Update

[ilikeverin]

He should take his ring proceeds and head to the Bunny Ranch in the Nevada desert.  Ever see Cathouse on HBO?  Hey, they cater to virgins.  It was hilarious when this mom brought her 19 year old son there to lose his virginity.  They're clean AND hot, but can be costly.  It would be his new Baptism and well worth the cost.  I would love Isabella. 

I'm literally speechless with you sometimes. It's your mix of genuine trash (which makes me think you're very serious here) with some clearly over-the-top comments (which makes me think some of this is an act).

Either way, he's not taking your advice so you can take a break now.

Flyers just doesn't understand that not everyone is as obsessed and fixated with sex as he is, not to mention that they might not value it as so worthless as to give away their virginity to some prostitute in a loveless, mechanistic act solely for the basis of being able to say that "they've done it."

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE A "NICE GUY"

REMEMBER, NICE GUYS DON'T GET ANY

YOU'VE GOTTA BE A JERK, OR ELSE SHE'LL BE "PROCESSING"

[ilikeverin]

So, I have a question, based on BushOK's posts. Now, I'm not what you would call a "Christian" or a "believer" or "one who is religious", but I still like to hope that I won't be spending eternity in Hell. Am I to understand that sins are actually comparable to "little white lies" or "spilled milk" and that a little bit of praying afterwards absolves you of those sins, so that you're not cast into Hell for eternity, even if those sins are, according to the good Christians I see on the television, some of the worst? Because if I am understanding correctly, that is a huge weight off my shoulders.

You sound... surprised...?

"A little bit of praying" is a bit of an oversimplification, but it's not like you need to complete the labors of Hercules or something.

[ilikeverin]

I will admit that the above photo caused me to LOL in the hotel computer lounge.

I think there is very little question that that photo is lol-worthy.

[ilikeverin]

How can you absolve yourself of sin if you don't confess it? I'm guessing you're not a Catholic so there'd be no 'formal' need to confess, but it's still something that may hang heavy on you over time.

Protestants dispense with the priest and just pray directly to God, asking for forgiveness.

[ilikeverin]

How can you absolve yourself of sin if you don't confess it? I'm guessing you're not a Catholic so there'd be no 'formal' need to confess, but it's still something that may hang heavy on you over time.

Protestants dispense with the priest and just pray directly to God, asking for forgiveness.

Whoa whoa whoa...

Confession is always necessary.  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Now I agree -- it is not essential that a clergyperson absolve you.  But Catholics who know both their Bible and their Catechism know that the Priest is NOT the one forgiving anything.  The church officially teaches that God, in Christ, forgives sin.  The Priest is announcing that forgiveness has occurred and is pronouncing absolution to the penitent and to the company of saints.

As someone who embraces both Protestant and Catholic impulses here, I understand both views.  But I don't see them as mutually exclusive.  I don't need a priest to be forgiven.  But involving a priest can often add an element of solemnity and accountability to the matter.  (Presuming, of course, the priest is good at his or her job and not merely "phoning it in".)

Sheesh, did I change my avatar to "Wacky Fundamentalist-MN" when I wasn't looking?  I never said there was anything wrong with using a priest; I was just explaining the difference in practices, i.e. that Protestants won't see a priest as a necessity

[ilikeverin]

language.