They “brought them in”.
>>Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like that mustard seed.<<
In that it grew and produce more.
>>The Church is called the Kingdom of God on earth.<<
At best that can be considered church with a small c. The church of Christ consists of ALL those who profess faith in Jesus as Lord and savior. The RCC does not have sole claim to that.
>>and I say that these doctrines are natural branches that have grown from the seed.<<
Natural branches would have their source in scripture. A doctrine like the assumption of Mary does not. If it is a true branch it must be rooted in God’s word. If not, it does not belong to that tree.
>>Scripture supports the church and the church illumines Scripture.<<
No support for the assumption of Mary and other doctrines of the RCC. Also there is no illumination of scripture on those points. They left the scriptures on those points thus the contention that the RCC strayed from the teachings of scripture.
>>To deny that is to deny the chaos in the Christian community regarding some very basic tenets.<<
Chaos comes from Satan and it’s not confined to the RCC. It is prevalent in all denominations and will get worse the closer we get to the end of time. That’s one of the reasons I strictly adhere to scripture for understanding and not on any organized religion.
>>The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the promises to Israel.<<
Some of the promises yes but not all. That statement alone says that the church replaced the Jewish people in the eyes of God. It did not. Israel still has a special place and promise from God separate from the church.
>>It seems that replacementarianism is another false belief that non Catholics ascribe to Catholics which Catholics do not believe.<<
Here are a couple of statements that give the Catholic position.
The true Israel is not Israel "in the flesh" (i.e., ethnic Judaism) but Israel in the spirit.
The Church is not a replacement for Israel of old, but an unbroken continuation of Israel under the promised King and Messiah of Israel, and His Church is His Kingdom of Israel, expanded to include all the Gentile peoples of the earth.
Essentially they claim that the church has “replaced” Israel and that Israel no longer has a special place in future prophecy.
I see church in the both/and position.
I believe both that church is in the body of Christ, those who believe in Jesus and the assembly of those believers.
It is completely Scriptural that the believers assembled and from those assemblies eventually the edifices were raised.
We have discussed whether these doctrines are “rooted” in Scripture and I am confident that they are. I see them in the precedents I posted as being completely Scriptural in regards to Mary.
No where does Scripture say that a belief must be rooted only in the written Word. Rather, we are told that the vine is Jesus and the Marian doctrines are firmly rooted in Jesus, God and Man who died for our sins so that we may have everlasting life.
It is a point on which we cannot agree, as we view Scripture and its purpose too differently.
John tells us, 30 There were many other signs that Jesus gave in the presence of his disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. 31 These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; believe and you will have life through his Name.
And further on this...24 It is this disciple who testifies about the things he has recorded here and we know that his testimony is true. 25 But Jesus did many other things; if all were written down, the world itself would not hold the books recording them.
And of course we know from Timothy that....14 As for you, continue with what you have learned and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you received it. 15 Besides, you have known the Scriptures from child hood; they will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, for correcting and training in Christian life. 17 Through Scripture the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Scripture is written so that we will believe. It is a Testament to who Jesus is and from whence He came and how we are to believe in Him.
It is the basis of our faith and we do not contradict what it teaches. And within is all we need to believe, and to know Jesus, to love Him and to follow Him and to have life with Him.
But, we have a clear statement from John that there is so much more.
God and history are not all bound within the pages of that Glorious Book. It’s a very good foundation, but it would be impossible as John said for ALL of it to be there. The world could not hold it due to its size.
Jesus said He had much still to tell them, but He had to go so that the Holy Spirit could come to REMIND them of all that He had said, and to lead them to all truth.
Protestant can’t seem to accept that what God has done for one in Scripture He can do for others, even if Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that He has done that.
Let me ask you this.
Do you believe Moses is in heaven?
Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that. Yet, in the Transfiguration Jesus is seen with Moses.
In Mary, we do not honor her because of her glory, but because of God’s.
I know that the Church teaches that the Jewish people are our older brothers and sisters in faith. I know that Christians of all denominations have had anti Semitic feelings, and that in the past few years, maybe longer, there has been a rise in some Christian churches in advocacy for Israel.
I am always a little suspicious when I listen to them, especially someone like John Hagee, because it seems that they are more interested in bringing about the end times or trying to discern them.
Did Jesus not tell us that no one but the Father knows the day and the hour when the Son of Man will return. We are not to worry, but trust that God’s will is being done. Jesus tells us to be watchful, as in alert, to endure and to trust.
We pray, we obey the word, we take heed that our souls are ready for Him when He comes for us. That is the coming that should concern us, for we should live as if we will die before that time.