As a practicing Catholic I would never point fingers at other religions. Jesus does not want Christians to condemn one another. We are to respect one another. How do Protestant/Evangelicals speak with great authority about the Catholic Church when they have no understanding about it? I will defend my Catholic faith but I will not start an argument with Prot/Evan about their beliefs. I would say to Prot/Evan that Jesus would be pleased with you if you obeyed the Ten Commnadments and you loved Him with your whole heart and soul. You should pray to Jesus about the Catholic Church BEFORE you speak about it. Jesus would appreciate this act of kindness so you do not spread false information about the Church that worships His Body and Blood Soul and Divinity. Go and be pleasing to our Lord at all times and in everything that you do. Do not arrouse a peaceful man in his religion.

Wow Deb, You have fallen into satan's trap. Jesus founded only one true church. The Cathoilc Church. He did not found 50,000 different Protestant churches with different beliefs in each congregation. If you took the time to study the True Church you would be very embarassed of your ignorant assessment of the Cathoilc Church. The Bible was written by the Holy Spirit through chosen prophets. Peter was the first pope of the True Church. Which one of the 50,000 Protestant churches is truly correct? Which one has the moral authority? I have a WARNING to Protestants who knock down the Catholic Church. Until you become an expert on the Catholic Church you should keep quiet about it. If and when you become an expert on the Catholic Church you will finally understand why it is THE TRUE HOLY APOSTOLIC CHURCH. It's time to meet some Protestants who were called home to THE TRUE CHURCH. Keep searching and keep praying.

RE Clothing: Combining worship with sex is an ancient pagan idea - it is one of the main things that set the Jews apart from everyone else around them - all the pagan/gentile peoples involved sex with religion (as in having sex in the temples/altars and/ or with the priests/priestesses etc.) and the Jews were to keep sex strictly within the marriage bed at home. Do not dress your daughters provocatively and then wonder why they come home pregnant. If they dress the part guys will expect them to act the part, and sooner or later they will do what is expected of them. I help run a sleepover event at church for girls - we teach about beauty, fashion, makeup, hair, etc. but the main point of the thing is modesty because how guys perceive the way that girls dress is a no-brainer to Moms but news to them - I recommend Chad Eastham's book WHAT GUYS REALLY THINK to all teenage girls. Yes this kind of clothing attracts guy's attention - but not in the way that you want! If all you want to be thought of is sexy, fine - but be careful what you wish for because that means all guys will want from you is sex and nothing more.

Paul, you are correct that Queen of Heaven referred to in the Bible refers to Isthar, a pagan goddess, and not to Virgin Mary, as Catholics suppose. As for Catholics & Mary: My husband's family is big-time Catholic (lots of nuns and even a Mother Superior.) Catholics get most of their beliefs from Catholic dogma (that is, literature/traditions created by Catholics) as opposed to from reading/studying the Bible. Catholics believe in Mary as being a "perpetual" virgin - that is, she never had sex with Joseph - ever - not even after Jesus was born, and that Jesus's brothers in the Bible are actually his step-brothers, assuming that Joseph was an older man and had a previous wife and family by her. They confuse the Immaculate Conception of Mary with her being "sinless." The Bible does not support this idea. Mary was sinless only in so far as she did not have pre-maritial sex in order to conceive Jesus. After Jesus was born she was free to have sex with Joseph as her husband, and to bear him children as well. The Bible supports this. Mary was a human being and sinned (except in that one respect of not having pre-maritial sex) just like any other human being who needed Jesus's Grace to save them from themselves/eternal damnation. The Bible supports this. Biblically, she is to be revered (as the mother of our Lord) but not worshipped (as only God/Jesus/Holy Spirit can be worshipped.) I recommend Catholics read the Bible for themselves, and do some historical & archeological research into this particular time period for a better understanding of the Bible and the people, places, and things it refers to. PS: My husband left Catholicism over issues like these and many issues like htese - he is now happily Protestant.

I posted earlier and thought that I would check back to see what else was being said. Wow... what a storm! I liked the comment about "cutting the girls some slack". I think they've got some good things going on but just need to work on the presentation. If this stuff is too "out there", check out http://bit.ly/Vmt1Er

Getting back to attire... I had a conversation a few years back with a colleague about clothing. She was in her mid-20's and the oldest of 3 kids. She was (and still is) incredibly stunning, and her younger (teen) sister was even more so. She said her younger sister wore very short skirts to high school, and when I asked my colleague about what their father had to say on the matter, she said, "My dad knows not to open his mouth about fashion in our house." Perhaps if dads did, and moms encouraged and supported them more to do so, teen girls wouldn't be sporting such provacative clothing. Seriously, teen girls - even Christian girls - do like boys' attention and know when they're getting it. I think it is really good for dads to let their daughters know what is appropriate and when something is not, why it is not. Just because there is a reference to God on a shirt doesn't make it appropriate. As far as the OMG label...I don't know why any company who is lead by a believer would select that name. I hate those three letters. They sound so Valley Girl-ish (yes, dating myself again), and the picture in my mind is a girl with a wad of gum in her mouth and rolling her eyes at "whatEVER!" I would not buy this product for myself or anyone else.

Kathi, that Robert Palmer reference is so right on the mark. They do look like back up models to an old music video.

Paul- reference to queen of heaven in Jeremiah is not the Mother of God but the Assyro-Babylonian Ishtar, goddess of fertility, whose worship was introduced under King Manasseh and was revived after Josiah's death. Cakes shaped like stars (Ishtar was identified with the planet Venus) were offered in her honor. Note: in Jeremiah, it's queen of heaven NOT Queen of Heaven.

Jeremiah 7:16-19 New International Version (NIV) 16 “So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

Rehab, I agree completely with you, Cindy has great passion for her faith and love for God. I do not agree with your perspective on Protestantism/ Evangelicals loathing or being fearful of tradition, as personally, a tradition was and still is very much part of the protestant denomination I am part of. I may be misunderstanding you, but to me, tradition is a way of doing things, such as: marriage is not blessed by God unless performed in a church building, a bride only wears white, or burying a statue of a saint upside down in the front lawn when moving into a new house. What Cindy is claiming goes beyond tradition to belief and faith in something that is not supported by scripture and ties directly to God and Jesus' life here on earth as the God-Man. To be passionate about something is good, but to be passionate about something that is wrong nd related to God goes beyond tradition.