The Pope says that the Roman Catholic Church is the only real church because the papal succession leads directly back to Peter. He says it's OK to say the mass in Latin again. I got no problems with this but do you really think it's the kind of thing Jesus would be interested in?
I don't think Jesus cares about the church much. Whether he gets worshiped and sung to. Whether he gets recognized as the Lord and Savior. I guess the question is, do we do the right thing so we can get eternal life or because that voice that's inside each of us tells us it's the right thing to do? A lot of the time the things the Church says to do conflict with the voice inside. A lot of the time what I know is the right thing to do conflicts with how I've chosen to live my life. The bottom line is, I don't do the right thing all that much of the time and I know it.
I worry about myself too much. I save money because I don't want to be old and poor but there are poor people all around me.I should be helping them but I don't. I get bored in church and think it's stupid. I never meet clergy that I like and respect and very few Christians but I'm no better than they are. Jesus taught good things but set a standard that none can achieve. It's like we have to pay for that by accepting him as a God and then we get to be saved, even though we're bad. That seems nasty and mean, not like something Jesus would come up with.
I don't really believe in God the way most Christians do. No omniscient being could ever come up with that holy trinity thing. I believe in positive and negative, good and bad, Ying and yang. The problem with that is, since you can't have one without the other, good can never triumph over evil. Another big problem is the promise of eternal life. Believe and you get it, deny and you don't. Even Jesus had doubts though, so you know there's got to be some kind of continuum, one too many wrong moves and you go to hell. It's too much like a spelling bee. I think we probably just die.
2 comments:
The Church is the true church because it is protected from error in faith and morals.
(John 16:13, 14:26, Luke 10:16, 1Tim 3:15). Therefore, since it's His church, I think it's safe to assume He does care what's about what's going on.
Doing the right thing for it's own sake, even when you are tempted to do otherwise, is sometimes an even better, more nobler thing. Many times I look at it like the way I did my duty in the Navy. I didn't necessarily always want to, but I understood the big picture, and why it was important. But we all fall short. The thing is what do we do about it.
The Pope and the bishops do have Apostolic Succession.
(Acts 1:20, 1:25-26, 1Tim 4:14)
In actuality, the Latin Mass was never abolished. It just became infrequently celebrated in favor of the common languages. Now, the trend is swinging the other way, and more people are liking the Latin Mass, so the Pope said it was OK to celebrate it more often. It's not doctrine, it's just a practice.
Actually, Jesus accepted worship here on earth. He never admonished anybody for falling to their knees in homage to him, unlike the saints, prophets, or angels. Yet, he never acted egotistically.
The concern for the poor is a good thing - it means you care. Be worried if you didn't. We can only do so much, and are not all called to give all away for the sake of the poor. We also have to keep in mind that the church (any church inany religion) is made up of cinners and saints alike, and each has their own failings. some of the sinners happen to be priests. But, we shouldn't be surprised or scandalized when bad things happen by people in the church. After all, look who Christ chose to be the future leaders of his Church.
Yes, Jesus set a high standard. But doesn't any good parent do so for their children. What if he said, "Try to be good, but if you can't, then that's OK?" I don't think he had that in mind. He even said to be perfect as he is perfect. We know we will never be so, but we must continually strive to better ourselves, not for ourselves, but for others. We must struggle to free ourselves of selfishness, to love everyone, and see the suffering Christ in each of us. It's not a system of payment, but a journey of self discovery, and self-mastery. Even though we may (will!) fail, we must always perservere, and eventually we will be made perfect in the next life.
The Holy Trinity is a doctrine that was revealed to the Church by the Holy Spirit.
(1Cor 2:11)
Before there was evil, there was Good. Evil is the absence of Good, like darkness is the absence of light. Evil comes from selfishness, while Good comes from love, and beauty, and selflessness.
Salvation isn't a have or have-not kind of thing. In the Catholic Church it is a continuous process, like I wrote above. I was saved by Baptism (Titus 3:5, Acts 2:37-38), I am being saved (Phil 2:12, 1Pet 1:9), and I will be saved (Mt 10:22, Mt 24:13, Rom 5:9-10).
I'M a Buddhist. I don't believe in god. There is neither heaven or hell. Jeebus Xhrist never existed. I try to be the best beebs I can be every day.
works for me.
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