![]() This cult-like adoration of Mary gives me the willies. And those words alter the nature of God and the nature of Mary, a mere human like the rest of us. ![]() I am, however, talking about the way the essentials of the gospel get diluted by the Catholic religion. As really weird as they all strike me, I'm willing to agree to disagree on these things, despite the fact that I am fully convinced of their error. I'm willing to call all of these the non-essentials. Does this really sound like the counsel of a true believer? ) The dear old soul wants to give moral atheists a way to heaven-a way around the Way, the Truth, and the Life-and he's willing to give time off in Purgatory if you tweet him. And while we have not seen a Leo X in many years, consider the present pontiff, Francis. I'm not talking about dividing people into priests and non-priests or the suspicious specter of a 'vicar of Christ.' (Never mind that a mouthpiece for God is always subject to judgment by scripture. I'm not talking about dividing believers into saints and non-saints. I'm not talking about praying to dead people (or praying for dead people). I'm not talking about the salvific nature of rites (despite scriptural teaching to the contrary). My parents had been praying for over twenty-five years for him.)Ī Christian denied communion and non-Christians admitted to it.Ī lifelong Catholic who lived his first eight decades before hearing and accepting the gospel. He heard the gospel-and all the angels in heaven were rejoicing. It was a fluke, but one weekend, he skipped Mass and attended church. Observation #5: When I was about twenty-eight, something really wonderful, really miraculous happened. She was an excellent Catholic she demonstrated very little evidence that she was a Christian. Observation #4: I was about twenty-four when a dear, elderly relative passed away. What kind of church bars the qualified and qualifies those who should be barred? Yet I was the only one barred from the Lord's Supper. I know- I know-I was the only believer on my pew every summer. ![]() Observation #3: I spent a month every summer with my Catholic grandparents, who went to Mass (and took me along) every Saturday evening. Why do I love you? (Because I'm your boy/girl.) As we tuck our younger children in bed, after songs and prayers, it goes like this:Īre you my favorite 4/6/8/etc year old? (Yes.) Guilt? Whatever happened to grace? What about penance teaches grace? What about penance has anything what.so.ever to do with the finished work of Jesus? WHAT?!?!Īt bedtime, we have a routine that fights this kind of nonsense. And the reason? According to her, all the blame could be placed squarely at the feet of the nuns who taught her first eight years of school. Observation #2: Growing up, one of my family members was plagued by guilt. (I am not arguing in any way against paedobaptism I fully support it.) But while omnipresent God was at this little shindig of mine, there was no other believing party, rendering my 'baptism' nothing more than a baby shower. A covenant is an agreement, initiated by God, between Himself and another party. It wasn't until I was three years old-when my parents both became believers-that I was finally a member of a covenant household. Not to my knowledge was there one believer in the entire place. Observation #1: I was baptized into this tradition as an infant. ![]() And you better believe I'm going to point out the cliff to my kids.Īnd while I'm no professionally trained theologian, these are errors so large that I can see them from my armchair. I come from a long line of people who have stood on it. But this is not an academic or hypothetical debate. And it probably comes off as foolish, one woman picking a fight with one of the largest religions in the world. I know I have a history of giving the Roman Catholic religion some grief here and there.
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