Posted on 05/29/2019 12:37:41 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
May 27, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Speaking with one of the best-known conservative Jews, Dennis Prager, at the PragerU summit last week, world-famous psychologist Jordan Peterson spoke of God and his views of faith. After speaking about his dislike for the question ‘Do you believe in God?’ Peterson said, “I think that Catholicism — that's as sane as people can get.”
Peterson has often been asked about his faith, if he believes in God, and he said the question has always troubled him. He promised a podcast on the matter since he has given his dislike for the question much thought.
He explained, “Who would have the audacity to claim that they believed in God if they examined the way they lived? Who would dare say that?”
“To believe, in a Christian sense,” he added, “means that you live it out fully and that's an that's an unbearable task in some sense.”
Then in one long drawn-out, rapid-fire thought, the type that has enthralled his millions of fans, he laid out extemporaneously the vision of a believer in God:
“To be able to accept the structure of existence, the suffering that goes along with it and the disappointment and the betrayal, and to nonetheless act properly; to aim at the good with all your heart; to dispense with the malevolence and your desire for destruction and revenge and all of that; and to face things courageously and to tell the truth to speak the truth and to act it out, that's what it means to believe -- that's what it means -- it doesn't mean to state it, it means to act it out. And, unless you act it out you should be very careful about claiming it. And so, I've never been comfortable saying anything other than I try to act as if God exists because God only knows what you'd be if you truly believed.”
See the full exchange of Peterson and Prager here.
I ask your prayerful consideration of this...those of whom God has seen their hearts and knows if genuine faith in Jesus Christ exists, that they HAVE chosen God's way and are born again into His family, joint heirs with Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, WILL be saved. It is God's sacred promise as He states repeatedly in His word. Do you think that it could be possible for such a person to completely reject his faith in Christ and refuse eternal life - that he willingly chooses the torment of hell for eternity? I'm not talking about cases of depression, mental illness, being deceived by a false teacher or other kinds of reasons why a Christian might seem to be no longer a Christian. I think this is a temporary thing if it does happen and the person through the hand of God is delivered from such oppression of Satan. But he is never cast out, or lost or forsaken. Such a person, were he in his right mind, could NOT nor would NOT cast away the gift of eternal life in heaven. And what kind of loving Heavenly Father would condemn to hell a child of His who dies while in that state of oppression?
I wish people could comprehend even a smidgeon of the unlimited love and mercy of God. If we who are His could be cast out, lost, plucked from His hands because of our OWN sins, then we are NOT saved by His grace. If we must endure, persevere, stay in a "state of grace", do things to maintain our salvation, then it is that which saves us and not the unmerited grace of God. We cannot save ourselves. We are powerless to work FOR our salvation. Jesus' sacrifice did far more than just open the door to heaven - He carries us through on His shoulders. We have nothing to boast about once there but will rejoice for eternity for God's unspeakable gift! Even eternity won't be long enough.
By definition, anywhere a sacrifice is offered, the “platform” of the sacrifice is a an altar. (I think your favorite liturgist, the one who spells it “alter,” established this to your satisfaction.)
When Catholic military chaplains celebrated the Mass on the back of a military vehicle, the Jeep was the altar. When they celebrated Mass in a Soviet gulag, their bunk, or a concrete floor, was the altar.
It’s not so much an architectural feature in every case, but a matter of function. Tautological but true.
You will not be able to offer a scrap of evidence to the contrary, because all known Christian places of worship, whether a house-church or a Basilica or an outcropping of rock out in the hills when celebrating a Catholic Mass was a capital offense, had not just functional spaces, but recognizable altars, for the first millennium and a half Christianity.
Pagan? No. The real cultural references for this feature of worship are the Jewish faith, and Heaven.
Jesus is the One GIVING the grace.
He is full of grace towards us.
+10
Good night and God bless, MHGinTN.
Good night and May God have Mercy upon you as you lead others along the wrong path.
There is no sacrifice offered.
Christ died once.
He offered His blood in the heavenlies once.
There is therefore no purpose for an altar for the true Christian.
You will not be able to offer a scrap of evidence to the contrary, because all known Christian places of worship, whether a house-church or a Basilica or an outcropping of rock out in the hills when celebrating a Catholic Mass was a capital offense, had not just functional spaces, but recognizable altars, for the first millennium and a half Christianity.
And this is insignificant, since there is not evidence an Apostle - not even one - conducted the Lord's Supper on an altar. Nor taught an ongoing sacrifice or participation in an eternal sacrifice, etc.
What people do is quite different that what God said.
Pagan? No. The real cultural references for this feature of worship are the Jewish faith, and Heaven.
Christianity is different than the Jewish faith. I'm hoping you see that.
Nor is the Christian to engage in identity theft from God's Jewish people.
But much of the Roman faith incorporates paganism, as your former pope wrote.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
That new nature is a Spirit led nature. Not always perfectly, of course, and not always consistently, but still, God has given us a new heart and we cannot undo it.
People who refuse God are unsaved.
Those who do not refuse God are saved, even when they stumble, even when they fall, even when they throw temper-tantrums and for a while fight His will kicking and screaming.
God is NOT going to let us go near as easily as Catholicism would have you believe. Because then our salvation becomes something WE can take credit for, and God will not share His glory with another.
And sometimes God lets us have our way and deal with the consequences of our foolish decision, but we are STILL SAVED.
We thank Thee, holy Father, for Thy holy name which You didst cause to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You modest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Thou, Master almighty, didst create all things for Thy name's sake; You gavest food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to Thee;
but to us You didst freely give spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Thy Servant.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html
By some accounts this pre-dates Justin.
Since the offering of Jesus' blood upon the altar of the Mercy Seat in Heaven was a once for all time event, the only "sacrifices" that we know Scripture teaches that are offered from the Gentiles are:
No.
One may backslide and fall into sin on occasion but there's this to remember.
The Holy Spirit calls Lot *righteous Lot*.
Now that's hardly a term I would use to describe Lot's life, but God sees the heart.
And according to Catholic theology, King David was in deep trouble, and yet God called him a man after God's own heart.
I would say that the only two men who lived lives that would qualify as *good enough* would be Joseph and Daniel.
Moses was a friend of God and failed God numerous times. Same with avid.
God doesn't use or want only perfect people. He gets the glory our of transforming imperfect people and He knows that the process is not always going to go smoothly.
He doesn't throw us under the bus the minute we slip up.
When I was Catholic I never realize how much of a works based salvation they teach, but my goodness, there's no room for error in Catholicism without risking your salvation.
It's horrendous.
She is also Mary, since she is the Mother of the Messiah.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus who is in heaven has been since before the creation of the world...He has no Mother...
Since the SOLA part of SOLA SCRIPTURA is all over the Bible, as you claim, it should be quite easy to you to find just one teensy little verse that asserts this.
I looked up ONLY and ALONE and BY ITSELF in an online concordance and found no such thing. Did I use the wrong keywords?
Help me out here.
I provided the only evidence there is. You provided no evidence whatsoever. How does that make yours the stronger case?
Ummm....not true.
Jesus and the disciples conducted the Passover without legal fear.
The early ekklesia conducted the Lord's Supper without persecution.
The first known persecution by the Empire was Nero in 64-68 AD.
Domitian (81-96) instigated persecution against believers.
Skipping ahead....
Decius (249-251) instituted the first empire wide persecution of believers.
Check Revelation. You can use a concordance. Keyword ALTAR. Thank you.
I will agree you provided one example. But to say this was church wide is another claim.
If Scripture were not all we needed, then the Holy spirit would not tell us that Scripture can make us complete.
All the uses of the word "altar" in the book of Revelation refer to the altar which is in heaven: https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=altar&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_7
If an altar was required of churches, you’d find commands and instructions in the epistles, you’d find examples of churches using altars, etc.
There is a total absence in the NT.
No one prays to saints either...
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