Roman Catholicism - Complicated?

[tansy]

I've been following quite a few threads where RC doctines etc have been brought up, and it occurs to me that a lot of it seems quite complex, at least on the face of it.
Reading some ofn the links on Catholic teachings, whilst they are very explicit in putting over what they're saying, they do use a lot of long, and unusual words...hard for a lot of people to understand, I would imagine, who for whatever reason have minimal education or can't read well.
Do the Catholics have SIMPLE ways of putting this sort of thing over which wouldn't leave people befuddled?.
It seems to me that the Gospel of Christ is supposed to be simple, so that even a child can understand. For people who would be confused, do the priests or whoever explain these things in simple terms?
It seems to me that a lot of people might have to accept stuff on face value, as they'd never be able to follow the arguments.
Does the Catholic Church produce books that explain these things in simple terms?

How, for example, in SIMPLE terms, would RCs explain salvation? It would be interesting actually, if someone could provid e a link to one of the complex, big word teachings, and also a link to plain man-in-the-street teaching...just for comparison.

 

[Rhamiel]

hey Tansy
one of the things I love about the Catholic Church, it is big enough for everybody
there are complecated things for people who like complecated
simple things for people who love simple things
lol these threads on GT seem to deal with kind of obscure issues, it is not like we sit around talking about Indulgences, many Catholics my age know nothing more about Indulgences then what they learned in World History in grade school about the Reformation, and that is fine, it is not part of there devotions, they do not really pay attention to that

One of the thing about complex words is just a differant set of vocabulary
describe salvation in simple words?
ok Christ died for our sins, now we can have our sins forgiven, that is the most basic view of salvation right?
with Baptism we enter the Church, the Eucharist is the Body of Christ
i dunno, just simple ways of describing things, we have sunday school for kids, so kids learn stuff

 

[tansy]

hey Tansy
one of the things I love about the Catholic Church, it is big enough for everybody
there are complecated things for people who like complecated
simple things for people who love simple things
lol these threads on GT seem to deal with kind of obscure issues, it is not like we sit around talking about Indulgences, many Catholics my age know nothing more about Indulgences then what they learned in World History in grade school about the Reformation, and that is fine, it is not part of there devotions, they do not really pay attention to that

One of the thing about complex words is just a differant set of vocabulary
describe salvation in simple words?
ok Christ died for our sins, now we can have our sins forgiven, that is the most basic view of salvation right?
with Baptism we enter the Church, the Eucharist is the Body of Christ
i dunno, just simple ways of describing things, we have sunday school for kids, so kids learn stuff

OK...right!....I was beginnign to get the impression that in order to be a Catholic, you h ad to have swallowed a dictionary, know obscure words, know a spattering of Latin words, and have read and understood every Papal Bull and encyclical since the time of the first Pope! LOL

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

One of the thing about complex words is just a differant set of vocabulary
describe salvation in simple words?

It is probably the Latin that throws everyone off

http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?t=7234016&page=10

 

[Rhamiel]

http://www.mark-shea.com/fem.html
here is a neat little article about the differance in vocabulary

 

[Albion]

OK...right!....I was beginnign to get the impression that in order to be a Catholic, you h ad to have swallowed a dictionary, know obscure words, know a spattering of Latin words, and have read and understood every Papal Bull and encyclical since the time of the first Pope! LOL

It's probably safe to say that Roman Catholicism is complicated because it has defined so many issues...and yes, there are a number of terms that can be confusing. On the other hand, most other Christian churches are complicated in their own ways and do use a lot of very specific terminology that non-members can find perplexing or which are easily misunderstood.

They might tend to be less Latin-sounding, but they can pose similar problems. The bottom line, however, is that every church understands the need to communicate complicated theological ideas to the ordinary person who is not a theologian. Also, you certainly don't have to be an expert on all of this in order to be a member in good standing.

There are many Catholic publications which are for the purpose you have in mind, just as the other Christian churches have theirs. What it takes is usually just an inquiry.

 

[tansy]

Yes, I think the article is quite right...there is often misunderstanding for those kinds of reasons.
There are at least a couple of things that I disagree with in Catholic teachings (the bread and wine being the body and blood of Christ for instance, but with something like that I can agree to differ, it doesn't bother me too much)
Are there people who are Catholics who Do disagree with certain teachings, having carefullyb followed the Catholic reasoning?
And are there people who remain Catholics because they just accept whta they're taught, and are unable to follow Catholic reasoning?
(thiis prob happens with other denoms too...am not getting at RCs in that sense, only that they do have this weight of Tradition and whatnot, which seems to make it harder to understand at times what they really believe)

 

[tansy]

It is probably the Latin that throws everyone off

http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?t=7234016&page=10

Yes. it doesn't help!

 

[tansy]

It's probably safe to say that Roman Catholicism is complicated because it has defined so many issues...and yes, there are a number of terms that can be confusing. On the other hand, most other Christian churches are complicated in their own ways and do use a lot of very specific terminology that non-members can find perplexing or which are easily misunderstood.

They might tend to be less Latin-sounding, but they can pose similar problems. The bottom line, however, is that every church understands the need to communicate complicated theological ideas to the ordinary person who is not a theologian. Also, you certainly don't have to be an expert on all of this in order to be a member in good standing.

There are many Catholic publications which are for the purpose you have in mind, just as the other Christian churches have theirs. What it takes is usually just an inquiry.

Yes, you're certainly right...even without the denominational slant, word in the Bible can be hard to get the sense of. I mean, wnen I became a Christian, words like "glory" I didn't really understand to begin with, not as pertaining to God...I only really understood it in the secular sense.
So there's a lot to get your head round. (But then, people have always told me that I think too much) Well, one needs to think to an extent, otherwise, one would just accept practicaly anything, which is potentially dangerous with some issues.

 

[Rhamiel]

Yes, I think the article is quite right...there is often misunderstanding for those kinds of reasons.
There are at least a couple of things that I disagree with in Catholic teachings (the bread and wine being the body and blood of Christ for instance, but with something like that I can agree to differ, it doesn't bother me too much)
Are there people who are Catholics who Do disagree with certain teachings, having carefullyb followed the Catholic reasoning?
And are there people who remain Catholics because they just accept whta they're taught, and are unable to follow Catholic reasoning?
(thiis prob happens with other denoms too...am not getting at RCs in that sense, only that they do have this weight of Tradition and whatnot, which seems to make it harder to understand at times what they really believe)

"Cafeteria Catholics" is the term that is sometimes used, Catholics who pick what they believe and don't believe in Church doctrine
though the big issues with most of them are things like contraception and homosexuals, social issues,
But they want to be Catholic, people are more likely to stay in the Catholic Church even if they disagree with some doctrines, while a liberal Baptist would probably just become Methodist or something a most Catholics like being Catholic, even if they do not really like all the things the Church teaches, I do not fully understand that

 

[katholikos]

I am SICK AND TIRED of that phrase "Roman Catholicism".
You want to know what we believe?
Read this:
http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

I am SICK AND TIRED of that phrase "Roman Catholicism".
You want to know what we believe?
Read this:
http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp

Edited by LLOJ...............
When did that phrase first start being used?

 

[Rhamiel]

Katholicos
while you and I might not be the biggest fans of the name "Roman Catholic" you have to understand that it is a perfectly acceptable term, there are Catholic parishes with signs out front that say "Roman Catholic"
so chill out a little ok?

 

[tansy]

I am SICK AND TIRED of that phrase "Roman Catholicism".
You want to know what we believe?
Read this:
http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp

My apologies if I have upset you by using that term. Would you prefer it if I just said Catholicism with a big C. Itend to say RC, so as not to confuse Catholicism with catholicism. Also, I,m sure the school I went to referred to itself as Roman Catholic, not just Catholic.
And thanks for the link btw
It's not my intention to upset anyone...I was in the Catholic Church myself when I was young, and knew and know many lovely Catholics...I'm sure they're saved etc etc - I'm not against them - just in case anyone should think I'm slamming them..I'm not. I just like to seek to understand things and the way others view stuff...sometimes I remain in disagrreement, sometimes I change my mind, and sometimes I just wait and see. But I,m not going to get het up about it..it just causes strife.
Hey, one day we'll all be with Christ, and a lot of this stuff won't matter a jot....it's our love for one another that will count.

 

[Rhamiel]

LLoJ

When did that phrase first start being used?

from my understanding "Roman Catholic" was a term that was used by the English when they broke away from the Catholic Church, as a way to make the Catholic Church seem more... regional
but there was a history of Rome being given some emphasis in the West, and also since the time of the Reformation, Roman Catholic has lost all of its negative meaning in English speaking countries (someone can correct me if I am mistaken but as far as I know it is just called Catholic Church in non-english speaking countries but i might be wrong lol)

 

[Rhamiel]

My apologies if I have upset you by using that term. Would you prefer it if I just said Catholicism with a big C. Itend to say RC, so as not to confuse Catholicism with catholicism. Also, I,m sure the school I went to referred to itself as Roman Catholic, not just Catholic.
And thanks for the link btw
It's not my intention to upset anyone...I was in the Catholic Church myself when I was young, and knew and know many lovely Catholics...I'm sure they're saved etc etc - I'm not against them - just in case anyone should think I'm slamming them..I'm not. I just like to seek to understand things and the way others view stuff...sometimes I remain in disagrreement, sometimes I change my mind, and sometimes I just wait and see. But I,m not going to get het up about it..it just causes strife.
Hey, one day we'll all be with Christ, and a lot of this stuff won't matter a jot....it's our love for one another that will count.

thank you, you are so kind

 

[tansy]

Katholicos
while you and I might not be the biggest fans of the name "Roman Catholic" you have to understand that it is a perfectly acceptable term, there are Catholic parishes with signs out front that say "Roman Catholic"
so chill out a little ok?

Thanks Rhamiel, as I said I don't mean to upset anyone, and thanks also for saying RC is an acceptable term, even if not the preferred one.

What term would you prefer to use? Just Catholic or what?
I think I understand why you object to the other term, but sometimes one uses names just as a peg to hang things on as it were...a bit like one can use "cattle" meaning cows, oxen, sheep etc collectively, even though it's not an exact description..if you see what I mean. Eek, am prob not making sense now.

 

[Rhamiel]

What term would you prefer to use? Just Catholic or what?

"The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church Founded By Our Lord Jesus Christ For The Salvation Of All Mankind, With The Bishop Of Rome As Our Lords Vicar On Earth"
you can call it that if you want or just the Catholic Church if brevity is your thing
lol i have so much fun

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Roman Catholicism - Complicated?

I am debating whether or not to start a thread on whether Protestism is complicated

 

[tansy]

"The One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church Founded By Our Lord Jesus Christ For The Salvation Of All Mankind, With The Bishop Of Rome As Our Lords Vicar On Earth"
you can call it that if you want or just the Catholic Church if brevity is your thing
lol i have so much fun

ROFL...I had a feeling the full title would be long and complex! See why I shorten to RC?! See why I thought Catholicism was complicated

Yep, Catholic on its own much simpler...gotcha.