Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond
Please expand, if you are willing.
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My mom's side of the family is Catholic, and my dad's side is Methodist. As I recently discovered having some heart-to-hearts with my dad, he's pretty much an atheist. I assume that is part of the reason why my family goes to Catholic church; my dad probably didn't feel much need to defend his Methodist background.
As far as Christianity goes, Catholicism has the richest history of any denomination just because it is the oldest (the Roman Empire took up Christianity, followed by the split into Roman Catholicism/Eastern Orthodox). Catholicism predates the Protestant Reformation by leaps and bounds, so Catholicism was really a driving force in the history of both Western and Eastern European History.
Just from what I learned at church and at religious education, Catholicism is pretty strict in terms of no sex before marriage, masturbation guilt, confirmation and all that sorts. Part of my decision to move away from Catholicism was because I felt that many of the rules were hypocritical, too extreme to actually follow, and even taking some of the New Testament's teachings out of context. There is also the issue of the Pope, and some of the Pope's are okay: I read one book written by the late Pope John Paul II, and it was both intelligent and optimistic. Pope John Paul II is a rare beacon of both intelligence and philosophy in the Catholic church. I know people love to put down Catholics, and I don't blame them; but before you poo-poo the religion read one of the late John Paul II's books.
But anyway, there is a lengthy Catholic history. I'm not sure when the Catholic church really took an active stance regarding marriage, I believe it was around the time St. Augustine argued that if you want to get close to God you remain celibate...but if you
must lust, do so in marriage. Catholic weddings entail a lengthy church service. The service entails mass, communion, prayer, and the whole works. So, adding the wedding you get a 90 minute service.
Anyway, this summer someone on my mom's side got married. He is well off, working a business type job making 250k+ a year. He married into a rich family (mansions, jags, closed gate community). I know both the bride and groom don't
follow Catholic teachings. I assume they had premarital sex, I know they didn't lose their virginity to each other (well...don't know about the bride). Just based on some of the family and friends who attended the wedding, a very elitist bunch, I could assume they don't necessarily follow all Catholic teachings...like helping out the poor and not living in excess (but come on, who actually cares about that part of the Bible :eyeroll: )
The priest did a special Homily (speech after the Gospel) for the wedding, and it was just so contrived and hypocritical...it was talking about love and how God is the driving force behind these two meeting and getting married (but what about their past relationships, their past SEXUAL relationships). And then the focus of the Homily shifted to talking about how after the serious church service it is time to go celebrate: let's go indulge in alcohol and food! (isn't gluttony a sin?)
Look, I moved my beliefs away from Catholicism when I realized I was practicing
bad Catholicism. I don't hate gays, I'm mostly pro-choice with abortion, I'm down with premarital sex, I don't think I need to go through a priest for confession, and I think 95% of the Pope's are jackasses. Would I be a good Catholic if I went to church every Sunday and suffered because of my beliefs? No, I'd be an effing hypocrite.
I just felt like the religious part of the wedding was very contrived. And some of the people on my mom's side of the family are very religious, so I thought it added to the irony to see this dichotomy of people who obviously practice Catholicism because it is tradition vs. the people who are actually serious about being Catholics.
Other than formality and tradition, what was the point of the ceremony? That's my point.
But hey, maybe they did it the Catholic way. Maybe they had confession before they got married. Problem
absolved!
Edit: I'm also well aware of Original Sin. I understand no one is perfect and we will sin. And I understand that I should not be judging because I am a sinner myself. But here's my take on these two things.
Original Sin: Everyone sins. The thing is, if you GENUINELY try to be a Catholic and sin...well that's okay. That is what confession is for. If you remove Catholic dogma from your life save for the one hour you spend at church every week, I do not think you qualify as being a good Catholic. In regard to the second point: I don't think I am being judgmental so much as observant. I made some personal decisions and moved away from the Catholic faith, and one reason was because I felt like Catholic dogma clashed with my own personal beliefs.