Posted on 07/29/2008 4:39:52 PM PDT by annalex
Oh?
I just can't help but think that somewhere in here the Catholic church committed an error of some sort.
Why, a lot. The Catholic Church believes that there are lines of authority that go from Christ and through His Church and they completely bypass the civil magistrate. If the state passes laws that accord with the Natural Law, we support the state; if it passes laws that don't, we ignore these laws. Specifically, these are the things that are together uniquely Catholic, that are each a bastion against the forces of secularism (from my earlier post on another thread):
With what... the other radical socialist?
I agree with you. We have to work together to defeat the enemy of our souls and his minions (read Democrats). We will certainly be lost as a nation if we don’t. My brother was a Vietnam Vet. Thanks for your service!
I want to iterate a couple of things that you said.
It is true that true ecumenism is only possible inasmuch as people convert to the Catholic Church, the pillar and ground of truth. There is no discrepancy at all between the Church that grows more patristic, teaches her doctrines more forcefully and clearly, and the fact that people who take their Christianity seriously are attracted to it. By the same token, people who do not take their Chrisitanity seriously are repelled (our absolute numbers are shrinking).
Especially it is true in pro-life work and in all corporate works of mercy, the ministry in which Chuck Colson in engaged. Anyone who lives out the Gospel of Jesus Christ will soon discover that no matter what theological theories appeal to his intellect, the Catholic Church of the nameless monks and friars who dedicate their lives to the work of charity appeal to his heart. While I am happy for Colson’s testimony as an Evangelical, I would not be surprised if he followed Randall Terry and Al Kresta across the Tiber one day.
Well, Jaded, I don’t agree with their disagreement. I feel we are all working for the common goal.
which began where... The European continent fell long ago to the scourge of liberalism that is now affecting the Protestant nations. Catholic nations fared no better, and it could be argued, were the genesis thereof.
... of dubious accord with the gospel. American social experiment of fostering the Economic Man at the expense of Catholic Man of divine sonship lasted for little over 200 years and shows all signs of decline, while Southern Europe and Latin America, while of modest economic success, have a simple organic lifestyle that endured over a thousand years.
Despite my polemics on theiological grounds, I always enjoyed the Evangelical Protestant company, with whom we share the love for, and the uncompromising spirit of, the gospel.
That's true in many areas of the U.S.A. It's true here where I live, and where I came from. It's a sad situation when Roman Catholic members don't even attend their Mass on Sundays; here, of the total membership of the local Roman Catholic Church, only around 30% actually attend the Mass on any given Sunday. The other denominations of Christianity at least have over 50% attendance each Sunday of their total members. One church that I know of has over 90% of its members attend services on Sunday and 50% on their Wednesday evening Bible Studies. I doubt that this is true all over the USA, but I see more and more attendance at churches being the norm in the near future. Hopefully this will continue until Jesus returns.
Many of the Catholics around here can hardly be called "Christian", for their actions betray them. It is sad that the leadership of their church doesn't have more influence upon them. I won't go into why I say this, other than to say if the Holy Spirit was working in them, they wouldn't act the way they do. This is also true of many "mainstream" churches. Evangelicals seem to have the upper-hand in their actions, although a small number of them drag down the righteous ones. Enough said....
People reject Catholicism because they are willing to reject parts of the gospel they don’t like. One who reads the gospel as written will soon be either Catholic or Orthodox at heart.
How do they do that?
People reject Catholicism because they disagree with Catholic doctrine and supposed authority, and it would be the height of arrogance to assume that there is no room for dissent, especially when there is so much evidence to the contrary.
Right, and therefore they don't read the gospel as written.
Conversion by the sword, confession by torture, forced baptisms, death of innocents, genocide, religious persecutions, plunder of lands to enrich Rome... all of that was inerrant then?
Right, and therefore they don't read the gospel as written.
Wrong. They disagree with the interpretation thereof. That disagreement is well founded, and legitimate.
Catholics just as much misrepresent Luther and the “Five Solas” as Protestants do Catholic teaching, in my observation. And nothing Scott Hahn has written has in any way undercut the Five Solas. The Five Solas stand just as soundly today as they did five hundred years ago.
But the Catholic interpretation is that of the fathers of the Church, who produced the canon of gospels. Anyone can intepret; only a Catholic can explain.
Perhaps, but then these diverse interpretations also exist in the Protestant world.
nothing Scott Hahn has written has in any way undercut the Five Solas
He sure produced schools of converts who don't believe Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura anymore (we don't disagree on the rest).
It's nice to see someone acknowledge that the "Five Solas" did not exist for the first fifteen centuries of Christianity.
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