Simple question?

Quote: Evenbob

It's kind of like a mental illness,
you don't argue with those kinds
of people. You wouldn't go to a
mental institution and argue with
the inmates, it's futile.

guffaw

Quote:

Treat god
people the same way when you
meet them in person. You never
know how far their derangement
goes.

That's true, some of them are dangerous.

Lucky for us the church's have lost absolute power. I would have gotten so murdered during the reformation.

Quote: petroglyph

Lucky for us the church's have lost absolute power. I would have gotten so murdered during the reformation.

Even into the 20th century, if you owned
a business in a small town, you darn
well went to church every Sunday if
you wanted any customers. A non
church goer was treated like a heretic
and shunned.

Quote: Evenbob

You don't find that odd? Nobody disagrees
on how a plane flies, or how electric is
generated, or how osmosis works in plants.
Yet something as basic as religion, something
that should be crystal clear because it's so
important in peoples lives, that subject is
not clear at all.

Bob, the most important things in your life and your most important decisions you have made in your life were not believed and decided by the scientific method. Just think about what you are saying for a moment. Do we all agree about who we love and what we find as beautiful? Does this make those questions not important? Of course not! Do we all believe the same thing about our politics or our philosophies of life? Obviously not, and that is BECAUSE they are so darn important and life changing. Your argument above offers nothing and is ill thought out. If you disagree with me I guess it just proves my point, people agree on the things that are obvious and ultimately unimportant. They disagree on the good stuff.

Quote:

To an outsider this screams, STAY AWAY! None
of these people have a clue, and they want to suck
you into their mess? I don't think so. And on
top of that, I'm the weirdo because I refuse to
play their waste of time games.

I feel the exact opposite. If everyone agrees and it is like a cult then I STAY AWAY! None of those people have a clue. I think it is a very healthy thing to have disagreements and debates and learn to respect the other person's opinion and where they are coming from. When you meet someone like yourself who sees only in black and white, demonizes and demeans others, won't listen, and groups diverse groups of people together in negative ways you should walk away slowly because they really have nothing to say of value - don't waste your time.

Quote: Evenbob

Of course there is, break away and do
your own interpreting of what the
Bible says.

This is what led to your number one problem with the faith, why would I do that?

Quote:

Roman Catholicism is just
one version.

Nope it is the original version and was the only version for 1500 years.

Quote:

But you'd lose all your
benefits from being a priest. Just
stay there and do your own thing
and collect the benefits. You wouldn't
be the first..

But I would really lose all the sacrifices and challenges that come from being a priest. Off on my own I would be able to do anything I want, I could make as much money as I wanted, I could marry, I could just do the parts of ministry I like, I'd have no bishop or congregation to be obedient too, I wouldn't have to do my required daily prayers, and I could make the doctrine in my own image and according to my own designs. I am actually sickened just thinking of this. No, I am called to embrace the priesthood now and until I die, with its blessings and with all its sacrifices, it is the greatest gift of my life.

Quote: petroglyph

That's true, some of them are dangerous.

Lucky for us the church's have lost absolute power. I would have gotten so murdered during the reformation.

I think I would have been martyred during that time as well.

Quote: FrGamble

Bob, the most important things in your life

Those decisions had more going for
them then depending of hearsay
and myth, with no proof or concrete
facts at all. I knew my wife well before
I married her. I choose my politics from
years of observation and facts. With
religion, you just follow blindly like
a lemming, and hope everything
they're telling you is true. No thanks,
everything that's important to me
is based on reality, not superstition
the supernatural.

Quote:

I feel the exact opposite. If everyone agrees and it is like a cult then I STAY AWAY!

But you can't see Xtionity, especially
Catholicism, is a cult. That's
generally true, the first job of a
deprogrammer is to convince the
person they're involved with a cult
because they don't see it that way
from the inside. They think they've
found the true way, and there's
something wrong with the rest
of us. You know, the way you feel
about everybody who isn't Catholic.

Quote: FrGamble

and I could make the doctrine in my own image and according to my own designs.

Like that's not what you're doing now.
What a weak god you believe in, he
has no power outside your Church.
If I made up a god, he would have
more going for him than that.

Quote:

No, I am called

No, nothing is 'calling' you. It's
a decision you're making on
your own, you just don't have
the strength of will to call it
your own. So you blame it on
some outside force to get you
off the hook. Typical religious
scapegoat thinking. We don't
want to burn this witch at the
stake, god is making us do it.

Whatever..

Quote: Evenbob

Those decisions had more going for
them then depending of hearsay
and myth, with no proof or concrete
facts at all. I knew my wife well before
I married her. I choose my politics from
years of observation and facts.

I would say the same thing about my faith. I knew Jesus well when I gave my life to Him. Over years of observation and facts I chose what I believe.

Quote:

With
religion, you just follow blindly

Again you often confuse atheism with religious belief. You are the one with blind faith jumping off a cliff knowing nothing with nothing to support your decision.

Quote:

But you can't see Xtionity,

Wouldn't we agree that everyone believing the exact same thing is a hallmark of a cult? You've shown now many times that there is diversity in Christanity and especially in Catholicism.

Quote: FrGamble

I would say the same thing about my faith.

There are no facts to support Xtionity,
just hearsay and myth. Your whole faith
is based on the hope that your religion
is correct. Because you have zero evidence
it is.

Quote:

Again you often confuse atheism with religious belief.

You're often confused about what
atheism is. There are zero beliefs,
atheism is a lack of belief. My friend
Ed, the ex priest, is an atheist and we
speak every Friday. We never discuss
atheism, you know why? There is
nothing to discuss, it's made up of
nothing. It's empty of subject matter.
You can't seem to grasp this.

Quote:

Wouldn't we agree that everyone believing the exact same thing is a hallmark of a cult? .

In your sect of Xtionity, they do all
believe the same thing. Or do
seminaries all have different
curriculum's. Why can't you accept
that you're a member of a cult. Ask
a Baptist, he'll set you straight.

Quote: Evenbob

There are no facts to support Xtionity,
just hearsay and myth. Your whole faith
is based on the hope that your religion
is correct. Because you have zero evidence
it is.

Just the same evidence and experience that you had when you asked your wife to marry you. Actually with the countless testimony of others, the miracles, historical facts about Jesus and the history of the Church, logic, science, and philosophy I actually had a lot more evidence than you when you made your life changing decision.

Quote:

You're often confused about what
atheism is. There are zero beliefs,
atheism is a lack of belief.

I sound a little bit too much like you when you tell me all the time what Catholics really believe. However, in this case you really don't get atheism. I get why you don't accept, not many would. However, as an atheist you are NOT just saying you lack belief. You are not just saying that you don't play soccer. You are stating a belief that there is absolutely no such thing as soccer. Why you refuse to understand this simple distinction between true atheism and a more general agnosticism is beyond me. Even Ed seems to get this when he clarifies his "atheism" (again using the wrong word) by saying he doesn't see strong enough evidence for God. The implication there is that there might be a God but he just doesn't have the evidence to believe it right now.

I wouldn't discuss atheism either, it is equivalent to a belief in fairies or unicorns, actually it is worse. At least these mythical creatures could exist while the idea that there is no God, no first cause, or non-contigent being is impossible. You believe in square circles and that is not worth discussing at all.
My friend

Quote:

In your sect of Xtionity, they do all
believe the same thing. Or do
seminaries all have different
curriculum's. Why can't you accept
that you're a member of a cult. Ask
a Baptist, he'll set you straight.

Again you don't know Catholicism. Yes there are different curriculum, rites, theology, orders, emphasis, spiritualities, etc. throughout Catholicism and in our seminaries. As James Joyce famously said about Catholics, "Here comes everybody!"
If a Baptist thinks Catholicism is a cult it is probably because they see such diversity and use of science and tradition and not just the Bible alone. That scares them. Someone so closed minded and seeing everything so black and white would be much closer to a cult than anything Catholic. Have you see some of these Baptist Churches, like Westboro Baptist, they are cults.