possession of a weapon- it was a flashlight lol--- but they dropped it from assault w/ a weapon... so i came out better lol
Catholicism
by Chia 43 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Evanescence
Did you hear this in the catholic church?
Nicene Creed
We believe in one god, the father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
Of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God,
Eternally begotten of the father.
God from God, Light from Light, true god from true god,
Begotten, not made,
of one being the father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.
by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin MAry and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the father.
He will come again in glory judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who proceeds from the father and the son
With the father and the son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen
Talk about mouthful! lots of catholics can memorize the whole thing too! How they do it I don't know! I certainly can't!
Evanescence
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Evanescence
I went to a Catholic church this weekend with my boyfriend. He was raised Catholic and was thinking about going back to church, but after the service decided that his belief system was now too different for him to attend services anymore.
As for myself, it stirred an unexpected reaction in me. While I got nothing out of the sermon(or whatever it's called there), everyone singing songs and stuff made me miss the meetings for a minute. Not what was actually taught, but the routine, and being able to say that I actually belonged to a religion. There were also times when I felt like I was at a district convention, because it was a large church.
All in all, it was weird and chances are, I won't go back. I've thought about checking out the Unitarian church in my area to see what's what.
Catholics do call it a sermon so its all good! Why won't you go back? was there anything about the church you didn't like? Evanescence
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Evanescence
who's Hosanna?
you sure it wasn't "rosanna"? by toto?Hosanna is like a shout of joy and Triumph. Hosanna is an exclamation of praise to god HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!! Evanescence
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zagor
why go anywhere? Every church just what's to beat up numbers either in bank or in membership? Usually both. Why would you want to be a cog in someone's religious machine? I'd rather spend time in serious research and study to see where the truth can be found. They are all borgs in one sense or another. Besides if you believe in god you can always pray at home. That’s my view anyway.
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Evanescence
I'd rather spend time in serious research and study to see where the truth can be found.
You can do that by going to different churches, and even ask priests/ministers/elders questions about their religion.
Evanescence
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Chia
Why won't you go back? was there anything about the church you didn't like?
Yes, Evanescence, I felt the whole thing was pretty insincere. It just felt weird to me, like there was this huge conspiracy that I wasn't part of. Those aren't the right words I'm looking for but I didn't feel like I belonged. If I enjoy any religion, it's going to be somewhere where I feel welcomed. I didn't feel welcomed there, and I don't think it'll get any better (at least not according to what my boyfriend told me).
I'd rather spend time in serious research and study to see where the truth can be found
I think I am engaged in serious research and study--of myself. Right now, I'm all about finding who I am as a person and where I'm headed. Perhaps I'll go to a church and belong to another religion, perhaps I'll consider myself "spiritual" but against all organized religion, perhaps I'll just decide to figure everything out on my own. But I'm not rushing any decisions. I'll visit some churches, I'll check things out, I'll take my time, I'll expand my horizons. But I'm definitely about being selfish right now. It's all about me, and for once in my life there is nothing wrong with that!
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DanTheMan
Wow, that was almost spooky reading the Nicene creed. I haven't attended Catholic services in 20 years, but I still could recite that if I was in a coma.
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Sad emo
of one being the father.
of one being with the father.
who's Hosanna?
'Hosanna' means 'save us!'thought I'd better correct it - just in case some weird cult comes along and uses it as a proof that their teachings are right and everyone else is wrong!
Chia
I was raised a Catholic and can confirm (from my experience at least) it is all pretty insincere. They ruled by guilt and fear - after all, if you leave how do you get your sins forgiven? We were never encouraged to read or study the Bible, teachings were to be accepted without question, no salvation outside the church (I think the official stand has changed on that now - but at ground level? not really).
I always had the sense that people were watching and whispering about what others did. If someone left, as I eventually did, they wouldn't miss you - you're just an insignificant part in a massive money making machine - oh if you had money they LOVED you!! (if not, tough). It took me over 10 years to fight through the guilt and finally leave - and now some of my family hate me for leaving - the bloody hypocrites aren't even 'practising' Catholics!!!
Thats partly why I joined this forum. I think my experience of the Catholic church is similar in some parts to being in and leaving the JWs and I'm finding a lot here to help me work through my lingering guilt, worries and pain. Thank you all!
Thanks. I feel like I can face the rest of the day now!
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Pubsinger
I'm not sure that it's realistic to say
"I went to a Catholic church or an Anglican church and it felt cold, insincere, unwelcoming or whatever and so ALL Catholic, Anglican, Baptist or whatever churches must be like that."
In effect making a blanket assessment of a denomination by an impression of one congregation.
There is a MASSIVE difference between individual churches. It just reflects the personality of the individuals who attend.
This is true even within the Catholic church where the format is the same in most places. Different people doing the same thing but making it feel better or worse.
If you think about it it was the same at different Kingdom Halls. Some were awful but some were great. Unlike Kingdom Halls, with the different churches you are totally free to choose which congregation within the denomination of your choice you choose to attend. There's no-one telling you that because you live within a certain "territory" you must attend a particular Kingdom Hall or else you'll be viewed as rebellious or spiritually weak