Catholic Church : Observation To A Catholic Church

Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.

When one hears of a cult, one thinks of organizations such as the Church of Scientology, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and small fanatical groups such as the Assembly of God. According to Robert J. Lofton, author of Letters to an Elder, there are two kinds of cults; those that use mind-control, and those that do not. Lofton describes eight characteristics of destructive mind-control cults, saying, “If any group exercises all eight of these control elements, they are, in fact a destructive mind control cult”. Lofton’s characteristics are ‘Environmental Control’, ‘Mystical Manipulation’, ‘Demand for Purity’, ‘Cult of Confession’, ‘Sacred Science’, ‘Loading the Language’, ‘Doctrine over Person’, and ‘Dispensing of Existence’. These eight

Furthermore, The Protestant Reformation saw a major European movement that challenged the religious practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. With the rise of religion attracting many individuals, intellectuals began to challenge religious teachings and expose the corruption of the Church. Rather than offering salvation, the Church became corrupt and stingy for control, power, and money, in which German theologian Martin Luther, highlighted. Luther argued that people only achieve salvation by God through faith alone and criticized the use of indulgences, wealth, corruption, and other religious practices within the Catholic Church in his 95 Theses. For example, one of Luther’s theses says, “Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.” Luther believed papal authorities utilized the people to their own advantage in gaining wealth by fostering beliefs that indulgences relinquished sins. The immorality surrounding the Church made it unfair to people of all social groups who “devoted an enormous amount of their time and income to religious causes and foundations” – only finding themselves fooled into bribery (A History of Western Society 402). Luther’s arguments served a pivotal role in influencing others to fight for their own beliefs and redefine the meaning of religion. The common good of the people and their opinions mattered as Protestant thought grew. In the “big picture” of European

Church a place many people go on Sunday mornings. A place to worship in the Lord and Savior or whichever God the individual believes in. Some individuals believe that church can only be held in the church building. When in reality it can be held anywhere for example the bedroom or a field. A thing that has been noticed is there are many types of people who go that fit in with a certain group. The types include everyone from the screaming child to the strict churchgoers and everything in between. Church may be a good place to go but it is believed that the churches today are corrupt.

The most important recurring issues in the study of the history of Christianity during our time period is sexual abuse amongst the Catholic Clergy and abortion, the killing of a living entity, as it is a sin against God according to biblical doctrine. Many believe that sexual abuse happening in the Catholic Church, is directly related to celibacy. The Churches restriction on priests that directs them to abstain from sexual relations. This issue has been debated since the reformation in which Martin Luther and other reformers opposed celibacy. They based their argument against celibacy on the bible scripture, namely Genesis 1:28, where God wanted people to “be fruitful and multiply”. There is nothing in the bible that directly mentions celibacy. There are many versions that mention fornication and uncleanliness and the interpretation of the Catholic Church seems to have made this deduction based on those scriptures. The other major issue that is common in most of the world’s religions is abortion; the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Protestant Church still adopt the early church’s belief to oppose the practice of abortion. Abortion is considered murder and a mortal sin in accordance which many versus in the bible as it relates to each of these faiths. Even between the Old Testament, where the law or Tora refers to the 10 commandments, where Exodus 20:13 states “Thou shall not Murder” and

Do you know how many of your County neighbors are barely making ends meet—often not earning enough to cover just one unexpected expense? A recent survey revealed that about 46% of Americans don’t feel they have enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense. Rather than paying it outright, these individuals and families have to put the expense on a credit card or simply cannot cover it.

Catholic Charities is a family and children’s human service agency under the Archdiocese of Hartford. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Hartford has over 90 years experience providing a variety of services to children, teens, adults, and families without regard to race, religion, or economic circumstances.

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

On Friday, March 11, I attended a Sabbath evening service at the Congregation Beth Shalom Synagogue in Naperville. Being raised and only attending the Roman Catholic Church, I was nervous about attending a service for a faith to which I did not belong and which was not even part of my heritage. However, much to my surprise what I found instead was a religious ceremony with similar origins but different beliefs. A group of Jewish people who welcomed visitors with open arms regardless of their religious faith. A community of Jews who volunteered their time an hour prior to the service so they could educated, teach and answer any of my questions I might have about the Judaism religion. I was even invited for refreshments after the service to meet the congregation. Even though, I learned Judaism and Catholicism are very different religions with different traditions, customs, beliefs and ceremonies, I also observed they both share many similarities.

By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not

The first picture shows a church that is full of paintings and sculptures, this is a photo of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church they worshiped relics and used many statues and other pieces of art. Along with the use of relics, the Catholic Church used the bible to teach and preach about God, whereas the protestant Church did not. The second picture is of a church that is mostly empty, this shows the protestant church, because they did not use relics and they focused on their relations with god.

The role of the Catholic Church going to the peripheries is huge for the community. First off, the Catholic Church helps those in need by donating to people who don’t have shelter, or people who don’t have food or water to drink. They also help by holding volunteer work, so people who want to help those in need can by being there. Another thing the Catholic Church does to help those in need is praying. Some people get together to help those in need by asking the Lord to help them. Others pray for them by themselves to help for those in need. The Catholic Church is very generous for being there when people are in need. The Catholic church greatly represents the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. They would help feed the hungry by bringing goods to those who need it. The Church can give drink to the thirsty by not wasting water. The Catholic Church helps people to shelter the homeless by collecting supplies they need. They can clothe the naked by donating clothes to those who don’t have enough. The Church can visit the sick and imprisoned giving blood and spending time volunteering at nursing homes. They bury the dead by sending a card to to someone who has lost a loved one. Finally, the Catholic Church give alms to the poor by donating money, like a the poor box in the Church. The Spiritual Works of Mercy can also represent the Catholic Church helping those in need. Overall, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy really represent how the Catholic Church helps those in need, and the Church is a good role model for all Catholics alike.

The world has more than one billion Catholics and with the ever growing population, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.

In his hardback titled The Church: Contours of Christian Theology, Edmund P. Clowney writes a systematic presentation about concerning the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight of his book, he describes the Marks of the Church. Clowney writes about the marks of a true church of Christ, which include the true preaching of the Word of God; the proper observation of the sacraments; and the faithful exercise of church discipline.

The four marks of our church are what we believe as Roman Catholics our church to be. We state these beliefs in the Nicene Creed and they are also shown in many other parts of our faith. Only the Roman Catholic Church reflects the fullness of these marks. It is through these marks that salvation can be achieved. These marks include One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostalic.