Originally posted by FicXioN:
Hi, new here, catholic and from holycross too.
just wondering..
how do you guys gather so much knowledge of catholicism? I mean i went through catechism and am a confirmed catholic but..
from what i think, the only way to acquire a rich amuont of knowledge is to be a seminarian. (have got no intention of being a priest though :P)
Or is there any other way?
It is
your duty to do your own spiritual reading and to cultivate knowledge. It
is all part of building up a Catholic worldview. Start with basics, and attempt to understand the rationale and history behind them.
i know its my duty, im asking more of a "How" question.
SgMac, I can't read what you posted. It's all in codes.
Originally posted by FicXioN:... how do you guys gather so much knowledge of catholicism? I mean i went through catechism and am a confirmed catholic but..
from what i think, the only way to acquire a rich amuont of knowledge is to be a seminarian. (have got no intention of being a priest though :P)
Or is there any other way? ... ... ...
I'm a catholic, i've got little against other denominations (shan't talk about the 'little'), i fully respect their decision. But somehow they seem to have something against us one way or another. Like "only catholics do that", "we're different" haha. (sorry for stereotyping)
I think there are many cradle Catholics who take their faith for granted (myself included). When they encounter protestant Christians who start questioning their faith and throwing around bible verses that seemingly support the protestant position, the Catholic starts doubting his faith without realising the fallacies and errors in what he/she is hearing from the protestant.
You don't have to be a seminarian to equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to better understand and explain the Catholic faith to your friends. All the questions that your protestant friends can ever ask were probably asked before and answered !
I would recommend that you visit www.catholic.com. This is a brilliant site that contains the kind of information you need to explain your faith to friends. Read the online 'This Rock' Magazine published at the site. Many of the articles have an Imprimatur and a Nihil Obstat mark which assures the reader that the material is free from doctrinal error. They also have a wonderful podcast called Catholic Answers where callers in the US ask about the Catholic Faith. Listening to the answers can be extremely educational.
Protestant christians that you meet would probably hold the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (bible alone). To them, the bible is the only source of God's word which they are free to interpret for themselves. They do not submit to any church authority unlike Catholic Christians who hold that God's word is revealed through the bible and his (Catholic) church. With regards to Catholic teachings, they will probably ask, "Where is that in the bible?". From our perspective, it doesn't have to be in the bible (although it should of course not contradict the bible). Having said that, there is solid biblical backing for almost all, if not all of Catholic doctrines. You can go to www.scripturecatholic.com which compiles all the bible verse support that you will need.
Of course, you should also be reading the bible as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church in conjunction with the above sites.
Many protestants are critical of the Catholic faith because they do not understand our faith or have misconceptions about it. See these as opportunities to share your faith with them and perhaps even evangelising them when you have a firmer understanding of the Catholic faith viz-a-viz what our protestant brothers and sisters believe.
God bless and Happy Easter !
Originally posted by FicXioN:Hi, new here, catholic and from holycross too.
just wondering..
how do you guys gather so much knowledge of catholicism? I mean i went through catechism and am a confirmed catholic but..
from what i think, the only way to acquire a rich amuont of knowledge is to be a seminarian. (have got no intention of being a priest though :P)
Or is there any other way?
I've got a few questions to ask too..
1. Is it wrong to feel put off when a protestant friend suddenly tells me in a middle of a conversation when i said that my grandparents are Buddhists, "Why you never bring the gospel to them!? Har!?"
I mean like, firstly, communication between grandchild and grandparents isn't that good, they've been Buddhist perhaps all their lives, although i admit im not being very christian by not spreading the good news to them, but still......
2. Went for confession, told my protestant friend about it, then he said something like you mean you dont believe God can forgive your sins. As in maybe why must you go for confession while you can just pray to God?
I know it has something to do with God and the congregation.
3. Honestly, why are there divisions among our religion, christainity as a whole? I mean, its not helping the human race man..
I'm a catholic, i've got little against other denominations (shan't talk about the 'little'), i fully respect their decision. But somehow they seem to have something against us one way or another. Like "only catholics do that", "we're different" haha. (sorry for stereotyping)
P.S. I'm okie with the new church… though the cruxifix.. hmmmmm.... lol
I love olden day churches more, those high celing, pointy roofs, wooden pews, old wooden cruxifix. Gives a mystical warm feeling.
Just to share, I was a 'lukewarm' Catholic for most of my life. But about 5-6 years ago, for some reason, I felt this gradual calling to delve deeper into this faith that was given to me by my parents. Lo and behold, what I found completely blew my mind away. I found a faith, handed down from the apostles to us by Jesus, that is so rich and alive with his joy, peace and love, if only we are willing to take the extra step to find out more.
I think the process of acquiring knowledge comes naturally when you start developing a relationship with our Lord. You will yearn to know more about Him, and as you read up more, your faith will be strengthened further. A good place to start is David McDonald's site - http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/index2.htm. What I love about his website is that it's written in a very human way without being too 'cheem', but which also doesn't compromise the facts. He aims to build bridges with Protestants (referred to as Evangelicals in his site) by helping them understand what we believe and do.
One thing we have to hand it to Protestants, they have a great passion for our Lord which should serve as an example for us. However, going to the other extreme and thinking that our faith is the best and others are completely mistaken brings us dangerously close to the mindset of the Pharisees in the Bible, which relates to your question 1. If your grandparents have toiled all their lives to bring up your parents and your siblings with love, I really can't imagine our heavenly Father, full of compassion and love, condemning them to hell just because they are not Christians.
As for your question 2, something to share from David McDonald's site (http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/priests_forgive_sins_call_no_man_father.htm):
The distinction is that God does the forgiving, the priest has simply been commissioned to carry this out. (2 Cor 5:18) The apostle is sent out "on behalf of Christ" with "God making appeal" through him and pleading "Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20)
Catholics feel that the sinner sins in the material world and therefore the forgiveness must also manifest itself in the material world as well as in heaven. The only way that this can happen is through a human being - a priest. Jesus recognized that forgiveness must still be manifested in the material world after he died. This is why he commissioned the apostles to do it, and this is why Catholics believe this has continued to this day through priestly secession in obedience to Jesus' command "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven." This does not take away from Christ's role as the One True Priest, it actually empowers his role on earth. There is a great song by Evangelical Christian bock band Audio Adrenaline that says, "I want to be your hands, I want to be your feet." Catholics have no problem that Jesus has ordained some to act on his behalf in the material world. We must remember, the priest is not the one who forgives. The forgiveness comes from Jesus. Before every confession the priest calls upon Jesus to come. He is simply performing a service for Jesus.
Perhaps the clearest command yet from Jesus regarding this is John 20:23 -
"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."