[pharmaclid]

Other denominations allow priests to marry. I'm Episcopalian (formerly Roman) and every priest who's ever been at my church was married with children. We pay our priest a salary and provide housing, health insurance and a car allowance (mileage). Unlike many Roman priests, he does not have a cook or housekeeper. There is a salary scale based on the size of the parish. I would imagine this is similar to what Lutherans, Presbys etc do. It's not a big deal, financially or practically. It's certainly not a big deal in Biblical terms. It's just what the Roman church has always done. I agree it's time to rethink this.

[Mymnnarry]

I know a dude who sells high end cars in MD. Last year, he sold a $400k Rolls Royce Phantom to a local pastor. That was one of his 5 cars. WTF

[moohassinny]

So...Bishop Long and his many problems...?

[BILBONDER]

I know a dude who sells high end cars in MD. Last year, he sold a $400k Rolls Royce Phantom to a local pastor. That was one of his 5 cars. WTF

Sounds like something a Baptist pastor would do. I remember when attended church, that the old pastor had two benzes and one bmw. Why one man with one wife would need so many cars is a mystery.

[ExelePlavisseu]

So...Bishop Long and his many problems...?

So far, there really haven't been any new developments with this incident. I believe that latest came from the fourth accuser, Spencer LeGrande, who was interviewed :Eddie Long Accuser Spencer LeGrange: "He Knows the Truth" - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Bishop Eddie Long is supposed to also have stepped down as pastor of the church. I guess it didn't help, when those pictures of him posing in front of a mirror with spandex, surfaced.

[DadaSeeva]

I find it kind of odd that someone is going to counsel someone else about marriage, when they've never had the pleasure. It's like a virgin, trying to give a couple tips on sex.

Is it that odd? Priests give spiritual and psycological guidance. They're not teaching sex positions.

It's not a big deal, financially or practically.

It's a very big deal when you have a parish school to support.

[Trissinas]

Is it that odd? Priests give spiritual and psycological guidance. They're not teaching sex positions.



It's a very big deal when you have a parish school to support.

If I remember correctly, priests won't marry Catholic couples, unless they get some sort of counseling. I was under the impression that the priest is the one who handles that. If I'm mistaken, please forgive my ignorance. But if I'm correct, my comment still stands. It's easy for a person who's never been married, to tell someone to stick with it and take the licks that come with marriage. You say that priests give spiritual guidance, I can see that, but there's a big difference with a priest guiding you toward the path of salvation and a priest who's trying to tell you to stick with your marriage. I'm not sure if you really meant that priest give psychological guidance, since I wasn't aware that priest are normally pyschologist. Obviously, priest don't teach sexual positions, but they do give advice on a subject, that the majority of priest have no practical experience with.

[Todilrdc]

If I remember correctly, priests won't marry Catholic couples, unless they get some sort of counseling. I was under the impression that the priest is the one who handles that. If I'm mistaken, please forgive my ignorance. But if I'm correct, my comment still stands. It's easy for a person who's never been married, to tell someone to stick with it and take the licks that come with marriage. You say that priests give spiritual guidance, I can see that, but there's a big difference with a priest guiding you toward the path of salvation and a priest who's trying to tell you to stick with your marriage. I'm not sure if you really meant that priest give psychological guidance, since I wasn't aware that priest are normally pyschologist. Obviously, priest don't teach sexual positions, but they do give advice on a subject, that the majority of priest have no practical experience with.

We did this before getting married. They call it pre-Cana. It is like a course that, in our case, lasted about eight hours. The actual priest was only there for at most an hour, and gave general spiritual guidance. The actual marriage-specific advice was given by volunteers who were married couples. Who had about nineteen kids each, IIRC.

[Garry Richardson]

We did this before getting married. They call it pre-Cana. It is like a course that, in our case, lasted about eight hours. The actual priest was only there for at most an hour, and gave general spiritual guidance. The actual marriage-specific advice was given by volunteers who were married couples. Who had about nineteen kids each, IIRC.

Cool beans. That's not too different from other denominations that I know about. Usually the preacher, priest, etc., will tell the couple that they need to get counseling first, before they'll marry them. I def. think it's better if you have acutual married people to discuss any issues with. At least they can tell you the pitfalls and maybe what to expect when the marriage gets real.

[Dildos]

We did this before getting married. They call it pre-Cana. It is like a course that, in our case, lasted about eight hours. The actual priest was only there for at most an hour, and gave general spiritual guidance. The actual marriage-specific advice was given by volunteers who were married couples. Who had about nineteen kids each, IIRC.

[Speareerfug]

We did this before getting married. They call it pre-Cana. It is like a course that, in our case, lasted about eight hours. The actual priest was only there for at most an hour, and gave general spiritual guidance. The actual marriage-specific advice was given by volunteers who were married couples. Who had about nineteen kids each, IIRC.

Did you feel like you benefited from this? I thought it was a complete waste of time and money for me. It wasted one gorgeous saturday and bunch of week nights. Plus it cost us 200$ so that we could fill out a 300 question scan-tron sheet and get it graded to see where we differ (which we have known for years). I really get sick of all the obligatory stuff that churches try to force you into, and talking for hours about ways God shows he loves you, LOL is not how I want to spend my night.

The only other battles I have left are baptism and genital mutilation if I have a boy.

What is funny is that I read agnostics and atheists have lower divorce rates. Statistics can mislead though.

[Nosmas]

Ya know, with all the scandals and coverups, I'm really glad my sister and I, when sent by ourselves to church with the donation envelope, would often skip mass and buy candy with the intended $1 offering. And back then, a dollar bought a hell of a lot of candy.

So you're proud that you often stole the money entrusted to you by your parents and spent it on yourself in the most self serving way. Nice.

[Phoneemer]

Enya, just say no to the genital mutilation.

[NikkitaZ]

So you're proud that you often stole the money entrusted to you by your parents and spent it on yourself in the most self serving way. Nice.

Most of it probably would have just went towards buying candy for the nuns, or some other overhead. Churchs have a lot of overhead. I would love to see some square foot construction cost breakdowns. Lots of marble and travertine, statues and carved pews. Look at the windows too. Then you have the organ and heating the building 24/7 for a few hours of use a week. It really is a lot of frivolous stuff. Other denominations have religious leaders that wear expensive clothes and drive nice cars like drewrob has witnessed.

[TritteTouff]

Did you feel like you benefited from this? I thought it was a complete waste of time and money for me. It wasted one gorgeous saturday and bunch of week nights. Plus it cost us 200$ so that we could fill out a 300 question scan-tron sheet and get it graded to see where we differ (which we have known for years). I really get sick of all the obligatory stuff that churches try to force you into, and talking for hours about ways God shows he loves you, LOL is not how I want to spend my night.

The only other battles I have left are baptism and genital mutilation if I have a boy.

What is funny is that I read agnostics and atheists have lower divorce rates. Statistics can mislead though.

Well, it at least forced us to take a few hours out of worrying about florists and photographers in the run-up to the wedding. So I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time. I do understand the logic behind it from the Church's point of view. I mean, it is a religion, not a wedding chapel rental service.

Plus there is no law saying you have to get married in a Church. If you don't like their requirements, you can get married in a Synagogue, city hall, or in Vegas by some dude in an Elvis wig.

With the questionnaire, they are just checking that the couple are genuinely in love, and didn't just meet two weeks ago and get swept away in the moment. I think if your answers differ by a lot they will just recommened counseling. I have never heard of them refusing to marry someone based on that.

[MadMark]

I do understand the logic behind it from the Church's point of view. I mean, it is a religion, not a wedding chapel rental service.

Plus there is no law saying you have to get married in a Church. If you don't like their requirements, you can get married in a Synagogue, city hall, or in Vegas by some dude in an Elvis wig.



With the questionnaire, they are just checking that the couple are genuinely in love, and didn't just meet two weeks ago and get swept away in the moment. I think if your answers differ by a lot they will just recommened counseling. I have never heard of them refusing to marry someone based on that.

For me it was pretty much mandatory, I had to make a lot of other people happy. I guess we all have to carry the cross sometimes. For all I care, I could have been married in a morgue and I would still be happy though.

My main gripe is the fact that you are coerced into doing it on top of the 200$ you have to pay. Making spiritual things mandatory makes me feel like I am being treated like a child and doesn't really feel too spiritual. The 200$ doesn't help and makes me question what their real goal is. As far as I understand, the custom has been adopted from out west from another denomination and brought back to the east coast by a fanatical/syncopant couple that thought it was a great idea.

The other funny thing was their selling of the of the catholic sex planning (I forget what it's called) It has to do with time of the month and heat and all that jazz. It helps for conception, but it also apparently used in lieu of condoms. I kid you not, they were saying its 99% effective. I looked into it and it was like 80%. tsk tsk!

Sorry for the cynicism. My parish forced us to watch abortions when we were in 4th grade to serve their agenda. There's been a bad taste in my mouth ever since.

[HarryMet]

It's called the rhythm method. But my mother called it Larry, John, Chris, and Gina, (the middle four). Yes, it's really effective, I question even the 80%..

[CicyHannyCeli]

Eddie Long Speaks to New Birth Congregation After Settling Lawsuits, Christian News You know....if people didn't lift these men up so high, they just might be able to survive the fall.