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youngone88
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| Joined: | Wed Apr 30th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Stephen | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lutheran-Evangelical-soon to be Catholic? (still seeking) |
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Posted: Fri May 30th, 2008 09:49 pm |
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I've read on some "examination of conscience" websites that reading, watching, or listening to anti-Catholic rhetoric, writing, or speaking is a sin.
"Have I read books or papers opposed to the Church and her teachings?"
-from http://www.CatholicCulture.org
How does this work? Don't some of us have to listen to this stuff in order to refute it? Also...what does it mean by anti-Catholic...I know some people disagree on what constitutes anti-Catholicism, when is it anti-Catholic enough to be sinful?
I'm especially curious because I'm writing a thesis comparing Catholicism, Mormonism, and Protestantism. For this I'm required to read polemics against the Catholic Church, as well as the the Church's responses. Am I not allowed to do so?
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2033 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sat May 31st, 2008 12:45 am |
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Hi Stephen. Let’s look at this question from the viewpoint of the First Commandment:
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.
The Lord begins by making a specific commandment. He then explains what he means so that there is no mistaking what is prohibited. We must not, he says, imagine that he can be reduced to a material object, like an idol. We must maintain the Lord as the One above all other beings in the universe by refusing to acknowledge anyone or anything else in the same way as we acknowledge him, by not bowing down or serving as God anything or anyone other than him. In this way, we keep our worship pure and clean.
In like manner, if someone attempts to fill our heads with something other than the truth, we have an obligation to reject it on the practical level.
Now if one is studying anti-Catholic literature to learn its methods and presuppositions, so as to learn how to recognize what is true and what is false, that is one thing. If one is studying it with a view to accepting what it advocates, that is another. The latter violates the truth; the former does not. The latter could escalate to a violation of the Commandments; the former may exhibit some risk of this, but it is slight, and the person really has a different intention than giving in to temptation.
On occasion, I study the inner workings of the various heresies because it is incumbent on me, as one who answers questions on this forum, to be fully informed as to exactly how they contravene good doctrine and the exact differences between what is orthodox and what is heretical. So long as I do not end up being persuaded by these heresies to leave the path of truth, so long as my intention is upright in pursuing such knowledge, I am not sinning.
Or compare watching a certain movie because it may help you understand what goes on in the soul of man as he is confronted with life’s troubles and obstacles, to watching it because it contains some titillating scenes.
Sin comes about when one allows one’s heart to be persuaded and to act in accord with that is not true and good. For it is by our acts that we sin, not by learning about things that are immoral.
David
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youngone88
Member
| Joined: | Wed Apr 30th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 20 |
| First Name: | Stephen | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lutheran-Evangelical-soon to be Catholic? (still seeking) |
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Posted: Sat May 31st, 2008 09:11 am |
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Thank you, David, that helps alot. I'll keep that in mind as I study further.
On a positive note...anti-Catholic material often makes me want to be Catholic all the more, the lies and misrepresentations are disgusting (especially those of the Jack Chick variety).
Last edited on Sat May 31st, 2008 09:16 am by youngone88
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