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Ash Wednesday: Feel so weird keeping ashes on, but feel guilty washing them off!
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Anonymous
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Raving liberal here. I can understand the very religious fighting hard against abortion. As a feminist I will oppose you, but I understand your feelings on this issue and that you feel compelled to fight for the rights of the unborn.
But I don't see how gay marriage harms anyone. The rigidity on this issue just sounds like homophobia. No one is harmed by gay marriage. You don't like it. Fine, don't do it. Don't sanction it in your church. But to use religious grounds to oppose the marriages of those outside of your faith..... I just cannot agree with any of your justifications for that. |
Anonymous
AMEN! But don't say this aloud to the Catholics on this board (or at least in this thread appearantly) any crticism of the Vatican issued rules (being applied to non-Catholics) equals bigotry. The irony. |
Anonymous
Just curious--given that a child can be delivered and possibly survive at 24 weeks, at what point do you think a fetus is no longer a fetus and shouldn't be aborted? |
Anonymous
Well, a fetus is always a fetus (or previously an embryo, blastocyst, etc). I think it is alive the whole time and don't understand exactly how someone could think it isn't. I am pro-choice though because I feel that since a woman cannot sever that relationship in any way other than to have an abortion they should be permitted to do so. In all other instances if a woman or parent wants to sever their relationship/responsibility to their children they may, and for that matter a person can sever any relationship/responsibility with anyone else if they so choose. But a pregnant woman cannot make herself unpregnant in any way other than by termination. Given the emotional, psychological, physical, and financial toll that pregnancy can take on a woman it is unjust to force them to continue a pregnancy if they do not want/can not do so. Essentially, since the whole thing is going on in their bodies their needs/desires/health trumps that of the fetus simply because there is no other way to let the woman out of that relationship. I do think it ends a life and is a regretable consequence of an unwanted pregnancy. It should be allowed though, because it is unjust to force a woman to maintain that relationship (the pregnancy). Obviously there are also situations where a fetus has a complication incompatible with life and in those cases I think women are making what they believe to be a humane choice to end the suffering of their unborn children. |
Anonymous
| I went to mass this morning and washed off my ashes when I got to work. I think Jesus' words in Matthew tells us pretty clearly not to fast in public in this fashion. But now I'm feeling kind of guilty. I know the priest smeared them on good because he wanted me and everyone else to wear them all day. |
Anonymous
You should feel guilty. You have denied Christ. |
Anonymous
I really hope you are kidding. No where in my Bible does Christ suggest we wear ashes on our heads all day. I am a Catholic, and I'll get ashes at noon. But the ashes are for me, not Christ. I feel confident that God does not care whether or not we walk around with dirt on our heads all day. |
Anonymous
I refer you to Matthew 26: 34 |
Anonymous
a judgemental christian...way to fulfill a stereotype! how about you worry about yourself and your own conduct. something about 'those without sin....' |
Anonymous
I don't need to look it up. I believe Matthew 26:34 is where Jesus says to Peter "You will deny me three times". Correct? He wasn't talking about ashes. He was talking about faith. Again, point me to a verse where Jesus suggests that we wear ashes on our heads all day long on Ash Wednesday. Yeah....I didn't think so. |
Anonymous
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I think in our society we respect the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - up to the point where your pursuit of these things treads on that of your neighbor. So we have noise ordinances, because while you are in theory entitled to blast your music, your neighbors are also allowed to get some sleep. While you are entitled to smoke, more and more states are saying nobody else should have to breathe your exhaled smoke. As one comedian said, if you think you are free, try peeing on the cheese in the dairy case at the grocery store. None of us are truly free, not to impact others. We try to balance the rights of each individual. One of the fundamental rights of each individual is complete control of his/her own body, internal organs, and certainly reproductive organs.
A fetus' right to life ends where the woman's body begins. I believe that a woman has a right to remove a living being from her body; that the fetus is deriving that which sustains its life by taking it from her. If this is against her will, she has a right to put a stop to it. If my child needed a life saving blood transfusion and I was the only candidate who could provide it, the law cannot force me to do so. (Obviously I WOULD do so). You cannot force people to be organ donors. We cannot force one member of our society to use their body to sustain the life of another. Even if you really believe it is the right thing to do. We as a society have come to a consensus that we wish to draw an arbitrary line, such as a certain number of weeks, after which we no longer allow the woman to terminate. We have agreed that the line must be drawn somewhere. That to me is not inconsistent with the acknowledgement that it is wrong to force a human being to gestate another human being against her will. |
Anonymous
The ashes aren't about showing off your holiness - it's about humility ("you are dust and to dust you shall return")! The priest should've mentioned this during the Homily to remind people the meaning, purpose, and origin of the ashes. In addition, there are a TON of ways to show your reverence to God without sounding the trumpets (if that is what you are so worried about) - like Matthew - go quietly to your room and pray, let no one see you give alms, put on a happy face when fasting, etc. ANd not just on Ash Wednesday, but other days throughout Lent. |
Anonymous
You'll have a tough time finding any faith (at least in Christianity) where the Bible is followed verbatim. Are you athesist by chance? There is interpretation and based on that - you get different religions and different beliefs. And Ash Wed. is a reminder and a "readiness" for Lent...the 40 days of fasting/suffering Jesus underwent before He died. |
Anonymous
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interesting that you equate giving birth or carrying an unborn child to a "relationship". Sorry, but even using that analogy, all relationships are not the same. A parent cannot simply terminate its relationship with a 5 year old child without consequences - the law holds them responsible for support. Similarly with your relationship with your spouse.
being able to give life is an amazing part of being a woman, and should be a key part of being a feminist, but with that gift comes the responsibility to the child you are carrying. |
Anonymous
C'mon guys, the second poster is a troll. Or the ranting atheist. Either way, best policy is to ignore. I've just caught up on several pages of recent posts. I just want to tell the poster who says she has "lost respect for religious people" as a result of this thread that lots of religious people support gay marriage. I can certainly say this about the gay minister at my church, and our congregation. |