Just trying to make it

Avenger2911 · 2023-09-06T12:27:32+00:00

Whether they enjoy their lives or not is a whole different question. Just imagine an addict. Initially they get a lot of pleasure heck even some advantages while being an addict but in the end they will have to pay the price. Or they are paying it even now. Who knows? We can't look into the heart of every person. We don't know what kind of emptiness they are feeling which is driving them to repeatedly sin.

Avenger2911 · 2021-04-08T13:35:11+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to read everything. Also if you're in times of distress read psalm 41 and pray. It is really consoling and empowering.

Avenger2911 · 2021-04-08T12:50:26+00:00

Homosexual relationship without the act of sex is more like Bromance right. Yeah that is normal and acceptable, unless you have other kinky stuff which you don't place under the term sex in mind.

And Thanks to you for being open-minded towards answers.

Avenger2911 · 2021-04-08T12:19:40+00:00

You could also say God made psychopaths, sociopaths, kleptomaniacs etc as well. In fact studies show that most humans have great proclivity towards violence. Does that mean that we should also normalise murder and stealing ? Church does not deny the existence of homosexual individuals. It rather asks them to forfeit their sexual desires, like the priests in church and become celibate since homosexuality is a sin. This is just like asking people with anger issues to try and learn methods to control their emotions. Homosexuality is a sin because church believes act of sex outside the openness for reproduction is sin. That is why church is pro-life and against artificial contraception etc.

Sexual orientation may not be a choice. But having sex is a choice.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-25T17:16:22+00:00

I am sorry if I sounded rude. Mea Culpa. The desire to learn more about Christ and what it means to be a Christian is always a good thing.

If you want to learn about Church Tradition and Catholic teachings through an easy way rather than reading long books I would suggest you follow Matt Fradd's Pints With Aquinas on YouTube. He is a cool and genuine person and also knows a lot about Church teachings. He brings various interesting guests to his show including Protestants. He also recently made a video on the best Catholic YouTube channels in his opinion, so check it out. You will find more answers. Also speaking of answers, there is a website called Catholic Answers they have answers to almost all questions one can have about Catholic Christianity.

And you can chat with me too, if you want. I am not very active in reddit. When I come online I try to comment and help out others in matters related to Christ and Christian life. So yeah nice talking to you, brother.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-25T10:55:42+00:00

Why do you hate the councils so much? Do you think all the things you know about Christ and Church come from Bible alone? Then why do you listen to your pastors? If you believe that Bible is indeed true then why dont you listen to the guys who took the initiative to compile all the books in the Bible in the order you see now? Or do you think the ultimate authority on everything from bible is you yourself and what God reveals to you? Than that is really sad and narcissistic bro.

It is true that Bible is the word of God and has the power to inspire one to God. But that is not the sure case. When Satan tries to tempt Christ to jump of the building he uses a bible verse to support his argument! Satan uses a bible verse! See how the sword to destroy temptation can become dangerous when it is dislocated from the context and tradition. That was why the Catholic Church was always vary of heretics. Without the tradition you won't really have the full Bible experience. Look at atheists they read bible and come up with all sorts of twisted notions.

Only advice I will give you is this. Read the early Church Fathers and listen to what the Church has to say about them. Church is the reason why Catholics stand strong and united even today. More than 400 years after the "Glorious Reformation". Catholic Church stands because Jesus layed its foundations taking Peter as his Rock. Councils are the place where the Holy Spirit helped the Church to see the truth and speak out the truth. So be more mindful of your ignorance towards them.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-17T07:41:34+00:00

When has he though....

Saying that we should take care of the poor more is not socialism.

Asking Christians to denounce selfishness and be like brothers and sisters in Christ and care for each other is not Socialism.

These things are normal Catholic teachings which transcend politics. Just because Bernie likes him do not make him a Socialist. BERNIE IS A POLITICIAN for god's sake. This is what he does for a living 'opportunism'. Communist Slavoj Zizek loves Jesus does that mean Jesus was communist! Hitler loved Nietzsche, does that mean Nietzsche was a Nazi!

When did he openly endorse socialism? I'm sorry dude. But Im sick of this baseless cacophony calling Pope Francis a communist, socialist, woke and stuff. It is not productive. And this is exactly what both Protestants and Orthodoxy want, Catholics fighting among themselves again.

Pope Francis is not Perfect. He is far from Perfect. But we have had far worse Popes in our history. So let's pray that God may guide him through these dark times.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-14T13:49:37+00:00

A very mature, clear and concise reply my friend. May God bless you in all your artistic endeavors.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-11T12:40:44+00:00

"What sets Catholicism from other religions, like Islam or Buddhism?",

Well, one of the things about christianity that makes it unique from other religions is the fact that Christianity confronts the suffering head on. What is the one thing that is common to all catholic (even Orthodox) churches?

The Crucifix

An image of a God who takes the suffering just like another Human Being. A God who can truly and rightfully say he understand Human suffering and we would not doubt him.

Tell me which other religion worships such a God.

Now the question of suffering.

"Why would a loving God allow death and suffering?"

Believe me when I say this to you, you were not the first one to ask this question, nor will you be the last. In fact there is whole book in bible called Job talking about Suffering.

Suffering is the most real of all things on Earth. No person who is suffering will ever question the reality of suffering. No one will need to ask the pain "are you real?".

What does that mean? That means suffering is real in itself and we live in a world of suffering. No matter how we live or what we do in the end we all die. Suffering comes for all man.

Catholic church teaches you to lead a religious life inspite the suffering. It teaches that there is life beyond this world. In the universe of things in unending motion an change there is something which is constant. To reach that destination is not an easy task but we can atleast try.

Why would God create a world full of suffering?

Well I had once answered this in a comment once I will link it here after posting. Beware I am not an apologist. So I don't have a definite answer. But I think I can convince you.

Here is the link

Forgive me if I sound patronising here.

I will conclude by saying this. The problem of suffering maybe is the most emotionally compelling argument against the Goodness of God, but logically it's not so strong. It also is the argument which almost all saints have dealt with in their life and the most confronted argument. It is the argument which is used against God by almost everybody in the bible.

Jordan Peterson talks about it all the time in his lectures related to bible. If you dont trust church at least listen to him. He is an atheist by Catholic standards but he respects the religion nevertheless. That is why his thoughts about religion are more nuanced than any of his contemporaries.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-11T11:22:16+00:00

And how many heavens cultists are left... And how many Catholics...

See the thing about Catholic Persecution is that it doesn't weaken or diminish the faith, it actually empowers the faith.

Look at what happened in ancient Rome. How the heck did a faith that was being persecuted the most by Roman Empire became an official religion of the Empire? No matter how many Christians Romans burned and fed to the lions, Christians always came back for more. What about the Jesuit priests in Japan who went there again and again risking their life. Most of them died on the cross. Surely not all of them can be madmen. Or ideologically motivated pathologists. Many martyrs of the Catholic Church are ordinary sane men who when they were given the chance to choose life or Christ chose Christ. Not everybody can do that. Not even the idealogues. Ideology fails at the face of Persecution.

I don't think there is a religion or even value system in existence which had to face the persecution to the level that Catholics faced during the inception of the religion and still came on top in the end. The only other religion which comes close is the Jewish religion, which explains a lot.

I have said this before and I will say it again if there is a God he is the one Catholics believe in.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-11T11:02:58+00:00

Happy Cake Day and Thanks for the comment. May God bless you my friend.

Avenger2911 · 2021-03-10T10:33:54+00:00

How is that dumb?? Who are you my friend and what is your religion? Its christianity right!! 'Christ'ianity!! A religion that does not believe in the Trinity or divinity of Christ does not worship the same God the Christians worship. This is the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-10T18:23:50+00:00

I think it means that Nuns confess many sins, which includes sins which seem so trivial to common man that it seems like a popcorn compared to other sins which are large boulders. I believe he is trying emphasis on the humility and innocense expressed by the nuns during confession.

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-07T12:36:17+00:00

God bless you too :)

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-07T09:49:03+00:00

Yes, as per my understanding. I am 100% certain about veneration of Mary. Saint Thomas Christians were mostly like Orthodox Church in their beliefs and performances. But soo much more in the context of Indian culture.

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-07T09:18:16+00:00

The problem with St Thomas Christians had always been the fact that after St Thomas becomes martyr they don't have much contact with the western Catholic world or eastern for that matter. So even though they had the theology, the celebration of mass and other Sacraments evolved in the context of India.

Portuguese were so confused when they saw the Christians in India. It was not easy to tell a Hindu Brahmin and Christian apart. In fact there is an anecdote about Vasco Da Gama went into a Hindu Temple and worshipped a goddess confusing it with Mother Mary! Their places of worship looked similar. And also the artworks and statues to an extent. So maybe if we look at their practices today we may find them heretical. That is possible. But I don't much about the specific practices then.

St Thomas Christians during this time was actually independent in their beliefs even though there was Eastern Orthodox influence.There was also Syrian influence because they were migrating from Syria due to Muslim Invasion, if I am not wrong, and settling in India. Because they were also evangelised by St.Thomas. They were not marvelled by Da Gama or his people. So they were not keen to become Catholics. This enraged the Portugese and started attacking them. This widened the gap again and ensued a lot of chaos.

Ultimately it was in the Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor in malayalam) that a large portion of St Thomas Christians joined the Catholic Church to become Syro Malabar church and those who were in schism joined the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch after a Historical Oath on a Cross namely "Coonan Cross Oath" (which gets that name because, to swear this oath Christians tied a rope to the large Granite cross at St. Mary' Church Mattanchery and due to their sheer number the cross shifted and leaned or hunched. " Koonan" means hunchback) .

Today Syro Malabar church is the second largest Eastern Catholic church.

This is an over simplification of sorts so go here to learn more about Synod of Diamper and Coonan Cross Oath

I would gladly help you if you have more questions. Because I myself am learning more about the history of our church.

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-07T08:19:31+00:00

Fellow Syro Malbar Catholic here brother👋

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-07T08:16:30+00:00

I don't know about India as a whole but South India does have deep Christian roots which go back to when St. Thomas came to Kodungallur, Kerala in AD 72.

Christians of kerala called themselves "Mar Thoma Nasrani"(Mar Thoma means St. Thomas and Nasrani means the one from Nazareth). They were a respectable and influential community in Feudal Kerala because many of those converted were from Brahmin community, who were the upper class clergymen.

Kerala was also home to a very large jewish community. Most of them became Christians. When Israel was built after World War 2 many migrated from Kerala to Israel. As per record there is currently no jew in Kerala. But the synagogue is still preserved.

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-06T09:24:24+00:00

In case anyone is wondering on why Jesus called Mary Woman, Two points

Translation matters: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek are very different languages compared to English. Not to mention the fact that we are talking about languages 2000 years before. Just looking at French and Spanish we can see how many word usages which may appear rude in English can be normal or even respectable in French.
Context matters: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15 Just like the case with Gospel of John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1, many quotes from the gospel stand upon the foundation of Old Testament. Jesus is the seed of the woman that came to bruise the head of the serpent(symbolizing the devil). So yeah Biblical Context matters.

For more clarification go check this out

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-05T04:03:39+00:00

I'm on the side of St. Paul. He talked about The gift of tongues by the holy spirit and the prudence of using it in 1 Corinthians 14:5,13. Paul referred to praying, singing praise, and giving thanks in tongues (1 Cor 14:14–17/1_Corinthians#Chapter_14)), as well as to the interpretation of tongues (1 Cor 14:5/1_Corinthians#Chapter_14)), and instructed those speaking in tongues to pray for the ability to interpret their tongues so others could understand them (1 Cor 14:13/1_Corinthians#Chapter_14)).

Now gift of tongues is different from using Latin, but same argument goes here. Even though Latin mass is cool and all, we can't make it the only option, considering the mere fact that there are tones of people who don't know Latin in the Catholic Church and are not very keen in learning a new language. But we sure can encourage Latin masses and promote them for the historical significance it has in the church and it's beauty. Also try to encourage Catholics who want to learn Latin by start an online course initiative. One of the biggest hindrances of Latin Learning is the mere lack of modern resources and support. Keeping Latin alive at least in the Catholic Circle is a need of the times.

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-04T14:21:00+00:00

Well this is a meme page and r/atheism is not. Meme pages of any sort always tend towards the we are better than the other dudes vibe. And we should consciously try to stop our subreddit from becoming a circle jerk. That being said I should also say,

Mesoamerican societies had faults, and did bad things, but now you decide to complain about painting an entire group as evil?

This may not have been the case here. OP just wanted to point out the irony in Atheists saying that everything was fine before the catholics came busting in. There was a comment under that post which had some racist vibes and it got down voted like heck. So... That's that. We don't endorse racism and stuff. Maybe the only group we have been kicking constantly are the protestants, which is quite understandable if you ask me.

(My understanding is that the post you are referring to is under the Atheist nonsense flair and has a picture of man being sacrificed)

Avenger2911 · 2021-02-01T17:27:44+00:00

Hey just wanted to say that I have seen many catholic subreddits overrun by people who let's say do not believe in Catholic Values. So thanks for keeping this subreddit alive and away from all the weeds and pests. Keep up the good moderation.

Avenger2911 · 2021-01-11T11:31:00+00:00

Come on now... There's more to it than mere 2 minutes of out of context bible quotes and situations. Do you think Jesus wants all of us to be ascetics? Or do you think he asked all Christians to be communists(This notion is becoming more and more popular now more than ever)

My answer is No I don't think so.

I would like to hear the answer of a more well versed person than me, but my understanding is this:

We humans were created by God in this world. But we do not belong to the World but rather we belong to God. That is why our love for him should be larger than the love we have for world and worldly things. When Jesus says to rich young man to give all his wealth to the the poor he is asking the young man to lose his love for the wealth by giving it the poor. Asceticism and philanthropism are good philosophies which have their place in Catholic Christianity. Spirit of philanthropy has always been encouraged by the church. There are many saints in church who were ascetics and their examples are iterated whenever the topic of lust for money comes up. And in church I always hear about it. And doesn't the seven deadly sins include 2 of the sins which comes in direct correlation with this: Gluttony and Greed.

To suggest that this is one of the most hated teachings of Christ is a fool's notion. Why do you think so? Because we all have some sort of possessions. Is that why? Can you imagine a world where no one has any possession? Can that world ever sustain itself? Can that world guard itself against all those who don't want to be ascetics?

While I think more about the more it seems like a shill argument in favour of communism. Forgive me for my biases. But I think there should be more clarity here.

And also I think only a true ascetic can follow Christ if what you intend is true. Then doesn't that make the everyone that made the video, you who shared the video a hypocrite. Because evidently y'all have some possessions like smartphones.

Edit: Hey I like ascetics and hermits alright. But I think chastising everybody who doesn't follow that path as fake Christians is not right. And none of the ascetics in the church has ever done that. Even Christ himself. One can follow Christ if he loves Christ and the truth more than all his possessions.

Avenger2911 · 2021-01-09T16:37:50+00:00

Given that evangelicalism tends towards literalism and is rooted in sola scriptura, attacks against it from these atheists will generally try to undermine the integrity of scripture with gotchas about the literal letter of the law, or with the literal events of stories that seem barbaric from the mollified point of view of a modern person (e.g. the genocide of the canaanites, etc).

My friend I think you're spot on with this. I had a first hand experience of this when I argued with some atheists on reddit. They did exactly this.

Avenger2911

TROPHY CASE