i have catholic friends who think praying to other gods is ok..
ACTUALLY about ten of them think it is ok.
they feel that
1. God is manifested in different religions.
2. God can forgive us even if we pray to other gods.
"I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me..." - the first commandment.
do these ten catholic friends of mine represent the catholic church stand? do MOST catholics think the same way?
2007-06-13 13:13:35 · 27 answers · asked by sylll 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes, and I recommend you to pray to my gods: Zeus, Thor, the FSM,unicorns,etc...unlike Yahweh, these gods are just a few lightyears away from earth, so your prayers would be answered in just a couple of years.
2007-06-13 13:17:00 · answer #1 · answered by 8theist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are either confused about
+ Your friends being Catholic or
+ Your friends praying to other gods.
Praying to other gods is not allowed in Catholicism. This is indeed against the First Commandment.
We do believe that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims all worship the same one true God of Abraham.
The Catholic Church teaches:
About Judaism: "The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ"; "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
About Islam: The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.
About other non-Christian religions: All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city.
With love in Christ.
2007-06-13 16:14:15 · answer #2 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Catholic Church does not recommend prayer to other gods. Yes, God is manifested in different religions, but the Christian way is the best and easiest way to get to God, especially for Christians (and of course Catholics are Christian). Yes, God can forgive people for praying to other gods (who either do not exist or are demons), but it is better not to do so in the first place, since praying to other gods is a sin. Christians in the early Church died as martyrs because they refused to worship other gods.
I wonder how often your Catholic friends attend Mass, go to Confession, etc. Many Catholics nowadays are poorly informed about their religion, and many Catholics do not go to Mass or Confession regularly.
2007-06-13 13:26:33 · answer #3 · answered by Katheryn G 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No! And most Catholics don't believe that. Show them this: Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.
You can be forgive if you pray to other Gods, but only if you realize that you were wrong in doing so and repent and ask God's forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ.
2007-06-13 13:21:17 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you say "other gods" are you referring to the Catholic practice of intercessory prayer to the saints? If so, this is not wrong because
a) saints do not constitute gods
b) the form of prayer offered to saints is intercessory, not worship.
Therefore, no such violation of the First Commandment is at hand here.
If, however, your Catholic friends do indeed believe it is okay to worship "other gods", such a thing is very definitively wrong. As you correctly cited, such a practice is a violation of the First Commandment, Catholic Doctrine, and is thus a heresy.
2007-06-14 01:35:06 · answer #5 · answered by Daver 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My understanding is they don't NEED to get Mary to pray on their behalf, but Mary is probably the greatest intercessor. Why worry about how the others do things, anyway? Why not just let them? There's nothing wrong with what they're doing. If they choose intercessory prayer, the prayer's still going to God. They just use a different method than you do. You say tomayto, they say tomahto. Also, intercessory prayer is also practiced in Islam. EDIT: To the guy below me, look up idolatry. You clearly don't understand what it means.
2016-05-19 21:49:31 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm no expert on Catholism, but I don't think they condone that. Even though, from what I have gathered, Catholics pray to Mary and the Saints, which the protestant churches feel is idolatry, too. I'm interested in reading the answers, myself.
2007-06-13 13:23:03 · answer #7 · answered by Joyful Noise 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know how all catholics act, nobody really does. However if you research the beginning of the roman catholic church you'll figure out why they have that name. Rome was a polytheistic culture till the emperor converted the nation to christianity officially.
2007-06-13 13:22:28 · answer #8 · answered by PaganDad 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think your Catholic friends sound quite wise
to think that there is one God , seen differently by many people
it makes sense to me
and I have spoken to others in different religions who see things this way also
2007-06-13 13:17:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. You correctly cited the 1st commandment of God, "You shall have no other gods before me." As Catholics, as Christians, we recognize, acknowledge, and worship ONE God. We do not worship anyone else. To do so would be idolatry. Your friends need to read their catechism.
God bless.
2007-06-14 17:11:42 · answer #10 · answered by Danny H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋