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But; then again; there WILL be some.....

Acts 15    Version 1.6

The Council at Fresno...

¹ Certain Catholics came from all across the world to FreeRepublic and were trying to convince the believers: "Unless you are Catechized, according to the custom taught by Rome, you cannot be saved." ² This brought Elsie and Metmom ETAL into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Elsie and Metmom were appointed, along with some other believers, to lurk on FR to see the Catholics and NON about this question. ³ The Holy Spirit sent them on their way, and as they traveled through the Religion Forum, they told how the NON-Catholics had been converted. This news made all the Protestants and lurkers very glad. ⁴ When they came to FR, they were scorned by members of the ONE TRUE church, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Catholics stood up and said, "The Protestants must be baptisted correctly and required to keep the laws of Rome!"
⁶ The posters met to consider this question. ⁷ After much discussion, Metmom got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Protestants might hear from our fingers the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Protestants a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
¹² The whole of FR became silent (Yeah; THAT's gonna happen!) as they listened to Elsie and Metmom telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Protestants. ¹³ When they finished, Boatbums spoke up. "Brothers," she said, "listen to me. ¹⁴ MGinTN has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
¹⁶ "'After this I will return
   and rebuild Rome's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
   and I will restore it,
¹⁷ that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
   even all the Protestants who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things'
¹⁸ things known from long ago.
¹⁹ "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Protestants who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from vision and apparations, from Brown Scapulas, from the endless repetitions of the ROSARY and from so-called blood. ²¹ For the laws of Rome has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the sanctuaries on every Sunday."
The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers
²² Then the posters and lurkers, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Fresno with Mark17 and Tennessee Nana. They chose Daniel1212 (called Wise) and eagleone, and Luircin,  Mark17; as well as aMorePerfectUnion; folks who were leaders among the believers. ²³ With them they sent the following letter:

   The apostles and elders, your brothers,
   To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
   Greetings.
²⁴ We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. ²⁵ So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— ²⁶ men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. ²⁸ It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹ You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
   Farewell.

³⁰ So the men were sent off and continued to post on FR, where they gathered the people together and delivered the GOSPEL. ³¹ The people (most all except ebb tide, piusv, Salvation; Steelfish; Mrs. Don-o and Vlademir998) read it and were glad for its encouraging message.

Why won’t you answer my question about whether you believe the Risen Christ has a heart? You’ve said He has no blood. It’s a yes-no question. Not hard.

********
You want me to prove that Catholics have the gift of Faith, given to them by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, by which they are able to faithfully interpret the Sacred Scriptures, which they lovingly assembled for you?

Do you really think this could be done without writing several volumes? What type of proof do you want? A demonstrative proof? A statistical proof? Do you have any idea what you are asking for? I know how to answer it, but the answer will not satisfy. Here goes.

The problem with a demonstrative proof, and this is true in Theology or philosophy or geometry, to have a demonstrative proof one needs to have something prior, like a first principle, from which other truths are argued to as conclusions. So, for example, Euclid argues from the first principles of Geometry to prove the Pythagorean Theorem in his first book. It is a beautiful process to behold. When one is well founded in philosophy, one can argue from true first principles to true conclusions safely without wandering off the highway as Aristotle puts it. When one argues for the existence of God, one is at a disadvantage because there is nothing prior to God, there is no first principle that precedes God. So when St. Thomas assembled the Five Ways to “prove” the existence of God, none of those proofs were demonstrative. They were arguments from effects to cause, which are by definition weak and not satisfying.

When it comes to the virtue of true religion, there is nothing prior to the gift of Faith. There is not something we have first and then the gift of Faith flows from that. For me to “prove” that Catholics have the gift of Faith would require something prior, which does not exist. God of course is prior to all things and it is from Him that we receive the gift, but it is not clear to me how one could prove via demonstration that it is God Who gave us this gift?

So, like St. Thomas’ Five Ways, we are reduced to “proving” cause by it effects. This is inherently not satisfying. But it is the best we can do. You have probably seen this on FR before. Look for marks of the True Faith. Is it apostolic? Is it holy? Is it one? Is it universal (catholic)?

I mentioned on this thread that the 12 Apostles are all buried in Catholic churches, usually cathedrals or basilicas. Don’t you think it would be odd if every one of Jesus chosen 12 is buried in the foundations of Catholic churches, but as some here on FR like to smack their lips and say “Catholics are not Christian”, don’t you think it odd that their remains are all on Catholic ground? I mean, when you go to Arlington Cemetary, don’t you get goosebumps when walking among the graves of those who gave all for our freedom in the US of A? The Apostles, except for John the Beloved, they were all martryed for Christ, for the freedom and exultation of His Church, and they are honored in the Catholic Church as heroes.

I could go on, but the gist of the line of argument here is first from effect to cause, and then assuming the opposite conclusion is true, pursuing it to a ridiculous conclusion (aka reduction to the absurd). This type of argument can be found in numerous books. While not satisfying, it is the best we can do.