Posted on 01/05/2010 9:46:47 PM PST by the_conscience
I just witnessed a couple of Orthodox posters get kicked off a "Catholic Caucus" thread. I thought, despite their differences, they had a mutual understanding that each sect was considered "Catholic". Are not the Orthodox considered Catholic? Why do the Romanists get to monopolize the term "Catholic"?
I consider myself to be Catholic being a part of the universal church of Christ. Why should one sect be able to use a universal concept to identify themselves in a caucus thread while other Christian denominations need to use specific qualifiers to identify themselves in a caucus thread?
Decorating the tabernacle with a few angels is not the same thing as building statues and praying to those statues when the Triune God alone demands all our prayers.
The words of admonition are in black and white. The words of admonition are part of the Ten Commandments. And yet Rome ignores the words and admonitions and commandments of God and bows down to the stock of a tree.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God" -- Exodus 20:4-5"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Does the Roman Catholic Bible include the Ten Commandments or not?
AMEN! AMEN!
THX FOR YOUR KIND REPLY.
Now the challenge in the physical dept is . . . teeth pulling—bottoms—scheduled for 29th . . . hopefully a molar threatening to hurt will not get radical until then.
Thanks for your caring and prayers.
Things are moving along well enough for prep for new sem.
Thx.
Occam’s barber?
Before Christ, the relationship between man and God was wounded, impaired. The dead Jews lay in wait for the Messiah to come and open the gates of Heaven. Just like the curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn open, the gates of heaven were made open to man and to enable man to bask in God’s grace and glow.
Congratulations
on your exceedingly charitable construction on various realities.
LOL.
Can we get a replay of that hair splitting picture here?
Apparently Roman Catholics are permitted to rely on their conscience but Protestants aren't.
And stranger still is that when Protestants say they do rely on their consciences, Roman Catholics ridicule them for doing so.
Peculiar.
If you’re a Baptist, then your beliefs are anathema to OPCers and heretical to many evangelicals.
Amen!
Boatbums, It was actually like whatever cares or concerns of life these prescious saints might be contending with in life just fell away and the whole heart, mind and soul was focused on Christ... and Him hearing their voices...not even so much that they were singing, moreso that they were there and so was He.
I watched their faces and it was none of this emotional and flighty sorta of thing you can see people getting swept up in some churches. No exurberance at all..just this amazing sense of awe to behold and be a part of the very real presence of Christ..I didn’t want it to stop. Which is probably why we don’t experience Him this way very often...we’d never want to leave and get back to earthly things. I wish you could have been there, but somehow I think you know....no, I know that you know.
So, if you’re not a Baptist, what are you?
Valid baptism makes one a member of the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Valid baptism can be performed by anyone, even a non-believer. From what you are saying, baptism does not make one either "Catholic" or "Orthodox."
However, many folks who are validly baptized don't have formal membership in the Catholic Church.
They don't have formal membership in the Church centered on communion with the Pope of Rome, but they do have a membership in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
So, I'm not sure whether or not that's quite what the Orthodox believe
They believe that valid baptisms brings one into the Church and that there is only one Church. That makes us all ontologically Christian. They also believe that some particular Churches are theologically in disagreement with others. The division is hierarchical.
I've heard that at least some Orthodox re-baptize other Christians who come into the Orthodox Church, which of course is an explicit rejection of that person's connection in any way to the Church of Christ
The Eastern Churches baptize the same way the Church (East or West) baptized in the first millennium – triple immersion (or pouring over the head covering the entire body) in the name of the Holy Trinity. If a bishop is unsure how a convert was baptized, or if the baptism of a particular Christian community where the convert comes from baptizes in any other way, the convert will be baptized (not "re-baptized" since no baptism took place) and sealed (chrismated) with holy oil.
If, on the other hand, a bishop can learn to his satisfaction that a person has been baptized then he will order either chrismation of the convert or, as is the usual case of Coptic Orthodox converts, a simple profession of faith (Nicene Creed sans filioque).
The Eastern Churches do not do this as a "rejection" of that person's connection to the Church since invalid baptism does not bring one into the Church. These measures of economy are made entirely for the well being of the convert's soul, so as to dispel any possible doubt that the new member of the Church is truly brought into the Church.
Second, I believe that both the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church hold to the belief that they, themselves, constitute the true Church, complete and without lack
The Orthodox hold that their Church has maintained theological orthodoxy of the Church of the Seven Councils, and represents the theologically unchanged Christianity of the same, i.e. the catholic faith once delivered and believed everywhere and always. The Orthodox see the western Church theologically in error on some issues and in need of resolution in an Ecumenical Council. That makes Immaculate Conception, Papal infallibility, Mary's bodily assumption, Purgatory, etc. in house theological disagreements.
Since the Bishop of Rome is behind these theological differences, the East cannot be in communion with him until these are theologically resolved. This is not a rejection of his primacy or his episcopacy. Communion is an expression of (theological) unity and not a means of achieving one.
The East maintains that any church with an orthodox bishop is the Catholic Church in all its fullness, apostolic authority, sacraments and orthodox faith. The Church is not a sum total of individual parts, but one Body, indivisible and whole. The Church has maintained that at least since +Ignatius (late 1st and early 2nd century).
Similarly, we Catholic believe the same thing about our Church, that it is the true Church, founded by Jesus Christ, and lacking nothing ontologically
The Church lacks nothing ontologically. The Church is divided along episcopal jurisdictions, theologically, not ontologically. Some particular Churches are theologically deficient in the eyes of other Churches. This is a matter of an Ecumenical Council to resolve. The reason one cannot be convened is because there is also a division along ecclesial principles, especially in regards to the extent and meaning of papal primacy. Until such topics are mutually agreed upon, a General Synod cannot be convened to resolve theological differences that developed over centuries. This still does not make us two Churches but one, and our differences are in house differences.
So we each lay claim to being the true Church, Catholic and Orthodox, one, holy, apostolic, but admit that the other have true particular Churches, even if they don't comprise ontologically the One Church.
That is rather nonsensical. You cannot have "true particular" Churches that are not part of the True Church. What makes the Church Catholic is the apostolic authority passed on to the bishops in an unbroken succession, a valid clergy, and valid sacraments. Both particular Churches have valid clergy, the same apostolic authority and the same mysteries.
In any event, all arguments that we should share caucus threads generally under the rubric of “Catholic” or otherwise ring hollow when leading Orthodox posters declare us all apostate bishop-worshippers.
Orthodox posters are individual posters, with individual opinions. After all, that's what the Forum is about – opinions! Even leading Orthodox posters on this Forum do not represent or claim to represent the Orthodox Church but only their private opinions. Last time I checked, none of them has been identified as the official voice of the Orthodox Church. You are creating a straw man my FRiend.
You mean like my former United States Senator, Paul Sarbanes, or my current United States Representative, John Sarbanes, both self-identified Orthodox Christians who each never met an abortion he didn't like, who respectively ran and currently run for office as completely pro-abortion politicians?
Indeed, the GOC in America has been extremely hypocritical in that regard (including Senator Olympia Snowe).
Sorry, kosta50, but in my view, the hierarchies of all our particular Churches haven't done what they ought to do. In my own area, both Messrs. Sarbanes have been celebrated by the local Orthodox churches as favorite Orthodox sons.
No argument here. Ethnic chauvinism is obviously at play here. But the GOC does not represent all Orthodox and as far as I know Ecum. Patriarch Batholomew I is staunchly opposed to abortion.
Perhaps they're saying it, too, but I haven't actually heard any public discussion from any Orthodox prelates of the pro-abort politics of Orthodox politicians.
The Orthodox Church of America does. Again, the Greeks are not the only Orthodox in America and do not speak for all Orthodox in this country.
Yes, sigh...I do. How some can turn around and call these dear ones heretics and apostates because they don’t belong to the right religion is just amazing to me. God sees the heart...he knows...and that is all that matters! He knows those that are his own, praise his wonderful name!
Lol.
lol. What are you doing? Randomly thumbing through an atlas?
New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago are NOT "predominantly Protestant;" they are heavily Roman Catholic.
Has Christ paid for all the sins of His flock or not?
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