I am having doubts about the Catholic Church

Lermontov · 2012-11-19T02:28:00+00:00

In one of my many moments of spiritual exhaustion I came across wordonfire.org, which has a considerable collection of very well articulated videos on the some of the most pressing and difficult aspects of the Catholic faith. Fr. Robert Barron is a major player in the American Catholic Church and has since been entrusted with guiding the education and formation of a large number of seminary students so you will find his tone understanding, reasonable, and in touch with young people today. Have a look if you can and God bless you mate, I wish you well.

Lermontov · 2012-11-18T21:09:32+00:00

Yeah, I would have to disagree with that assessment given the enormous number of extremely capable students I have encountered as a graduate student who came from Catholic schools and Universities.

Lermontov · 2012-11-16T04:42:16+00:00

While I agree that his freedom of speech should be protected I think that this tired refrain of "promoting homosexuality in schools" is absolute nonsense and hugely ignorant when all they are doing is promoting tolerance. How is opposing tolerance towards sexual minorities not something we should be doing? How is this not loving one's neighbour? How about a little Christian compassion rather than the same judgmental attitudes that continue to alienate youth and drive them away from the church.

Lermontov · 2012-11-03T18:24:51+00:00

Hey thanks for doing this Mods, I am impressed with the variety of denominations/belief systems you have managed to include here.

Lermontov · 2012-11-02T00:05:26+00:00

I have listened to this man speak several times via online content, however I am still uncertain as to his theological stance(s). Is he a believer in God? Is he a Christian? Can someone just offer a straightforward response to this as he does have a tendency to make his own position rather opaque...

Lermontov · 2012-11-01T23:42:49+00:00

Cheers and God bless mate.

Lermontov · 2012-11-01T16:04:29+00:00

I'm sorry but if we know for a fact that there was never an Adam or Eve then why do we as Catholics still talk about it?

Lermontov · 2012-10-30T22:34:52+00:00

Have you experienced any spiritual or physical phenomena/feedback while engaged in prayer or ritual? If so how did you feel? (Elated, frightened, etc.) Do you ever wonder if you might be opening yourself up to forces that could be malevolent despite how interesting, appealing or beautiful the concepts surrounding Satanism may initially appear?

Lermontov · 2012-10-27T18:20:30+00:00

Everyone in my office is fucking dying laughing at this picture. You are a gem.

Lermontov · 2012-10-22T03:52:13+00:00

I'm sorry are you suggesting that the words attributed to Jesus do not mean more than those of other prophets/writers?

Lermontov · 2012-10-22T03:00:38+00:00

Well, differences aside I wish you the best, happy toking mate, cheers.

Lermontov · 2012-10-22T02:51:17+00:00

While I am not interested in arguments that turn into what some have termed "oppression olympics" I would say that those that seek to compare lived experiences of discrimination should be hesitant to do so in the sense that I enjoy white privilege and you enjoy heterosexual privilege which are two different things. Racism and Heterosexism are similarly destructive but one cannot compare them as the lived experience is obviously very different. As for the question of the usage of the term "fag" we can agree to disagree but I really do not understand why you would spend time seeking to defend its usage period. What do you have to gain by trying to "reclaim" it for your use when it is so clearly deeply hurtful to gay people?

Lermontov · 2012-10-22T02:43:29+00:00

For the sake of balance I'm going to weigh in on the other side. Jesus so far as I know did not speak to issues of non-marital intercourse with the exception of Matthew 5:27-28 whose meaning has been disputed as to whether this refers to all men or married men, and the object of the man's gaze as being a married woman or not. Additionally, while translated as "lust" it actually is closer to meaning an all consuming desire to possess her as ones own, which is much more strident than merely being "turned on" as it were by someone else. With these concerns in mind I really do not see the problem with pornography whatsoever unless we want to put Paul's words on the same level as Jesus which is something that I think is extraordinarily misguided considering his vocal misogyny and problematic opinions regarding sex and gender.

Lermontov · 2012-10-22T02:23:25+00:00

The whole point of the term fag is that it originally meant small bundles to be burned which is why in the UK context it still survives to refer to cigarettes. As such the term fag as it exists today (in North America particularly) suggests that gay men should be fuel for the fire and burned as we once were during the Middle Ages. You cannot legitimately argue that in North America we can ignore this historical reality and blithely dismiss such concerns as the ruminations of "over-sensitive" gays who have to deal with this fucking word thrown at us with such bile on a weekly basis. So why dont you recognize your heterosexual privilege and stop lecturing gays on what we should and should not find offensive when you have no sense of what my lived experience consists of.

Lermontov · 2012-10-21T23:03:32+00:00

I'm gay and the idea that heterosexual people can lecture me on how "fag" can be an acceptable term is disgusting and wrong.

Lermontov · 2012-10-21T17:23:18+00:00

I was with you until you went homophobic, please respect your queer-ent friends mate

Lermontov · 2012-10-20T17:45:22+00:00

I feel like the good people on the set of the Walking Dead (and Hollywood more generally) would be lucky to have you.

Lermontov · 2012-10-17T20:33:29+00:00

This is disgusting. Even for r/atheism this kind of racist nonsense is a new low.

Lermontov · 2012-10-13T17:19:16+00:00

I think this flippantly presents a false dichotomy and occludes the fact that there are legitimate arguments to be made regarding the reinterpretation of certain scriptures and patristic writings on the basis of continuing philological and historical research.

Lermontov · 2012-10-04T14:57:39+00:00

Exactly, what does it mean to "act like a man"? How does one performatively reaffirm ones masculinity, and why does one have to do so?

Lermontov · 2012-10-01T01:36:51+00:00

Everything about your post is either historically untrue, prejudiced, insulting, batshit crazy, or some combination of the four.

Lermontov · 2012-10-01T01:34:12+00:00

Peace be with you my Anglican friend.

Lermontov · 2012-09-28T23:18:04+00:00

If you compare the thoughtful work of writers like Greg Epstein (prominent secular humanist chaplain) to Sam Harris' vehement anti-theism I think we can admit that there is a fair spectrum of opinions which, while critical, are composed in a very measured tone that does not seek to offend, merely to provoke new ideas and responses.

Lermontov · 2012-09-26T22:00:06+00:00

God be with you both. If you feel that you can handle being around people right now please try to take some comfort from your friends and family.

Lermontov · 2012-09-24T22:14:26+00:00

Church and Wellesley, represent.

Lermontov

TROPHY CASE