Dear DarthVader,
"I believe you are wrong and that is a false teaching inherent to Biblical Christianity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
I interpret this to mean that you believe it is a false teaching of the Catholic Church, not inherent to "Biblical Christianity...".
If that is the case, then that is another point of separation between you and the Catholic Church.
"I believe as you do on this point. But you must also be serious about this when you do it. You negate the sacramental or spiritual effect if your heart is not right before God."
Well, then, all who are validly baptized are Christians, no? Isn't that pretty much all Catholics?
As for being "serious," most Catholics are baptized as infants. Are not infants validly baptized?
"The Catholic Church used to have the entire Deposit of Faith. It is a far cry of what it used to be. A lot of it was lost due to infestation of liberalism and secular humanism that unfortunately has afflicted some of our Catholic brethren. However it is coming back through evangelical revival and the Charismatic renewal."
If it had it in the past, it still does. The doctrine of the Catholic Church doesn't change. Even though the administration of the Church may be "infested with liberalism and securlar humanism," nonetheless, the actual teaching of the Catholic Church hasn't changed.
By the way, when did the Catholic Church, in your view, have the entire Deposit of Faith?
"There is NO I REPEAT NO Scriptural reference to Purgatory. NOWHERE! NADA!"
"Both, the Catholic Bible has some interesting books that should be universally accepted as the generic Holy Scriptures."
If you accept the Catholic canon, then you accept the Books of the Maccabees. In which case, you accept that there is Scripture where those Jews who are following God's ways, God's laws, pray for the dead.
If one may pray for the dead, there must be some reason to pray for them. It must in some way assist them. But if they're already engaged completely of the Beatific Vision, then there is no way your prayers could assist them. And if they're already in Hell, your prayers don't help, either. If praying for the dead assists the dead, then you have essentially vindicated the Catholic teaching of Purgatory.
And if you accept the Catholic canon of the Bible, the Purgatory is scripturally-based.
DarthVader, it is logically inconsistent to reject the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, which is drawn from the Catholic canon of Scripture, and to accept the Catholic canon of Scripture.
When Martin Luther rejected the teaching of Purgatory, he was able to do so in part because he rejected the Catholic canon of the Old Testament, and embraced the 1st Century, post-Christian Jewish canon thereof.
You will need to resolve your beliefs there. Either - no Catholic canon of Scripture, or - belief in Purgatory. Take your pick.
"I am a Christian before I am a Catholic..."
Well, if I were you, I'd go easy on the claim of being Catholic, whether first or second.
But again, in saying what you say, you reject Catholic teaching. According to Catholic teaching, Catholicism isn't one of any number of Christian denominations. It is the Church Christ founded.
When you state that you are Christian first before you are a Catholic, you negate Catholicism.
"Catholiscm is the faith of my European forefathers and it served them well."
Then Catholicism is more of a cultural thing for you, not an actual faith or belief system.
In that way, you are precisely the same as John Kerry.
The only difference is that your actual belief system varies from his.
But neither of you believes as a Catholic.
sitetest
I said some of the Books, not all of them.