According to Catholic belief, Jesus instructed St. Peter to found the Catholic Church.
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What are your thoughts about the Catholic Church?
- Thread starter Spiderman
- Start date
As I pointed out earlier, in my area, it's typically only the Catholics who picket hospitals with anti-abortion signs or who try to stop gay-straight alliances from being formed in taxpayer-funded schools.
Edit: also remember that the Catholic Church is the one that invented the slogan "no salvation outside the Church"... referring to their church.
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
Happy Ishtar. This should fit right in today since it is Easter. But Ishtar was celebrated by pagans long before the time of Christ. They celebrated with rabbits and baby chicks and eggs. God said not to follow the ways of the pagans but apparently if you give it a new name it becomes OK.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
And Jesus said that each of us will be judged with the same harshness we judge others. He also said that only those without sin are to cast stones at others. Apparently, being selective when deciding which commandments to obey is also okay.
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lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
No, all commandments are to be obeyed.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
Well, then you'd better start working on that beam in your eye. Trying to get rid of the motes in everybody else's eyes is going to be pretty difficult with your vision being what it is right now.
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Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
Odd that you'd bring up Ishtar and link it to rabbits, baby chicks and eggs. Here, for those who are more interested in the facts than in myth, is an article I ran across quite by accident just a few minutes ago. (It was posted by a Catholic on another forum I frequent.)
he article is to short, bias and limited to an opinion of the writer. You need a more comprehensive less biased assesment of the issue to be remotely valid.
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
The point is that Ishtar was a pagan celebration and God says not to do what pagans do. Just changing the name from Ishtar to Easter does not remove the pagan ideas. If you want to celebrate it in some different way and call it "Resurrection Day" or some other name, it might be OK. But don't just take a pagan celebration and pretend it is being done for some other reason. Then again, a great deal of what is called "Christian" is based on pagans beliefs.
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
In my area it seems more of a mixture between Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants.
This is no longer the belief as has been discussed previously. In a sense it never was, as it was put more in question terms, such as Origen's statement wondering "salvation" was possible outside the church, which he said he didn't know but questioned whom would be foolish enough to try [paraphrased]?
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
That's in English, but when I wish my wife, who's from Italy, a happy Easter, I say "Buona Pasqua". I have no idea why Bible translators used "Easter" instead of some variation of "Pasqua" when translating and composing the English editions.
All religions, including Christianity, borrow from other religions and cultures. IOW, there really is not such thing as a "pure" religion.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
I'd be willing to bet it was more valid that the comment made by the poster.
Betting against the bunnies is a weak way to make an argument. Actual the bunnies are an odd modern addition to the mythology of Easter. Ishtar has many similarities particularly in the imagery used, but the word likely comes from the title of another goddess the German Eostre, the goddess of the dawn—a bringer of light. English and German are in the minority of languages that use a form of the word Easter to mark the holiday. The use of eggs is more common with European and Egyptian mythology.
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Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
I don't really care one way or the other where the word comes from, nor am I bothered by the idea of children looking for chocolate eggs left by a bunny. What Easter represents to me in terms of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice is all that is really of any consequence.
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
And that is the attitude of many people. God says not to do something so I will just go ahead and do it anyway because I will say it means something else and that is all that matters.
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
Let me recommend that you use the quote and/or reply options because it's often difficult to determine which and whose post you're responding to, such as with the above. Was the above addressed to what I posted? Can't tell.
The earliest Christians don't seem to have had any annual celebrations. This is probably because they were an apocalyptic cult who confidently expected Jesus's Second Coming any day, as was promised in the New Testament.
But as the years turned into decades, and the decades into centuries, and Jesus didn't return and prove them right, they felt the same needs everyone else did. One of those needs was for seasonal celebrations. Winter Solstice was one, it became Jesus's Birthday(not that anyone knew what Jesus's birthday was).
Another was a Spring Celebration of Hope. Here in Christendom we call it Easter. It is a celebration of rebirth and the potential for things to get better than the cold hungry months of winter.
Hope.
This sort of celebration far preceded Jesus. And since the Christians didn't have any of their own they appropriated the Old Ones. So "Resurrection Day" was named for a pagan holiday. But it's the same holiday of Hope and Rebirth it has always been.
Tom
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
Don't hold your breath. I already suggested that.
What are the works produced by the Catholic Church,in bygone days until today?
I am reminded of Jesus words at Matthew 7:16-23; "By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men. Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness."
I am reminded of Jesus words at Matthew 7:16-23; "By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise, every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit. A good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men. Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them: ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness."
Wow, so much hate towards the Church according to the poll. Very depressing.