And the truth is, as these threads show again and again, that we hold the Incarnation and the (jargon alert!) "work of Christ" made a bigger difference, a more cosmic difference, and a more profound difference in the nature of Man than they hold.
So it COULD be that if they are right, we are some kind of out there.
To me it is entirely reasonable for it to take centuries for the full meaning of the Incarnation to be understood. And it is entirely reasonable that the Church, as it grew, would need to develop structures and refinements. And, from the first time "it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us," was uttered by saved sinners right up to today it is reasonable for the Church to have so much confidence in God's protection that these changes could be understood as 'seeming good to the Holy Spirit.'
IN my personal story it was, superficially, the moral and intellectual chaos in the Episcopal Church that opened me to the idea of Tiber-swimming. But more intimately, it was the consequence of a desire to sink more and more deeply into the love and grace of which the Calvinists spoke that led me to something more (in my view), more complete than Calvinism.
handing yourself over to Jesus can lead to entirely unexpected places, including a pew in a chapel where our Lord's body is presented for adoration.
well said!
I find it almost intolerably ironic that those who assume the title of Christian for purely nominative purposes, namely the LDS and the Paul-ist Protestants claim the Catholic Church is not authentically Christian.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
According to the scriptures, the next time any one lays their eyes on Jesus on the Earth, He won't be sitting in a cracker in a Catholic church...
But, I have had the good fortune of conversing with some here who have been gracious and kind to me.
We humans are an impatient lot, not always content to submit to God’s will in His time.
My own journey back was somewhat similar in that I had fallen into a deep agnoticism and found God pulling at my heart. After searching and prayer I found my self back in the Church after a more than twenty year absence from any relationship with God.
I see protestantism as a rudderless ship with no captain at the wheel. I believe they are sincere in their beliefs but I am happiest in the Barque of Peter as I see it as the vessel of calm in the stormy sea of faith and life.