[annalex]

Merry Christmas!

I have a present for you:

This icon shows Christ, on his Mother's lap, receives the vision of the instruments of His torture and clings to His mother. Please pray that we receive her consolation when the hour of our trial comes.

Holy Inspired Scriptures is the standard in which we test truth claims on doctrine, church conduct, discipline, and traditions.

That is false, heretical and anti-scriptural statement. If it were true, the Holy Scripture would have contained something like that. It doesn't.

The Holy Scripture is to be studied, proclaimed, used in arguments -- all that, just like St. Paul said to St. Timothy. That is the Catholic teaching. In fact the entire Scripture -- "All scripture", as St. Paul pointedly said, including the seven Deuterocanonical books that Protestants redacted from their castrated "canon" -- is the teaching of the Catholic Church. As such it is an important part of the rule of faith -- what you call "the standard in which we test truth claims on doctrine, church conduct, discipline, and traditions". But it is not the entire rule of faith: the entire teaching of the Holy Catholic Church in atiquity, Middle Ages and our age is. That is biblical:

I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16-17)

the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. (John 14:26)

Observe: the Holy Ghost will speak in all times. The Holy Scripture is not mentioned even though, of course, the Holy Ghost inspired it as well.

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee [Peter] the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19)

if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven. (Matthew 18:17-18)

Observe: that is what the rule looks like: You decide what the rule is on earth and Christ binds and looses according to that rule in heaven. Who gets to decide? People, not books. Should they consult the Scripture? Of course. But the Scripture is not mentioned. The important thing is that they agree "in His name".

This is why the exercise: where the prayers to Mary are in the scripture? -- is silly.

[boatbums]

the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. (John 14:26) Observe: the Holy Ghost will speak in all times. The Holy Scripture is not mentioned even though, of course, the Holy Ghost inspired it as well.

As you have abundantly shown, even WHEN the Scriptures are given to you that prove sola Scriptura and sola fide, you reject them anyway. That's why I find it awfully disingenuous for you to place your church OVER Divinely-inspired Scripture. Just what exactly do you imagine the Holy Spirit "bringing to remembrance whatsoever I have said to you" means other than the enscripturation of Jesus' teachings? We have FOUR gospel accounts that do that and we also have the continued revelation from God to the early believers in the form of WRITTEN epistles. Do you trust the memory alone of sinful men to ensure God's truth remains pure? The Old Testament books were examples of the prophets of the Lord writing down His revelation - under God's instructions to do just that - so that we have His truths preserved for all time. Heaven and earth will pass away but the word of God will never pass away.

The Holy Spirit speaks in all times THROUGH the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures and is who opens hearts to receive it and believe so that we are saved. It is why even the first Christians NEVER accepted the seven Apocyrphal books as equal to what they KNEW was divinely inspired Scripture. Maybe it's the Catholic's Bible that needs circumcision - the extraneous foreskin of humanly devised fables, myths, legends and musings don't belong with God's sacred word.

[ealgeone]

Your picture of a large adult Mary with a very small grown up Jesus sitting on her lap is the exact epitome of how Catholicism views Mary and Jesus. Mary is much, much bigger than Jesus.

I'll pray to Christ when the storms come.

[redleghunter]

Me: Holy Inspired Scriptures is the standard in which we test truth claims on doctrine, church conduct, discipline, and traditions.

You: That is false, heretical and anti-scriptural statement. If it were true, the Holy Scripture would have contained something like that. It doesn’t.

How many times are you going to deny what I stated above was substantiated with Holy Scriptures especially 2 Tim 3-4? Also how CynicalBear pointed out a large sample of early church fathers saying the same thing.

[CynicalBear]

>>Observe: that is what the rule looks like: You decide what the rule is on earth and Christ binds and looses according to that rule in heaven.<<

I know that's what the Catholic Church thinks and teaches but it's not what the Holy Spirit had written in scripture. What the Holy Spirit had written in scripture shows that the apostles were only to bind whatever already existed in heaven eternally. Jesus was commanding them to bind only what existed from eternity as truth. The Catholic Church changed the word that means "I am" into "will be".

No where in scripture are the apostles or anyone else given the authority to determine what is bound in heaven. They were told to declare what has been bound in heaven for eternity.

I will say that only those who God is calling to be His will actually study and understand that.

[Elsie]

You and STA just will NOT give up that Hear The CHURCH misdirection, will you?