Posted on 05/22/2017 7:51:58 AM PDT by Salvation
The first readings at daily Mass this week recount the Council of Jerusalem, which scholars generally date to around 50 A.D. It was a pivotal moment in the history of the Church, because it would set forth an identity for Her that was independent of the culture of Judaism per se and would open wide the door of inculturation to the Gentiles. This surely had a significant effect on evangelization in the early Church.
Catholic ecclesiology is evident in this first council in that we have a very Catholic model of how a matter of significant pastoral practice and doctrine is properly dealt with. What we see here is the same model that the Catholic Church has continued to use right up to the present day. In this and all subsequent ecumenical councils, there is a gathering of the bishops, presided over by the Pope, that considers and may even debate a matter. In the event that consensus cannot be reached, the Pope resolves the debate. Once a decision is reached, it is considered binding and a letter is issued to the whole Church.
All of these elements are seen in this first council of the Church in Jerusalem, although in seminal form. Let’s consider this council, beginning with some background.
Peter arises to settle the matter because, it would seem, the Apostles themselves were divided. Had not Peter received this charge from the Lord? The Lord had prophesied, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you all like wheat but I have prayed for you Peter, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31-32). Peter now fulfills this text, as he will again in the future and as will every Pope after him. Peter clearly dismisses any notion that the Gentiles should be made to take up the whole burden of Jewish customs. Paul and Barnabas rise to support this. Then James (who it seems may have felt otherwise) rises to assent to the decision and asks that a letter be sent forth to all the Churches explaining the decision. He also asks for and obtains a few concessions.
So there it is, the first council of the Church. That council, like all the Church-wide councils that would follow, was a gathering of the bishops in the presence of Peter, who worked to unite them. At a council a decision is made and a decree binding on the whole Church is sent out—very Catholic, actually. We have kept this biblical model ever since that first council. Our Protestant brethren have departed from it because they have no pope to settle things when there is disagreement. They have split into tens of thousands of denominations and factions. When no one is pope, everyone is pope.
A final thought: Notice how the decree to the Churches is worded: It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us (Acts 15:28). In the end, we trust the Holy Spirit to guide the Church in matters of faith and morals. We trust that decrees and doctrines that issue forth from councils of the bishops with the Pope are inspired by and authored by the Holy Spirit Himself. There it is right in Scripture, the affirmation that when the Church speaks solemnly in this way, it is not just the bishops and the Pope speaking as men, it is the Holy Spirit speaking with them.
The Church—Catholic from the start!
Don’t forget about the other issues I mentioned you can’t just skip over them and think your soul will survive the fire.
“The Church—Catholic from the start!”
RCC: pope unmarried
Peter: Married, Matthew 8:14
RCC: pope infallible
Peter: fallible @3, Matthew 14:30, Luke 22:60, Gal 2:11
RCC: infallible
Pope: John Paul II apologizes for the crimes of the RCC against Protestants and other groups it tried to exterminate, so either JPII was fallible or the other popes were fallible either way “the church” proved her fallibility
Infallible Placemarker - the only one ever!
Nonsense!
Jesus referred to Scripture long before Catholicism existed.
The Jews recognized all of the OT as it exists in the *Protestant* Bible as Scripture by the time of Christ, before the Catholic church added books to their canon at the Council of Trent.
The mythos of/for/by the catholic church is pervasive and pernicious.
You’ve entered a fact-free zone!
Facts no longer matter.
It’s the Twilight Rome!
You don't dispute that, do you?
to faithfully gather, preserve, transmit, translate, and authorize the sacred canon, and, in the case of the NT, to write the Scriptures.
And here you are wrong FRiend.
The Holy Spirit didn't "come upon the church." Scripture never says this.
"First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
NOTE:
Men spoke from God.This covers ALL Scripture.
All Scripture - including the Hebrew Scriptures - is God-breathed.
What they write is not from themselves or their own experiences or desires.
They are not the source.
The Church is not the source.
The Church is not the goal - it is that MEN may have salvation and everything needed for maturity.
Men moved by God are just the channel.The truth is entirely God's truth.
How they spoke the Scriptures is controlled by the Holy Spirit.IN FACT, what Scripture teaches is this:
The Holy Spirit is the divine author of all Scripture.
Just go to Bible Gateway and search for the word "church" in the NT. These guys aren't isolated singletons, Lone Rangers. They all act in concert with each other. They act in, and as, a corporate body: the church.
This is why Scripture itself says:
"God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." 1 Cor 14:33
And again...
"The Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the Truth." - 1 Timothy 3:15
And again...
"If he refuses to listen even to the Church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." Matthew 18:17
The Church is the Body of Christ. The people who comprise it, are not single atoms floating around in isolation. They are the conjoined organs and systems, limbs and senses of Christ: His Body.
They operate together. This Body that operates together is called the Church.
Surely it is not to be said, that Christ built a church for no special reason --- one which has no tasks, no role in His plan of salvation --- a church which does nothing in particular --- one which does not exist or act in history and which He has no use for!
“You have made a distinction without a difference. The Scriptures quoted by you show that “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” These men -— Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James, Jude, Paul -— were leaders of the church.”
First, it isn’t just a distinction. It directly contradicts you claim that “the church wrote the Scriptures.”
They did not.
It is crowing posts like that one that reveal that the average catholic cannot look beyond an earth-bound perspective. He or she becomes focused on an earthly institution instead of on God’s larger reason and plan.
Did they not write these books with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the church and for the church --- and for the salvation of the world? How can you say "They did not"?
You always seem to be imagining that --- well, I don't know what. That there's this thing called "the Church" which is at best earthly, at worst evil --- without at all understanding that this very church, which is both earthly and heavenly, both human and divine --- is the Christ-founded instrument of "God's larger reason and plan."
If not, why did He found it?
Who determines who is the Pope of the Catholic Church? The Catholic Church itself or..... you, perhaps?
Every one of them.
And not one single thing in Scripture indicates that it’s the ROMAN CATHOLIC church that they are referring to when they say *the church*.
The Roman church claiming it means them retroactively, is being opportunistic in its power grab to claim authority over all Christendom.
All the different congregations mentioned in the NT operated independently from each other. They were not under one central head and Rome has no legitimate, Biblically based reason for claiming that it is THE one true church to which all must be in subjection.
You?
Do YOU accept Francis as the legitimate pope of the Roman Catholic church to whom you must be in subjection at the risk of your eternal salvation?
The college of cardinals?
Oh, and BTW, does the Holy Spirit guide the college of cardinals in the selection of the new pope?
God did not ‘found’ “the Catholic Church”. GOD, by HIS HOLY SPIRIT established the list of believers in GOD THE SON and this was known by the earliest members as The Ekklesia, the body of believers. YOU are working for the ‘other religion’, one that is works and striving based for faux salvation.
I took it at face value, as I try to do with your posts. Your post claimed the Church wrote the Scriptures.
Did they not write these books with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the church and for the church --- and for the salvation of the world? How can you say "They did not"?
They wrote their letters and books for the identical reason men (and not institutions) have always written Scripture - the Holy Spirit came upon them as I documented up-thread.
You always seem to be imagining that --- well, I don't know what. That there's this thing called "the Church" which is at best earthly, at worst evil --- without at all understanding that this very church, which is both earthly and heavenly, both human and divine --- is the Christ-founded instrument of "God's larger reason and plan."
Any institution that fails to do the single job God gave it to do, is a worldly, earthly church. The sacramental merit is a fine example of a worldly and pagan practice that stands in opposition to God's revealed plan of salvation.
If not, why did He found it?
Christ began an assembly for fellowship and teaching while on earth. God's plan though is not just to establish an earthly church. It is a bride for His Son - made up of every believer in Christ, regardless of where they fellowship while on earth.
Thank you.
Can you explain why some of your fellow Catholics seem to not believe the statements?
...our one immovable foundation, our one blissful rock of faith, is the confession from Peter's mouth, Thou art the Son of the living God.
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