The Crusades. The Inquisition. Sexual abuse of minors. "Thou shalt not kill." "Thou shalt not steal." "Thou shalt not bear false witness against that neighbors." "Thou shalt not commit adultery." "Thou shalt not cover thy neighbor's goods." How does this compute? I have a hard time taking Catholics serious when I think about these things and the people that this blind support behind them. I know this may seem like an attack, but I'm genuinely curious to hear an honest assessment.
You call it history and keep on keepin on, all religions, societies, groups, and people in general participate in hypocrisy, in terrible acts that don't align with how they would like to portray themselves as. So my question to you is, who do you think we can take seriously? That being said, I'm not Catholic. The actual answer ---> Spoiler It was the devil
If your theology is led by "The Church", church leaders (whom are often idolized), and church history... while ultimately knowing (or should know) that man is sinful, and frequently wrong-- then youre following the wrong thing.
I'm not Catholic but I think it's a bit ridiculous to pin the crusades on modern day people. Or the Inquisition. Now sex abuse, that's a fair argument to go after. That's rampant and they still haven't cleaned up their house.
I have a hard time taking anyone seriously who believes in fairy tales. Whether that is a dude that was nailed to the cross and came back, a dude who parted the seas, or a warmongerer drug addict.
To my 78 year old mom, it is God that is perfect and human beings that corrupt the divinity of God's teachings for personal gain. She was born and raised Catholic so it's more of a tradition to practice it. She does her rosaries everyday at 5 AM not long after waking up, does her daily readings following that and then tends to her garden in the backyard. She doesn't feel safe attending mass so she watches them uploaded on Youtube online. And I know it's a bias because she is my mom but she is the closest living example I can think of to an actual saint. She isn't preachy over her Christianity, is accepting of others, helps those struggling most and truly practices what she doesn't even preach to others. Just leads by example.
You state you have a hard time taking Catholics serious but then say you're asking a serious question. Why would a catholic take you serious? Im not sure what exactly you're asking? Im not close to any Catholics, but the ones I have known over the years have been pretty good people, relatively speaking. None of them condone that behavior. Outside of the pedophilia, im not sure why you're asking about the others. Should I not take Americans seriously because they did a better job of exterminating the indigenous people than Hitler did with the Jews?
Most of these questions are not unique to Catholicism. As the Houston Chronicle reported last year, sexual abuse occurs at systemic levels in some Protestant/Evangelical communities, too. I'm not trying to dismiss the Catholic church's glaring problems in this area, just saying that it's almost as if an ignorant, puritanical and absolutist faith-based approach to human sexuality is a breeding ground for abuse. The rest of your modern questions could easily be applied to other denominations as well.
Agreed. I think adults need to start realizing that religion is a childish belief system, perpetuated by earlier humans who had little understanding of the world around them. I know plenty of great Christians but you can be great without believing two of each species coexisted on a boat for an extended period of time. Not trying to be a smart a** but this is the D&D. Society needs to push itself a little harder when it comes to critical thinking; it’s the 21st century
i was raised catholic and was even an altar boy. my family is staunchly catholic and im pretty much the only one who isnt religious (some of my cousins are not either). i think the dioceses that were involved in covering up systematic abuse for decades should be sued out of existence. it wasnt just a few bad apples...this went on at the highest levels of the church hierarchy. moving priests to different parishes after they get caught molesting kids and crap like that. the leadership knew(knows) whats going on and instead of trying to stop it they just silenced people and moved the perpetrators to different churches. this didnt happen everywhere, but again, the dioceses where it did happen should be shut down. seize their assets, sell them off and set up a victims fund with that money.
Interesting point. _______ Azeroth has a diverse system of beliefs and gods that are derived from real religions, some of which are ancient. The gods Hakkar and Sethe are both based on old Aztec feathered, serpent gods like Quetzalcoatl, although their similarities stop at appearances. The Light and Burning Legion mimic parts Christian religions, and Elune references any number of ancient moon goddesses. The Troll's beliefs and reverence for Loas are directly related to the Haitian Voodoo religion as well. WoW lore has a very diverse background, and it will be interesting to see where the next expansion takes us, and what the reflection of real-world lore will be. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr.com/world-of-warcraft-real-world-mythology/amp/?espv=1
Well, I don’t know where to begin. One obvious problem is that there are theistic and non-theistic religions. Even granting the complaints about “theism as fairy tale,” there are numerous worldviews and belief systems that involve no such fairy tales: Buddhism, Zen, Taoism, Confucianism, even non-theistic Christianity (e.g., the Quakers). There is also the related issue of defining religion. Durkheim distinguished between “substantive” and “functional” accounts of religion. Catholicism is an example of substantive religion; but secular worldviews, including atheism, can function as religion—again, in the absence of fairy tales. So, a bit more knowledge about the philosophy of religion seems to be in order. I’d recommend folks push themselves a little harder when it comes to critical thinking as this poster suggests and abandon the simplistic and facile ideological blinders (and I mean “ideological” here in the Marxian sense of false consciousness) this poster exhibits, and as “adults” learn a bit more about religion before reacting so quickly and demonstrating their own narrow prejudices. It’s the 21st Century.
I'm not religious but I've heard these type of questions/arguments brought up before and think they're dumb. What is the expectation exactly? To have an institution that is nearly 2000 years old without failing or fault? Without any members who have ever had any failing or fault? The Catholic church is a human institution made up of humans with human failings. You will see every type of human failing reflected within it. You will also find all of these failings or nearly all of these failings in every other human institution. That being said, of course, the Catholic church has also been an incredible resource for humanity, but you don't seem to mention that.
I didn't say I have a hard time taking Catholics serious and I never said my questions was serious. Not sure where you are getting that from. Also I'm not asking anything. My comment about the child abuse is aimed at the church which has in the past turned a blind eye or shuffled priests around instead of cleaning them out. My comment was aimed at the church as an organization and its members who still treat the organization like it's an arm of God when reality shows it's closer Satan's unwash'ed ****.
The question is posted to ask Catholics how they feel about those in charge of their church. Obviously they've done some good, but they've operated some of the worst of the worst, scandal wise. What gets me is that they teach godliness, or to be as close to it as possible, but within the system, they've been committing crimes for 2,000 years. The child sex abuse is just the latest scandal. The torture of people for not believing like they do? Absurd. Of course this exists in every system of beliefs, and I don't mean to single out the Catholic Church, but they've essentially got the worst black eyes of it all. In my diocese, people hide behind the Catholic Church as a status symbol. They'll scrape together $6k per year, per kid to send their kids to private school because they believe it makes them look like better parents. In reality, your kids may be worse off going there. Also, in my diocese, sexual abuse has run rampant (that's why kids may be worse off going there), and they set up a victims fund. Don't worry, though, payments got delayed due to covid. Sexual abuse of minors by the church is right next to killing these kids. It's sick. It's covered up on the highest levels, and that's frightening. Especially because they're trying to teach people to be godly, and in doing that, they're obtaining these kids' deepest secrets to hold over their heads as they bend them over. And to the poster asking if people should take me serious as an American? Of course. I take Catholics serious in every day life. I'm just asking a question as to how you feel about your church, and its past and current dark history. The better question is to ask how I feel about past and current leaders of our country.
