catholic questions

Hello all I originally posted this question---> http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index; _ylt=AkFEYgCSLt3l9lkMImuMsITsy6IX;_ylv=3 ?qid=20080409053729AAHPGWp
and have more questions about catholicism.

1) Does the Catholic church allow or condemn gays?
(I'm not gay but believe god would love us all no matter our preferences)

2) Can anybody become a Catholic even if they were not religious before?

3) Do catholics believe in an afterlife and ghost/spirits?

4) Do catholics believe in reincarnation?

These are the main questions that I want to ask, after the answers I got before and from what I have read.
(What I have read so far has not addressed these issues)

I may go and speak to my local catholic church, but I am scared that I will be turned away for not being a christian.

Thank you for your time,
Abyss.

1) Does the Catholic church allow or condemn gays?

Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.

The Catholic Church believes there is nothing sinful about being homosexual. But homosexuals like all unmarried people are called to celibacy.

The Church specifically says that homosexuals "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."

Here is the text of the document, On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons (1986): http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_df 86ho.htm

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 2357-2359: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3s ect2chpt2art6.htm#2357


2) Can anybody become a Catholic even if they were not religious before?

Yes, any sincere person can become a Catholic.

If you are interested in joining or just learning more about the Catholic Church, contact your local parish and ask for information about their RCIA Inquiry group. You can go and ask any questions you want.

This is the first step in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) but you can stop at any time. There is no obligation to become a Catholic.


3) Do catholics believe in an afterlife and ghost/spirits?

Afterlife, yes. Mostly heaven and hell.

Ghosts and spirits, not so much. To the best of my knowledge the Catholic Church has no official position on ghosts. The doctrine of heaven and hell would seem to negate any reason for ghosts to be the souls of dead people.

However paranormal phenomena seem to exist. These phenomena may come from sources other than the souls of people in heaven, hell, or purgatory. We simply do not know.

The Church is very suspicious of people who claim to talk to ghosts.


4) Do catholics believe in reincarnation?

No.

Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment ... (Hebrews 9:27)

Catholics and most other Christians believe there is no "reincarnation" after death.

Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny. When "the single course of our earthly life" is completed, we shall not return to other earthly lives.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1013 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1s ect2chpt3art11.htm#1013

+ With love in Christ.

2008-04-09 13:27:04 by Reality check

Ok I've had these questions for a long time now.
Here they are and Just so you know the Bible I read is
The New American Bible

1.) Am I Cristian or Catholic?
2.) In reading the Bible Exodus What does Exodus mean?
3.) What is Mosses do?
4.) Who is Jacob?
5.) What is the New Testament and Old testament?
6.) If hebrews are Jewish then why is the story of Moses in the Bible?

1.) Am I Cristian or Catholic?

Catholics are Christian. I think your question may be, "am I Catholic or Protestant". If you were baptized legitimately in the Catholic Church, you are Catholic.

2.) In reading the Bible Exodus What does Exodus mean?

Exodus literally means "leaving". The Jews "left" Egypt. En masse.

3.) What is Mosses do?

If you mean "what did Moses do", he basically led the Jews out of Egypt.

4.) Who is Jacob?

Jacob is the son of Isaac, and the brother of Esau. The story of Isaac and Esau is in Genesis.

5.) What is the New Testament and Old testament?

The Old Testament is comprised of the books of the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh), and contains stories of the formulation of Jewish law and the history of the ancient Israelites, as well as prophetic books that talk about the future, or at least the future relating to the authors.

The New Testament is a collection of stories of the life of Jesus (the Gospels) and several letters written by the Apostles (and their followers) to different Churches and individuals in ancient Rome.

6.) If hebrews are Jewish then why is the story of Moses in the Bible?

See above. The Old Testament for Christians and the Bible fo the Jews is the same.

2008-01-29 14:25:31 by Hazel

Price: $6.99

-why are catholics against condoms/ birth control?

-has jesus' body been found?

- how did catholisim come to be? who wrote the bible?

-did jesus have children?

-did mary have any other children, if so who, where they significant, and how would she have remained a virgin?

I'm not Catholic, I am in fact Protestant, but I CAN answer some of your questions as they aren't purely Catholic ones. My info. comes from years of study and contemplation, and research.

1. What I've observed is that Catholics believe that this goes against the go forth and be fruitful part in the bible, but of course I can't be certain on that.

2. No, Jesus's body has not been found. However, some beleive that his shroud HAS been found and that it bears an impression of Jesus's face, this however cannot be proven.

3. Catholicism came to be after Peter brought the gospel and spread the church into Italy. The Catholic Church is first called The Roman Catholic Church. Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire in the fourth century by Constantine, so this is the early days of the Catholic Church, again I'm not catholic, therefore not an expert on THIS, but I do know those things to be fact. The bible is the name used by Jews and Christians for their differing and overlapping canons(original story) of sacred texts. Protestants, Catholics, and Jews all have different bibles that are all generally based on the same things. The Old Testemant is the Hebrew books. These are the stories and prophecies before Christ. The New Testement is a collection of accounts of Jesus's life and the book of Revelation or "the Revelation of Jesus Christ ... unto his servant John." The other books were written by the apostles of Christ and those who knew him in life and wrote of his teachings.

4. Some people believe, as I'm sure you've heard of from The Da Vinci Code, that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that she had a daughter...Sarah I believe, but I'm not sure of the daughter's name, it's been a while since I read the book, BUT the main christian churches of the world do not believe that he had children because there is no evidence of this in the bible. Others argue that the bible has been tampered with and that certain gospels and sentences that speak of Jesus's child and wife were ommited, but the general concensus and all of the evidence points to the fact that he had no children.

5. Yes, Mary, mother of Jesus, had other children with her husband Joseph. The most significant of these was the apostle James. It does not say that Mary REMAINED a virgin, for she was to be married and this wasn't required of her. The bible only states that Mary was a virgin before and up to the birth of Jesus so that her body would be holy enough to bear the son of God. Joseph was forbidden to touch her sexually until Jesus was born, therefore solidifying the fact that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus was the son of God and not a man. She however did not remain a virgin afterwards. She had, I believe 7 other children, or 7 sons other than Jesus and some daughters, but I didn't look it up just now, that is from memory, but she did in fact have James the half-brother of Jesus.
Although some churches do believe that she remained a virgin, but this is not what I and most protestants believe.
More on Mary: http://saint-mike.org/Library/Apologetic s/Mary.html

Other links that may be helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_bible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%2C_mot her_of_Jesus
http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/aboutme /birthcontrol.html

I hope these answers have helped you, feel free to contact me if you have more questions I'd be very happy to answer them in as unbaised a way as I can.