Is Anti-Catholicism Dead? (Ques. Proposed by NY Times)

NY Times City Room Blog ^ | 7/23/2008 | Sewell Chan

[annalex]

We have all the evidence we need to show that they don't mean what they say and they insist they know better than we do what we say means.

Some here find parsing of the language tedious. But truly, what fun it is.

We have all the evidence,
[that] we need[,] to show that they don't mean what they say
and they insist [that] they know better than we do
what [that, which] we say[,] means.

Take that, "doctor".

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“What you said was “refuted” by Annalex.”

No, it wasn’t and he has explicitly denied that that is the case.

“Nothing much more required to illustrate the truth of Alex Murphy’s point.”

What truth in Alex’s point? He couldn’t even prove what he claimed!

“Pray for eyes to see the difference between black and white.”

I already have them. Pray that you learn to read and learn the importance to context.

[AnAmericanMother]

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

I'll do my best to respond to charges because sometimes you actually can convince a person that they were mistaken. They might even see the light and convert!

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Your post is gibberish.

[Clemenza]

Religion is an “ideology” and therefore fair game. We should feel free to criticize ANY religion and not have to apologize for doing so.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

You think I refute people without being aware of doing so?

Your words are clear to anyone reading them.

The problem for you is not that Protestants do not understand what you say; it is that we understand it all too well, and we disagree with it.

And as these many months of threads confirm, some Rome prefers darkness to the light.

Scripture tells us why.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

some Rome

I know you're a stickler for grammar.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

If a Protestant goes to hell it is for different reasons.

What might those "reasons" be?

[Quix]

SHEESH

[Dr. Eckleburg]

A conscious informed rejection of the truths of the Catholic faith is what condemns to hell

The doctrine of Mary's bodily ascension into heaven and her immaculate conception and her being considered a mediator are all "truths" according to Rome.

If a Protestant disagrees with those beliefs, is he then "condemned to hell?"

[Dr. Eckleburg]

lol. And they say we're arrogant. 8~)

[annalex]

If a Protestant disagrees with [the late in formulation Catholic Marian dogmas], is he then "condemned to hell?"

It is about the tenth time, "doctor" that I explain. If you (not being personal) reject them as an act of informed free will, of course you do go to (drum roll) Hell. If you fail to form a belief in them due to honest doubt or lack of familiarity with them, that would not be a factor.

A course in reading comprehension is available from me at a modest fee, to defray the costs of typing.

[Mad Dawg]

A course in reading comprehension is available from me at a modest fee, to defray the costs of typing.

Such a course, if it existed, would only be of interest to those one of whose goals was comprehension.

What we have here are people who, not understanding, not caring to understand, what is written, call it gibberish, and thinking themselves smart for doing so, turn to their homies for high fives and fist bumps.

It's like talking to Democrats.

[Quix]

INDEED.

THIS TAKES THE CAKE:

ANNALEX: “You are hell bound, generally speaking, yes, by the fact of your being separated brethren.”

ANNALEX: I know, for example, that as an anti-Catholic you cannot go to heaven.”

VLAD: I still don’t see any automatic consignment to hell there.

[Quix]

Sounds like

the Jewish magicsterical of 2000 years ago.

Christ wasn't impressed with it then.

I can't imagine He's impressed with it now.

This sort of hyper parochial mentality is part of what Christ died to abolish.

He died to restore each individual's fellowship with THE FATHER.

Yet again the enemy of our souls has used mankind's obsession with organized hoopla and law to distance individuals further and further from not just THE FATHER, but Christ and THE TRUTHs about God and about RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

Satan convinced individual after individual that they cannot approach God as DADDY through CHRIST'S BLOOD ALONE.

Therefore, they have to submit to wholesale and utterly depend upon layer upon layer of professional gatekeepers because satan has convinced each individual that Christ's Blood is insufficient alone to cover their wormy-ness.

So lock-step, day after day, the faithful submit to endless jury-rigged hoops that the "new" money-changers; PURPORTED soul-leveragers; glorifiers and RELIGIOUS [not spiritual] pontificators burden the serfs with.

Lots of Olympic class retch material there.

[LordBridey]

I know that there are some Catholics who would find the whole quote debatable, but in this instance I find myself very close in agreement with what the Holy Father is saying in a general sense. When it gets down to particulars, I continue to hesitate.

I understand who the Holy Father refers, and I agree. In a general sense, Protestants, as a whole, probably don't qualify as heretics, per his definition. But if he were a freeper he might have a different opinion.....an obstinate adherence to private revelation? was that the phrase? A lot of that goes on around here.

[Quix]

I think foundationally,

you are wiser than that assertion implies.

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“What might those “reasons” be?”

Sins for which they have not repented.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for sharing your insights and concerns, dear brother in Christ!

It is indeed tragic whenever a Christian believes that the Blood of Christ is in some way insufficient.

Many, I suspect, feel this way because of self-loathing. Because their past sins haunt them, they "will" not to receive God's forgiveness. Some might even see their attitude as extreme humility, but what it really is, is a lack of faith. By not receiving the forgiveness, they are in effect, telling God "I do not believe you, I do not trust you."

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. - Isaiah 1:18

And some, I suspect, are uncomfortable with unmerited grace and feel they must do something to earn it. They might see this as humility or gratitude instead of the insult to the Blood of the Lamb that it is. In effect, they are judging God by saying it was not enough for Jesus to shed His own Blood for his sins, that they could become righteous on their own.

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. - Galatians 2:21

And some, I suspect, believe the Blood of Christ fades over time - that when they sin again, the forgiveness they once received is cancelled. They cannot seem to accept that they simply need to confess the new sin, repent of it and the Blood of the Lamb cleanses them from the new sin as well.

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.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - I John 1:7-9

It doesn't matter what additional labels a Christian might wear. There is only one 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

Love God surpassingly above all else. Believe Him. Trust Him.