I bet that is EXACTLY what the Pharisee's thought when Jesus accurately described their perversion of "Honor thy Father and Mother, which they replaced with Corban. So how do YOU know what is safe and what is too rigid? the church traditons right? they decide for you? righttttttttt ok far be it for me to decide by reading myself. rave on brother. don't let the traditions of men decide your salvation.
They do indeed contradict literal scripture, as does adapting pagan practices into our worship of God (as the use of beads was borrowed from hindus and muslims). You seem to confuse praises to God and prayer. Maybe Catholic prayers are intended to only be praise? Maybe that is the explanation... [/QUOTE] This teaching is definitely not Biblical, and the basis of this teaching is a complete fabrication of man. Evidence of Mary remaining a virgin after the birth of Jesus cannot be found in the Bible. If Mary is believed to have any type of power at all to intervene between man and Christ, then yes it does. (Reference Luke 11 and you will find Jesus corrected a woman for praising Mary.) So, some churches require it, while others don't? If the Catholic church is THE perfect church as you have stated above, then how can such a contradiction exist within THE church? LSUDeek summed it up with: THE church is anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. That is THE Church. It seems to me, in some instances, the arrogance and false teachings claimed to be Biblical by the Catholic church are not that far from the pagan, so-called sects of Christianity such as the mormons and jehova's witness. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1 RSV) Of course, the bottom line is what is required for salvation? I would like to hear what you believe fulfills this requirement.....
I will only attempt to answer your points where I think we can find resoloution. The practice of counting beads was actually Jewish in origin. Muslims took it from us. Most protestants know only half of the Rosary ie the repeated prayers. The other half is meditation on mysteries. You meditate on one of the mysteries, (one is the scoruging at the piller, another is the Assension) as you repeat the prayers. The repeated prayers serve only to enhance the meditation. Again this is not vain repetition. It is designed to help us pray better. Not only praise, but they are not intended to pray for the sake of saying many words. The Bible offers no evidence that she had children after Jesus either. The writings of the earliest Christians say she remained virgin all her life. These writings go back to the late first and early second century and in some cases predate the Bible. No, Mary can not intervene and the Church does not teach this. She can act as an intercessor. It isn't a contradiction. You have to understand the Church to get my point. When i said Churches, I did not mean individual parishes, I mean specific rites. The Latin rite is the most common in America and Europe. Priests in this rite take a vow of celebacy. Their are other rites( Marionite, Ethiopian) that do not have this requirement of priests. These rites beleive the same things and are part of the Catholic church, but have different disciplines for its clergy. In other words it is not a dogma or a doctrine the priests cannot marry. Rather it is a vow certain rites take. It can be lifted at any time.
I've noticed that I am reading what you respond and I am trying to understand, yet find fault with your beliefs. I am also noticing that you either. A. aren't reading the scripture I've posted or B. choose to ignore it. the truth is printed before you. Don't believe me, find a new testament and read it for yourself? Why did the Catholic Church CHANGE the Lord's supper to include the changing of water to wine? Did Christ do this in the upper room? Do you think it is SAFE to change the traditions Christ and the Apostles outlined in the Bible? if so does this mean that the Bible is not complete or can be changed? By what authority does the Catholic Religion do this. I relaize they aren't alone in perversions of faith, I am just asking. I would like to understand, really. If you don't think it is a big deal to add or take away from these traditions then those scriptures that Bengal Buddy posted, PAul's letter to the Corinthians, among others, would be for naut. And finally, something to think about, Are you so sure of this religion that you can blindly follow it when the stakes are as high as they are? What would prevent you from study on your own? without a Catechism or Catholic bias? Just open the book and study privately with an Open mind and draw your own conclusions, that's what Martin Luther did. Can you afford to risk your soul on the assumption that God would turn a blind eye to things you consider un-important? He may do it I don't know, God's grace is good and covers a multitude of sins, however, from study I know he also holds us accountable for things he has shown to us. Many people follow one leader or religion blindly, even unto death. Search the scriptures daily as Paul told Timothy to show thyself approved. Don't let someone you don't know across the ocean in Italy decide your Soul's fate. You may decide ( for yourself ) you were right all along. take care.
Christianity is a philosophy that man has perverted into a religion for his own purposes. Taken strictly as a philosophy, it stands on it's own merits pretty well...I mean, how do you argue w/ the inherent logic of the Golden Rule as a way of life?
First of all, there's a whole lot more than the Golden Rule to the Christian "philosophy". However, even if just based upon it - I think it's not always the best rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Well, perhaps I'm psychotic & enjoy people torturing me during sexual pleasure. Does that mean I should torture & rape others? I think not. A better rule would be, "Do unto others as they would want you to do unto them". But that is flawed as well, because perhaps someone wants me to help them commit suicide. That would make me a murderer. I think, although Christianity is so sporadic in this it's tough to tell, but I think Christ is against that. Does it ever actually say the Golden Rule in the Bible?
Don't you hate that!? I mean, not specific to scripture, but when people don't even listen to your side of the argument - they just argue their point regardless of what you say. It pisses me off!!! And just in case it seems like it, I'm not trying to make any inferences about anyone here. I just noticed this & it made me start thinking.
From what I can tell, the bible never explicitly calls it the Golden Rule, nor does it say the wording that we are most familiar with. It does include this in the bible: "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them." Matthew 7.12 So it is certainly the same basic belief behind it. However, I think you'll find that most religious, or philosophical if you prefer, doctrines include concepts such as this. How those concepts are practiced in that religion vary wildly & I sincerely doubt that any of the groups has ever kept this idea close to their heart. For if they had, Religion wouldn't be the world's #1 killer.
