Last night I was reading my grandmother's New Parish Catechism. I only got about halfway through part 1 ("Truths to Believe"), but most likely won't continue reading it. The only evidence it's given for its claims were verses from various books of the Bible (apparently with no thought to their contextual meaning), with several having no justification given but the fact that they were printed in a book declaring itself "free from doctrinal or moral error." So far it's stated that:
"Because many have failed to learn the basic truths of human existence, found only in religion, they find that life has no purpose." <-Life has no purpose without the "truths" found in religion (I'm not quite sure yet if by "religion" they mean "Roman Catholicism.").
"We know that there is a God because the world and all the things in it must have been made and set in motion by Someone." <-We know that God must exist because he has to exist because.. well, *somebody* must have made everything, right? So obviously that somebody is our particular god.
"There are other proofs for the existence of God. Among them are the marvelous order of the universe, which proves that there is Someone Who not only created it, but Who also keeps it in order. Every man's conscience tells him that there is a Law Giver and All-just Judge Whom he must obey." <-The order of the universe has nothing to do with humans' built-in tendency to see order and patterns, and couldn't be there by chance. The only other conclusion is that Yhwh must have created and ordered everything. That most humans are born with a conscience is further proof that someone must have designed them that way.
"We gain our highest and best knowledge of God through what God has made known or revealed about Himself. This is faith. I believe because I accept the God of the Christians and accept His teaching. Faith is a gift of God. Faith requires no proofs from reason and is more certain than reason." <-I believe what I believe because I choose to believe it. I don't need proofs from reason to accept the God of the Christians because he has granted me faith in him. That's above and beyond reason.
"The principle purpose of the Catholic school system is the religious training of the child. Non-Catholics should cooperate with the Catholic school by attending Mass themselves and thus giving their children a good example." <-Given as the answer to the question "Should non-Catholics who have their children in Catholic school attend Mass?" Regardless of your personal beliefs, you still need to cooperate with us by attending our highest, most holy religious services so that you do not set a poor example and compromise your childrens' indoctrination.
"You should believe in God's revelation because One Who loves you immensely wants you to know about Himself; because Jesus Christ and Christ's Church direct you to believe in revelation. You should believe what God has revealed because God is truthful and cannot deceive man." <-You should believe it because we direct you to believe in it, and say that he says that he can't lie to you.
"Could you please repeat the question?"
I asked if anybody's ever noticed how the catechism's answers sounds to non-Catholics. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
*sound
"Because many have failed to learn the basic truths of human existence, found only in religion, they find that life has no purpose." <-Life has no purpose without the "truths" found in religion (I'm not quite sure yet if by "religion" they mean "Roman Catholicism.").
"We know that there is a God because the world and all the things in it must have been made and set in motion by Someone." <-We know that God must exist because he has to exist because.. well, *somebody* must have made everything, right? So obviously that somebody is our particular god.
"There are other proofs for the existence of God. Among them are the marvelous order of the universe, which proves that there is Someone Who not only created it, but Who also keeps it in order. Every man's conscience tells him that there is a Law Giver and All-just Judge Whom he must obey." <-The order of the universe has nothing to do with humans' built-in tendency to see order and patterns, and couldn't be there by chance. The only other conclusion is that Yhwh must have created and ordered everything. That most humans are born with a conscience is further proof that someone must have designed them that way.
"We gain our highest and best knowledge of God through what God has made known or revealed about Himself. This is faith. I believe because I accept the God of the Christians and accept His teaching. Faith is a gift of God. Faith requires no proofs from reason and is more certain than reason." <-I believe what I believe because I choose to believe it. I don't need proofs from reason to accept the God of the Christians because he has granted me faith in him. That's above and beyond reason.
"The principle purpose of the Catholic school system is the religious training of the child. Non-Catholics should cooperate with the Catholic school by attending Mass themselves and thus giving their children a good example." <-Given as the answer to the question "Should non-Catholics who have their children in Catholic school attend Mass?" Regardless of your personal beliefs, you still need to cooperate with us by attending our highest, most holy religious services so that you do not set a poor example and compromise your childrens' indoctrination.
"You should believe in God's revelation because One Who loves you immensely wants you to know about Himself; because Jesus Christ and Christ's Church direct you to believe in revelation. You should believe what God has revealed because God is truthful and cannot deceive man." <-You should believe it because we direct you to believe in it, and say that he says that he can't lie to you.
"Could you please repeat the question?"
I asked if anybody's ever noticed how the catechism's answers sounds to non-Catholics. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
*sound