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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:00:11 GMT -5
Guys, my family just got some bad news. My great aunt has a blocked artery. Can you guys pray for her? Will do.
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:01:32 GMT -5
It looks like a good amount of people aren't gonna make it to the Bible study. Shall we reschedule for Saturday or something?
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Post by mymerlincat on Sept 7, 2016 21:02:04 GMT -5
For me, I guess a lot of it is the way that both our local church and that abbey that my dad works at are like families to me, I grew up there and I love everyone to pieces and I don't like the way my dad is throwing away those relationships and wants me to as well, for no good reason.
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:03:01 GMT -5
For me, I guess a lot of it is the way that both our local church and that abbey that my dad works at are like families to me, I grew up there and I love everyone to pieces and I don't like the way my dad is throwing away those relationships and wants me to as well, for no good reason. Yeah I think you have the right to be somewhat upset about that. I think it's best to lay it all out and talk it over with him.
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Post by Dreamers Delight on Sept 7, 2016 21:15:54 GMT -5
I suggest going to talk to him as the others have said. I don't affiliate myself with any sort of denomination, so I don't know much about Catholics and their traditions but I do think it'd be a good idea to talk with him about what's going on.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 21:18:26 GMT -5
Hello Christian Memers, I'm dropping into say greetings and I have no idea what is going on here. Hello greetings my fellow memer How have you been?
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:19:25 GMT -5
Hello greetings my fellow memer How have you been? Pretty good, how about you?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 21:20:31 GMT -5
Pretty good, how about you? Alright. Have you started school?
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:25:53 GMT -5
Pretty good, how about you? Alright. Have you started school? Yes, unfortunately :/ Have you?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 21:27:09 GMT -5
Alright. Have you started school? Yes, unfortunately :/ Have you? That sucks. Nope.
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:49:03 GMT -5
Yes, unfortunately :/ Have you? That sucks. Nope. Really? When do you start? You lucky duck
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 21:52:30 GMT -5
Hii
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 21:56:19 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 21:59:23 GMT -5
Lol that was great like I didn't even know what was going on until i looked it up good thing i screenshoted xD
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 22:08:18 GMT -5
Lol that was great like I didn't even know what was going on until i looked it up good thing i screenshoted xD You are now officially the bastion of Freedom™ on these forums. Wait not anymore, nvm. Now you're just an average Commie Pig™.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 22:10:53 GMT -5
Lol that was great like I didn't even know what was going on until i looked it up good thing i screenshoted xD You are now officially the bastion of Freedom™ on these forums. Wait not anymore, nvm. Now you're just an average Commie Pig™.
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 22:17:09 GMT -5
You are now officially the bastion of Freedom™ on these forums. Wait not anymore, nvm. Now you're just an average Commie Pig™. 👌 Top tier meme
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 22:31:29 GMT -5
best of the best
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Post by Fяøšтч Bøв¢αт❅ on Sept 7, 2016 22:38:59 GMT -5
Hello. I need someone to talk to? >.< I'm a Christian but I haven't gone to church in almost a year. Is this normal? Bc I know people that go to church every 2 months (which is what I sort of did before I stopped going altogether oops) but even they seemed shocked when I told them this. O.o
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 22:43:10 GMT -5
Hello. I need someone to talk to? >.< I'm a Christian but I haven't gone to church in almost a year. Is this normal? Bc I know people that go to church every 2 months (which is what I sort of did before I stopped going altogether oops) but even they seemed shocked when I told them this. O.o Hello! I would very strongly suggest that you start going back to church. It doesn't make you any "more Christian" and it has no bearing on your salvation, but the community of the church is God-instituted and necessary for spiritual growth. Were you having problems with the church or did you just sort of taper off? I've done the latter occasionally in the past, for a few months at a time, admittedly.
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Post by Saint Ambrosef on Sept 7, 2016 22:46:42 GMT -5
OK, got a question that's pretty complicated but I really want an answer to it so hopefully someone can help me out here. This may offend some people, but it is not my intention at all and I greatly apologize to anyone that is. My dad and I are both baptized and raised Catholics. He also works as the head CFO for a Catholic Church at a local abbey and has worked there for about 2 years now. He is marrying his girlfriend on 24th of this month. He was previously married to my mother along with other women, but he did not ever marry any of them through the Church. His girlfriend had been born and raised a Mormon in Denmark until 2014, when she felt that Mormonism was no longer for her and gave up her religion. She lived in Denmark for most of her life but moved to USA about 20 years ago. Until last winter she had been attending a Danish Lutheran Church about 13 miles away, but mostly for the Danish culture and not the Lutheran religion. When she and my dad first started dating about a year ago and my dad told her about the Catholic Church, she decided that she really wished to officially convert to Catholicism to join my dad and I. She started the process in December but stopped going because we bought a new house and needed time to work on moving out and and making renovations to the new house. My dad also told me when he proposed to her that they both wanted to get married in the Catholic church. Last week, my dad told me that they were going to be getting married in the Danish Lutheran Church instead. I was pretty hurt by this news as the Catholic church means a great deal to me and I was shocked that he would want to get married anywhere else, but I figured it was just him trying to cater to his soon-to-be wife's culture. Recently, he has been saying very negative things about the Catholic church, and his coworkers at the abbey. He told me he is going to only go to the Lutheran church for service and suggests that I do the same. He also wants me to get baptized through it, and I am opposed to both proposals as the Catholic church is the only place I feel comfortable and I don't like the idea of giving it up for a religion and community that I am not familiar with. He also tells me one of his issues with the Catholic church is that in order to be married to his fiancé, the Catholic church would have to annul his marriage with my mother. I didn't even think that was a real thing, especially because as I said above he did not marry my mother through the church as she is more of a spiritual/agnostic person. Am I wrong for feeling the way I do? I'm very conflicted here. Is he right about the church having to annul his marriage with my mother? Any insight would be greatly appreciated and I hope I did not offend any Lutherans that might have read that in any way. Thank you. mymerlincat hello hello resident Catholic apologetic of christianland here!
First, let me tackle what your father has said. Unfortunately, he is right. The Catholic Church views all first marriages to be valid. Thus, even if two people are non-Catholic, the Church still recognizes it as a true marriage bounded by God. So yes, he would have to approach the Church to receive an annulment for his previous marriage(s?).
However, the Church is far more likely to grant annulments pertaining to marriages that took place outside the religion. The reason for this is simple: when getting married in the Church, all couples must go through matrimony preparations with a priest/deacon-- that is, making sure the couple are truly ready for the commitment they are approaching. Thus, in a sense, fiances are effectively "vetted" through the Church, and so reasons for annulment in the future are fairly slim. However, those who did NOT have the benefit of going through this prep are much more likely to have approached marriage with their eyes closed, and are thus far more likely to be eligible for an annulment. A common reason from non-Catholic marriages is "Willful exclusion of marital permanence" or "Error regarding marital indissolubility" or "Error regarding marital sacramental dignity."
Now, for the sake of my protestant friends on here, allow me to explain annulments: they are not the Catholic version of divorce. Divorcing is the splitting/division of something that existed. The word annulment comes from "nullify"-- in effect, for a marriage to be annulled is to say it never truly existed in the first place. Thus, there are strict rules to determine whether or not the marriage was invalid from the beginning. For an (extreme) example, if the couple were actually 5th cousins. Since there must be a 7-gen difference for a marriage to be valid to the Church, the couple is granted an annulment because--due to their relations--the marriage never existed in the first place. (Another example would be if one spouse was married against their will, if the marriage was never consumated, unsound mind, etc. Here's a list of most reasons. [x] ). Annulments are recognition rather than actions.
In short, your father should at least try to get an annulment. There's probably a good possibility his marriage to your mother is eligible for it. Yes, it usually takes time a work. But it is concerning that he does not seem to want to at least apply for one. If Catholicism really meant a lot to him, he would.
Which brings me around to my next point. A lot of Catholics are happy with their religion until they're faced with a challenge. Divorce and remarriage is a common one among adults of the faith. Just like many people's beliefs, they are strong-willed with their standards until they find themselves on the other end, and suddenly their conviction is not so clear. And as hard as it might be to admit it, it sounds like this is what is happening to your father. What is easier for your father-- to possibly deny his new fiancee and the chance of new love in favor of his Church, or to simply abandon his religion in favor of a more lenient one? Cradle Catholics suffer with this the most.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have had a more minor experience of a similar nature-- my uncle wants to remarry, and he is a devout Catholic, but he has not received an annulment to our knowledge. Your confusion and upset is entirely reasonable, and certainly valid. I've known a lot of people who have gone through similar pressure from their family-- that is, uncomfortable pressure to either remain Protestant (forbidding conversion) or leave Catholicism (as you are experiencing). Take comfort in the Saints, many of whom went through similar trials (St. Francis's father beat and locked him in a closet for wanting to be a monk; St. Thomas More was arrested for refusing to convert to Anglicanism).
Now, if you were the converting, it'd be a tougher problem. Because of the Church's views of respecting your parents, if they say you cannot convert to Catholicism, you are obligated to obey them until you turn 18 (at which point you are free of obligation). However, this is not your case-- you have been Catholic all your life. You do not need permission to continue practicing the faith you were raised in. Especially since your father has not given you any ultimatums (you used language suggesting he is only heavily advocating). Even then, your father has no moral right to force you to convert. If you are under 18, you may have to attend Lutheran services with him if you must, but you do not have to convert even if he tells you to.
Someone so young should not have to struggle with such a dilemma so early in life. But we are all called at one point or another to a challenge. For your father, it is the prospect of facing annultion. For you, it is the prospect of facing your Father.
Now you must ask yourself. Do you want to remain Catholic because it's simply what you're familiar with? Or because you believe it's true?
EDIT: Someone mentioned that Lutheranism and Catholicism are very similar. While it is true that they have some similarities, it is not like Orthodoxy where only a few doctrines separate the faiths. There are some major, major chasms between the two.
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Post by Saint Ambrosef on Sept 7, 2016 22:51:40 GMT -5
Hello. I need someone to talk to? >.< I'm a Christian but I haven't gone to church in almost a year. Is this normal? Bc I know people that go to church every 2 months (which is what I sort of did before I stopped going altogether oops) but even they seemed shocked when I told them this. O.o Hello! I would very strongly suggest that you start going back to church. It doesn't make you any "more Christian" and it has no bearing on your salvation, but the community of the church is God-instituted and necessary for spiritual growth. Were you having problems with the church or did you just sort of taper off? I've done the latter occasionally in the past, for a few months at a time, admittedly. I mean..honestly, it's sort of abnormal. Most Christians attend a Church service of some kind once a week (usually Sundays or sometimes Saturdays). This is generally seen in accordance of the commandments: "Thous shalt keep the Lord's Day Holy." In Judaism, such a day was considered to be the sabbath (Saturday). Christians view it as being Sunday. Attending weekly service (if possible) is part of keeping it holy, imo.
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Sapphic
sorrel
>:3c
Pronouns: she/her or they/them
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Post by sorrel on Sept 7, 2016 22:59:08 GMT -5
i'll pray for you
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 22:59:09 GMT -5
i'll pray for you
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Post by mymerlincat on Sept 7, 2016 23:02:21 GMT -5
This post was extremely helpful thank you so much! I am choosing to remain a Catholic because I know that it is the only true religion and I have dedicated my life to it. Another question, my dad actually had 6 (I know, a lot) marriages prior to marrying his new girlfriend, my mother being his 6th. Does that mean he would have to receive annulment from all 6?
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Post by Splintercat on Sept 7, 2016 23:49:04 GMT -5
Hello! I would very strongly suggest that you start going back to church. It doesn't make you any "more Christian" and it has no bearing on your salvation, but the community of the church is God-instituted and necessary for spiritual growth. Were you having problems with the church or did you just sort of taper off? I've done the latter occasionally in the past, for a few months at a time, admittedly. I mean..honestly, it's sort of abnormal. Most Christians attend a Church service of some kind once a week (usually Sundays or sometimes Saturdays). This is generally seen in accordance of the commandments: "Thous shalt keep the Lord's Day Holy." In Judaism, such a day was considered to be the sabbath (Saturday). Christians view it as being Sunday. Attending weekly service (if possible) is part of keeping it holy, imo.I agree. I haven't always been great at doing it, as I said, but I try
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Post by Jas on Sept 8, 2016 0:48:42 GMT -5
i had to go home a couple days early because my mom is flying in tomorrow morning and i am lowkey disappointed that i'm missing the big group meeting at campus
i mean i feel like a fraud there because i'm still trying to figure out what to think of all this but i feel like i need to have the Experience of the group meetings
also ngl the music majors playing instruments and leading songs about Jesus is entertaining there's a girl with some type of condition where one of her arms isn't fully developed, it's a lot shorter than it should be but omg she can play the piano so well with just her one other hand i am in Awe
i can barely play twinkle twinkle little star with my two hands
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Post by Saint Ambrosef on Sept 8, 2016 8:09:10 GMT -5
This post was extremely helpful thank you so much! I am choosing to remain a Catholic because I know that it is the only true religion and I have dedicated my life to it. Another question, my dad actually had 6 (I know, a lot) marriages prior to marrying his new girlfriend, my mother being his 6th. Does that mean he would have to receive annulment from all 6? As long as they were all civilized in accordance of the law (i.e. legal), then yes, he would need annulments for all 6 marriages. It sounds to me like your father doesn't take the permanence of marriage very seriously. Or in other words, if he has been under the wrong impression that marriage is soluble to the Church, he's probably eligible for an annulment on those grounds. (If, however, he has always known that the Church does not believe divorce can dissolve a marriage, but he divorced anyways, it's going to be harder).
The good news is that the Church recognizes any children from the marriage(s) to still be legitimate, even if they grant the annulment saying the marriage was invalid. So if he gets annulments then you won't be seen as illegitimate in the eyes of Catholicism or anything.
I'm glad I can help! I grew up in a devout Catholic family, and being home schooled means I have a great theological education. I am eager to put my knowledge to the test xD
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 8:30:24 GMT -5
This post was extremely helpful thank you so much! I am choosing to remain a Catholic because I know that it is the only true religion and I have dedicated my life to it. Another question, my dad actually had 6 (I know, a lot) marriages prior to marrying his new girlfriend, my mother being his 6th. Does that mean he would have to receive annulment from all 6? As long as they were all civilized in accordance of the law (i.e. legal), then yes, he would need annulments for all 6 marriages. It sounds to me like your father doesn't take the permanence of marriage very seriously. Or in other words, if he has been under the wrong impression that marriage is soluble to the Church, he's probably eligible for an annulment on those grounds. (If, however, he has always known that the Church does not believe divorce can dissolve a marriage, but he divorced anyways, it's going to be harder).
The good news is that the Church recognizes any children from the marriage(s) to still be legitimate, even if they grant the annulment saying the marriage was invalid. So if he gets annulments then you won't be seen as illegitimate in the eyes of Catholicism or anything.
I'm glad I can help! I grew up in a devout Catholic family, and being home schooled means I have a great theological education. I am eager to put my knowledge to the test xD
You're awesome, Shadow. I do have a question, though. We know the Bible permits divorce only in the case of infidelity (Matthew 19:9). If infidelity is the case, would the marriage in question still need to be annulled, even as the divorce was "in the right", so to speak?
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Post by Light on Sept 8, 2016 9:06:27 GMT -5
Batman: Agreed. Ah, I was just responding to a branch off from the topic of transhumanism. ^^
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