Why do fundamentalists dislike catholics

The capacity to listen places people in contact with the wider dimensions of the world in which they live. Authentic listening is able to break through the rigid borders that imprison fundamentalist thinking; this allows people to engage with the world beyond.

In most attempted dialogues, "we don't listen; we just reload. Axiom 5: Recall the examples of Jesus Christ and St. Paul; they challenged fundamentalism in word and action. Jesus Christ, sensitively aware of prejudice and discrimination among fundamentalists of his time, deliberately challenges these crippling realities in various ways. We even see him dining with a Pharisee, overlooking at first the fact that his host had given him no special welcome. Jesus uses the occasion to point out gently what true conversion means; he reflects on the deep repentance and love of the woman who washed his feet with her tears and then "wiped them with her hair" Luke Paul fought hard at the Council of Jerusalem to stop the early church communities from becoming fundamentalist groups.

Jewish Christians were demanding that non-Jews adopt Jewish customs as a condition to being received into the faith. Paul responded to the challenge with courage, respect and dialogue. If he had not succeeded, the church would have become a sect, inward looking and lifeless.

Axiom 6: Following Christ's example, approach other cultures and also fundamentalists with patience, respect and a willingness to listen and engage in dialogue. Prejudice in all its forms is potentially highly emotional, because people's identity or security can be so dependent on maintaining their prejudices. Therefore, it is recommended not to confront large groups of people directly with what you know, or feel to be, their prejudices.

There may well be emotional and hostile reactions, thus further reinforcing their prejudices. Work instead in small groups, where people feel less threatened and more open to listening and dialogue. The advice Pope Francis offers is highly relevant in relating to any religion and culture, fundamentalist or not.

He writes: "In order to sustain dialogue with Islam, suitable training is essential for all involved, not only so that they can be solidly and joyfully grounded in their own identity, but so that they also can acknowledge the values of others, appreciate the concerns underlying their demands and shed light on shared beliefs. Axiom 7: Remember, violence in all its forms — for example, terrorism and bullying — is contrary to the Gospel. The universal guideline in relating to others is: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you" Matthew Love must be the motivating force: "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you … For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Matthew , Love for one's persecutors, not the "eye for an eye" directive of some terrorists, is to be the principle of action: "You have heard that it was said: 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Axiom 9: Critically assess the biases against Islam projected by politicians and the mass media.

The fact is that Muslim terrorists represent only a tiny fraction of 1 percent of the world's 1. Axiom Be mindful of the complex causes of Islamic terrorism. Two theories commonly given for the radicalization of young Muslims provide governments with foundations for policies in their "war on terror. The second theory focuses not on Islamic cultures, but on the fact that dangerous people such as Osama bin Laden have distorted the tenets of Islam. Poverty of Muslim migrants in Western countries is another important factor, as is the prejudice of Islamophobia that creates a dangerous mix, especially for young Muslims.

Axiom Understand that the vast majority of Muslims in the West are model citizens, often in the face of racism. Millions of Muslims live in the West — close to 2 million in Britain, 4 million in Germany, 5 million in France. And Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States. The great majority of Muslims live peacefully beside their neighbors and do not threaten democratic values. Governments must be proactive in assisting immigrants to integrate, but do so in ways that respect, as far as possible, the immigrants' cultures.

Axiom Remember: A simple greeting to a stranger can change hearts. For example, it is the personal views and behavior of non-Muslim citizens, in countless small, everyday interactions, that will decide whether or not their Muslim fellow citizens begin to feel at home in the United States, Europe or elsewhere. Of course individual preferences of individual Muslims and the leadership they receive from their spiritual and political leaders is equally important.

The story of Bartimaeus, a blind man who "sat by the roadside begging" Mark , is a wonderful example of the power of a simple greeting. The description connotes that, because of his blindness and economic condition, Bartimaeus has become a social outcast.

Hearing Jesus approaching, Bartimaeus cries out, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me," but many in the crowd rebuke the blind beggar. The crowd has followed Jesus and listened to his words on compassion and justice, but they remain blinded by their prejudice against people like Bartimaeus.

Jesus will have none of this fundamentalist nonsense. He calls Bartimaeus to his side. The religious element should never be confused with the political one. Confusing spiritual power with temporal power means subjecting one to the other.

There is a need to flee the temptation to project divinity on political power that then uses it for its own ends. Francis wants to break the organic link between culture, politics, institution and Church.

Spirituality cannot tie itself to governments or military pacts for it is at the service of all men and women. Religions cannot consider some people as sworn enemies nor others as eternal friends.

Religion should not become the guarantor of the dominant classes. Yet it is this very dynamic with a spurious theological flavor that tries to impose its own law and logic in the political sphere.

There is a shocking rhetoric used, for example, by the writers of Church Militant , a successful US-based digital platform that is openly in favor of a political ultraconservatism and uses Christian symbols to impose itself. This warlike and militant approach seems most attractive and evocative to a certain public, especially given that the victory of Constantine — it was presumed impossible for him to beat Maxentius and the Roman establishment — had to be attributed to a divine intervention: in hoc signo vinces.

The response suggested is affirmative. The indirect missioning for President Trump is clear: he has to follow through on the consequences. This is a very direct message that then wants to condition the presidency by framing it as a divine election.

In hoc signo vinces. Today, more than ever, power needs to be removed from its faded confessional dress, from its armor, its rusty breastplate.

The fundamentalist theopolitical plan is to set up a kingdom of the divinity here and now. And that divinity is obviously the projection of the power that has been built.

This vision generates the ideology of conquest. The theopolitical plan that is truly Christian would be eschatological, that is it applies to the future and orients current history toward the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of justice and peace. And this is why the diplomacy of the Holy See wants to establish direct and fluid relations with the superpowers, without entering into pre-constituted networks of alliances and influence.

In this sphere, the pope does not want to say who is right or who is wrong for he knows that at the root of conflicts there is always a fight for power. So, there is no need to imagine a taking of sides for moral reasons, much worse for spiritual ones. So, then the Christian roots of a people are never to be understood in an ethnic way. The notions of roots and identity do not have the same content for a Catholic as for a neo-Pagan.

Triumphalist, arrogant and vindictive ethnicism is actually the opposite of Christianity. Christianity has the duty of watering them, but in a spirit of service as in the washing of feet. The duty of Christianity for Europe is that of service. There is no room for colonialism. Which feeling underlies the persuasive temptation for a spurious alliance between politics and religious fundamentalism? It is fear of the breakup of a constructed order and the fear of chaos.

Indeed, it functions that way thanks to the chaos perceived. The political strategy for success becomes that of raising the tones of the conflictual, exaggerating disorder, agitating the souls of the people by painting worrying scenarios beyond any realism.

You deserve to have the facts before you make up your mind. This tract states a brief case for Catholicism in a few important areas. Catholic Answers has available tracts which consider in detail these and other topics—including, perhaps, just the ones you are most interested in. Christ established one Church with one set of beliefs Eph. He did not establish numerous churches with contradictory beliefs.

To see which is the true Church, we must look for the one that has an unbroken historical link to the Church of the New Testament. Catholics are able to show such a link. They trace their leaders, the bishops, back through time, bishop by bishop, all the way to the apostles, and they show that the pope is the lineal successor to Peter, who was the first bishop of Rome.

The same thing is true of Catholic beliefs and practices. Take any one you wish, and you can trace it back. He looked at Christian beliefs through the ages. Starting with the nineteenth century he was writing in , he worked backward century by century, seeing if Catholic beliefs existing at any particular time could be traced to beliefs existing a century before.

Back and back he went, until he got to New Testament times. What he demonstrated is that there is a real continuity of beliefs, that the Catholic Church has existed from day one of Church history, and that it is in fact the Church established by Christ. Newman was not a Catholic when he started the book, but his research convinced him of the truth of the Catholic faith, and as the book was finished he converted.

Fundamentalist leaders make no effort to trace their version of Christianity century by century. When Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in A.

It soon compromised its principles and adopted pagan beliefs and practices. It developed the doctrines with which the Catholic Church is identified today. Simply put, it apostatized and became the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, true Christians Fundamentalists did not change their beliefs but were forced to remain in hiding until the Reformation.

The trouble with this history is that there are no historical facts to back it up. Another difficulty is that there are no historical records that imply an underground Fundamentalist church existed from the early fourth century to the Reformation. In those years there were many schisms and heresies, but present-day Fundamentalists cannot find among them their missing Fundamentalist church.

There were no groups that believed in all, or even most, of the doctrines espoused by the Protestant Reformers e. Since the Christian Church was to exist historically and be like a city set on a mountain for all to see Matt. A church that exists only in the hearts of believers is not visible and is more like the candle hidden under the bushel basket Matt.