Replies

We recognize that people can have an emotional episode and feel that they are "saved" but that this can wear off.

If someone is saved, born-again, then it does not matter how they "feel". Our feelings come and go, but they do not dictate our salvation. There are times when I am not pleased with my wife or children, to be truthful it is usually the other way around ;^), but that does not negate our family relationship.

King David wrote in Psalms 51:12,"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."

David did not ask for his salvation to be restored, just for the joy of the salvation that God had given him to be restored.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant.

On a side note, in reading through this "thread" (can anything with well over 2,000 posts be rightfully called a mere thread?) I have seen you infer a couple of times that relying on sola scriptura could lead one to believe in two Gods. Would mind explaining to me how this is so?

Thanks.

-ksen

On a side note, in reading through this "thread" (can anything with well over 2,000 posts be rightfully called a mere thread?) I have seen you infer a couple of times that relying on sola scriptura could lead one to believe in two Gods. Would mind explaining to me how this is so?

We are leaving the territory of "thread" and rapidly approaching "spool" status.

On your question, there was a poster named "vmatt" who held the view that Jesus was a second god, as opposed to being One with the One God.

He reached this conclusion through his reading of Scripture and what he considers to be the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (The interesting thing is that his proof texts for the two god theory are the exact ones we use to show Jesus' unity with the Father.)

The point being that without an authoritative Church to which to listen, to allow to teach the true meaning of Scripture, vmatt was lost. Following our principles of having an infallible guide to reading Scripture and not trusting in just your own reading for coming up with theology vmatt never could have done this. He would "read" about two gods, but be swiftly informed of his error by checking any authoritative Catholic source.

Following the principles of Sola Scriptura vmatt had to abide by what the "Holy Spirit" had taught him in his private reading of Scripture.

Bottom line, when no authority is final except what the "Holy Spirit" tells an individual, you will have individuals who are lost.