Anonymous wrote:I actually left the catholic church due to my dissatisfaction with the catholic churches here in fairfax county (arlington diocese). I received a lot of criticism for being unmarried at 24 (the horror!) and never fit in the church. I was districted to St. James, but was very upset that you weren't allowed to pick which church to attend.

Anonymous wrote:Oh and we also believe in evolution! hahhaa... some of you will ask why we are catholic. We believe all the other teachings and want to continue the tradition of Catholicism in the family.

Anonymous wrote:Jesus told the whore "Go and sin no more". It is not about liberal or conservative, it is about obeying God's commandments concerning morality: no adultery, no fornication, no homosexual sex, no lying on your neighbor to bring the law down on his head; no stealing, murdering, or worshipping the Tree Spirit, Gaia, Mother Earth, Allah, Buddha, or any other such thing.

Got it?

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm in your boat exactly. We haven't had luck with anything in NOVA (Arlington diocese is known as one of the strictest in the nation), but we are going to check out Holy Trinity in Georgetown-progressive friends of ours go there and like it.

Anonymous wrote:
I used to think that evolution was taught in catholic schools, but now am not so sure. I've seen several catholic curriculum books that discuss that evolution didn't happen.


Citation please.

In the early 70s, in a conservative parish in the Boston suburbs, I was taught by Catholic priests and nuns that evolution, the Bible, and Church teachings are 100% compatible. I have never seen or heard any Catholic view

Anonymous wrote:Plus there is only an Episcopal Church 'cause Henry VIII wanted a divorce.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole passage from John:

2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap,in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Not one of us can judge whether our brothers or sisters are sinful, for we are all sinners.

Well said. And plenty ironic that PP--who clearly considers themselves a "real" Christian--has managed to not only miss the point of the passage entirely, but come away with the *exact* opposite lesson from its intended meaning.

Yes, Jesus told the whore to go and sin no more. What does that mean? Stop being a whore. Stop sinning. Stop doing it. Stop stop stop it. Such behavior is destructive to oneself and society. The penalty for adultery back then was to be condemned to death by having your head and body broken to pieces by rocks and stones thrown at you.

Jesus gave her a 2nd chance, just as Jesus gives all sinners a 2nd chance. Does this mean when we see homosexuals living contrary to what God has taught in the Bible that we should zip our mouths and say nothing? Did Jesus say nothing? No, he told her and all sinners: You are sinning. You are doing wrong. STOP IT

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole passage from John:

2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap,in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Not one of us can judge whether our brothers or sisters are sinful, for we are all sinners.

Well said. And plenty ironic that PP--who clearly considers themselves a "real" Christian--has managed to not only miss the point of the passage entirely, but come away with the *exact* opposite lesson from its intended meaning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op I don't mean to be snarky or rude but I don't understand Catholics like you.
I am gay and am happy you support my civil rights and are liberally minded.

Why do you want to continue to be Catholic though?
What teachings is is you are looking for that you don't think you will find in an Episcopal Church.

I really am just curious, If you don't follow the Catholic doctrine then why do you want to be one?

I'm not the OP but would like to respond. I'm Catholic and I stay despite my disagreements. The Church is in crisis because of the myopic focus on mostly sexual issues (anti-gay, anti-birth control/choice, anti-stem cell) when she should be focused on Gospel values (the primacy of love, faithfulness, detachment from possessions, service, solidarity, littleness, transforming movements). I feel a personal responsibility to speak up for Gospel values and hope that more Catholics do so rather than leave the Church.

I feel the same way. Though with the surprising election of an actual Christian in the current Pope, I am beginning to feel optimistic about the future of the Church for the first time in a long while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op I don't mean to be snarky or rude but I don't understand Catholics like you.
I am gay and am happy you support my civil rights and are liberally minded.

Why do you want to continue to be Catholic though?
What teachings is is you are looking for that you don't think you will find in an Episcopal Church.

I really am just curious, If you don't follow the Catholic doctrine then why do you want to be one?

I'm not the OP but would like to respond. I'm Catholic and I stay despite my disagreements. The Church is in crisis because of the myopic focus on mostly sexual issues (anti-gay, anti-birth control/choice, anti-stem cell) when she should be focused on Gospel values (the primacy of love, faithfulness, detachment from possessions, service, solidarity, littleness, transforming movements). I feel a personal responsibility to speak up for Gospel values and hope that more Catholics do so rather than leave the Church.

Anonymous wrote:The whole passage from John:

2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap,in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,”Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Not one of us can judge whether our brothers or sisters are sinful, for we are all sinners.