Im bout to diss the catholic church yall?

Question

OK... correct me if Im wrong, but in the Catholic church isnt the popes opinion supposed to be the same as the bible, an authority from God? Tell me then if God is the same God who has been around for all these years why one pope will change the churchs policy on something? God never changes and the fact the church changes is a blow to the authority of the pope wouldnt you agree?

Answer 1

I wonder were did they get the tradition of Burning Heretics at the Stake from. I don't see it no were in the Bible and I don't see them Burning Heretics anymore. Such a CHANGE.

Answer 2

"isnt the popes opinion supposed to be the same as the bible"
No. Roman Catholic's (RCs) believe that the Pope is infallible when speaking officially on matters of morality and "canon law". The Pope's opinion is highly-regarded by many RCs, but it is not the doctrine of the RC church (RCC) that the Pope's opinion carries the same weight as scripture.

Change in policy - in the RCC, there is
1) "canon law"
2) moral teaching
3) other doctrine

1) Canon law consists of those teaching which all RCs are required to believe in order to be considered RC. Although additions are infrequently made to these (I believe the last was in the 1800s), I do not know of any occasion in which existing canon law has been altered.

2) Moral teachings may be changed, but (again) I know of no instance of an official moral teaching of the RCC being changed. However, I recognize my own ignorance in this particular area.

3) Other policies and doctrines have been changed many times. For example, the policy of one pope to sell indulgences was reversed (indeed, outlawed) by another a mere 50 years later. Similarly the inquisitions of the middle ages - certainly a policy which has been wholeheartedly rejected by the RCC today (the execution of apostates).

Conclusion: popes change, and policies as well. As the pope is merely human, this is not surprising. It is recognized by the RCC that the pope is fallible (except in the 2 narrow instances mentioned above). The changes from one pope to another in no way affect the authority of the pope - unless the changes are pertinent to the areas in which the pope is considered to possess infallibility. As far as I know, there has been no "waffling" in these areas.

Jim, not a RC, http://www.jimpettis. com/wheel/

Answer 3

No, the Pope's opinion is not consider to be the same as what's in the bible in the Catholic Church. I believe you are speaking about Papal Infallibility, in which when the Pope speaks from "the Chair of Peter," or ex cathedra, he is correct and what he says is taken as a matter of faith.

First, that doesn't mean that the Pope can predict the weather with any accuracy. Second, in the more than 2 thousand years the Church has existed and since the 1870 solemn declaration of Papal Infallibility by Vatican I, this power has been used only once: in 1950 when Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary as being an article of faith for Roman Catholics.

He doesn't just pull these ideas out of the air, you know. This idea has been around for about as long as the Church. There is a great deal of study before the Pope takes up the matter and he does pray about this as well as read scripture. This idea just stands to reason that Jesus, who is God and Mary's son, could not have come or grown in anything that has sin within it. It's not a big leap. The Pope never ever says anything contrary to scripture since Catholicism IS bible based. For any authority in the Church to go against against scripture would cause them to be excommunicated or expelled from the Church.

According to "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism": "In reality, the pope seldom uses his power of infallibility......rather than being some mystical power of the pope, infallibility means the church allows the office of the pope to be the ruling agent in deciding what will be accepted as formal beliefs in the church." (I thought this was appropriate.)
So, I've corrected you since you are wrong, but do you believe it? I don't think so.

Answer 4

You're not quite correct, there.
God never changes, but human society does. For instance, early Christians (including those who wrote the New Testament books) did not argue against slavery, only that slaves should be treated well. As society evolved, Christians began to speak against slavery on the basis of equal dignity of persons as being created in the Image of God. The Bible did not change, but our understanding of it did. This does not form a blow to the authority of the Pope or to the authority of the Bible, but rather reflects that Truth does not change, only how we live it.

Church leadership (including lay ministers, priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope) should be in line with Scripture where Scripture speaks to a matter. On some things, Scripture is obvious - ie, Jesus died for our sins. On others, Scripture isn't - ie, should laborers be allowed to form a labor union?

Where Scripture doesn't provide clear guidance, interpretation is needed. Where interpretation takes place, human error can occur. When error is recognized, interpretation changes, and so does opinion.

Answer 5

Hello,

Well that is why you have 30,000 Christian sects. We don't listen to the Pope's view, now not to Luther, now not to Calvin, now not to Henry VIII, right up to Tammy Faye (perhaps the real Ho Of Babylon) and Swaggart and his whistle jobs in his limo roaring like an angry lion about the papists.

Whether y'all disagree with the RC church it at least has kept some cohesion and discipline over the centuries unlike the other denominations who have split like a forever dividing cell.

Finally God "does" change in his relationship to mankind. In the old testament he was angry and destroyed the world with the flood; he then made a covenant with the Jewish people who had the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth philosophy who had to mix with the pagans, fail to heed his word and so let them get swallowed up by several empires in succession but finally you had Jesus preaching brotherly love to your enemies and salvation. If that isn't God changing, what is?

Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Answer 6

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. (John 16:12-13)

Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

We instruct you, brothers, in the name of (our) Lord Jesus Christ,to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6)

I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you. (1 Corinthians 11:2)

The Catholic Church does not use Holy Scripture as the only basis of doctrine. It could not. The early Catholic church existed before and during the time that the New Testament was written (by Catholics).

There were hundreds of Christian writings during the first and second centuries. Which New Testament writings would become official was not fully decided until about 400 C.E.

Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church (and is guiding the church today) to make the correct choices about things like:
+ The Holy Trinity (which is also only hinted at in the Bible)
+ Going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is actually directly against one of the Ten Commandments)
+ The Communion of Saints
+ Which writings include in the New Testament?

Things that are even more modern like
+ Slavery is bad. Slavery is never declared evil in the Bible. This was one of the justifications for slavery in the Confederate States.
+ Democracy is good. The Bible states that either God should be the leader of the nation like Israel before the kings or kings should be the leader, "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's." This was talked about a lot during the American Revolution.

This second source of doctrine is called Apostolic Tradition.

Do Christians who do not allow the continuing guiding force of the Holy Spirit to make their beliefs more and more perfect, still endorse slavery as Colossians 3:22 commands, "Slaves, obey your human masters in everything"?

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 80 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.htm#80

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

I once sat, against my will, in a Catholic church and heard a priest say that he had never talked to a Catholic who had left for truly doctrinal reasons. I thought, "Well buddy, you never talked to me." And I left.

Left because I finally decided that the Protestant Reformation was a really good idea.

It's unfortunate that nowadays, the word, "Christian," has taken on such disgusting overtones. But those overtones have been endowed by narrow-minded Fascists.

Answer 8

How do you know that God doesn't change? Do you know him personally? Do you speak with him often, and he speaks back? Does he tell you his opinion of things?

The Pope has more bearing on what God thinks that you do. Christ made St. Peter his vicar on Earth, and all Popes are descendants of St. Peter. Sounds to me that if you deny the Pope, then you deny Christ.

Answer 9

There is one Roman Catholic Church. No matter what town you are in or what parish you attend, the mass is always the same and the teachings never change. Are there not over 1,500 (and counting) denominations of Christianity? Is that not "changing policy"?

Answer 10

There's a big difference between growth and development when confronting new questions and insights and cahnge that is not organic growth.

An oak tree was an acorn but developed organically.
All that the oak tree became was present in the acorn.
The same is true of the Catholic Church's development

Answer 11

Okay, I'll correct you:
YOU'RE WRONG.

The pope's role is that of teacher and pastor. Whatever authority Jesus gave Peter is the authority the pope has: No more, no less.

As for policy: Policies change as the times dictate. Every church is the same in that regard. But "policies" and "doctrine" (teaching) are two very different things. Doctrines NEVER change.