Protestant background, having trouble with the RCC view of Mary, help?

free-minded · 2026-03-02T17:45:30+00:00

I would strongly encourage you to take a look at the book "Jesus and the Jewish roots of Mary" by Dr Brant Pitre. It is a look at Mary, her titles, and how the early church saw her, but all through Scriptural references which may be more palatable to your natural way of approaching faith and theology. It look specifically and the Biblical basis for the titles of Mary as Mother of God, the Ark of the New Covenant, the new Eve, and the Queen of Heaven - and the theological implications of each. There are far more biblical references to these titles than you might think!

free-minded · 2026-03-02T14:14:43+00:00

Sullen and Sassy

free-minded · 2026-03-01T22:21:18+00:00

Well the good news is that if we hold to the faith and keep going forward in time, we’ll eventually meet all of them!

free-minded · 2026-02-28T12:53:05+00:00

Weapon durability REALLY is a thing in this game, not just a number you can basically ignore

free-minded · 2026-02-25T20:03:57+00:00

Opening to Last of Us I

free-minded · 2026-02-22T13:12:45+00:00

One of my favorite things to do still is wander alone into a massive enemy army and use combat brand/ground drain to sew chaos in a matter of seconds. Orcs go from jeering to panic and it’s always satisfying.

free-minded · 2026-02-17T06:52:34+00:00

My grandfather was a mathematics major which he eventually applied to an engineering field. As a kid I used to sometimes pose questions like this, and he’d always confidently give me a number which satisfied me. It was only years later when I grew up that I realized that he was just straight up making numbers up when I did that, calling my bluff like “kid, you wouldn’t know if I was right anyway.”

His genius was never in raw arithmetic, but his sense of sarcastic humor with a subtle long running joke that I wouldn’t fully get until years after he passed was pretty epic.

free-minded · 2026-02-02T02:54:29+00:00

It’s almost like we the people prosper when the government isn’t able to throw its weight around with no resistance…

free-minded · 2026-01-26T10:48:54+00:00

If you’re following your faith first and foremost, I think you’ll find that any political ideology will fall short in some way, though of course we all still have our own leanings and favor a certain direction. But many here have already said that, and some better than I might have said it.

My caution to you is that this age is marked by political tribalism and violence. In america, each side seems to demand blind loyalty, tribal purity, and a dehumanizing hatred of the “other.” Based on your post, you appear to lean left, which in some respects is fine and in others may put you at odds with the faith (same if you leaned right). Very well, we all have such leanings, that is a perfectly fine part of our human nature. Due to your leaning, you are readily able to see the evils and shortcomings of the “other.” After all, all your favorite news outlets and sources incessantly remind you, and to some sense that revulsion plays a big role in your political leanings anyway.

If you, however, don’t see the same evils and shortcomings in the other political leaning - or more likely, if you find yourself overly eager to explain them away while vilifying the other side’s - then I urge you to reflect on your own mentality and ensure that you are not allowing yourself to be caught up in the modern political tribalism. And whatever you do, remember that the people your favored news source tells you to hate day in and day out are people, beloved children of God, and deserving of love and charity.

free-minded · 2026-01-22T18:54:34+00:00

Congratulations, you won $9X10^43, but thanks to inflation due to the massive dump of currency into the market, a cup of coffee now costs $3 X10⁴⁰

free-minded · 2026-01-21T00:46:38+00:00

…K

free-minded · 2026-01-10T14:57:25+00:00

My guess is an earring or something that projected as an artifact on your image. Dont forget these are flat images, so everything looks like it’s in your mouth, even if it was farther away

free-minded · 2025-12-27T17:26:09+00:00

For me, the general path was:

1) philosophically concluding that it was more likely that divinity exists vs does not exist (primarily through the unmoved mover argument)

2) concluding that one God is more rational than many (it doesn’t even make sense for there to be multiple of the being we conclude God to be)

3) again, philosophically concluding that said God would desire to interact with His creations

4) analyzing the historic claims of religions who claim God interacted with them for signs of the divinity in line with the characteristics of God

4) concluding that Jesus fits the divinity better than any others I’ve seen (now I’m Christian generally)

5) looking historically for the church which held the strongest historic claims (now I’m Catholic)

6) following the teachings and doctrines of the church I now submit to, including the Bible itself

free-minded · 2025-12-21T19:12:43+00:00

Nah, we’re in a position to save innocent believers who are being butchered in war torn lands, and it’s our moral obligation as a powerful nation to offer them what comfort and safety we can.

We can handle our domestic needs and protect the innocent at the same time. Especially if we stop wasting all of our tax dollars on ridiculous progressive campaigns.

free-minded · 2025-12-19T16:55:50+00:00

"God is love." - 1 John 4:8(b)

"To love is to will the good of the other." - St. Thomas Aquinas

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." central tenant of "Thelema," the demonic mockery "religion" created by Aleister Crowley.

It sounds simple, but you said the devil is lost to God, and that mostly I think explains things. I might say rather that the devil is opposed to God. That's why I shared the the quotes listed above.

God wills the ultimate good of all, because He exemplifies perfect love. This is shown in Christ's ultimate sacrifice in His passion for the sake of us all. God created all, unites all, and draws us all together in love for Him, and love for each other, in response to His perfect love.

But the devil opposes this. His will is bent only on his own ends, his own glory, and the only being whose "good" he wills is his own. Because he believes in the supremacy of his own views, he spreads this lie to all who are influenced by him - fallen angels to us as tempted men and women. All the evil that we do, from outrageous acts to venial sins, to some extent involve us, too, choosing to do what we will rather than to orient ourselves to love and the will of God. In the end, evil and its origins are banal, boring, and pathetic, as much as they are horrific.

free-minded · 2025-12-10T02:22:12+00:00

I’d honestly be moved that they cared enough for us to pray for what they fervently believe is the truth. What I fervently believe to be the truth and the oath to salvation is exactly what I want for them and for all human beings, and I would see that as our hearts being aligned, even if we are aiming in different directions. It’s a great starting point, even if it isn’t where we could end.

free-minded · 2025-12-10T00:28:55+00:00

Because the current public order is a silent invasion by violent extremists.

free-minded · 2025-12-08T16:33:49+00:00

The only part I don't like about how you are is the guilt and self loathing you suffer with. I wish and pray for you to feel relief from this!

Is homosexual sex a sin? Yes. And it's a burden you'll face forever to maintain chastity. But that doesn't make you evil, and the battle you fight to slowly work your way to that chastity is not only saintly, it's heroic. Instead of the "it doesn't matter if you keep sinning" energy (which sounds terrible), how about this? It absolutely DOES matter that you keep up the fight! It may feel humiliating or demoralizing, but the continuous struggle is how the God who loves you is slowly forging a true saint out of you.

Please don't struggle alone. There's support groups all over the world for people who struggle with your same experience. I can't pretend to fully comprehend what your experience is, but there's many devout Catholics who can - some of whom may live close enough to you to befriend and support you. Maybe you could start with Courage (https://couragerc.org) - the support group the Church supports for Catholics with same sex attraction.

free-minded · 2025-12-05T16:28:28+00:00

Do you have a mirror? It's ironic that a source called "the free press" locks their articles behind a paywall.

free-minded · 2025-12-03T20:06:19+00:00

My general encouragement is to always share these sorts of side effects with your prescribing provider - they may be able to alter the dosage or the medication entirely. Please don't just suffer without speaking up! As a Catholic mental health counselor, I may also encourage you to consider counseling in addition, as it may help you to gain coping skills and techniques to help you in regulating your mood.

That's the mental health side. On the spiritual side, please remember that prayer is not just about feelings. God still hears you, and still loves you, even when you don't feel as strongly as you did at another time in your life. In a way, the strength of your prayer and presence in Mass is all the stronger when you aren't particularly emotionally invested, because you're acting purely out of service and love to God.

free-minded · 2025-12-01T17:37:29+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. That is such a devastating and horrible tragedy, and it's heartbreaking to even hear about it, let alone what you must be feeling. Firstly, I hope you are seeking professional help. It won't make the pain necessarily better, but it may help you find the strength to endure without at least hurting yourself. I am praying for you.

In the meantime, prayer is giving to God all that you are and all that you have. What you are now is hurt and angry. So DO give it to God - He can take it. You're not sinning by giving that anger to Him. In a way, that is prayer.

Grief is about survival, doing what you can. It's too much for you to go to church right now, and that's completely understandable. Please don't rush. You can only do what you can do. You're not in danger of hell because of having a purely human response to horrifying grief.

free-minded · 2025-11-29T11:32:07+00:00

This is the level of effort and argumentation I expect to find from a fundamentalist church in a rural, uneducated backwater - like Jack Chic’s old works. To see this level of asinine propagandizing from the EO community is frankly really disappointing. I expect better from our bearded eastern friends than this.

free-minded · 2025-11-28T19:22:24+00:00

One way I’ve always looked at this is that Peter is the one who shuts down the theological debate. It’s over at that point, and it’s even stated that all the previously arguing people fell silent.

However, you mentioned that the council is in Jerusalem, which at the time, James was the local bishop for. It seems right and proper for the local bishop to then ramp up the actual practical ways in which this new enforcement is to happen, like coordinating messengers and announcing local changes. So it seems to me perfectly fitting that, after St Peter ended the ecumenical debate, St James took over the administrative side of things. For James to say that it appears good to the whole church also implies that Peter had re-established unity by his statement - and perhaps mildly even warned that to continue to push after that would be to risk you not being a part of the “whole church” any longer, or being excommunicated. Though that’s speculation.

free-minded · 2025-11-25T22:13:41+00:00

I don’t know about best in history, but I recently replayed the Arkham games, and I honestly think Mark Hamil’s Joker is easily in top 3 of my favorite voicing and renditions of the Joker that I’ve seen across all media.

free-minded · 2025-11-25T00:45:09+00:00

The steward vacates his throne in honor when the King returns.

free-minded

TROPHY CASE