[boatbums]

Thanks for your responses. I read the original post in a slightly different way than you. I know that the quotes were not meant to be all that the writer said and were snippets of the full article. I plan to read the entire thing. I also don't think the writer is trying to be hateful towards Roman Catholics, only referencing where some doctrines came from that are still believed by the Church today.

It would be wonderful if we could discuss a religion subject on FR without resorting to disparaging words like “laughable”, “ridiculous”, “nonsense”, etc. when referring to another’s views. I've been called worse, too, and it does nothing but turn me off to responding to anything that person posts. It does get personal here, at times, and shouldn't.

[Mad Dawg]

What a lovely note!

a few people can get back from the cudgel swinging and try to take a look together at the issues which divide -- and do so with the intention N OT to win b ut to be vanquished by the truth.

I know that when somebody says Leo the great was the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church there is no intention for the article to be any kind of dialogue with Catholics. We think Simon Peter was the first Pope of the Church (whether or not the term "pope" was in use), and while of course people may disagree, when somebody presents the idea that someone who "reigned" generations after Peter was the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, we know right away he's talking about us, not to us.