Thank you for the courteous response. I rarely post on the religion forum threads anymore due to the bitterness and hatred so often displayed, all in the name, supposedly, of Christ!
I have some chores to do and will reply later. For now, let me admit I don’t think either of us will convince the other. For my part, I’m happy if folks leave understanding why I believe what I do, and let God handle the rest.
I think this passage from Romans is worth remembering in these discussions:
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” - Romans 14
We may differ on the perpetual virginity of Mary, and each of us will give account to God for what we have believed and done, but I think God will be more concerned with hatred in our hearts than with scoring 100% on a doctrinal test.
Amen! I attended Catechism Classes almost every week for a year with a nephew. I'm his adopted Godfather and the church allowed me and my formerly Catholic wife to stand for him at his confirmation at the beautiful Cathedral of Guadalupe here in Dallas.
During the process, my wife and I became very close friends with a Carmelite nun who was born and raised in Mexico. She's a wonderful woman of great faith.
Many of the families in the class were Hispanic and were fairly new to the United States. One problem that horrifies us and the sister is the difference in Catholicism between the United States and Latin America. Actually, it's really Catholicism in name only.
It's one thing to have a family discussion on FR about Mary's perpetual virginity. It's worth discussing but no one is going to hell for believing or not believing it. However, it's quite another thing to see that many people raised in Latin American churches are de facto polytheists who are a mix of about one-third Christianity and two-thirds indigenous religions.
In the border states, it has become a problem for mainstream Catholic churches to assimilate those from Latin America. As our nun friend has said, her biggest problem is converting the pupils and their parents to Christianity. In Catechism classes, she's more of a missionary than a teacher.
All of us born in the United States -- Protestants and Catholics alike -- are blessed to be here. Because of how God has blessed us, we are held more accountable than those with less understanding and are obliged to the salt and light to the world.