/lit/ - Literature

>>19394641
False, and the concept isn't a purely Catholic one. Trying to somehow explain that Sheol and Abraham's Bosom are two different things requires far greater mental gymnastics. The Wikipedia page for Abraham's Bosom explains in the very first statement that it refers to Sheol. There is a very long history in both Christianity and, prior to Christianity, in Judaism, all of which is very simpyy explained on the Wikipedia page. Also, Christ Himself refers to Abraham's Bosom, as a place other than Heaven or Hell which nonetheless is the abode of certain souls. So you cannot claim to be a Christian whilst denying the existence of such a place, and it's existence is not a solely Catholic belief, unlike Purgatory.

>>16943543
The visions of the Saints aren't doctrine. You aren't required to believe them any more than you're required to believe miracles recorded by the Church. I find great value in some Saints- Augustine, Aquinas, Therese of Lisieux- but less so in others. If it can help you grow in holiness, grow closer to God, then good.

There are elements of Catholicism I likewise don't completely subscribe to. However, as you say, when I began seriously considering my faith a few years ago, praying and reading the philosophy, theology, history, I came to the conclusion that if Christianity is true, Catholicism has the best claim to legitimacy.

>>16877696
God wanted Man to live in a state of innocence for Man's benefit, not for God's. We're the ones who ultimately suffer the consequences of sin. We have "rules" in the same way a playground has fences, so kids don't run off like idiots into thorns. Some people choose to do so anyway. Virtue is the path to joy and sin leads to unhappiness.

If you get given a manual with your car that tells you to put oil in it, and you decide to throw away the manual because you know better and should be able to do what you want, and you want to put honey rather than oil in the engine, then don't cry when the car doesn't work.

>>16465815
Off the top of my head...

>Bernanos
Diary of a Country Priest
Under the Sun of Satan
The Imposter
>Greene
The Power and The Glory
The End of the Affair
>Waugh
Brideshead Revisited
>Tolstoy
Father Sergius
Death of Ivan Ilyich
>Dostoevsky
Crime and Punishment
The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot
>Dante
The Divine Comedy
>Flaubert
Temptation of St Anthony
>Endo
Silence
>Eco
The Name of the Rose
>Cather
Death comes for the Archbishop
>Anon
The epic Catholic novel I'm writing which will hopefully be released under a title with initials T.A.O.U.L. Keep an eye out!

Should keep you occupied for a while