Your REAL Views

[chewchew]

just wondering what your true feelings are on Religion.

Have you been raised a catholic and now question your beliefs?

Are you still a dedcated believer in your religion??

Personally, I was raised catholic. baptised, made the communion, confirmed, and go to church at Christmas. I go for anniversaries and funerals and weddings. But I do not practise or 'believe' what I was thought as a kid.

Whats your personal views on religion in this modern day???

[Queenie]

It has its place ChewChew, I grew up in a two religion family, and my husband the same. I think there are two main points to always keep in mind. Honour thy father and thy mother, and do unto others as you would have done unto you. Keeping those two in mind you won't go far wrong.

[mrangry]

Thats a great topic Chewchew and unthinkable on the other forum.Me.I'm 49 and have got more and more consrevative as I've got older,but I think every one does and that has little to do with actual religious beliefs.I go to mass most sundays,more out of habit than belief,of which I have little though I still believe that there must be something there.I've read a lot about different religions and,although I despise much about Islam,theres also a lot to reccomend it.Buddhism is not really a religion as far as i can make out with no belief in an afterlife.I think I'd make a good Jew,or at least a good Israeli.Call me a Catholic Jew.

[chewchew]

Thanks Angry man. A definite unthinkable thread on the other forum is right. I honestly dont know much about other religions but one thing I do know is that I know enough about catholicism to know that there cannot be any truth in what I was lead to believe. However, I do believe there is something out there watching over me right now. I truly believe that when my father passed away he didnt ust die. he went somewhere and he can still see me and all my family. I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that there is more to living. and I actually think there is an afterlife.
But going to church every sunday reminds me of a cult. I actually think I'd rather be Amish.

[mrangry]

No,there can't be any truth in the basics,but it IS a comfort.And you are quite right to believe that your Father is looking over you simply because he is.You were too young to lose your father but ,even with little or no religion,I find going into a church and lighting a candle makes me feel a lot better.Try it.

[chewchew]

I do that. I often to into the church JUST to light a candle. every city I go to I go to a church there and light a candle. but I really cant listen to all the balloney they try to feed you with. yeah I may have been too young to lose my dad when I did, which kind of confirmed that there cannot be anything up above looking over me. My dad WAS a dedicated catholic. look where it got him!!

I was at my grandfathers anniversary mass at christmas and I swear the priest saying mass should have been shot. he preached and preached that if your children do not go to college, or end up with top jobs that they are worthless and its their parents fault. how disgusting is that??

[mrangry]

I know Chew,I don't disagree with you.I'm a catholic simply by birth.But if asked,like in the census,then I'm a Catholic.Having said that its probably harder for my age group to escape it than yours.How can I put it best?.I don't believe but I am comfortable with the ritual.

[chewchew]

would you pray regularly?? I would never expect people to 'escape' and well I suppose what I really mean is older people, and I'm not being nasty, but like you said it is easier for my age group to change and accept change.

you know if I had a kid I honestly dont think I would baptise it.

[chewchew]

ps. . . I just gave you some more Karma!!!

[mrangry]

Thanks for the Karma.Harumph........I notice the amount of ads for various church organiations at the bottom of the page.And if you had a child,I bet you would Baptise it.But thats not the point chew.One of my sisters will not attend a normal Mass.She will only go to a Latin Mass.She drives miles every Sunday to attend one

[Queenie]

There are plenty of a la carte Catholics out there. If you don't believe what you were taught as a kid, but you believe your Dad is looking at you, and hopefully looking out for you, then you do believe what you were taught as a kid. As a Christian, we supposedly do believe in an afterlife, it's comforting to believe this, but if we didn't have any loved ones who had died would we still believe? my dad died years ago and I have often talked to him, I hope he is still looking out for me, as they say there are no athiests in a fox hole.

[Queenie]

Having said all that, is that Religion, I don't know, Catholic means Christian, there is a difference between Roman Catholic and Catholic. Personally I would prefer to describe myself as Christian. We get First Communion and Confirmation too young, there are no choices, our parents decide for us and that's it,your're in. For kids its the dress, the money, the day out, and that's only reasonable as they are just kids. It really is a big step and you wouldn't let them drive a car, or you wouldn't give them a credit card at that age, but you sign them up to an organisation that's going to affect them their whole lives!! mad really

[sifu]

Localyokel

Catholic/catholic as defined in Wikipedia:

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek adjective 'êáèïëéêüò / katholikos', meaning "general; universal" (cf. Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon).

In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has several usages:

The word commonly refers to the members, beliefs, and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, including all sui juris particular Churches that are in full communion with the Holy See, namely the Latin Rite and twenty-two Eastern Catholic Churches. The latter include the Ukrainian, Greek, Greek Melkite, Maronite, Ruthenian Byzantine, Coptic Catholic, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Chaldean, and Ethiopic Rites.
The Eastern Orthodox Church also identifies itself as Catholic, as in the title of The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church.
Most Reformation and post-Reformation Churches use the term Catholic (sometimes with a lower-case c) to refer to the belief that all Christians are part of one Church, regardless of denominational divisions. It is in line with this interpretation, which applies the word "catholic"/"universal" to no one denomination, that they understand the phrase "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" in the Nicene Creed, the phrase "the Catholic faith" in the Athanasian Creed, and the phrase "holy catholic church" in the Apostles' Creed.
The term is used also to mean those Christian Churches which maintain that their Episcopate can be traced unbrokenly back to the Apostles, and consider themselves part of a broad catholic (or universal) body of believers. Among those who regard themselves as "Catholic", but not "Roman Catholic" , are Anglicans, and some small groups such as the Old Catholic Church, the Polish National Catholic Church, the Independent Catholic, the Ancient Catholic and Liberal Catholic Churches, as well as Lutherans (though the latter prefer the lower-case "c," and, like Anglicans, stress that they are both Protestant and Catholic).

Sifu

[Queenie]

and? I meant that people say they are Catholic, when they really mean Roman Catholic.

[chewchew]

Angry man the reasons that LocalYokal pointed out would be the exact reasons why I would prefere not to baptise my children. I hate that it was decided for me that I was baptised. my parents did not have that right.