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Ask a Catholic

Pinkie said:
And.................?
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And demonic possession of the physical body has no impact on the free will of the soul because a soul cannot be possessed. I think you are somehow equating the concept of free will with a physical thing. Free will, which is nothing more than the ability to discern between good and evil and make the choice between the two, isn't impeded or eliminated by a restriction on the body. It is not an action; it is a decision making process.
 
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Guy Incognito said:
I have noticed in a lot of threads that many people have some deep misconceptions about the Catholic Church. I would like to fix that as best I can.

So I invite anyone who has a question about Catholicism to politely pose them here. I will try to give you an answer as clearly as possible.

Note: I am not acting in an official capacity on behalf of the Church, just giving my understanding of Church teaching.
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Do you find these to be offensive?



 
Napoleon said:
And demonic possession of the physical body has no impact on the free will of the soul because a soul cannot be possessed. I think you are somehow equating the concept of free will with a physical thing. Free will, which is nothing more than the ability to discern between good and evil and make the choice between the two, isn't impeded or eliminated by a restriction on the body. It is not an action; it is a decision making process.
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What purpose is demonic possession thought to serve?
 
Guy Incognito said:
I have noticed in a lot of threads that many people have some deep misconceptions about the Catholic Church. I would like to fix that as best I can.

So I invite anyone who has a question about Catholicism to politely pose them here. I will try to give you an answer as clearly as possible.

Note: I am not acting in an official capacity on behalf of the Church, just giving my understanding of Church teaching.
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What did pope john paul the second mean when he said this?
Don't go to God for forgiveness of sins: come to me."
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Talk:pope John Paul II - Wikiquote
 
Pinkie said:
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the triology; one is the other.

(Yes, it's confusing.)
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The Holy Trinity is not unique to Catholicism

What about all the saints and angels? I read somewhere that Jesus was only the third most popular target for prayers among Catholics?
 
RadicalModerate said:
What about all the saints and angels?
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Saints are people who lived lives virtually free of sin and were elevated to that status in Heaven. You can pray to a saint for a miracle, but they aren't gods in and of themselves.

Angels are as old as God, and most are good but some are evil. They were never alive, and rarely (but not never) appear on earth to living humans.

(I'm not a Catholic, but I was raised as one. Though most of my religious instruction occurred before 1970, so I'm not as knowledgeable as someone who is still faithful.)
 
Pinkie said:
Most christians believe you can be forgiven for your sins if you are sincerely sorry, but Catholics believe you cannot get forgiveness unless you make an Act of Confession to a priest.
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But why would he tell people not to go to God? is he saying he is a better option than god?
 
Pinkie said:
Saints are people who lived lives virtually free of sin and were elevated to that status in Heaven. You can pray to a saint for a miracle, but they aren't gods in and of themselves.

Angels are as old as God, and most are good but some are evil. They were never alive, and rarely (but not never) appear on earth to living humans.

(I'm not a Catholic, but I was raised as one. Though most of my religious instruction occurred before 1970, so I'm not as knowledgeable as someone who is still faithful.)
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Seems like semantics to me. I mean, if people pray to saints/angels to do things for them in lieu of praying to God, then doesn't that raise the question, what makes God more powerful or important than these figures? What can these religious figures do that God can't?
 
RadicalModerate said:
The Holy Trinity is not unique to Catholicism

What about all the saints and angels? I read somewhere that Jesus was only the third most popular target for prayers among Catholics?
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This is probably true, as the Hail Mary is a very popular Catholic prayer and is addressed to the Blessed Virgin.

I've never heard of anyone praying directly to an angel, but people may do this. Praying to a saint is very popular, and it is fairly common to find a prayer bench and candles you can light with a statute of a saint in a Catholic church.

In my day, it was customary to pay a newspaper to run a prayer to St. Jude (patron saint of hopeless causes) if you had lost something, so that you'd find it.

 
RadicalModerate said:
Seems like semantics to me. I mean, if people pray to saints/angels to do things for them in lieu of praying to God, then doesn't that raise the question, what makes God more powerful or important than these figures? What can these religious figures do that God can't?
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They intercede on your behalf with God.

(I'm answering based on Catholic dogma, not my own belief.)
 
24107 said:
But why would he tell people not to go to God? is he saying he is a better option than god?
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The pope was emphasizing an important tenet of Catholic dogma -- the need to make an Act of Confession to obtain forgiveness -- because the American RCC had diluted this part of the dogma in his opinion.
 
Pinkie said:
The pope was emphasizing an important tenet of Catholic dogma -- the need to make an Act of Confession to obtain forgiveness -- because the American RCC had diluted this part of the dogma in his opinion.
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But he said come to me and NOT God, How are billions of people going to travel to Rome?
 
Pinkie said:
They intercede on your behalf with God.

(I'm answering based on Catholic dogma, not my own belief.)
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How do they intercede on our behalf with God? How did they obtain such mystical power?
 
RadicalModerate said:
So...God has secretaries and gofers?
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Yes, but as far as I know, all christians sects believe in angels and prophets. I'm not sure any christian but Catholics believe in saints.

Bear in mind, Catholicism is unusually complex, dogmatic and legalistic compared to virtually any other christian sect. And that, at the same time, it has a deep foundation in mysticism.

You could probably master the tenets of Lutheranism or Methodism in a semester, with hard work. But it takes a lifetime of study and a fine mind to study all the various aspects of Catholic dogma, canonical law, church history, etc.
 
24107 said:
How do they intercede on our behalf with God? How did they obtain such mystical power?
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Well, God is their judge, so they obtain whatever power they have from him. However, people on earth can tell when a dead person has been made a saint, because he or she will work a miracle or many miracles after they die.

The Church investigates claims of sainthood and if they are determined to be valid, assigns that status to a person, in a process known as beautification.
 
I read somewhere that the previous pope in the early 2000's had changed some of the wording to religious text of the Bible. Who gives such authority to do such a thing? and is that not blashphemy?
 
Pinkie said:
What purpose is demonic possession thought to serve?
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I'm no expert in demonology but the overall purpose is for the demon to establish a corporeal existence and use the body to accomplish some evil end.
 
24107 said:
I read somewhere that the previous pope in the early 2000's had changed some of the wording to religious text of the Bible. Who gives such authority to do such a thing? and is that not blashphemy?
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The bible has been changed several times from 1000 to 1600 A.D.
 
Paralogic said:
Are you that ignorant?

The bible has been changed several times from 1000 to 1600 A.D.
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I don't understand why you have to insult me. All i did is state the fact that the previous pope changed the wording of religious scripture in the Bible and this is NOT between 1000 to 1600 A.D.
 
24107 said:
[...] All i did is state the fact that the previous pope changed the wording of religious scripture in the Bible [...]
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Which means that the books that Christians consider as the infallible word of their god, are humanly edited, changed and manipulated.
 
24107 said:
I read somewhere that the previous pope in the early 2000's had changed some of the wording to religious text of the Bible. Who gives such authority to do such a thing? and is that not blashphemy?
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Well, the bible has always been different for Catholics than it is for other christian sects, and the recent changes were mostly semantic, such as using "the spoils of war" rather than "the booty of war", to make this modern version more understandable to readers.

But more importantly, Catholics don't use the bible in the same way most other sects do. Although they do study it and use it in prayer, the laity (regular parishioners) rely more on their Catechisms and other documents and books, as well as religious instruction, to teach them what they should believe.
 
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