opinions? comments?

Frigid, unimaginative, uptight, control freaks.

you're referring to the Chirch, not the actual religion. There is a difference.

The Church is organized and knows what they're doing. They have the right intentions(most of the time), but they tend to go about those intentions in the wrong way.

The religion of catholicism as a whole is misunderstood by a lot of people who tend to focus on the church's history rather than the history of the religion.

[This message has been edited by napoleon_complex (edited 12-21-2004).]

I have encountered many "servants of the church" and my description fits virtually all of them.

[This message has been edited by Quantized (edited 12-21-2004).]

I understand prefectly what I'm talking about. My mother is extremely religious (Roman Catholic).

Many catholics I know are the polar opposite of your description.

quote:Originally posted by napoleon_complex:

Many catholics I know are the polar opposite of your description.

Yes Nap, but mommy didn't hug him when he was a child.

quote:Originally posted by Quantized:

Frigid, unimaginative, uptight, control freaks.

Catholicism is better than those dumb Protestants. Haven't you noticed that most Protestant sects are more conservative then Catholicism?

If your mom was, say, Lutheran, she'd be a lot more conservative. BTW, the future for the Catholic Church looks bright, when we get a new Pope he'll probably be more liberal, meaning, Priestesses and embracement of homosexuals.

[This message has been edited by Encrypted Soldier (edited 12-22-2004).]

The Cathloic Church needs an imaginative western European pope who won't be afraid to go along with the times and accept that society does change(i.e. acceptance of homosexuality).

But along with the progressiveness, the Church also needs to crack down on any and all corruption and indecency within the Church.

The Church needs to find a way to remember and embrace it's history while also adapting to the current world situation.

The catholic church has probably one of the most open and accepting doctrines on homosexuality out of all the formal churches.

I mean more along the lines of accepting the rights of homosexuals to marry. They're the most liberal of the bunch, but that really isn't saying much.

the catholic church has nothing wrong against thinking homosexual thoughts and being homosexual. Catholics are just against homosexual acts. Its the acts that are wrong.

I ask because my family is built up of fundamentalist protestants, I have been considering converting away. it is a longer story. I have just had it with fundamentalism. they are like a bunch of children who don't understand what they are saying, and just run amok with twisted ideas. they remind me of old medieval heretics that just take a liking to any new idea that pops into thier head.

plus the fundamentalists have been weird to me. I remember when I was younger and went to a camp once. they were speaking in tounges, and snake handling, and everything. I felt so out of place. that is just not a natural way for me to express my faith. they have these wierd little buzz words and stuff that just became annoying "filled with the spirit" "god said no" things like this. I could not relate to them. they were so ignorant to everything. even thier own religion. they did not know that catholics were part of christianity at all. the YOUTH PASTOR thought that catholacism was a sect of judaism. they were so twisted I had had enough. I have just kind of been dragged along for the ride. I tried out eastern orthodoxy for a while, but the ethnic tension was just too much for me. I did not fit in, and I felt out of place. I am just considering catholacism.

I guess my question is

are the catholics fairly regular people who don't cary things to crazy extreemes, and act strangely so that you have to question thier motives in everything they do? are they organized, with good leadership, and not just completely ignorant fools like the blind leading the blind? just what do you think about them as compared to fundies, or others?

did not mean to offend annyone with some things I said.

In my experiance the catholic church is very layed back compared to the other christian relgions.

Christianty was orginally a sect in Judism, and since the Romn Catholic church was the orginal church I can see were your counsler got that (assuming he wn't just some dumbass who knew nothing abou the histroy of his relgion)

learn to spell.

quote:Originally posted by freaker:



I guess my question is

are the catholics fairly regular people who don't cary things to crazy extreemes, and act strangely so that you have to question thier motives in everything they do? are they organized, with good leadership, and not just completely ignorant fools like the blind leading the blind? just what do you think about them as compared to fundies, or others?

did not mean to offend annyone with some things I said.

I'm 17, and I decided to convert to Catholicism.Catholics are extremely regular people, that have good motivations, and who will make you feel welcome. You'll feel wierd at first, but you really shouldn't the Church and the people in it are thrilled that you're there. Yeah, they're well organized..I'm glad I'm converting. It's really an awesome experience, I feel like I'm doing the right thing, and i can concentrate on God

Just an implement of control.

All forms of organized religion are just an implent of control over the commoners. Think about it. Who is in charge. Who benefits. How have you benefitted from giving 10% of your money to a church. All you get is an earfull of lies and an uncomfortable chair for an hour or two. Unless, of course, you consider false hope a benefit.

Only mormans and rich/very committed catholics tithe any more.

quote:Originally posted by freaker:



I guess my question is

are the catholics fairly regular people who don't cary things to crazy extreemes, and act strangely so that you have to question thier motives in everything they do? are they organized, with good leadership, and not just completely ignorant fools like the blind leading the blind? just what do you think about them as compared to fundies, or others?

did not mean to offend annyone with some things I said.

Catholics are very normal people.

They don't take it to extremes at all.

Probably the most organized church of all with amazing leadership (just look at pope John Paul II).

My opinions on Catholics.........

I find the average Catholic to be lackadaisical, half-hearted, and quite uninspired. (pertaining to his/her faith)

But ther're good people. Just not good christians.

im ok with tht part of christianity only have a preoblem with the big worship of jesus.i know they have one god but its christianity because of jesus and thets the difference that makes em apart from judaism of course. chatholics seem to focus more on praisure for the saints they have than for their actual god..



and of course paul have them the intiative long ago but the new testament has jesus himself telling the jews to stop worshiping on the mountaing(which got the jews in alot of trouble w/ god) but its come back in my opinion.

quote:Originally posted by Encrypted Soldier:

BTW, the future for the Catholic Church looks bright, when we get a new Pope he'll probably be more liberal, meaning, Priestesses and embracement of homosexuals.



No it doesn't, the Cardinals are all very conservative right now, Ratzinger is going to stick another reactionary into the papacy. The new pope will not be more liberal, we just want him to be.

quote:Originally posted by aTribeCalledSean:

I find the average Catholic to be lackadaisical, half-hearted, and quite uninspired. (pertaining to his/her faith)

But ther're good people. Just not good christians.[/B]

According to Catholic doctrine, being a good person is being a good Christian.

You are speaking of what we call "dyed in the wool" catholics. People who were born into Catholic families, grew up in Catholic communities and do appear lackadaisical about their faith. The thing to keep in mind is that these people are the flock, not the shepherds. For them, their faith has not so much an active effect on their life as a passive effect. Whereas many Protestants run around witnessing, praying, barking at you about how much Jesus loves them, a Catholics' faith will have a much less notable affect upon their life. It will affect more how they act in everyday life, in the common decisions they make, more than whether they're going to spend their saturday protesting Harry Potter or going to see the Passion with their whole congregation.

This is especially true of Irish Catholics and other groups of Catholics that also have strong national or cultural ties in addition to their faith. (Eg. Spanish Catholics, Italian Catholics, Lithuanian Catholics and Irish Catholics) In these countries, Catholicism has played such an important role for such a long time that the faith and the culture are very deeply bound to each other.

Another thing we must remember, is to always judge any religion by it's highest incarnation. I get my education at a Catholic institution so believe me when I say that I know all about the cold, controlling, fascistic assholes that gravitate to the Catholic church, but I also see people such as my priest who is so well educated and has obviously spent a lot of time thinking about his faith and though I may not agree with him all of the time I do have an immense respect for him.

An interesting thing to point out is that all the teachers of religion at my school who are lay people are extremely closed-minded about the Church and religion, whereas all the clergy are much more accepting of other ideas and other interpretations.

[I apologize for any grammatical errors, I am tired.]

[This message has been edited by One.Lost.J.Man (edited 12-27-2004).]

I'm just wondering if I would feel like a kool-aid drinker like I did in protestant churches. some of those kids were so brainwashed by thier parents I could not believe it. and the preaching at everyone. they could not speak to annyone without trying to convert them. it seemed not like they wanted to spread thier faith, but like they were driven by some kind of twisted lust for power and domination over souls. it was unsettling.

will I find things like this in catholacism?

Unfourtnatly you do get some brain washed christians (in the sense they think all other sects are "evil")

But do what you feel is right... i personly find a balance in both evangelicel and consetive worshipi attend both... you might find that consertive worship is more your style,...

catholic girls are the freak.

You guys have a lot of Protestant propaganda shit pounded into your head.

Catholics are normal, and on average more liberal. All the fucking Protestants keep on saying how the Pope (who must be the nicest, kindest, and most Jesus-like person in the world) is from "back in the day..." like he's one of those evil fanatics who will kill everyone whos not Catholic. The reality is that the Protestants are the fundamentalists, not the Roman Catholics.

So screw Protestants.

so screw all of them. Wtf is the point of orgaised religion? to get everyone to fight wars? to make lots of money (protestents supporting isreal) Its just strange that we still need someine to preach to us when we can read the bible ourselves not someone prosenting their biased view (however unintentional it might seem its still going to lean one way...)

quote:Originally posted by Quantized:

I understand prefectly what I'm talking about. My mother is extremely religious (Roman Catholic).



Are you equating extreme religiosity with Roman Catholicism ? You shouldn't. Being a Roman Catholic does not imply being extremely religious.

If your mother is "extremely religious", that's just her mindset, and if she were a Buddhist, a Muslim, or anything else, she would probably still be "extremely religious".

quote:Originally posted by Encrypted Soldier:

Catholicism is better than those dumb Protestants. Haven't you noticed that most Protestant sects are more conservative then Catholicism?

If my information is correct, protestant churches generally have a much more austere outlook on life (think Puritans) as salvation to them is pre-ordained and impossible to influence upon. No amount of good deeds will do anything to secure the salvation of your soul, in other words.

I may be wrong however about that.

No ammount of good deeds will get you salvation, Salvation as been offred to ALL if us if we accept Jesus christ and follow him. hats quite simppply what the bible says, and what I for one belive...

quote:Originally posted by Encrypted Soldier:

You guys have a lot of Protestant propaganda shit pounded into your head.

Catholics are normal, and on average more liberal. All the fucking Protestants keep on saying how the Pope (who must be the nicest, kindest, and most Jesus-like person in the world) is from "back in the day..." like he's one of those evil fanatics who will kill everyone whos not Catholic. The reality is that the Protestants are the fundamentalists, not the Roman Catholics.

So screw Protestants.

Instinctively I would agree with you about Protestants, because that is the way I was raised. But, unfortunately, the American Catholic Church is getting more and more conservative. Catholics, particularly Irish Catholics used to be some of the standard bearers of many liberal ideas that stem from their core beliefs in good deeds helping with salvation and whatnot. Most Protestants teach that merely "loving" Jesus will get you into heaven, or even just believing in him, but Catholic doctrine also maintains the importance of good deeds as a means of attaining salvation. Because of this belief in the necessity of good deeds, Catholics in general pay more attention to the teachings of Jesus regarding a proper life and proper behavior. This leads to liberal ideals such as being anti-war, and favoring social welfare programs (I Am My Brother's Keeper).

Of course, this is a stereotype and unfortunately, the times they are a changin'.

Again, what I see from my personal experience in a Catholic community is that as Catholics start to vote almost exclusively on abortion, their other values fall into line with more conservative ideals.

And Ratzinger is still evil.

quote:Originally posted by One.Lost.J.Man:





Again, what I see from my personal experience in a Catholic community is that as Catholics start to vote almost exclusively on abortion, their other values fall into line with more conservative ideals.





Not true, in my catholic highschool, all but two catholic teachers voted Kerry.

Catholics have always been democratic, but I agree that some people are becoming more conservative. For the most part catholics still tend to vote democratic.

quote:Originally posted by napoleon_complex:

Not true, in my catholic highschool, all but two catholic teachers voted Kerry.

Catholics have always been democratic, but I agree that some people are becoming more conservative. For the most part catholics still tend to vote democratic.

Could be that I just live in an overwhelmingly conservative area (which I do).

quote:Originally posted by freaker:

I'm just wondering if I would feel like a kool-aid drinker like I did in protestant churches. some of those kids were so brainwashed by thier parents I could not believe it. and the preaching at everyone. they could not speak to annyone without trying to convert them. it seemed not like they wanted to spread thier faith, but like they were driven by some kind of twisted lust for power and domination over souls. it was unsettling.

will I find things like this in catholacism?

no

quote:Originally posted by NightVision:

so screw all of them. Wtf is the point of orgaised religion? to get everyone to fight wars? to make lots of money (protestents supporting isreal) Its just strange that we still need someine to preach to us when we can read the bible ourselves not someone prosenting their biased view (however unintentional it might seem its still going to lean one way...)

organization helps anything. So organized religion will help the religion