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Catholics & Salvation; And the answer is: Maybe.
Stand To Reason ^ | Gregory Koukl

Posted on 07/07/2008 10:39:05 PM PDT by Gamecock

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To: hosepipe

***[ The Jews are the original sheep; the Gentiles are the others of which He speaks. ]
It don’t say that you added that.. or inferred it..***

Who else would it be? He was ONLY evangelizing to the Jews and directed His disciples to do the same.


2,921 posted on 08/14/2008 8:20:06 AM PDT by MarkBsnr ( I would not believe in the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.)
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To: Alamo-Girl

***Truly, the “vital” teacher is God Himself:

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. - I John 2:27***

God teaches; man does not necessarily have to learn, or else he can learn different things.

All Protestant denominations have learned different things. Are you saying that God has led all the Protestant denominations on their various paths - very often very contradictory?


2,922 posted on 08/14/2008 8:23:40 AM PDT by MarkBsnr ( I would not believe in the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.)
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To: Forest Keeper

***God can’t be a robot programmer because He gave us a will.***

If your every moment in life is predetermined, then you don’t have a will.

***He does micromanage those things He cares about though.***

Where does it say that?

***The extent to which God gives up His control is the same extent to which He is irresponsible, immoral, and does not care about us. This is what we see in the real world under Catholic theology.***

We need to remove the foggy glasses, then. Your statement does not remotely reflect Catholicism.

***Most choose against God and He chooses to do nothing to effectually prevent it, even though He has the full power, authority, and right to do so. He doesn’t care. Once again you have God choosing for man’s will to supersede His own will.***

God chose the Jews and the whole OT is an attempt to get their attention. God calls all men to him. John 3:17:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

But He knows that not all will obey.

*** That would be completely irresponsible of a loving God.***

Ascribing anthropomorthic descriptions of what God is or isn’t in spite of Gospel verse doesn’t cut it. Jesus taught and either we listen to various government proclamations, construct our own theologies, or follow the Church of Jesus Christ.

***Does God not trifle with small things in your life? Have you never experienced a “small” miracle? I sure have and give the glory to God.***

And the same goes for me in both the experiences and the praise to God.

***For you and me (us believers), yes. Jesus prayed for us, but He did not pray for the world.***

John 3:17.


2,923 posted on 08/14/2008 8:36:02 AM PDT by MarkBsnr ( I would not believe in the Gospel if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so.)
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To: MarkBsnr; Alamo-Girl; betty boop
[ Who else would it be? He was ONLY evangelizing to the Jews and directed His disciples to do the same. ]

Who else?.. Humans?.. By this time Judaism was merely a religion.. and a surogate to Roman political hegemony.. Herod had no more link to God than Pontius Pilate did.. and the Pharisees and Saducees were political party(s)..

Did "God" know the politcal climate of the times?..
Any that would ask that would also be confused about the present religio-political climate too..

Jesus trumped the/that conversation with the conversation that is related down to us in John ch 10.. There are many sheep pens not all of them are religious.. but sheep pens just the same.. i.e. buddism, hinduism, mormonism, new age, spiritualism, christian denominations, communism, socialism etc.. For the sheep pen is within us.. ALL of us..

Jesus WAS and still is calling us all out of the sheep pens..

2,924 posted on 08/14/2008 8:47:21 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole....)
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To: OLD REGGIE

Evidently.


2,925 posted on 08/14/2008 8:50:28 AM PDT by Quix (key QUOTES POLS 1900 ON #76 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2031425/posts?page=77#77)
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To: Forest Keeper
The title "Vicar of Christ" came into use in the fifth and sixth centuries. The Christian Church prior to Constantine reserved the titles, "Vicar of Christ" and "Vicar of the Lord" exclusively for the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent to His Apostles to complete their training (John 16:12-15). Tertullian demonstrates this fact in the following quotes: (emphasis added)

" Grant, then, that all have erred; that the apostle was mistaken in giving his testimony; that the Holy Ghost ... He, the Steward of God, the Vicar of Christ ...[1] "

" For what kind of (supposition) is it, that, while the devil is always operating and adding daily to the ingenuities of iniquity, the work of God should either have ceased, or else have desisted from advancing? whereas the reason why the Lord sent the Paraclete was, that, since human mediocrity was unable to take in all things at once, discipline should, little by little, be directed, and ordained, and carried on to perfection, by that Vicar of the Lord, the Holy Spirit.[2]

Fascinating. The only thing that is shocking is how not shocked I am. LOL! Just another in a long line of examples of pulling God down to raise men up. God must decrease so that men may increase.

Fascinating, indeed. Thanks for this eye-opening fact.

2,926 posted on 08/14/2008 9:09:02 AM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg ("I don't think they want my respect; I think they want my submission." - Flemming Rose)
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To: Dr. Eckleburg; Forest Keeper
FK>the Holy Ghost ... He, the Steward of God, the Vicar of Christ ...[1] "

Great find !

Another false underpinning falls away.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
2,927 posted on 08/14/2008 9:16:28 AM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 78:35 And they remembered that God was their ROCK, And the Most High God their Redeemer.)
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To: annalex; Forest Keeper; OLD REGGIE; Gamecock; Alex Murphy; Quix; 1000 silverlings; enat; ...
there was a period when that doctrine was entirely unwritten.

Paul's "doctrine" was written long before Paul came on the scene. Christ did not come to write new laws and prophecies, but to fulfill them.

God's word is eternal. The written word of the spoken word of God is one and the same.

"The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live." -- Psalm 144:119

Again, Paul reminds us that the words of God have been recorded so that we may always know His will for our lives...

"Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen." -- Romans 16:25-27


2,928 posted on 08/14/2008 9:27:17 AM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg ("I don't think they want my respect; I think they want my submission." - Flemming Rose)
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To: XeniaSt
Another false underpinning falls away.

AMEN! As God wills. 8~)

2,929 posted on 08/14/2008 9:28:35 AM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg ("I don't think they want my respect; I think they want my submission." - Flemming Rose)
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To: Dr. Eckleburg; annalex; Forest Keeper; OLD REGGIE; Gamecock; Alex Murphy; Quix; 1000 silverlings; ..
an: there was a period when that doctrine was entirely unwritten.

Is this an argument for oral tradition?

If so, why did any of them write anything down if oral transmission is as accurate as written transmission. It seems pretty straightforward that oral transmission of information is more easily manipulated by the social and political pressures of the day than information that is written down. Information written down has to be erased and rewritten. Oral information only has to be reinterpreted.

2,930 posted on 08/14/2008 9:56:40 AM PDT by wmfights (Believe - THE GOSPEL - and be saved)
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To: wmfights

If so, why did any of them write anything down if oral transmission is as accurate as written transmission. It seems pretty straightforward that oral transmission of information is more easily manipulated by the social and political pressures of the day than information that is written down. Information written down has to be erased and rewritten. Oral information only has to be reinterpreted.

==

INDEED.


2,931 posted on 08/14/2008 10:10:19 AM PDT by Quix (key QUOTES POLS 1900 ON #76 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2031425/posts?page=77#77)
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To: MarkBsnr; Dr. Eckleburg; hosepipe; betty boop; Quix; Mad Dawg; xzins
Thank you so very much for sharing your insights, dear brother in Christ! And thank you for your question!

me: Truly, the “vital” teacher is God Himself:

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. - I John 2:27

you: God teaches; man does not necessarily have to learn, or else he can learn different things. All Protestant denominations have learned different things. Are you saying that God has led all the Protestant denominations on their various paths - very often very contradictory?

I will use again a metaphor that I've used many times before:

The words of God are like a seven faceted diamond.

Christians look at the diamond facing it from different aspects and therefore see things a bit differently.

But it is the same diamond and the same Light.

God is Light. Without the Light, there is nothing to be seen.

We were not made with a cookie cutter. Peter was not like John who was not like Paul who was not like doubting Thomas - but Christ chose every single, individual, one of them.

Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ look at the diamond and see the images of people who went before them and were filled with the Holy Spirit, i.e. saints – and with pure love for God, being drawn to the Light, believe that to honor the images is to honor the Light Who illuminates the images.

And some of our brothers and sisters in Christ look at the diamond and are pretty much blinded by the Light. They see no images at all and thus conclude that to honor images is to miss the Light altogether.

And so these two aspects have serious and sincere disputes between themselves not because there are different diamonds or different Lights – but because they are seeing different things.

This is part of what betty boop and I have dubbed the “observer problem.” The difference is not "in" the diamond or the Light, but rather the observer because he has a different aspect or angle of viewing the diamond.

As you know, I personally eschew all of the doctrines and traditions of men across the board – so to me, it doesn’t matter as long as the observer is in the Light, i.e. “no Light, no image.”

Deep spiritual darkness is the result of avoiding the Light altogether.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. - I John 1:5-7

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. – John 1:4-5

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. – John 3:19

Sadly, like the Hebrews couldn't bear to look at Moses directly, some Christians today avoid the Light in the same way. We must not be that way.

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

And [till] Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel [that] which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. – Exodus 34:29-35

In other words, looking to the Saint instead of the Light which illuminates him is carnal per se and will stunt a Christian’s spiritual growth or sanctification.

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. – I Corinthians 3:1-7

Stay in the Light. May the Light that is in each of us shine into the world unveiled and unobstructed.

For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. - Psalms 18:28

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. – Matthew 5:14-16

To God be the glory, not man, never man!


2,932 posted on 08/14/2008 10:21:24 AM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: Forest Keeper

Just goes to show you what we Reformers have noted all along: the catholic Church herself is not what she used to be and has clearly fallen. I doubt she would be recognized by even ancient Catholics and many of them would, had they lived in a later time, been with us Reformers AGAINST a church that lost the gospel.


2,933 posted on 08/14/2008 10:24:51 AM PDT by Lord_Calvinus
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To: Alamo-Girl
Thank you for your essay on the light, AG, among the beloved of our Lord.

Adding to those thoughts should be recognition that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Therefore, the bible admonition that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling comes front and center. It will not be my parents, siblings, friends, church members, or leaders who get to answer for me. I have to answer for me. I can blame no one else. That is a burden that is mine alone.

The Council of Jerusalem also spoke to the issue of behavior when they adjoined us to avoid idol worship (idol feasts), sexual immorality, cruelty (drinking blood), and unhealthy lifestyles (strangled dead food).

Those who consider the veneration of or the bowing down to statues,engravings or likenesses to be a form of idolatry must have their day in court. It is an observation that is ancient, and many have considered it to be a fair interpretation of scripture to condemn such practices.

Others have said that such a practice is simply a way of fondly remembering the Spirit of Christ at work in the lives of the ancients. Perhaps, but there is nothing in such an explanation that shows the other side to be wrong. At best, those who venerate icons and the like should be kindly toward those who disagree with their practice for there is plenty of room to be gracious, given that their argument is not insurmountable.

2,934 posted on 08/14/2008 10:41:47 AM PDT by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain -- Those denying the War was Necessary Do NOT Support the Troops!)
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To: Alamo-Girl; betty boop
[ Sadly, like the Hebrews couldn't bear to look at Moses directly, some Christians today avoid the Light in the same way. We must not be that way. ]

What is most precious a diamond, ruby, topaz, amethist?..
Precious stones is a wonderful metaphorical image given in scripture.. The shining light-(from faces) can have wonderful characteristics.. all shining just the same with light only differently as through a precious stone.. What stone are YOU? , ME?.. Well whatever we are, we are.. and thats good enough.. We all need to shine.. release the light within us.. as a stone would.. Not all stones are the same.. but are wonderfully different.. Comparing them as to which is better is a mistake, I think..

I infer that with people the precious stone metaphor only cracks the surface of the reality of it all.. For we are precious stones in dynamic spiritual process.. the stone quality of what we are today may be much better tomorrow..

Even so, what we are is what we are.. and are becoming a better what we are, daily.. I never saw the light on Moses face in this way before.. THANKS... But it is a good example of precious stones.. The light shineing from Moses was no doubt different than the light shineing from, say, Aaron.. or Peter or Paul or John..or you and I..

When we get to where ever the end is could be that we will experience this precious stone allusion first hand.. from all(the people) we know and others.. What a image of the radiance of the light source this is.. People in "heaven" shineing in multiple ways.. ways we cannot even understand NOW... (I Cor 2;9)

2,935 posted on 08/14/2008 10:50:31 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole....)
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To: Forest Keeper; Dr. Eckleburg; OLD REGGIE; Gamecock; Alex Murphy; Quix; 1000 silverlings; ...
Latin idea of ranking scriptures according to relative truth

Where did I do that? I pointed out that the revelation to St. Paul is not recorded in the same way as the teaching given the Apostles is recorded in the gospel. Now, I pose the question "do you call the unrecorded Word of God?" If you don't have the answer, just say that you don't rather than changing the topic.

if you're thinking of trying to claim that Paul thought himself below the other Apostles, and especially Peter

It has nothing to do with our discussion about the unrecorded deposit of faith and its superiority. However, in the Gal 2:11 episode St. Paul corrects St. Peter's behavior and not doctrine, -- the lifting of dietetic restrictions of the law of Moses had already occurred, under St. Peter's leadership. It is not a prooftext against Peter's primacy.

2,936 posted on 08/14/2008 12:08:54 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: OLD REGGIE; Quix; Forest Keeper; Dr. Eckleburg; Gamecock; Alex Murphy; 1000 silverlings

The Sacred Deposit of Faith is what makes the Holy Scripture inerrant and holy.


2,937 posted on 08/14/2008 12:10:29 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: Dr. Eckleburg; Forest Keeper; OLD REGGIE; Gamecock; Alex Murphy; Quix; 1000 silverlings; enat
Paul's "doctrine" was written long before Paul came on the scene

Paul's doctrine was wrtitten by Paul when he wrote it and not before. The Eternal Word is the Person of Christ and not a book. The Faith was transmitted by Christ to His apostles in a historical context; based on that, they produced the New Testament.

What you offer is superstition.

2,938 posted on 08/14/2008 12:14:04 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: wmfights; Dr. Eckleburg; Forest Keeper; OLD REGGIE; Gamecock; Alex Murphy; Quix; ...
why did any of them write anything down if oral transmission is as accurate as written transmission

It is not as accurate. This is why the Fathers of the Church wrote a lot of material in addition to the canonical inspired scripture. To separate the canonical scripture formt he exegetical work of the Fathers is to discard the teachings of Christ in favor of traditions of the lead liars of the so-called "reformation".

2,939 posted on 08/14/2008 12:17:39 PM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: Alamo-Girl

Marvelously put, as usual.


2,940 posted on 08/14/2008 12:18:16 PM PDT by Quix (key QUOTES POLS 1900 ON #76 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2031425/posts?page=77#77)
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