HELL

[Catholic_Lady]

Yes, and the Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians feel the same way about us Catholics as you do lol. They feel we cherry pick from the bible. 

Truth is the Church existed before the bible did, and Jesus left the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" with Peter, the first pope of the Church. No mention of any books. 

Not that the bible isn't important and insightful and inspired, but it has it's place, and it is not the main pillar of Truth.

But I get it. If I was following the bible word for word, I'd be receiving criticism just the same. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.   

We're cool though, PT, you know I love ya. I hope our recent debates haven't made you think I have changed my opinion of you. 

Nor mine of you, CL. But given your thoughtfulness, I feel it's only right that you should have the hard questions put to you plainly.

How do you decide which parts of the Bible guide you, and which part you can safely disregard? And why is your valuation of those parts be they literal, allegorical, and failed, truer than that of a Protestant, for instance? Aside from raw faith, of course.

That sounds perfectly fine to me, my friend!

To answer your question, I follow the doctrines of the Church. Unless we are theologians or scholars, or just trying to get a deeper understanding, us Catholics don't normally concern ourselves with biblical interpretations because we feel we have the Church to guide us on matters of faith and morals. One thing is for sure, we definitely need to believe in the Gospels. We need to believe in Jesus as a real person, we need to believe in His miracles, in His death and resurrection, and the core message of His teachings. I think the rest of the NT, over the years, has slowly been separated into what was simply tradition of the time (no women talking in Church) to what is actually Church doctrine (the divinity of Jesus). I don't think this is stuff people "decided" over night, but rather, it evolved with years of studying theology and gaining a deeper understanding. The OT, as you all know, we are free to either interpret literally or not, so long as we adhere to Church doctrine. 

I don't know much about the protestant way of doing things except that it's more independent I think, and any of my brothers in Christ can chime in here if I'm wrong. I think each person reads the bible and interprets it for his or her own self... which is why there are so many protestant denominations. They all interpret things a little differently.

[abaris]

To answer your question, I follow the doctrines of the Church. Unless we are theologians or scholars, or just trying to get a deeper understanding, us Catholics don't normally concern ourselves with biblical interpretations because we feel we have the Church to guide us on matters of faith and morals.

That might sound callous, but it's the main reasons why I like Catholics better than Evangelicals. There's one guy in Rome calling the shots and so you pretty much know what you get.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Nor mine of you, CL. But given your thoughtfulness, I feel it's only right that you should have the hard questions put to you plainly.

How do you decide which parts of the Bible guide you, and which part you can safely disregard? And why is your valuation of those parts be they literal, allegorical, and failed, truer than that of a Protestant, for instance? Aside from raw faith, of course.

That sounds perfectly fine to me, my friend!

To answer your question, I follow the doctrines of the Church. Unless we are theologians or scholars, or just trying to get a deeper understanding, us Catholics don't normally concern ourselves with biblical interpretations because we feel we have the Church to guide us on matters of faith and morals. One thing is for sure, we definitely need to believe in the Gospels. We need to believe in Jesus as a real person, we need to believe in His miracles, in His death and resurrection, and the core message of His teachings. I think the rest of the NT, over the years, has slowly been separated into what was simply tradition of the time (no women talking in Church) to what is actually Church doctrine (the divinity of Jesus). I don't think this is stuff people "decided" over night, but rather, it evolved with years of studying theology and gaining a deeper understanding. The OT, as you all know, we are free to either interpret literally or not, so long as we adhere to Church doctrine. 

I don't know much about the protestant way of doing things except that it's more independent I think, and any of my brothers in Christ can chime in here if I'm wrong. I think each person reads the bible and interprets it for his or her own self... which is why there are so many protestant denominations. They all interpret things a little differently.

I should think that with your head you're better off deciding for yourself things like right and wrong. The Church has screwed up enough that they don't deserve your trust. /.02

[Catholic_Lady]

That sounds perfectly fine to me, my friend!

To answer your question, I follow the doctrines of the Church. Unless we are theologians or scholars, or just trying to get a deeper understanding, us Catholics don't normally concern ourselves with biblical interpretations because we feel we have the Church to guide us on matters of faith and morals. One thing is for sure, we definitely need to believe in the Gospels. We need to believe in Jesus as a real person, we need to believe in His miracles, in His death and resurrection, and the core message of His teachings. I think the rest of the NT, over the years, has slowly been separated into what was simply tradition of the time (no women talking in Church) to what is actually Church doctrine (the divinity of Jesus). I don't think this is stuff people "decided" over night, but rather, it evolved with years of studying theology and gaining a deeper understanding. The OT, as you all know, we are free to either interpret literally or not, so long as we adhere to Church doctrine. 

I don't know much about the protestant way of doing things except that it's more independent I think, and any of my brothers in Christ can chime in here if I'm wrong. I think each person reads the bible and interprets it for his or her own self... which is why there are so many protestant denominations. They all interpret things a little differently.

I should think that with your head you're better off deciding for yourself things like right and wrong. The Church has screwed up enough that they don't deserve your trust. /.02

In PT language, I know this means you think highly of me. So I appreciate that. 

[Salacious B. Crumb]

The more important question is, Why believe everything in the doctrine?

[abaris]

I should think that with your head you're better off deciding for yourself things like right and wrong. The Church has screwed up enough that they don't deserve your trust. /.02

You won't convey that to any believer - and I don't mean that to be disrespectful to CL. It's on the same lines as kicking the habit with any kind of drug. You have to want it. You have to have your own doubts before you even start listening to anybody else.

[Godscreated]

What's the point of religion, if we get to meet god when we die, and decide if we want to be with him or not?

What's the purpose of wasting so much time praying and doing things for a being that is most likely not there, and if he ends up being there, you get to choose to go to heaven?

Why believe in all of the made-up stories that are almost certainly false, when you don't have to?

 
 This is why the Bible is the authority and not man made doctrine, belief in the scriptures as truth from the first word to the last is the only way to understand and make sense of God's plan.

GC

[Godscreated]

To answer your question, I follow the doctrines of the Church. Unless we are theologians or scholars, or just trying to get a deeper understanding, us Catholics don't normally concern ourselves with biblical interpretations because we feel we have the Church to guide us on matters of faith and morals.

That might sound callous, but it's the main reasons why I like Catholics better than Evangelicals. There's one guy in Rome calling the shots and so you pretty much know what you get.

This is where the hierarchy can be few and influence the many into false beliefs.

GC

[Salacious B. Crumb]

What's the point of religion, if we get to meet god when we die, and decide if we want to be with him or not?

What's the purpose of wasting so much time praying and doing things for a being that is most likely not there, and if he ends up being there, you get to choose to go to heaven?

Why believe in all of the made-up stories that are almost certainly false, when you don't have to?

 
 This is why the Bible is the authority and not man made doctrine, belief in the scriptures as truth from the first word to the last is the only way to understand and make sense of God's plan.

GC

Thanks for actually answering, but then, I can turn that back to, why believe the bible? I feel I won’t get adequate answers though from previous conversations, because of the things in it that every human should disagree with. You know, the things like slavery, misogyny, and I’m sure you know the drill by now. Also, the 10 commandments should have, honor each other, instead of honor thy father and mother. So, it’s hard for me to accept those as authority, and hard for me to believe in the stories of the bible, and discredit all the other stories in other religions. It would be dishonest, because I have no reason to believe one over the other.

[The Valkyrie]

 
 This is why the Bible is the authority and not man made doctrine, belief in the scriptures as truth from the first word to the last is the only way to understand and make sense of God's plan.

GC

Thanks for actually answering, but then, I can turn that back to, why believe the bible? I feel I won’t get adequate answers though from previous conversations, because of the things in it that every human should disagree with. You know, the things like slavery, misogyny, and I’m sure you know the drill by now. Also, the 10 commandments should have, honor each other, instead of honor thy father and mother. So, it’s hard for me to accept those as authority, and hard for me to believe in the stories of the bible, and discredit all the other stories in other religions. It would be dishonest, because I have no reason to believe one over the other.

If we're supposed to follow every word of the bible, doe you wear polyester and cotton garments, GC?