What faith are you?

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:51 am

the elephant wrote:I know many here on the buckle of the Bible Belt do not consider Catholicism to be "Christian" at all (uhhhh . . . despite the overwhelming presence of CHRIST in the daily practice of the religion . . . ) and see the Catholic church as a totally separate religion.

It's interesting to see that the old attitudes haven't died in the South. I remember when JFK was running for president, there were hushed rumors about Catholics eating babies and having secret Satanic rites. And yet, no one in the Bible Belt seems to have a problem with a majority-Catholic Supreme Court.

Like it or not, there exists partial communion between the church of Rome and many other Protestant religions, including the Episcopal Church.

While I fail to agree with nearly everything espoused by the local, cultish stripe of fanatical religion (I hate fanatics in the Middle East almost as much as I hate them locally) I think that Catholicism is distinctive and large enough to deserve a separate billing in your poll if you divide LDS and JW from "Christian".

"Fanatics" can take all sorts of forms in the Middle East. The Maronite Catholics (an eastern rite church that dates from the 7th century) and the Druze (an Islamic breakaway; a rather close-knit group that does not accept converts) have been at each other's throats for 150 years in Lebanon. So, there are Middle Eastern religious fanatics of many faiths.

corbasse · Post by **corbasse** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:19 am

You forgot the most important one around here: We call it "Somethingism" (Sounds better in Dutch)
You're not religious in an official, organized way but believe in "something"

Basicaly you help yourself on the all-you-can-eat buffet of all available believes, concepts and superstitions around the world and invent your own religious menu.
(The resulting mixed plate of vindaloo, roast beef and chop suey is difficult to swallow in most cases)

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:54 am

bloke wrote:You'll have to excuse me for a few hours...I have to go to a Klan meeting, run some 'shine up to Widow Holler, place a bet on a cock fight, change my erl in the ol' Chuvuley pick-up down by the tracks, spit on some yankee graves, and then sit on my porch playin' "Duelin' Banjos" for them *tourists from the Great Northwest.

You clearly forgot a reference to eating possum. You can't forget that!

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:59 am

Tubaryan12 wrote:
bloke wrote:You'll have to excuse me for a few hours...I have to go to a Klan meeting, run some 'shine up to Widow Holler, place a bet on a cock fight, change my erl in the ol' Chuvuley pick-up down by the tracks, spit on some yankee graves, and then sit on my porch playin' "Duelin' Banjos" for them *tourists from the Great Northwest.
You clearly forgot a reference to eating possum. You can't forget that!

Dang, Ryan, what 'er you -- some kinda gore-may? That ain't jus' EVER'DAY vittles, ya know!
___________________________
Joe Baker, who knows there are serious theological differences between Catholics and protestants, but hasn't heard any serious Catholic bashing in 20 years.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:11 am

Joe Baker wrote:
Tubaryan12 wrote:
bloke wrote:You'll have to excuse me for a few hours...I have to go to a Klan meeting, run some 'shine up to Widow Holler, place a bet on a cock fight, change my erl in the ol' Chuvuley pick-up down by the tracks, spit on some yankee graves, and then sit on my porch playin' "Duelin' Banjos" for them *tourists from the Great Northwest.
You clearly forgot a reference to eating possum. You can't forget that!
Dang, Ryan, what 'er you -- some kinda gore-may? That ain't jus' EVER'DAY vittles, ya know!

... and I thought Gore was one o'them Catholic-lovin baby eaters having secret Satanic rites... SHOOT! (no, not you Mr. Vice-President... DAMN!)

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:05 pm

An Agnostic's prayer:
God, if there is a God, save my soul, if I have a soul.
Heaven for climate-hell for company!
I know where my friends are gonna be.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 1:44 pm

bloke wrote:' talk about a self-contradicting paragraph...
bloke " 'glad to see so many 'experts' out there susplainin' how we-unz is...and doing so while so eloquently avoiding any generalizations and stereotypes whatsoever "

Don't blame me--it was Wade who said:

I know many here on the buckle of the Bible Belt do not consider Catholicism to be "Christian" at all (uhhhh . . . despite the overwhelming presence of CHRIST in the daily practice of the religion . . . ) and see the Catholic church as a totally separate religion.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:12 am

In the Republic of Indonesia, by law, you must conform to one of the recognized five faiths (Indonesia is really big on the number 5). I taught music and EFL there in the mid-1990s. As part of having a work permit, the religious faiths of both parents and grandparents must be submitted and, if they do not conform with Indonesian law, one may be deported!

The five faiths are (and these are the official Indonesian Government terms, so don't get after me:

1. Islam

2. Hindu

3. Christian (they mean Protestant, but read my note after this)

4. Buddhist

5. Catholic (yes, I know they are Christians, too, but I didn't make the rules)

Jehovah's Witnesses are banned by law. There is no separation of church and state in the Indonesian Constitution. In fact, there is a Governmental Department of Religion and a Minister (Secretary) of Religion in the President's Cabinet (who is a Muslim, also by law). Jews are tolerated, but are considered Christian, as in the local way of thinking, this is the closest religion to Judaism. True, they could put the "Christians" and the Catholics in the same group and add Judaism as the fifth group, but most people think this would actually cause more trouble. (Not my view.)

Confused yet?