Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 5, 2019 23:04:03 GMT -8
What are the two things we were told never to bring up in polite company? That's right--religion and politics. Well, since we've toppled over the latter, I will venture into the former. Besides, these two topics happen to be what I am most interested in--along with sports. My purpose is not to proselytize, but to simply to offer a humble witness to my own faith. As St. Augustine famously said in his Confessions, in one of the greatest sentences ever written, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”As we commence the holy season of Lent tomorrow, I hope this will be an opportunity for all to grow closer to God, in preparation for the Easter Resurrection. “Ask, and it will be given you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For every one who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7)
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 5, 2019 23:13:14 GMT -8
Bishop Robert Barron offers a brief reflection on the traditional practices Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Or go old-school with one of the classics:
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 5, 2019 23:17:41 GMT -8
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Mar 7, 2019 8:16:50 GMT -8
I’m not Catholic, but Imdo appreciate a lot of the traditions of that church. At least those I understand.
Every year, our Pastor has observed Ash Wednesday.
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RSM789
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Post by RSM789 on Mar 7, 2019 8:30:14 GMT -8
The only Ash Wednesday joke I know -
A Protestant woman & Catholic man get married and are experiencing the various holidays together for the first time. On Ash Wednesday, as they are getting ready for bed, the woman asks the man if he would like to fool around.
Man - "I would like to, but because of my faith, I have chosen to temporarily give up sex"
Woman - "Why would you choose to do that?"
Man - "Lent"
Woman - "Lent? Lent to who & for how long?"
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 7, 2019 19:09:02 GMT -8
I was "fasting" from the internet yesterday, so am just checking in on what's been going on since Tuesday evening.
Happy to respectfully engage anyone on any theological topics during this holy season of Lent.
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Bick
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Mar 7, 2019 21:55:08 GMT -8
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Post by Bick on Mar 7, 2019 21:55:08 GMT -8
Did all the sacraments but the last one, catholic school thru 9th grade, regular reader of the epistles during mass in elementary school.
I never understood the focus behind all the procedures of a mass. Doing the rosary at a funeral mass always struck me as off tune sheep. Insincere rote v. the passion I've come to embrace with my own unaided, private conversations with God.
I felt like a heathen fighting years of the dogma, but this is a much better place for me. Weird, but it actually feels much more spiritual than I ever felt in church.
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Mar 7, 2019 21:57:39 GMT -8
I like this subject. Thanks for bringing it up, Credo. Speaking of which, what's the reader's digest version of what Credo is all about?
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Post by ProfessorFate on Mar 7, 2019 22:05:34 GMT -8
I went the other way. I miss the formality of the old Catholic masses. I even still answer the priest in Latin, while everyone else is answering in English. My wife slides away from me in the pew if there's room, because it distracts her, and she loses her place.  |
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 8, 2019 0:06:35 GMT -8
I like this subject. Thanks for bringing it up, Credo. Speaking of which, what's the reader's digest version of what Credo is all about? My username over at TOB was Credo ut intelligam, which is the motto of Servite High School. This Latin phrase means " I believe in order to understand," and is commonly credited to St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), defining one of the functions of faith as giving light to the mind. Those who believe acquire a capacity for knowledge, even in earthly terms, that unbelievers do not possess. Credo ut intelligam is based on a saying of Augustine of Hippo ("believe so that you may understand"), to relate faith and reason. In Anselm's writing, it is placed in juxtaposition to its converse, intellego ut credam ("I think so that I may believe"), when he says "I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand". It is often associated with Anselm's other famous phrase fides quaerens intellectum ("faith seeking understanding"). Augustine understood the saying to mean that we must believe in something in order to know anything about God. |
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 8, 2019 0:12:57 GMT -8
One of my--sometimes irreverent--colleagues passed along the following humorous take from comedian Emo Phillips on some of the divisions in Christianity. Maybe you have heard it, maybe not. Either way, enjoy ...
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I said, "Me, too!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Mar 8, 2019 6:34:47 GMT -8
One of my--sometimes irreverent--colleagues passed along the following humorous take from comedian Emo Phillips on some of the divisions in Christianity. Maybe you have heard it, maybe not. Either way, enjoy ... Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I said, "Me, too!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.I used to think denominations and divisions were important. I was raised in the Presbyterian church in Anaheim until I became a believer as a teenager. from that point, I turned into more of a theological mutt, fellowshipping with just about any body of believers who claimed a relationship with Christ. Because of my upbringing in the Presbyterian church, though, I shied away from the more liturgical services. At one point, I felt it was important to argue against them, including Catholics, but (I believe) God opened my eyes to what was going on in His body. It was not up to me to “fix” Catholics or Lutherans or Episcopalians... Gods body had slipped away from His charge to take the Gospel to all the world and devolved into divisive argument amongst ourselves. We were so I tent on “disproving” this or that tenet, people were not hearing what it is to be a follower of Christ. while I was in the Navy, I would “church hop” to whichever building fit best into my schedule: More than once, I found myself in a more liturgical worship service, and the next Sunday, a Southern Baptist or a Church of God-Holiness so I grew into an ease fellowshipping with followers of Christ, whether more calm and predictable, or Charismatic, or even Pentecostal. I developed a philosophy... or, rather, God showed me how I should be majoring on the majors and while the minor tenets are interesting and I’m happy to discuss or even argue (legitimate argument and debate) any of them, my focus is on whether or not someone is hearing the Gospel. |
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Bick
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Post by Bick on Mar 8, 2019 7:09:54 GMT -8
Doesn't the differentiation of the different Christian churches introduce vanity into what should be the purity of the faith?
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davidsf
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Post by davidsf on Mar 8, 2019 9:09:53 GMT -8
Doesn't the differentiation of the different Christian churches introduce vanity into what should be the purity of the faith? Agreed, and that was the fight I fought for years. Today, I’m perfectly at ease if one wants to confess to a priest or speak in tongues or play drums in church or believe the Genesis account of creation is an anecdote. i know what I believe and I’m secure enough in my beliefs that 1) I can “allow” others to believe differently and 2) I no longer feel the need to convince you your beliefs are wrong... However, I should also hasten to add, there ARE a few inarguable tenets of Scripture on which we must agree if we are to call ourselves Christian. Things like the Virgin Birth, the sinless life of Christ, His sacrifice on the cross for our redemption, just to name a couple. One doesn’t have to believe any of it, but if being a Christian is what’s important, we cannot be wavering on those few tenets. ALL the rest is open for individual interpretation and study. |
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Credo
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Post by Credo on Mar 8, 2019 21:12:05 GMT -8
Doesn't the differentiation of the different Christian churches introduce vanity into what should be the purity of the faith? That raises the questions of when and where--and why--these divisions first arose in nearly 2,000 year history of Christianity. I have to believe that the fractures in the Body of Christ must be one of the great sorrows that Jesus foresaw from the cross. In his prayer for his disciples, Jesus said “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." (John 17:20-21) These divisions are also one the major obstacles that prevents non-believers or non-Christians from coming to faith in Christ. Despite that, I am not a proponent of indifferentism: various divisions are a result of misunderstandings and departures from the Gospel message as handed on from Christ and the apostles and have real significance. But in our current cultural moment, when the vanguards of radical secularism have trained their fire upon all Christians, it's more important that we make common cause against a threat even greater than out own disunity. Any believer in orthodox biblical Christianity is an ally as far as I am concerned. |
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