Buddhism, Paganism and Wicca

[Morgandria]

Sanguina Cruenta

Does that make sense with Catholicism? I thought in Catholicism, the correct beliefs were spelled out, or at least the parameters given. On matters of doctrine the Pope is infallible, etc, and papal infallibility is an aspect of being Catholic, so believing the church was wrong on a particular issue would probably be some sort of sin of heresy and you'd have to confess it. On the other hand they consider you Catholic even if you leave; you're just lapsed... sin is just a sin. You could play football with baby corpses and still be a Catholic just fine, you'd just be a terrible sinner. It'd probably even be OK depending on the nature of the baby corpses and the time in history in which you kicked them.

But today, be you doubter of papal infallibility or baby kicker, your sins are equal in the eyes of god, aren't they?

Wandering thoughts...

Infallibility isn't universal. A Pope is not always speaking ex cathedra, and the Church freely admits that not everything he says should be considered so. Popes are subject to error, sin, and personal opinion the same as the rest of us.

There are also large sections of the church throughout its' history that have denied papal infallibility entirely - all of England and Ireland through large swaths of the 18th and 19th C. come to mind - and don't consider it an article of the Catholic faith. It is a matter, instead, of Church doctrine and dogma, and is more politically-motivated than religiously. Not believing in papal infallibility is not a sin.  

[Esiris]

Sanguina Cruenta

Does that make sense with Catholicism? I thought in Catholicism, the correct beliefs were spelled out, or at least the parameters given. On matters of doctrine the Pope is infallible, etc, and papal infallibility is an aspect of being Catholic, so believing the church was wrong on a particular issue would probably be some sort of sin of heresy and you'd have to confess it. On the other hand they consider you Catholic even if you leave; you're just lapsed... sin is just a sin. You could play football with baby corpses and still be a Catholic just fine, you'd just be a terrible sinner. It'd probably even be OK depending on the nature of the baby corpses and the time in history in which you kicked them.

But today, be you doubter of papal infallibility or baby kicker, your sins are equal in the eyes of god, aren't they?

It isn't that simple- especially since Popes have overruled previous Popes. There's been a lot of changes over the years.  

[Erise Crewe]

Esiris

For the whole Buddhist thing, there's a big division between Theistic Buddhism and Non-theistic Buddhism- at least, that's what we've talked about in my diversity class so far- so it's possible to be part of a religion, but I think you have to really look hard at yourself if you're choosing to blend two religions that completely contradict each other.

xd Yeah I just didn't know enough about wicca when I first made this post but I'm more informed now thanks to you guys 3nodding Also thanks for giving me the other definition of cult. I've never thought of it that way but it makes a lot of sense.

Esiris

Like being Catholic and being Gay- you can believe that the Church is just not really understanding the Bible and Love and is making a mistake. Being Catholic and playing soccer with babies doesn't work though.

sweatdrop Funny story about that, I knew a guy in high school, a very devout catholic who was an overall nice guy. But he was flaming, flamboyantly, gaydar breakingly gay. Everyone knew he was gay except him. It was more of a shock that he was still in the closet than that he was gay. He confided in one of the openly gay students about it and asked him to keep it a secret. His reply was ">_>; I think everyone already knows..." It's just sad to me that people think homosexuality is a choice. He tried so hard to be 'straight' for his religion, and was in denial for so long. I've lost touch with him but I hope he's found happiness and self acceptance now.

Am I wrong in thinking that Catholicism is the strictest of the Christian sects?

Morgandria

Apparently there are a few sects of Muslims that have a belief in reincarnation.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation#Islam)

I have a terrible memory that's only suited for useless things. sweatdrop I had read about it in Time magazine many years ago, I thought it was odd so it stuck with me. But I don't think it'd be legit unless it were actually in the book of Mormon since people here are denying the validity of the belief I'll look into it out of curiosity 3nodding

....and... I'm reading from one source that it wasn't specifically written in the text.

"A Jewish convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Neibaur was an ardent student of the Kabbalah, a body of mystical teachings based on an esoteric reading of Hebrew Scriptures.

That tradition teaches that souls in the afterlife ‘must commence another [life], a third, and so forth’ in order to obtain the perfection ‘that allows them to associate again with God.’

It could be that Neibaur convinced Smith the Book of Mormon “was actually a reincarnation text,” Beckstead says, like the Zohar, Kabbalah’s greatest book."- source

A quick search of Alexander Neibaur doesn't show any mention of his beliefs, but I think it's fascinating that the author of the website is tracing the roots of the belief to jewish mysticism eek Another topic I'm highly interested in but know nothing about xd ... lol watch out~ next in a few days i'll be asking if you can believe in jewish mysticism without being jewish. ninja  

[Morgandria]

Erise Crewe

Am I wrong in thinking that Catholicism is the strictest of the Christian sects?

Catholicism is one of the largest sects, being that it was the original sect of Christianity, but it's not the strictest, persay. There are some very strict Protestant churches out there - fundamentalist churches tend to be fairly hard on enjoying life in certain ways. In a lot of places Catholicism gives people reasons to have parties - Carnival comes to mind.

Erise Crewe

....and... I'm reading from one source that it wasn't specifically written in the text.

Another topic I'm highly interested in but know nothing about xd ... lol watch out~ next in a few days i'll be asking if you can believe in jewish mysticism without being jewish. ninja

The Christian faith's attachment to the Old Testament is sort of odd, really. I mean, those are the laws for the Jews. Jesus founded a new covenant with his death, on behalf of Christians - the New Testament is their text, not the Old Testament, and he pretty much says that following him replaces the need for the old laws.

So you can believe in Jewish mysticism without being a Jew, or practicing the Jewish faith. But it's weird, if you're a Christian, because Jesus pretty much says that accepting him as your savior makes the Old Testament, and Judaic law, irrelevant to you.

The Mormons are a little mixed in this regard. They are clearly Christians, with a strong belief in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. But at the same time, they believe they are a continuation and an unbroken lineage to various Judaic priesthoods, through their founder. They also believe that their temples are a proper continuation and rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem from ages past. So while they are Christians, they have a really complex mix of Judaic elements and Christian ones.

So some Mormons might believe in certain things, and some might not - it all depends on how they interpret certain texts, and how valid they think those texts are in relation to Mormon belief and practice.  

[Esiris]

Erise Crewe

Am I wrong in thinking that Catholicism is the strictest of the Christian sects?

I'm with Morg, it isn't exactly a liberal denomination- but it isn't the most strict either.

I also think because it's so big that it includes more diverse view points.  

[Erise Crewe]

Esiris

Erise Crewe

Am I wrong in thinking that Catholicism is the strictest of the Christian sects?

I'm with Morg, it isn't exactly a liberal denomination- but it isn't the most strict either.

I also think because it's so big that it includes more diverse view points.

Interesting. Thank you for the info =D I guess I had mistakenly thought it was strict because of all the bureaucracy sweatdrop like ' scream there's a whole gigantic hierarchy of people telling you what to do instead of just one' But what you guys said makes sense blaugh  

[Esiris]

Erise Crewe

Interesting. Thank you for the info =D I guess I had mistakenly thought it was strict because of all the bureaucracy sweatdrop like ' scream there's a whole gigantic hierarchy of people telling you what to do instead of just one' But what you guys said makes sense blaugh

I think because it's so old- it has lots of rules and stuff and that can make things look complicated.