The Neverending Story (The New Christian Chronicles)

Southern Baptists ending talks with Catholic Church ^ | 3/24/01 | AP

[malakhi]

The Neverending Story
An ongoing debate on Scripture, Tradition, History and Interpretation.

Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue. - John Adams

Thread 162
TNS Archives

[hopefulpilgrim]

Even popes make mistakes....... when expressing their personal opinions.

Note loop-hole.

[SoothingDave]

You are good at justifying disobedience. What you have done is theorize God's reasons for giving the command, and then look for a way to get around those reasons.

And you are entirely obsessed with the carnal law given to a carnal people! When you learn to think spiritually you will see that God doesn't want our stinky sacrifices, he doesn't want to make sure we have no leaven in our homes on certain dates, he doesn't want to make sure we have no pictures of him. He wants our devotion, our fiat to his wishes. He doesn't care if we have a picture of him or his mom in our yard. It's what's inside that counts.

SD

[RobbyS]

People who forget their dead are more likely to forget their own mortality. Religion is reduced to morality and Jesus becomes merely a guide to better living.

[OLD REGGIE]

I had trouble following the link I posted on #725. This seems to work however.

http://www.bergen.com/morenews/pope1620011016.htm

When I cut and paste this it works???

[SoothingDave]

Even popes make mistakes....... when expressing their personal opinions.

Note loop-hole.

Loophole, nuanced definition. Potato, potahto.

SD

[dadwags]

#653
I was just showing you scriptural uses of the word "until".Just besause condition A exists UNTIL event B does not mean that the condition changes at event B . Of course you knew that all along, but when you throw Matt 1:25 out, I just have to counter with Psalm 110:1 and Hebrews 1:13 .(0_0)

[hopefulpilgrim]

Jesus founded an infallible Church.

Not. The Church is made up of human beings who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. This doesn't make them infallible...not even the branch of the Church called Roman Catholicism.

[hopefulpilgrim]

LOL! (I expected that answer).

That is because something deep down inside of you knows he is right.

[malakhi]

I believe that when we die, we are spirited to paradise, in the presence of God, where we sleep until the resurrection.

I disagree. Even in the afterlife, my 14 month old daughter will wake me up and want a bottle (...a sleepy angelo). And you wonder why I'm up late at night posting? ;o)

[al_c]

Pretend for a moment that ( and ) are actually < and > ...

Here's how to add a hyperlink:

(a href="http://www.bergen.com/morenews/pope1620011016.htm")link(/a).

Coded with the proper characters, the above would appear like this ... link.

[OLD REGGIE]

BTW I can find no dictionary describes tradition as static, dead or fixed. Rather, it is commonly described as (in regard to Christians) “the unwritten teachings regarded as handed down from Jesus and the Apostles.” This is one definition I found in Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language published in 1957

Based on that definition I would expect no "tradition" was developed after the deaths of the Apostles. In other words; it is not developing.

[hopefulpilgrim]

Even what individual popes say have to be submitted to the process and evaluated.

....and by fallible people! Gee, that makes what they come up with REAL safe to believe, doesn't it? Fallible people's opinions evaluated by more fallible people and results touted as INFALLIBLE.

[SoothingDave]

In other words; you really do have a "cafeteria" theology. Sift out what suits your purposes and reject the rest. The Magesterium of the Church" is the most important element???

"Cafeteria" refers to something different.

I do think you are starting to understand, yes I do. There is this thing called "the Truth" which the Church has been entrusted to guard and treasure. When a person writes something trying to explain this "truth" the Church examines it and deems it either worthy or not. Either in line with the Truth, or not.

I can write something inspired and brilliant one day about one part of the Truth. The next day I could be mistaken about another aspect of the Truth.

If you ask me I will tell you everything I write is brilliant and True. I would be biased by my own ego, though.

It is the job of the Church, the Magisterium, to tell me (and the world) whether what I write is True or not, or if parts of it are True or not. This is how she treasures the Truth and guards it. One person can not do this trick without consulting all of the minds of Catholicism, official and lay (bishops and scholars), live and dead to see how the item in question fits in with Scripture and what has been declared True before (Tradition). All three work together.

This is not "picking and choosing" on the whim of an individual (that is what a "cafeteria" Christian does), but carefully using the mind of the entire Church to rightly discern what is True.

SD

[al_c]

That is because something deep down inside of you knows he is right.

Puh-leeze. This tactic has become so tiresome.

If you had been keeping up with the conversation between me and RnMomof7, you would know that most of it was in jest back and forth. That being said, I do not hold the pope higher than Jesus Christ and never even hinted at it.

[Havoc]

Well, does the prohibition extend to Jesus? I have seen statues of Jesus even in Fundie land.

Why don't you just quit the orthodox stuff, grab onto the Bible and follow Jesus with me. We're doin a pretty good tag team here bud :)

The fundies have no more right to break the laws of God than anyone else. I've said it before; but, your timing is impeccable. There is no label on earth that gives anyone the right to break God's laws. And you all can bank on that.

[dadwags]

#669
"Calling up dead people is a no-no"
I'm not up on my chapter and verse, but I get the impression that Chritians never really die .
that's where we get the "Communion of Saints " idea from .Those on earth are the "Church Militant", those in Purgatory are the "Church suffering" ,and those in Heaven are the "Church Triumphant"

[OLD REGGIE]

Can you tell me, in your opinion, can one be a true Christian if one doesn't believe the words of Christ are true? And secondly, how do you define "love"?

I believe one can be a true Christian if one is "confused" concerning the words of Christ.

As to defining "love"; on the advice of my attorney, I decline to answer.

[RobbyS]

That's where the Holy Spirit comes in.

[SoothingDave]

Based on that definition I would expect no "tradition" was developed after the deaths of the Apostles. In other words; it is not developing.

Is your understanding of God and Christ and Theology the same as it was when you were first "Saved" or "born again" or whatever?

I hope not. Your understanding of the same truths, which were always true, has grown and developed. To a new Christian today you could explain the truth a whole lot better than you could have way back when. You yourself have grown in understanding and in being able to communicate this understanding. Now did the Truth change along with you all of these years since you got saved?

Of course not. Now if we consider the Church to be an organism its collective understanding of Truth has been growing for two millennia. What we all understand now about God is based upon generations before us learning and adding to this store of understanding.

SD