| Re: Why are SUVs and Christianity similar?
no spam wrote:
>
>>>> The Pope is just the figurehead of the church and does not make many
>>>> decisions. It is the Cardinals that tell the Pope what to say.
>> Nonsense. It is Catholic dogma to excommunicate anybody who challenges the
>> Pope's primacy. The *nature* of his primacy can be debated, but his
>
> If that were true then it seems to me that 90% of the US Catholics should be
> kicked out. They are openly thumbing their noses at him and his teachings
> on birth control, divorce and more.
But none of those actions dispute the Pope's primacy. They're simply
sins that should be confessed and repented. Challenging the Pope's
primacy is more akin to telling the Queen of England that she isn't the
rightful heir to the throne.
>> As I said, I'm not Catholic myself, but I've spent enough time with
>> practicing Catholics to have learned a thing or two....
>
> Ask them if they are following the teachings of the church on all things.
Most of the ones I know either attempt to follow the church on all
things (and confess their failures), or are actively lapsed and
acknowledge that they were raised in a Catholic tradition but no longer
actively practice.
>>> Heck most of the Catholics I know don't even follow their own rules.
>> Most of the "religious" people I know, regardless of faith, don't follow
>> their own rules.
>
> Which is my point. I'm telling you I'm a vegetarian but I eat pork, beef,
> chicken and fish. Now am I a vegetarian or not?
Well, that's a different thing -- vegetarianism isn't a matter of faith
-- but I get your meaning.
> I can tell you I'm a Catholic (not to pick on them but because we have been
> talking about them) but I don't go to mass, have sex outside marriage, use
> birth control and support abortion on demand. Now am I a Catholic?
I think that's a symptom of the way our society intertwines faith and
culture. Plenty of people were raised in one Christian tradition or
another, celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter, but never go to
church, read the Bible, or pray. It works the same way in other
religions -- cultural Jews often break fast on Yom Kippur despite never
going to synagogue, for example, and cultural Hindus celebrate Diwali
despite never going to temple. I've even known non-practicing Muslims to
fast during Ramadan.
> My point had very little to do with Catholics in specific. I picked them
> because they are world known and I know a little about their religion. My
> point was and is you can't condemn a group based on actions of people who
> are only claiming to be members of that group.
That I agree with wholeheartedly. I didn't mean to sidetrack you, I only
jumped in to correct some information I knew to be wide of the mark....
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