Replies

Who's bristling at the term Protestant? I wear it proudly.

As far as the Catholic Sectlets, I'm no talking about the Orders (thougt if you were being totally honest, you would admit that many of the Protestant demoninations would qualify as one)

I'm talking about:

Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Liberal Catholic Church
One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church
Holy Catholic Church - Western Rite

And others, some of which have their own Pope.

Just because these tiny churches call themselves Catholic doesn't make them so. They are schismatics and are outside of the Catholic Church. Most of them have more bishops than faithful anyways.

Also, they don't have their own popes because they reject papal authority.

Who's bristling at the term Protestant? I wear it proudly.

Good, I like that. Protestants that are evangalical in nature or belong to a denomination called "non-denominational" are the ones that either bristle at the term or simply do not know that they are protestant. (in my experience).

As far as the Catholic Sectlets, I'm no talking about the Orders (thougt if you were being totally honest, you would admit that many of the Protestant demoninations would qualify as one)

I agree, I'm not going to count every church as a separate sect, I would limit it to doctrinal differences before I would recognize it as a separate sect. That is why I steered clear of the number factor, I have not seen a list of the various sects and why they qualify as being in a distinct sect. As untarians were considered protestant at one point, (they certainly came out of protestantism,)but they are barely Christian, if at all. They could call themselves protestant, but as they no longer even profess Christ or the unique status of Scripture, why bother? The point being that I could decide that I am the Pope and call myself Catholic but it ain't necessarily so.

I tried to make my way through the long, long diatribe of Fr.John Whiteford but kept being interrupted by the Holy Spirit, who was reminding me that it is He who instructs through the means of the Word and we can trust Him to speak the truth to those He has called. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Where can truth be found? Only the bible is incapable of error in defining doctrines touching faith or morals. The Word of God is incapable of misleading, deceiving, or disappointing unlike institutions of men.

Why do men believe that other men put together the canon of Scripture? If holy men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit to write, wouldn't the same Holy Spirit preserve that Word?

Fr.Whiteford discounts the "invisible church", and that, it seems to me, pushes the Holy Spirit to one side and subordinates His work to the institution of the Orthodox church.