tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692254501721084539.post2606040641468400798..comments2015-12-24T02:04:48.094-08:00Comments on Raleigh Street: Why Should Sam be a Catholic?Chris Beebyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07031143793256595471noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692254501721084539.post-10531311902027736612011-10-03T02:53:48.504-07:002011-10-03T02:53:48.504-07:00Of course I want all my nephews, great-nephews, ch...Of course I want all my nephews, great-nephews, children and grandchildren to be happy and would be very happy myself if one, any, all of them were happy as Christians. You and I were blessed by being brought up in a very warm and caring Christian environment that grew out of an English-Taiwanese-Presbyterian tradition. One of the stories our parents used to tell about when we were small was the story about me, aged 5, claiming “I love everyone in the world, even the hicapricks” (which shows that our biblical education started early). I am content that you have found consolation in becoming a Catholic and would hate to undermine your faith (even though my own has been shaken by bigots of every colour, from Tea Party evangelists to the Taliban and the Catholic hierarchy in Spain). I have also been encouraged by inspiring friends from all the major faiths: Christians like María José, my Roman Catholic sister-in-law, and Sue, my Baptist step-mother, my Buddhist friend Nicole, Muslim friends like Khaled and Anissa. But now I come to the “HOWEVER”. By ignoring the unpleasant parts of the history, past and present, of the Roman Catholic Church you undermine your chance of converting anyone, of convincing them that “the more people who are striving to live by Christ’s teaching, the better the world will be.” Having lived in Spain for over 30 years I can’t accept a statement like “It is centuries since any Catholics have attempted to use force to impose ‘God’s will’ on other people”. Neither is it my experience that “Catholics are happier than non-Catholics”, but why should they be? “Striving to live by Christ’s teaching” doesn’t mean striving to be happy, it means loving your neighbour as yourself and happiness may be a by-product. The pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right certainly didn’t come from St Thomas of Aquinas, but was first enshrined in the United States Declaration of Independence, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” and was related to some of the ideas that led to the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, Marxism and Materialism. And yes, I’ve known some happy communists who tried to love their neighbours as themselves.Allisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15114155357916752669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692254501721084539.post-54751372294979623722011-10-02T01:46:37.284-07:002011-10-02T01:46:37.284-07:00Well I suppose a starting point for Sam would be b...Well I suppose a starting point for Sam would be believing in God. Does he? Sam?Geoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11144906426699865734noreply@blogger.com