From: khaberl@bbn.com (Karl Haberl)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.misc,rec.music.christian
Subject: Re: Judgmentalism (was Re: Whose Truth?)
Date: 22 Jul 1992 16:42:43 GMT
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
Reply-To: khaberl@bbn.com (Karl Haberl)
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com
Summary: Comments on Catholic teachings about commandments of God and Church

In article <1992Jul21.222330.521@pictel.com> harling@pictel.com (Dan Harling) writes:
>In article <BrpzMD.I3o@news.cso.uiuc.edu> tbuckley@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Tim Buckley) writes:
>
>[Actually, I wrote this paragraph, not Mr. Buckley, to whom it is
>attributed.]
>
>>>While the rulings may change, the reality stays the same.  Jesus was
>>>very clear that lust is as sinful as adultery, and both separate you
>>>from God.  That is, ultimately, the definition of sin.  Making such a
>>>distinction may do more harm than good.
>>
>>Please read a number of earlier posts especially my owm.  Rulings
>>haven't changed.  There is no "sin rule".  Your understanding of this
>>point could be considerably improved if you would spend some time in
>>thought and in research.
>
>The article to which I was responding was referring to how some rules,
>such as the prohibition against eating meat on Fridays, have changed.
>I should have made my intent clearer: *whether or not* a rule changes
>(such as whether lust is a venial or mortal sin), the reality that it
>reflects does not.  In this case, Jesus clearly taught that lust is
>sinful, which should be sufficient reason for one to avoid it,
>regardless of the category into which it falls.
>
>I do not pretend to be an expert on matters Catholic, and I did not
>mean to imply in any way that Catholic doctrine is arbitrary, as the
>previous poster apparently did.
>
>

A note about Catholic teachings on such things like the rules about not eating
meat on Friday and so forth, and their relation to God's commandments and sin:

The Catholic Church teaches that there are essentially two kinds of
commandments, or rules of right moral behavior and conduct: these are called
the commandments of God and the commandments of the Church. The commandments
of God cannot be changed by anyone, even the Church. "Thou shalt not steal"
will always be in effect. The Church teaches that it has the authority, given
it by God, to teach, sanctify, and govern the faithful. Under the category of
governing, then, it has the authority to make laws (or rules) that it believes
to be in the best interests of the faithful, things that will aid the faithful
in drawing closer to God. These laws (or commandments of the Church) can
change, just as the laws governing our citizenship in a country can change.

Thus, the Church once "legislated" that the members of the faithful must not
eat meat on Fridays - this being a positive act of sacrifice in rememberance
of Christ's ultimate sacrifice made for us on Good Friday. Being a good citizen
of the Church (as of a country) means obeying its just laws. Breaking a
commandment of the Church (such as the prohibition of meat on Fridays),
therefore, is a sin, because it entails disobeying God's lawful authority. The
fact that the Church can change its laws does not imply that it is redefining
something that was previously sinful as no longer being sinful, or vice versa.
There was nothing fundmentally sinful about eating meat on Fridays. The sin was
in refusing to obey the Church's will that the faithful should make this simple
sacrifice as a positive act of love for God. Later, the Church decided to
suspend this regulation, and not REQUIRE the faithful to abstain from meat on
Fridays. Thus, the commandments of the Church, can (and do) change without
contradicting the immutable commandments of God, which prescribe the
fundamental laws of human behavior.


Karl Haberl
Internet: khaberl@bbn.com


Newsgroups: rec.arts.dance