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New York, 8:33 PM
Sun Nov 8
22 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/22/09
I stopped identifying as a Catholic several years ago for similar reasons.
I realized that I can't find enough freedom in Catholicism to authentically be a feminist and LGBT ally. I disagree with the politics of the Vatican, I can't accept dogma that leaves no room for thinking and dispute.
Catholicism taken seriously is about agreeing with the Pope and living your life according to the rules put forward in the RC catechism and it also means disdain for gays, lack of family planning, and a belief in women's inferiority.
I sincerely apologize if other commentators find this opinion offensive but I believe there is less room in Catholicism for rule-bending than we tend to think.
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09/22/09
Also, Mary, as I relate to her, was hardly a saintly prude. She had to deal with dirty diapers and Joseph would have been within his rights to divorce or hurt her; her pregnancy would have been of great shame and embarassment, much the way society still looks down its collective nose at teenagers who find themselves knocked up. And also, didn't Mary chose her choice?
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If people want to pray before sex, that's fine by me. Just don't expect me to. Once I was flipping through a romance novel in the store, and the dedication was "For God." It freaked me out so much I put it back. This was a very secular romance to boot, with some title like "A Wicked Woman's Wayward Wishes." I do not want to think of God reading a book like that. I used to pray for forgiveness for being naked outside the shower, so no.
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Also:
"There exists a rhythm dictated by nature itself which both spouses must discover so that climax may be reached both by the man and by the woman, and as far as possible occur in both simultaneously. "
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Also, it does say that treating the woman only as a receptacle is tantamount to objectification of her and holy sex requires full participation of both parties, objectification defeats that and detracts from the holiness of the act, etc etc. I think the Familiaris Consortio discusses it as well, but I could be misremembering.
09/22/09
Here we go with the Catholic bashing...what's not positive about that prayer? Maybe you don't pray before sex, but why have something smarmy to say if two people want to take a moment to reflect on their union and thank God for the wonder of their oneness and open themselves up mentally to being honest and giving?
When you get over the myriad legitimate objections you might have to "The Church" itself, there is no reason to poke fun or roll your eyes at this.
09/22/09
Maybe some people will take this book and actually find it helpful/useful/whatever. Good on them. But I know for a FACT there will also be people who will see books like this one and will feel nothing but the creation of additional guilt in their psyches. That's the problem with it. Every time someone finds another requirement or rule to impose on other people and justifies it by saying "this will make God happier with you," there are people out there it will damage. And that's why it's subject to criticism.
Pointing out that things that are associated with the Catholic church can damage people is only "Catholic-bashing" if harming people is a central tenet of Catholicism. I don't believe it is, but if it is, then I'm all for bashing.
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"I saw in his hand a long spear of gold, and at the iron's point there seemed to be a little fire. He appeared to me to be thrusting it at times into my heart, and to pierce my very entrails; when he drew it out, he seemed to draw them out also, and to leave me all on fire with a great love of God. The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it. It is a caressing of love so sweet which now takes place between the soul and God, that I pray God of His goodness to make him experience it who may think that I am lying"
I don't know, religious ecstasy sounds pretty hot.
09/22/09
09/22/09
Bingo. That's how I feel. The agnosticism developed in tandem. I am unhappy enough without being judged for my own imperfections by an organization whose views on family planning I furiously resent. And it's not a democracy (not among ongregants, anyway) --why SHOULDNT' we expect bullshit like that case of the 9 year old rape victim who sought an abortion? (I can't believe the gall of the Vatican...why did they have to say ANYTHING about that case at all, and if the girl and her family was excommunicated, how about her actual rapist?)
Don't get me started on the despicable abuse of power that fed into bishops and priests concealing sexual abuse for decades, allowing pastors identified as molesters to interact with kids instead of removing them from position and duties that gave them access to the general congregation (if not turning them in and getting them off the streets!).
Not that the Catholic Church is the only institution guilty of a problem like that..I'd say abuse of power and fear in organized religion is a many-headed hydra in politics and certainly in concealing crimes or neutralizing comprehensive, here-and-now moral accountability.
To say nothing of how angry I felt the last time I went to Mass of my own accord, when the priest's homily involved a screaming, venom-filled rant about gay marriage. (That happens even more often when I'm on family vacations and am forced to go to Mass in more conservative areas.) That isn't to slander all priests, lump them all in one group, or discount the good many religious organizations do for the poor.
That said--so long as you hold yourself accountable for the consequences of your actions before dogma (i.e. I think it's bullshit that people still float around religion as a legitimate excuse for kids who don't put stock in family planning for "religious" reasons, but seem to forget that premarital sex is usually against Catholic or Christian doctrine to....if you're going to sin, try planning ahead to minimize the damage) I won't hold it against someone for practicing the religion they were raised with, even if I personally think it's kinda pointless.
Screw the Church on contraception, and for that matter, I'm sorry but I don't really care how the Church feels about military combat, immigration, the death penalty, or other causes that probably ally them with lots of agnostic liberals.
One more thing--while I DEFINITELY agree with her column here, and though have my own reservations about abortion (or at least, using it as birth control) despite my fervent desire to make it more accessible generally/keep it safe and legal, didn't Kissling write a whacked out piece for Salon about cutting off access to abortion after the patient was five months along?
09/22/09
("God wants us all to be happy and be kind to ourselves and to others ... ism.")
If there's an actual church of this, someone let me know. I'm in the market.
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Neo-Paganism is all of the above.
I've been a pagan for some time, and I've never felt happier with spirituality. My family is catholic, and at a certain point you get tired of all the guilt and hypocrisy.
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Not sure if that's the exact wording, but it's the gist.
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09/22/09
Whoa! Bringing another lady into the bedroom! Very hot Catholics.
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(oh, and the creepiest book? "Interviewing Your Daughter's Boyfriend".)
09/22/09