03-08-2007, 01:17 PM
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
I just wanted to provide the above link to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I've read many mischaracterizations of the Catholic faith on this board lately (worship Mary, worship statues, polytheist, etc). Those statements are based partly on prejudice but perhaps even more so on ignorance.
The great thing about understanding Catholic Christianity is that what we believe is out there and readily available to read and discern. There is no mystery as to what the Church teaches. It's all there in the Catechism which comes from the word of God through scripture and Holy Tradition.
So, Wel and others...next time you want to accuse Catholics of being Polytheists or Idol worshipers please first make sure you completely understand that which you attack. It is easy to pull a quote out of context from a Church Father and say, "Looky here. Catholics worship Mary." An attack like that is both disingenuous and dishonest. I am positive that I could take a quote from a cleric somewhere and do the same exact thing...but I don't...because I want an honest representation of Islam.
Speaking of Islam...I find it very difficult to find a succinct theology in Islam. I wish Islam had a Catechism or Pope. The problem in understanding Islam, in my opinion, is that there is no authority really to speak in terms of defining dogma or doctrine. Islam has tons of clerics and teachers but many of them disagree with one another about almost everything. For the Muslims on the board I have a question. How do you know that you practice and believe the complete truth about Islam, Allah and the teachings of the Prophet? Even on this board I've seen some say that salvation is guaranteed through blowing yourself in a market...while others on this board rejected that notion completely. Who is right? How do you know who is right? When the Quran isn't clear on a particular subject where do you look to towards understanding?