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To: unlearner
Where does the Bible instruct making images of deceased saints, bowing to them, making offerings to these images, or praying toward them?

Nice attempt at redirection but your post was about "plain teachings of the Bible" that "can be understood by its direct reading", not about teachings or practices beyond the Bible.

EUCHARIST:

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
(John 6:53-58)

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, l for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.
(Matthew 26:26-28)

CONFIRMATION:
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit.
(Acts 8:14-17)

Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
(Acts 19:4-6)

CONFESSION:
[Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,m “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
(John 20:21-23)
ANOINTING OF THE SICK:
Is anyone among you sick* He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint [him] with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
(James 5:14-15)
HOLY ORDERS:
This saying is trustworthy:* whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money. Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
(1 Timothy 3:1-3, 8-9)

Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate.
(1 Timothy 4:14)

You can use what ever mental gymnastics you want to deny the clear meaning of these passages but the truth of Catholic teachings in them is evident. It is only by bring a preconceived Protestant bias to them that these truths be denied.
21 posted on 12/16/2013 11:20:57 AM PST by Petrosius
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To: Petrosius

“Nice attempt at redirection”

I think you must mean misdirection as redirection is something a lawyer does when the cross examination of his witness goes poorly or something a web browser does when the page being sought no longer exists. But I was not redirecting, misdirecting or even just changing the subject. My point is the crux of the matter.

We can go on endlessly debating the meaning of these passages and will get nowhere primarily because you apparently regard the entity that identifies itself as the Catholic church, or more particularly the clergy of this entity, as a higher authority than the Bible. You attribute apostolic authority to these men who are in no way qualified by the Biblical requirements and tests of apostleship. You are unwilling to test their apostolic claim and oppose others who seek to follow the Biblical mandate that goes along with such claims.

The authority of Paul, Peter, John and all of the apostles is available for me directly by opening my Bible. These men passed the tests of apostleship and most Protestants fully accept their authority.

I am well aware of high-ranking Catholic clergymen who practice and advocate immorality that Paul said must be put out of the Church, but you are among those who insist that followers of Christ must subject themselves to these men, to make auricular confessions to them, and to seek their counsel and instruction to understand scripture. These men are not, nor ever were true followers of Jesus, let alone people who should be assuming leadership in the Church.

Like the Pharisees of Christ’s earthly advent, these men are not content to go to hell alone; they constantly lead others to follow them there. The message Christ gave to these men is plain and fearful: “Woe to you.”

Christ described them as stubbornly resisting the kingdom of God and of trying to prevent anyone else from entering as well. How could a godly entity attack a man like William Tyndale for trying to bring the Bible to the masses; kidnap, imprison, torture, strangle and burn him at the stake? Where is your so-called sacrament of CONFESSION for this atrocity? Has the Catholic church confessed and repented of this wickedness? I think not. Doing so would upset the fragile (and false) doctrine of apostolic succession.

Do you expect me to accept Pope Paul III as a legitimate holder of the same position you say Peter held in the Church? A man who had affairs and illegitimate children by them? A man who consented to the torture and martyrdom of William Tyndale whose dying prayer was answered by God in giving to the masses the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible?


28 posted on 12/16/2013 1:00:44 PM PST by unlearner (You will never come to know that which you do not know until you first know that you do not know it.)
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