On Dec 10, 2003, at 3:01 PM, Elizabeth F. Campion wrote:
Of all the major religions, Catholicism may be the most a la carte. The wonderful Catholic dictate is Free Will and the restorative is Confession (aka Reconciliation or Penance).
Oh. But if God is Omniscient, then he knows everything anyone has ever done or ever will do. So how does anyone act with free will if their actions are already predetermined in the mind of God?
If one commits a small (venial) sin, one must repent (apologize and
confess) and attempt to make compensation (prayer or an act of contrition
being options where there is no complete or direct solution) and modify
future behavior to avoid repeating the same offense.
Are you apologizing to God for having screwed up? He knows, right? Is it the pedantic acknowledgment that counts or does he enjoy hearing the zillion Hail Marys, or is it pure sadism?
snip
For really big (mortal) sins the stakes are higher.
A mortal sin is one that is serious enough to subject the sinner to
damnation;
"Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false
witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother." Murder is
graver than theft. Violence against parents is worse than violence
against a stranger.
For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be met: "Mortal sin is sin
whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full
knowledge and deliberate consent." It presupposes knowledge of the
can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
Uh oh. So every soldier ever who killed in the name of God and country is now burning in Hell, as will all those in the future. Do the priests tell that to little Johnny in Sunday School while his daddy's away? Or does God have an exclusion for politically-motivated murder? Come on, think fast! What about Jesus "bringing a sword"? Does New Testament gospel override the earlier 10 Commandments? If so, then why are these freaky religious right nuts trying to get the 10 Commandments engraved into every Courthouse wall? Or is that just a Southern Baptist thing. Sorry if I'm mixing up the different sectarian hypocritical stances, it's all just religious twaddle to me, deep down.
Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself.
Whoa. Now that IS saying something. Really.
For myself, I need the good will and grace of my parish.
I luxuriate in the beauty of our space, built by Irish Immigrants in the
early 1900's and repainted by Vietnamese immigrants in the late 1900's.
It was built one brick and one statue at a time, through free will
offering and hand labor. It was not the result of a bond issue or
eminent domain.
For me, it's a shame that such a beautiful building was built from the heartbreakingly willing sacrifice of innocent Irishmen, duped into paying for the materials themselves apparently. For centuries, Catholicism has seized people's minds at infanthood and sapped their lives of real meaning until they wake up dead. Fortunately I suppose, the vast majority of them have never doubted their faith significantly enough to resent the theft.
I treasure the music and attend every Sunday. Sometimes I think the Choir and the Organ; Cecilia's voice and Bruce's playing are the real draws. But, deep down, I know that the Lord's prayer reminds me to forgive and to ask for forgiveness.
I dig the music too, but don't see the need to make stuff up about what it means on an imaginary level.
I see communion
as a link to everyone else in the line for a wafer. And I filter it all
through the memory of being in church, with my parents and my siblings.
Attending Mass is something that ties my past, present and future
together in a comforting package. Sometimes it is a chore. But always,
for one hour on Sunday, I am in touch with people who cared (and still
care) enough to give the gifts of music, art, flowers, incense and their
presence in a common ceremony of uncommon beauty and belief.
You can't really have gone through all that crazy ritual and irrational mumbo jumbo just to feel like you belong, say it ain't so. Why didn't you just join a book club or a frisbee team?
Ah hah! Screw the Church anyway, you have a personal God. I'll see YOU at the next Quaker meeting then.
I don't agree with many of the dictates of my church, but trust that if I
conduct myself in ways that do not feel shameful, than I will be on
generally safe ground. I can fight for change, from within. And I
believe the final judgement is not mine nor that of the priest-du-jour.
I believe in a higher power who loves me and wants me to perform at my
best. I believe the suffering on the cross is mirrored in the suffering
of those with serious Illnesses (such as Aids and Cancer) and that the
sacrifice of self and son parallel choices some of our finest have made.
You believe that the magical creature in the sky wants you to do and say the right things so as to avoid that nasty damnation. You believe that people with AIDS and cancer (and this makes me really Ill) are dying as some sort of perverse tribute to the false legend of Jesus-as-zombie.
What is wrong with you people?
to a Gala Christmas Concert. The Atheist can wonder why so many
immigrants invested so much for such dramatic architecture and exquisite
illumination and fabulous music.
Thank you, but it's not a mystery. Mass delusion is today a well defined phenomenon. I too hope we can preserve the Gothic structures and liturgical works for as long as possible, because "they don't make em like THAT anymore". As societies grow beyond their superstitions, such monuments will serve as an ironically beautiful warning of the seductive danger of letting others do your thinking for you.
____________________________________________________________________ Daniel Aharon, System Administrator University of Pennsylvania 3-9089 School of Medicine/IS [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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