I can't help but wonder what people are thinking about the pope dying and all . Do you think the church will change into something other than it has been ? My hope is it will . I can't help but also think this is going to be the end of the catholic faith . The catholics just seem to love pope john the 2nd but in todays times can the church remain with it's outdated policies and philosophies ? Like the WTBTS it also has many beliefs that are unscriptural but they seem never to want to admit their mistakes in doctrine . All comments welcome ................
What's new for the catholic church ?
by heathen 9 Replies latest jw friends
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the_classicist
Catholics have never believed that the bible is the sole rule of faith, they've always rejected sola scriptura which ORIGINATED with Martin Luther. The Catholic Church predated the bible, they compiled it, and they've been the faithful guardians of this part of the Deposit of Faith. The Church isn't outdated, Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever; so it is with the Catholic Church. Our faith does evolve, but it never changes (cf. Newmann).
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Sunspot
What's new for the Catholic church??? A new Pope, I guess!
Sorry, I couldn't help it!
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Dan-O
I was thinking the same thing, Sunspot.
I can't imagine this being the end of the RC church. They have survived the passing of many popes over the centuries. And yes, I'll agree that many of their teachings are out of sync with contemporary lifestyles, but so many of their members cling to centuries old traditions. The vatican will still pull the strings long after you & I are gone.
What I find amusing is the people within the church who cry foul at the clergy trying to enforce traditions and faiths and commandments that stem from the book that all catholics supposedly hold sacred. A friend of mine is a priest, and he was bounced from his parish for speaking out against gay rights. (Really, what else is a priest supposed to do when the scriptures he and his parishioners profess to uphold as God's word condemn homosexuality?)
Yeah, 'cafeteria catholicism' at its finest. It fits well with another catholic friend of mine (who is also a 3rd degree member of the knights of columbus) who told me "The great thing about the catholic church is that you can take as much or as little of it as you want. We're gonna get you converted one of these days, Dan."
Yeah, right. *LOL* -
heathen
Dan-O ----
A friend of mine is a priest, and he was bounced from his parish for speaking out against gay rights.
What are you talking about here , is it that the gays want equal rights in reguard to civil law or that they want to be married in the church ? I can understand a church that says, no we don't want gays in our congregation because it is unclean but when religion tries to involve itself with the civil rights in reguard to personal rights and freedoms , that's where I have a problem . In society I think people should have the right to live the way they are comfortable but christians don't seem to be respecting the personal rights and freedoms of others, to the contrary, they go out of their way to condemn and persecute .
Personally I don't see a future for the church the way it is now , it's like the catholics worship the pope much like the j-dubs do the WTBTS and that has to change as well for them . There are some parallels that can be drawn between the 2 religions , irronically .
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Country_Woman
If there are changings, it will be for the worst I expect: Pope John Paul II, was a humane man, Okay - he did't give any freedom re birthcontrol - gays - divorce and living together without marriage, but most devote catholics do control the numbers of their children today - they are going through divorces and I think they are living together as well - and they will not face disfellowshipping for that......
All depends on which pope will be chosen.....
For the rest: I know lots of Catholics who only join the Mas on Christmas Eve....... no matter what..... they will join it again.......
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Dan-O
"I can understand a church that says, no we don't want gays in our congregation because it is unclean but when religion tries to involve itself with the civil rights in reguard to personal rights and freedoms , that's where I have a problem ."
What I'm talking about is a priest who basically told his parishioners "Look, the Bible and our church have told you for the past 2,000 years that homosexuality is a sin. If you want to be homosexuals, then I can't stop you ... but don't expect the church to condone your behavior or regard you as good Catholics."
Problem was, he offended some of the parishioners who complained to the bishop (who is a closet homosexual). The bishop moved him to another parish. -
heathen
I just don't understand people that want to be a part of a religious system when they don't want to obey the rules anyway , what's the point ? The j-dubs go so far as dfing people over all those things (depending on how valuable they are to the congregation they attend ). The teachings of the apostle Paul were pretty much the same as strict as you can get over , homosexuals , fornicators , idolotry , drunkeness , the list goes on for all people not inheriting the kingdom of the heavens . The concept of christianity is that people over come their sinful tendencies and emulate jesus christ who was a perfect human being acceptable to God as a ransom sacrifice . My problem with most religions as we even see it here in the US is that they want say in the private lives of citizens via the government control . Pope John Paul did try to use what influence he had with world leaders such as George Bush over issues as abortion and stem cell research . In a democracy the people decide what laws are to be made not the president or the pope .
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Dan-O
"I just don't understand people that want to be a part of a religious system when they don't want to obey the rules anyway"
Too many people want to have their cake & eat it, too. -
heathen
The way I see it in the USA we have freedom of religion and it's not a violation of civil rights to exclude members on the basis of their moral obligation . If the gays don't like it they can start their own religions . The problem with them is they want to mix politics with religion . IMHO