use of one's conscience when deciding to use artificial contraception, and liturgical reforms such as open communion. Its liturgy has not significantly departed from the Tridentine Mass, as is shown in the English translation of the German Altarbook (missal). In 1994 the German bishops decided to ordain women as priests, and put this into practice on 27 May 1996; similar decisions and practices followed in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. [ 44 ] The Utrecht Union allows those who are divorced to have a new religious marriage and upholds no teaching on birth control, leaving such decisions to the married couple. [ 45 ]

An active contributor to The Declaration of the Catholic Congress, Munich, 1871 and all later assemblies for organization was Johann Friedrich von Schulte, the professor of dogma at Prague. Von Schulte summed up the results of the congress as follows:

adherence to the ancient Catholic faith;
maintenance of the rights of Catholics as such;
rejection of the new dogmas,
adherence to the constitutions of the ancient Church with repudiation of every dogma of faith not in harmony with the actual consciousness of the Church;
reform of the Church with constitutional participation of the laity;
preparation of the way for reunion of the Christian confessions;
reform of the training and position of the clergy;
adherence to the State against the attacks of Ultramontanism;
rejection of the Society of Jesus;
solemn assertion of the claims of Catholics as such to the real property of the Church and to the title to it. [ 46 ]

superpunk

If I was going to get involved in a religion again it would probably be Catholicism. I like their attitude about alot of things, once they reluctantly dragged themselves out of the dark ages.

All religions are the same. Even the JWs. We simply have unrealistic expectations of them, and that's why we left the Dubs, because we expected them to be something they could never be. The more intense trouble with the Dubs is that they make that expectation for themselves, by giving themselves plausible deniability in their extreme choice in titles. Oh, we're just "spirit-led". They imply that God is showing them the way directly while at the same time wording things ambiguously enough so that when they continue to screw things up they can just say "hey we never claimed to be perfect."

Catholicism seems to be tolerant, not only of dissent among the great unwashed masses, but of dissent among their teachers at least at the lower levels. I have read that once you get higher, into the translation and doctrinal movers and shakers, it gets alot more political and disillusioning.

If you don't have unrealistic expectations about what religion is, Catholicism is as good as the next one. You get a sense of community, worship, they have nifty rituals and beautiful churches, what more could you ask for in a religion (if you're asking for one at all, of course)?

PSacramento

Superpunk, the problem with many, well, ALL religions is when the "organization" becomes bigger than the faith.

We see that with the RCC and their constant attempts to cover up crap instaed of fixing the problem and we see that with the JW's.

The main reason that most catholics are easy going and loving people is because they are aware that they are NOT that special, they are "broken" and are trying to do the best they can with God's help.

superpunk

I agree. So if we know that going in, our expectations will be lowered to the appropriate level, and we can stop expecting them to be perfect. The only religions that will still have trouble are the ones that raise the unreasonable expectations for themselves.

Religion fills a psychological need for some people, and that's what it should be there for - not as an infallible ticket-punching attendant for salvation.

Gayle

It baffles me for sure. I know some ex-JWs, and ex-Bethelites who were of the most studious JWs, who became of the most studious of ex-JWs, now are devout Catholics. But I accept everyone is in their 'path' and some need those paths for some reason.

I am a simpleton, non-denominational, non-doctrinal (non-church going) Christian, love God and neighbor, fruitage of spirit (love, joy, peace), to guide my day. (the kind that I remember being very exaspirated with when I was a JW.) Simple, I have found works for me and found organized religion just complicates stuff.

Is it really so that some people here became Catholic after leaving the Borg?

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