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Locked on 04/24/2022 5:40:39 AM PDT by Religion Moderator, reason:
Childishness |
Posted on 03/06/2022 11:16:06 AM PST by CharlesOConnell
A man commits a serious crime, then he gets released. He has "paid his debt to society". But wait a minute, he's only ready for the half-way house. He's unlikely to get a prestigious job in his new prison suit coat, or any job at all; he has civil impediments, he can't vote or hold certain offices. His crime was serious enough that he won't be presumed to have been completely rehabilitated until he performs a notable service to society, or at least spends many years on the straight and narrow, so that his crime can be truly overlooked or forgotten.
In Catholic faith, your "debt to society" is paid by Jesus Christ on Calvary. It's called "eternal punishment", without Christ it keeps you from going to heaven. Supposing that you do take advantage of His sacrifice, you're truly sorry, have a firm purpose of amendment, if you relapse, you go again for forgiveness (to the Sacrament of Confession).
But your sin leaves a strong trace at another layer of impurity called "temporal punishment due to sin", like the civil impediments facing the half-way house prisoner. Because "nothing impure can enter heaven", there is a place or a state, a condition of purification to render you fit for heaven after Christ has finally saved you from hell. The Catholic Church calls it purgatory.
(Where is it in the bible? Where is the word Trinity in the bible? Where does it say that you only need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Many valid principles aren't stated explicitly in the bible, but it does say to "hold fast to the traditions you have learned, whether by word or by letter", because much of the Gospel wasn't written down, as Jesus only wrote in the sand, the majority of the Gospel was taught from word to ear to people who couldn't afford expensive books, the exceptions were what tended to get written down. But the implication that there is a purgatory, is contained in the bible--see the comments.)
The ex-con can receive a pardon or commutation of his probation from a Governor, if he performs some heroic deed, saving numerous lives, or, like Chuck Colson, performs a long-lasting, valuable community service helping numerous people who can't help themselves.
In the Catholic Church there are 2 ways for the residual, temporal effects due to sin to be expiated: suffering in this life, or after life, undergoing purifying suffering along with other people who will finally be saved, but have to suffer for long without the vision of God--that is what causes them their pain.
Their suffering isn't meritorious enough to grant their release, the saints in heaven and those on earth suffering and practicing virtue can pray for the suffering souls in purgatory. In no way is their release by slow transfer of suffering or practice of virtue, "buying heaven". It's a long, excruciating process.
How the misunderstanding arose that Catholics think they can buy their way into heaven, is involved with history more than 500 years old. For a millennium of Christendom between roughly 410 and 1410, there was a Medieval civilization with harmony between faith and government.
Many small farmers would cluster around the manor house of a military lord who would protect them, in exchange for a certain fixed obligation of labor and agricultural produce. In most cases, those "serfs" had much more leisure than factory workers of the industrial revolution; there were a large number of holy days without work, and except for planting and harvesting, there were long stretches of idle time.
Another large sector of the economy surrounded monasteries, where the monks developed most of the farming practices that stabilized the serfs and their manorial lords. The monks who worked those monastic lands were sworn to poverty, so that monasteries built up large accumulations of economic value over decades and centuries of labor.
At the beginning, when lands were being cleared and put into production there weren't prominent town fairs ruled by merchants and bankers. Money wasn't used for sustenance, not even much barter occurred, life was mostly agrarian.
Charity was woven into the economy of monasteries. It was estimated that you only need travel 12 miles in medieval England between monasteries, where you could get a meal and minimal lodging for free, based on need. And the charity was also spiritual, including the ancient Catholic principle of prayer for the dead, which is biblical. (See "prayer for the dead" in the original King James Bible in the comment.)
There were foundations and benefices for praying for the dead, that allowed a person of means to support monasteries' charitable works, and in proportional response the monks would pray for the souls of the donors.
It happened at the close of the middle ages, that militarily strong nobles cast their eyes on the labor value accumulated by the poverty-sworn monks of the monasteries, which those nobles perceived as monetary wealth, especially where gold and jewels had been donated by the devout to adorn churches.
(Protestant writer William Cobbett wrote in his 1824 "A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland", an anecdote, that an incredibly valuable, hand illustrated bible was stripped of it's bejeweled, gold cover, the much more valuable hand-illumined manuscript, thrown in the mud and trampled by horses hooves by raiders suppressing the monasteries in Henry VIII's England.)
A new religion growing up around this seizure of monastic lands and valuables, that sought to discredit the Catholic Church, spread the black legend that the "sale of indulgences" was abusive. But this was very exceptional. Today the stipend of a Mass said for the dead is $10.
You are correct sir. We are either saved by faith, or we are saved by works, but no way on God’s green earth, is it a combination of the two. That would be another gospel, and it’s false.
Remember, even at the great white throne judgment, they will still try to claim salvation by works. God will simply say, I never knew you.
So, the question still remains. Why do sinners still choose hell, over heaven? Why? It makes no sense, but they still do. Oh well, I know I am OSAS. 😀👍
See you in the clouds, Brother!
Not required to be saved.
If the unsaved do them under their own power,they are deadworks.
If the saved believer does the from the new life of Christ in him, he is rewarded.
Wouldn’t you like to be saved??
RVG Placemarker
Roger that bro. OSAS ping. 👍😀
Still planning to grab ebb by the scruff of his neck to take him up with me!
LOL, good luck with that. I have a feeling, if you tried to grab some people and take them up in the rapture, some might still say, no thanks, they prefer hell over heaven. Maybe it’s just the mystery of iniquity. Sin warps their minds, so they cannot reason well, cuz no one with two functioning brain cells should prefer hell over heaven, but they do.
The assessment of the words of Peter's pronouncement were quite obviously in the nature of Special Revelation, and when that was confirmed as a revelation not of Peter, but of The Father, then what I said about it is no longer arguable. I did not create the narrative, I merely pointed it out some of its feaatures for what they were.
When Jesus gave the lesser being Satan a direct command, it was he that had taken over Peter's will and was influencing Peter.Satan was in the presence of the Company, and Jesus addressing the issue confirmed that fact, which my comment was only made to draw the reader's attention to that unarguable fact.
I'm amazed that you have the gall to basically indicate what I wrote was a fib, and using an unsupportable fabrication to do it!
Again, I'm not wrangling with you any more over this matter.
Sometimes I think that is all we can do bro. There seems to be lots of false doctrines here. When you correct someone’s false doctrines, about 10 times, and 30 seconds later, they come at you, with the same false doctrines, that you just refuted, all you can do, is leave them to their own devices, and say, have a nice eternity. 🔥
Are you SURE???
A pretty little girl named Suzy was standing on the sidewalk in front of her home in Salt Lake City. Next to her was a basket containing a number of tiny creatures; in her hand was a sign announcing FREE KITTENS.
Suddenly a line of big black cars pulled up beside her. Out of the lead car stepped a tall, grinning man.
"Hi there little girl, I'm President Russell Nelson. What do you have in the basket?" he asked.
"Kittens," little Suzy said.
"How old are they?" asked Nelson.
Suzy replied, "They're so young, their eyes aren't even open yet."
"And what kind of kittens are they?"
"Mormons," answered Suzy with a smile.
Nelson was delighted. As soon as he returned to his car, he called his PR chief and told him about the little girl and the kittens.
Recognizing the perfect photo op, the two men agreed that the president should return the next day; and in front of the assembled media, have the girl talk about her discerning kittens.
So the next day, Suzy was again standing on the sidewalk with her basket of "FREE KITTENS," when another motorcade pulled up, this time followed by vans from Deseret News, The Ensign magazine and KSL.
Cameras and audio equipment were quickly set up, then Nelson got out of his limo and walked over to little Suzy.
"Hello, again," he said, "I'd love it if you would tell all my friends out there what kind of kittens you're giving away."
"Yes sir," Suzy said. "They're Christians."
Taken by surprise, the Living Prophet® stammered, "But... but... yesterday, you told me they were MORMONS."
Little Suzy smiled and said, "I know. But today, they have their eyes open"
Not according to OTHER sources!
In conclusion let us summarize this grand key, these “Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet”, for our salvation depends on them.
1. The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.
2. The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.
3. The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.
4. The prophet will never lead the church astray.
5. The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.
6. The prophet does not have to say “Thus Saith the Lord,” to give us scripture.
7. The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.
8. The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.
9. The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.
10. The prophet may advise on civic matters.
11. The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.
12. The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.
13. The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.
14. The prophet and the presidency—the living prophet and the First Presidency—follow them and be blessed—reject them and suffer.
I testify that these fourteen fundamentals in following the living prophet are true. If we want to know how well we stand with the Lord then let us ask ourselves how well we stand with His mortal captain—how close do our lives harmonize with the Lord’s anointed—the living Prophet—President of the Church, and with the Quorum of the First Presidency.
Ezra Taft Benson
(Address given Tuesday, February 26, 1980 at Brigham Young University) http://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang=eng
So true.
Rome allows the belief that His mom is very important in the process; too.
(Other religions say that Jesus also needs some help.)
Well...
...who could?!?
Jeremiah 17:9 KJV
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
😀🙃👍
One reason is that they are deceived as to the way there.
Saved, saved, SAVED!!!
All this blather about being saved.
The BIG issue is how are we gonna be KEPT!!!
What kinda work am I REQUIRED to do to RETAIN my Salvation??
I guess so, but didn’t Jesus say, take heed that no man deceive you? 😂😀
It appears you have a poor concept of the advertising world.
This is my standard reply back when the cashier says, "Have a nice day."
(Only I replace 'eternity' with 'forever'.)
Try it!
You'll get wonderful responses back!
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