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GFB wrote:
They don't know Central doctrines that distinguish it from other denominations?

Most Catholics have not studied theology..Catholic or otherwise.

They go to Church on Sunday because that's how they were raised..like every other denomination.

No, they don't.
Apostolic Succession is a good example. It's the one thing that makes the Catholic church stand out from other christian churches.
Yet, I have never met a Catholic that knew anything about it.

There is a poster here that claimed to be Catholic, that thought every word of the pope is infallible. The Catholic Church makes no such claim. In fact it is a heresy.

BillB wrote:

GFB wrote:
They don't know Central doctrines that distinguish it from other denominations?

Most Catholics have not studied theology..Catholic or otherwise.

They go to Church on Sunday because that's how they were raised..like every other denomination.

No, they don't.
Apostolic Succession is a good example. It's the one thing that makes the Catholic church stand out from other christian churches.
Yet, I have never met a Catholic that knew anything about it.

There is a poster here that claimed to be Catholic, that thought every word of the pope is infallible. The Catholic Church makes no such claim. In fact it is a heresy.

Assuming you're not a Doctor of theology..Think there's anything odd about the fact that you have taken the time to learn all kinds of things about Catholicism, that even Catholics don't know about or dwell on..and should I be trying to learn all about and post about whatever Denomination you belong to?

Greggo I don't know about taking time to learn about all denominations, but a little time taken into learning about the one you belong to might be in order.

Some number of years ago I was interested in learning about all sorts of off beat "Cults", Nation of Islam and it's predecessors such as Moorish Science, especially.

GFB wrote:Assuming you're not a Doctor of theology..Think there's anything odd about the fact that you have taken the time to learn all kinds of things about Catholicism, that even Catholics don't know about or dwell on..and should I be trying to learn all about and post about whatever Denomination you belong to?

I don't think it's odd at all. I've studied a number of religions and denominations (including Mormon, Catholic, Bahia, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness, Islam, Christian Church, and Church of Christ, Judism) in order to learn more about them, understand them better, and to learn more about my own beliefs. I'm far from a Bible scholar. I just want to understand people more and it's easier to understand when you know, generally, about their belief systems.

GFB wrote:
Assuming you're not a Doctor of theology..Think there's anything odd about the fact that you have taken the time to learn all kinds of things about Catholicism, that even Catholics don't know about or dwell on..and should I be trying to learn all about and post about whatever Denomination you belong to?

My son married a Catholic 12 years ago. He converted and tried to convince me to convert.
I gave it a fair shot and read all I could about it.

As far as it being odd that Catholics don't know much about Church teachings- I think it is very odd.
It's like a carpenter not knowing what wood is or a baseball player not knowing what home plate is.

BillB wrote:

GFB wrote:
Assuming you're not a Doctor of theology..Think there's anything odd about the fact that you have taken the time to learn all kinds of things about Catholicism, that even Catholics don't know about or dwell on..and should I be trying to learn all about and post about whatever Denomination you belong to?

My son married a Catholic 12 years ago. He converted and tried to convince me to convert.
I gave it a fair shot and read all I could about it.

As far as it being odd that Catholics don't know much about Church teachings- I think it is very odd.
It's like a carpenter not knowing what wood is or a baseball player not knowing what home plate is.

Believe me, Catholics know everything thing they need to know.

They just know what to leave to the Church leadership to study.

Using your baseball player analogy..we know how to hit, throw and catch the ball..we don't care who made the clothing, what kind of sand or dirt is used for the infield, or who built the stadium.

GFB wrote:

BillB wrote:

GFB wrote:
Assuming you're not a Doctor of theology..Think there's anything odd about the fact that you have taken the time to learn all kinds of things about Catholicism, that even Catholics don't know about or dwell on..and should I be trying to learn all about and post about whatever Denomination you belong to?

My son married a Catholic 12 years ago. He converted and tried to convince me to convert.
I gave it a fair shot and read all I could about it.

As far as it being odd that Catholics don't know much about Church teachings- I think it is very odd.
It's like a carpenter not knowing what wood is or a baseball player not knowing what home plate is.

Believe me, Catholics know everything thing they need to know.

They just know what to leave to the Church leadership to study.

Using your baseball player analogy..we know how to hit, throw and catch the ball..we don't care who made the clothing, what kind of sand or dirt is used for the infield, or who built the stadium.

I think the following is the result of Catholics not knowing what their church teaches:

A report released Tuesday by the Pew Forum finds that the total number of Catholics in the United States dropped by 3 million since 2007, now comprising about 20 percent – or one-fifth – of the total population.

And perhaps more troubling for the church, for every one Catholic convert, more than six Catholics leave the church. Taken a step further, Catholicism loses more members than it gains at a higher rate than any other denomination, with nearly 13 percent of all Americans describing themselves as “former Catholics.”

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/1 ... omination/

So you're saying if people knew more about the Church, more people would join and stay?

Bill, what Church do you belong to?

GFB wrote:So you're saying if people knew more about the Church, more people would join and stay?

I don't know why anyone would stay in a Church if they didn't know the basic doctrines the Church taught.

GFB wrote:Bill, what Church do you belong to?

Church of Christ

BillB wrote:

GFB wrote:Bill, what Church do you belong to?

Church of Christ

I see that Church boasts 1,367,000 in the U.S.

..and a whopping 2 million worldwide..are you sure it actually exists?

I think there are more palm tree worshippers.

1.25 Billion Catholics..and why should I care if their numbers dwindle to under 1 billion..or swell to 2 billion.

You should worry about your own Church.

GFB wrote:

BillB wrote:

GFB wrote:Bill, what Church do you belong to?

Church of Christ

I see that Church boasts 1,367,000 in the U.S.

..and a whopping 2 million worldwide..are you sure it actually exists?

I think there are more palm tree worshippers.

1.25 Billion Catholics..and why should I care if their numbers dwindle to under 1 billion..or swell to 2 billion.

You should worry about your own Church.

My church is fine. It is one of the few christian denominations that is actually growing in numbers, it may be the only one.

I am worried about the Catholic Church because I respect it. I came within a half-inch of converting.
There are many things to like about it.
Jesus gave His Apostles the power to run His church and make all decisions after He would be gone as well as to forgive sin. This is found in the Gospel of John.
Catholics claim that their priests and bishops are successors of the 12 Apostles. They make a very good scriptural case for this. Every priest has a documented lineage back to one of the twelve.
This cuts through all the confusion and uncertainty that plagues protestant denominations. You have doctrinal authorities, annotated by Christ. You don't have to guess what scripture means. Protestants do have to guess and constantly disagree.

Unfortunately, Catholics don't have a clue to any of this. I believe if they did they would not only stay Catholic but they would bring in new converts.

1.25 Billion and you're worried about the future of Catholicism.

I've tried to explain..people that attend Catholic Church as a whole have no desire to be "Professional Catholics."..though I do know one..she's about as much fun to be around as an Hassidic Jew.

Our health, our families, our jobs, even my little Mei-Ling..is more important.

I do like going to Mass sometimes, but it's not what my life is about.

I think for most Catholics..it's kind of like that.

Your "Church going" is perhaps far more important to you than mine is to me.

That's just fine..but I just can't figure out why you and others insist on telling Catholics what they should be thinking and learning.

No way would I trust myself, my thinking, and my spiritual welfare to a preacher and/or board. I've seen too many lazy, adgendized, and just plain bad examples of both............particularly in this part of Texas.........in several denominations. That's why it's important to me to be educated and confirm my beliefs through study.

I went to a Catholic grade school, grew up Catholic and attended till our first child was born. The only money asked for is to pay for the candles. When you lit a candle, it wasn't to get someone to heaven unless you were praying for their soul. I'm sure some did that. I would lite a candle for my grandmother, knowing full well she, of all people would be in heaven. It was a way of memorializing them just as you give something to the protestant church "in memory of".

Knights of Columbus men do so much good. In Greenville, the K of C had a Friday dinner open to the public as a fund raiser for their food pantry. It was a blast....they took turns being the cook and the menu was up to the cook. Of course, there were many cooks but always followed what the designated cook wanted. It was packed every Friday night. I'd bet there were people who were not church goers there, too, along with many protestants. It was great food for a very good cause. Everyone was welcomed.

I went to a Catholic school through 3rd grade. We attended mass every morning. It was in Latin, and it was very intimidating, especially the first week or so. (I threw up on the 2nd or 3rd morning, in church. Oops.). I had a nun for 2nd grade, she used to shame the class that a little Lutheran boy (me) was smarter than they were in catechism class.