Conservative view:
Baptism leaves an "indelible mark" on the soul - an[] eternal and unchangeable imprint of Christ....Liberal view:
In conservative theology, it is metaphysically impossible to be separated from the Roman Catholic Church except by a formal declaration of excommunication which must be made explicitly using your name by a bishop.
Jesus of the Gospels is always going after the "lost sheep" and the "prodigal son". He eats and drinks with prostitutes, treasonous tax collectors for the foreign occupation, lepers and other outcasts. He is even executed as a criminal with criminals by state authority with sanction from religious leaders. Jesus came to call sinners - not the self righteous.I take Joe’s word for it, he seems very knowledgeable. I will surely research Catholic dogmas as well. So in other words, yes, I can call myself Catholic and a liberal. And neither the Church nor anyone else can tell me otherwise.
4 comments:
I found your 2 posts (and the comments) quite interesting. This is a dilemma I have frequently encountered. I am Lutheran and liberal- I have an unwavering belief in God, Jesus, the Bible, etc, but I am also pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-separation of church and state. I think one of the biggest things to realize is that what the church's dogma or politics have become are not necessarily what the Bible (and thus God/Jesus) said or taught. He taught love, acceptance, and not being judgmental. It helps me to go back to the Bible and to remember that the ultimate place of judgment rests with Him and not the pope, a priest, or the evangelical right.
So... after that rambling. I think you can certainly be Christian and liberal- as far as being Catholic and liberal, I'm not sure only b/c I'm not sure what makes a Christian specifically a Catholic- if its listening to and believing what the Pope interprets the Bible to say, then perhaps there is a real conflict. If its more of a way of practicing religion (the mass, the rituals, etc.) then it would seem both labels could coexist.
I was just going to comment on this in your last post but got side-tracked.
Bengali Chick - don't listen to anybody. I don't. I am pro the same things you are pro, and when I meditate I think of "Allah." In my opinion, religion and spirituality are individual choices and rest on individual interpretations. "But you can't pick and choose! That's hyprocritical!" some say. Hey, I'll duke out my lifestyle choices with God later. We'll see if he minded that I drank alcohol more or whether I received people judgmentally and turned people off religion by telling them what they were doing was all wrong.
In the meantime, I think it's important we follow the SPIRIT of the religion and that religion constantly evolve, embrace differences and unite us. People with literal, narrow interpretations of religion (anti-liberals) have gotten us into too many messes for us to take heed of their nonsense any further.
Anyway, sorry for the long rant. If you don't want to post this on your blog (might cause some kind of comment storm or something), that's fine. Just wanted to let you know that there are quite a few liberal and religious people out there....
Zed of course I'd post your comment. The only comments I don't post are by trolls that make ad hominem attacks.
Thanks to both of you ladies, nice knowing there are liberal religious folk out there!
I've been wrestling with this dichotomy myself. I am looking for a liberal Catholic church in Cleveland Ohio and so far I've had no luck at all. In fact, people are offended by my inquiries.
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