Thursday, February 18, 2010
Just another reason
This morning I'm wasting time reading through my home school groups and there is a post titled, OT - What do you do for Lent? Since the woman who posted it is a secular homeschooler I figured it would be an interesting topic so I take a peek. She is interested in what people do, if anything, for Lent. Two people answer and give very informative responses. My knowledge of Lent previously fit on a pin head, now I have a much better understanding. But, once again, a certain group member, who also happens to be one of the 1st graders from Girl Scouts, has something to say about it. She is a well known, quite vocal (read: know it all), Fundamentalist Christan. Every time someone posts a question regarding religion, no matter what the religion she sticks in her two cents. My other favorite part is at some point in the conversation someone will give something they do with their kids and she will inevitably comment about how she is going to do that with her daughter, yeah right. Today she said she used to be Catholic but now she is in a bible based church. She always has to stick that in there too. If she would of just talked about what she used to do I could have seen her relevance in this thread. But nope, not her, four posts later she's still going on about it. Posting internet sites etc... The internet can be useful for getting information but the original poster wanted personal thoughts and ideas, she could have looked it up (probably already had) on her own if that is the type of information she wanted. One of the other people who commented checked one of the sites she talked about and was offended by it. It provided a very negative interpretation of Lent and said the observers of Lent were "vain". 1st Grade Mom then had the chutzpah to come back at her and tell her that up until two years ago she was Catholic and that she holds these practices VERY (her emphasis, not mine) close to her heart. Oh yea, so close, that's why she's now with a bible based church. After her nasty comment back to the person she offended no one else commented on the thread. I wondered if anyone else would have contributed to this if 1st Grade Mom wouldn't of hijacked the thread. Just another reason why my urge to start a secular group continues to grow.
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I just hate it when one person spoils the fun for everyone. We had a similar issue on a court-reporting forum during the 2008 Presidential election. It caused the defection of some of its best and most helpful members and the board simply disintegrated after that. When MSN changed their groups format, the moderators let it die. Some of the former members started their own groups, but the flavor just isn't the same as the old one.
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned before that I no longer "give up" something for Lent. It seems the Catholic church is taking a similar direction. My kids' school sent home a nifty little sheet containing a little task for each of the 40 days of Lent. "Say two extra Hail Mary's at bedtime." "Say something nice to someone." "Draw a picture for someone you love." "Be a helper at home today." "Spend some quiet time talking to Jesus." "Smile at everyone you meet today." "Say some prayers for your grandparents."
I think this list is nothing short of brilliant in helping a group of first graders to focus on Lent yet keep it interesting at the same time. If you'd like, I'll scan it and you can forward it to the lady seeking ideas.
For what it's worth, a former coworker of ours also asked for the calendar I mentioned above, so I put it on my FB page and tagged you in the note.
ReplyDeleteThat ought to stir up a lot of questions among those that know us, huh?
Something about that woman you mentioned touched a nerve, and I had me a nice old rant. I wrote a big long comment, reread it, thought better of it. Here's a condensed version:
ReplyDeleteIt'd probably start a flame war, but has no one pointed out to this woman that all Christian churches are "Bible based?" The way she phrased it makes it sound like everyone else's clergy is getting the text from their sermons from "Grimm's Fairy Tales" or something.
Just so you know --V I'm anti politically correct and you can feel free to speak your mind in my comment section anytime you'd like.
ReplyDeleteI did consider, strongly, posting your point about all Christian churches being bible based but there have been so many flame wars lately and this woman seems to be in the middle of so many. She also is one of those people who states her opinion, makes a rude comment about your opinion, then ends it by saying, "You just don't get it." and walks away.
At the Girl Scout meeting today several moms were talking about the obnoxious site she refered to as "somewhat helpful" in giving information about Lent. She did make any friends over this.
Well, hi there everyone. It's me. The one who posted the "I'm totally offended" post at the Fundy.... sigh.... now I'm stuck in an off-list email conversation with her. She's apologized for posting a link to the whole site, but maintains that she should have just cut and paste certain pieces of it into the discussion. I asked her what pieces she thought were appropriate, because I read the whole thing and couldn't find a single appropriate thing. She didn't reply to that question. She's apologized for posting the link and now wants me to apologize for posting my response. I told her I wasn't going to apologize for that. Her action had a consequence. It's that simple.
ReplyDeleteWould you guys like me to post a summary of what the link said? I will if you want me to. But it's pretty derogatory towards Catholics.
Anyway... it's late... I gotta get some sleep.
:)
I'm pretty sure I can guess where the anti-Catholic gripes are, and -- as a Catholic myself -- I tend to agree with some of them.
ReplyDeleteIn keeping this as short as possible, the Catholic church has a lot of man-made rituals that many non-Catholics feel interfere with the Gospels. A good example of this is the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
God wants us to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Non-Catholics feel that such confession can be heard by anyone, and that obtaining forgiveness is between you and God.
I agree with that, actually, but confessing to and receiving absolution through a priest has merit. The priest is sworn to secrecy. He cannot share what he hears in the confessional with anyone, and that security may bring someone forward to faith that might not otherwise come.
Penance. Penance is basically payment for sin and for receiving forgiveness. Non-Catholic Christians believe there is no payment required since Jesus already paid the ultimate price. Again, I agree. The penance usually prescribed by the priest is designed to build a closer relationship to God through prayer. Where's the harm in that?
Many take issue with the requirement that priests remain unmarried. I admit I flip-flop here, and this is long enough already. I suspect it comes from the fact that the Apostles were the first priests, and Peter was the first Pope. They gave up everything to follow Jesus, so today's priests are asked to do the same. I suspect it was a lot easier in those days to stand firm in your faith without worrying about the welfare of your wife and kids.
People gripe about the Catholic church because they feel it should change to reflect the needs of society. A church isn't supposed to change to make its followers "feel good." Its purpose is to remain constant in times of change. It's our compass in times of controversy and upheaval.
Wait -- didn't I say this was going to be short?
Regular Mom:
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say that, really, you're not stuck in anything. If you don't want to email back and forth on the subject, politely tell her you're finished with it, agree to disagree, and don't respond to any more emails. It's the only way to make her go away.
Good luck!
Just Me,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. There are things in the Church that I also flip flop on. What I learned was that it's okay to feel that way. And I could still be Catholic. Way cool.
But the website that this woman linked to had a different kind of categoru of complaints against Catholicism. The site said things like participating in the Catholic religion and its holy days was "communing with demons" and stuff like that.
I mean, if this woman had just posted in the usual run-of-the-mill I-hate-Catholics kind of post, I probably would have let it slide.
But the link was WAY MORE AWFUL than usual.
She hasn't responsed to my last email in which I blankly stated I would not apologize for what I wrote on the message board. Either she's out all day, or done talking with me.
Or both.
Either way, it's nice and quiet today. :o)
Gotta run. Cookie Mom duties await me. :o)