"A tourist says to his guide, "you have a right to be proud of your town. I was especially impressed with the number of churches in it. Surely the people here must love the Lord."

"Well," replied the cynical guide, they may love the Lord, but they sure as hell hate each other."

Like the little girl who when asked, "Who are pagans?", replied, "Pagans are people who do not quarrel about religion."

-- John McDowell (jmcdowell43@hotmail.com), March 24, 2002

Answers

Mr. McDowell,
This is a moderated CATHOLIC forum.
Kindly read this Moderator's Note thread, to learn the purpose of the forum and what is acceptable behavior on your part. I do not believe that you are abiding by the rules, and I urge you to abide by them or leave us.

God bless you.
John

-- (jfgecik@hotmail.com), March 24, 2002.

I can't imagine how I am not following the rules of this forum sir. Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to think? Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to follow Christ by the use of parables? Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to discuss the problems along with the joys of Catholicism? I see no problem in any of my dialogue and am concerned about your problem. John

-- John McDowell (jmcdowell43@hotmail.com), March 24, 2002.

John,

You have once again plagiarized a Catholic author (Anthony de Mello, SJ). Your comments are in bold, mine responses follow each:

I can't imagine how I am not following the rules of this forum sir.

Of all the posts you have made, your quotes have been two Jesuits, and the rest non-Catholic. These two Jesuit quotes (at least) are worth discussing to me.

Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to think?

No, but I'm feel that you look favorably on Jesuits exclusively when their statements undermine the authority of the Magesterium.

Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to follow Christ by the use of parables?

I use parables to explain my positions so often that I'm surprised no one has complained about my habit! It is acceptable to use parables, but I notice that the parables that you quote have already misrepresented the basic traits of Jesus (in a previous post) and misrepresented reality--the idea that pagans (and other non-Christians) didn't actively stomp eachother out with an equal or greater determination.

In supporting this parable, do you hold that paganism holds a key to world peace? Do you believe that world leaders have fought eachother primarily because of the direction of their religion or because of their own gain? It's clear that Luther's message was primarily a political and financial break between Germanic Europe and Roman Southern Europe. Luthers' supporters were revolting not on an inspired truth, but a selfish financial interest. If you think that theology is more than incidental to world conflicts, I disagree because of my knowledge of history and view of what motivates humans.

Is it unacceptable for a Catholic to discuss the problems along with the joys of Catholicism?

No, but it is unacceptable to post another's writing without proper credit. This behavior of yours is not only plagiarism. It also shows that you believe that you can lead others to your truth by using deceipt as a means.

I see no problem in any of my dialogue and am concerned about your problem. John

I ask that you do a few things to make for better dialog:

1) Credit your quotes. I gain insight into what these quotes mean when I know the context and point of view from which the author writes.

2) Give a link to a website instead of posting your longer quotes.

3) Comment on your thoughts and motivations for making these quotes--I value your words more that your ability to cut-and-paste someone else's.

I hope that you understand that these steps will allow us to further our understandings of eachother in an open and honest dialog.

Peace,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), March 24, 2002.

I wrote:

by using deceipt as a means.

I meant...

by using deceit as a means.

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), March 25, 2002.