Which of the four marks of the Church seems the greatest or most important and why?

I think the most important mark of the Church is that the church is one. If the church wasn’t one then there would be many different beliefs and no one would believe the same thing; in a sense, our faith wouldn’t really exist. Holiness may be very important in the Church but if the church was not one, then other beliefs could contradict that the Church is or isn’t holy in the first place. Apostolic is also very important in the Church because without it, the Church could not consider itself descending from the teachings of Christ or consider itself correct about theological teachings in the Church. One is more important than apostolic because without the oneness, the apostles could have spread non-unified or false teachings that would confused the Church’s followers. The Church is kept together as one primarily because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Oneness is also more important than catholic. You can see from the Old Testament that God started with a small group of people and gradually elevated the number of people he guided and taught with time. So if the Church was not universal, then God would be working through a select few of people until it became universal. But it could not become universal without the oneness of the teachings and the faith because if it spreaded non-unified, then many other religions would form that were not completely similar the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

Salvation is what now?? (Protestantism vs. Catholicism)

Protestants and Catholics believe many similar and different things. One different thing is their views on salvation and how we are saved. Catholics believe that we are saved through our own personal effort to remain in a state of grace with God by receiving his grace in the seven sacraments. But before we receive the sacraments, we must be baptized in order to wash away the effects of Original Sin. Also, Jesus needed to come in order to provide the expiation necessary to rebuild the bond between us and God before we would be allowed to lead our salvation ourselves. Now, because of the Reformation centuries ago, Protestants believe that it is possible to be saved by faith alone. They believe that just by believing in God and all that he has taught, you can be saved. I never really understood how people believed that because by believing in God and all he has taught you would also have to follow those beliefs with meritorious works and actions otherwise you would be a hippocrates. And if you are a hippocrate, then you do not fully believe all revelation that God has revealed. Similarly, both protestants and Catholics believe that it is possible for those who do not know about Christ to go to heaven.

Morning After Pill

In the U.S, a law has just been passed that allows young girls to receive the Morning After Pill because the pill posed to major medical risks to young women. The morning after pill is a drug that women take to prevent themselves from getting pregnant the "morning after", or up to six days after, having sex. This is a very controversial topic because it is preventing pregnancies and in a way telling young women that it is okay and normal to have sex at a young age. The Catechism says this about all contraceptives: "2399:  The regulation of births represents one of the aspects of responsible fatherhood and motherhood. Legitimate intentions on the part of the spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means (for example, direct sterilization or contraception). (Catechism of the Catholic Church)" The Church does not agree with the use of a contraceptive to prevent births unless you already have too many children to handle. The ruling of the morning after pill directly attacks christian as well as parental beliefs: no parent wants their kids having sex as young as 12. Having sex that young ruins the sanctity of marriage and gives children yet another reason to frequently have sex. Personally, I see this as a great idea with many fallbacks. I can see how helpful it would be to woman already having sex, but it also gives younger woman more of a reason to do so. Also, it prevents man and woman from doing what they were made to do: procreate. The morning after pill in a social viewpoint is great, but in my catholic christian viewpoint really sucks.

Heaven

Heaven is permanent communion with God. Everyday of our lives we are with God, no matter what. When we reach heaven, we feel happier than we have ever felt because God created us to be with him. After the fall, we did not have the same relationship with God and we did not feel his presence. Therefore, when our relationship with God is back to the same way when we were created, there is no moment in life that could make you feel happier. Therefore, everyone should want to go to heaven so that we may see God. The catholic teaching on heaven is, " Heaven is permanent communion with God after the body dies."

Original Sin

Ever since Adam and Eve committed the first sin of the world, everyone except for Mary and Jesus were born with Original Sin. Original sin is passed on through the generations on our souls, and the only way to get rid of Original Sin is through baptism. After we are baptized, Original Sin is taken away but it leaves Concupiscence  which is basically like a scar. The Catholic teaching on Original Sin is, "the sin that Adam committed and a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam" (Catholic View).

Hell

Some people have the wrong idea of Hell. Some people think that if you go to Hell, you could still be able to go to heaven/purgatory. But Hell is a permanent separation from God. There is no way to go back to change what you have done. Also many people think Hell is just fire and the devil, but Hell is complete darkness. Hell is a terrible pain every day, every second of you are there. You will always feel pain but this pain you receive is from the sight of God and you want to be with him. We were made to be with him so when we are permanently separated, you can not be happy ever. Therefore, no one ever should want to go there. We do not know what it is completely like since we have not died and gone there, but this is what the Catholic Church teaches. The basic teaching of Hell is that it is permanent separation from God.

Divorce then Remarry?

During our time, many marriages end in divorce. About 50% of all marriages end up in divorce, and then the divorced couples get married later to someone else. But is this right? The Catholic church specifically states that marriage is final. When a couple gets married, they become one flesh. For this reason, when a couple gets divorced they still remain one flesh. Therefore, if a divorced couple gets remarried to someone else, the couples are one flesh with another person so that they can not become one flesh with this new person resulting in the divorced couple to commit adultery every time they make love to the new person.