Posted on 07/23/2014 7:07:07 AM PDT by NKP_Vet
Over the last several years I have encountered a fair number of Christians who claim they are “spiritual but not religious.” In other words, they do not identify with a particular Christian denomination, using the Bible alone to guide their faith. It’s an ideology that says religious institutions are outdated and unnecessary.
People may reach this conclusion for a multitude of reasons. Some are disillusioned by what they perceive to be corruption and hypocrisy in religious institutions. Others may feel like they are not being “fed.” Others yet may feel that these intuitions teach something contrary to their beliefs regarding political and social issues.
Whatever the reason may be, we must reach out to these people and take their concerns seriously.
Jesus started a religion
Most dictionaries define religion as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” It is abundantly obvious from Scripture that Christians are called to worship the one true God (cf. Matthew 4:9, Mark 5:6, Luke 4:8, John 4:23). I’m sure most “spiritual but not religious” Christians will agree with this.
The issue is whether or not one can do this privately, reading only Scripture and coming to their own conclusions on theological matters, or whether one must submit to some authority outside of themselves.
Jesus started a Church
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says to the apostle Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Catholics believe that in this verse Jesus is bestowing on Peter a position of authority from which the office of the pope is derived. But even if the “spiritual” Christian has problems with this belief, there is no escaping the fact that Christ intended his Church to be both visible and authoritative.
In Matthew 18, Jesus says to his disciples:
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (15-17).
If Jesus did not intend his Church to be authoritative and visible, then what Church is he talking about in this verse? It’s clear in the text that this Church is communal.
It is also evident from Scripture that Jesus intended this community to gather regularly for worship:
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Heb. 10:25).
This verse indicates that, even in the first century, there were Christians who did not think it was necessary to gather for worship. This runs contrary to the idea that one can be a church unto himself as long as he has accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. The Lord intended his Church to be a community.
Is the Bible all you need?
On his way from Jerusalem to Gaza, Phillip the Evangelist encounters a eunuch reading the Book of Isaiah:
So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him(Acts 8:27-31).
The point of this passage is that the clear meaning of Scripture is not always evident. This is reinforced again in 2 Peter 1:20:
First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
And yet again in 2 Peter 3:15-16:
So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.
Clearly, just picking up the Bible and interpreting it for your self is not recommended. A teacher is necessary; preferably an authoritative one.
What about scandals in the Church?
As my colleague Tim Staples is fond of saying, “You don’t leave Peter because of Judas.” From a Catholic perspective this means you don’t leave the Church because someone didn’t live up to its teaching.
I came into the Church during the height of the priest abuse scandal. I was certainly concerned about it (as most Catholic laypeople were), but ultimately the number of people out in the world doing good work far outweighs the number of people who have abused their positions. For more on this I recommend reading our special report, A Crisis of Saints.
Many “spiritual but not religious” Christians have also expressed concerns about events in history. It’s true that Christians throughout time have acted contrary to the faith, but like the abuse scandal, it should be remembered that history is filled with good and holy missionaries.
It’s also worth pointing out that many of the events in history have been blown way out of proportion in the popular imagination. Catholic Answers has dozens of great articles about this available at this link.
Get back to where you belong
It’s clear from the Bible that Jesus did not intend Christians to live out their spiritual lives in a vacuum. He founded a Church, gave it authority in the areas of faith and morals, and guards it from teaching error (Mt 18:17-18).
At Catholic Answers, we have a mountain of great resources making the case that the Church Jesus founded is the Catholic Church. If you or someone you know is “spiritual but not religious,” please consider reading what we have to offer.
LOL!!!
That would avoid the technicality.
Can’t Catholics just talk to God?
Do they really need someone to write the canned prayers for them?
Is God really interested in someone basically reciting poetry or prose at Him that someone else wrote and calling that prayer?
Of course but there is a place for prayer in common, for instance the first part of vespers for today, I think there's room for this in prayer:
V. O God, ✝ come to my assistance;
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia.
Ant. Blessed are all * they that fear the Lord. ‡
Psalm 127 [1]
127:1 Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: * ‡ that walk in his ways.
127:2 For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: * blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
127:3 Thy wife as a fruitful vine, * on the sides of thy house.
127:4 Thy children as olive plants, * round about thy table.
127:5 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed * that feareth the Lord.
127:6 May the Lord bless thee out of Sion: * and mayst thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
127:7 And mayst thou see thy children’s children, * peace upon Israel.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Blessed are all * they that fear the Lord.
Ant. Let them all be confounded * who hate Sion.
Psalm 128 [2]
128:1 Often have they fought against me from my youth, * let Israel now say.
128:2 Often have they fought against me from my youth: * but they could not prevail over me.
128:3 The wicked have wrought upon my back: * they have lengthened their iniquity.
128:4 The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners: * let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.
128:5 Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: * which withereth before it be plucked up:
128:6 Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand: * nor he that gathereth sheaves his bosom.
128:7 And they that passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: * we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Let them all be confounded * who hate Sion.
Ant. Out of the depths * have I cried to thee, O Lord.
Psalm 129 [3]
129:1 Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: * Lord, hear my voice.
129:2 Let thy ears be attentive * to the voice of my supplication.
129:3 If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: * Lord, who shall stand it.
129:4 For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: * and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
129:5 My soul hath relied on his word: * my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
129:6 From the morning watch even until night, * let Israel hope in the Lord.
129:7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: * and with him plentiful redemption.
129:8 And he shall redeem Israel * from all his iniquities.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Out of the depths * have I cried to thee, O Lord.
Excellent response. I was about to post something similar until I read yours.
If you look at the various definitions of religion, and its etymology, it takes on a very negative connotation which can be essentially boiled down to bondage. God’s Truth is supposed to make you free (John 8:32). Religion enslaves you in ceremonies, dogma, tradition, rituals, superstition, etc., all the things Paul argues against in Galatians and Colossians (rudiments & elements of the world). Or as we see in Hosea 6:6, quoted by Jesus to the religious of his time - For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Believers are not servants, or even friends of God. We are His Children, if led by His Spirit (Romans 8:14). That means relationship, not religion.
So Catholicism uses a VERSE instead of some 'interpretation' by a group of men?
HMMMmmm...
WhereEVER did they get an Idea like that?
(And WHY don't they use the verses that SURROUND it???)
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Is Peter the 'rock'?
As you can see, Simon was already known as 'Peter'
BEFORE the following verses came along.....
NIV 1 Corinthians 10:4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. NIV Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. NIV Romans 9:33
As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." NIV 1 Peter 2:4-8
4. As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5. you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 7. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, " 8. and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for. But, since there WAS no NT at the time Christ spoke to Peter, just what DID Peter and the rest of the Disciples know about ROCKS??? NIV Genesis 49:24-25 24. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25. because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb. NIV Numbers 20:8
"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink." NIV Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. NIV Deuteronomy 32:15
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior. NIV Deuteronomy 32:18
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. NIV Deuteronomy 32:30-31
30. How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up? 31. For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. NIV 1 Samuel 2:2
"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. NIV 2 Samuel 22:2-3
2. He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3. my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-- from violent men you save me. NIV 2 Samuel 22:32
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? NIV 2 Samuel 22:47
"The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior! NIV 2 Samuel 23:3-4
3. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: `When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, 4. he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.' NIV Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. NIV Psalms 18:31
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? NIV Psalms 18:46
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! NIV Psalms 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. NIV Psalms 28:1
To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.
NIV Psalms 31:2-3
2. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. NIV Psalms 42:9
I say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?" NIV Psalms 62:2
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. NIV Psalms 62:6
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. NIV Psalms 62:7
My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. NIV Psalms 71:3
Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. NIV Psalms 78:35
They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. NIV Psalms 89:26
He will call out to me, `You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' NIV Psalms 92:14-15
14. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15. proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." NIV Psalms 95:1
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. NIV Psalms 144:1
Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. NIV Isaiah 17:10
You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. NIV Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. NIV Isaiah 30:29
And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. NIV Isaiah 44:8
Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." NIV Habakkuk 1:12 O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. |
And now you know the Biblical position!
Why?
AMEN!
I don’t reject the authority of scripture at all..
I just reject the premise that the church follows it ‘sola’, when with our very life and worship practices and teachings, it can be proven we really follow ‘sola popa’..
(I used to,too)
And it all started when He taught me His Kingdom calendar, written in His sky and in His Word... which points to His Son..
The world on the other hand, follows a calendar that points to the sun, named for a pope...big difference if we test both and prove all things..
And when His calendar showed His True Sabbath, it made the pope appointed muslim, jew and christian sabbath days, all counterfeit..
And it does the same for december 25 and easter and any other man made holy days..
If there is a church that observed His Sabbath on His calendar since January, they would have observed His Sabbath on lots of different gregorian days and not one ‘set’ day like the world says..
And it has only been ‘sunday’ for three weeks of gregorian 2014. You want to know why the church may have people demoralized or concerned about the ways of the world?
Because their entire work life and worship life is based on the counterfeit world and that counterfeit world’s counterfeit premises and only partially on His Word..
And we are told by scripture, who is the god of this world.. but we are also told that He has overcome the world.. and we also are called not to be conformed to the world and to ‘come out of her, my people’.
His Kingdom will come.. I want to be prepared for it. Rejecting the world and its system is a good step to take...
And He, too, will lead you out..
HalleluYah!
Sorry FRiend, been down that road. I’m seeing this altogether differently than when I was a young technical purist. I found in the end the direction of Paul not to judge people over calendars and diets and even sabbaths was just exactly right. It just distracts people from either preaching or hearing the Gospel of God’s grace. There’s a good reason it made Paul so angry in Galatians. He loved Jesus with all his heart, and refused to let the glory of Christ be obscured by the shadows of the now defunct Mosaic Covenant. It had served its purpose, but clinging to the old when the new has come in the person of Jesus brings nothing but hurt to the body of Christ.
When I was saved, I only knew one thing. I had awakened from my sinful stupor in the middle of a pig pen, and I didn’t know if God was still interested in me. Turns out he was. It’s a miracle. Lost people don’t need calendars or food lists. No, really, they don’t. It’s got nothing to do with how God reaches those whose lives are wasting away while they wait to enter hell. Not. One. Thing.
You know what I remember of the people who witnessed to me about the love of God? Their tears on my hands. Real tears, shed for me, by total strangers. I knew all the facts. I was better at the facts than most folks. But my heart was dead in sin, and now it is alive in Him, and by His grace I will never go back. It’s not His will for us to live lives reduced to lists. The plain old Gospel of God’s amazing love, that Jesus died to give life to hopeless sinners like me, is potent new wine. The old wineskins are too brittle to contain it. But the new wineskin is all about being there, where the people of God are, and the ministry of the word and the Spirit. Whatever prevents us from being in that holy circumstance is a device of the evil one, who mocks us with petty distractions, like calendars and diets, while conning us out of our heritage of love and rich blessing. I’m over all that. See you in church.
Peace,
SR
The church is not supreme over Scripture, and was grafted into the vine of Israel, not the opposite. But as Rome imagines herself as speaking Truth by fiat, with the veracity of her doctrines being established upon the premise of her assured veracity, thus RCs must resort to Jesus inventing a religion because they rebel against the Lord establishing His Truth Claims upon Scriptural substantiation in word and in power, as Christianity had its foundations in the OT, and is the fulfillment of it.
And it does the same for december 25 and easter and any other man made holy days..
If there is a church that observed His Sabbath on His calendar since January, they would have observed His Sabbath on lots of different gregorian days and not one ‘set’ day like the world says..
And it has only been ‘sunday’ for three weeks of gregorian 2014. You want to know why the church may have people demoralized or concerned about the ways of the world?
Because their entire work life and worship life is based on the counterfeit world and that counterfeit world’s counterfeit premises and only partially on His Word..
And we are told by scripture, who is the god of this world..
14 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]
And the point of observing the *true* sabbath is what exactly?
I find that private interpretation of this scripture lacking :). 1. The verse stands on its own. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 2. It is then supported by a lengthy example that does not end in chapter one (chapter markings are to be avoided as delimiters of context and meaning).
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. and it continues well past that, making mincemeat of the modern doctrine of OSAS.
3. The point is that private interpretation spawns false heresy which leads believers to fall away and be lost. Yes, the Scripture did not come from man, but from God; the second verse I quoted verse establishes this premise, not to end there, but to point out the real danger is false teaching, which is fed by the practice of private interpretation where every man and his brother is his own pope and comes up with thousands of new denominations, sects, and cults teaching heresies that destroy souls.
Wouldn't "false heresy" equal Truth?
While 'the CHURCH' teaches goofy stuff about Mary that is supposed to help SAVE souls...
That indeed is implicitly obvious, but even if you said the earth was round, some RCs would object if it came from a Protestant.
Yet I can easily say that is just your private interpretation thus why should I consider it?
Jesus started a religion Most dictionaries define religion as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” It is abundantly obvious from Scripture that Christians are called to worship the one true God (cf. Matthew 4:9, Mark 5:6, Luke 4:8, John 4:23). I’m sure most “spiritual but not religious” Christians will agree with this.
Error #1. Jesus did not start a "new" religion in this sense of belief and worshiping the one true God, or not dependent upon what preceded it, but continued a faith in which believers worshiping the one true God from the beginning belonged to, fulfilling the OT which prepared for His coming. There can only be one true faith, and to have Christ starting a really new one would place the OT saints outside it. Instead, the "one new man" church was only possible as Gentiles were grafted into the true Israel, with OT Jews first believing on Christ and this faith being true Judaism, though this brought more revelation.
"And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." (Romans 11:17-18) .
Jesus started a Church In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says to the apostle Peter, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Catholics believe that in this verse Jesus is bestowing on Peter a position of authority from which the office of the pope is derived..
Error #2
Moreover, the faith of the NT church was not one,
being presided over by a pope the whole church looked to as it supreme infallible head in Rome, and being taught that he was the "rock" of Mt. 16:18?
Or even a successor for the martyred apostle James (Acts 12:1,2) being chosen like Matthias was and after that manner (Acts 1, in order to keep the original number of apostles)?
And a separate sacerdotal class of believers titled "priests ," as they uniquely changed bread into human flesh and dispensing it to the masses to receive life in them and eternal life (RCs keep quoting Jn. 6:53,54 to us)?
And a hierarchical order of priests, bishops, Cardinals, etc., with ostentatious religious dress and titles, including "Most Reverend?"
And required (with rare exceptions) clerical celibacy, which presumes all such have that gift.
And incognizant (usually) souls being formally justified by interior holiness via sprinkling of water in recognition of proxy faith, and (usually) ending up becoming good enough to enter Heaven in purgatory ?
And a separate class of believers called “saints,
And praying to the departed, or angels, and before images?
And the apostles teaching Mary was born and kept sinless?
And a church that conformed to this world in using papal sanctioned physical oppression torture, burning and death to deal with theological dissent
Or who, having lost that power, treats even notorious manifestly impenitent public sinners as members in life and in death, in contrast to the NT means of disfellowship and spiritual discipline.
And which members overall come in near last in things such as evangelism, commitment, and personal Bible reading, the latter which it hindered for a long time, and later sanctions teaching millions such things as that OT miraculous stories are fables or folktales, etc.
And teaches that the deity Muslims worship (not as unknown) is the same as theirs.
And which boasts of unity while being discouraged from objectively searching the Scriptures in order to ascertain the veracity of RC doctrine, while (on the other hand) lacking certainty about all the things they must hold as certain, and seeing varying degrees of interpretation by the magisterium, as well in the great liberty they have to interpret Scripture in order to support Rome.
This must suffice for now.
But even if the “spiritual” Christian has problems with this belief, there is no escaping the fact that Christ intended his Church to be both visible and authoritative. In Matthew 18, Jesus says to his disciples:..If Jesus did not intend his Church to be authoritative and visible, then what Church is he talking about in this verse? It’s clear in the text that this Church is communal.
Error #3, as supporting Rome as the infallible authority, for first, this text is actually about settling persons disputes, and for which Paul teaches,
"If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church." (1 Corinthians 6:4)
Nor is the magisterial office new, but this was established in the OT which had Divinely established authority for the interpretation of Scripture, and which parallels that given to the NT, both in application in civil matters and in doctrinal. (Lv. 10:10,11; Dt. 16:18; 17:8-13; 33:10; Neh. 8:8; 2Ch 19:8-10; Mal. 2:7)
And Westminster affirms,
It belongs to synods and councils, ministerially to determine controversies of faith, and cases of conscience; to set down rules and directions for the better ordering of the public worship of God, and government of his Church; to receive complaints in cases of maladministration, and authoritatively to determine the same... — http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/wcf.htm
But what is entirely absent is a perpetually assuredly infallible magisterium, nor was one ever necessary. And which is The Issue, as the veracity of Rome's truth claims rests upon the premise of her assured infallibility, by which the RC has his assurance, despite the pretense of using Scripture as if the weight of its warrant was the basis.
It is also evident from Scripture that Jesus intended this community to gather regularly for worship:
Error #4, as pertains to Rome's gathering to worship a wafer as being the source and summit of their faith around which all else revolved, in which "the work of our redemption is accomplished," but which is simply not seen in Acts or the church epistles, instead it is only manifestly described once therein, and is interpretive of the gospel, and in which this "feast of charity" shows the Lord's death by the unselfish manner in which they partake of the communal meal, declaring their unity with the Lord who died for them and each other. As explained here . .
Is the Bible all you need? On his way from Jerusalem to Gaza, Phillip the Evangelist encounters a eunuch reading the Book of Isaiah:
Error #5, as pertains to refuting SS, as this does not claim Scripture formally provides everything, so that reason, the church, etc. are superfluous, but which is provides for.
This is reinforced again in 2 Peter 1:20: First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
Error #6, as this "authentic interpretation" itself is erroneous, as it pertains to how Scripture was written, and not that a soul is not to do as the noble Bereans did, (Acts 17:11) or that an RC is not to objectively examine the evidence to determine the veracity of RC teaching, which is cultic.
And yet again in 2 Peter 3:15-16: So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. .. A teacher is necessary; preferably an authoritative one.
Error #7, as this does not teach an authoritative one means an possessing assured infallibility,even by those who were the instruments and stewards of Scripture. For indeed the church actually began in dissent from those who sat in the seat of Moses over Israel, who were the historical instruments and stewards of Scripture, and inheritors of promises of Divine guidance, presence and perpetuation.
And instead they followed an itinerant Preacher whom the magisterium rejected, and whom the Messiah reproved them Scripture as being supreme, (Mk. 7:2-16) and established His Truth claims upon scriptural substantiation in word and in power, as did the early church as it began upon this basis. (Mt. 22:23-45; Lk. 24:27,44; Jn. 5:36,39; Acts 2:14-35; 4:33; 5:12; 15:6-21;17:2,11; 18:28; 28:23; Rm. 15:19; 2Cor. 12:12, etc.)
If one must submit to the magisterium after the manner Rome requires, then the church itself is invalid, but which false fundamental premise invalidates Rome as being the one true church.
What about scandals in the Church? As my colleague Tim Staples is fond of saying, “You don’t leave Peter because of Judas.” From a Catholic perspective this means you don’t leave the Church because someone didn’t live up to its teaching.
Error #8, as excusing Rome in seeking to justify her claims despite scandals, as she have never even elected a pope after the non-political Biblical method used for replacing Judas, nor kept simply 12 apostles as they did, which was in order to keep the original number of apostles (Rv. 21:14). And instead she has elected men who morally were more like Judas than Peter, and required obedience to them even in torturing suspected heretics or even possible witnesses of them.
Get back to where you belong
Error #9, as the church of Rome is fundamentally contrary to the NT church, is not where real disciples of Christ belong.
He founded a Church, gave it authority in the areas of faith and morals, and guards it from teaching error (Mt 18:17-18).
Error #10. That is the fundamental error, for besides the fact shown before that despite the wishful thinking of RCs, Mt 18:17-18 nor any other texts do not teach an an assuredly (if conditionally) infallible magisterium is essential for determination and assurance of Truth (including writings and men being of God) and to fulfill promises of Divine presence, providence of Truth, and preservation of faith, and authority. (Jn. 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:13; Mt. 16:18; Lk. 10:16)
Nor that being the historical instruments and stewards of Divine revelation (oral and written) means that Rome is that assuredly infallible magisterium, and thus those who dissent from the latter are in rebellion to God. For as said, this would invalidate the church itself, which began with common people recognizing what the historical instruments and stewards of Divine revelation would not, that a couple itinerant Preachers were of God.
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