Why I'm no longer a Catholic

Father Ted Crilly · 06-05-2015 08:21PM #1

I'm not sure if this is the right section for this thread or if this thread is allowed or not. Also, this is my first thread on boards.ie
I'm a Christian. I used to be a Catholic but I've changed my mind. I'm not a Protestant either. I'm going to outline why I'm no longer a Catholic.
I've made a lot of interesting discoveries while doing research on Catholic teachings and what the Bible says. Catholicism is all heresy and lies.

(All Biblical quotes are taken from Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)

Idolatry

Exodus 20:3
4 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

God has forbidden the worship of images of him. Catholicism is full of idol and symbol worship. It is a sin to worship any image or saint.

The Immaculate Deception

The Roman Catholic Church teaches of the Immaculate Conception. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that Mary was sinless. In fact, the Bible says that EVERYONE on earth with the only exception of Jesus Christ are sinners.

The Pope

The Pope claims to be God's representative on earth. Romans 3:4 states: But God is true; and every man a liar, as it is written, That thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged.

Do not listen to anyone who tells you to listen to the Pope. The Pope is not God. He is a fellow sinner.

The Rosary

Catholicism claims that Mary invented the decade of the Rosary and the Rosary beads. The Bible says nothing about this. The Bible says it's a sin to repeat the same prayer over and over. Are you aware of the promises "Mary" supposedly made? There are 15 I think. One of the promises says that praying the decade of the Rosary will save you from damnation and bring you closer to the Father. This is heresy. Jesus is the ONLY way, as said by the Bible.

The "Virgin" Mary and more lies

The Catholic Church claims that Mary was a virgin her whole life. Yet the Bible says Jesus had brothers. They were even named. Nowhere in the Bible does it say Mary was a virgin.
Also, Mary is not my mother. Not your mother. Not God's mother. Not the "queen of Heaven". She is just a woman who was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus Christ. She is nothing else. She has no authority and is no more important in Heaven than the man on the moon.

Priests

Matthew 23:9 states: And call none your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven.
Catholics call priests "father".

El_Duderino 09 · 06-05-2015 08:24PM

Where do you draw the line and stop using critical thinking?

Father Ted Crilly · 06-05-2015 08:29PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Where do you draw the line and stop using critical thinking?

I'm sorry?

Huntergonzo · 06-05-2015 08:31PM

To be honest I still think the differences are trivial and it all just boils down to whether or not you believe the bible in the first place. I mean the bible has a lot to say, some good, some evil but basically it's just a story that makes extraordinary claims with no evidence to support it.

El_Duderino 09 · 06-05-2015 08:37PM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

I'm sorry?

Well you clearly used critical thinking and carved away some parts which didn't make sense. How did you decide where to stop using critical thinking and swallow the rest of it whole?

Frank Bullitt · 06-05-2015 08:44PM

A case of splitting hairs really.

Father Ted Crilly · 06-05-2015 08:44PM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Well you clearly used critical thinking and carved away some parts which didn't make sense. How did you decide where to stop using critical thinking and swallow the rest of it whole?

Are you implying that the whole of Christianity is wrong?

Squall Leonhart · 06-05-2015 08:55PM

The whole of Christianity IS wrong. As a previous poster asked, at what point did you abandon rational thinking when you were chipping away the wrongs of Catholicism, only to swallow the bits you liked whole as fact?

The world is full of people with a very selective view on what bits they do and do not like from the Bible, and what parts they choose to believe as fact and what parts they dismiss as rhetoric or symbolism etc.

It is frankly frustrating and exasperating to see otherwise reasonable and intelligent people be so incredibly gullible (at best).

El_Duderino 09 · 06-05-2015 08:58PM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

Are you implying that the whole of Christianity is wrong?

Just the supernatural bits. The unsubstantiated bits are... unsubstantiated. So I'm asking how you figure out which bits to think critically about

Huntergonzo · 06-05-2015 09:01PM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

Are you implying that the whole of Christianity is wrong?

Well in fairness it's not just Christianity thats wrong so is every other religion, they're all equally as credible as the church of the flying spaghetti monster, no more no less.

Xterminator · 06-05-2015 09:06PM

Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown.

well that would suggest that giants walked the earth in biblical times. this might lead the literal reader to question if you can read the bible as a work of fiction inspired by a good message?

when i asked these questions i was told that the bible is the word of god, but transcribed by men. they used the mistakes of these men to explain away any 'errors'.

there are whole reams of literature that will explain how the king james version scholars misinterpreted certain hebrew words. but then you stry into the whole conspiracy theory territory.

Personally if you believe in faith and accept the fallibility of man, you can believe in the bible and accept its flaws & Picking on small flaws can be seen as nit picking.

however disaffected christians use these same flaws to bolster their skepticism.

neither argument ever convinces anyone in the other camp so the whole argument seems facile.

X

Delirium · 06-05-2015 09:09PM

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

The whole of Christianity IS wrong. As a previous poster asked, at what point did you abandon rational thinking when you were chipping away the wrongs of Catholicism, only to swallow the bits you liked whole as fact?

The world is full of people with a very selective view on what bits they do and do not like from the Bible, and what parts they choose to believe as fact and what parts they dismiss as rhetoric or symbolism etc.

It is frankly frustrating and exasperating to see otherwise reasonable and intelligent people be so incredibly gullible (at best).

MOD NOTE

Please remember this is Christianity forum.

Telling posters their religion is wrong and suggesting they are gullible for having faith isn't an appropriate way to engage with them.

Thanks for your attention.

Father Ted Crilly · 06-05-2015 09:09PM

Squall Leonhart wrote: »

<snip>

I'm the opposite of an atheist or nihilist or whatever. I find it hard to believe that there is no greater being.

If we humans can't prove and fully understand why we are different from every other creature on the planet, and how life began, and how the universe has evidence of design then I don't see how I could come to the conclusion that there is no God or anything.
I cannot understand how our bodies (and the bodies of animals) were so complexly built without someone on the outside of everything designing it.
How could something's DNA or whatever build a body so perfect for its environment. Evolution must have been coded. Things don't code themselves as you'll know if you are any good with computers.
And why would life begin on its own if it gains nothing from it. Why would 'Mother Nature' have a big bunch of monkeys and cats and chickens and dinosaurs and frogs and humans and birds and donkeys running around just to die again? What is the point in populating a place with animals. There must be a reason for us being alive.

I respect your beliefs. Some people say the moon landing was real and others say it was fake. Some say George Washington was the first president of America while others say it was John Hanson.
About 84% of the world's population is religious. The majority being Christian.

Now going back on-topic.

El_Duderino 09 · 06-05-2015 09:27PM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

I'm the opposite of an atheist or nihilist or whatever. I find it hard to believe that there is no greater being.

If we humans can't prove and fully understand why we are different from every other creature on the planet, and how life began, and how the universe has evidence of design then I don't see how I could come to the conclusion that there is no God or anything.
I cannot understand how our bodies (and the bodies of animals) were so complexly built without someone on the outside of everything designing it.
How could something's DNA or whatever build a body so perfect for its environment. Evolution must have been coded. Things don't code themselves as you'll know if you are any good with computers.
And why would life begin on its own if it gains nothing from it. Why would 'Mother Nature' have a big bunch of monkeys and cats and chickens and dinosaurs and frogs and humans and birds and donkeys running around just to die again? What is the point in populating a place with animals. There must be a reason for us being alive.

I respect your beliefs. Some people say the moon landing was real and others say it was fake. Some say George Washington was the first president of America while others say it was John Hanson.
About 84% of the world's population is religious. The majority being Christian.

Now going back on-topic.

I'll bet you've no idea how on topic that post was.
You've answered my question about where you stop using critical thought.

Thanks

Manach · 06-05-2015 09:37PM

Well not point in rehashing a whole bunch of cut and paste arguments that have been done so many times in prior threads. It is ironic that both the use of Father in the OP username and the no longer part by not engaging with an understanding of the historical traditions which crafted both the Church and the Bible itself which is the birthright of the Catholic community.

Father Ted Crilly · 06-05-2015 09:51PM

Manach wrote: »

Well not point in rehashing a whole bunch of cut and paste arguments that have been done so many times in prior threads. It is ironic that both the use of Father in the OP username and the no longer part by not engaging with an understanding of the historical traditions which crafted both the Church and the Bible itself which is the birthright of the Catholic community.

For your information, I created this account when I was still a Catholic.

The Catholic Church even admitted that most of its teachings are of pagan origin.
What I'm getting at is that Catholicism is a man-made religion and it is simply not the religious denomination for me. In fact, someone in the Bible warned about cults in the future forbidding people to marry and from eating meat which God has given to us to be enjoyed or something along those lines.

I respect everyone's religious beliefs (or lack of them). I do however ask that you do not heckle me by saying Christianity is wrong or whatever.

This thread was made from the viewpoint that there is a God and stuff like that.

Squall Leonhart · 06-05-2015 09:54PM

@SW

Apologies, I took the bait. My answer was my personal view in response to a question posed by the OP, who is of course entitled to his opinions and beliefs. However I would take no offence if somebody were to tell me that I was wrong - I don't need to justify my views any more than OP does his.

Manach · 06-05-2015 09:58PM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

For your information, I created this account when I was still a Catholic.

The Catholic Church even admitted that most of its teachings are of pagan origin.
What I'm getting at is that Catholicism is a man-made religion and it is simply not the religious denomination for me. In fact, someone in the Bible warned about cults in the future forbidding people to marry and from eating meat which God has given to us to be enjoyed or something along those lines.

I respect everyone's religious beliefs (or lack of them). I do however ask that you do not heckle me by saying Christianity is wrong or whatever.

This thread was made from the viewpoint that there is a God and stuff like that.

Mate, that level of historical revision is beyond natural levels and surely perculates up to Chickian plateaus of shear and utter ignorance of wilful blindness of tradition, history and even the modicum of understanding of the Church fathers and the rationalism of Thomasism.

Benny_Cake · 06-05-2015 10:00PM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

For your information, I created this account when I was still a Catholic.

The Catholic Church even admitted that most of its teachings are of pagan origin.

Definitely going to want some kind of source on that. You do realise that the vast majority of what the Catholic Church teaches is shared by most Christian denominations. Just take the Nicene creed, for example.

Understandable that people who leave a church/religion have something of the zeal of the recently converted but you might want to do a little homework before you start throwing accusations of heresy around.

pauldla · 07-05-2015 07:34AM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

..........................
The Catholic Church even admitted that most of its teachings are of pagan origin.
.........................

I must have missed that Encyclical; Coggedit Of De Paganums, was it? :P

edward2222 · 07-05-2015 07:40AM

Thread title
"Why i'm no longer a catholic"
then you explained why.
But since your not anymore a catholic,
are you still a believer?
Not in religion, but in gods?

Peregrinus · 07-05-2015 08:21AM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Well you clearly used critical thinking and carved away some parts which didn't make sense. How did you decide where to stop using critical thinking and swallow the rest of it whole?

Seriously? What Ted wrote is an example what you regard as critical thinking?

Say it ain't so, El_Duderino!

El_Duderino 09 · 07-05-2015 08:37AM

Peregrinus wrote: »

Seriously? What Ted wrote is an example what you regard as critical thinking?

Say it ain't so, El_Duderino!

He picked up a book full of nonsense and pointed at certain bits and decided they're nonsense.

The bible says 'Don't make graven images', Catholics make graven images therefore one of them isn't in line with the other. That much is fair enough. Why stop there was my question.

Not critical thinking in hindsight

Delirium · 07-05-2015 08:50AM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

He picked up a book full of nonsense and pointed at certain bits and decided they're nonsense.

The bible says 'Don't make graven images', Catholics make graven images therefore one of them isn't in line with the other. That much is fair enough. Why stop there was my question.

Not critical thinking in hindsight

MOD NOTE

One poster has already been warned about disrespectful language regarding Chrisitianity/Christians.

Any further posts of similar vein will be carded.

Thanks for your attention.

Father Ted Crilly · 07-05-2015 06:25PM

edward2222 wrote: »

Thread title
"Why i'm no longer a catholic"
then you explained why.
But since your not anymore a catholic,
are you still a believer?
Not in religion, but in gods?

Yes. I've chosen to believe in and seek God. I've always been a Christian. I'm still a Christian. I don't follow the Catholic Church's teachings anymore. You must remember that Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. In my opinion, the Catholic Church has twisted the whole Christian religion.

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

He picked up a book full of nonsense and pointed at certain bits and decided they're nonsense.

The bible says 'Don't make graven images', Catholics make graven images therefore one of them isn't in line with the other. That much is fair enough. Why stop there was my question.

Not critical thinking in hindsight

If the "book full of nonsense" you are referring to is The Bible then I don't think you understand what Catholicism is and what Christianity is about.

The Bible is a collection of books with some fake stories to explain things easily. The Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John document the life and miracles etc of Jesus (and yes, there is more evidence than just the Bible to say that Jesus did exist). A Christian is a follower of Jesus.

Catholicism is a denomination inside Christianity. But it has teachings that cannot be found in the Bible. Quite a number of them actually contradict the Bible.

What do you mean by "Why stop there"?

pauldla · 08-05-2015 02:57AM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

Yes. I've chosen to believe in and seek God. I've always been a Christian. I'm still a Christian. I don't follow the Catholic Church's teachings anymore. You must remember that Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. In my opinion, the Catholic Church has twisted the whole Christian religion.

If the "book full of nonsense" you are referring to is The Bible then I don't think you understand what Catholicism is and what Christianity is about.

The Bible is a collection of books with some fake stories to explain things easily. The Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John document the life and miracles etc of Jesus (and yes, there is more evidence than just the Bible to say that Jesus did exist). A Christian is a follower of Jesus.

Catholicism is a denomination inside Christianity. But it has teachings that cannot be found in the Bible. Quite a number of them actually contradict the Bible.

What do you mean by "Why stop there"?

Two questions, following on from your earlier posts.

1. When did the Catholic Church admit that most of its teachings are of pagan origin?

2. What evidence, other than the Bible, is there for the existence of Jesus?

Thanking you in advance,

P

homer911 · 08-05-2015 08:46AM

pauldla wrote: »

2. What evidence, other than the Bible, is there for the existence of Jesus?

Have you heard of Titus Flavius Josephus? He was a first century Romano-Jewish scholar who documented much of what he experienced, including some passing references to Jesus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus

pauldla · 08-05-2015 09:21AM

homer911 wrote: »

Have you heard of Titus Flavius Josephus? He was a first century Romano-Jewish scholar who documented much of what he experienced, including some passing references to Jesus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus

I have; and I have heard that there is dispute over the veracity of the references contained in Josephus. In any event, this is hardly evidence for the existence of Jesus; it is possibly evidence of Josephus writing about Jesus sometime in the late first century (if we accept the references as valid).

I wonder does Father Ted Crilly have any other evidence?

edward2222 · 08-05-2015 09:50AM

Father Ted Crilly wrote: »

I'm still a Christian.

Thats enough for me.

Peregrinus · 08-05-2015 10:16AM

pauldla wrote: »

I have; and I have heard that there is dispute over the veracity of the references contained in Josephus.

Oh, come now, Pauldla. It's acknowledged that the references to Jesus in some copies of Josephus have been doctored. But we also have copies of Josephus which contain version of the references which have not been doctored. I don't think there is a respectable segment of acadamic opinion which denies that the writings of Josephus contain references to Jesus.

pauldla wrote: »

In any event, this is hardly evidence for the existence of Jesus; it is possibly evidence of Josephus writing about Jesus sometime in the late first century (if we accept the references as valid).

If writings about figures from classical history is excluded as evidence for their existence, then we have no evidence of the existence of any figure from the classical period, other than people who were themselves authors and whose works have survived. And, even then, only if we are willing to accept that the works attributed to them are indeed by them.

pauldla wrote: »

I wonder does Father Ted Crilly have any other evidence?

I don't know about Ted, but Jesus is better attested than most figures from the classical period. He is vastly better attested than Alexander the Great, for example - multiple independent written sources attest his existence, all much closer to him in time than any source we have for Alexander. If someone questions the historicity of Jesus but doesn't question the historicity of Alexander the Great, I have to assume that their position is not one arrived at by considering the available evidence, but that they have Another Agenda.

katydid · 08-05-2015 11:32AM

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I'll bet you've no idea how on topic that post was.
You've answered my question about where you stop using critical thought.

Thanks

Actually, critical thought was the core of that post. You might consider looking at your own kneejerk reaction...

Why I'm no longer a Catholic

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