I am not saying anything as ridiculous as someone's getting shorted on fries for not being catholic.
However, since you bring that kind of tendentious nonsense up, eat THIS: A friend years ago left the Assemblies to become Catholic and marry. When her young husband suffered a debilitating stroke which has changed the life and fortunes and all the rest of his whole family, her lovely, warm, supporting, AG family, obviously far, FAR spiritually above the Catholics you know, told her that his stroke was God's wrath on her for her conversion.
Nice, huh? What an example for the rest of us. Would you like fried with that?
Before we get to the content part of today's show, I'd like to point out that it is a sophistry (that's a descriptive term, not a vague generic putdown) to overstate the contention of one's opponent and then argue NOT against what the opponent says but against the overstatement. I suppose one can win a debate doing that. But one loses the truth. That loss seems small beer to many.
Now for those who would care to discuss ideas:
There is a definable difference between the theosis contemplated by our Orthodox brethren and, say, the JW's vision of the destiny of those who do not make the A-team of !44k in the next life. One the on hand we have ever increasing unity with God. On the other, who knows what? Cook outs and A California climate in the new earth?
The RC presentation of Mary, whether one agrees with it or not, is that she is, by the Grace of God, a sort of proleptic eschatological figure, "the first fruits of the second fruits," who "currently" enjoys what is promised to all the elect.
So what she enjoys in our view, is something which Protestants seem not only to deny but to reprehend in the thinking of the Orthodox and Catholics, namely an increasing sharing with the redeemed by God of all that He is and does, and that means His power.
So: The Orthodox are rebuked in fiery terms of righteous anger for proclaiming theosis. Several Protestants insist that though John says, "...we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is," but we dare not use our heads to conceive what that must mean.
Then when I acknowledge that Protestants strongly DENY the hope of the Orthodox and DENY the thinking of the Catholic, then I am taken to task for acknowledging their point of view! I am an elitist because I take them at their word, the humble, non-institutional, shattered into 20k pieces Protestants who won't take yes for an answer, but care so much for the down-trodden that they cannot refrain from telling a sorrowing woman her husband is ill because she's a Catholic, so it's her fault.
(The point of that story is NOT to say Protestants are wicked. It's to point out that if we want to find atrocities on this side or that, we can find them and milk them. And won't that be a useful conversation! Not.)
I certainly agree with you that to state that God would give a man a stroke for joining the Catholic Church is mean, vile, and a whole lot stupid. I wouldn’t countenance any person involved in our ministry telling anyone something like that. And I appreciate your concern over such attitudes from anyone regardless of their theological/church positions.
Of course, we might see such a man in a different light than you do with regard to the processes that might have convinced him to become a Catholic. But we would refrain from protending to know the mind and will of God for individuals when they are undergoing hardships.
I sometimes am forced to rebuke some of our own who think that they have the authority to pronounce openly just what they think God is doing with people who suffer. We might have an opinion, but it is foolish to run our sinful mouths about such things. I wouldn’t think for a moment that God uses these kinds of tactics with people when they make such decisions.
My sister was in one of those huge prosperity based religions and she started rocking the boat. She wanted to help the poor, well, that didn’t come off well and she started getting ostracized.
On Valentine’s day her house burned to the ground and they pretty much told her the same thing. God’s vengeance and displeasure.
The funny thing was is the reason they couldn’t/wouldn’t start a ministry for the poor is that they had gotten way over their heads in debt and were just trying to make it from week to week.
She and her husband are looking for a place to live and neither of them want to live in the Bible Belt any longer, they think the people are meaner than more secular places.
I’m certainly praying for her to find a faith home and I did tell her to study “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth”.
So: The Orthodox are rebuked in fiery terms of righteous anger for proclaiming theosis. Several Protestants insist that though John says, “...we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is,” but we dare not use our heads to conceive what that must mean.
= = =
HOGWASH.
By all means use the gray matter God blessed with.
However . . .
Crossing the line of declaring that
—INFERENCES,
—EXTRAPOLATIONS,
—SEVERAL LAYERS THICK FANTASIES
are then Holy Writ is unmitigated BALDERDASH.