Replies

I am not quite sure what you are asking for but I assume that you are claiming that Catholics have teachings that are not grounded in scripture. Our claim is that we know and believe in the Trinity,which while not explicitly defined in scripture is discerned through it,developed in combination with oral tradition and confirmed by the teaching Magisterium.And so it is with many other teachings.

I suppose a case in point would be our honoring of Mary,and begging the saints to intercede for us. It is incomprehensible to me that some non-Catholics get all worked up over over each of these items.

Is not our God a living God as well as God of the living? What does that mean to you? I would think it must mean that once we truly live in Christ,we do not die. Since clearly our flesh dies and decays it must be our soul or spirit that lives on. It seems so human,so rational to dismiss a person who died in Christ as dead. But God's ways are not our ways and if one believes the Holy Spirit will lead us to Truth one begins to understand that those who are with God may be even a little more influential in petitioning God for help than the prayer list at the local church. Now there may be non-Catholics who don't believe in the efficacy of prayer and would not ask anyone at their church to pray for them. Although I would disagree with them I would understand their resistance to asking the saints in heaven to pray. But otherwise to criticize Catholics for praying to the saints for intercession is beyond understanding.

And Mary is even clearer. I believe the Word is Jesus Christ and the words He spoke and the actions He took are equally important. He told Pilate He was the Truth,not His words but He Himself. What He was and what He said and what He did.This includes to whom He spoke and the times He spoke and acted and the order in which He did the things He did. If I were interested in really knowing Jesus I would look at the first public miracle He performed,the time He performed it ,at whose behest He did it and what that person (Mary) told the people who needed the favor."Do whatever He tells you to do". What reason was all of this included in scripture if we were not to comprehend something from it with respect to living our lives without Him on earth? Could He be saying "I listen to my Mom,even when its inconvenient"?

And then at the crucifixion,His next to the last words were, "Behold your mother",to John and "Behold your son",to Mary. For Jesus Christ who died so that we might live it seems a little out of character that His last words were a little,personal "housekeeping" issue.No,I think He did everything He could do to bring as many as possible back to the Father and said "It is finished".His last act was to give us a little extra help,since every man has a mother and consciously or subconsciously knows how to relate to her He gave us another chance to talk to someone who He knew would get us to HIm.

I know I can't convince you but I hope you will realize that there may be more to scripture than just the words, and that it is not the number of words used to express a thought but the clarity with which the words are conveyed. I think "Do whatever He tells you to do",Behold your mother"and "Behold your son" are some of the most powerful words in scripture. IMHO you all are missing something very wonderful.

If I were interested in really knowing Jesus I would look at the first public miracle He performed,the time He performed it ,at whose behest He did it and what that person (Mary) told the people who needed the favor."Do whatever He tells you to do". What reason was all of this included in scripture if we were not to comprehend something from it with respect to living our lives without Him on earth? Could He be saying "I listen to my Mom,even when its inconvenient"?

I daresay NEVER would anyone ever come up with this interpretation or application without help from the Roman Catholic Church!

And then at the crucifixion,His next to the last words were, "Behold your mother",to John and "Behold your son",to Mary. For Jesus Christ who died so that we might live it seems a little out of character that His last words were a little,personal "housekeeping" issue.No,I think He did everything He could do to bring as many as possible back to the Father and said "It is finished".His last act was to give us a little extra help,since every man has a mother and consciously or subconsciously knows how to relate to her He gave us another chance to talk to someone who He knew would get us to HIm.

Ditto #7624. Quite a stretch.

I know I can't convince you but I hope you will realize that there may be more to scripture than just the words, and that it is not the number of words used to express a thought but the clarity with which the words are conveyed. I think "Do whatever He tells you to do",Behold your mother"and "Behold your son" are some of the most powerful words in scripture. IMHO you all are missing something very wonderful.

And, do you think you are missing something?

Mathew 12:

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
47
48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"
49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Jesus is not insulting his mother; rather he is telling us we are all the same in the eyes of the Lord. He is not raising her to an artificial status.