Brook,
"We both know that is crap but my point is that it's a bit hard to trust the view of those that have a vested interest in promoting their sect above any others"
Yes, i take that point and agree with it totally. But its a natural phenomenon in society, 99.9% of people will always have a 'barrow to push'. The vested interest argument is totally valid, but who doesn't have vested interests? Put it in a sporting context, and for arguments sake, each NRL team was a sect (to put it in terms of how you said it). Say you were a Tigers fan, and you met a group of 500 people who were new to the game and they all wanted to follow the same team. Would you not push the case of following the Tigers? You might say they are a great team and all, but at the end of the day, you have a vested interest in promoting your club.
I know, the example is a bit off the argument, but im just illustrating my point that there are 'vested interests' in any area of society.
Bronco,
I didn't say the Vatican was the be all and end all of Christianity. But it is seen as the head ofa large'christian denomination' (ie: Catholics). And if i was going to get a sample of the 'christian stance' on Mormons, i thought the vatican would be the most logical place to look. If you can provide me with a better place to ask the 'mormon' question, well fine, let me know and id be happy to ask them. As Steve said in a later post, the vatican does acknowledge other groups such as the anglican church.
To be honest, i dont think the Vatican should be solely responsible for the administration of 'catholic groups' throughout the world. But the fact of the matter is that the tradition goes back for many a year (perhaps even before willow was born
), and as we all know, its pretty hard to change religious traditions.
Willow,
"
Seems to me that the realisation that Catholicism is merely a branch of christianity comes as quite a shock to some people."
It ain't surprising to me mate
I will rephrase something i said before however, perhaps i did say it in the wrong way. Mormons see themselves as christians. That is how i should've said it. From what i have read however, and from what Steve said before, the teachings in at least
some sections of the Mormoncommunity differ fundamentally from Christian beliefs. That is why i said before that they aren't Christians as such. But i agree, i should've made a note that it was only
some Mormons
El Duque,
"Moffo, I believe the vatican/pope is against the use offrangers and sex before marriage too
"
Frangers? lol. As for the sex before marriage thing, its a section of Catholic teachings that I don't particularly agree with! I mean, when you take your vows, it says marriage to the exclusion of all others, something i agree with. But before the knot is tied, i find the sex before marriage idea a bit antiquidated and not a core belief involved in being catholic. Thats just me, however. It used to be against the rules to eat meat on any Friday of the year. The 'interpretations' change, and hopefully the sex before marriage thing is another issue that will be addressed soon.
MM
"faith is the reason why Christians believe and Aetheists choose not to"
Yeh mate, that is pretty much the point im getting at. Although faith can exist in many ways, such as following and believing that your footy team will get home next year!
Moffo
