Posts by lovelylil2

13

Anyone a Practicing Catholic?

by lovelylil2 in

jw
friends

if so, would you mind helping me gain some information on catholic beliefs.

i left roman catholicism when i was a teen but have been researching the beliefs and practices of all the major churches and this is the one i am working on now.

there is a lot of conflicting information out there both for and against the church, as with all religions i guess.

If so, would you mind helping me gain some information on Catholic Beliefs. I left Roman Catholicism when I was a teen but have been researching the beliefs and practices of all the major churches and this is the one I am working on now. There is a lot of conflicting information out there both for and against the church, as with all religions I guess. And I admit I don't have a very good knowlege of the Catholic faith, so I thought I would go to the source and "speak" with those who are of this faith group.

I have a few Q's I would like to ask practicing Catholics such as;

What is the difference between "regular" Catholics and Roman Catholics?

Is calling the Pope "holy father" a requirement for becoming a Catholic or can you view him as just the head of the Catholic church?

Can adults convert to Catholisim?

what are the main doctrines of the Catholic faith?

As JW's we were taught that Catholics do not use the bible or know how to use it, is this true according to your observation?

Does anyone know of a website that can answer these Q's, also I welcome personal comments from practicing catholics. This is purely for research and I have no intention of putting down the Catholic church or anyone's beliefs. Do not want to debate the validity of the beliefs or anything like that. This is just for my informational purpose and curiosity.

I've been studying all the churches for a few years now and am taking biblical studies courses. Thanks in advance for your help. Peace, Lilly

P.S. Any good books out there on the practices of the Catholic church and their origins?

11

Don't know how to title this but: Tragedy!!!

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/09/27/book_details_motives_for_suicide_at_harvard/?page=1.

what he left behind: a 1,905-page suicide noteauthor described nihilistic outlookby david abel, globe staff | september 27, 2010. in the end, no one really knows what led mitchell heisman, an erudite, wry, handsome 35-year-old, to walk into harvard yard on the holiest day in his faith and fire one shot from a silver revolver into his right temple, on the top step of memorial church, where hundreds gathered to observe the jewish day of atonement.. but if the 1,905-page suicide note he left is to be believed a work he spent five years honing and that his family and others received in a posthumous e-mail after his suicide last saturday morning on yom kippur heisman took his life as part of a philosophical exploration he called an experiment in nihilism.. at the end of his note, a dense, scholarly work with 1,433 footnotes, a 20-page bibliography, and more than 1,700 references to god and 200 references to the german philosopher friedrich nietzsche, heisman sums up his experiment:.

every word, every thought, and every emotion come back to one core problem: life is meaningless, he wrote.

lovelylil2

Very well said Cameo, I agree. This is very sad indeed. Lilly

62

What silly things have you been counselled on or simply been told off for?

by 3Mozzies in

so what silly things have you been counselled on or simply been told off for?.

back in my early 20's, i had a pair of comfy old jeans that started to tear in about 3 places on the leg.

it was the fashion at the time so not only did they feel great to wear, they also looked 'in', not that i cared for that, but it was a bonus .

lovelylil2

I was spoken to by an elders wife about letting my daughter wear "worldly" earings. She was 10 at the time and was wearing an older pair of earings that a sweet 80 year old sister had given her the week before.

My husband was spoken to by an elder about our son, who was about 3 at the time falling asleep at the kh. This elder wanted us to wake him up so that he could hear the teachings of Jehovah! Anyway, thankfully my husband said no way because if we woke up a tired baby NO ONE was going to hear the meetings.

My husband was told he could not take the family out in service on Sundays, this is a habit we got into because our poor kids asked for one day to sleep in and watch cartoons like normal kids on Saturday and since we were already at the hall sundays, we thought we could go in service after the meetings and kill two birds with one stone. But the pharisitical elders informed my husband that Saturday was the more acceptable day for service as more people go out and can "SEE HIM" and his family doing God's Work. My hubby was like, why do I care if people see me, God knows I am out in service. But the elders persisted and my hubby went back to Saturdays. Only I refused to change the kid's routine back so the kids and I missed every single Sat service and I went out during the week while they were in school.

Another time a "sister" reamed me out because I arrived to the sunday meeting, along with my daughter a little bit after my hubby and son (daughter needed to change clothes due to bloody nose), and we could not find seats together so I sat in back with my daughter. This sister told me how inappropriate my behavior was and that married couples and families MUST sit together for all meetings.

Peace, Lilly

13

No, Virgina, God doesn't use Paradoxes.

by moshe in

jw
friends

believingxjw asked me yesterday, in response to my comment that it didn't make sense that god would allow paradoxes in the bible.. moshe, why would it not make sense that, "god would allow paradoxes to happen," ?.

my reply:.

luke 22:21-22 (new international version).

lovelylil2

notverylikely,

There are different views on Satan. Some believe "Satan" means any spirit (or attitude) that opposes God, while others believe it means a certain opposer of God - Satan the Devil, a fallen Angel. So I guess the answer to whether or not Satan was doing God's will depends on how you view him. In addition one could argue that God "foreknew" That Satan (his opposer) was going to manipulate someone to betray his son.

There are lots of angles you could look at with this.

But since Judas ultimately could have chosen not to betray Christ, it is not really a paradox.

Interesting topic though. Lilly

200

Demons and the WTS

by brotherdan in

i remember growing up and hearing all sorts of stories about demonic activity from people.

some would be experiences that people had going door to door and visiting a "witch" or "warlock".

some would inadvertently go to a fortune tellers door and have a demonic experience.. i was always facinated by all the stories.

lovelylil2

Thank you Stephen!

I am studying about Demons and unclean spirits in my biblical studies class. Am seeing things a little different than as a JW but still not sure completely what my new view is yet on the topic. Need to do more research so thanks again to you and Leo. Peace, Lilly

13

No, Virgina, God doesn't use Paradoxes.

by moshe in

jw
friends

believingxjw asked me yesterday, in response to my comment that it didn't make sense that god would allow paradoxes in the bible.. moshe, why would it not make sense that, "god would allow paradoxes to happen," ?.

my reply:.

luke 22:21-22 (new international version).

lovelylil2

I agree with Neon on this one.

If you look at the biblical accounts carefully (the gospels) you will see that Judas did not feel the same about Jesus as the other disciples. The disciples addressed Jesus as Lord but Judas called him Rabbi. also Jesus rebuked Judas for being greedy (John 12:1-8). There are other hints in the gospels too that Judas lacked a close relationship with Jesus. Possibly he never considered Jesus as really being the Messiah?

But like Neon said, although Jesus was going to be betrayed, it did not HAVE to be Judas. Interestingly too, the bible says that "Satan entered into him", meaning Judas, before Jesus betrayal. This could have different meanings depending on your personal belief in who or what Satan is but clearly Judas had wrong motivations regarding Jesus.

So I also do not think this is a paradox. Lilly

200

Demons and the WTS

by brotherdan in

i remember growing up and hearing all sorts of stories about demonic activity from people.

some would be experiences that people had going door to door and visiting a "witch" or "warlock".

some would inadvertently go to a fortune tellers door and have a demonic experience.. i was always facinated by all the stories.

lovelylil2

Thanks Leo,

I will look those up after work. As far as fallen Angels being bound in the abyss, I already came to that conclusion thru my own personal bible study. To me what you cited and what we both conclude about fallen Anglels makes so much more sense then the view that fallen Angels are wondering the earth causes mischief for Christians every day. Especially in the way Jehovah's Witnesses believe.

Peace, Lilly

27

What wrong with being a witch?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

as someone who is wiccan, i do not have a problem with someone in politics like o'donnell saying she did witchcraft in the background.

however, i must say, i think she is full of crap.

as if she did 'date a witch' like she said ... she would not have had her first date on a 'satanic alter.

lovelylil2

Isn't Wicca a nature based religion, sort of like native american beliefs?

200

Demons and the WTS

by brotherdan in

i remember growing up and hearing all sorts of stories about demonic activity from people.

some would be experiences that people had going door to door and visiting a "witch" or "warlock".

some would inadvertently go to a fortune tellers door and have a demonic experience.. i was always facinated by all the stories.

lovelylil2

Leolaia,

You said first century christians believed demons were the spirits of the Nephilum and not fallen angels? Do you have a credible source that states that? Thanks, Lilly

10

JW sex offender can't worship with minors

by behemot in

n.h. supreme court title sex offender can't worship with minors subhead religious freedom appeal rejected summary main photo/photogallery by maddie hanna / monitor staffseptember 18, 2010the state supreme court has denied the appeal of a sex offender who wanted to worship with a manchester congregation of jehovah's witnesses after he was released from prison in 2008.. in an opinion issued yesterday, the justices rejected 36-year-old jonathan perfetto's argument that the conditions of his suspended prison sentences - which require he have no contact with minors under age 17 - had violated his right to religious freedom.. "the defendant's freedom of belief has not been restricted," the justices wrote.

"he may still practice his religion in ways that do not violate the condition of his sentences," including the use of books and video and audio recordings.. perfetto could also participate in bible study sessions or meet with congregation elders when children weren't present, the justices said.. and the justices agreed with the state that restrictions prohibiting perfetto's contact with minors were justified if they were reasonable to his rehabilitation and to protecting public safety - rather than the least restrictive conditions possible, as perfetto had argued.. in perfetto's case, the restrictions were reasonable, the justices said.

perfetto pleaded guilty in 2002 to 61 counts of possessing child pornography, and "prohibiting him from having contact with children provides protection to the class of individuals exploited by him and furthers his rehabilitation by limiting the circumstances which could lead to his reoffending," the justices wrote.. the appeal marked the first time the court had considered whether restrictions barring a sex offender from attending religious meetings where children are present violated that person's constitutional rights to freedom of religion.

lovelylil2

One more thing. This is really, really good news as we know the elders will not protect the children in thier kingdom hall. There was a child molestor in the Hingham MA congregation for a long time and NOT one elder warned me or my husband about him even though we had two small children. My son who was around 6 at the time used to want to go to the rest room alone since he was a "big boy" and did not need dad.

But for a sister who knew this guy and his past coming to warn me I would of had NO IDEA. We immediately up and left that hall for another when we found out that the elders could care less about our family. Little did we realize at the time that this was standard practice in the JW's. to hide molestors for the sake of keeping up the false appearance of cleanliness in the organization.

so this judge did the right thing and now this creep cannot have contact with children at least in the hall. Peace, Lilly