<p>We also created Roller Coasters where the car would go flying off and everyone on board would die. And we made ones that were super extreme, going 200+ mph and having double digit G’s. Not surprisingly, people didn’t enjoy them.</p>
<p>Great game, pity it’s not compatible with Vista/7</p>
<p>“Free Will? Predestination? Yup.” -Rob Bell</p>
<p>But anyway, I don’t agree with that argument. I’m not an expert on Roman Catholic theology, but John 9:3 comes to mind. On seeing a blind man, Jesus’s disciples asked him whether his or his parents’ sin caused him to be born blind.</p>
<p>3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (NIV)</p>
<p>This seems to me to be a pretty clear statement that not all suffering is caused by free choice. You might (respectfully) ask your teacher about that verse. I’d be interested to hear his answer.</p>
<p>My biggest issue with Catholicism- they literally eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus. Imagine if you were looking at it from an anthropologist’s point of view. If it were any other culture, we’d call them “backwards”, “primitive”, or “vampires”.</p>
<p>^ Didn’t they change that belief?</p>
<p>^ Catholics don’t Protestants believe it is a representation of body and blood.</p>
<p>That being said at the last supper Jesus is said to have passed around bread and said “… This is my Body…” rather than rip off bits of his own body and feed it to them.</p>
<p>^^ No. It’s called Transubstantiation. Catholics believe that it is literally the body and blood, and yes Protestants believe it is a representation. </p>
<p>^ Yank, it’s supposed to be a miracle, He can literally turn the wine and bread into blood and body.</p>
<p>Your Sims aren’t really “happy,” because they are just automatons reacting to their programming. The interesting question is whether that is true of human beings or not.</p>
<p>^ Even if it is… I feel that there is a difference on a semantic level between passing around bread and wine and cutting off bits of body.</p>
<p>^ IDK. I’m not an expert on Catholics. As far as my belief goes, we were told to “Do this in rememberance of me”. It’s a ritual, to remember His sacrifice.</p>
<p>Again, it’s a belief. They believe that it literally becomes the body and blood (I went to a Catholic school for a VERY long time. I had this shoved down my throat since Kindergarten).</p>
<p>^ He is right, though you did not refine the statement.</p>
<p>To quote from the venerable Catholic encyclopedia:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In other words:</p>
<p>-Suffering is part of the punishment for original sin, in other words had man (as represented by Adam in Genesis) not become fallen, he would not suffer at all.
-Adam, on behalf of himself and his descendants, fell of his own free will
-God nevertheless is absolutely omnipotent and good.
-He furthermore allows evil and suffering in the world in order to to fulfill His inscrutable, yet inherently good ends (we cannot know the sum total of God’s plan, though we know bits and pieces, as revealed through Scripture and Tradition).</p>
<p>How these points can be reconciled is a matter of debate among theologians, and always has been. This operates from the fact that we do not know everything necessary to reconcile everything (as we cannot, before the General Judgment know all of God’s plans and rationale are). We know only the characteristics listed.</p>
<p>On transubstantiation:</p>
<p>In essence, y’all are right. We are partaking in Christ’s Body and Blood every Sunday. all that remains of the host is merely what appears to the senses (e.g. it still tastes like, looks like and smells like common unleavened bread and common grape wine) - substantially, we do so.</p>
<p>As to why Catholics (and Orthodox, too) do so, I quote from the Baltimore Catechism:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Further let me note that to this day, as in most of recorded history, a majority have at least nominally subscribed to this take on the Eucharist.</p>
<p>If you are referring to me, I am a she.</p>
<p>Sorry, it wasn’t obvious.</p>
<p>So you assumed I was a he? Interesting.</p>
<p>Well, given that the internet population is stereotypically composed overwhelmingly of males, and cultural prejudices assume male to be the default sex, It was pretty par for the course.</p>
<p>Which is interesting, because this website’s top posters are almost always overwhelmingly female.</p>
<p>Genesius pretty much hit the nail on the head. </p>
<p>Your teacher was not in line with the Church, really. </p>
<p>Also worth noting is that there are different levels of the authority of Church teaching.</p>
<p>It’s religion. If you aren’t confused, you’re doing something wrong.</p>
<p>@romani, Gerontius: It’s been my experience that top members of online communities are mostly female. This not counting heavily male-oriented sites.</p>