Posted on 08/27/2010 11:45:13 AM PDT by Hank Kerchief
YEAH, WELLLLLL, TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE. LOL.
LUBBRO
lolol. Well, it's good for you to explain this to Mad Dawg. lol.
We'll all be waiting breathlessly for the next post "you meant to say."
I used to have a friend who’d joke about his working on a cure . . . kind of an INSTANT VIRGINITY he could sell by the bottle.
Amen. That He does.
Not with empty rituals or invocations by "another Christ" or through the intercession of a "co-mediator" or by storing up banks of other people's righteousness or by anything good we ourselves can do, say, think or believe.
Christ saves sinners according to the grace of God, for His glory and the welfare of His saints.
" So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." -- Romans 9:16
How long did it take you to ferret out their evil intent? After reading their replies for years one can see why religious wars occurred and Inquisitions were conducted.
God bless and remember Jesus came to save even these vile creatures.
What an astoundingly evil statement.
It's always amazing (and appalling) when an RC apologist supports "religious wars and Inquisitions."
This is why it is dangerous to have Roman Catholics in positions of power. They don't believe in convincing and convicting and persuading, according to the word of God.
They believe in blood-lust and tyranny and assault.
Mad Dawg wrote:
“The soldier who obeys an illegal order because he thinks it legal still does a bad thing, but the quality of the act in his soul is different from that of the solider who knows that it’s illegal or who obeys because he likes the whole thing. Even law looks for a mens rea, a criminal intent, and thus distinguishes between capital murder and negligent homicide.”
Yes, fine. But you know what, the judge who will preside over our trial on the last day already knows all of this. He also does not distinguish between really, really guilty and not quite as guilty as one could have been. His is no court of legal opinion. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10)
Roman Catholic theology is essentially a theology of the law. It argues intent, degrees, mortal and venial. It is capable of asserting that even the unbeliever can be saved in some cases if the degree of morality/virtue is high (don’t have time right now to give you the reference in the Catholic Catechism, but it is there). It is this theology of the law that is put forward as the New Law or even the Law of the Gospel (Catholic Catechism language). Here is the cardinal error of Rome. It has transformed the Gospel into Law, and thus proclaims that black is white, round is square, yes is no. It always wants to argue the minutia of actions, words, intents, and never once understands that God condemns sin and sinners, all of them of every degree. It, like Nicodemus, want to discuss things with Jesus as with an equal. But Jesus answers simply and immovably that unless one is born from above (i.e. from heaven, by the power of God, by the gift of saving faith - all such are different expressions for the same thing), he will not see the kingdom of God ... PERIOD. In other words, faith alone saves. That is the Gospel, the good news. It is not another law. It is not of the same species as the law. It is the anti-law. It is the direct antithesis of the law. And therefore it, unlike the law, brings man not death, but life.
Jesus came to save even these us vile creatures.
I was never a good student but I got a summa cum opprobrio in viciousness.
They believe in blood-lust and tyranny and assault.
That sure seems to be the M.O. of the rabid clique types around here! True to form!
LOLOL!
I don't see it that way. I see, among other things, a great pastoral intent in this part of the conversation.
Someone comes to me confessing a sin or a vice (= sinful habit). It is good care to help him see as exactly as possible where the defect or excess is. In the case of someone who obeys an illegal order, it might be cowardice, laziness, gullibility, or hatred or a combination.
(I guess I'm assuming someone who has already received Christ into his life.)
I think it is helpful to him to understand how this vice was developed, how this sin appeared good to him. He will know what to pray about, what to avoid.
Someone given, say, to gluttony may need to understand better what the difference is between joviality, conviviality, and too great a love of pleasure. He may think he must learn to hate food, while he may need rather to learn to find other ways to enjoy friendship and companionship without eating and drinking too much.
So to understand whether there is a mens rea and what its nature is in this instance will, by helping with being a subtle as a serpent, encourage being as gentle as a dove.
It's an entirely different matter from my radical need for salvation, as I see it.
There is a very appropriate way to 'divide' into black and white. There is also an appropriate and necessary way to understand shadings and distinctions.
In other words, faith alone saves.
As is evident from the ONLY PLACE in Scripture where the phrase "faith alone" appears, this cannot be the whole truth.
It is grace which, no, it is God who saves. And the saving virtue of the virtuous pagan you mention is not his own, but God working in his life, as any virtue I may one day exhibit never will have been and never will be my own, but God working in me.
Remember Mt 7 21: 22. Self serving justification is questionable.
In Lk 17 4 Jesus commands us to reprove our brothers who do not follow His Word as when their prideful private interpretations are used as surrogates for the Word of God
Be mindful and incorporate into life the command of Mt 23 :12 and exercise humility.
As for the co -mediator or storing up banks of others righteousness, perhaps that is realm of the Universal Unitarians or Four Square Semple Aimee or the UFO ilk. Ask them. I only deal in the words of Jesus. God bless
Also, if you are interested, my post 170 on the other thread is a case-in-point, i.e. a mathematical argument that underscores a premise declared in Scripture - in this case, that only God can be The Creator ex nihilo.
Remember Palsm 22:16 when conducting affairs on this thread. I trust that the Love of Jesus extends to us all even the most vile are made in the image and likeness of God.
Be strong as Paul commands and run the good race. God Bless.
Well, it is evident (to me at least) that we are talking about at least two different things. When it comes to life lived, pastoral care for the troubled, yes, intend and motivation are important concerns. And, yes, there are many shades of gray of here. You and I are probably not very far apart when it comes to such things.
But, again, on the cardinal point, there is no gray. There is black and there is white. There is damnation and salvation, and ne’er the twain shall meet. Why? Because every single one of man’s actions, words, and thoughts live and move and have their being in this shaded life of swirling grays, and every gray has what in it? Black. Every deed, word, and thought of ours is tinged with black, that is, with sin, and is therefore both damnable and damned. That is the hard truth of God’s Word. It is really black and white.
Those who have come to believe (which is a miracle of God as great as His creation of heaven and earth out of nothing) that all their sins were paid for by Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man are no longer under law, but under grace. They are accounted righteous in the sight of God right here, right now, because they believe this, and when they pass from life into death, the accounting remains the same. And thus they are saved.
Their works matter. Their works are important. Their works are necessary. This is all quite clear from the Scriptures. But their works do not save them. The works of Christ have saved them. This is accomplished fact. But their works, which they do not need, are needed. By whom then? By their neighbors, whom God blesses through them, through their works, worked in faith.
So, the duties of the day call. Let me leave it at this: God in and through Jesus Christ saves. The Gospel in word and sacrament saves. Faith in Jesus Christ saves. These are all true. In fact, one can say without fear of Scriptural contradiction: Christ alone saves. The Gospel alone saves. Faith alone saves. They are not mutual contradicting, but mutually complimenting. Christ won our salvation, and He alone. The Gospel conveys His salvation into our hearts, and the Gospel alone. Heaven sent faith grasps the salvation that the Gospel offers freely for the sake of Jesus Christ’s righteous life lived in our stead and His atoning death suffered in our place. In other words, there is an order to salvation, God’s order. It is taught clearly, plainly, and unambiguously in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. It is the truth that sets man free. This point Rome denies. And for that reason alone, I deny Rome.
Absolute Baker Sierra!
Deacon Francis
Amen! It’s a struggle every day.
Not long, I simply overestimated the power of truth to combat it. Their approach is like the Emperor telling Luke Skywalker:
"You want this, don't you. The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your hanger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant."
I have recognized it and will not be drawn in.
Speak for yourself!
I, personally, I’m heck-bent (religion forum, y’know) on taking over the world, and on combining in my own person the offices of Pope and Emperor.
Just as soon as I can get my cat to mind what I say.
INDEED.
THX THX.
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