The Catholic Church?

Question

Maybe someone can explain to me how the catholic church can "revise" something. It makes me think that they have no idea what the hell (no pun intended) they are doing....

for example

the limbo thing

Confession= you tell your sins to a guy that gives you a punishment for them (didnt jeasus die for those so I dont have to be punished for them?) and why do I need to tell a priest, why not just say sorry to god?

Saints= Thou shall not have any other gods before me, yet they pray to saints, wear jewlrey with images of saints, set up shrines to saints.

Answer 1

I agree!

Why do they pray to mary and too other saints when the bible clearly states there dead.


"The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:20. "Every living soul died in the sea." Revelation 16:3.

According to God's Word, souls do die! We are souls, and souls die. Man is mortal (Job 4:17). Only God is immortal (1 Timothy 6:15, 16). The concept of an undying, immortal soul goes against the Bible, which teaches that souls are subject to death.


"All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth." John 5:28, 29. "David ... is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day." "For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29, 34. "If I wait, the grave is mine house." Job 17:13.

people do not go either to heaven or hell at death. They go to their graves to await the resurrection day. King David will be saved in God's kingdom. However, he is in his grave now, where he awaits the resurrection.

I'm still waiting for the verse that tells me we need to pray to the saints and the day we have to confess to the priest.

Answer 2

Limbo was never a doctrine or teaching of the Catholic Church. It was a theory that became accepted as fact. The Pope has simply stated what has always been true - that the souls of unbaptized children are entrusted to the loving care of a loving and merciful God.

Confession - the priest does not give a punishment for your sins. Jesus DID pay the punishment for our sins. Penance is an outward sign of the internal conversion of the person. Penance is how we show that we are sorry and repentent.

Saints - saints are not worshipped. They are admired and honored for the life they led. You can think of the saints as those people that made it into the Catholic Hall of Fame similar to any other hall of fame - rock and roll, baseball, football, etc. Is the Lincoln Memorial an example of putting Abraham Lincoln before God?

Answer 3

When directives in the Catholic Church are mandated, it's not like the Pope woke up one morning and changed something on a whim. The idea of limbo being abandoned actually had some start in 1992 when the Catechism intentionally did not mention limbo. This issue was prayed over thousands of times and the change made through discernment of the Holy Sprit. (Yes, this is the same Holy Spirit that lived through the authors of the bible.)

Confession - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjmJSmrnUfRupyjjQYIqf0jty6IX?qid=20070410214905AA67hi9&show=7#profile-info-MAuPWP9Faa

Saints - We pray WITH the saints just as if we were praying with a friend. We ask for their intercession. The images one sees in the Catholic Church are iconic and meant to inspire. I'm sure other people have paintings and sculptures around because it inspires them as well.
Many people think because we're kneeling in front of something it automatically means that we are worshiping canvas or plaster. We ONLY worship Our Lord Jesus Christ but we can honor those that have helped pave the way towards salvation through their examples of selflessness and martyrdom.

Answer 4

Confession----We confess our sins to God, in the presence of his priests (through his priests), so that we can be freed from there eternal effects and reconcile with Him and with His Church (Matthew 9:5-8, Matthew 16:18-19, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, 2 Corinthians 5:18, James 5:14-16, Didache 4:14, 14:1).

Saints---We pray to saints to ask them to pray for us, in the same way you might pray for me if I ask and I would pray for you if you ask. Christians are called to pray for each other: James 5:16 "Pray one for another...


If you had read the article it said that limbo was never a doctrine of the Catholic Church. If you have any other questions regarding the Church that Jesus Christ Himself established and placed in Peter's hands, please feel free to email me. God Bless

Answer 5

Those things confuse me too

I think the whole confession thing stemmed from the time where there was no separation between church and state - anything (granted that it was interesting/important) could potentially be used against you for their benefit. Important people in the church generally had much contact with and influence on the ruling class. (Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey.)

Christianity, while monotheistic, has a tendency to appear polytheistic (to non-Christians) as there are the three main entities (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as well as numerous saints. I guess saints are supposed to give guidance and act as an example. (Yet, the whole Trinity thing gets very confusing . . . the Father cannot be the Son, and the Father is the Holy Spirit. So should it be the Holy Duo???)

Answer 6

Confession:

This is a sacrament given to us by Jesus for forgiveness of sins after baptism.

Saints: These are people who have died in the friendship of God and who led lives of virtue to a heroic degree. Prayers to saints are nothing more than prayers to family members in heaven. This is not worship. We are asking for intercession from them no different than we'd ask for it from our family here on earth.

As far as "revising" something, in general this probably means the Church comes to a better understanding of a particular teaching or situation.

God bless.

Answer 7

re Limbo...The Catholic Church never "believed" in limbo. The existence of limbo for unbaptized infants is not part of divine revelation, but rather was and is an educated theological "guess." The term was coined by St. Augustine of Hippo and literally means "fringe." This came about because God has not chosen to reveal what happens to deceased unbaptized infants. We know that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation (John 3:5) because God revealed this. We also know that something called "baptism of desire" is possible. Since unbaptized infants seem incapable of any "desire" or act of their will, theologians have speculated throughout the ages about their destiny in this context St. Augustine thought that it would be an offense against God's justice to suppose He would allow such creatures to suffer any pain, but that rather God places such infants in a state of "natural," but not supernatural happiness for eternity. This he called "limbo." Other theologians say that God's "universal salvific will" (1 Timothy 2:4) includes unbaptized people who do not have the use of reason when they die and that they enjoy supernatural happiness by some means we do not now know. Catholics are free to believe or disbelieve in limbo. What happens to unbaptized people who do not have the use of reason and who die in that state is an open question. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 1261.
re confession...This sacrament is rooted in the mission God gave to Christ in his capacity as the Son of man on earth to go and forgive sins (cf. Matt. 9:6). Thus, the crowds who witnessed this new power "glorified God, who had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8; note the plural "men"). After his resurrection, Jesus passed on his mission to forgive sins to his ministers, telling them, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:21–23).
re Saints...Saint is a word used to describe a person who is perceived of being an example of exceptional holiness. As Christianity developed, the word "saint" became to be used more commonly to designate specific individuals who were held to be exemplars of the faith, and who were commemorated or venerated as an inspiration to other Christians.

Answer 8

EXACTLY!!!! This is the difference between "religion" and spirituality. Religion is "man made" Spirituality is from God. This is also why you should always verify what anyone tells you with the Word of God..Bible! Catholics have their own Bible, they make their own rules, and change them as they feel. Oh and what about talking to the man in the box? You can confess to God your self...no where in the Bible does it say we must confess to a man in a box. I am sorry if I offend anyone, however, My Dad's family is catholic and I have never seen so many hypocrites in my life! The priest gets drunk at gatherings, and they put way to much Glory on Mary. I have never been able to get anything out of a catholic service except Kneel, sit , stand, and a bunch of weird noises. They also do not teach about being Born again, which you must be to get to heaven! I f they do it is not often.

Answer 9

Why don't you talk to a Catholic priest who can explain these instead of picking on people in this section? LOL....just because someone is talking with a soul that has passed does not mean they are worshiping that soul as if it were God. How many of us talk with our parents or other siblings that have died...does that mean you think they are gods? Use some common sense here.....

Peace, Love, and Blessings
Greenwood

Answer 10

i am a catholic mexican in us, and i could tell you that religion is one and god is another, i believe in just one god and all the religions, and if you follow the first commandment then you dont need to judge religions.

first commandment:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments."
Catholic teaching distinguishes between dulia—paying honor to God through contemplation of objects such as paintings and statues—and latria—adoration directed to God alone. (See Catechism 2084-2141.)