[bornacatholic]

This is intended merely to present the Catholic side. It is not intended as an attack on the Faith of any Freeper or lurker.

[GLDNGUN]

It is not intended as an attack on the Faith of any Freeper or lurker.

When you say your church is "the only true church", many will indeed see that as an attack on their Faith and/or church. This is a sleight-of-hand the Mormons have become quite adept at. They insist that THEY are the "one true church" and when people make the case that this can't possibly be true, they complain "Why are you attacking us? We aren't attacking you!"

When a church claims to be "the one true church" they had better not be surprised when others put that claim to test.

[Kolokotronis]

I love this line:

"Hence, Christ never said to His Apostles, "Go and write Bibles and distribute them, and let everyone judge for himself." That injunction was reserved for the Sixteenth Century, and we have seen the result of it. Ever since the Sixteenth Century there have been springing up religion upon religion, and churches upon churches, all fighting and quarreling with one another."

[DX10]

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Further, we are begotten through the word. The Catholic Church and all denominations with their creeds and conventions are the ones guilty of private interpretation. Wills often come with conditions attached if one wants to receive the inheritance. Christ's will comes with the terms He has set down if we want the inheritance (salvation). Faith (Heb 11:6), repentance (Acts 17:30), confession (Rom 10:10), baptism (Acts 2:38) and living the Christian life (1st John 1:7). The word was committed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit Who helped carry it throughout the known world (Col 1:23) and Who commintted it to us through the written word for generations to come. Each of us are individually accountable to meet God on His terms; and his commands are not grevious. (Baptism, transliterated from the Greek Baptizo, meaning to immerse, dip, or plunge beneath. Private interpretation of this word can change its meaning.) No offense.

[Salvation]

Why NOT have Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition?

Even non-Catholics know that many storieis were handed down person to person and not recorded in the Bible.

[Diego1618]

Some food for thought????

Mark 16:9-20

On the other hand John 6:40 simply says, [For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.] Nothing said about baptism.

[Iscool]

As I understand it, it was against 'Catholic' law for Catholics to read the bible for many centuries...I understand why...And I understand the reason for this person's attack on the bible...And here's one example:

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.

One will notice Christ is the 'head' of the church...There is no pope...There is no priest to forgive your sins...In fact:
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Boy is that simple...No wonder these people hate the bible...

Just for the record, I was 'saved', and then baptized...
But what are we all counting on to get us to heaven??? Some of us are counting on the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ...And some of us apparently are counting on the City Water Supply...

Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

John claims he was baptizing with 'water' to proclaim Jesus to Israel...Not a Christian or Gentile in the whole bunch...He wasn't preaching the Head of the Church...The 'mystery of the church wasn't revealed until Jesus revealed it to the Apostle Paul...Peter didn't even initially know about the church...

Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

The baptism by water 'for salvation' was eventually eliminated...Check out Acts: 8, 9, 10, and 11 etc...

It's pretty clear why some churches want to plant the seeds of disbelief in the bible...Oh, and by the way;

Act 13:49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.

Appears as tho the believers were writing out copies as fast as their fingers would move, contrary to what some may say...

[Between the Lines]

Should all read it and have a faithful translation, even then it cannot be the guide of man, because the private interpretation of the Bible is not infallible, but, on the contrary, most fallible. It is the source and fountain of all kinds of errors and heresies, and all kinds of blasphemous doctrines.

Let me see if I got this straight. Though "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16a) there are only a few who can discern it's meaning without infallibility ...

So our Divine Savior also has established His Supreme Court --- His Supreme Judge --- to give us the true meaning of the Scriptures, and to give us the true revelation and doctrines of the Word of Jesus.

... and only these few can tell us what it truly means even though it may contradict what we read of God's word with our own eyes least we fall into heresy.

Jesus, though he was not a member of the clergy, read and studied God's word for Himself. And He discerned for Himself what it meant. He was often in direct conflict in His understanding with the established clergy which claimed for themselves the God given right as the only ones who could discern God's word without err.

It would appear that this lesson from Jesus is in direct conflict with the sermon in this article. It shows that religious bodies can be as fallible as men. This sermon asks that I follow the word of only the clergy. But I have to ask in return "what did Jesus do?"

[Hebrews 11:6]

This is intended merely to present the Catholic side. It is not intended as an attack on the Faith of any Freeper or lurker.

How disingenuous. "I attack you but I don't actually mean it as an attack, even though that's all it is." Your disavowal is ludicrous. You act as a divider. Please go back to your God--not your Pope or Bishop or Priest--and ask Him if this is truly what He wants of you.

[Salvation]

For the ongoing dialogue about the Church and the Bible:

We’re on a Mission From God!

by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Other Articles by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

We’re on a Mission From God!

02/06/06

The Bible is not just for churches and synagogues. Portions of it are read as literature, even in secular university classrooms. Invariably, when you look at the syllabus of such courses, you find Job.

It’s not hard to see why. Job poignantly expresses what all human beings experience at one time or another — the feeling that life is a burden, that our daily routine is drudgery, that our suffering is meaningless, that there’s not much hope for our future (Jb 7:1-7).

Things are tough all over — in Job’s day, in ours, in Peter’s. It’s all about trying to earn a living and raise a family with taxes, government, disease, and unexpected tragedies yapping at our heels. The Gospel (Mk 1:29-39) shows us such a world that is suddenly turned upside down by someone who breaks all the rules. Demons that normally inspire terror, themselves run away in fear. Fevers flee. Incurable illnesses yield. Instead of talk about the burden of the law with its innumerable regulations, Good News is announced that gives people hope again. The Good News is that God is on the move, that He, not the emperor or the Prince of Darkness, is King, and He is not slavemaster but Father.

The Someone responsible for all this commotion happens to look like one of them, and indeed is one of them, but does things that only God can do. As He speaks, they begin to feel as if the world may have meaning, that life may actually be worth living. They want to be with Him, to hear His electric words and see His astonishing deeds. So they won’t leave Him alone. Crowds gather outside the door of the humble place where He is staying.

What happens next is instructive. Knowing His need for communion with His Heavenly Father, He rises early the next morning to seek solitude and a few moments in prayer. But they need Him. So they send the Apostles to track Him down. When they find Him, He is not annoyed. He does not protest that it is His day off, tell them to come back tomorrow or sometime next week. He has come to bring Good News, to bring light to those in darkness, healing to the suffering. Many are desperate, so His mission is urgent. He gets up, but doesn’t return to Capernaum. Instead, He moves on to other towns. Those who wish to enjoy the excitement of His company must join Him in His mission.

St. Paul has the same sense of urgency as his master (I Cor 9:16-19). He is aware of being entrusted with an awesome responsibility. It is not an option for him to share the Gospel. What he has received as a gift, the most precious gift imaginable, he must give as a gift. And he must give it not only to those he likes, or those with whom he has some natural bond. He must not do it only when it suits him, when it is convenient. No, he must exert himself. He must seek common ground with all — Jew, Greek, weak, strong, educated, uneducated — so as to express the Gospel to them in a way that they can understand. And this mission led him to cover more ground than even his master — not just Judea and Galilee, but what’s now Turkey, Greece, and Italy.

Not all are called to be traveling preachers like our Lord and St. Paul. But the Church teaches unequivocally that membership in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church is not just about being saved and enjoying God’s company. There is a suffering world out there that desperately needs the saving truth and healing touch of Christ. Notice that immediately upon being healed, Peter’s mother-in-law began working. Baptism is completed by confirmation, an anointing to serve. You can’t be fully a member of the apostolic Church without participating in the apostolic mission.


Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA, adult faith formation, and teens, with a special emphasis on the Year of the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the sacrament of confirmation.

(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)

[Sloth]

This is intended merely to present the Catholic side. It is not intended as an attack on the Faith of any Freeper or lurker.

OK, then do not interpret my response as an attack:

I believe that there is only one true church that God recognizes as his own (Ephesians 4:4-6). I believe that this one true church was established on the day of Pentecost after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection (Acts 2). I believe that salvation from sin is found in becoming a member of this church, whose characteristics are described in the New Testament. And I do not believe that the organization known as the Catholic Church is the same body that the apostles belonged to in the first century A.D.

[narses]

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