I guess I knew this but was thinking about it this morning. I left the Church in my later 30's and sought other religions and found none to speak of, Religious Science fit the best when we found each other in the 80's. Now nothing but the principles of R.S. stick with me. So those who work for the Cath Church don't take care of themsleves as the majority do. Paycheck etc...worrying about housing etc... My grandson is going deeper in the Cath Church and it is suprising me...Pepperdine did their work on him., About 20 yrs ago or so, I had the pleasure of meeting Blase Bonpane, former priest and now married to a former nun and they have made a family. He wrote "Imagine No Religion" and I so enjoyed his story. I called him at the radio station and gave him info on Grape Seed Extract as he had horrible allergies. He heard me and got on the Grapeseed. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Imagine_No_Religion/H___DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Priests and nuns work for the church, and the church pays them in room and board. If that arrangement is acceptable to the employee and the employer, I don't have a problem with it.
Well, I see it differently too, the people of the church work for the church by spreading their words and do their prostelizing. And I can still hear my mom say, god sees you and you are committing sins...omw, that sin sin sin word was constant.
Even my friend who joined the JW's some time ago, is living a cult life existemce with them and for them...she's tried to sway me, I'm unswayable.
I try not to criticize people and their beliefs, and I appreciate it when they do the same for me. Religion or lack of is strictly a personal thing and should not be based on the approval of others. I don't see the problem with housing being provided for priests, nuns, ministers, whoever. In many cases they receive meager compensation and don't live extravagant lives, but at any rate it's not for me to judge.
I don't think farmers or people who run grocery stores should be paid because, you know, we all need food, so they should be willing to provide this service for free. If they cared at all for other human beings, they'd provide us with food for free.
That's fine Beth, we have our points of view here, there is a section for this topic right and you are coming across like it's a no no to make my points.... I've been on the long road of religion believe me. You say you try not to criticize people but I swear you have done critical comments to me since I arrived here....
Disagreement dis·a·gree·ment [ˌdisəˈɡrēmənt] NOUN lack of consensus or approval: "there was some disagreement about the details" · "disagreements between parents and adolescents" · "the meeting ended in disagreement" SIMILAR: dissent dispute variance controversy disaccord discord lack of consistency or correspondence: "disagreement between the results of the two assessments" Criticism crit·i·cism [ˈkridəˌsizəm] NOUN the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes: "he received a lot of criticism" · "he ignored the criticisms of his friends" SIMILAR: censure condemnation denunciation disapproval the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work: "alternative methods of criticism supported by well-developed literary theories" SIMILAR: evaluation assessment examination appreciation appraisal the scholarly investigation of literary or historical texts to determine their origin or intended form.
Exactly; we all have our points of view. Nowhere did I mention you at all, so you always read too much into my comments. That I disagree with what you wrote in no way indicates that I don't believe you have the right to "make your points." If we all always agree on everything, what would be left to discuss? You assume that no one else has "been on the long road of religion," whatever that means. I have been searching for my own personal truths my entire adult life after spending my childhood in Southern Baptist congregations. I'm an agnostic and will likely remain such until I die.
I'm sorry that happened to you, Joy, but it's not the same in all Christian homes. My parents were Presbyterian and I don't remember ever hearing the word, "sin," either at home or in church. Although I did plenty of things that my mother didn't like and had plenty of spankings as a result, my parents didn't bring God into it. Most of the sermons I heard were about how to be better people, treating others with kindness, etc. I've always found my religion comforting rather than threatening. I think if my mother had told me that "God saw me committing sins," I would have thought, well then, thank goodness Jesus died for my sins and I can be forgiven if I'm sorry. I wouldn't have actually said that to my mother though. That would have been considered sass and that would be a paddling.
Andrea: I'm not posting for some sorry. Nothing to be sorry about, I've made big changes in my life started at 40 on. I sought changes and found what I needed to make changes, from scientific discussions at Cal Tech to a former catholic priests' make over. I'm posting for some discussion and I get a bunch of lessons from some it appears.
I have told some of my story before, and I have heard a lot of criticism of Catholicism, most of which is bunk. This is more of the same. The nuns and monks I know are supported by their order, not the Church as a whole. Most support the order with products of some kind or serving in missions and receiving donations. Priests are supported by their congregations just as Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists are. The only difference is that priests are single males and have no family that ALSO has to be supported by their respective churches. Religions have to be supported by someone or something, and it is usually, if not always, people who believe what is taught or preached, be it Christianity, Islam , Buddhism, Hinduism, or whatever. Politicians are also supported by people, but often not the people who voted for them. They may be the most evil of all.
I maintain that there nothing, save salvation, that is free and even that cost a life in a very horrible manner. If a religious sect, secular company or what have you has within it’s employment package a place to live and food, it isn’t free. Farms and ranches all over the world offer room and board to their workers but it comes with a price. When I went into the miliary, my first paychecks were mere stipends but I was guaranteed 3 hots, a cot, clothes, training, a weapon and an all expense paid vacation to Vietnam. My granddad was a preacher and the father of 5. The parsonage his family lived in at one time wasn’t free even though he didn’t have to shell out for rent or utilities. Very often his congregants would donate raw, cooked and canned food because they knew he wasn’t being paid a full living wage. He ministered in jails, prisons and hospitals not counting giving 4 services per week and being on call for his congregants 24/7 so that house wasn’t free. Dunno. The way it looks, the thread is based on the premise that nuns and priests are given a free ride but just as a ranch hand is doing what he loves the most and getting “free” room and board, there’s a price attached that only a few very devout people are willing to pay. I’m not Catholic or even close to being among that flock but I have a lot of respect for those who have accepted the life of poverty for the sake of their belief system. For those who have some mysterious ought about the arrangement they make with their church, one of those “perks” might be to be sent to some area on the globe where a premature death is on the horizon. Try that out for size and see what they really do to merit all that “free” stuff.
The nuns and priests I know of don't live lives of poverty....they are said to live lives s of celibacy but we sure questioned all that with the priests over the years. Some of the men I talked with had to go deep into their minds to see if they were molested. The big priest in our town lives in a big house on mega million $ property, what concerns could he have, just to keep the church filled and the money baskets filled too. My neighbor who is the daughter of a methodist minister, now deceased, was insested by her father....talk about a screwed up neighbor who is extreme born again..