Why do catholic believe in saints went gods does not like it?

[Pocky]

Originally posted by moimeme

Huh? What would you have them wear - grass skirts?

 

[smile95]

No one at my church (priests) wear crowns or jewelry???Just a robe.

[GUEST]

quote:

the fabric from which they dress themselves is always man made.

 

 

 

Huh? What would you have them wear - grass skirts?

 

It was actually a metaphor.....for something else.....but never mind.

[GUEST]

Also, Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints when Sacred Scripture states that there is one Mediator between God and man--Christ Jesus? I think this or some form of was the original question. I just wonder if at anytime catholics do pray on thier own behalf.

[moimeme]

Guest, this was already covered. Try reading the whole thread. And of course Catholics pray on their own behalf. Boy, people have bizarre ideas about Catholicism.

[Love685]

I was raised Catholic and believe that religions are ok for many people and that they are basically social organizations.

 

 

What I want to point out is how closely the Catholic religion mimics the ancient religions of Greece and Rome. The Catholic religion has one "God" which could correspond to Apollo. All the other gods are actually called Saints. The church believes that saints are created by God because they must have performed miracles in his name. So the Saints do have Power. Just as various Greek gods had unique powers, saints have unique powers... St Christopher for travelers, St Joseph (I think) for lost things and the list is longer but I can't remember them all.

 

In Catholoism, the next highest being to God, "Jesus" was created by an angel (greek version of another god) coming to Earth and creating a godlike child. This person is then deemed to be VERY powerful and has the power of a god. He becomes a God when he dies as does his Mother.

 

The Greeks had revengful gods who would cause all kinds of trouble. Catholocism has the devil / satan who temps us and creates all kinds of problems.

 

It just gets more and more clear that religions fill a certain need people have to "understand" what is happening around them. They also give power to leaders through the god(s).

 

I do realize that for practicing Catholics, the above is totally unbelievable and doesn't make much sense but if you free your mind you will see the similarities.

 

JMO

[BlockHead]

Love685

Maybe your argument would be more creditable if you included supposed Egyption and other influences.

You should also consider the possibility that Christianity and Judiasm may have influenced these Pagan religions.

[shygurl]

Originally posted by ~Naive~

My father's family is Catholic and my grandmother was a firm believer of this religion so I know some about it. I have never seen it right that they would ask saints to pray for them because I believe that God is fair and hears us all the same. We are all equal and the only one whom is greater than us is God. I do not need someone to pray for me because I know that I can easily do it for myself and he will hear me no matter where I am or when I do it. Another thing, I also disagree with the fact that they ask a priest to ask forgiveness for their sins because I am sure that if you do it on your own and you really do feel bad and repent about what you did God will forgive you. There is no need for an intermediate because we are all God's children's and he will not have a preference. For example, if you do something bad and you then send your brother to ask your parents for forgiveness because he is more disciplined than you it will not make it okay or better. It would be much better if the kid that did the harm asked for forgiveness if he really means it, don't you think?

 

This is my way of thinking, however, I never told my grandmother because I respected her beliefs and nothing would change mine. Maybe I am wrong maybe she was.

 

Even though my faith is a little shaken at the moment I still believe firmly what I typed above.

 

That's how I've always looked at it, too, Naive. I was raised Catholic - even went to Catholic Jr and Sr High. I could never wrap my mind around the whole Saints thing, either. There's no need, in my mind ,to have to use an intercessory to talk to God - I don't need someone to pass along my message to God - I can do that all on my own. I don't even necessarily believe in the Saints - how come other denominations don't believe in them? (baptist, episcopalian, evangelical, pentecostal, etc) Frankly, I think they are all just man-made beliefs of the Catholic church. The Bible doesn't speak about Saints, nor does it encourage us to pray to them - and if you're a Christian, you should use God's word as your guide, I think.

 

As for Confession and commiting your sins to a priest - I remember having to go and absolutely dreading it, felt so uncomfortable being stuffed into a little dark booth and confessing my sins. Chances are I never admitted them all because I was too embarassed anyway, so what was the point? I DO know, there is a Bible verse that says something along the lines of "confess your sins unto one another" (just paraphrasing).......maybe that's where Catholics get it from?

 

I would prefer to just go directly to God - myself........in my own time, my own way..........I don't think God cares how we ask forgiveness....just as long as we do and we do our best to not make the same mistakes/sins again...........and if we have trouble NOT recommitting those particular sins, that we ask Him for His help/guidance..............and do our best - but always knowing that no matter how we fail as humans, He loves us like a Father loves their child.

 

Some Catholics DO seem to worship Saints...........heck, some have even worshipped the Pope. I recall after the last Pope passed away, I was on a Religion Forum and someone asked "Now that the Pope is gone, how are we going to go on?" I thought that was a really sad statement - this person was obviously forgetting that the Pope is just a Man.............and at the heart of Catholicism should be GOD...............and God is always there.

 

I've heard of people burying statues of Saints in their backyards and all kinds of little superstitious traditions but that's what they are - they're superstitions and I think it goes against God, totally. If you want something in your life, all you have to do is Pray about it - Talk to God about it..........He hears your heart, He knows your needs..................He knows what's best for each and every one of us. I don't always pray for what I want, I've learned over the years to pray for "God's will" because I do really believe HE knows best.

 

I left the Catholic church several years ago (the only one in my family who isn't) because I feel they have gotten so caught up in rules and rituals and symbols - and too far away from God.

[shygurl]

Originally posted by Love685

In Catholi<ci>ism, the next highest being to God, "Jesus" was created by an angel (greek version of another god) coming to Earth and creating a godlike child. This person is then deemed to be VERY powerful and has the power of a god. He becomes a God when he dies as does his Mother.

 

I was raised Catholic, too.....and I've never heard any of this. Jesus IS God - always was. The Trinity.

[quankanne]

There's no need, in my mind ,to have to use an intercessory to talk to God - I don't need someone to pass along my message to God - I can do that all on my own. I don't even necessarily believe in the Saints - how come other denominations don't believe in them?

 

many Catholics believe in the "communion of saints," which for the most part is like asking your best friend or your grandma for her prayers with your intentions in mind. The only difference is BF and grandma are here on this plane, while the saints some people talk to are in heaven. The belief is that this person is a man or woman of God, someone who has lived their life uplifting God, and whose prayers can possibly "add weight" to our own. I don't find it strange at all, asking for their help. Because who but another believer can understand the urgency of your petition and be willing to ask for help on your behalf?

 

now, if saints are prayer partners who have a close relationship to God because they lived as they believed, then Mary would seem to have extra weight as the first Christian – she was a little Jewish girl who said "yes" to God and who supported Jesus as her Lord from the moment she conceived. When we Catholics ask for prayers on her behalf, it's because we know that she will carry them straight to Jesus and she'll lobby for us, if you will, because we're her children just as much as He is. Think back to your own exprience -- I'm sure in your lifetime, you may have found it easier to approach Mama for something you wanted to do but weren't sure of Daddy's reaction, so she agreed to intercede for you. Because even if the answer was no, you knew your mom would still present your case with all the love and support she could, simply because it was something you desired. Mary does that, in a magnified, spiritual way. We don't see her as "above" God or as "above" Jesus, but rather as someone in that rare position who will hear our petitions with love and who we trust to carry on our behalf.

 

I left the Catholic church several years ago (the only one in my family who isn't) because I feel they have gotten so caught up in rules and rituals and symbols - and too far away from God

 

again, those rituals and rules haven't changed in 2000 years, and they've always been oriented towards God. The Catholic Church isn't the church of What's Happening Now, nor does she blow whichever way the wind does. She's always been centered in God, in Christ, but is easily misunderstood because people are too busy looking at the trappings instead of hearing her message, which has always been "follow Christ." Granted, we do have some members who get caught up in the trappings themselves, and they tend to lose focus on that message.

[quankanne]

What I want to point out is how closely the Catholic religion mimics the ancient religions of Greece and Rome. The Catholic religion has one "God" which could correspond to Apollo. All the other gods are actually called Saints. … In Catholoism, the next highest being to God, "Jesus" was created by an angel (greek version of another god) coming to Earth and creating a godlike child. This person is then deemed to be VERY powerful and has the power of a god. He becomes a God when he dies as does his Mother.

 

uh, no. We don't even remotely resemble the ancient Greek belief system. Our belief is in monotheism, just like Judaism and Muslim belief. One God, who is the head honcho. There is none equal to him, though as Christians we believe that God is three-in-one: he is God, he is Christ, he is the Holy Spirit. Still, there is no equal, period.

 

Jesus is NOT the product of an angel. According to Christian belief, he is both divine and human, born of a human with God as his father. So technically, he cannot be considered "godlike," because he IS God.

 

The church believes that saints are created by God because they must have performed miracles in his name. So the Saints do have Power.

 

arrrrgggghhhhhh .... Saints do not have "power," they're just dead people who, in their lifetime, cultivated a close relationship with their God and modeled it. They do not perform miracles -- that's only something God can do. Their biggest "claim to fame" is that they lived for God and can be considered spiritual role models for their faith. And they had the same opportunity as everyone else to exercise free will and choose a different path (i.e., one that led away from God).

[wing81]

I am surprised about all of the myths and stereotypes that many people seem to have about religion. Catholics in general. First, saints are people that God has worked through. In most cases to become a saint he have had to perform three miracles during your life time as prove that God has worked through you. If I had to think of an analogy for why we pray to different saints I would say a President and his cabinet would be the best example. God is the president and is very busy and relies on his cabinet to sum everything up for him so that he can make decisions. Basically they are messengers to God.

 

As far as ancient religions and Catholicism go there is a strong correlation between the two. The Gregorian calendar established by Pope Gregory XIII uses names for days and months derived from different gods and leaders of different religions. The birth of Jesus corresponds with the winter solstice after which days start to get longer. If I remember correctly Easter takes place during the Rite of Spring which is a pagan ritual of rebirth. There are numerous other symbols that had their begins from pagan origins. The thing to remember is that during the time that Christianity was being founded the last thing the founders wanted to was to exile large numbers of people from their teachings so they tried to incorporated some of the pagan sympbols into their teachings.

[Moai]

Who cares?

 

Going back to the first post: If you aren't Catholic, why do you care what they believe, unless you are trying to demonstrate that somehow your religion is "better" and you understand the bible "better" or whatever?

 

If you really wanted to know the answers to your questions, you'd do what most people do and go to the library and read about the foundations of Catholicism. But then you miss out on the fun of feeling righteous, right? And I am sure that feels great, and more power to you. It's just really transparent, I think.

 

Let me ask you a question: Do you beleive that holiness can be tranferred through clothing?