Bravo Mr President!

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I am going to take a chance here. I made up an address for us, if you’d like to continue this communication. Republican, it is an e-mail format so type at your own leisure. It would be too difficult to set up a chat forum and expect schedules to match anyway. But the Words say, where 2 or more are gatehered in my name, I am there inyour midst. You only have to trust me. I will forward all e-mails I receive on this address only to the other 2 members besides myself and the author. We can have our own church, any day of the week, or every day of the week. Please trust me, I will be trusting you as well to not send viruses and things like that. On your first e-mail please use the names on here, after that send by some common subjsct name of your choosing that I can recognize easily. Remember, this is only a voluntary thing, and is just 4 the 4 of us. If you want to add members we must all agree in advance OK? I know this is probably a silly idea but let’s see what happens.
four4openchurch@yahoo.com

As for not having a personal relationship with God, I think you’ve been a bit misguided there as well. I have a personal relationship with God. We all do. But keep in mind that the Bible, like every other book, was written in a style and in times not every lay person may be familiar with. What did he mean by the 4 corners of the earth? Why 444,000 (is that the magic number?) and not 1 million? Why the Good Samaritan and not the Good Roman or the good Jew or whoever? The Bible doesn’t come with a handbook to explain what various phrases meant at the time they were written and I for one, am quite happy to have someone who has spent at least 7 yrs learning the history and why’s and wherefore’s to explain parts of it to me in (hopefully) 15 minutes or less.

“Catholics must call a priest father and you must go to him to confess your sins. Then he gives you penance in order for you to be forgiven. No man can intercede for God. God said you should call NOBODY father except for me.”

What about the part where he gives Peter the keys to heaven and says “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven and whose sins you shall retain they are retained.” What about what he said during the Last Supper?

“I also realized the Bible NEVER changes but men and views do. Many of the religious traditions are changed according to the times. ”

Which is why I personally prefer the Catholic church which seems to try the hardest NOT to change with the times. As I believe JPII said “You can’t vote on the truth.”

“Organized religion to me is something that teaches you “religion” according to what they believe to be or to decipher what God was trying to say.”

It gives you one very well thought out view (a view which theologians spend their entire lives studying, debating and interpreting so they aren’t flippant views) and you are supposed to take that view and decide for yourself if it makes sense.

I have at least, been taught to think and question and question again. Doesn’t make sense? Grill the priest. Still doesn’t make sense? Grill the bishop. Ask until you either agree or disagree but ask. They usually love to explain this stuff if anyone asks.