You are correct that we are talking past each other. However, I am generally familiar with the charismatic Protestant theology and know the perspective you are coming from. It is the intense personal experience of God, desire to cut out any transmission belt you did not build yourself, dislike of authority, and a heavy dose of anti-Catholic propaganda.
Parts of the Catholic tradition connect to this, especially Catholic mysticism. I don't need to tell you how fraught with danger this road is, if taken without the spiritual instruction of the Church. Here is a piece of advice, however, that you might actually follow: read the scripture slowly and read all of it. The Protestants skip from prooftext to prooftext; for every passage that runs counter to protestantism (like most glaringly James 2 or Matthew 16, or Matthew 25 or John 6) there is a ready spin to dismiss it. The spin is not the scripture. Read the scripture, tune out spin. Read Pauline epistles not just for faith-alone slogans, but to the end. You may not become Catholic as a result, but your fundamental theology will be.
I am generally familiar with the charismatic Protestant theology and know the perspective you are coming from. It is the intense personal experience of God, desire to cut out any transmission belt you did not build yourself, dislike of authority, and a heavy dose of anti-Catholic propaganda.
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Methinks this must be referring to another planet in another Galactic cluster about 100 Galactic clusters away from ours.
1. I've never thought of an INTENSE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE/RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD as the slightest whiff of a negative. I suppose it is somewhat predictable that RC folks might construe it as a negative if THEIR HIERARCHY; TRADITIONS; PONTIFICAL EDICTS; RITUALS ETC. were not involved. Thankfully, GOD has a very DIFFERENT perspective.
2. Individuals don't build "transmission belts" per se with Holy Spirit--APART FROM THOSE HOLY SPIRIT IS INVOLVED IN LEADING THEM TO BUILD. Given it being Holy Spirit--I figure He trumps any bureaucratic edifice about a dodeca-quaddrillion-trillion times infinity.
3. Inviting the supreme soul searching authority of all creation WHO DIVIDES THE BONE FROM THE MARROW WITH GOD'S OWN INTENSE SEARCHLIGHT OF HOLY SPIRIT BORN TRUTH--inviting such a Search light within in more intense ways and levels and aware that such an indwelling intense expression of Holy Spirit is prone to give ongoing commentary on one's every thought and deed--is
rather the OPPOSITE from hostility to authority.
Irrationally odd that anyone would think otherwise.
4. Heavy dose of anti-Romanist propaganda??? Really? Must be on that distant planet in that distant galactic cluster. The groups I've been a part of have not demonstrated that. Especially the better such groups.
I can certainly believe that a lot of RC folks would have a grossly distorted sample to speak from as well as grossly distorted tidy little boxes from which to assess such a distorted sample. Hard to arrive at truth given all that.
I don't need to tell you how fraught with danger this road is, if taken without the spiritual instruction of the Church
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Oh, really?
Where is the logic in that?
I suppose the Romanist church WOULD BE SOMEWHAT OF AN EXPERT on all the dangers of religion twisted every which way but right into every human religious excess known to obsessive religionists throughout recorded history including a list of incredibly harsh and brutal ones . . . as well as a lot of blasphemous ones.
Thankfully, most Protestant groups have avoided such a traditions-bound-up-in-human-flesh-driven-motives stuff for anything near as long a period as the Romanists.
But there are still many Protestant groups trying to give the Romanists some competition on such horrid excesses and distortions of spiritual truth.
Here is a piece of advice, however, that you might actually follow: read the scripture slowly and read all of it. The Protestants skip from prooftext to prooftext; for every passage that runs counter to protestantism (like most glaringly James 2 or Matthew 16, or Matthew 25 or John 6) there is a ready spin to dismiss it. The
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Fascinating. Low these many shared threads and I'm still known so exasperateingly little as to be misperceived, misconstrued and outrageously misdescribed so repeatedly.
Very sad, that.
For the record . . . I HAVE READ THE BIBLE COVER TO COVER MANY TIMES IN A VARIETY OF TRANSLATIONS. Am now on the 2nd reading in THE MESSAGE VERSION. I always read it slowly and thoughtfully, prayerfully.
Goodness, if I'm so misperceived, misjudged, misconstrued--here in living color through my colorful fingers in real time . . . no wonder Romanists have such a horrid time avoiding misconstruing Scripture and history.