Nifonging the Catholic Church

me ^ | April 18, 2010 | vanity

[Judith Anne]

I seriously wonder about some FReepers, sometimes. Any other person accused of a crime would be defended by every FReeper as being innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. I've seen whole threads written by men who have been accused of child abuse by ex-wives out to deny them their visitation rights or to wrest more money out of them. These men are rightly indignant, and furious about the unjust accusations that cannot be proven but are never withdrawn.

Yet where are those FReepers when a PRIEST is accused? Where is the presumption of innocence? Suddenly, every accusation becomes a verdict, and not only the accused but his entire organization and all its adherents are held responsible.

I can only wonder what some of these so-called conservatives (who so faithfully defend the Constitution) would do, if THEY were the ones accused! It is a nightmare for any man -- all of you know how even the accusation stains the man forever, even if it is proven false!

Not only that, many here assert that the problems of 30, 40 and even 50 years ago must be tried in the media TODAY!

Remember the Duke rape case? There are more similarities than differences here. The priests are accused, nifonged, and instead of being defended, they are vilified!

What other man of you could stand under the weight of such an accusation trumpeted by the press, and come out whole? None! And such accusations made, LONG after the statute of limitations has passed, sometimes even after the accused is dead and buried for YEARS -- are YOU one of those who automatically, reflexively, spitefully, and gleefully act as judge, jury, and executioner?

Women! What if it were YOUR HUSBAND, YOUR BROTHER, YOUR FATHER, YOUR UNCLE, YOUR SON who was accused? Wouldn't you want the best defense possible? Wouldn't YOU believe in their innocence? Wouldn't YOU help protect your loved ones as much as possible? And yet, YOU JUDGE THE CHURCH FOR DOING WHAT YOU WOULD DO?

Shame! Vast shame! On all who have sinned against the innocent!

[Alamo-Girl]

Have more faith in the Holy Spirit's ability to preserve God's word and intent.

Indeed. Spiritual errors in conveying the words of God are impossible because God purposes His own words and preserves them:

The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. – Psalms 12:6-7

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it. – Isaiah 55:11

And He prepares us to receive them.

And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. - Deuteronomy 29:2-5

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. – Matthew 13:14-16

In the following passages, Jesus is not speaking of a physical event - whether the recording of language symbols to papyrus or sound waves.

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. – Matthew 5:18

Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. – John 8:43

The words of God are spirit and life. The words of men are neither spirit nor life. Thus we Christians know the difference regardless of media, language or translation:

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. - John 6:63

It is that very Spiritual communication that makes us His. Notice again that Paul and John go hand-in-glove.

For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. – John 10:3-5

So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:17

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. – John 5:24

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. – Matt 4:4

To God be the glory, not man, never man.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

DR.E: "Do you really believe that?"

NL: Are you calling me a liar or attempting to read my mind?

lol. So now the act of questioning a Roman Catholic is breaking the rules? lol.

Having studied Latin and German as well as Church history in a "classic education" I know full well that theological constructs lend themselves better to some languages than others.

If the goal is to better preserve "theological constructs," then the translations should be made directly from the Greek and Hebrew.

But the truth of those translations does not serve Rome well.

[narses]

Yes, from the section on prayer and that is supported by Scripture:

After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

You seem to have real trouble with the Mother of God. Why?

[netmilsmom]

You know, my daughters picked out some DVDs at the library. One was “Loose Change”. It’s fascinating to watch those truthers take things that people said or reports given and use their own interpretation to draw a conclusion that was totally wrong.

I guess that when someone tries to interpret writings themselves, looking to find a certain conclusion, they will.

I’m glad I leave such things to the experts!

[count-your-change]

I think this tread has deteriorated to the point where I'm going to stay on the bench.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Your posts are perfect Scriptural lessons for a Sunday morning.

And He prepares us to receive them

Amen!

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God." -- Psalms 20:7

[narses]

What sect do you claim as your own “Doctor”?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for that beautiful Scripture, dear sister in Christ, and thank you for your encouragements!

[Judith Anne]

You seem to be utterly offended at the idea that Mary, Mother of God, would welcome you, and take you to her Son, at the hour of your death.

Perhaps she won’t welcome you, since you repudiate that function of hers....I certainly pray that the Queen of Heaven will welcome me, though, and lead me to her Son Christ Jesus....

[Dr. Eckleburg]

lolol. How does Christ entrusting the care of His mother to John, the youngest apostle with the least responsibilities, support the notion that men are supposed to give themselves over to Mary at the hour of their death?

Ludicrous...ludicrous...ludicrous

[narses]

So what odd sect is it that you belong to sister?

[Judith Anne]

That's how much Rome wanted to keep the Bibles out of the hands of ployboys.

Could you please define "ployboy"?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

If the Bible told me to look to Mary for guidance to Her Son, I would.

But Scripture does not tell anyone to do that. Scripture says to look to Christ alone for salvation.

To miss that fact is to pervert Christianity at its core.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

A boy who plows.

[narses]

After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

[Judith Anne]

In fact, there's a lot of priests in closets.

That is one of the ugliest comments I have ever heard from a presbyterian. Wait, I take that back. It's just about normal, never mind.

[MarkBsnr]

Reminds me of the behavior of papal armies and the good Catholic neighbors of Waldensians in the Piedmont and Cottian Alps of Italy. Children were pitched off cliffs in that one. The Waldensian Presbyterian Church was, finally, granted full legal and religious parity in Italy in ... 1984.

I don't know about pitching children off cliffs, but the Italian branch was repudiated by Waldes himself before his death.

[narses]

So what odd sect is it that you belong to sister?

[netmilsmom]

>>A boy who plows.<<

You mean plowboy. Most of them couldn’t read.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Your initial question wasn't which faiths practiced tolerance of other faiths. It was skepticism that our representative form of government with built-in checks and balances was founded on the principles Calvin set down in Geneva which was itself based on Scriptural tenets.

Your premise has been proven to be incorrect....again.