Posted on 06/16/2019 4:55:18 AM PDT by CharlesOConnell
In Captains Courageous, with Spencer Tracey, Freddy Batholomew is a blowhard millionaire's son who is socially, poorly adjusted. He uses his father's incredible wealth, to bully his classmates and even his teacher, but he's roundly disliked, and ostracized. While on an ocean liner, he unsuccessfully tries to impress some other boys by eating 5 ice cream sodas. When he has to throw up, to escape the mocking boys, he runs into a lifeboat area to evade their ridicule while purging his overindulgence, and manages to fall overboard into the ocean.
Instances of people falling overboard into the open ocean are rather commonly reported in the news. Usually they are lost, but if by chance their accidents are observed and a life-preserver is thrown to them, is that the end of the story, do we just say, "oh, well, you have a floatation device, you're okay now"?
No, we have to pull them in. The life-preserver, the lifesaver, is only part of the formula for saving their lives. There is also a rope, which must be attached to the life-preserver, and must be used to finally accomplish their salvation.
Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man. But on the man side of the equation, unlike the radical individuality most typified by J.J. Rousseau, we who life the life of Christians do so in communities. But even then, we do not abide as atomistic individualists. We live our Jesus-oriented life in relation to our fellows. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." – Hebrews 10:25.
Jesus' first disciple was his mother, who gave us the total account of his early life and who "treasured these things up in her heart". "A sword will pierce your own soul too, so that the secret thoughts of many hearts might be revealed". On the cross, he gave his mother to John to take in his home, but when you take your master's mother, she takes care of you.
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. …
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. - Rev 11:19 -- 12:17
She forms the body of Christ. She schools her son's disciples. Those who won't attend her school, remain ignorant.
We are in a time when any merely human institution would be washed away. Our churches are going under the shadow of a new Heresy of Ba'al of Peor, as when the Hebrew people were successfully attacked and overwhelmed through human sexuality. Our churches are now pro-gay and as soon as the civil authority authorizes child sex, they will be indistinguishable from the denizens of the town of Sodom: "Bring them out that we may know them".
Jesus' mother forms the few of the elect who will resist being fooled by the great apostasy. Those who will not avail themselves of the lifeline of Mary, will be lost.
Please provide.
There's a reason I'm asking.
Then you mean specifically, Roman Catholicism.
What favorite talking point?? Grow up.
Protestants and EO are unified in saying that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works, so no one may boast.
That’s more than enough unity for us to call us all Christian and agree we have eternal life, far as official doctrine goes.
Catholics are the only ones who pollute the Gospel by saying, as found in the CCC, that you have to merit eternal life with works.
And so... what? Because of whatever reason, you’re telling me that the direct, infallable Word of God is NOT true or NOT the supreme authority?
That’s blasphemous.
If only you knew half as much about the church as you think you do.
I often attend a Byzantine Catholic church, which recognizes the Pope, but is not Roman Catholic. Who are the Byzantine Catholics? Then there are Maronite Catholics, Melkite Catholics, Coptic Catholics, etc. who are not Roman Catholic but are in communion with the Pope making up the Catholic Church. Roman Catholic is one church within the Catholic Church and does not make up the entirety of the Catholic Church. It is called the Catechism of the Catholic Church and not the the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church for this reason.
Make up what you will. I can't stop you.
Don’t even try to make sense out of people who believe such foolishness. Their blindness is total … Sad but if the light with them is darkness how great is that darkness?
Is Jesus. Forever, complete, inexhaustible resource and Redeemer
It is Jesus.
Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are unified in the theology regarding salvation. Here, this might help: Greek Orthodox - How Are We Saved.
I will not listen to a blasphemer who insists that the Word of God is not supreme.
Good day.
The Word of God is Jesus Christ. He is supreme.
The Gospel is shared with them by a regular person...not a priest or bishop...just a regular person.
The non-believer professes faith in Christ.....and then they die.
No baptism.
No Lord' Supper.
No chance to do good deeds/fruit/works.
Do they go to Heaven or Hell?
You don't know and I don't know. Only God does.
You don't know and I don't know. Only God does.
Yet Scripture tells us we can know.
What a horrible way for the Roman Catholic to live....not knowing if you're going to Heaven or Hell. No wonder RCs plead and beg Mary to help them.
They do not trust the words of the Son.
You don't know and I don't know. Only God does.
13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 NASB
There is no way you can know if that person in your "real life" situation is saved. Only that person and God know what's in his heart and what he really believes. Just because someone recites some words you don't know what that person truly believes. Only he and God know.
That very well demonstrates the difference between you and me. I would never presume to know whether someone else is saved or not.
It doesn't say: "so that you may know if someone else has eternal life".
Trust me, it's not horrible believing that only God a person know whether that person is saved.
We don't trust your distortion of the meaning of the words of the Son.
Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are unified in the theology regarding salvation. Here, this might help: Greek Orthodox - How Are We Saved.
I have one more point to make which the above link illustrates very well. I often see where Protestants try to make the case that they are close to Eastern Orthodox in belief, i.e. much closer than to the Catholics. But that is just not the case. Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are much closer than are Protestants and the Orthodox. Besides the faith and works difference illustrated below, Catholics and the Orthodox have the seven sacraments in common and much else in their theology. Unfortunately, the Catholic and Orthodox aren't fully united in doctrine, but they are much closer than are the Protestants.
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