[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you oh so very much for sharing your insights! And thank you for your encouragements!

Those would be that God ORDAINED that Catholics BE Catholics! :) No matter how vociferous my disagreement with their theology is I don't know how to avoid this fact.

I very strongly agree with you.

About half my family is Catholic and of course I know them all up front and personal. Each and every one of them loves God surpassingly above all else and that is the one and only Great Commandment.

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. – Matthew 22:37-38

I attend mass with them quite often and whereas many of their doctrines and traditions are obviously additions to Scriptures - or diminish certain Scriptures - in no way do I doubt that every one of them is saved. So I am not "pro-active" - I do not seek to unsettle what they believe. However, whenever they raise an issue I also do not demur. Basically, I trust all the family to God - including the dinner table conversations. LOL!

I think on some matters that would be true, but on others I would have to disagree.

Indeed. When I said 'for one to be "right" the other doesn't have to be "wrong"' I did not mean in every case. There are no equal sides on revealed Truth, e.g. that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Truly, sometimes both sides will be "right" - sometimes both sides will be "wrong" - and sometimes one is "right" and one is "wrong." The point I was trying to make is that for one side to be "right" does not ipso facto mean that the other side is of necessity "wrong."

Or to put it another way, John could not see through doubting Thomas' eyes.

In my view, the tendency of man to see so many things as either/or obstructs his spiritual discernment. The Jews for instance see the Messiah as a man anointed by God but cannot accept that He is both man and God. Ditto for the Messiah coming as a Lamb and again as a Lion. Ditto for God is One and also the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

[Forest Keeper]

I attend mass with them quite often and whereas many of their doctrines and traditions are obviously additions to Scriptures - or diminish certain Scriptures - in no way do I doubt that every one of them is saved.

That is a great blessing to hear! And thank you so much for your affirmations. :)

In my view, the tendency of man to see so many things as either/or obstructs his spiritual discernment.

Yes, that is so true. And we can miss so much if we decide to simply throw things out that don't sound "nice". :)