People who claim they aren't catholic?

caseyann

What really bugs me is people who go around and complain about religion,and then actually celebrate catholic holidays.They take all the good out of it for their own selfish needs and complain about the very religion that created these holidays that they hate?:rolleyes:
I mean how hypocritical is that.

dlofnep

It's not hypocritical at all. Do you spend christmas worshipping christ, or putting up a christmas tree, decorations and giving presents to your family?

Atheists know damn straight what Christmas is to them - a time to relax, have a few beers, eat chocolate and share presents. They are under no illusions. Christians who go along with the commercialisation of Christmas are bigger hypocrites. It's supposed to be a day to celebrate the life of Jesus - but they do their hour's mass, and they are done - back to doing what the rest of the country is, and having some quality family time and opening presents.

Easter for me is a day of worship. Worshipping chocolate eggs. This is true for about 90% of the population.

caseyann

dlofnep wrote: »

It's not hypocritical at all. Do you spend christmas worshipping christ, or putting up a christmas tree, decorations and giving presents to your family?

Atheists know damn straight what Christmas is to them - a time to relax, have a few beers, eat chocolate and share presents. They are under no illusions. Christians who go along with the commercialisation of Christmas are bigger hypocrites. It's supposed to be a day to celebrate the life of Jesus - but they do their hour's mass, and they are done - back to doing what the rest of the country is, and having some quality family time and opening presents.

Easter for me is a day of worship. Worshipping chocolate eggs. This is true for about 90% of the population.

I go to mass and help with SVP and eat like normal for the the whole year and during Christmas.I volunteer in soup kitchens and hand out clothes and drop out stuff to people who have no Christmas.I dont drink and i am a catholic so i am not a hypocrite for celebrating a holiday in name of Jesus Birth.;)

I usually agree with you but today i dont.

Robert ninja

It's not hypocritical seeing as how almost all of the holidays and practices within them are based off of Paganism. Not only that, all of the holidays have been wholly secularised and horribly commercialised for consumerism.

People celebrate the death and ressurection of jesus christ by telling their children a bunny rabbit has left chocolate eggs for them to search and find. Yeah... makes perfect sense.

These holidays have barely any meaning to the average individual. They're just legal holidays for some workers and almost all students in the country.

Opinicus

A lot of these holidays/holydays were around a long time before the Catholic Church co-opted them. I enjoy bank holidays but it just so happens that due to the Catholic domination of this country for so long some of them fall on a holy day.

I try not to let that put me off my carousing...

dlofnep

caseyann wrote: »

I go to mass and help with SVP and eat like normal for the the whole year and during Christmas.I volunteer in soup kitchens and hand out clothes and drop out stuff to people who have no Christmas.I dont drink and i am a catholic so i am not a hypocrite for celebrating a holiday in name of Jesus Birth.;)

I usually agree with you but today i dont.

As far as Irish catholics go, you're in the extreme minority. We all know that religious holidays in Ireland are far more of a commercial celebration rather than a religious one. Given that atheists understand this, I don't see how it's hypocritical to celebrate for what is to them, a commercial holiday.

Donatello

The signs and traditions of Christmas and Easter are supposed to be a help towards our worship of God. If these things lead to our having a closer relationship with God through appreciating the good things He has created, then great. However, if they are obstacles, then we must dispense with them.

I find Christmas to be a rather unpleasant time of year in some respects. I have a problem with gluttony, and I find that Christmas brings out the worst in me, so in that regard, I'd be as well to avoid the excesses and not partake of them.

Christmas gifts are simply a gesture towards each other of the greatest gift of all to mankind - God made flesh. Easter eggs are simply about renewal and new-life. Christians took the old pagan customs (which contained some aspect of the ultimate truth of things) and re-appropriated them towards a Christian orientation. A form of inculturation you could say.

As regards Easter, I don't see the issue with a chocolate egg. I like the Kinder large chocolate egg with the toy inside. Not sure if you can still get them. I saw a smaller version (but not the original small Kinder egg) in Tesco last night. I had great pleasure in cracking them open and eating the egg with a nice glass of milk.

The important thing is that we give first place to God, by worshipping Him, in Mass if we are Catholic, and in our whole life in every way. That's the ideal we are to aim for.

Non-Catholics/Christians are perfectly free to buy and consume as many chocolate eggs as they like. They are also free to indulge in mindless consumerism at Christmas in order to buy off their emptiness with the latest consumer electronics! Good luck to them, I say!

If they see us enjoying the festivities in moderation, and see that we are content and joyful to do so, they might realise that all the excess is just a big waste of time and money, because that is all it is.

PDN

caseyann wrote: »

What really bugs me is people who go around and complain about religion,and then actually celebrate catholic holidays.They take all the good out of it for their own selfish needs and complain about the very religion that created these holidays that they hate?:rolleyes:
I mean how hypocritical is that.

About as hypocritical as those who don't worship the Roman god Janus but celebrate the New Year each first of January.

Robert ninja

Donatello, I find your remarks condescending. Consumerism is what a free market, monetary economic system is built on. If you stop consuming, the economy freezes and everything falls apart. It's the name of the game to hype up anything and everything and it just so happens that all those pagan holidays that christianity couldn't get rid of (so pretended it was their idea) had a lot of influence on a lot of people at the time so it was money signs in the eyes of those
who saw opportunity for a gullible market audience.

I don't enjoy buying mountains of useless stuff and also don't willfully take part in ANY religious holidays. My family ask me to help decorate the christmas tree so I do... to help my family fulfill a task that they enjoy and for no other reason. I'd have to be some sort of prick to say no to help my own family just so I don't annoy people who think that it may be religiously hypocritical.

The lists of things people have given that they do on these holidays have nothing to do with the actions one is supposed to take on these days according to the bible anyway, apart from constantly worshipping a god of course (which is every day and not on certain days).

Donatello wrote: »

If they see us enjoying the festivities in moderation,

I don't see that.

Donatello wrote: »

and see that we are content and joyful to do so,

I do see that people are content and joyful to shop endlessly and buy lame presents for each other, though - Another practice I avoid as much as I can.

Donatello wrote: »

they might realise that all the excess is just a big waste of time and money, because that is all it is.

I figured that out a long time ago and definitely not from Christianity but I did from its holidays which perpetuate excess and produce so much waste of wrapping paper on the day after christmas that it's shocking. My own friends in fact love easter because they can get to eat chocolate eggs which they love to no end... and all my friends are quite spiritual who think that living only for consumerism or hoarding of treasures is a very bad thing. Not being catholic and not celebrating these pagan holidays doesn't mean they do nothing but buy endless crap.

I think this thread, about being annoyed by people who can't escape government holidays and being in a culture saturated and that embraces religious holidays is one big smug, holier-than-though ego trip.

equivariant

caseyann wrote: »

What really bugs me is people who go around and complain about religion,and then actually celebrate catholic holidays.They take all the good out of it for their own selfish needs and complain about the very religion that created these holidays that they hate?:rolleyes:
I mean how hypocritical is that.

Christmas was created by early christians hijacking some pre-christian winter festivals and rebranding them as a christian thing. How hypocritical is that?

People have hijacked holidays from other traditions throughout history - everyone does it, religious and non religious alike. I suggest that you find something more worthwhile to get bugged about or at least attempt to know what you are talking about before posting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#History

Zombrex

caseyann wrote: »

What really bugs me is people who go around and complain about religion,and then actually celebrate catholic holidays.They take all the good out of it for their own selfish needs and complain about the very religion that created these holidays that they hate?:rolleyes:
I mean how hypocritical is that.

How ironic that you posted that on the Day of Odin, aka Wednesday. And you don't even claim to be a Viking!

caseyann

PDN wrote: »

About as hypocritical as those who don't worship the Roman god Janus but celebrate the New Year each first of January.

I dont celebrate new year ever,and yous are twice hypocrites then as atheists celebrate new year on top of everything else.
Sure most people wouldn't even know anything about roman god Janus or where it came from.
I personally never heard of him.

caseyann

Wicknight wrote: »

How ironic that you posted that on the Day of Odin, aka Wednesday. And you don't even claim to be a Viking!

Nah my best friend is so i am covered respect and all that

LordSutch

caseyann wrote: »

People who claim they aren't catholic?

I guess you mean catholic with a capital C (as in Roman Catholic).

Remember, the Church of Ireland is also part of the catholic tradition.

Zombrex

caseyann wrote: »

I dont celebrate new year ever,and yous are twice hypocrites then as atheists celebrate new year on top of everything else.
Sure most people wouldn't even know anything about roman god Janus or where it came from.
I personally never heard of him.

Where are you getting the hypocritical bit from?

Is there something about being non-Catholic (or non-Viking) that says you shouldn't celebrate cultural holidays that have religious origin?

Given EVERYTHING has a religious origin (including the days of the week) it seems that if you believed you shouldn't do anything on a day unless you are that religion, you would be stuck not doing anything.

28064212

caseyann wrote: »

I dont celebrate new year ever,and yous are twice hypocrites then as atheists celebrate new year on top of everything else.
Sure most people wouldn't even know anything about roman god Janus or where it came from.
I personally never heard of him.

You fail to see the point. "Sure I wouldn't even know anything about catholic god Jesus or where it came from". Still celebrate Christmas though.

Now if you were talking about people actually going to Mass and celebrating the Catholic aspects of Christmas and then claiming they weren't Catholics, you might have had a point about being hypocritical. But you don't

Also, PDN is a Christian.

homer911

I don't know of many people who would go to church/mass on St. Patrick's day - do Christians have to observe every religous "feast" not to be hypocritical?

As a child in a CoI national school I can remember getting 8th December off and not understanding why - it certainly wasnt a day of religous observance and had no relevance to me, but I wasn't going to turn up at an empty school

Morbert

caseyann wrote: »

What really bugs me is people who go around and complain about religion,and then actually celebrate catholic holidays.They take all the good out of it for their own selfish needs and complain about the very religion that created these holidays that they hate?:rolleyes:
I mean how hypocritical is that.

We celebrate holidays, but we reject the spiritual and religious meaning behind them. That is consistent, and not hypocritical.

himnextdoor

caseyann wrote: »

What really bugs me is people who go around and complain about religion,and then actually celebrate catholic holidays.They take all the good out of it for their own selfish needs and complain about the very religion that created these holidays that they hate?:rolleyes:
I mean how hypocritical is that.

I wonder what the Pope makes of Santa Claus and the fact that we encourage our children to believe in a magical being whom not being God is able to accomplish tasks that only God is capable of.

I would have thought that to believe in Santa Claus would be to contravene the Commandments.

Wolfe Tone

caseyann wrote: »

I go to mass and help with SVP and eat like normal for the the whole year and during Christmas.I volunteer in soup kitchens and hand out clothes and drop out stuff to people who have no Christmas.I dont drink and i am a catholic so i am not a hypocrite for celebrating a holiday in name of Jesus Birth.;)

I usually agree with you but today i dont.

Fair play!

Soul Winner

PDN summed it up in a nutshell - end of.

caseyann

himnextdoor wrote: »

I wonder what the Pope makes of Santa Claus and the fact that we encourage our children to believe in a magical being whom not being God is able to accomplish tasks that only God is capable of.

I would have thought that to believe in Santa Claus would be to contravene the Commandments.

Em santa claus,have you ever read up about him?Time you should isnt it?:rolleyes:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

himnextdoor

caseyann wrote: »

Em santa claus,have you ever read up about him?Time you should isnt it?:rolleyes:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

:rolleyes:Give me a break.

I reckon that if you asked a group of under eights, 'Who would you save if Santa and God were drowning, and you can only save one of them?', most of them would save Santa.

Robert ninja

The outcome of this thread has been classic. People who say they're not catholic participate in the holiday practices so they're hypocrites. It's pointed out that a lot of people who say they're not catholic only participate in the secular aspects that have nothing to do with religion.

Then (from the religious side) it's said that none of the secular acitivies are not 'real' catholic practices and only church and so on are.

And since all of the people who say they're not catholic don't do any of the 'real' practices then there's absolutely no sign of hypocrisy and the point of the thread is void of substance.

himnextdoor

Robert ninja wrote: »

The outcome of this thread has been classic. People who say they're not catholic participate in the holiday practices so they're hypocrites. It's pointed out that a lot of people who say they're not catholic only participate in the secular aspects that have nothing to do with religion.

Then (from the religious side) it's said that none of the secular acitivies are not 'real' catholic practices and only church and so on are.

And since all of the people who say they're not catholic don't do any of the 'real' practices then there's absolutely no sign of hypocrisy and the point of the thread is void of substance.

Yes it would seem that some Catholics are non-Catholic.

gent9662

I bet the caseyann that you go shopping or have worked on Sunday? Sunday being a day of rest!

PDN

dclane wrote: »

I bet the caseyann that you go shopping or have worked on Sunday? Sunday being a day of rest!

Says who?