Posted yesterday: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3065600/posts
I agree, one must read the entire letter, and NOT to depend up the news reports for anything more than the knowledge about the letter and a link to it.
Thank you.
I found aspects of the letter troubling or at least wanting. Yes, we are grafted into the true faith and, so, our brothers in the Jewish faith do not have to convert, they are already in the true faith. But, is it not commanded that we are to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? And, we not to provoke our Jewish brothers to jealousy for their (and our) God?
Also, I think I disagree with the Pope saying that there might not be any absolutes as this seems to say that God is not sufficient unto himself. Did he create us, for example, because he was lonely? The traditional answer to this does incorporate what the Pope said, so perhaps the Pope only gave an answer to a direct question, and not a complete answer.
God in his infinite love and creativity brought forth his Son and the Holy Spirit and through his Son created us and the entire universe as an expression of his love. So, it’s not that he was lonely, no even that he had to, but that he was impelled, freely, to express his love in his creation. Think of a great artist and a canvass. He is impelled, is he not, to express himself; but, this is not by any external force, but is an inner compulsion.
So little time to read the entire letter.
in order to have faith one must believe that those things that are written in the bible actually happened as written.
(I do not deny the existence of any of the biblical figures, just their interpretation of what they saw and documented)
So, I think there's ground for a dialogue about morality with everybody except Muslims. I except Muslims because Muslims specifically reject the natural law, so with Muslims one could only reason based on Sharia, and since Sharia is closed and in any event subject to the rule of the established Sharia law authorities (the "ulema"), there's no talking to Muslims from the get-go.
But we Christians really can talk with anybody who accepts that morality is discernible from the facts of creation.
I would add that so long as a person is committed to the Truth and the Natural Law, then that person is in a very real sense committed to Christ, even though he or she may be unaware of that fact, or maybe even vehemently rejects any affiliation with Christ. That's because Christ is the Way (the Natural Law) and the Truth. I believe that Solzhenitsyn was committed to the Truth to the point he was willing to suffer the GULAG for it before he realized the Truth has a name - Jesus Christ. He was a Christian but didn't know it." With such people I will speak humbly. The Pope is right about this. So long as a person believes that things like basic human rights are "self-evident", then let them in good faith believe in Nature, and let Nature's God reveal Himself to them in His time.
The first time was when the rich young ruler came to him. Jesus quoted several of the commandments. The ruler said "I've kept those from my youth". Jesus said sell all your goods and follow me. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful. Effectively even thought the rich young ruler had lived an extremely good life by human standards, Jesus had focused him on "Have no other God before me". And he failed.
The second time a lawyer asked. Jesus replied what's written in the law?" The Lawyer replied "Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said, "Do this and you will live." The lawyer "seeking to justify himself" asked "who is my neighbor?". Which led to the parable of the good Samaritan. Again Jesus answered obey the law, but in such a way that it showed the seeker his faults.
The third time was Nicodemus. To Nicodemus, Jesus said, "You must be born again."
There are two ways to get to heaven. Never sin, or be forgiven. Scripture tells us none are righteous, nobody has done or will do the first, except for Jesus.
John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Is the Catholic Church a Non Christian cult. Praying to “saints” I put ssaints in quotes because the whole thing about Sainting people is not Biblical.
A Saint is a follower of Christ, a Christian is a Saint. This business of sainting people is a joke
Yes The Virgin Mary was a very special Human being, but again, there is only one mediator between man and God, and that is Christ Jesus
Nowhere does the Bible tell us to invite Mary in to our hearts, or pray to anybody else but God/Jesus
And this idea that anybody other than Jesus is infallible, what a joke, a sad joke
Purgatory is also not in the Bible
The Catholic Church has really never believably condemned Abortion, just lip service, they have never cared enough to say that supporting such things is to disqualify oneself from the Christian faith
They are more worried about the collection plate than the things of God
Catholic Church certainly has lots of company, so I am not just targeting them....the list is to long. basically organized religion in 2013 is in pretty much the same state