Roman Catholicism

1. One of the most profound statements I have heard in my studies is that "we judge humans based on their circumstances but judge the action based on objective truth." This would follow that someone during the time of slavery in America in the early 1800's who was raised on a plantation as the son of a plantation owner, who was taught for all his life that slaver was acceptable is not as culpable as someone who in 2015 decided to own a slave in America. However, the action itself was still as immoral as it is now. And this same idea can be seen in court cases where the defendant's case is defended by being corrupted by another outside source or individual. So this being said, those laws in Deuteronomy of the Old Testament were ancient laws already established within the Jewish sects. And they were immoral laws. This is why Catholics believe when Jesus said "I do not come to destroy the law, I came to fulfill it" we firmly believe that Jesus, through His actions, came to fix the terrible laws. Jesus, the staple of the Catholic faith, came to change the laws you are referring to. The Pope can have a higher authority on the earth when it comes to non-spiritual matters. A trained scientist has more authority on chemical reactions than the Pope. That is pretty obvious and Catholicism agrees. So I do agree there is higher authority than the Pope when it comes to determining that Earth is the center of the universe. And also, the only thing Catholics HAVE to agree upon is dogma and doctrine. It was NEVER dogma or doctrine that the Earth HAD to be the center of the universe on order for the faith to be true. Yes i do realize the Crusades were outlined. However, morally, the initial phases of the Crusades were justified. If someone invades your country, you have the right to defend your people. That is what happened when Muslims invaded and killed Catholics in the Holy Land. The people in the Crusades were responsible for the Crusades. Part of the Catholic faith itself through dogma and doctrine has never been to mandate a Holy War. But for the sake of this argument, then the Church could also be held responsible if we are referencing the Earthly aspect of the Catholic Church. What she went through is awful. And Jesus and Catholicism would say that we should do everything in our power to prevent and stop such an atrocity. We shouldn't just sit around and watch innocent people be harmed. That is why Catholics do missionary work: to help the innocent. I never would say what she went through is "alright" because that in and of itself is immoral. Ignoring an immoral action is immoral in itself. So your argument really doesnt even apply to Catholicism since no Catholic would sit around and just say "Oh hey, those actions were totally permissible since she can go to heaven anyway." Remember, Jesus himself suffered torture and a horrendous death in front of crowds of spitting and mocking people. God Himself made Himself man in order to partake in human suffering with us. And if Catholicism as a whole entirely ignored the persecution of Jews (and remember Jesus was a Jew) then that would be immoral. I am not ignorant enough to deny and contradict myself. However, if that even happened, I doubt the Catholic Church didn't speak out at least once against Hitler or try to help some persecuted humans. 2. No, you forget there had to humans before original sin in order for a human to create original sin. That means IN THE BEGINNING God made human beings a perfectly moral beings. However, humans choose to fall themselves by doing sin. They had to fall from perfection, which, by logical conclusion, means the God must have created us perfect in the beginning. And yes, we don't have a say in the matter of original sin. However, in a way we do because at any point we can be Baptized and have it removed. And that doesn't have to be a traditional Baptism through water, which most people forget, That means people who aren't traditionally baptized into the Catholic faith can still have original sin removed. Thus your original question is a resounding no. 3. there is nothing wrong with teaching abstinence. Abstinence and pedophilia do not happen as a result of each other. In this case, the action of not having sex does not inherently lead to rape therefore the teaching of abstinence is not wrong. Of course, it should be further to priests about the reminders of child pedophilia and actions should be done to convict offenders. However, I would not say that the Church is at fault for the actions of individual priests. And with regards to your rugby circumstance: The team itself breached the salary cap. Therefore, the institution (aka the team) should be prosecuted. This does not apply to the Church however because the Church as an institution has never "breached a salary cap" so to speak. 4. Like I said, there are Baptism in three forms, any of which can be received at any time. So it does not exclude anyone. I can discuss each form of Baptism if you'd like. And the reason is this: Is there any extraordinary significance between a African male and an Australian male? Nope. Is there any extraordinary difference between an American male and a British male and a Middle Eastern male. Nope. Is there an extraordinary difference between a male and a female. Yes. They are inherently different. Biology alone tells us that. It would be like saying a red skittle is different from a blue skittle if we make priests dependent on race. They are the same. But a female priest would be like comparing a Snickers to a skittle. They are very different. Now of course this is a simplistic analogy. It is not sexist. Is it sexist to have a woman bathroom separate from a males bathroom? No. Is it racist to have a black bathroom separate from a white bathroom? Yes. You see, gender is something the Church embraces. Racial inequality is not. Each gender has its own gift. A female is bestowed different gifts than a male and vice versa. And it seemed fairly apparent that, at least when referenced in America "a right to control your reproductive cycle" includes a right to receive an abortion. And yes the Church loves to address that issue because it is important. However, two wrongs don't make a right. If the Catholic Church is truly inspired by God, then it follows it has full authority on what sex means. Therefore, if sex means that you cant wear a condom because it doesn't fulfill the meaning of sex, then that "safe" sex is immoral. I can discuss the meaning of sex as well if you wish. The Church does nothing to purposely hold back woman. By protecting rights of children and the sacredness of sex, the Church has not committed a crime. 5. Yes not every aspect of the Crusades was moral on either side. 6. I believe that the Earth was created by the Big Bang as well as the rest of the universe. The Big Bang, by the way, was discovered by A Jesuit priest. Just a fun fact. But anyway, I accept that God is the creator in the "Scientific Catholic view" you have provided. And well, I am not sure how long they have been around. That is a question science can answer. I would say a million years or maybe longer. I am not even remotely sure though. 7. Humanity can never be certain which humans are in Hell. But I have firm belief that if they were good people, as promised, then they go to heaven. If not, they may end up in Hell. It doesn't matter what religious sect you belong to necessarily, because you can still achieve Heaven either way. It just seems to make more sense to take the direct path towards heaven, which I believe is outlined by the Catholic faith. 8. To be direct, I personally believe it doesn't even matter since anyone can be a good person given any circumstance, But if I had to choose, and if the Wahhabi Muslims practice immoral behavior, then I would prefer that child be born an atheist. Like i said before, I would rather see a just belief over an unjust belief, and if atheism leads to being a better human being, then Id rather see the child as atheist who, unbeknownst to him, is actually doing God's will. 9. Human slavery is immoral. And I am almost positive I know where this question is leading. Don't fret, I have been dealt such a question before as it appears to be a favorite argument.