CPT Twits -1950's (and a little 1960's) Muscle cars, Fashions, Hot Rods, Kids, when we fixed our own car and social media was talking to a human! Warm Memories

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CPT Twit - A New Year Frozen in Time 2017-2018 - Niagra Falls

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A CPT Twit - for those who believe Tweets are too long.

Are Religious Doctrine and Dogma in need of an overhaul?

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Are Religious Doctrine and Dogma in need of an overhaul?

Could it be that the time has come for the Catholic Church and all Christian religions to take a fresh new look at some of the teachings, doctrine and dogma that is based on the work of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in ancient Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey). It was called by the emperor Constantine I, an unbaptized catechumen, or neophyte, who presided over the opening session and took part in the discussions.

The result of the Council was the adoption of the earliest Bible and founding principles of Christianity.  A series of subsequent Councils, initiatives, Papal pronouncements and revelations has allowed the Church doctrine and dogma to be updated over the centuries including the clarification in Vatican II on the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope.

Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows: "Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly. This is so, even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter’s successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively.

This authority is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith" (Lumen Gentium 25).

 
Infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of the bishops (Matt. 16:17–19; John 21:15–17). As Vatican II remarked, it is a charism the pope "enjoys in virtue of his office, when, as the supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith (Luke 22:32), he proclaims by a definitive act some doctrine of faith or morals.

Therefore, his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly held irreformable, for they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, an assistance promised to him in blessed Peter." 

The infallibility of the pope is not a doctrine that suddenly appeared in Church teaching; rather, it is a doctrine which was implicit in the early Church. It is only our understanding of infallibility which has developed and been more clearly understood over time. In fact, the doctrine of infallibility is implicit in these Petrine texts: John 21:15–17 ("Feed my sheep . . . "), Luke 22:32 ("I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail"), and Matthew 16:18 ("You are Peter . . . "). 

What is the difference between Church doctrine and dogma?

In general, doctrine is all Church teaching in matters of faith and morals. Dogma is more narrowly defined as that part of doctrine which has been divinely revealed and which the Church has formally defined and declared to be believed as revealed.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains,

The Church’s magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these. (CCC 88)

Dogma

According to the Cambridge Dictionary “dogma” is;

Dogma noun [U]

us /ˈdɔɡ·mə, ˈdɑɡ-/

​

A fixed belief or set of beliefs that people are expected to accept without any doubts: [U] liberal/conservative dogma.

What a novel way to control one’s belief system. 

Dogma in ancient Greek was something that “seems true.”  Another Greek meaning literally is "that which one thinks is true."

Religious dogma concerns religions, which may or may not include the following: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Bahá'í Faith, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Slavic neopaganism, Celtic polytheism, Heathenism (Germanic paganism), Semitic neopaganism, Wicca, Kemetism (Egyptian paganism), Hellenism (Greek paganism), Italo-Roman neopaganism.

Why would such a review be necessary?

For one, the world has changed dramatically since the founding of the Church.  We have advanced in many scientific and technological areas where things are possible that did not exist 2,000 years ago.  Some even have resulted in positive contributions to the message of Jesus and the Bible, while others have given us insights into Creation and evolution, both spiritual and physical, of mankind.

Just one example, the dating of Creation, was maybe 6,000 years based on Genesis but modern physics has estimated it to be at least 13.4 billion years old, with some estimates 16 billion years.

The dating of humans remains a difficult task because the physical body deteriorates and disappears in time, while the surface of the Earth is in a constant state of change through natural events.

Homo Sapiens, which carry the human DNA, have been recently discovered that are over 315,000 years old.  Previously, the oldest was 195,000 years old.  Yet we know the human body would not survive much beyond because of natural decomposition.

The truth is, we have no idea when homo sapiens first appeared on Earth.  What we do know is the Earth is at least 3.4 billion years old and the galaxies of which we are a part are 13.4 billion years old.

That would seem to be the moment of Creation as far as we know but we are constantly revising the date based on new scientific measurements and archeological findings.

I find it inconceivable that God created our galaxies 13.4 billion years ago then waited 13 billion years to create humans.  We have yet to explore the depths of the Earth for evidence of human activity so it is entirely possible God created humans 13.4 billion years ago, or more, and we have simply not discovered a way to document it, yet.

In the world I envision humans were indeed a part of the Big Bang of Creation as suggested by the Creation story, and our failure to document it is simply a matter of not having developed the technology to document it.

It also would mean there may very likely have been numerous civilizations that evolved and then disappeared in the course of human history, that we are yet to discover.

In the evolution of our galaxy and very own Earth there have been many natural cataclysmic events that might have substantially wiped out much of civilization, thus causing the human race to start over many times.

Science has proven there were four Ice Ages that made much of the Earth uninhabitable in those times.  We know super volcanoes such as Yellowstone have erupted and blocked off the healing energy of the Sun for years.  Meteors striking such as the one forming the Gulf of Mexico might have wiped out the mighty dinosaurs that once ruled the Earth and may have reduced human life.

History, as we know and prove it, has radically changed all we know about Creation and the evolution of humans, and if current trends continue we will continue to rewrite history as we seek out the moment of Creation.

Could Reincarnation be a viable Concept to explain Spiritual Evolution?

Our Bible details 6,000 years, we must unveil the truth about the remaining 13 billion years of time since Creation.  Until we do, reincarnation may be one of the best and most logical ways to explain human spiritual evolution available.

First, when I say reincarnation, I am not talking about coming back as an animal or rock, nor am I talking about coming back as or in the same human body.  What I understand it means is the soul finds a new body (fetus) to form a union with and be born.    

In spite of our bias, understanding, or convictions, reincarnation is not prohibited by either Catholic Church doctrine or dogma.  Over the years the Church has attempted to address it without much success.

Theological arguments against it seem hollow, especially in light of the potential that God created humans billions of years earlier than we think and the Bible said.  It only makes sense that an all-powerful God did not wait 13 billion years to add humans to his creation, but created them at the same time. Nothing can prove He did not.

Only Church dogma and doctrine not directly related to reincarnation but used to condemn the idea stands in the way of accepting the plausibility.  The union of body and soul when God breathed life into humans, accounts for the first humans, who were not even born but created.

Since all succeeding generations were conceived and born on Earth, there is a clear distinction between the original humans created and all others to come being born.  Yet it is clear the soul representing the spiritual side of the union could have come to Earth in many bodies over time without changing any concept in Church dogma or doctrine.

If each soul is unique as we are taught, and was created by God initially, that means there might have been many Adam and Eves seeding the Earth in order to have 7.6 billion souls walking the Earth today.

Bear in mind that as late as the time Jesus walked the Earth there were only 300 million inhabitants of Earth, fewer than in the United States alone today.  Where did all the new souls come from?

If you believe God took a personal interest in every unique soul and that all souls were created during the Creation process, the Big Bang, then the same God, all powerful and all knowing, might very well have made a sacred compact with the soul covering as many lifetimes as needed for the soul to complete or fail, the physical mission on Earth.

Such a scenario does not preclude or prohibit the concept of Heaven and Hell nor does it conflict with any other doctrine or dogma of the Church.  It simply makes sense that God would give all souls the chance to use their free will on earth and earn their place in the Kingdom.

Physical death is not a bad thing but a necessary step toward spiritual evolution.  Yet babies that die in childbirth or from abortion never have an opportunity to experience or evolve in their one lifetime on Earth.  Why would God deny them the chance to experience life when the soul, which is forever, could come back?

The same is true of the many souls that do experience life on Earth.  They have no control over their death, and often times can be a victim of others (a car wreck or terrorist explosion), or lured into drugs and death by Satan.  Surely God knows His creations and if his intent is love and good, he would give them a chance to live life in order to redeem themselves.

My next article will discuss the wonder of the soul, our golden thread to God, and how it can function “in time” here on Earth, and “out of time” in the Kingdom or waiting to return to Earth.                      

Huffington Post article predicts Trump election October 19, 2016, three weeks before election day.

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HuffPost Contributor predicts Trump election 21 days before history was made while HuffPost predicts 98% chance of Hillary victory.

The following article appeared in the Huffington Post from a Contributor, myself, which positioned the HuffPost to be right about the shocking, stunning and demoralizing 2016 election result.  At the same time a Trump election was predicted, the HuffPost was running the first of two polling articles claiming after "9.8 million computer simulations" Hillary Clinton had a 98% chance of winning.  The second time this claim of a Hillary victory was posted was on November 8, election day, in the HuffPost.

Here is what appeared in the Huffington Post October 19, 2016, three weeks before the electrifying Trump victory, a series of News Bulletins for the upcoming election night coverage.

Jim Putnam, Contributor

Publisher Coltons Point Times

Into the Future - Presidential Election Results November 8 and 9, 2016

10/19/2016 05:49 pm ET

·          

Into the Future - Presidential Election Results November 8 and 9, 2016

News Bulletin!

Dateline: Washington, D.C.

November 8, 2016 - 10:00 pm EST

Polls Close in East - Hillary Declared Winner

The polls just closed in the East while remaining open in the Midwest and West, but the mainstream media has already declared Hillary Clinton the 45th and first female in our nation’s history President.

Based on the results of Exit Polls throughout the country, most media declared Hillary the decisive winner. The Exit Polls are interviews with actual voters leaving the voting booths.

Unlike other political polls of which there are many, only one presidential Exit Poll exists and is taken. Since the poll is owned by a coalition of the major television networks, and it is not released in it’s entirety to the public, there is no way to validate or verify the results.

In spite of the tremendous media bias against Donald Trump and media devotion to Hillary Clinton, it still seems a bit odd the networks declared her the winner with just below 5% of the national vote cast and counted.

Over 50% of the public still has time to get out and vote. One might suspect there is media collusion in trying to discourage possible Trump supporters in these states to give up and not vote for Trump.

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News Bulletin!

Dateline: Washington, D.C.

November 9, 2016 - 1:00 am EST

Historic Hillary Victory a Tidal Wave claim Pundits

The polls have now closed in the continental United States as the nation and world await the results of the presidential election. So far just 22% of the popular vote has been reported.

Early absentee voting tallies indicate a record number of Americans cast their ballots before election day. Political pundits say it is another great sign for a Hillary landslide. “Banner headlines” in the major newspapers early editions, along with a never ending stream of “braking news” bulletins on television networks rejoice in the Clinton victory over Donald Trump, as projected by the media.

No results are official until certified by the election boards in each state. None have been certified yet and the national tracking map indicates no electoral votes have been awarded.

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News Bulletin!

Dateline: Washington, D.C.

November 9, 2016 - 5:00 am EST

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

The national media continues to tout the Exit Polls and a Hillary landslide but the release of actual vote totals is at an excruciatingly slow pace by the states.

Those votes reported to the media indicate a much closer race than the Exit Poll blowout projection. No pattern is emerging in voting other than a near dead heat in national vote total while the seven key swing states remain too close to predict at this time.

Could it be the national news media Exit Poll is wrong? Early indications suggest if the TV networks actually reported the results received in Exit interviews, the voters were giving misleading answers to the media.

Perhaps voters believe they have a right to keep silent when it comes to elections, an exercise of their right to privacy.

At the same time, there are reports of much higher new voter totals than expected, and the turnout among Independents and Republicans is up significantly.

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News Bulletin!

Dateline: Washington, D.C.

November 9, 2016 - 10:00 am EST

Clinton Landslide fails to Materialize - Exit Polls Wrong - but How Wrong?

A haunting silence has overcome the nation as Americans wake up and go to work expecting to hear from our new President Hillary Clinton. Instead, there is a heightened sense of anxiety on the part of those prematurely declaring Clinton the victor.

After late night calls for a Clinton victory celebration, her failure to pull away in the electoral count has stunned and silenced her Establishment friends.

While all seven key swing states hang perilously in the balance, the leader in popular votes swings wildly from Clinton to Trump and back like a pendulum on steroids.

Perhaps the Populist Revolution did not fade away as predicted by the Establishment and their news media. Maybe the election has nothing to do with Donald Trump but is a referendum on Clinton and the Establishment.

If proven true, it will be the greatest upset in election history far surpassing the Truman - Dewey race in 1948.

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News Bulletin!

Dateline: Washington, D.C.

November 9, 2016 - 6:00 pm EST

Populist Momentum Carries Trump to 270 electoral votes as America’s Version of the UK Brexit Vote Stuns the World

http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2016/10/into-future-presidential-election.html

Here are stories from the Huffington Post, Reuters, nd Time Magazine at the same time covering the election status. 

FORECAST

PRESIDENT

SENATE

By Natalie Jackson and Adam Hooper
Additional design by Alissa Scheller

PUBLISHED MONDAY, OCT. 3, 2016 12:56 P.M. EDT

UPDATED TUESDAY, NOV. 8, 2016, 12:43 A.M. EST

CLINTON  98.0%

TRUMP  1.7%

In the event of a tie, the newly elected House of Representatives will elect the president, and the newly elected Senate will elect the vice president.

Possible Electoral Vote Counts

When you vote, you don’t elect the president: You tell your state’s electoral-college electors how to vote. In most states, all electors vote with the state’s popular opinion. If 51 percent of voters in California choose Hillary Clinton, all 55 of California’s electors will vote for Clinton — and none will vote for Donald Trump.

(Historically, a few so-called faithless electors have voted against popular opinion. They never changed the outcome of an election, so we don’t model them.)

We simulated a Nov. 8 election 10 million times using our state-by-state averages. In 9.8 million simulations, Hillary Clinton ended up with at least 270 electoral votes. Therefore, we say Clinton has a 98.0 percent chance of becoming president.

Election Day

November 8, 2016

POLITICS 

11/08/2016 08:22 am ET

HUFFPOLLSTER: It’s Finally Election Day, And Things Look Good For Democrats

Go vote, and then read on for poll-based projections and a look back at 2016.

By Natalie Jackson, Ariel Edwards-Levy, and Janie Velencia

·          

HuffPost’s poll-based forecasts give Hillary Clinton the win and the Democrats a narrow Senate majority. Many Americans are going to be unhappy regardless of the outcome. And we take a look back at the campaign. This is HuffPollster for Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

POLL-BASED PROJECTIONS GIVE CLINTON THE WIN - HuffPollster: “The HuffPost presidential forecast model gives Democrat Hillary Clinton a 98.2 percent chance of winning the presidency. Republican Donald Trump has essentially no path to an Electoral College victory. Clinton’s win will be substantial, but not overwhelming. The model projects that she’ll garner 323 electoral votes to Trump’s 215. For all of 2016’s craziness, that projection actually follows a fairly traditional electoral map…. Florida, Nevada and North Carolina have leaned toward Clinton in the polling averages. The forecast in recent weeks, along with the strength of early voting numbers, makes it seem very likely that these will stay with her….  [Ohio is] the closest [state], according to the HuffPost forecast model. Trump leads by just 1 point, and the polling trend has moved toward the GOP in the last few weeks. The HuffPost model gives Trump about a 70 percent chance of winning the state. In the event that Clinton’s ground game stimulates turnout and pulls Ohio in her direction ― which is not out of the question ― she’ll get 341 electoral votes.” [HuffPost]   

#POLITICS

OCTOBER 15, 2016 / 1:55 PM

Clinton heavily favored to win Electoral College: poll

Maurice Tamman

·          

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After a brutal week for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton maintained a substantial projected advantage in the race to win the Electoral College and claim the U.S. presidency, according to the latest results from the Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project released on Saturday.

If the election were held this week, the project estimates that Clinton’s odds of securing the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency at more than 95 percent, and by a margin of 118 Electoral College votes. It is the second week in a row that the project has estimated her odds so high.

Donald Trump Continues to Dip in Polls as Hillary Clinton Firms Her Lead

By MAHITA GAJANAN 

October 16, 2016

Hillary Clinton is ahead of Donald Trump by 11 points, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, which comes a little more than three weeks before the presidential election.

Conducted after the second presidential debate, the NBC News/WSJ poll finds Clinton leading Trump among likely voters 48% to 37%. Trump’s support in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll remained roughly the same since controversy exploded over Trump’s treatment of women. The two candidates remain close in that poll, with Clinton polling at 47% to Trump’s 43% because of partisan preferences.