Catholic dogma: Just because they say it's true, do you still believe completely in it?

Question

There are some views put out by the church that maybe everyone doesn't agree with. I can't think of all the examples, but a Catholic friend of mine said he never liked the idea of purgatory.

I'm mostly concerned with the views on gays. How can the Church declare homosexual acts a sin? And why? Aren't you supposed to accept everyone?

OK! So the Church has developed these and with good reasons! I undertsand that. But can you think for yourself and decide whether you want to believe in what they teach or not?

And, I am also aware the Church does not put down homosexual indivduals, it's only if they choose to engage in any sort of affairs... But how is it "not natural"? They are born how they are, and in my mind an all-loving god would not prevent gays from going about loving one another for who they are.

Answer 1

You sound so sweet and loving!! I understand exactly what you mean when you would say that if God is all loving and He created these people gay then He somehow accepts the responsibility for their sexual acts...or something along those lines. God is indeed all loving, however He is also a God of Justice--whether we like it or not.

The gay rights movement is best described as self-deception as a group effort. Nevertheless, deception of the general public is also vital to the success of the cause. And frankly it is the straight folks who 'fight for gay rights' who are the true fools--those in the homosexual lifestyle know this truth. No matter how you slice this it is a sin. The sin of copulating with another person of the same sex. Period. We haven't added the true love that we know exists between some homosexuals to one another. That of course isn't a sin.

You asked about Catholic dogma and if the Church says it's true you MUST believe it. May not understand it (which is probably what your friend is actually saying) but must on faith believe. The Catholic church is a moral guide/compass for us. Just like a parent to show us the right path, even if we're kicking and screaming the entire way....why is that bad? We can look back and accept the consequences of not following the 'parent' but at our own peril. Just like when we were kids and drove the car with no permission or snuck out of the house to hang with friends and getting caught....we would need discipline to understanding where the obedience of rules is for our own good. It is the Churches goal to assist us to get to Heaven just like any good parent.

I know of several "gay" Catholics -- two in particular who identified themselves as lesbians for over 25 years. They wished to return to the Church. The Church in its wisdom and love understood the financial, legal repercussions of asking these two to separate, it said to them they could remain living together as long as they did not live as lovers. They both agreed. How is that hateful? The Church understands that this is a sin; a burden that seems to be insurmountable--but it is up to us other Catholics to assist them in this cross they bear. By giving love, kindness, prayers and whatever support needed.

Answer 2

Purgatory is an example of God's great mercy. The simple and short answer is that to enter heaven in the first place, one must be perfect - free from sin. This is not the case for any of us. There are people who die all the time in a sinful state. Think of the ones who die in car accidents, plane crashes, or tornadoes. Death came to them very quickly and very unexpectedly. What if an hour before they died they had a nasty argument, or were rude to someone? Purgatory cleanses a person of that sin so that they can enter heaven. If there was no purgatory, then the only place a sinful person could go would be Hell, since you can't get to heaven unless you're perfect.

Homosexuality is against the natural order first set down by God. This is why it's sinful. As you already know, we do not hate the person, only the sin.

Here's a great link you might find helpful:

http://www.catholic.org/views/views_news.php?id=22970&pid=0

Lastly, I do believe in everything the Church teaches. Why? It's because what She teaches comes from God. Who am I to pick and choose what's good and not good from God? How can anything not good come from Him?

I admit that I do not understand most of it, but I take those parts on faith, and then I PRAY and STUDY so that I do gain understanding.

God bless.

Answer 3

I suspect that your friend either doesn't know much about the Church's teachings on Purgatory or is not into Confession and personal responsibility.
The Church has to declare homoerotic acts sinful because Natural Law does, the Bible does and Apostolic Tradition does. The Church is bound by the Holy Spirit to teach the fullness of its truth and not water down things because they are not chic.
Active Catholic homosexuals are not cast out of the church,but like all who are in rejection of the Law and Grace of God by actions that they know are contrary to the NT,they may not take Communion until they have made a sincere Confession.
And,yes, I do accept all the dogmas of the Church because I am convinced of the authority of the Church and that she has the right interpretation of the Bible and that her dogmas are in accord with(though surpassing) reason.

Answer 4

It wasn't further to the KJV; it was once subtracted from a few corrupt manuscripts, that are mirrored in past due translations. It is in The earliest Greek and Syriac witnesses extant. The early church fathers quote it as side of the passage. It was once eliminated in Alexandria Egypt through Origen (181-254 AD) together with ratings of alternative passages that upload as much as the an identical quantity of the books of a million & two Peter. The catholic Bible adopted those corrupt omissions via the centuries, and the brand new Bibles began doing it after 1881 whilst Westcott and Hort repopularized those corruptions to the western "students." There is not any "The Greek" Bible. There are over five,three hundred Greek manuscripts and papyri from which the New Testament is derived. Long Story quick, all of those witnesses not to conform to what will have to be integrated, and textual feedback us used to provide the Greek textual content. There are many, many Greek texts produced, they usually vary really a little bit of their content material. Any Greek NT will most likely have feedback within the footnotes approximately why distinct matters have been integrated and excluded, and it'll additionally comprise its bias towards why the opposite types vary. There are not simply special English types, there are special Greek types since there may be enormous war of words approximately students involving what the "fashioned" Greek honestly mentioned. There aren't any fashioned witnesses, so textual feedback is critical to try to verify the content material of the illusory originals. You are not able to simply take the phrase of a few foot notes in a Greek bible. You have got to do some study into the problem. In can get complicated if you are no longer a discerning relevant philosopher.

Answer 5

First of all, a quick distinction. Not all the Church's teachings are dogma. Dogmatic teachings are those which are immutable truths revealed to the Church. This includes things like the Church's teachings on the Sacraments, the Trinity, the Incarnation, papal infallibility and so on. To deny dogmatic teachings is to not be Catholic.

Not all Church teachings are dogmatic, however, and occasionally you will see them change or evolve. The Church, while guided by Christ, is after all composed of human beings, and as such is prone to a limited degree of error. Vatican II declared in Humanae Personae Dignitatem that "Doctrinal dialogue should be initiated with courage and sincerity, with the greatest freedom.... recognizing the truth everywhere, even if the truth demolishes one so that one is forced to reconsider one's own position." What is more, the Catechism states, "A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself" (1790).

A poorly formed conscience can lead you astray, however, due to sin, ignorance, society, or other reasons. This is especially the case if one "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good" (Catechism 1791). To have an informed conscience, you should do research, read the Bible, read Church doctrine and the reasonings behind it, pray, and work to live in love and mercy.

Nonetheless, Divine Revalation is greater than conscience. While a properly-formed conscience has a certain primacy over the ideas of secular society, over unjust laws, rules, and regulations, over the opinions and actions of our peers; our conscience does not have primacy over God or the infallible teachings of Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and Sacred Magisterium, nor over the non-infallible teachings of the Ordinary Magisterium in general. Thus for dissent of conscience to be legitimate, it must ultimately also be based on Tradition, Scripture, or Magisterium.

The sources listed below are all good, but this one is the clearest and the best: http://www.catholicplanet.com/TSM/assent-dissent.htm . I would suggest taking a look at it. Also, if you would like to read the Church's views and reasonings on homosexuality, here is the catechism http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm (numbers 2357-9) and then a more detailed explanation http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0892.asp .

Answer 6

The church has taken 2 centuries to carefully put together it`s doctrines and dogma and doesn`t just make it up as it goes along, the church is against the act of homosexuality and never the person,it states that a homosexual Christian must stay celebate.
Purgatory is the place where we are cleansed of all stain of sin according to the church, if God is water and we are oil then we cannot mix, we must be purified because the most holy God cannot abide any sin or stain of sin on our souls, and Purgatory is just another example of the mercy of God to us.

Answer 7

The Church does accept everyone. We teach that we are all sinners and fall short of God's will in our life. That does not mean that we ignore sin or endorse sin. The reason we believe that homosexual acts are sinful is because the Scriptures tell us that it is a sin which also does not conflict with natural reason. So, even though we accept everyone we do not accept their sin and expect them to seek repentence and desire to sin no more.

BTW- I like purgatory.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 8

Trouble is most of what the Vatican put out is their view and not set out in the bible or church history.

Significantly the Church of England set out years ago with a ten year investigation into what was set by the church and what was actually bible based. It was to report after five years with a full report after the ten. Both reports are many years overdue - why - because they dared not admit how far the Christian church has moved away from good Christian teaching and foundations!!!

Answer 9

Purgatory is simply the place where already saved souls are cleansed of the temporal effects of sin before they are allowed to see the holy face of Almighty God. Revelation 21:27 tells us that "...nothing unclean will enter [Heaven]."

OK, so where's the word "Purgatory" in the Bible? It's isn't in the Bible, but neither are the words "Trinity," "abortion," "lesbianism," and "cloning" (or "Rapture," for that matter), and it doesn't matter whether you call the process of purgation "purgatory" or the "Final Theosis": the concept of a "final cleansing" or "purgation" for those who require it is very evident in the Bible, in the writings of the early Church Fathers, and in the Old Testament religion whence Christianity sprang.


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Answer 10

You have 2 questions here.I am not a Catholic but I can tell you this,The Bible says nothing about purgatory.
As far as excepting every body have you not read how God says to the lost "depart from me thou cursed of the lord into ever lasting fire"
If that is not enough, read Romans 1:24-32. Please read this and I hope you realize that Christians are not to hate the sinner but the sin.