Posted on 05/03/2008 4:38:34 PM PDT by NYer
We do NOT worship Mary....you are either IGNORANT of that fact or anti-Catholic.
Goota love those Catholic make-it-up-as-we-go-along apologetics!
I thought that Catholics prayed to Mary.
Furthermore the author obviously does NOT understand the Biblical foundations of evangelical soteriology/ecclesiology...
IMHO...
The large measure of good will generated durung the recent US visit by the leader of the RCC is easily dispersed by shallow articles such as these...
Again, just my humble...
I'm done...
Pass the popcorn!
And to our polytheistic Church of Rome friend; the Bible makes it's own claim to inerrency many many times, and I didn't need some pope or a handy collection of saints, (a saint for every ailment), to hand hold me or tell me what to believe. Your dogma is so transparent. And your doctrine of Maryology and praying to this host of saints is implicitly breaking the first two commandments, which makes the teaching of your popes antithetical to Christ's. Therefore by definition they are false prophets and are apostate, no matter how well intentioned they are or how much charisma they have personally.
Okay, I’m IGNORANT. What do you do to Mary and the other Saints? Why do you have to confess to a leader in your church and not directly to God?
Of course, one could ask the Catholic the same question, and receive the same answer. :-)
16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
One hopes a person who claims to believe in the Bible at least read what it says! :-)
Point taken - I shouldn’t mince words. :-P But, the original question I was responding to - if that isn’t succession, WHAT is it?
How do you know which books belong to this thing you call "the Bible"?
Show me a tradition that adds to Scripture without contradicting it.
No my saivation is found in Jesus Christ alone and I need pray for forgiveness through no human nor ask any human for "absolution," bow to no Pope nor light candles to no dead humans referred to as "saints" by the church at Rome.
All believers, are Christians and are referred to as "saints" by divine inspiration and need no confirmation from anyone other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
All such idol worship and human worship is strictly forbidden and referred to as an aboomination by God.
He alone is my Holy Father.
So does is say that in the bible or is that simply an opinion? Are we better off now that the reformation occurred? Did we solve the corruption of indulgences or are we still building worship palaces on the credit card donations sent to televangelists?
Are Joel Osteen, Jimmy Swaggart, John Shelby Spong, Benny Hinn, Katherine Jefferts Schori, and many others an improvement over some of the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy of the 15th century? Is the protestant church (or are the protestant churches) less of a mess than the Catholic church was?
Are more or fewer people in the west (on a percentage basis) among the faithful? Do more or fewer literate people read the bible? Is the Christian faith a greater or a lesser influence on our culture?
Also, after 500 years, why do protestants still define themselves in terms of the Catholic church (or is there something else that they are protesting)?
Personally, I think evangelicals of the Arminian/Weslyan tradition (in which Tradition is respected, though not equal to Scripture) are mostly right, though they generally don't know why they are right. That makes them inept at defending their positions. How Republican of them.
Catholic of the Latin Rite (aka Roman Catholic), I agree. As does the Pope.
These “tele-evangelist’s” that you speak of are only a blimp on the radar. They will one day answer to God for their deception! There are thousands of God-fearing protestant pastors in churches across this land who make huge sacrifices to do what they do. There are also thousands of others throughout the world. There are missionaries who put their lives on the line daily and some who die for their faith. Millions will spend eternity in heaven because of the protestant reformation. On the other hand, millions of Catholics who thought they were saved by the church instead of faith in Christ will split hell wide-open. Their blood will also be on the hands of popes, bishops, and priest who led the masses astray.
There will be a Day of Reckoning!
“Are more or fewer people in the west (on a percentage basis) among the faithful? Do more or fewer literate people read the bible? Is the Christian faith a greater or a lesser influence on our culture?”
I guess it depends on whether “faithful” means going through the motions of saying/listening to some stuff in a foreign language and eating a wafer(and having no clue what they mean), or actually receiving Christ. Wars have been fought over that over issue, so don’t presume to gloss over it on a message board. You give a list of questionable teachers from modern Protestantism, ignoring the recent and past dirty laundry of Roman Catholocism.
I don’t know your level of Latin scholarship, but I took five years, and I literally thank God for the King James Version.
Most Protestants don’t define themselves in terms of the Catholic church. Most don’t even think about it, which is a shame.
You might know less about Protestant theology than many Southern Baptists know about the Catholic church. It’s hard to tell.
The lady we call St. Catherine of Siena argued with the Pope and won.
The Pope is not the sole authority and people argue with him to this day. (There's a difference between "sole" and "final".) As happens, when the argument lasts long enough, when the Pope decides that he has won or lost, if other reasons justify it, he will "define" the conclusion. THEN it's "final". Up until then, it's "in play".
I am not trying to persuade you of any doctrine here. I am trying to help you confine your arguments to what the Church actually teaches rather than something she doesn't teach.
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