Ask Cassius

[Cassius]

Well, all these 'ask me' threads are mighty entertaining, so, in the name of my unquenchable vanity, I'm opening one for myself. Feel free to ask of me anything related to religion, philosophy, ethics etcetera.

Warning: Answers liable to make you throw yourself into a bath of acid.

[DC Al Fine]

Well for starters, what's your general theology? At first glance you are a traditional Catholic but I recall someone saying either you were irreligious or had some very unorthodox beliefss

[Cassius]

Well, that's a good question. Um, one could say my views are somewhat 'over the shop', so to speak. Let's start off with the question of the trinity, upon which I can definitely say I'm in line with traditional teaching; being a believer in a consubstantial trinity (although for a while I did tend towards what, in hindsight, might be viewed as a form of semi-Arianism on this matter).

On matters of Church governance I'm strictly conservative (though high church might be a better appellation). I believe in a well structured system of Church governance, with the Pope at the pinnacle of that, and a hierarchy extending right down to the position of parish Priest.

I'm not a believer in the infallibility of the Bible. Indeed, whilst I believe that the vast majority of the events described in it happened in one way or another, I'm not of the opinion that they all neccessarily happened as they are written. This is not to say that I reject all of the events that could be described as 'supernatural' that took place in the Bible.

If we look at, specifically Roman Catholic, Church doctrine, there are some issues upon which I hold a conservative view, and others on which I'm inclined to take a more liberal standpoint. For example, on the 'celebration of the Christian mystery', I hold rather conservative views; I believe in the importance of the Seven Sacraments and of Mass as a means of, in the case of the former, seeking forgiveness of sin, and in the case of the latter remembering Jesus. On the subject of sin, I do agree with the doctrine of original sin; not in the way that it was originally formulated via use of the concept of the fall, but rather in a more general sense; humans are able to do bad things because they are born with the potential to do them; the dark side, if you will, of human nature. That, I believe, can certainly be labelled as original sin, in the sense that it has been with humanity has always posessed this particular proclivity.

Of course, linked to original sin is the idea of Jesus as a saviour. Now, on that topic, I'd also stress that I have, perhaps, a rather unorthodox view. My own opinion is that, before the coming of Jesus and his sacrifice, it was impossible for a human being to ascend directly to Heaven; instead, humanity as a whole would spend a spell in purgatory. With the coming of Christ, it was made possible for a small minority of those people without sin to ascend to Heaven directly. So, I'm also a big believer in the importance of purgatory, and my views upon the afterlife with regards to Heaven, Hell and the former are broadly in line with Roman Catholic doctrine. With regards to those who do not know Christ, I'm of the opinion that they can also be saved; however, it is my own personal view (and I don't mean to offend anyone by saying this) that being a Roman Catholic is the best and easiest route to salvation.

As a point of further interest, there are a number of aspects of doctrine and Church governance upon which I do not agree with the Roman Catholic Church. For example, I find myself more amenable to the concept of 'consubstantiation' (if that is the correct word) than to transubstantiation at the eucharist, or, when it comes to Church governance, I'm very much inclined towards allowing Priests to marry. However, despite this, I recognise that firstly; I'm no expert in theology or doctrine and thus my views on this matter count for little in the grand scheme of things. Secondly, I'm am a mere individual, whereas the Roman Catholic Church is a great institution, but historically and in modern times. To be honest, it is really not my place to go mouthing off about how the Church is 'wrong' on certain matters. In the end, it is my opinion that, in the fullness of time, we may see some change, endorsed by the bastions of authority within the Church, on issues such as clerical marriage, but that must not be forced, and instead time must take its own, majestic course on such matters.

I'm sorry if this is rather brief and/or uneven, but theology is such a massive and complex topic to list all of one's views on (which I have not done).