Niko's Nature

“Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.”

Posts tagged Catholics

7 notes &

Sacraments

purchasedbythebloodofchrist asked you:

As an Orthodox, how would you feel if I say that the poverty of Catholicism is that it puts too much emphasis on visible images?

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Well, as a Roman Catholic, I feel that visible and tangible signs are a strength, not a weakness.  After all, Christ established the sacraments as visible external signs of God’s invisible internal grace.  God knows that we are physical beings, and so gave us physical signs.  So I’d say that’s an argument you’d have to take up with Christ, not me.

Filed under Sacraments Catholics Catholicism Christianity Protestant

4 notes &

This is where I feel the functionalist perspective shows a disgraceful disregard for the first principle of economic social justice. To think of the poor, and for that matter any person or sector of society as a ‘gear’ to allow society to run no matter the cost to the people involved shows a utilitarian collectivist mentality imagined only by the gravest of dystopian novels. We must remember as social justice advocates that man does not exist to serve society, society exists to serve man. The idea of violating the rights of the individual for the ‘common good’ reverses the relationship between persons and the society they live in. It is also poor policy for a government to view its people in this manner. As empires of the past have taught us, societies that violate the rights of their people find themselves destroyed by the people they were charged to protect, while societies that emphasize the good of each individual are defended by legions of martyrs willing to die for them.
Niko, from an essay on the functionalist perspective of poverty

Filed under Catholic Catholicism Christianity Social Justice Catholics

3 notes &

Cohabitation

Anonymous asked you:

I generally agree with you, but recently you said that cohabitation may not be a sin due to extenuating circumstances such as the economy. I think that’s very misleading and ignoring the fact that pre-marital sex IS a sin and that cohabitation is scandalizing even if the two people are not having sex. I love that you’re defending your friend and I agree that her personal sins should not mean that she is not able to argue in favor of the truth, but you were wrong to say that.

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Pre-marital sex is of course a sin, but cohabitation is not.  Though it should be discouraged for exactly the reason you stated. 

However, if it is economically, or for another reason impossible to do otherwise, I think it would be more scandalous for someone to deny housing and Christian charity for a fiance, (or even just a friend.)

Filed under Catholic Catholicism Christianity Roman Catholic Catholics

5 notes &

Anonymous asked: What do you think these sayings I often hear; "I'm Catholic and I support gay marriage" or "I'm Catholic but I don't agree with its contraception ideas" Are they still 'Catholics', or heretics or what? To me, It just sounds like some can pick and choose the bits they like about Catholicism and ignore the rest.

Well, in the Catholic Church, we define a heretic as someone who professes the Catholic faith in the but perverts her dogmas, beliefs taught to all members of the faith and believed to be infallible.    I do not think gay marriage and contraception have been elevated to dogmatic status.  So if someone didn’t believe in them they wouldn’t be a heretic per say. 

However, Catholics who do believe the Church is wrong on issues of gay marriage and contraception, especially among the youth or young adult population should ask themselves, “This is an institution that has studied philosophy, theology, morality, etc. for the past 2000 years.  The Church has experts covering this issue.  What amount of pride or arrogance is there in suggesting that you are right, and the Church is wrong.”  I mean, the teachings on gay marriage and contraception are not dogmatic, (I don’t think,) but the Church has been pretty solid in its conclusion.  What arguments are there to make it change?

Filed under Abortion Homosexual Catholic Catholicism Catholics

2 notes &

Mental illness and free will

Anonymous asked:

How does being mentally ill mean that one does not have free will?

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It means one’s free will may be at least partially compromised.  Same thing when one is addicted to drugs.  The reason is these things may cause you to act in a way that you would normally not act.  They may impair your ability to make decisions, and therefore, when discussing morality, where ‘the free will to commit an act’ may be a factor in the morality of the act, mental illness can be a factor.

For example, suicide is typically considered a mortal sin.  However, if someone who suffered from clinical depression committed suicide, we can say that their depression affected their action and that might mitigate the severity of the sin.

Filed under Catholic Catholicism Catholics Philosophy Christianity

3 notes &

Anonymous asked: Just a curiosity, but could God be more than a Trinity? In BC, we had no concept of the Son (and arguably none of the Holy Spirit) save for prophecies, but even then it formed no part of worship. Is it possible that there's a fourth/fifth/sixth/seventh part to God?

I mean, if a 4th person of God were to reveal himself or herself and there are no other explainable options then yes, we’d accept it.  But there is no reason to believe that there could be a 4th person and the Magisterium has taught pretty definitively that there are only 3 persons in the trinity, so I don’t think its possible for a 4th person to reveal himself or herself.

Filed under Catholic Catholicism Christianity Trinity Catholics

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