Ask a Catholic

[Cyberman]

[LastPoet]

[Randy Carson]

This is incorrect. I will be happy to address each and every instance you wish to discuss.

What were Jesus's last words on the cross?

Then you agree that all four gospels testify that Jesus was crucified and died upon the cross? Gee, that doesn't square with what the other members of this forum are claiming to be true.

But if you place all of the gospels side by side, you will see that it is most likely that they were, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

[Minimalist]

Kath' holou?

Notice how close that is to Ass Holes?

[Ashground]

A (Practicing Catholic) friend of my family said she and her husband decided to start using contraception after the birth of their third child. When I asked, "Isn't the Vatican against that?", she said, "Yes but they don't have to live with the consequences, I do". I've found this with most religious people I know, they are much more sensible than their 'rules' would suggest. I just wanted to know is this common?

[Randy Carson]

[Minimalist]

[Randy Carson]

What were Jesus's last words on the cross?

"Hey Ma, I can see our house from up here."

Now that was clever.

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God has spent a fair amount of time informing us of what happens after death.

Written as one who has bitten on the whole revelatory package.
God:

1. Could be imaginary.
   
2. Could be lying.
   
3. Could be a social construct whose sole effect in this reality is to manipulate minds and scam resources for an indolent class of clerics.
   

Reading your unquestioning acceptance of Catholic tradition, I'd say 3. is pretty effective.

Could be. But I wouldn't want to wager my eternity on any of your options. However, I do have another thread that is more relevant to this currently underway.

The purpose of the phrasing is to say that what an infinite God has prepared for us is BEYOND what we can comprehend.

Exactly, BEYOND only specifies incomprehensibility not utility.  I don't think you understand the concept of ineffibility or infinity.  Tell me again why God can't lie?[/quote]

Because lying is an imperfection, and God is a perfect being.

Well, I suppose that if I were a cynic, I might consider that possible. So, I can either ignore God now, and guarantee my eternal damnation or believe what God has said about the afterlife and deal with any potential "rug tugs" later.

Either way, that has to be better than simply bee-lining straight into hell.

Again, you don't understand.  Your omni-god can do ANYTHING including lying, double dealing, bait and switch....ANYTHING.  Bee-lining straight into hell only applies if hell actually exists.

Oh, I understand what you're saying. That's not the problem here...

Show me some of that. Or are you merely asserting it to be true? If there is soooo much evidence, you ought to be able to demonstrate this to me easily enough.

Nope, not gonna bite.  I'd provide some simple and obvious inacuracies of the bible and you'd go into Bill Clinton mode and start laying out jots and tittles of Greek semantics worked out by monks in the twelfth century.  Brain washing WORKS.  Ask the North Koreans.

And it works on people who obviously don't even want to hear the explanations for things they have convinced themselves cannot be explained.

You're a bigger dupe than me, because at least I'm willing to listen to YOUR explanations. You want nothing to do with mine.

Let's talk about the facts of all three of those examples. Or would you really just rather cling to your ignorance so that you don't have to deal with the implications of the truth?

First, define truth.
No, let me...
Truth is a property of propositions.  A proposition is true in direct proportion to the degree that proposition accurately predicts future events.

Jesus said, "I am the Truth" then predicted his own death and resurrection with what turned out to be 100% accuracy.

I'm gonna have to remember that, Julia. Thank you.

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Even when confronted with contradictions, somehow it remains "true"... Maybe, this is one of the reasons the catholic church didn't like science for a long time. Those pesky facts always get in the way.

Google "List of Catholic Scientists".

See what history really reveals about this.

[Ashground]

[Randy Carson]

Honest question: what is the etymology of "Catholic"? Does it have anything to do with worshiping Cathol?

Acts 9:31 (Greek)

ἡ μεν ουν εκκλησια καθ᾽ ὁλης της ιουδαιας και γαλιλαιας και σαμαρειας ειχεν ειρηνην οικοδομουμενη και πορευομενη τω φοβω του κυριου, και τη παρακλησει του ἁγιου πνευματος επληθυνοντο.
 
Act 9:31 (Transliteration)
aye men oon ekklaysiaye kath olays tays ioodayeas kaye galilayeas kaye samarayas aycon ayraynayn oikodomoomenaye kaye poryoomenaye tow fobow too kurioo kaye tay paraklaysay too agioo pnyoomatos eplaythunonto (http://www.russ.org/gtb/luke.html#a9)

Acts 9:31 (English)
So the Church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.


From this text, we can see the Greek word “kath olays” which is rendered “Catholic” in modern English and the word “ekklaysiaye” which becomes “ecclesia” in English and is commonly translated as “church”.
 
εκκλησια καθ᾽ ὁλης = ekklaysiaye kath olays = “the church throughout all” = Catholic Church.

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A (Practicing Catholic) friend of my family said she and her husband decided to start using contraception after the birth of their third child. When I  asked, "Isn't the Vatican against that?",  she said, "Yes but they don't have to live with the consequences, I do". I've found this with most religious people I know, they are much more sensible than their 'rules' would suggest. I just wanted to know is this common?

Sadly, this is true.

And, for the record, my wife and I were misinformed about ABC when we were first married, but we switched to NFP once we learned that contraception is intrinsically evil. Since many forms of birth control are actually abortifacients, this is a really grave situation. 

God may have mercy due to their ignorance...but many are not so ignorant. They just do what they want regardless of the consequences.