Under the Rules of Catholicism, the Vast Majority of People Are Going to Hell

[Minimalist]

Minimalist, it is very ignorant to assume the low iq of any given theist that walks in the room. Disregard assumptions about people and I am sure you will have a much easier time understanding people. You catch more flies with honey than with vinega

It's not my job to "understand" them. Its also not my job to make them feel good about clinging to iron age fairy tales in the 21st century. They feel far too good about themselves as it is because they all have a whole church full of other bullshit artists patting them on the back. If they want to discuss actual evidence for their beliefs in a historical or archaeological sense I'm all for it. But I have no patience for this "faith-based" nonsense that 99% of them trot out.

By the way, if you really want to catch flies, use shit.

[genkaus]

OK, well you're really turning me off with your obnoxious attitude.

I came here looking for answers, but if people respond to me like this I'm simply going to go away.

You guys need to prove to me that atheists aren't all a bunch of jerks who can't carry on a civilized conversation.

Hold on a second. You came to an atheist forum to look for answers regarding catholic doctrine? I'm extremely curious now. What exactly was going on in your head when you made that decision?

[Jackalope]

What exactly was going on in your head when you made that decision?

[genkaus]

As for ex nilhilo it is the Concept that at one point before Space-time existed and God created space-time rather than space-time emergening rather counter-intuitively by its self.Also known as creatio ex nihilo

Before space-time? Created space-time? Space-time emerging?

Don't you realize that the bolded concepts are meaningless without a spatio-temporal context? Ergo there can be no "before" space-time, therefore, space-time cannot be "created" or "emerge".

Minimalist, it is very ignorant to assume the low iq of any given theist that walks in the room. Disregard assumptions about people and I am sure you will have a much easier time understanding people.

If the shoe fits.

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

1. Who'd want to catch flies?
2. No you don't - http://xkcd.com/357/
and 3. You catch even more flies with garbage than either two.

[zappa1258]

I truly Hate the Catholic church if you would even call that a church. I was molested by one of the priest and he was moved out of the country so no one could do a damn thing. I see the pope is still up to the same old tricks of hiding them bastard pedophiles and child rapist. The pope was in the Hitler youth and they still made him a pope. What a joke of a religion. No one can ever make me accept them as Christian or anything close to it.

[Brian37]

The Catholic Church teaches that anyone who dies with even one mortal sin on their soul goes to hell.

And it would probably surprise you how non-serious something can be and still be a mortal sin.

For example, missing Mass on Sunday is a mortal sin.

And masturbating is a mortal sin.

So really, who hasn't done either?

And the only way to get mortal sins off your soul is to have a good confession with a Catholic priest.

But who, outside the Catholic Church, ever goes to confession to a Catholic priest?

So really, the chances of getting into heaven are pretty slim if you're a Catholic and darn near impossible if you're not.

I think I need to ask a Catholic priest about this, but the problem is, most of them seem ill-equipped to answer questions.

I have observed that the Catholic priesthood is filled with men of maybe a little bit over average intelligence, and most of them get confounded if you ask them questions.

Jesuits are very smart, however, though I have not had the opportunity to talk to a Jesuit priest since law school.

Perhaps I should seek out a Jesuit and get some answers.

Right now, I'm just befuddled.

It seems to me that many Catholic priests and bishops have serious mortal sins on their soul and really, their sins are far more serious than missing Mass and masturbating.

I'm actually not much of a sinner compared to Cardinal Law or Cardinal Mahoney, who covered up for pedophiles and did not expel them from the priesthood.

Can you tell I am bitter?

Yes, I am bitter and that road leads nowhere good I'm sure.

Anyway, I'm sure all of you are going to pile up on me and tell me I should be an atheist now, but that's not going to happen.

I can't believe in a universe that pops into existence out of nothing. That makes no sense to me.

But I am distressed and disturbed that the Catholic faith which meant so much to me has let me down in this deep and fundamental way.

That is not a Catholic motif, that is our species tribalism in our evolutionary history and when you look, without the "true scotsman" or "interpretation" bullshit fallacy, it is all the same.

"You are with us or you are against us". All sects of the Abrahamic religions have some version they dodge when the individual is called on it.

It is merely a comic book projection humans project on their own false sense of self importance.

[Mister Agenda]

OK, well you're really turning me off with your obnoxious attitude.

You turned ME off with your obnoxious attitude, but there's always time for a fresh start.

I came here looking for answers, but if people respond to me like this I'm simply going to go away.

You know what would really show us? If you went away. It would serve us right if you deprived us of your whining. We'll be sorry when we don't have Blackrook to whinge at us anymore!

You guys need to prove to me that atheists aren't all a bunch of jerks who can't carry on a civilized conversation.

Look, if you're really going to do this every time someone uses harsh language, please go away. There's a certain age past which, when I hear a whiny tone in someone's voice, it just makes my skin crawl. It makes me want to say mean things. I'm not proud of it, but I just want to tell them to grow a pair of balls or breasts or whatever the hell they need to be adult enough to keep that quaver out of their voice when they aren't getting their way.

I'd like to buy you a tall glass of get the fuck over it*, but I'll settle for giving you yet another chance to get through a conversation without threatening to flounce off if we're not more considerate of your whiddle feelings. If you can do that, I'm old enough to probably forget your bad start.

*Meme not original to me.

[Drich]

But I am distressed and disturbed that the Catholic faith which meant so much to me has let me down in this deep and fundamental way.

Then why reamain catholic? You do know that Christianity has moved beyond the bounds of catholisim back to biblically based Christianity. Why not try worshiping God as he has instructed in the bible?

[TaraJo]

Then why reamain catholic? You do know that Christianity has moved beyond the bounds of catholisim back to biblically based Christianity. Why not try worshiping God as he has instructed in the bible?

Does that include killing farm animals and burning them in your back yard for him?

[Minimalist]

but there's always time for a fresh start.

Nah - only one chance to make a first impression. He flunked.