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To: bdeaner
Where can I find the Scripture saying any church has the promise of infallibility?

There are 7 churches named and described what their teaching are.... That is how I can identify what is approved by Christ own WORDS...

Seee now IF the WORD is GOD from the Beginning, and Christ said I have foretold you alllllll things that does not tell me there is any infallibility given to a building or a promoted leader or any flesh man.

81 posted on 01/23/2009 9:59:46 AM PST by Just mythoughts
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To: Just mythoughts; bdeaner
Where can I find the Scripture saying any church has the promise of infallibility?

In Matthew 16:18 Christ says that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against" the Church; in 2 Timothy 3:15 she is called "pillar and ground of truth"; in Ephesians 5 St. Paul teaches that Christ gave himself up for the Church so that "he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life: that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any; such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish".

91 posted on 01/23/2009 10:52:44 AM PST by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: Just mythoughts
The Bible itself calls the Church and not the Bible the "pillar and ground of the truth." See for yourself in 1 Timothy 3:15, where we see that not the Bible, but the Church--that is, the living community of believers founded upon St. Peter and the Apostles and headed by their successors--called "the pillar and ground of the truth." Of course, this passage is not meant in any way to diminish the importance of the Bible, but it IS intended to show that Jesus Christ did establish an authoritative teaching Church which was commissioned to teach "all nations" (Matt. 28:19).

Elsewhere, this same Church received Christ's promise that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18), that He would always be with it (Matt. 28:20), and that He would give it the Holy Spirit to teach it all truth (John 16:13). To the visible head of His Church, St. Peter, Our Lord said: "And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and, whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matt. 16:19).

It is plainly evident from these passages that Our Lord emphasized the authority of His Church and the role it would have in safeguarding and defining the Deposit of Faith.

It is also evident from these passages that this same Church would be infallible, for if at any time in its history it would definitively teach error to the Church as a whole in matters of faith or morals--even temporarily--it would cease being this "pillar and ground of truth." Since a "ground" or foundation by its very nature is meant to be a permanent support, and since the above-mentioned passages do not allow for the possibility of the Church ever definitively teaching doctrinal or moral error, the only plausible conclusion is that Our Lord was very deliberate in establishing His Church and that He was refering to its infallibility when He called it the "pillar and ground of the truth."

The Protestant, however, has a dilemma here by asserting the bible to be the sole rule of faith for believers. In what capacity, then, is the Churh the "pillar and ground of the truth" if it is not to serve as an infallible authority established by Christ? How can the Church be this "pillar and ground" if it has no tangible, practical ability to serve as an authority in the life of a Christian? The Protestant would effectively deny that the Chruch is the "pillar and ground of the truth" by denying that the Church has the authority to teach. No wonder Protestantism has a history of doctrinal vacillations and changes, and no surprise that no two denominations completely agree--even on major doctrinal changes. Such shifting and changing could not possibly be considered a foundation or "ground of the truth." For that ground, you need to cross the Tiber.
95 posted on 01/23/2009 11:08:04 AM PST by bdeaner (The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Cor. 10:16))
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