Posted on 05/28/2008 6:05:04 PM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
Hello fellow Freepers. I believe this is my first post on the Religion forum.
Over the past week or so, I put some thought into something I've been pondering for a while; my spiritual welfare. As it was, I had been part of the 'Sola Scriptua' school of thought (Evangelical Christian). By the Bible and only the Bible. Sounded good enough.
Well...what about before the Bible was put into word? It stuck in my head when reading an article earlier on FR concerning a deconstruction of Sola Scriptura and its inherent weaknesses as a foundation for one's faith.
This, combined with a genuine lack of churchgoing (as a family, we've been uncertain about going to various churches, given that top-down problems with Episcopal/Methodist/etc. churches and their increasing liberalization are a genuine problem for one's spiritual welfare), compelled me to make a decision.
I don't know if my family will follow me, persay, but I'm going to go ahead and take the plunge.
Next month, I'm going to the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle near my home, and I'm joining the Roman Catholic Church.
As is, I have a few volumes of the Magnificat pamphlet and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to read.
Any other pointers from other Catholic Freepers?
>>Well, we’ve been called cultish or not Christians because we’re not Catholic.<<
Can you give us a reference to that? Because the thread that asked that exact question was overwhelmingly positive that Roman Catholics think you are Christian.
I felt thoughtful, this morning, about why I cannot go by sola scriptura.
The Holy Bible, the Church, Tradition (in the higher sense), all are below the God, the Almight Father, Christ, the Risen Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
It’s not disagreements, tiki, it’s attitude
No, it is not the disagreements it is the disingenuousness.
lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous; insincere
Bye
>>Now that I am taking part in them according to the rules, I’m vitriolic?<
Come on JA, you’re Catholic. You’re thin skinned when you don’t take it all with a smile and vitriolic when you hand it back.
Haven’t you noticed? XD
Trust me, I’ve noticed.
>>I felt thoughtful, this morning, about why I cannot go by sola scriptura.<<
I can’t because I am just not smart enough to know if it’s the Holy Spirit sending me a message or the devil coming as an Angel of Light.
Others may have that kind of faith in themselves. I don’t. I never professed to be the brightest starfish in the sea.
Well, we are human, and we know that one of the best tests of our own thoughts is sharing them with others for more complete information, for all sides of the issue, for prayer together...anyone can make a mistake, when they’re following their own compass.
>>How do we know the Mind of God and whatever stumbling block and disability within the character of that person which has been placed by Him for His purpose which is something we cannot fathom.<<
Ooooo, you are really smart!
And that’s why I don’t follow my own compass.
I can’t tell you the mistakes I’ve made in my life when I listened to an inner voice and the people around me.
Better to put my faith in God and let Him handle it. Follow the rules and one can’t go wrong.
+ You ask me to prove it.
- I cite some cultic source which more or less in the right light, squinting, can be understood as supporting my claim.
+ You say that's not a real source or an incorrect understanding of what's being said.
- I accuse you of parsing or complain about the complexity of RC Doctrine.
+ You may or may not respond.
- Sooner or later I produce reams of excerpts from Scripture, leavened with excerpts from Calvin's Institutes or the Westminster Confession or somesuch.
+ You point out that there is little or no connection between what I post and the topic under discussion.
- I triumphantly point out that if you had the right spiritual discernment you'd see the connection.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
LOL!!!! You have nailed it completely. The "debating" style I see in many of the anti-Catholic posts on FR bear a frightening similarity to anti-Bush folks and other liberal types.
Welcome! I became Catholic several Easters ago and have not felt more complete. I know he’s been mentioned, but if you get a chance, check out Fr. John Corapi on EWTN (he used to be on Saturday nights) - very compelling and down-to-earth speaker who has “been there”.
Also, if you can get on the ping lists of NYer and Salvation, they put out so much good information on the Church and it’s history.
It’s technically called bibliolatry
If only that were true. Not all that Jesus taught is contained in Holy Scripture. Without the lens of the Church one is lost in heresy, as evidenced by the wilderness of biblical interpretaton(sic) protestants are mired in. They claim to have assurance but only have division, discord and hatred of anyone who does not agree with their sola scriptura heresy and usually their own unique interpretation of Holy Scripture.
555 posted on May 29, 2008 7:25:17 PM MDT by big'ol_freeper
I worship the creator of the universe who from outside of our I trust Him to have preserved His Word for me to read for a time such as this. I do not trust the fables of man. Be they be the Pharisees of time of Yah'shua bibliolatry |ˌbiblēˈälətrē|
noun
1 an excessive adherence to the literal interpretation of the Bible. It is not the paper nor the parchment; it is not the ink
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
it is not the binding. it is not the man-made object that I worship.
three and a half dimension world speaks to us if we only have "ears to hear".
I trust Him to have sent His Spirit to illuminate His Word for me to hear His Words
spoken directly to me for my learning and understanding.
whom He rebuked for rejecting His Word and instead created fables
or the Pharisees of today
who reject the Word of G-d and instead create fables
regardless of what city they reside. NAsbU Psalm 146:3 Do not trust in princes,
I trust Yah'shua when He promises in John 14:16
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
to send another just like Himself (Paraclete)
to help and comfort us. NAsbU John 14:16 "I will ask the Father,
and He will give you another Helper(Paraclete),
that He may be with you forever;
Could you please tell me what NAsbU stands for? It’s “New American standard bible...” something, right?
To be fair, I haven't seen the Maher-esque "Pope Benedict XVI was a Nazi in his youth" insult lately.
“I can’t tell you the mistakes I’ve made in my life when I listened to an inner voice...”
Isn’t that true! Satan comes as an angel of light. Some of the suggestions that get tossed around seem so right and so Scriptural. He’s more subtle and infinitely smarter than us.
Not to rely on our teachers in the Church, our Lord’s protection, and our discernment through the Holy Spirit is asking for trouble.
I just can’t imagine my poor guardian angel’s trials when I was a young adult! I’m still here.
It is extremely literal by word and has concordances. It is easier to read It is the New American Standard Bible (updated 1995)
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua
The code in Bibleworks is NAU; I add "sb" for clarity.
and understand than the King James.
The first Bible I read (back before I was Christian) was the King James, and I grew to love it for the sheer loveliness of many of the passages. Even then I knew it wasn’t the only one, of course, but I will always it.
duh, “I will always keep it.”
When we read Our Lord’s words, he is speaking of arrogance in the Pharisses.
“The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten in the chair of Moses. All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do: but according to their works do ye not; for they say and do not. For they bind heavy and insupportable burdens, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but with a finger of their own they will not move them. And all their works they do for to be seen of men. For they make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge their fringes. And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues. And salutations in the market place, and to be called by men, Rabbi” (Matthew 23:1-8).
And also...
>>Although the New Testament presents the Pharisees as obsessed with avoiding impurity, Rabbinic texts reveal that the Pharisees were concerned merely with offering means for removing impurities, so that a person could again participate in the community.
According to the New Testament the Pharisees objected to Jesus’s mission to outcast groups such as beggars and tax-collectors, but Rabbinic texts actually emphasize the availability of forgiveness to all. Indeed, much of Jesus’ teaching, for example the Sermon on the Mount, is consistent with that of the Pharisees.<<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees
Context, context, context.
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