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- Jun 12, 2015
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The mere ASSOCIATION with Catholicism in my opinion doesn't make it wrong or bad. The underlining argument I see even yet that "it's Catholic" (so it's bad) is absurd and inconsistent. If it's WRONG, then show so..... simply because it's CATHOLIC is, IMO, irrelevant
I'm an EX-Catholic, having (regretfully) left that denomination - solely and only and exclusively because of a FEW of its new, unique Dogmas and because of it's ecclesiology and epistemology. I eventually became Lutheran (LCMS). About half of those in my Lutheran parish are ex-Catholics, most leaving Catholicism for the same basic reason I did: Teachings.
But in MY OPINION, especially here in the USA, there is an odd situation. In the USA, Catholicism for much of our history has been viewed negatively by many Americans - this understood as a PROTESTANT country (even though Catholics LEGALLY have full religious freedom). I think this attitude is past now (for longer than I've been alive; perhaps last an issue in 1960 when a Catholic ran for president) but remants of this remain.
There is this view that if something is associated with Catholicism, it ERGO is bad, wrong, to be rejected. The mere APPEARANCE of something "Catholic" equals wrong, bad. Thus, in the USA, things like Crucifixes, weekly Communion, making the Sign of the Cross, etc. fell from use among Protestants because it "looks too Catholic." Sadly, even Lutheranism in the USA got caught up in this to some extent.
What is silly about this is that Protestants believe probably 90% of what the Catholic Church teaches, and we do a LOT of the same things Catholicism does. We worship on Sunday, we sing hymns, we have Bible readings in church - all things CATHOLICS did before Protestants, all things CATHOLICS do but Protestants do, TOO. Catholics celebrate the Nativity - and we celebrate it on the same day, for the past 200 years just as much as they do (although some Protestants made Christmas literally illegal, it being "Catholic"), Catholics celebrate Easter on a certain date (unique usually from Orthodox) - and we celebrate it on the same day. Etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.
IF something is "wrong" or "bad" because Catholics teach or do it, then we should stop worshiping on Sundays, stop singing songs in church, stop saying the Lord's Prayer (well, a lot of Protestants do avoid that), stop reading Scritpure in church, stop having sermons. And we need to stop teaching the Trinity and nearly all other things we teach because the Catholics teach those things (often, LONG before we did).
The mere ASSOCIATION with Catholicism in my opinion doesn't make it wrong or bad. The underlining argument I see even yet that "it's Catholic" is absurd and inconsistent. If it's WRONG, then show so..... simply because it's CATHOLIC is, IMO, irrelevant.
Sorry.....
My half cent.....
Pax
- Josiah
The mere ASSOCIATION with Catholicism in my opinion doesn't make it wrong or bad. The underlining argument I see even yet that "it's Catholic" (so it's bad) is absurd and inconsistent. If it's WRONG, then show so..... simply because it's CATHOLIC is, IMO, irrelevant
I'm an EX-Catholic, having (regretfully) left that denomination - solely and only and exclusively because of a FEW of its new, unique Dogmas and because of it's ecclesiology and epistemology. I eventually became Lutheran (LCMS). About half of those in my Lutheran parish are ex-Catholics, most leaving Catholicism for the same basic reason I did: Teachings.
But in MY OPINION, especially here in the USA, there is an odd situation. In the USA, Catholicism for much of our history has been viewed negatively by many Americans - this understood as a PROTESTANT country (even though Catholics LEGALLY have full religious freedom). I think this attitude is past now (for longer than I've been alive; perhaps last an issue in 1960 when a Catholic ran for president) but remants of this remain.
There is this view that if something is associated with Catholicism, it ERGO is bad, wrong, to be rejected. The mere APPEARANCE of something "Catholic" equals wrong, bad. Thus, in the USA, things like Crucifixes, weekly Communion, making the Sign of the Cross, etc. fell from use among Protestants because it "looks too Catholic." Sadly, even Lutheranism in the USA got caught up in this to some extent.
What is silly about this is that Protestants believe probably 90% of what the Catholic Church teaches, and we do a LOT of the same things Catholicism does. We worship on Sunday, we sing hymns, we have Bible readings in church - all things CATHOLICS did before Protestants, all things CATHOLICS do but Protestants do, TOO. Catholics celebrate the Nativity - and we celebrate it on the same day, for the past 200 years just as much as they do (although some Protestants made Christmas literally illegal, it being "Catholic"), Catholics celebrate Easter on a certain date (unique usually from Orthodox) - and we celebrate it on the same day. Etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.
IF something is "wrong" or "bad" because Catholics teach or do it, then we should stop worshiping on Sundays, stop singing songs in church, stop saying the Lord's Prayer (well, a lot of Protestants do avoid that), stop reading Scritpure in church, stop having sermons. And we need to stop teaching the Trinity and nearly all other things we teach because the Catholics teach those things (often, LONG before we did).
The mere ASSOCIATION with Catholicism in my opinion doesn't make it wrong or bad. The underlining argument I see even yet that "it's Catholic" is absurd and inconsistent. If it's WRONG, then show so..... simply because it's CATHOLIC is, IMO, irrelevant.
Sorry.....
My half cent.....
Pax
- Josiah
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