Do you go to Mass regularly?

Galwayguy35

A guy I used to work with and am friends with on Facebook is an athiest and a militant one at that. Low and behold what do I see yesterday only pics on FB of him with his gf (also an athiest) at the church for their kids Communion. Talk about double standards.

ABajaninCork

Short answer? Yes!

nozzferrahhtoo

philologos wrote: »

If you're just going to ignore what I say this isn't going to be a very fruitful discussion.

Glad to see you have learned this. Now if you would only stop ignoring what everyone else has to say to you... every.... single..... time.... the conversation can become two way.

southcentralts

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

A guy I used to work with and am friends with on Facebook is an athiest and a militant one at that. Low and behold what do I see yesterday only pics on FB of him with his gf (also an athiest) at the church for their kids Communion. Talk about double standards.

not a double standard if they allow the kid to take communion with the rest of the class, to fit in with their peer group, instead of telling the kid "no communion in this house, take that Jeboss stuff elsewhere." like the religious types do. I'd bet the it has little to do with religion and a lot to do with right of passage / coming of age malarkey. since when do atheists give up their Irish responsibility to celebrate the sh!t out of anything, and the absolute sh!t out of something (even if it does disagree with our beliefs, still go to funerals in churches, but gave up telling grieving widows that there is no heaven - brings the whole room down).

dmcronin

Why can't Mass be more, well, entertaining?

Fuseman

I go to Mass weekly. I suppose I go because my faith is something personal to me. I don't go to Mass to be entertained, Although I have gone to Mass where it has been entertaining due to Music being good, homily entertaining etc.

I also think that Masses that are classified as boring are usually due to the priest being bored and not putting effort into Mass but as I said above, I go because faith is something I believe is beneficial to me and the way I live my life.

I Heart Internet

dmcronin wrote: »

Why can't Mass be more, well, entertaining?

Not to sound like an old/young fogey but if you've never seen high mass in the older (pre mid-sixties) form (now called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) you're missing a trick.

Even from a totally unreligious viewpoint its an interesting priece of theatre. Like something out of Star Wars for those of us brought up on the plainer, simpler, english-language form.

Don't want to open a big debate about the merits of the old-rite and latin, etc. I would just point out that from an historical, cultural and "entertainment" poitn of view, I reckon everyone should get to experience that once in their life to see what its like. Cork and Dublin certainly have regular high masses in the extraordinary form. More info here I think:
http://www.latinmassireland.org/

On the OP - yes I try to make mass once a week unless I'm travelling. Variety of complex reasons but what it boils down to is - going to mass makes me a happier person.

nozzferrahhtoo

Trying to play devils advocate to myself I am trying to decide if I did think there was a god.... against the not just slight but entire lack of evidence that there even might be.... would I go to mass regularly or at all.

I think I have decided I would not even then and the reason is that mass is pretty poor as an exploration of the faith. Its formulaic, rigid, one way and repetitive. There is little there to allow one to explore or celebrate ones faith in most of the churches or denominations except for the eating of magic crackers in the catholic one.

One example of this that comes to mind often is the reaction I often get when I ask a Christian to read the bible..... something depressingly few of them seem bothered to do despite their claims they think there is a god and the Bible is its word..... one wonders how many believers actually do believe.....

That reaction is often one of shock when they actually see a Bible. They are shocked at how big it is. Even people who went to mass a lot. The reason is that they have heard the same handful of cherry picked passages from it in Mass over and over again so often that they became convinced that that was all that was actually in it. They have no idea how much content is actually in there.

So if I were a man of delusion... sorry faith... I do not think Mass would be my method of exploration of that faith given the poor, paltry, cherry picked minisculity it actually offers in the exploration of that faith.

No wonder recent studies in the US showed atheists know the bible more then theists do. Atheists actually explore it. Theists sit back and let men in dresses do it for them and they think this is enough. Meanwhile it is down to people like, of all things, Atheist Ireland to start a "Read the Bible" campaign. One wonders if those trying to sell the faith generally want you to actually read it at all given they are not the ones often implementing such campaigns.

If that is what mass offers then no thanks I say.

Galwayguy35

southcentralts wrote: »

not a double standard if they allow the kid to take communion with the rest of the class, to fit in with their peer group, instead of telling the kid "no communion in this house, take that Jeboss stuff elsewhere." like the religious types do. I'd bet the it has little to do with religion and a lot to do with right of passage / coming of age malarkey. since when do atheists give up their Irish responsibility to celebrate the sh!t out of anything, and the absolute sh!t out of something (even if it does disagree with our beliefs, still go to funerals in churches, but gave up telling grieving widows that there is no heaven - brings the whole room down).

Typical atheist response. Give out on threads about people saying they are Catholic but ah sure it's ok for atheists to send their kid to get communion so he/she won't feel left out.

nozzferrahhtoo

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Typical atheist response. Give out on threads about people saying they are Catholic but ah sure it's ok for atheists to send their kid to get communion so he/she won't feel left out.

There is quite a difference between not wanting your child to FEEL left out and not wanting your child to BE left out. One can fight against the regime the Church has over the Education system in our country while still relenting to put ones own children INTO that system.

Change is not going to come quickly in relation to Religion in Ireland and one can fight the fight against the Church without denying ones children the education that that Church currently has a monopoly on. One has little choice.

IF a non religious school is available for your child then by all means take it... if it is not then take the school that is while you fight to change this fact.

Galwayguy35

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

There is quite a difference between not wanting your child to FEEL left out and not wanting your child to BE left out. One can fight against the regime the Church has over the Education system in our country while still relenting to put ones own children INTO that system.

Change is not going to come quickly in relation to Religion in Ireland and one can fight the fight against the Church without denying ones children the education that that Church currently has a monopoly on. One has little choice.

IF a non religious school is available for your child then by all means take it... if it is not then take the school that is while you fight to change this fact.

I think you're slightly missing my point here. I'm talking about atheists sending their kids on for communion when they or the kids have no belief whatsoever in the ceremony. My original post was about a guy I know in real life who did this and this guy is a hardline atheist and very anti church.
It just seems hypocritical.

Ghost Buster

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

I think you're slightly missing my point here. I'm talking about atheists sending their kids on for communion when they or the kids have no belief whatsoever in the ceremony. My original post was about a guy I know in real life who did this and this guy is a hardline atheist and very anti church.
It just seems hypocritical.

Is it hypocritical when folk who, other than ticking "Catholic" on the census do nothing in their lives particularly Catholic and similarly put their kids through a ceremony they have no belief in?

eth0

I don't go to mass but I think I'll start going again soon

Run_to_da_hills

eth0 wrote: »

I don't go to mass but I think I'll start going again soon

You should try a different church other than the Catholic Church.

prinz

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

The reason is that they have heard the same handful of cherry picked passages from it in Mass over and over again so often that they became convinced that that was all that was actually in it. They have no idea how much content is actually in there........given the poor, paltry, cherry picked minisculity it actually offers in the exploration of that faith..

Over 70% of the New Testament would be included in the RCC mass cycle. Hardly "cherry picked minusculity".

http://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Statistics.htm

Adyx

I'd rather go to Hell.

Galwayguy35

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Is it hypocritical when folk who, other than ticking "Catholic" on the census do nothing in their lives particularly Catholic and similarly put their kids through a ceremony they have no belief in?

Yes it is.

nozzferrahhtoo

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

I think you're slightly missing my point here. I'm talking about atheists sending their kids on for communion when they or the kids have no belief whatsoever in the ceremony. My original post was about a guy I know in real life who did this and this guy is a hardline atheist and very anti church. It just seems hypocritical.

Then you are missing my point, not me missing yours, because that is what I replied to. My point was that as long as there is any discrimination at all leveled against children who have not been baptized, confirmed etc then even if one is a firm fighter against these things one may have to put their children through those traditions anyway so that they are not made to lose out while you fight the fight to have this changed.

Drop over to the Atheist part of this forum sometime and do a search on it. A lot of parents who post "What will happen if I keep my child out of communion" are simply scared that their children will suffer the repercussions of their choice if they do not.

Religion is notoriously good at this.... cajoling people into silence, keeping them from dissenting, by making them fear the consequences, real or imagined.

prinz wrote: »

Over 70% of the New Testament would be included in the RCC mass cycle. Hardly "cherry picked minusculity".

Do not tell me, tell the people who I have given the bible to who simply could not believe its size because they have hardly heard any of it except the same hand picked stories over and over. The very first line in your link is "How much of the Bible is included in the Lectionary for Mass? Not as much as you might think"

Also just because certain passages are on the cycle, does not mean any individual church has to read from them right? They just have to select from that cycle.

Also I am not just talking about the catholic faith as your link is. I am talking about all the Christians I have given a Bible to or somehow tried to get them to read one and my experiences at how many of them are simply shocked at the size of the book when they first see it. Anecdotal yes, but certainly makes me wonder and certainly makes me feel if I were a man of delusion/faith that mass and church would likely not be my first choice on how to explore that.

supernova84

It's just not what it used to be