Catholic Discussion

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Yup. But if we're all of one "spirit" (if you will), then there wouldn't be competition, contradiction, disagreement, different languages, etc. These aspects of being humans spark ideas, inventions, sports, etc.


Being connected does not mean being the same. It means we share a sense of one another, for all of us, regradless of all these things, feels pain and lonliness and love pretty much the same way.
 

hermanntrude

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Jun 23, 2006
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Being connected does not mean being the same. It means we share a sense of one another, for all of us, regradless of all these things, feels pain and lonliness and love pretty much the same way.

empathy is a powerful force for good, if only people learn it.
 

L Gilbert

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Being connected does not mean being the same. It means we share a sense of one another, for all of us, regradless of all these things, feels pain and lonliness and love pretty much the same way.
I didn't say being the same, I said being of one mind. There's a difference. Say you and I had a game of snooker; neither of us would wish the other to feel disappointed so the game would either not end or not start.
 

hermanntrude

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Right you are. And also important, self-awareness of who you are, and what you believe about what you are!

if you arent self-aware you aren't aware of your prejudices, and cannot make an unbiased judgement, and hence cannot be empathetic to such a degree of accuracy.
 

hermanntrude

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i honestly think that empathy is the thing lacking in society. it's the thing that causes the poor communication which causes all the things which people blame on high divorce rates, black people, immigration, gay people etc etc etc, basically i'd say 95% of all problems come back to poor communication, and a good proportion of those come back to a lack of empathy. It should be emphasised in lessons at a very early age, by parents AND schools
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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I didn't say being the same, I said being of one mind. There's a difference. Say you and I had a game of snooker; neither of us would wish the other to feel disappointed so the game would either not end or not start.


Fair enough. As long as you realized it would be of utmost importance for you to let me win! You do realize that..yes??:)
 

L Gilbert

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i honestly think that empathy is the thing lacking in society. it's the thing that causes the poor communication which causes all the things which people blame on high divorce rates, black people, immigration, gay people etc etc etc, basically i'd say 95% of all problems come back to poor communication, and a good proportion of those come back to a lack of empathy. It should be emphasised in lessons at a very early age, by parents AND schools
I'll go along with that, but empathy isn't the only critter lacking.
 

talloola

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Nov 14, 2006
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Part of the process of life, clearly, is that we are constantly re-inventing ourselves as we proceed to who knows what end. If you have faith, you have belief in a particular sort of end. If not, perhaps the end itself is the goal?

Do you believe that "faith" is only a religious process, as I use that word in my thoughts and conversations, and I'm not sure if it has just lingered from my "catholic" childhood, or?
I havefaith in many things.
Not sure if "in the eyes of the religious world" I'm allowed to use that word in my"real" life.
I wouldn't obey their wishes anyway, so why do I ask that, I "dunno."
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Do you believe that "faith" is only a religious process, as I use that word in my thoughts and conversations, and I'm not sure if it has just lingered from my "catholic" childhood, or?
I havefaith in many things.
Not sure if "in the eyes of the religious world" I'm allowed to use that word in my"real" life.
I wouldn't obey their wishes anyway, so why do I ask that, I "dunno."


I don't think "faith" is an exclusive word to the Church and/or its membership.Its proper dictionary meaning is as follows:

Main Entry: 1faith
Pronunciation: 'fAth
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths /'fAths, sometimes 'fA[th]z/
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust --
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : [SIZE=-1]LOYALTY[/SIZE] b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs <the Protestant faith>
synonym see [SIZE=-1]BELIEF[/SIZE]
- on faith : without question <took everything he said on faith>

So with all that, we can have faith, or loyalty, to many things, including one another.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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i honestly think that empathy is the thing lacking in society. it's the thing that causes the poor communication which causes all the things which people blame on high divorce rates, black people, immigration, gay people etc etc etc, basically i'd say 95% of all problems come back to poor communication, and a good proportion of those come back to a lack of empathy. It should be emphasised in lessons at a very early age, by parents AND schools

I agree, and you may be interested to know that this is one of the core lessons of Jesus..when you strip away the religious overtones that you may find disagreeable. In fact, one of the most significant aspect to the teachings of Christ was His insistence that we care for one another, regardless of anything else.

Remember the famous story He told about the Good Samaritan? The reason Jesus used a Samaritan in His story was because at that time, in that part of the world, the people of Samaria were the "niggers" of Judea. The good Jewish people despised Samaritans and blamed them for every evil; they were dirty, thieves, evil,etc.etc.etc. In making the lead character of His story a Samaritan, Jesus was making a significant point to His audience. That is, we are to care for everyone, regardless of race or ethnic background, even our enemies.

Sorry for the mini-homily!
 

hermanntrude

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Jun 23, 2006
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i know this is the teaching of Jesus. I really do think Jesus was a great guy. And i really think a lot of people could learn a lot from his teachings now.

My only major objections to the catholic (and some other forms of christian) religion are 1) the leap of faith. as a scientist it's very hard for me to do, maybe impossible 2) the emphasis on people being sinners and bad and scummy and we should all be ashamed of ourselves.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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www.poetrypoem.com
i know this is the teaching of Jesus. I really do think Jesus was a great guy. And i really think a lot of people could learn a lot from his teachings now.

My only major objections to the catholic (and some other forms of christian) religion are 1) the leap of faith. as a scientist it's very hard for me to do, maybe impossible 2) the emphasis on people being sinners and bad and scummy and we should all be ashamed of ourselves.


Understood, faith is, as the cliche goes, a leap. I would counter that the emphasis on sinfulness isn't as significant as you might imagine.