The Absurdity of Separated Brethren

Beggars All ^ | February 11, 2009 | "carrie"

[RnMomof7]

The Absurdity of Separated Brethren

Before Protestants were "separated brethren"...

Q. Does the Lord make use of apostate Catholics, such as Martin Luther, Calvin, John Knox, Henry VIII., King of England, to reform the manners of the people?

A. The thought is absurd. The lives of those men were evil, and it is only the devil that makes use of them to pervert the people still more. The Lord makes use of His saints, such as a St. Francis of Assisium, a St. Dominick, a St. Ignatius, a St. Alphonsus, to convert the people and reform their evil manners by explaining to them the truths of faith, the commandments, and the necessity of receiving the sacraments with proper dispositions, and by setting them in their own lives the loftiest example of faith, purity, and all Christian virtues.

Q. Are there any other reasons to show that heretics, or Protestants who die out of the Roman Catholic Church, are not saved?

A. There are several. They cannot be saved, because

1. They have no divine faith.

2. They make a liar of Jesus Christ, of the Holy Ghost, and of the Apostles.

3. They have no faith in Christ.

4. They fell away from the true Church of Christ.

5. They are too proud to submit to the Pope, the Vicar of Christ.

6. They cannot perform any good works whereby they can obtain heaven.

7. They do not receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

8. They die in their sins.

9. They ridicule and blaspheme the Mother of God and His saints.

10. They slander the spouse of Jesus Christ —:the Catholic Church.

Q. What is the act of faith of a Protestant?

A. O my God, I believe nothing except what my own private judgment tells me to believe; therefore I believe that I can interpret Thy written word—the Holy Scriptures —as I choose. I believe that the Pope is anti-Christ; that any man can be saved, provided he is an honest man; I believe that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; that good works, and works of penance, and the confession of sins are not necessary, etc.

Q. Have Protestants any faith in Christ?

A. They never had.

Q. Why not?

A. Because there never lived such a Christ as they imagine and believe in.

Q. In what kind of a Christ do they believe?

A. In such a one of whom they can make a liar, with impunity, whose doctrine they can interpret as they please, and who does not care about what a man believes, provided he be an honest man before the public.

Q. Will such a faith in such a Christ save Protestants?

A. No sensible man will assert such an absurdity.

Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine
For the Family and More Advanced Students in Catholic Schools (1875)
(pgs 70, 91-93, 97-98; with imprimatur)

\e="author "name">Carrie at

4:33 PM

[boatbums]

What I have learned now as a Catholic is so far beyond what I ever learned in my former church. The biggest thing I have learned is why you are the way you are. “Unless you drink my blood and eat my flesh you will not have life with in you”. You have no idea what that means but I do. Thank God now I do and it’s because of the Catholic Church, because the protestants sure never taught me that.

Since you addressed this to ALL, I'll answer:

What I have learned as an Evangelical Christian is far and beyond what I learned in the Roman Catholic church I was baptized into as a baby.

I learned that Jesus Christ is my Savior, Shepherd and Lord and He gives to me eternal life by grace through faith and I shall NEVER perish or be plucked from His hands. This is not something Catholicism could ever promise assurance for.

I learned that the "true" fruit of a born again believer comes through a life lived in faith and not by forced and required rituals, ordinances and sacraments nor by the constant fear of eternal punishment.

I learned the REAL Bible was the Divinely-inspired word of God and EVERY word could be trusted as God always keeps His promises.

I learned the extra seven books men added to the Old Testament of the Bible in the sixteenth century were NEVER considered as Divinely-inspired except by those who needed something to defend their novel and unbiblical dogmas like Purgatory and praying to dead people.

I learned that the only ordinances Jesus established were for our remembrance and to confirm our faith to others, not to be done in order to earn or merit heaven.

I learned that the Biblical Mary was a faithful and brave woman who God blessed by allowing her to bear the Son of God, Jesus Christ, God incarnate. She was the mother of Jesus, was not the "Mother of God". Nor was she preserved from having a sin nature because Scripture says ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Messianic prophecy said the Messiah would be born of a virgin of the line of King David. It said not a word about her having to be sinless.

I learned that Mary and the many godly people the Scriptures spoke of should be looked up to for examples of faith, endurance, strength and holiness but that they did not have any power to intercede for me with God when they died.

I learned that I could come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in time of need and that Jesus Christ was the only mediator anyone needed.

I learned that there are plenty of Christian fellowships that are unashamedly pro-life, support women in crisis pregnancies, help spiritually and emotionally heal women who regretted having abortions and who don't pretend to be pro-life "personally" while supporting abortion "politically".

I, too, got sick of the wealthy Catholics who bought their annulments after their divorces even when their marriages were decades old and children had been born to them. I especially disliked those who acquired these annulments under the grounds that it was themselves who had no intention of being faithful to their wives but whose new wives wanted to get married in the Catholic church.

I learned that the Roman Catholic church was wrong in declaring no one outside of the Roman Catholic church could be saved and that every Christian must be subject to the Pope in order to be saved. Instead, salvation is by the grace of God that He gifts to us which we receive through faith alone and not by any works we do - including what church we attend.

I learned that the Roman Catholic church has changed quite a few of their so-called infallible, unchangeable doctrines and decrees. That they rarely had unanimous consent of church fathers on anything. That many dogmas were unheard of in the early church and had no Apostolic origin, but were novel inventions and which caused a split from the Orthodox church long before the Reformation had to deal with the same issues.

I thank God that He showed be the way to salvation was through faith and not my works, deeds, merits or goodness but purely by His matchless grace and that I can KNOW I have eternal life and will never perish. He will never lose me, cast me away, leave me or forsake me. I rest in the bosom of my loving and merciful heavenly Father. I need never fear what man may do to me.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

"The masoretic text is the continuation of and exact copy of the original writings. As Paul declared, it is the oracles of God, and is given to his chosen people to preserve, not Satan’t catholic cult."

Are you by any chance referring to the Masoretic text's divergence from the Septuagint?

[boatbums]

Protestant anti-Catholics, being not well educated about things Christian, often make anachronistic mistakes. A Catechism from 1875, for instance, should naturally be interpreted by what came before it:

Catholic anti-Protestants, being not well enough educated about things Christian as taught in the Holy Scriptures, often make mistakes such as concluding Jesus and the Apostles were liars when they said such things as:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:16-19)

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (I John 5:10-12)

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

Instead, they teach such things as people don't have to believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved as long as they are good and try to live according to the dictates of their own consciences. In essence, there IS a way to eternal life besides through Jesus Christ. They will conclude that God is incapable of leading to truth the native in deepest darkest Africa and won't hold him responsible for rejecting the truth.

Yet, God WILL hold in judgment all mankind for not coming to the knowledge of the truth because God has revealed His existence to the entire world through His creation and men are without excuse. God is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek Him and He WILL be found when we search for Him with all our hearts. Nothing is impossible for God. I don't understand how some doubt God's word and try to make excuses for things they lack the faith to believe. There is NO OTHER NAME but Jesus by which to be saved - not our good works, our deeds, our merits, our efforts no matter how sincere, not according to our consciences (which God says are corrupted and at enmity with Him) and certainly not because we go to the "right" church. We are saved by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

[boatbums]

Well said and NEEDED to be. Thanks.

[boatbums]

It’s irrelevant what the RCC teaches when its adherents don’t follow it and vote liberal and espouse contrary beliefs.

RCs criticize some "Protestants" for not following the Bible and they blame all of "Protestantism" for that. Yet, many Roman Catholics don't follow either the Bible OR their Catechism but Roman Catholicism is not to blame. Does that seem equitable?

The truth is that many people can claim to belong to a particular church or belief system but it is by their actions (their fruit) that we see what they really believe. The Apostle James said we demonstrate our faith by our works and if we don't have good works in our lives, it is evidence that we lack genuine faith - because a real faith results in a changed life- it comes from a changed heart, the new birth and the indwelling Holy Spirit. The fruit doesn't purchase salvation, though, only faith in Jesus Christ does that. Because He shed His blood for our sins and the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The basic tenets of the Christian faith are found in Scripture and they have not changed in nearly two thousand years.

[boatbums]

Those “Catholics” are protestants, not unlike Luther and Calvin. I hope you welcome them with open arms.

That's funny...they don't know that. They call themselves Catholics and STILL attend Catholic Mass. Neither Calvin nor Luther would accept them with open arms. Biblical Christian beliefs and principles don't change. Those who want to be faithful and obedient children of God follow HIS guidelines, not man's.

[Mark17]

Good one BB.

[Mark17]

Good one BB.

[Old Yeller]

So you believe it is your own works that save you even though the Bible repeatedly says it isn’t?

[metmom]

What has the Catholic Church always taught and still does, despite bad popes?

And *religion* that does not affect a change in a person's life so as to change them from vile, unrepentant sinners, is worthless.

And any church which elects and allows to continue, bad leaders such as many of your popes have been, is likewise worthless. It's hypocritical to the core, to teach one thing and not even enforce its own dictates about such behavior.

Why anyone would want to or be willing to follow such leaders is beyond me.

No man whose life does not reflect the message of the cross in Christ like living, deserves to even be listened to, much less followed and obeyed.

[trebb]

Must have been ancestors of the pharisees who wrote down this tripe.

[Resettozero]

Sigh. Muslims at the gate...and we waste our time attacking each other.

Islam was included in my post. Please read post 5 again. And you are correct about some of the infighting among believers in Lord Jesus Christ alone as our only Savior...except there is no WE in the Roman Catholic Church and some other prominent cults.

[metmom]

You go, girl.

You’re on a roll.

[winodog]

That is your one world religion. Did you know that the Koran speaks highly of Jesus and even says Mary was sinless.
They believe the coming man of sin will be Jesus the Messiah returning to pick up where he left off and they will fall down and worship him along with the rest of humanity.

[winodog]

Oopps, I misspoke again. Jesus will descend and help the Mahdi war against the Antichrist

[Lee N. Field]

The goings on during the Reformation era are as clean as popular Protestant hagiography would have it.

Should read: "The goings on during the Reformation era aren't as clean as popular Protestant hagiography would have it."

Well. Looks like the Moderator's been busy since I posted last.

[vladimir998]

“Catholic anti-Protestants ....[conclude] Jesus and the Apostles were liars when they said such things as:”

And yet not a single Catholic here has ever denied any of the verses you posted nor ever once claimed that Jesus or the Apostles were liars about anything. And I would find it hard to believe you don’t know that fact either. So I have no idea who these “Catholic anti-Protestants” you refer to are since no Catholic here has ever done what you just asserted.

[Big Red Badger]

What purpose is served by posting this?

[NKP_Vet]

The faith named for Luther, the Lutheran Church. Ever been to one? Their services are almost identical to Catholics. Try contacting all Lutherans worldwide and tell them their way of worshipping is wrong and only evangelicals have it right. Also do the same with Episcopalians. And they also make that silly sign of the cross. But they’re all wrong, just ask an evangelical.

[Big Red Badger]

Aaaah,the Truth???

That’s why You post?

Any body change their position ?

NO.

LOT of ticked off posters?

Yes.

Good Job !