Posted on 12/03/2014 10:23:22 AM PST by NKP_Vet
In a new video, megachurch leader and author Rick Warren is calling for Christians to unite with Roman Catholics and “Pope Francis,” who Warren recently referred to as the “Holy Father”—a move that is raising concerns among Christians nationwide and is resulting in calls for Warren to repent.
Warren made the comments following his visit to the Vatican last month, where he spoke at an interfaith conference on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman.”
“We have far more in common than what divides us,” he said in the two-minute video released by the Catholic News Service on Wednesday, described as being an outline for “an ecumenical vision for Catholics and Protestants to work together to defend the sanctity of life, sex and marriage.”
“They would all say, ‘We believe in the Trinity; we believe in the Bible; we believe in the resurrection; we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ,” Warren asserted, speaking of the various denominations within Christianity, of which he included Roman Catholicism. “These are the big issues.”
The author of the bestselling book “The Purpose Driven Life” then sought to defend Catholics from those who take issue with the practice of seeking the intercession of Mary and the various deceased persons that have been sainted by the Vatican.
“Sometimes protestants think that Catholics worship Mary like she’s another god, but that’s not exactly Catholic doctrine,” Warren contended. “People say, ‘What are the saints all about? Why are you praying to the saints?’ And when you understand what they mean by what they’re saying, there’s a whole lot more commonality [that we have with Roman Catholics].”
“There’s still real differences—no doubt about that,” Warren stated. “But the most important thing is, if you love Jesus, we’re on the same team.”
He closed by speaking of his belief that Christians and Catholics serve as co-laborers for the cause of defending life and family.
“When it comes to the family, we are co-workers in the field in this for the protection of the sanctity of life, the sanctity of sex and the sanctity of marriage,” Warren said. “So, there’s a great commonality and there’s no division on any of those three.”
But Warren’s comments have raised concern from Christian leaders nationwide, who are now calling the Saddleback leader to repentance. Matt Slick of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) repudiated each of Warren’s points.
“Sure, there are Catholics who love the real Christ, the one who died on the cross for our sins. That is not the problem,” he said. “The problem is the Roman Catholic Church’s false teachings concerning Mary and salvation.”
“Rick Warren says both the Catholics and the Protestants believe in the Bible. But, there is a significant difference between the Bible of the Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church, which has added seven books,” Slick wrote. “[T]here are numerous problems in the apocryphal books, such as the teaching of salvation by works [and] the offering of money for the sins of the dead.”
“Warren implies that both Protestants and Catholics have the same view of salvation,” he continued. “Though it’s technically correct to say that Catholics believe in salvation through Jesus Christ, they reject justification by faith alone in Christ alone. Instead, it teaches that good works of various kinds are necessary for salvation.”
The Christian apologist then pointed to several Roman Catholic teachings on Mary, mainly from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), such as that Mary “by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation” and that “[b]y asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the ‘Mother of Mercy,’ the All-Holy One.”
“Rick Warren has not only failed to recognize the problems in these serious areas, but he has lent his credibility as a Protestant pastor in support of the Roman Catholic Church,” Slick wrote. “This should never be done by any Protestant pastor who takes the Bible seriously. I must conclude that Mr. Warren does not take the word of God seriously and/or he does not understand the damnable teachings of Roman Catholicism regarding salvation.”
“Rick Warren needs to repent,” he said.
Psst...
I've heard it inferred, right here on FR, that elsie may have gender identity issues.
(Don't tell anyone...)
You ain't too verbose; are you!
I know Catholics who are Christians and I even know a few Baptists who are Christians.
Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:
Maybe she was thinking of Mormonism...
chuckle!
That’s funny, and instructive.
Then put a picture of a goat there.
That will ALWAYS distract attention away from yourself!
And it reflects just another day on the pages of FR; doesn't it!
Who was the last person that the RCC sent to hell? I'm unfamiliar with a case where the Church ever proclaimed someone was going to hell. There were atrocities committed during the Catholic-Protestant wars in Europe by both sides, but I don't recall the RCC ever decreeing that it was casting someone into hell. Excommunication isn't casting someone into hell. My knowledge of RCC teaching is that God makes that decision. Yes the RCC states that being in a state of sin at death is counter to the teachings of Christ concerning redemption, but they make no proclamation on that decision.
Do not PM me again with information from banned sites that the RM pulled because it violated the RF guide lines.
Interesting how that works. And I find it interesting how different people approach or react to perceived contradictions to held beliefs. I can remember back when I was in high school the first time I came across something in scripture I thought said something different than what I had been taught up to that point. My reaction was to dig deeper to find which passage was being misunderstood. I learned quickly that what was being taught in the "church" although sincerely believed and taught wasn't always accurate. That was over 50 years ago and still today I find that scripture alone holds the truth.
***Who was the last person that the RCC sent to hell?**
All non-Catholics.
Of course Rome has softened on that stance. But all they have done when they did that was show they are not as sure about their doctrine as FRoman Catholics proclaim.
I am just glad that it is Christ who will judge us and not some of the people who go to church every Sunday (or Saturday for the Adventist, Messianic churches, and other too). Christ knows the Catholic heart and the Protestant heart. I hope and pray that we all learn to love our brother, forgive our brother, show mercy to our brother, and don’t judge or condemn our brother.
On another thread, Elsie pointed to scripture that said we should instruct and rebuke. I think she is correct, but it should be done out of love for your brother, and not out of love for your church or to glorify your church. I believe that motivation is important. And it is Christ who will know what motivates us. The way I see it, love for our brother, and to glorify our Father in Heaven should be the main reasons why we spread the Gospel and edify the church. That is the way I see it anyway.
I am by no means a expert and I fall short. But I know the Holy Spirit has been sent to those that believe and I believe. I also know that our Father and His Son loves us and we should do our best to love Him and our brother. (For some reason He loves me, but I still haven’t figured out why. I surely don’t deserve it).
May God bless His adopted children no matter where they are on Sunday (or Saturday for that matter).
It’s gotta be because it’s something with which to smear non-Catholics to make them look like the bad guys for tampering with God’s word.
They use it as an argument against sola Scriptura by saying that sola Scriptura leads people to throw out passages they don’t like or disagree with, therefore SS is BAD so we have to depend on the Mother Church and *Sacred Tradition* because everyone knows that word of mouth is inherently more reliable than something that is documented by having been written down.
Seen that enough here on FR.
The term *hypocrisy* comes to mind.
Rules for thee but not for me.
No non-Catholic has ever called the Catholic church by that term. Only a Catholic has.
Fancy that.
Oh, yes it does.
Pope Innocent III and Lateran Council IV (A.D. 1215) [considered infallible by some]
Therefore, if anyone says that it is not by the institution of Christ the lord himself (that is to say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole Church; or that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in this primacy: let him be anathema. — Vatican 1, Ses. 4, Cp. 1
DECREE ON JUSTIFICATION (anathemas) http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct06.html DECREE ON THE SACRAMENTS (anathemas) DECREE CONCERNING THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST (anathemas) http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct13.html ON THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENTS OF PENANCE AND EXTREME UNCTION (anathemas) http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct14.html Check your church laws that were established at Trent. Canon 9. If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema. A couple more laws that you might want to consider: Canon 19. If anyone says that nothing besides faith is commanded in the Gospel, that other things are indifferent, neither commanded nor forbidden, but free; or that the ten commandments in no way pertain to Christians, let him be anathema. Canon 24. If anyone says that the justice received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works, but that those works are merely the fruits and signs of justification obtained, but not the cause of its increase, let him be anathema. Canon 27. If anyone says that there is no mortal sin except that of unbelief, or that grace once received is not lost through any other sin however grievous and enormous except by that of unbelief, let him be anathema.
Just heard a sermon today by Graham from 58. Wow.
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