Posted on 05/07/2007 8:58:18 AM PDT by NYer
Patty Patrick Bonds Conversion
I was born and raised a Baptist. As a Baptist I enjoyed a close, intimate walk with God. I read His Word and I obeyed Him and He was everything to me. I was willing to follow Him anywhere and serve Him in any capacity. I never dreamed He would lead me far from my upbringing and to a place I would have never chosen to go.
I believed that any Catholic who had genuine faith in Christ and respected the Bible as the Word of God would follow Christ out of the Catholic Church. I honestly believed there were only a few misled Christians in the Catholic Church.
One day I came across the writings of St. Patrick of Ireland. I was looking for historical evidence of his existence, but never dreamed I would discover God’s will for my life. What I found in the writings of St. Patrick was evidence of deep devotion to Christ and a spiritual intimacy with Christ that I knew right away was true Christianity. He was my brother. Yet he was also a Catholic Bishop. This birthed in me a desire to understand Church history and when and where the Catholic Church had gone wrong (since my assumption from childhood was that the Catholic Church was apostate).
(See the Catholic Encyclopedia article on St. Patrick of Ireland )
For the next several months I read the writings of those men who had learned the Christian faith from the very mouth of Christ and the Apostles. I began to familiarize myself with the culture and time of the Apostles and realized that Christianity in its earliest days was not Bible centered (indeed most of the NT was not written yet and later was not available for the masses) but Tradition centered. I learned that when the early Christians went to Church their services were not sermon centered but centered around the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, which was not seen as a symbol but as the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was guarded and protected as such. Not a crumb was to be lost nor a drop spilt. I was shocked to find that the early Church did not even resemble my own Baptist church.
This led to many more months of earnest study of the Catholic faith. What I discovered is that everything I had been taught about the Catholic Church as a Baptist had been erroneous. Every objection that I had been engrained with since childhood was a falsehood about the Catholic Church and was easily refuted by an honest look at Church history.
By coming to an understanding of the time and culture and beliefs of the Early Church, my Bible began to read very differently. I realized that no document, even the inspired Word of God, can interpret itself. No one comes to Scripture without a grid through which they interpret it. My grid had always been very Protestant and very anti-sacramental. But after investigating the Early Church, I could clearly see that the Bible was a Catholic book; written by Catholics, for Catholics, canonized by the Bishops of the Catholic Church and preserved for Catholics for millennia to come.
I also discovered that I was one of many Christians devoted to Christ and willing to follow Him anywhere even at great personal loss that were reversing the mistakes of the Reformation and flocking back home to the One Church Christ established on this earth. I discovered through a series of books called, Surprised by Truth, that I was one of many that were headed home to Rome. (My story has been included in the third edition if you would like to learn more).
May God grant you the openness to see Him in His Holy Roman Catholic Church.
Red herring. The relevant part is:
"touto estin to swma mou" ("Hoc est corpus meum"), ("This is My Body"). (Matt 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19)
-A8
"How was Christ carried in His Own Hands? Because when He commended His Own Body and Blood, He took into His Hands that which the faithful know; and in a manner carried Himself, when He said, 'This is My Body.'"
- St. Augustine
Because I read the Bible wherein I learn that it is the word of God. Further, it instructs me (and all Christians) to preach the Gospel to all men.
If the Bible does not interpret itself, then whose interpretation is authoritative?
I just said the Bible does interpret itself. Men compare Scripture with Scripture and thus learn God's meaning. God gave us ears to hear and quickened minds to understand in order to rightly discern His word. Some will get it right, by the grace of God, and some won't. Regardless, the infallible measure of Scripture is Scripture because God has told us it is through His word that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and guides us in all righteousness.
Unless you don't believe the word of God.
"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." -- John 14:17 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." -- John 14:26 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" -- John 15:26 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." -- John 16:13 "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." -- 1 Co 2:10
Your church places so many extra-Biblical rhinestones on the wooden cross of Christ it's no wonder God's word is so obscured.
Early Church Fathers on (Oral) Tradition - Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Thank you, but I’ll stick with Scripture.
This wouldn't be a problem if you didn't *interpret* the Scriptures. But, you *do* interpret the Scriptures, through many different grids (Calvinism being one of them). Your refusal to study the fathers is what prevents you from looking at Scripture through a *different* paradigm, namely, the one the fathers (who were very close to the Apostles) held. Studying the fathers is what helped me (previously a Calvinist and Presbyterian) *see* that I was placing a Reformed interpretive grid upon the Scripture, and seeing all of Scripture through those glasses. Reading the fathers also helped me see the real possibility of a different way of fitting it all together, one that made better sense of the whole.
-A8
What she apparently fails to realize is that the denomination can be apostate (which it is) and still be the home of many sincere believers, such as Patrick of Ireland.
Thankfully our justification (standing before God) is not based on being a member of the correct denomination, but it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone as we have it in the Scripture alone.
On the contrary, I find Ms. Bonds conclusion exactly the opposite of what I found. St Patrick is an example of a person who fought against the Pelagius error, one that the Church has long since embraced even though they don't wish to admit it. Futhermore, you'll find in "the beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", no reference to the Virgin Mary. This, "Hail Mary full of grace" stuff, came long after he left the scene. Instead he states (in part):
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
...
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I read the early church fathers like I read Calvin and Luther and New Advent, always through the lens of Scripture.
The church of Rome seems to stop at the early church fathers and forget every word these men wrote was supposed to be founded on Scritpure, just like yours and mine are supposed to be.
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." -- 2 Peter 2:17-21 "These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
On the contrary, her life is filled with great peace. Why not ask her yourself!
The program will air live in another 10 minutes. It is a 'call in' program and the phone number will be listed on the screen. You can imagine there are many callers. You can also email the program - journeyhome@ewtn.com. Those questions are also addressed life tonight.
Amen.
He knows of what he speaks.
If those writings are not of the men who wrote the Bible, then just exactly what has she been led to believe about the patriarchs??? Which of them heard anything from the very mouth of Christ???
I began to familiarize myself with the culture and time of the Apostles and realized that Christianity in its earliest days was not Bible centered (indeed most of the NT was not written yet and later was not available for the masses) but Tradition centered.
Yep --- she's been fully indoctrinated in the faith --- she has the jargon down --- hurry up and baptize her before she wakes up.
I learned that when the early Christians went to Church their services were not sermon centered but centered around the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, which was not seen as a symbol but as the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
But that must have been only in those churches that only had Tradition, because those churches that had Bibles would have known that the "Soul" and "Divinity" part is nowhere in the Bible. Maybe a sermon or two on that in her new faith wouldn' hurt.
Got it on live streaming audio, but I’ll probably have to get one of the Highly Technical Teens to download the mp3 for me, if it’s extremely interesting.
That's just what I wondered. Do you suppose she really believes that? Maybe this is what they're trying to sell now -- that this is written somewhere deep in the vaults of the Vatican Library.
Or will be one day.
Amen. Amazing how it's all there in Scripture for those with ears to hear.
They both have very nice radio voices :-).
As I said from another post, it’s nice to know Catholics can still get so much love. After all there have been many Mormons here lately that have been getting more LOVE and attention than us.lol
Not from me. 8~)
Trinitarian Christianity is a great and Godly distinction -- one which should give our LDS friends considerable pause.
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