Reply #27: Claims that very old Christian traditions are not Christian intrigue me. [View All]

It seems to me that many Protestant traditions were created in reaction against Jewish traditions. If you attend a Catholic Mass (Roman, Orthodox, even Episcopal) many aspects of these are very similar to Jewish tradition. Jewish weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, etc., have a very familiar feel to anyone practicing Catholic traditions.

I can't say the same about many of the Protestant services I've attended. Certain Catholic Masses have also made me very uncomfortable, especially some of the homilies I've heard in very conservative parishes. Right wing Catholics can be worse than right wing Protestants, and if I lived in such a place I might not go to Mass. Maybe in such a place they wouldn't want me to go to Mass.

The last major blowout I had in my own parish was over a state "protection of marriage" initiative the church was supporting. Despite my very vocal opposition, including letters to the editor, letters and phone calls to our Bishop, etc., I haven't been shunned yet.

Currently I'm rather fond of the church's politics. They are in the front row promising civil disobedience if any of the right wing's draconian anti-immigrant legislation is passed.

The first post I ever had deleted here on DU was in response to a typical Catholic bashing thread. After that angry post I figured I was out of the closet, so whenever it has seemed appropriate to speak of my own religious beliefs and practices, I have.

Do depictions of angels bother me? No. Do I understand that angels are almost secular figures to most people? Yes. But the right wing Christians have a long history of stealth violations of the separations between church and state, and whenever you call them on this they squeal like pigs.