Protestantism

» paper_turtle - TCOB

In response to Maybe BJ Does Know posted by pink101:

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Phil wrote:
The thing the people like about Catholicism is that the church takes care of the details.
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The problem with Protestantism is that the church makes it the responsibility of the people to take care of the details.
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In other words, if you attend the Catholic Church you experience very little restrictions on your life style and the priest himself can attend the wedding receptions and drink right along with the worst of them and enjoy every minute of it. In Protestant churches, the spies are watching your every move to make sure you don't stray from the straight and narrow. If you do, two members are assigned to approach you with corrective measures to help you understand your responsibilities now that you are a believer. If you fail to get in line, there is something called disfellowship that means you are assigned persona non gratia status at all official meetings of the church body. Group parameters are tightly drawn.
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Mainline Protestant churches (e.g., Methodist, Congregationalist, Episcopalian) do not have "spies" (at least not officially designated ones), nor do they practice disfellowship. This does not mean that in *any* Christian community, Protestant of Catholic, some individual (or group of individuals) will not take it upon himself/themselves to give you his/their version of what you "ought" to be doing. But whatever this person/group says carries no weight regarding who may or may not enjoy fellowship with the congregation.
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As far as the "details" go, it seems to me that both Protestants and Catholics share the same tendency as the general public in *secular* pursuits: the avoidance of freedom and personal responsibility.
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peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle