Question

What does the Catholic notion of sacraments and ‘sacramentals’ indicate about the importance of material reality?

What might be the danger of religious and/or philosophical systems that overemphasize the spiritual realm to the detriment of the material world?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are:

Baptism – Initiation through the water and Holy Spirit at birth. This is a formal entrance into the Catholic doctrine.

Confession – This where the priest serves as a medium for absolution that comes from Christ for the repentant sinner.

Conformation – This is where Catholics prepare for their mission as Christians who must advocate their faith in Christ through. Their faith might be preached through words or through their moralistic actions which might remind others to be Christ-like.

Communion – This is where the Catholic might receive Holy Communion for the first time. This is administered through bread and wine that has been transubstantiated by a priest to serve as the body and blood of Christ. This sacrament is a formal acceptance of Christ’s sufferings as the redemption of sins.

Holy Orders – This is where some men and women might choose to become ambassadors of Christ by becoming nuns and priests. Matrimony – This is where a man and wife are joined in holy matrimony in church.

Anointing of the sick – This where people who are terminally ill, have the last right of Holy Communion to be administered by a priest in their home.

All of these sacraments entail that one live the most virtuous and Christ-like life possible in order to gain eternal life in heaven. Misconstruing philosophies like Christianity, Buddhism and others are the greatest dangers of such philosophies. Holy texts of such religions are generally long and expatiate the nuanced details. It can be dangerous to make assumptions or assume that everything is just black and white. There are subtle details that become a great part of one’s convictions and daily living. Generally, people who believe in religions that proclaim an after-life might have individuals who disregard their life and the lives of others on earth.

Such individuals might indulge in unlawful activities like, killing in the name of religion, disregarding individuals who don’t share the same convictions as oneself and overindulgence in the material world. However, most of these religions imply that the life lived on earth serves more like a test that might determine if one’s soul might be in heaven or suffer eternal damnation. Therefore, it is pivotal for these followers to not misconstrue but, rather fully understand the spiritual importance of life on earth and of the religious texts they are to follow.