Ash Wednesday

Quote: Evenbob

If I did it had no meaning to me. Lent
either, I had heard of it all my life but
didn't know what it was. All the Xtions
I know are Baptists. I sent my wife an
email last night asking if any of her
sister's celebrated AW. Her answer was
"Why would they."

AFIK it is a Catholic-only thing. Ditto with Stations of the Cross. Holy Week pretty much any Christian denomination I have heard of is the lead to Easter though Catholic is only one I know of has the full Good Friday service.

Catholic Church has almost always been more ceremonial than Protestants. That is why the Protestants broke off in the first place, desire for a more simple service.

Fr Gamble, jump in here and correct me if I am missing something or incorrect.

Quote: AZDuffman

That is why the Protestants broke off in the first place, desire for a more simple service.
.

I thought Luther's problem was the Church
didn't follow the Bible, it made up too much of
what it did. He also had a bug up his butt
about indulgences, which were out of control
at that time.

Quote: Evenbob

I thought Luther's problem was the Church
didn't follow the Bible, it made up too much of
what it did. He also had a bug up his butt
about indulgences, which were out of control
at that time.

There were many complaints. Indulgences were one. But also several splits.

Quote: AZDuffman

AFIK it is a Catholic-only thing. Ditto with Stations of the Cross. Holy Week pretty much any Christian denomination I have heard of is the lead to Easter though Catholic is only one I know of has the full Good Friday service.

Catholic Church has almost always been more ceremonial than Protestants. That is why the Protestants broke off in the first place, desire for a more simple service.

Fr Gamble, jump in here and correct me if I am missing something or incorrect.

Ash Wednesday is really growing in popularity. I held two ecumenical services that day with brothers and sisters from the Lutheran and Episcipalian Churches. The same for the Stations of the Cross and Good Friday and even Holy Thursday.

It wasn't so much the simplicity of a service that the Protestants were after, but rather reform of certain practices of some of the clergy who had become more like wealthy and greedy princes than servants to the people of God. The selling of indulgences was the most egregious example of the abuse of the clergy. These were not official Church teachings or policies of course but they were fairly common in some parts of the Church and the powers that be should have stopped them. Martin Luther called them out on these practices and they were stopped. It is interesting to think that if Martin Luther came back today he would have no problem with the Catholic Church which did eventually reform, thank God.

Quote: Evenbob

I thought Luther's problem was the Church
didn't follow the Bible, it made up too much of
what it did.

There is no teaching of the Church that is against the Bible. The practices of the day went against Luther's conception of God's justification as a free gift for all sinners. This was eespecially true, as you correctly pointed out, in the abuse of indulgences.

Quote: FrGamble

There is no teaching of the Church that is against the Bible. .

But lots of teachings of the Church
that aren't in the Bible, that was
Luther's problem with it. And my
Baptist father in law ministers. Don't
get him started on the Church, he
says it's run by the devil. He's 90,
my wife says he was much worse
50 years ago.

I'm glad he is getting better. We need to make a distinction between in the Bible or against the Bible. There is nothing in the Bible against doing things that aren't in the Bible as long as they aren't against the Bible. Follow me there.

Quote: FrGamble

I'm glad he is getting better. We need to make a distinction between in the Bible or against the Bible. There is nothing in the Bible against doing things that aren't in the Bible as long as they aren't against the Bible.

It's called making up a religion and then
foisting it off as Christianity. C'mon, Mary
is no more divine than my one mother
was. That is to say, not at all. Islam stole
most of the OT, added a few things and
had a new religion. The Mormons
confiscated the NT, added their own
spewings, and presto. How is the
Catholic Church any different. Take the
orig NT and embellish embellish embellish.
Oldest game in the world.

Quote: Evenbob

It's called making up a religion and then
foisting it off as Christianity.

Remember your history, Christianity was Catholicism for the first 1500 years or so.

Quote:

C'mon, Mary
is no more divine than my one mother
was. That is to say, not at all.

Congratulations on a very correct and true statement. I knew you could do it.

Quote: FrGamble

Congratulations on a very correct and true statement. I knew you could do it.

I always make that mistake. Mary is no more
sitting up nights answering prayers than my
own dead mother is. You people treat Mary
so much like a god I always forget she's not
'divine'.