On religion and feminism

[icca]

It occurs to me that this is not as obvious as I would have thought

Comments

preaching to the choir

[gibbedman]

I've been singing that song for some time. My work in the Roman Catholic church led me to meet gay Catholics, non-believing Catholics, socially progressive Catholics, etc. For myself, I've come to the conclusion that the RC church does more good, more charity in the world than bad, but that I feel I can do better for myself. Not that the ELCA is perfect, and I disagree with their policies and recent actions on multiple counts (and my fellow Lutherans? don't get me started)

My question to you, as a friend, a concerned fellow Christian, a stranger, is this: what virtue do you find in being a member of a club with whose documented ideals you disagree? (and there are lots of great answers to this one; I have my own for my little club) Of course, you need not justify yourself to me, but curiosity leads me to ask what is the virtue, the good that you find there for yourself? Am I missing out on something good?

Re: preaching to the choir

[icca]

Just because this is more personal, and will be long, and will include opinions that I'm not comfortable publishing on the internet -- mostly because they might change -- I'll respond to you via email, using the address in your profile. So expect that email sometime... soonish! (It will probably take me a while to put into words properly :) )

[leaute]

Thank you for sharing this. As a Catholic, a woman, and a human free to make her own decisions, it really hit home.

[ailes_du_soleil]

My head; Get out of it.

[dspace]

"Im Catholic; but don't judge me because I don't agree with anything that Catholics normally purport to believe in." So you support an organization that actively tries to deny you rights and are offended that people assume you have the qualities that typify the group

[icca]

"Im Catholic; but don't judge me because I don't agree with anything that Catholics normally purport to believe in." So you support an organization that actively tries to deny you rights and are offended that people assume you have the qualities that typify the group.The point is that you don't know anything about my religious beliefs for certain if I call myself Catholic. Obviously I don't disagree with everything in the Church and the fundamental belief is something I at least agree with or don't disagree with enough or I'd not be a Catholic -- I'm fortunate enough that in my country I can make this choice. The thing is, any member of a religion does not follow every tenent of their faith, if only out of practicality. This is just more obvious when you're Catholic because of papal infallability. It goes from being an interpretation of the Holy Word to being... not quite in communion with the church which is sort of a big deal. And that's kind of an issue when talking about parts of the socio-political structure of the church not

[dspace]

"Where you cross the line is suggesting that I can't see that, and that you know what's best for me."

I'm actually not offended when people tell me that I should go to church, I ask them to provide a rational reason that might provide a view I haven't seen before. Being as I assume the people I'd be talking to are interested in my well being I'm ok with accepting that I might have missed something that they've seen. As of now no one has been able to provide a valid argument.

My point is that I don't think its an offense if someone questions how you live your life, if done in a respectful manner. Everyone living in blind acceptance of other peoples mistakes is how a lot of the terrible things in the world have come about. People can and do learn through others wisdom, and we should encourage the sharing of that wisdom. Not condemn it for being offensive.

[icca]

See, I think where we're disagreeing here is I'm talking about a particular tone being used and you're talking about the discussion in general.

My problem is the "I know better than you" idea. Not the "Well have you considered this?" idea.

[thetruekeziah]

Great post. It reminds me of various conversations I have had with others over the years, and also brings up a subject I have been grappling with for a while -- what it means to be a Catholic woman (that is, her role in the Church, how she should be, etc.).