Posted on 12/27/2008 2:48:02 PM PST by NYer
The problem with a thread like this is people can post "facts" about what "Protestants" believe vs. what Catholics believe, because Protestant beliefs vary widely from church to church. The only thing they all agree on is that Catholics are wrong and that they don't think the Pope has any authority as head of the universal Christian church.
For example, someone angrily posted that it's unfair to say Protestants rarely observe communion because he's Protestant and his church observes communion regularly. That may be true in his church, but in other Protestant churches it's not true. Communion in a protestant church can vary from taking it every Sunday, to never observing communion at all.
Someone else posted that Catholics have closed communion and protestants have open communion. Again, some protestant churches may invite anyone to communion who wants to come (maybe even non-Christians!). Others might allow only members of their congregation in good standing to partake of communion. There is so set "Protestant" rule with these things.
Some of these churches, like Lutherans, are definitely "Protestant" by any definition of the word, and completely broke away from the Catholic Church, but they continue to follow the Catholic doctrine on these matters.
Alot of these threads also falsely claim "the rest of Christianity" disagrees with Catholics on doctrines like communion and veneration of Mary, when the truth is that Protestants are the ones objecting to those doctrines. Other branches of Chrisitianity, like Orthodox Chrisitans, accept the Catholic beliefs on those matters.
To have an accurate thread debating doctrine between churches, you'd have to have specific denominations like "Why can't Roman Catholics take communion at a Greek Orthodox Church?" or "Southern Baptist Convention vs. Roman Catholic views on Communion"
Otherwise vaguely arguing the "protestant" vs. "catholic" viewpoints is a waste of time.
Ha!...There wasn't a born again Christian in the bunch...Every one of that was a Sabboth worshipping, pork abstaining, JEW...
If you can in one breath, and then cant in the other, its contradiction. Cannot be.
That's what you get when you only hear three verses of scripture whenever you go to church...If you believed what the scripture says, you'd know it's true...
You said what I've thought so many times on these awful threads. Let all of put this petty dividing of each other up into little groups aside and remember these words: Love God with all your heart, mind and soul; and your neighbor as yourself. This is the sum of the law and the commandments.
The SUM means it contains everything; so just to practice it encompasses all.
It seems to me that we aren't loving our neighbors when we are so busy dividing each other up into little groups of "others, so unlike us". Aren't we all children of God ? Aren't we more alike than different ?
Are we not all brothers and sisters in Christ himself ? I have attended lots of churches, and have deep respect for the sincerity of believers I have met in each of them. There are beautiful examples of Christ's love everywhere, in every church, in every group of believers.
We would do more for His Kingdom to look for these examples everywhere, and celebrate each one of them with deep gratitude for their example.Each group sees and expresses a unique aspect of Christ's love, which is limitless in its wonder. I love them all.
“The Catholics and former Catholics I have known have all said that at mass, Catholics do not read God’s word along with the “Father”.”
Total nonsense. That is what a Missal is for, so that we CAN read the Holy Writ together with the Priest. We all celebrate TOGETHER with the Holy Bible as the base for what we teach and are taught. That you closed your mind is your issue, that you base the lies you tell on that closed mind is simply wrong.
“Can an Orthodox Christian receive communion in a Roman Catholic Church?
The Catholic Church allows Orthodox to receive communion because we share the same belief in the Real Presence. It is my understanding, however, that Catholics may not receive communion in the Orthodox Church. I have pinged Kolokotronis for an explanation.”
It is absolutely forbidden, de jure, for us to receive communion in a Roman Catholic liturgy in the liturgies of those particular churches in communion with Rome. Likewise, we will not knowingly give communion to Roman Catholics or thoe in communion with them. I say de jure because de facto it occurs regularly in the ME and to a lesser extent here though in both instances only with Melkites an Maronites so far as I know.
The reason for all of this is that we are not in communion with Rome We do not believe that the Eucharist should be used to foster communion, but rather is the ultimate symbol of communion.
Narses, I know of no permission for inter-communion having been given in situations in which a Latin or Orthodox might find himself in extremis. I also cannot imagine it not happening without “permission” under the appropriate circumstances. Believe me, if I were at the end and there was no Orthodox priest, available I’d be hollering for the Latin priest!
First Baptist Church in Longview, TX
Shows the problems that the Church has had since Vatican II. Even some priests don’t abide by the rules.
Very judgmental of you. I have not “closed my mind”. I freely acknowledge that I, not being Catholic, know very few Catholics. I can only go on my experience, as we all do. That I simply repeat on this thread that experience, is not telling “lies”. If you insist that Catholics DO read the Bible or Missal, as you call it, during their services then I concede to your experience on the subject! It does nothing for your position to call people on this thread liars who are simply stating what they have been told or have witnessed for themselves.
I think that the question of whether you can lose your salvation merely thru sin is one that God has deliberately left vague to discourage you from sinning. He wants us to wrestle with our sins. But His focus is on faith. If you have faith, then you have salvation. How bad a sin must you commit to lose your salvation? He doesn’t want you to sin at all, so He doesn’t spell it out.
If you have faith, then you will repent even of the worst sin. If not, then maybe you really never had faith to begin with.
When it comes down to the crux of the matter, there really isn’t much difference between Catholicism in theory and what we believe. Our beliefs clearly acknowledge that Catholics might very well be saved if they have the requisite faith. Our pastors, however, lament the fact that many Catholics don’t really believe, but think that because they were born into a Catholic family and have attended church regularly, they are in fact Christians.
A good example, to me, is Bill O’Reilly. He thinks he’s a Christian, but every time he speaks of religion I get the impression that he does not really understand it, much less believe it. He seems to think that if you are a “good person” that’s enough. “Good person” plus faith might be enough since faith is sufficient by itself. But “good person” is not enough by itself. The truth is that none of us are “good persons.” It’s the faith that makes the difference, and faith by itself is enough, but if faith is real, then “good person” (as O’Reilly judges it) follows.
I remember an interview that O’Reilly had with Jerry Falwell in which O’Reilly made the comment that if you’re a good person, you’re saved. Falwell’s response was that he’d never get John Paul to agree with him. My suspicion is that Falwell understood Catholicism better than O’Reilly did.
This is not about sin—it’s about God. If you accept God, then He accepts you, with all your faults. Your sin has consequence, but not for your salvation.
:)God bless you for your insight.As for the Catholics we center on the LORD.JESUS is LORD over heaven and earth.I thank You LORD.
“satan walked away. so did 1/3 of the angels.”
I don’t think Baptists believe that Satan and the angels have salvation in the same sense that humans do. Their deal is different.
The Holy Mass ALWAYS includes multiple readings from the Holy Writ. You claim to have attended but with a closed mind (and clearly stopped ears). You then use that one time experience to reinforce the lies you’ve been told to tell lies about the Church. Very sad.
You ever study the words that end in 'X'...Just sayin'...
You might be a “good Catholic” but you don’t come across as a nice person.
Are we not all brothers and sisters in Christ himself ?
Have you forgotten what this thread is about??? It's about, 'there is no salvation outside of the Eucharist'...
That means we are NOT all brothers and sisters in Christ...Their pope says they worship the same God as the muzlims do...There is no Jesus Christ in the muzlim religion...I don't worship the same God as they do...
You need to re-read my original question. The question was about where the Mormon church specifically stands on the issue of communion. The Mormon Church’s doctrine ON COMMUNION is NOTHING like Catholics at all, and comes closest to Baptists.
And BTW, the ONLY doctrine of the Mormon church that comes close to Catholic beliefs that the Mormons accept the idea of one person being head of the universal church and vicar of Christ (though the LSD President runs things quite differently than the Pope)
And you are very rude, brother or sister in Christ. When the conversation by one party stoops to name calling, I bow out. Will you ask forgiveness for that at your next confession? I am assuming here that being judgmental, rude and name calling are a sin for Catholics as well?
I concur.
Allah, as the Muslim undertand him, is the object of their faith. The Muslims did not make their faith from whole cloth by from bits and pieces of Judaism and CXhristianity. The early Christians thought it a Christian heresy, a newer version of the heresy of Arius.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.