Catholics hold no monopoly on mindless obedience

No and the Mormons might be the in running for the top spot in this category.

And wackiness is just another way of sometimes saying it’s cult-like. From some perspectives someone’s sacred canons probably are viewed as wackiness by people who are ignorant. Take for example, the constant referral (not here on BTB) about Mormons’ “magic underwear”.

I’m sorry if this came across as an attack on the catholic faith in comparison to other belief systems. All faiths come with some wackiness I suspect. And yes i was unfairly mocking of their beliefs (I’ll continue to mock the church’s contraception ban but the fish on Friday dogma was harmless tradition and I shouldn’t have used it)

My point is that Maggie’s ethical system isn’t based on princies but rather on rote obedience. It is also true the Catholics hold no monopoly on mindless obedience and in reality Catholics ignore their church’s nonsense by huge majorities.

TRiG.

Christian principles would apply choices based on the heirarchy that one finds in Scripture:

1. Is there a specific Scriptural teaching?

2. Would this teaching be overruled by Peter’s Sheet, i.e. is there “unpure or unclean” assignment which is arbitrary rather than inherent?

3. Where does this teaching fit into the Big Ten?

4. Is this a teaching you would want applied to you if you were in the other person’s shoes? This vetos all.

But Catholic morality – of the sort that Maggie believes – is based on the teachings of the church. Heck, I bet that if they Catholic Church decided something wacky like – oh, I dunno – not being able to eat meat on Friday, Maggie would not question it.

Or, imagine if the Catholic Church came up with something as irrational as not using birth control when you aren’t physically, emotionally, or financially capable of raising a child. (I’m just kidding. Surely they wouldn’t say that!)

A Christian principle might suggest that such irresponsibility was unwise, if not downright immoral. It certainly isn’t very loving to subject such a child (or your already present children) to poverty. And it sure isn’t loving to insist that those who want to be responsible in procreation should be stopped from doing so.

But ya know, I bet Maggie would believe the Church even they claimed that the irresponsible act was the correct moral choice.

1) If these people were actually “Christians,” they would know it’s not their job to sit in judgement of anyone. Furthermore, the whole “Love the sinner. Hate the sin” thing is irrelevant once we realize that we don’t need anyone’s approval to live our lives as we see fit. I despise the word “tolerance.” What makes someone think they have the moral authority to “tolerate” (versus accept) me?

2) Mr. Tisinai wrote, “Maggie may be legally correct, but she’s morally ignorant.” I think you meant to say that she is embarrassingly ignorant and morally bankrupt. Then again, I can see how one might argue that her knowledge of moral values is deficient, thus making her ignorant. However, this is just a suggestion, pointing out that she is BOTH ignorant and devoid of the same morals she claims to champion (i.e., what impact would millions of same-sex partners walking away from medical bills have on the health care system’s ability to treat patients not to mention health care costs?) is just more fun in my humble opinion.

Yes. In precisely the same way that a heterosexual couple that are unmarried can do. Which is why Maggie opposes heterosexuals marrying.

ohhhhh…. yeah, she actually campaigns for heterosexuals marrying.

What makes her think I value this ability to “walk away”? Will’s medical bills — and general welfare — are my responsibility, just as mine are his.

Actually, that is one of the reasons that marriage exists at all. It is a social contract that ties people to each other and provides that when things go bad, there’s someone there to help. So that a) care is there and b) it isn’t up to the rest of everyone else to take care of it (ask Maggie if she’d prefer socialized medicine). It is a HUGE societal improvement project, in a way.

Gosh, I guess Maggie’s either astonishingly cynical or astonishly stupid.