Posted on 06/16/2019 4:55:18 AM PDT by CharlesOConnell
In Captains Courageous, with Spencer Tracey, Freddy Batholomew is a blowhard millionaire's son who is socially, poorly adjusted. He uses his father's incredible wealth, to bully his classmates and even his teacher, but he's roundly disliked, and ostracized. While on an ocean liner, he unsuccessfully tries to impress some other boys by eating 5 ice cream sodas. When he has to throw up, to escape the mocking boys, he runs into a lifeboat area to evade their ridicule while purging his overindulgence, and manages to fall overboard into the ocean.
Instances of people falling overboard into the open ocean are rather commonly reported in the news. Usually they are lost, but if by chance their accidents are observed and a life-preserver is thrown to them, is that the end of the story, do we just say, "oh, well, you have a floatation device, you're okay now"?
No, we have to pull them in. The life-preserver, the lifesaver, is only part of the formula for saving their lives. There is also a rope, which must be attached to the life-preserver, and must be used to finally accomplish their salvation.
Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man. But on the man side of the equation, unlike the radical individuality most typified by J.J. Rousseau, we who life the life of Christians do so in communities. But even then, we do not abide as atomistic individualists. We live our Jesus-oriented life in relation to our fellows. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." – Hebrews 10:25.
Jesus' first disciple was his mother, who gave us the total account of his early life and who "treasured these things up in her heart". "A sword will pierce your own soul too, so that the secret thoughts of many hearts might be revealed". On the cross, he gave his mother to John to take in his home, but when you take your master's mother, she takes care of you.
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. …
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. - Rev 11:19 -- 12:17
She forms the body of Christ. She schools her son's disciples. Those who won't attend her school, remain ignorant.
We are in a time when any merely human institution would be washed away. Our churches are going under the shadow of a new Heresy of Ba'al of Peor, as when the Hebrew people were successfully attacked and overwhelmed through human sexuality. Our churches are now pro-gay and as soon as the civil authority authorizes child sex, they will be indistinguishable from the denizens of the town of Sodom: "Bring them out that we may know them".
Jesus' mother forms the few of the elect who will resist being fooled by the great apostasy. Those who will not avail themselves of the lifeline of Mary, will be lost.
Which is true, we're not saved by works alone, just as we're not saved by faith alone.
and now all you’re proving is that you’re unreliable when citing sources.
Both are official Orthodox sources and both are correct.
When you provide an actual statement of theology from EO and not some random opinion site,
You're the one claiming you believe the same as the Orthodox regarding faith and works. You provide the "actual statement of theology from the EO" to prove it.
For starters...the Marian dogmas.
As do Catholics. No one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification.
It’s only Roman Catholics that say that you have to ‘merit graces’
Do you know and understand the Catholic teaching on what it means to "merit graces"?
I've already reminded you that PAUL met Christ on the road to Damascus and was caught up in heaven into the presence of God.
Your initial link proved my point just fine, according to our actual doctrine and not your strawman.
Protestants and EO—if the EO wiki is to be believed—both believe that salvation is a free gift that works are the faithful response to. The only difference is a cultural one that places emphasis at different points of the Christian life.
It’s only Roman Catholics who think that the gift is not free and you have to earn salvation with works in order to get the gift.
Oral tradition is not inspired and changes.
In fact, we have a video of how oral tradition has changed...
Bishops Transferring Oral Traditions Caught on Video!
This is why oral tradition is not inspired nor authoritative.
Do you know and understand the Catholic teaching on what it means to “merit graces”?
***
The irony being that you’re eager to wave around strawmen of what non Roman Christians believe with NO sources cited, and then complain like that.
I’ve read your Catechism and Catholic theology. The people I’m pinging were raised Catholic and know what they were taught by your Catholic priests and teachers.
Don’t whine at me that I don’t couch Rome’s accursed perversion of the Gospel in soothing terms.
He wasn’t present for his teaching, neither was Timoty, Luke, and likely that some were written by different Johns not the apostle. Some, like Hebrews, there is no agreement who wrote it. Someone passed it orally to them. That’s the only point. Some was written 2 generations after Jesys death
Okay then. Let’s limit inspired Scripture solely to those books written directly by the Apostles.
It’s almost 1 AM in my little corner of the world. Good night bro.
What does Timothy have to do with it?
And Luke did not use oral tradition.
He carefully investigated everything and likely talked to the people involved as he had knowledge or detail of Mary’s life and thoughts that only she could have given him. And that is for the parts he did not experience himself as he was Paul’s traveling companion and lived some of what he wrote.
Eyewitness accounts are not *oral tradition*. Not everything someone says is oral tradition.
Man, you Catholics tie yourselves into knots to discredit Scripture.
Satan must love the work you’re doing.
That may be true for Luke, but Paul was likely well acquainted with Jesus and His teachings.
Paul was a pharisee, and an adult, and in Jerusalem at the time the persecution of the church broke out. there is every likelihood that he encountered Jesus while Jesus was going through Israel teaching and healing.
You stated as if a fact that Paul was “never present for any of his teaching”.
Prove it.
Prove he was. It us generally known that he never met him.
You exhibit a penchant for believing fables, like Fatima. Did you know there are photos taken at the event where 70,000 + saw abright disc buzz the crowd causing physical effects? Fatime as a xisit (s) from the Mother of Jesus is a fabulous Catholic LIE.
He was present as a private audience, IN HEAVEN, IN THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST.
Doesn't that meet your standards??
😂😀😆🤣😅
As you know, it's not only NOT a sin, but a promise from God!
😀😇😊👊🏿
Is that just YOUR OWN PERSONAL INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY (YOPIOH)???
Or can you prove your claim??
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