Re: Constructed Religions

On Tue, 5 Jan 1999, Tom Wier wrote:

 > Of course, that's still well nigh worship in many Protestant circles,
 > as Jesus is supposed to be the Intercessor.

The basic idea behind the Catholic saints is that the Church is unified
in all its members, living or dead.  We used to talk about the Church
Militant (us still alive) and the Church Triumphant (those already in
Heaven) as aspects of the same Church.  I think most, if not all,
Christian churches accept the idea that you can ask someone else to pray
for you.  To the Catholic, if you can ask your pastor to pray for you,
you
can also ask a saint.  Saints are just "certified" to be available to
respond to you.  Saints are also certified "good examples", but this
isn't
their primary role.

-- Terry