FK: What??? Jesus said the scriptures testify about Him. Jesus says He wants us to love Him. We must KNOW who we love. The scriptures tell us who Christ IS. How can this be so difficult?
What does that have to do with everyone's "job" not being to know the scriptures? Christ left His Church to the Apostles to tend to the flock, knowing fully well that private interpretations lead to error, and Protestantism is a living proof of that.
There is solid agreement about God's word among Bible-believing Christians from many different denominations. We may disagree on some interpretations here or there, but nothing that prevents solid agreement on those core issues
Sure there is, except they all "extract" different meanings from it, sufficiently different to create thousands of denominations that disagree on a variety of fundamental biblical issues, such as the free will, gays, ordination of women, Eucharist, even the Holy Trinity!
The amalgam of the so-called "Bible-believing" Christians includes people like LDS. Why, FK, all who call themselves Christians are Bible-believing! They all base their belief on the Bible. :)
So what? Is Orthodoxy lessened in your mind because there are hundreds of millions of us out here that disagree with you?
The Bible tells us that Jesus called for unity and not disunity. He established an Apostolic Church, not thousands of "churches." He left the faith in the hands of the Apostles in that Church; He did not distribute copies of the Bible for everyone to read.
Obviously He never told everyone should read the Bible, He called for unity of faith, not thousands of personal interpretations of it, in the one Church He left to the Apostles.
Obviously He never told everyone should read the Bible, He called for unity of faith, not thousands of personal interpretations of it, in the one Church He left to the Apostles.
Indeed!Dear Brother!
Not only do they interpret the Bible outside of the Church ,they have the audacity to TRY and use the Bible to attack the apostolic Church ,the Sacraments and even Our Blessed Mother, thus elevating themselves above those who gave them Bible canon and all those who were martyerd for the faith.
This is the work of the devil-to break unity,tear asunder..
Hope all is well with you,Dear Kosta.
I have been spending more time in prayer and attending Adoration these days rather than posting much on FR.
I think it's certainly more fruitful and much needed.
I wish you a Blessed day!
FK: What??? Jesus said the scriptures testify about Him. Jesus says He wants us to love Him. We must KNOW who we love. The scriptures tell us who Christ IS. How can this be so difficult?
Kosta: What does that have to do with everyone's "job" not being to know the scriptures? Christ left His Church to the Apostles to tend to the flock, knowing fully well that private interpretations lead to error, and Protestantism is a living proof of that.
If you believe it is committed unto you to love God, then congratulations, it is your "job" to know the scriptures. Jesus said the scriptures testify about Him, they help us KNOW Him. We cannot love whom we do not know. Do you believe that your extra-Biblical tradition is sufficient by itself to know God? For example, is it enough to know God through Mariology?
But wait, I think you have said that the only way to know God is through, in essence, the lines from Jesus' mouth in the Bible, however, that's STILL in the Bible. Isn't it your "job" to at least know those lines even if you "throw the rest of it out?"
There is solid agreement about God's word among Bible-believing Christians from many different denominations. We may disagree on some interpretations here or there, but nothing that prevents solid agreement on those core issues.
Sure there is, except they all "extract" different meanings from it, sufficiently different to create thousands of denominations that disagree on a variety of fundamental biblical issues, such as the free will, gays, ordination of women, Eucharist, even the Holy Trinity!
One can be an Arminian and be a Bible-believing Christian easily, but all those others you listed are clearly NOT Bible-believing Christians.
The amalgam of the so-called "Bible-believing" Christians includes people like LDS.
No they are not, they have created their own Bible. You have been interacting with Bible-beliving Christians of different faiths, even the non-Reformed, for years. If you don't think you can distinguish between all of us and a group like the Mormons, then it doesn't look like you're paying very close attention. :)
Why, FK, all who call themselves Christians are Bible-believing! They all base their belief on the Bible. :)
No, just as Jesus says, just mouthing the words by itself doesn't count ("Lord, Lord"). You know I am a Reformer. You also know that Alamo-Girl is not (neither would she call herself an Arminian I'll wager). Nevertheless, I have not a doubt but that she is a true Bible-believing Christian because I have read her postings and know one when I see one. I would NEVER confuse her with an LDS or any of the other groups you mentioned. :)
The Bible tells us that Jesus called for unity and not disunity.
That's too broad a brush:
Matt 10:34-36 : 34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
In addition, think of the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15. They split and went their separate ways, and as a result MORE churches were founded. Accident? I don't think so.
Sure there is only one truth, and God wants all believers headed toward that truth, but that doesn't mean that by His design He doesn't have different paths for us to get there.
He established an Apostolic Church, not thousands of "churches."
He established HIS CHURCH, not one church of men lording its power over other Christians.
He left the faith in the hands of the Apostles in that Church; ...
He left the faith in the hands of others to carry on, but as to the faith itself, He left THAT in HIS OWN HANDS, He did not transfer it to fallible men to make whatever of it they wanted by adding to what God had made. That would defeat the whole thing. We saw how well it worked out in the OT when God allowed power to be held by human kings. For some reason, men decided that this time it would be different. Perhaps it was that the deciders also happened to be the kings! :)
Obviously He never told everyone should read the Bible.
Oh, obviously. I'm sure in Christ's omniscience He thought "Yeah, some guys are gonna make this thing up to add to the other junk some dead guys made up, but NAW, people shouldn't read it. They'll have extra-scriptural Tradition. They'll have oral teachings which of course are more reliable and better than anything written down way back then. Good enough. Reading will just confuse their minds." I'm sure that was it. :)