[color:blue]An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot eat wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained no wheat, violating Roman Catholic doctrine.</font color=blue> The wire story is here<br><br>Now I wonder whether genetically altered wheat qualifies . . .<br><br>

Why can they use corn bread? The bible says to break bread in remembrance. So the act is more important than the bread.<br><br>[color:purple]We're building up or tearing down In everything we do;<br>Are you on the construction gang Or on the wrecking crew? - Anon</font color=purple>

If I had not grown up under the cloud of heavy indoctrination of the catholic church (parochial school thus attending 6 masses per week) I would say that is a joke story. Sadly I am sure it is not. Why don't they seal the tiny wheat wafer in a seal a meal and coat it with grease then shove it down the kid's throat? Is it not the body of Christ if she poops out a Twist Lok Baggie?<br><br>Short story: I'm ten years old and since we have to fast from midnight on there are grumbling tummies next day at mass before school. After we all get the wafer my sister (3 rows back and across the aisle in 6th grade) almost passes out but boots into her school jumper. Her class nun jumps up and grabs my sister's jumper in a bundle (so her underwear is showing to the rest of the school) and she is hustled out to the sacristy. <br><br>The nun then picks the host out of the puke and washes it off in a bit of water then eats it.<br><br>I kid you not. My sister told me the details that night and I became a life long atheist. I have a ton of these strange anecdotes from my religious schooling. Fortunately, none of them include sexual assault but who knows what I have repressed. <br><br>

Lets face it, humans are flawed. Some are completely broken. But we should not judge religion by the human, but by what the scripture teaches us.<br><br>

I kid you not. My sister told me the details that night and I became a life long atheist. <br><br>Damn, Catholic church does that to more people...<br><br>Shame, because there are more relaxed alternatives that don't require kids to memorize 900 sacraments, prayers, and strange hand movements...<br><br>[color:white]God speed, mikeb. Go drive your Boxster in the big Autobahn in the sky...</font color=white>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>by what the scripture teaches us<p><hr></blockquote><p><br>Clearly you weren't raised Catholic <br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>But we should not judge religion by the human, but by what the scripture teaches us.<br><p><hr></blockquote><p> Too true. Man certainly screws up the whole religion thing. Inciting us to war, killing the non believers type stuff. I can't quite get past the likelihood that men wrote those scriptures. No one can prove to me otherwise. And it's not just because I read the DeVinci code over vacation. <br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p> Shame, because there are more relaxed alternatives that don't require kids to memorize 900 sacraments, prayers, and strange hand movements.. <p><hr></blockquote><p> You mean religion-lite, no calories, no pain or suffering? What horse crapola. If I believed in a god and thought she was the ruler of my universe I would dedicate all my heart and soul and every minute of my life consumed in my quest to know and praise the goddess. How could anyone believe in a god and not call her name at least each hour? The muslims doing the prayer thing multiple times a day have my attention. At least if someone is going to swallow this dreck there is no half way or you are just deluding yourself. <br><br>You think religion-lite where you kinda believe and you sorta repent every once and a while gets your ticket punched for heaven? Get down on your knees on that hard knee support they pull out in catholic church. I might have stuck around an extra year if they had continued to make us learn and chant the latin mass. Altar boy, choir boy, I even did funerals for tips. Then they went religion-lite. Screw that.<br><br>Sorry for the rant but you suggested an alternative to what I thought. My reply is just another alternative. <br><br>

Have you ever sat through a non-Catholic church service?<br><br>I don't recall hearing abut pain OR suffering in about 20 years of Presbyterian membership. It's not 'horse crapola', it's the fact that even other sects see Catholicism as being pretty extreme.<br><br>I find it pretty silly to give up on the whole concept of God in general because of one's experience in the Catholic church. Personally, my faith in humanity might have taken a hit, but there's a few bad apples in every bunch...<br><br>[color:white]God speed, mikeb. Go drive your Boxster in the big Autobahn in the sky...</font color=white>

The only Presbyterianism I know is the 16th and 17th version of it--and that was anything but pleasant. The influence of Calvin was really tremendous, and his idea of double reprobation--not only that humans generally are predestined to damnation, but also that God actively condemns individuals--is a true marvel of theology. I'm glad to hear it's become kinder and gentler <br><br>