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To: ebb tide; trebb
Define "Christian"... Gladly! Please, Don’t Call Protestants Christians

From your link: Only Catholics can be true Christians. No one who dissents from the Roman Catholic Church can be a Christian. The terms are synonymous.

So not only is this elitist, exclusionary snobbery anti-Scriptural, it is contradicting your OWN Catechism! No doubt some Roman Catholics are genuine Christians, but to presume membership in "your" human organization - that no longer teaches it alone is the way to salvation - is the ONLY way to know Jesus Christ and receive the gift of eternal life by the grace of God through faith is ludicrous. It was NOT something the Apostles taught nor was it what Jesus taught and it certainly is not what God's divinely-inspired word teaches, either. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to NOT be under the condemnation of the pharisaical and accursed gospel of Roman Catholicism and to KNOW I have eternal life through Jesus Christ!

67 posted on 08/14/2017 3:38:52 PM PDT by boatbums (The Law is a storm which wrecks your hopes of self-salvation, but washes you upon the Rock of Ages.)
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To: boatbums

...but to presume membership in "your" human organization - that no longer teaches it alone is the way to salvation.

The Church has never taught differently. Some errant popes and prelates may have, but not the Church.

68 posted on 08/14/2017 4:20:35 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: boatbums

Catechism of Pope St Pius X:
The Ninth Article of the Creed

The Church in General

1 Q. What does the Ninth article: The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, teach us?
A. The Ninth Article of the Creed teaches us that Jesus Christ founded a visible society on earth called the Catholic Church, and that all those who belong to this Church are in communion with one another.

2 Q. Why immediately after the article that treats of the Holy Ghost is mention made of the Catholic Church?
A. Immediately after the article that treats of the Holy Ghost mention is made of the Catholic Church to indicate that the Church’s holiness comes from the Holy Ghost, who is the Author of all holiness.

3 Q. What does the word Church mean?
A. The word Church means a calling forth or assembly of many.

4 Q. Who has convoked or called us into the Church of Jesus Christ?
A. We have been called into the Church of Jesus Christ by a special grace of God, to the end, that by the light of faith and the observance of the divine law, we may render Him the worship due to Him, and attain eternal life.

5 Q. Where are the members of the Church to be found?
A. The members of the Church are found partly in heaven, forming the Church Triumphant; partly in purgatory, forming the Church Suffering; partly on earth, forming the Church Militant.

6 Q. Do these various parts of the Church constitute one sole Church?
A. Yes, these various parts of the Church constitute one sole Church and one sole body for they have the same Head, Jesus Christ, the same Spirit animating and uniting them, and the same end, eternal happiness, which some already enjoy and the rest hope for.

7 Q. To which part of the Church does this Ninth Article principally refer?
A. This Ninth Article of the Creed principally refers to the Church Militant, which is the Church we actually belong to.

The Church in Particular

8 Q. What is the Catholic Church?
A. The Catholic Church is the Union or Congregation of all the baptised who, still living on earth, profess the same Faith and the same Law of Jesus Christ, participate in the same Sacraments, and obey their lawful Pastors, particularly the Roman Pontiff.

9 Q. State distinctly what is necessary to be a member of the Church?
A. To be a member of the Church it is necessary to be baptised, to believe and profess the teaching of Jesus Christ, to participate in the same Sacraments, and to acknowledge the Pope and the other lawful pastors of the Church.

10 Q. Who are the lawful pastors of the Church?
A. The lawful pastors of the Church are the Roman Pontiff, that is, the Pope, who is Supreme Pastor, and the Bishops. Other priests, also, and especially Parish Priests, have a share in the pastoral office, subject to the Bishop and the Pope.

11 Q. Why do you say that the Roman Pontiff is supreme Pastor of the Church?
A. Because Jesus Christ said to St. Peter, the first Pope: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed also in Heaven.” And again: “Feed My lambs, feed My sheep.”

12 Q. The many societies of persons who are baptised but who do not acknowledge the Roman Pontiff as their Head do not, then, belong to the Church of Jesus Christ?
A. No, those who do not acknowledge the Roman Pontiff as their Head do not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.

13 Q. How can the Church of Jesus Christ be distinguished from the numerous societies or sects founded by men, and calling themselves Christian?
A. From the numerous societies or sects founded by men and calling themselves Christian, the Church of Jesus Christ is easily distinguished by four marks: She is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

14 Q. Why is the Church called One?
A. The true Church is called One, because her children of all ages and places are united together in the same faith, in the same worship, in the same law; and in participation of the same Sacraments, under the same visible Head, the Roman Pontiff.

15 Q. Can there not be several Churches?
A. No, there cannot be more than one Church; for as there is but one God, one Faith and one Baptism, there is and can be but one true Church.

16 Q. But are not the faithful of a whole Nation or Diocese also called a Church?
A. The faithful of a whole Nation or Diocese are also called a Church, but they ever remain mere parts of the Universal Church and form but one Church with her.

17 Q. Why is the true Church called Holy?
A. The true church is called Holy because holy is her Invisible Head, Jesus Christ; holy are many of her members; holy are her faith, her laws, her Sacraments; and outside of her there is not and cannot be true holiness.

18 Q. Why is the Church called Catholic?
A. The true Church is called Catholic, or Universal, because she embraces the faithful of all times, of all places, of all ages and conditions; and all peoples are called to belong to her.

19 Q. Why is the Church also called Apostolic?
A. The true Church is also called Apostolic because she goes back without a break to the Apostles; because she believes and teaches all that the Apostles believed and taught; and because she is guided and governed by their lawful successors.

20 Q. And why is the true Church called Roman?
A. The true Church is called Roman, because the four marks of Unity, Sanctity, Catholicity and Apostolicity are found in that Church alone which acknowledges as Head the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter.

21 Q. What is the constitution of the Church of Jesus Christ?
A. The Church of Jesus Christ has been constituted as a true and perfect Society; and in her we can distinguish a soul and a body.

22 Q. In what does the Soul of the Church consist?
A. The Soul of the Church consists in her internal and spiritual endowments, that is, faith, hope, charity, the gifts of grace and of the Holy Ghost, together with all the heavenly treasures which are hers through the merits of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and of the Saints.

23 Q. In what does the Body of the Church consist?
A. The Body of the Church consists in her external and visible aspect, that is, in the association of her members, in her worship, in her teaching-power and in her external rule and government.

24 Q. To be saved, is it enough to be any sort of member of the Catholic Church?
A. No, to be saved it is not enough to be any sort of member of the Catholic Church; it is necessary to be a living member.

25 Q. Who are the living members of the Church?
A. The living members of the Church are the just, and the just alone, that is, those who are actually in the grace of God.


69 posted on 08/14/2017 4:38:30 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: boatbums; ebb tide
Amen!

They seem to have forgotten that the word "catholic" means universal/all-inclusive and gone into full pharisee mode.

Reminds me of an old Joke:

A man moves into a new town and starts seeking a church to attend. The town is small and only has one church and they have a list of rules that the man can't believe anyone can possible follow if they are being honest. The people are sure they have the right solution and are adamant. about every rule being followed before one can become a full member of the church.

The man goes home to pray about it and says to God, "I want to be part of a church to worship in but the church they have here is hard to get into. I don't think they'll let me in no matter how hard I try." To his astonishment, God replies to him, "My blessed son. Do not despair. They won't let me in their church either."

107 posted on 08/15/2017 2:51:30 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: boatbums
So not only is this elitist, exclusionary snobbery anti-Scriptural, it is contradicting your OWN Catechism!

You haven't seen elitist, exclusionary snobbery, until you deal with the Iglesia ni Cristo, and the followers of Quiboloy. They raise it to an art form, and even they are opposed to each other. The RCC, INC, and Quiboloy, are all at loggerheads with each other. I get out the popcorn.

126 posted on 08/20/2017 2:35:54 PM PDT by Mark17 (Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. In the beginning GOD....And the rest, as they say, is HIS-story)
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