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To: chajin
Martin Luther wanted to bring the Christian church back to its original doctrine as found in the Scriptures, doctrine that had become twisted over the previous 1000 years. He never wanted a schism, and he never wanted to start his own church. FWIW, the same was true of John Wesley 250 years later: in both cases, the men called on the church to return to its original doctrine, and the result was that those who returned were forced out by those who didn't. I greatly wish it were not so, but it is so.

True enough.
The Church did make changes but they were too slow for many people. The Church never did anything fast. The pressure on the Church to make SOME changes is enormous but...that won't stop the Church from holding on to truth.

SOME things will never change.

Dogma won't change.
Unmarried priesthood won't change.
Divorce-remarry won't change.
Reasons for annulment won't change.
One man-one woman marriage won't change.
Artificial birth control won't change.
Abortion, for any reason, won't change.
SIN won't become NO SIN, that is, ABSOLUTES will remain ABSOLUTES.

.

For those reasons many people reject the Church. It's their choice to do so. I sure don't judge them. THAT is God's job.

187 posted on 11/07/2014 7:33:08 AM PST by cloudmountain
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To: cloudmountain

Great post.


188 posted on 11/07/2014 7:35:09 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: cloudmountain; chajin
SOME things will never change. Dogma won't change. Unmarried priesthood won't change. Divorce-remarry won't change. Reasons for annulment won't change. One man-one woman marriage won't change. Artificial birth control won't change. Abortion, for any reason, won't change. SIN won't become NO SIN, that is, ABSOLUTES will remain ABSOLUTES.

The Roman Catholic church HAS changed on many of these things you assert are unchangable. Someone's not being straight with you.

Dogma won't change. MANY dogmas have changed, were left behind or developed that were NOT part of the Apostolic teachings the first Christians held to.

Unmarried priesthood won't change. At one time, married priests WERE allowed, then they weren't. Now, a man can be married and be ordained a Catholic priest. BTW...Catholics defend this as celibacy being a "discipline" and not a dogma.

Divorce-remarry won't change. Already in the works to allow divorced/remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Catholic annulments are pretty much a given if you want one for a past divorce so that you can remarry in the Catholic church. Ask Joan Kennedy or Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Reasons for annulment won't change. See above. I know of people who were granted an annulment based on the requester admitting they didn't ever plan on being faithful in their marriage.

One man-one woman marriage won't change. Time will tell, won't it? That's hardly a Roman Catholic-only claim. Plenty of Conservative denominations believe that and make it a part of their statement of faith.

Artificial birth control won't change. See above. RCs may claim to believe that as "dogma" but, in practice, it is not true for the majority. The RCC approves of Natural Family Planning, which is still a form of birth control.

Abortion, for any reason, won't change. Most Conservative denominations also denounce elective abortion. You cannot say "for any reason", either, because even in Catholic hospitals some abortions ARE performed when the mother's life is at serious risk (i.e., ectopic pregnancy) and she will die if the pregnancy continues.

SIN won't become NO SIN, that is, ABSOLUTES will remain ABSOLUTES. Mighty big ocean of certainty there. Catholicism isn't alone in teaching absolutes about God, Jesus Christ, sin, etc. If it's in Scripture, it's taught. That's what the Reformers believed and the state of the Catholic church clergy at that time in history was in abysmal shape and all kinds of abuses were going on. God was behind the Reformation and it's deluded to believe the Roman Catholic church doesn't change.

292 posted on 11/07/2014 7:21:57 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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