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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2407 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 13, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Yes I do. But it doesn't all follow from there unfortunately because the church is built on much more than just Jesus' passion, resurrection, and death. It's largely built on Pauline interpretations of the Gospels, and the entirety of the Old Testament which is largely contradictory to the New Testament. It's not as simple as just "repent and believe the gospel" because so many things have been grafted on top of that are required to be part of the church.

I think you're reading me extremely uncharitably here (as the other catholics that I complain about do too), and actually makes me want to leave more than I already do (which is perhaps what you would want anyway, which I have some sympathy with). Things empirically do not just follow from reading the scriptures (or else why would there be so many denominations of Christianity). I believe in Papal Authority and church hierarchy which is one of the reasons why I am catholic. The Jesuits' have a much more open interpretation to theological problems where I struggle with the Dominican positions.

I agree I was too harsh. In my defense it wasn’t clear whether you were quibbling with your local expression of Catholicism or if you had simply thrown out the whole faith because your friends moved away. You say yourself you converted for the books and incense and are leaving because of your own ideas of animal welfare or other unarticulated abstract philosophical objections.

I’m not even Catholic myself. But my eyebrows do jump up when I read “I believe in Papal authority and hierarchy but don’t think I’ll do what they say or follow to them to their conclusions.” Also isn’t weekly Mass, like, super required?

Yeah, if they believe in papal authority, it would follow that they have to believe and do all the rest.

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