Does anyone actually agree with/support the Catholic Churches views and teachings?

Question

The Catholic Church is riddled with hypocrisy.. Anyone see only good in it? The Bible says to give to the poor and your neighbour, yet the Pope has a palace and throne while how many homeless sleep on the streets of Rome? The celibacy rule was only brought in in around 1,000AD (date?) so as to prevent power and land being passed onto wives and children of deceased priests.

Actually Wolfe, its nothing to do with the pot/kettle/black, because I'm not Protestant, Im Atheist..

Answer 1

I'm Catholic and I agree that there is a lot of hypocrisy in the Church and often its politics get in the way of the good it tries to do.

If I found a church that was completely hypocrisy-free, unencumbered by its political agenda, and still taught the central truths of Jesus the way the Church does, I'd join it in a minute.

Believe me, I've done my homework. All churches have faults and for me, the Catholic Church is the closest to what Jesus wanted when He founded the Church.

Answer 2

Have you ever BEEN to Rome? The pope doesn't have a palace. In fact, he lives in a rather sparse apartment in the vatican... My house is bigger and more heavily furnished than where the pope lives.

Second, the catholic church is a bastion of SOCIETY. Destruction of the churches to sell artwork would be a grave offense, not to mention counter productive. The European churches attract millions of visitors every year which in turn generates revenue, much of which is put back into local and global social programs. I'm guessing you've never had a class in economics either, since you're advocating destroying investments in favor of short term liquid capitol. Not the best choice...

Third, the celibacy DISCIPLINE was brought out for many complex societal reasons. Since the priests DIDN'T own church property back at the time you mention (or today either) it wouldn't matter whether they were married and had children or not. Land you don't own doesn't get passed on to your family.

I guess unbased wild theories and personal bias are the atheist catch-phrases for the day

Answer 3

Does anyone actually agree with/support the Protestant church's views and teachings?

The Protestant church is riddled with hypocrisy. . .anyone see only good in it? The Bible says give to the poor and your neighbor, and yet Creflo Dollar is under investigation because of his lavish lifestyle and Richard Roberts just resigned from the presidency of ORU because he took expensive trips and bought his kids a stable full of horses. Protestant ministers aren't celibate, and yet statistically, they have a higher incidence of sexually abusing members of their congregations than celibate Catholic priests.

Pot, kettle, black.

Edit:

You say you're agnostic, and yet you single out the Catholic Church for your tirade on excess and abuse. Why not talk about ALL churches then, rather than focusing on Catholicism?

In this case, it's pot, kettle, skillet. . .still black.

Answer 4

Yes.

Over a billion people agree with and support the Catholic Church's views and teachings.

Anyone can say something like: Look at the thousands of Atheists that live in nice houses while the homeless sleep on the streets.

In 2005, Catholic Charities provided help for 7,449,119 (unduplicated) people regardless of their religious, social, or economic backgrounds.

In all, 173 main Catholic Charities agencies and their 1,500 branches and affiliates provided a myriad of vital, community-based services 12,643,199 times.

Catholic Charities:
+ Provided Food Services to 5,677,257 people
+ Provided Housing Related Services to 591,757 people
+ Provided Other Basic Needs Services to 1,578,579 people

And that was only in the United States of America.

Can you name an Atheistic organization that has done anything similar?

+ Celibacy of Clergy +

Priests, religious brothers and religious sisters (nuns) as part of their vocation choose not to marry following:
+ The practice recommended in the Bible
+ The example of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, and the Apostle Paul.

+++ Scripture +++

In Matthew 19:12, Jesus says, "Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

In Matthew 19:29, Jesus says, "And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life."

Matthew 22:30 - Jesus explains, "At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven."

In 1 Corinthians 7:1, Paul writes, "It is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman."

Then in 1 Corinthians 7:7, Paul says, "Indeed, I wish everyone to be as I am."

In 1 Corinthians 7:27, Paul writes, "Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife."

In 1 Corinthians 7:32-33, Paul teaches, "I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife." And in verse 38, "So then, the one who marries his virgin does well; the one who does not marry her will do better."

Paul recommends celibacy for full time ministers in the Church so that they are able to focus entirely upon God and building up His kingdom. He “who refrains from marriage will do better.”

See also 1 Timothy 5:9-12, 2 Timothy 2:3-4, Revevation 14:4, Isaiah 56:3-7, and Jeremiah 16:1-4.

+++ Scriptural Examples +++

Biblical role models of a celibate clergy came from John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul.

John the Baptist and Jesus are both believed to have been celibate for their entire lives. Some scholars believe that the example of the Essenes influenced either or both Jesus and John the Baptist in their celibacy.

WWJD? What would Jesus do? Jesus did not marry.

The Apostle Paul is explicit about his celibacy (see 1 Cor. 7). There is also evidence in the gospel of Matthew for the practice of celibacy among at least some early Christians, in the famous passage about becoming “eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:12).

The concept took many twists and turns over the years and will probably take a few more before Christ returns in glory.

A priest is "married" to the Church. Some people think that a priest who takes his duties seriously cannot take proper care of a wife and family.

You are correct. It took about 1000 years before we became mature enough to follow these Scriptures and examples and achieve a celibate clergy. There were many married priests, bishops, and popes before this time.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 5

I agree with and support ALL of the Church's views and teachings; I am a former protestant who is now Catholic.

Do you have a similar beef with other Christian denominations? I find it odd that as an atheist you vent specifically at the Catholic Church, something only Protestants do commonly, yet you do not believe in God. Curious.

Answer 6

More than one billion people in the world profess belief in the Catholic Church. Therefore, the idea that people do indeed believe in the Beliefs and Practices of the Catholic Church is hardly unusual. And, by the way, I believe.

Answer 7

i agree totally.they say give to the poor,put money in basket for the church,why, so the leader of the church can pull in in his new caddy.he doesn't need one.its all about the money.no different than the hustler making a living on the corner dealing cards.

Answer 8

I'm atheist, and I can say that I find the catholic church abhorrent.

The one thing that I agree with them about though, and the only time you will find me in a catholic church is when they have casino night. I love to throw some money down on table games, and the last time out, I was pretty lucky at the craps table, walking out with $500 more than I walked in with.

I patronize the casino nights because here in the state of Ohio, the catholic bishops have the politicians in their pockets, and gaming is illegal, so-since it's illegal, I go to the church to do it.

Answer 9

All religions are riddled with hypocrisy

Answer 10

Don't agree with it, don't support it, and think God is particularly disgusted with what claims to be His only true church.