What does it mean to be a "good" Catholic? Must one adhere to all of the orthodoxy? Can you be a "cafeteria" Catholic?
We could have similar discussions about being a good Jew or Muslim, except I don't think we know enough about those traditions to be able to know what might be common practice and how that aligns or differs with doctrine & orthodoxy.
And for our nonbelievers:
NYTimes: The Way of the Agnostic
What do believers have to believe? http://nyti.ms/WQ7GzK
I have no idea what it is like to be a catholic at all and learned a lot in this class so far and in my history classes to create an idea. To be a good catholic you have to abide by the rules given and live a "good" honest life. I enjoy Martin Luther the most because he had a mapped out idea of how you should live your life. To live a "good" catholic life, to me, is living knowing what will happen when you leave your physical body and who you will see when you get there. With me not practicing any religion, I feel like living by a moral code is a great idea, but cannot believe in Jesus or how the events transpired.
ReplyDeleteby catholic rules and standards i am in no way considered a good catholic. i go to mass twice a year because i am made to and i do not follow and agree with some of the beliefs and rules centered around the religion. but i do not think that i am a bad catholic. i think that what you put into religion equals what you get out of it. just because i do not go to mass every sunday or do not believe in some of the ideas doesnt mean i have a lesser relationship with God. other than this class, where its all discussion, i think religion is a very personal topic and no one should be judged on if they are a good christian/catholic/jew/muslim or a bad one.
ReplyDeleteyou can be a cafeteria catholic, i do not agree with the catholic's churches view on homosexuality or birth control but i agree with the foundations of the church and the most of the messages in the bible. if someone told me i could not pick and choose what i want to believe in regarding the catholic church i would probably very immaturly make a face at them. like i stated earlier its your relationship with God and its not for other people to scrutinize.
I agree that to be Catholic does not require adhering to all of the positions of the Catholic Church. Personally, I am not Catholic, even though I did go to four years of Catholic high school (and obviously currently go to a Catholic college). I see no fault with someone adopting the main formulations of a religion without also accepting all of the social and political matter as well.
ReplyDeleteIf someone faithfully attends Mass every week and lives there faith, I think they are just a good a Catholic (if not better) as someone who skips out on the Mass but tries to compensate by adopting the Church's views on homosexuality, birth control, etc. In short, then, I think that people can be cafeteria Catholics (which I personally do not see as in any way bad) by developing a good relationship with God and following the main religious tenets of the Church but not necessarily agreeing to all of the current social stances of Catholicism.
I am not a Catholic since I have never been baptized, but I have gone to a Catholic school since the first grade. I feel that there are very strict Catholics and some not so strict Catholics. In my opinion, the strict Catholics would be the ones who follow the rules of the faith very closely and they do not embrace any exceptions. The one's who are not so strict may be the "cafeteria Catholics" and they may follow many of the rules of the faith, but may also disagree with some, and not go to church every Sunday, etc. In this view, the strict Catholics would not think that the "cafeteria Catholics" were good Catholics. I think that both of the types I have explained are good Catholics. I see them as both believing in the same thing and both living out their faith in different ways, but this does not make one type a good Catholic and the other a bad Catholic.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that I could be considered a cafeteria Catholic, but now I am not so sure. I feel that to be a cafeteria catholic, one must hold the same basic beliefs of the faith and I don't. I personally don't believe that God sends us to hell, as I have mentioned in other posts. I feel that since this is contradictory to one of the core beliefs in Catholicism, that I am not considered a cafeteria Catholic and I'm not to sure where that puts me...
Personally, I believe that in order to be a good Catholic all you need to do is be a good persona and put others before yourself. "Treat others as you would want to be treated" is the most important rule because to me that is what God wants us to work on the most. I do not think you need to follow every nit-picky rule of the doctrine to be a good Catholic. Praising God for all that he has given you, trying your hardest to always do the right thing, and being compassionate towards others is the goal of religion. For example, I think that the rule of not eating meat on Fridays during Lent is ridiculous so I do not follow that rule. I do not think God is going to smite me and not let me into heaven when I die because I eat meat on Friday. He will judge me on how a behaved and treated others. So yes, I do think it is ok to be a cafeteria Catholic because some little details don’t really matter all that much in the big scheme of things.
ReplyDeleteI think that to be a good catholic one must live out their life as Jesus would. I think that is to simply love others, accept others for who they are, forgive, and to always work to stay in the light. I do not think that to be a good catholic that one must follow all of the rules and regulations of the church, rather I believe that the people who question their faith and certain tenets of their faith tend to be the strongest. When I think of cafeteria Catholics, I think of the people who mindlessly go to mass every Sunday and simply go through the motions. These are the people who as soon as they walk out of the church doors are bad mouthing or complaining about someone or something. I see no benefit in that and honestly would take it as an insult to be called a cafeteria catholic. I also did not agree with a previous comment that somebody can compensate going to mass by trying to agree with what the Church says. Going to mass is living out your faith and a way to practice your faith so it stays close and true to your heart. Simply agreeing with what the church says means nothing if you don't practice what you preach.
ReplyDeleteI went to a Baptist church until the age of 16. I have never been baptized. I don't claim to be any religion but I don't claim to be agnostic or aethiest either.After reading the article about Agnosticism, it seems they are very logical in their thinking. I believe that some stuff in the Bible isn't necessarily true, but there is some stuff that can be proven by science and history. Although I like to think I will see my loved ones in the afterlife, I am not completely sure that I will. To me the theory of Evolution make sense but where did human beings get their traits from? I think God has a say in compassion,love, and empathy, but we evolved into what we are today.
ReplyDeleteIm not sure what it is to be a "good" catholic because I am not catholic at all. I am actually Baptist and grew up goin to a baptist church. I was baptized in middle school and thought I live a "good" religious life, however, I have pulled away from church because of having such a busy schedule and not havinga church that I feel is home anymore ever since my parents switched churches. I feel to be "good" in any religion you would need to live by the BIBLE or equivilent to that of the Bible. And also to have Faith in your God and to live for Him or Her.
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