Another sticking point, the saints. Just as you can ask friends to pray for you, you can ask the saints to pray for you as well. This does not constitute speaking with the dead as banned in the bible for several reasons. One, Luke 20:36, NIV. "And they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection." Those that die in God's friendship aren't dead, they can't die. They're more alive than you and me.
Another, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10, NIV. "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun… Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." Those who are already dead (the unfaithful) will have no working or planning or knowledge or wisdom. But by stating that the unfaithful will not have those things, it seems pretty strongly suggested that those who are alive, the faithful, WILL have those things.
Finally, the Church (and Christianity in general) is facing a lot of trouble from secular powers, but didn't Jesus say that the faithful will be persecuted for His sake? That the powers that be are trying to reduce the influence of the Church is right in line with what Jesus told us would happen.
“The Church, being Christ’s own Church established in Matthew 16, is indeed infallible. Are its members and leaders infallible? Nope, just people.”
But yet, Peter, the “first Pope”, to whom you pretend was given the keys of heaven, was himself challenged and corrected for poor behavior and promoting bad doctrine as a result of it.
Galatians 2
11But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
12For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
13And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
14But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
15We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Come to think of it, your “Church” also denies that we are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ alone, requiring that we follow your Popish rituals and submit to the Pope, spend time in purgatory, be baptized, and hope that we are good enough to please God. We cannot even be forgiven of our sins lest we go to a Priest.
“Just as you can ask friends to pray for you, you can ask the saints to pray for you as well.”
No we can’t, because they’re dead. They can’t hear me. How do you propose that they can hear me while in heaven? How do you propose that one saint can hear the millions of prayers from Catholics across the globe all happening at the same time? Do the angels deliver the prayers one by one? How many angels and how much time do you suppose that requires? Even if Heaven exists outside of space and time, and so timing has no meaning... certainly, even in heaven, they would be quite busy.
“This does not constitute speaking with the dead as banned in the bible for several reasons. One, Luke 20:36, NIV. “And they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.” Those that die in God’s friendship aren’t dead, they can’t die. They’re more alive than you and me.”
But they were alive even before Jesus. As Jesus says himself,
Matthew 22:31-33
King James Version (KJV)
31But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
So why is there no instance of the Apostles recommending that we pray to Abraham, or Moses, or Isaac, or Jacob? Why is there no example of this in any of the scripture? Why didn’t Saul pray to Samuel to pray to God to answer him? Instead, he went to a witch who conjured a demon familiar of Samuel which sealed his doom.
There is no scripture that says that we should seek out some dead Saint, or Mary, or anyone else. Instead, it says we ought to seek out God.
“Finally, the Church (and Christianity in general) is facing a lot of trouble from secular powers, but didn’t Jesus say that the faithful will be persecuted for His sake? That the powers that be are trying to reduce the influence of the Church is right in line with what Jesus told us would happen.”
And this doesn’t happen to Christians? And the Catholic Church has been the force of persecution in the past. Nowadays, it simply sits idly by from most of it, or at least enables those who hate Christ. It does this through its support of collectivism and its inability to really condemn socialism.