Matthew 10:22
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mark 13:13
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Jesus wouldn't warn us so seriously about "enduring" if it didn't matter whether we endured or not. At least, that's the way St. Paul sees it, because he says:
1 Corinthians 9:27
But I keep my body under subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be cast away.
1 Corinthians 10:12
Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
I don't think Jesus ever said, "Don't worry about offending God. You can be as wicked as you like because, hey, you're saved." You wrote: "Did you list the heretical Orthodox faith in your geographic tour of Catholicosity?"
AWell, yeah. The Catholic Church doesn't hold that the Orthodox are heretics, just that they're separated from us by schism. My own opinion is that this schism was precipitated by conflict and incomprehension in politics and culture much more than by a repudiation of faith and morals.
And then there is the many schisms inside the RCC.
As for Mahony, Mel Gibson, pro-abortion Catholics and all the rest: none of this is germane to the teaching of the Church, all of which are true. Mahony may be corrupt, Gibson is not in communion with the Church, and pro-abortion Catholics are in grave sin. The fact that they do not live and teach as the Church teaches, does not make the Church wrong!
When Christ was crucified, he was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter his right-hand man, and the rest of the Twelve (except for John) abandoned Him and high-tailed it to the high grass. If sin invalidated the truth of the Church, then the Church was dead on arrival.
All the things you listed, show the error of those who fall away from the teachings of the Church, and not the error of the Church.
--Jesus warns us repeatedly that not those who abandon His way, but only those who are faithful to the end, will be saved:
Yup, something referred to as saving faith as opposed to false faith as mentioned in...er... somewhere in the Epistles I think. (Lol. Mind cloudy. Fading fast!) Those that will be saved are foreknown, and the word for known is translated from the same word that Adam did to Eve to get kids. Also translated as fore-loved, as in an intimate relationship. Just as Jesus told the Pharisees that He did not know them, thus they were indeed going to Hell.
--I don't think Jesus ever said, "Don't worry about offending God. You can be as wicked as you like because, hey, you're saved."
Did I ever say that? Please give me references so that I may clarify. Perhaps talking of the Spirit saving those no matter how atrocious their sins were? Once the Spirit turns their hearts of Stone, hateful to God, to hearts of Flesh, able to love God and do His will, that person will start on the road of sanctification, and the Golden Chain from Romans that ends in glorification. If God wants that person saved, that persons faith will be saving faith. Everything happens according to His will, and His will is totally done, every jot and tittle, every flower and sparrow lives and dies when He commands it.
This allows the believer to see that all the horrors of this world are here for a purpose, sin is used to shape events and people, and is not just random bits of Hell that happens to us. Katrina and the Holocaust were to shape history. God allows evil to exist and uses it to His end and glory. Otherwise why does God allow it? Is He not all loving and all powerful? Why will some never hear the word and go straight to Hell? Why does God allow the modern Herod, the Abortion Movement, to exist? Why did He demand the Israelites to kill the tribes that occupied the Chosen Land? Is that fair? Is that justice? All to His purposes. Otherwise God allows something He cannot control? Predestination allows the believer to see the OT and the NT as the continuing story. Otherwise it almost seems like there are two Gods, like the Gnostics believed.
Starting to get off topic...sorry. Okay, not starting, more like Running away from topic. What was the topic? Lol!
--As for Mahony, Mel Gibson, pro-abortion Catholics and all the rest: none of this is germane to the teaching of the Church, all of which are true. Mahony may be corrupt, Gibson is not in communion with the Church, and pro-abortion Catholics are in grave sin. The fact that they do not live and teach as the Church teaches, does not make the Church wrong!
I would think that the Pro-abortion types do in fact IF allowed to stay inside the RCC would make it wrong. And that is a big sticking point that many inside the RCC would agree with me. Still awaiting der Pope to get on the ball on this. Thousands are dying a day.
--If sin invalidated the truth of the Church, then the Church was dead on arrival. All the things you listed, show the error of those who fall away from the teachings of the Church, and not the error of the Church.
Well, I was illustrating the unified RCC is not so unified. I understand that as fallen beings, anything we do is tainted, thus we tend to fail even holding to our faith at times. That is what is so hard to argue with some that will not even admit that their church can anything but infallible. Churches being made up of people will do as the people do. Thus the whole child molestation by the RCC priests, and thus false teachers the likes of Haggard and Swaggart getting such big followings.
Too much. Rambling all over. Sorry.