i read some of the posts, but there is alot of heated discussion going on here. just to throw in my 3 cents... i was raised catholic and went thru all the sacraments up to confirmation. both my parents were raised catholic and went to catholic schools and my dad went to st. marys in san antonio (he was even on the b-ball team). my dad still knows all those crazy latin prayers from when they still did mass in latin. i went to chuch and sunday school every week and was even an altar boy. never really got into it, it was just something i did to keep the parentals happy. i moved out when i was 20 and that dang catholic guilt kept me going to church on my own for a good year or so. my parents would call and say "did you go to church this week?" and i would say "no, but ill go this week"...and i did. eventually i realized that i got nothing out of it and was only doing it for my parents so i quit and now i only go for christmas and easter. i would say that there is a slight prejudice against catholics in this country. it probably goes back to the fact that many immigrants were catholic (irish for one) and there was already a bias against them (see Gangs of New York for starters). catholics are seen as being loyal to the pope and not their country. that was the fear of many when JFK was elected. many thought that he would be controlled by the pope. and isnt it funny how there are so many catholics in this country, but we have only had 1 catholic president (and we all know what happened to him!) i think that many see the religion as almost cult-like. my baptist friends mom would always ask questions like "do you worship statues?" and "why are there so many candles in there?" i do know this though...catholics tend to not place as much focus on the words of the bible as other religions. what i mean is that in many other religions people know their bible inside and out and can quote various lines from memory. like i said, i went to sunday school but i never read the whole bible and i cant quote one line out of that thing. maybe i didnt pay attention well enough, but i dont think that we were as focused on the teachings of the bible as other christian religions. a big problem i have w/ the church is that they are a political group as well as religious. i take issue w/ their stance on abortion rights, homosexuals and the death penalty (not to mention the issue of institutionalized boy-rape). the main issue i wanted to touch on was the catholic position on darwinism. despite scientific evidence to the contrary, creationism is still taught as the truth. what i find funny is that catholicism is darwinism in its truest form. darwinism is evolution and survival of the fittest, right? the crusades were about kicking ass and spreading catholocism, whether it was wanted or not. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. you either join us or you die. when spain conquered the americas they destroyed thousands of years of mayan and aztec history, records and science. they forced all those poor people to convert to catholocism or die. the conquistadors destroyed thousands of years of historty and knowledge that we will never know. whole cities were leveled and the stones used to build mexico city, guadalajara and merida to name a few. indian customs, religion and language was suppressed and died out under spanish rule. all in the name of God and king. survival of the fittest in its purest form. darwin would have been proud!
So I take it that you are: For abortion (since the Catholic position is against abortion) For the death penalty (since the Catholic position is against the death penalty) For homosexual acts and marriage (since the Catholic church is against these acts - but the Catholic church is NOT against homosexuals).
correct... if you want an abortion, more power to you if you kill someone, you should die too (i also think if you rape someone or molest children you should die) if you are gay and want to get married i could care less, more power to you. the catholic church is not against homosexuals, just what they do and how they live their everyday lives...hmm.
I leave you with this equally important prayer Good food, good meat, gettin' late, let's eat. BTW, I think I've spotted your problem. You need to spend a lot more time addressing your own pompous nature about things spiritual and less time trying to convince others you are right. maybe a vow of silence would be good for a saint like you.
Fair enough...if that is the case then you would lead you life based on the teachings of Jesus as the Old Testament applies only to the Jews with whom the first covenant was made. By that rationale, Jesus never said anything about homosexuals where as Leviticus is VERY specific--would you agree? I only mention homosexuals as a favorite target of Evangelicals as "abomonations" to God, an example if you will.
oops you weren't supposed to agree now I've got to do the godly thing and admit I need to do likewise
