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.
Don't kid yourself. The differences in Protestant theology involve more than what foods you eat. One example:
It isn't just what the Catholics define as being in full communion; many Protestants churches do also. For example, here is how the ELCA defines full communion. Do you see your church listed. If not, you are not.
They aren't different denominations. They are different ways of celebrating the liturgy.
You forgot to quote this part "Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion."
Now that you've been caught in a falsehood that shows either you didn't actually read what you tried to cite, OR shows your ignorance about your own claimed religion...
There was no falsehood. As I demonstrated by the original link, the Orthodox believe "The reception of the gift of salvation is not a one-time event but a life-time process" and "A person is justified by works and not by faith alone”. Do you believe this Orthodox belief? Catholics do.
Quoting the Large Catechism is not believing an obvious lie.
It wasn't I that partially quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church to try and make a fallacious point. I just posted actual Orthodox belief regarding faith and works, which the Catholics also believe.
I wonder if the Catholic ‘teacher’ understands that GOD is ONE?
You really have no concept of what authentic salvation is.
What Catholicism assumes (probably speciously) is that Mary provide the ovum from which Jesus was produced. That fundamental mythos is so vital to the many layers of lies and fables in Catholicism
But then what would Catholicism be without their fables and mythos?
You have no clue which words are mine and which are quoted from an article.
Do you understand that the term ‘conceives refers to the implantation of an embryo aged human in the uterine lining of the mother? It does not refer to the union of the spermatozoon and the ovum.
As you know, praise God, I am an ex catholic. The day I left that false religion, was the best day of my life. I do not believe, however, that the Catholic Church is the only church that pushes a false, works based salvation. There are a number of different false religions, that do that, as well. 😁👍 It’s a different gospel, that Paul warned about.
Anybody that believe that Baptism is a requirement for Salvation in Christ is a true amateur and in need of a quick rebuke at the least. Shunned at the most.
The Cathoholics will self-flagellate themselves to death in attempt after attempt in order to justify themselves before a Righteous and Holy God.
Same can be said of plenty of legalistic Protestants as well.
YES....it is “Believe”.
John 6:29
Acts 16:31
Romans 4:5
Romans 10:9-10
1 John 5:1
The Orthodox believe:
"A person is justified by works and not by faith alone”
Do they go to Heaven or Hell?
Abraham believed God ... The Froman doesn’t believe God so it is not counted for him/her/it righteousness don’thaknow.
The claim was that there were no significant differences within Protestant belief. What I quoted was from the Lutheran Large Catechism. So, I guess you don't agree with the Lutherans.
When one reads Paul and James in CONTEXT as I know you do and have, this is an easy issue to understand which I know you do!
Do you agree with the Orthodox teaching or not?
So, back to my question....if a person doesn't have a chance to do any "works"....do they go to Heaven or Hell?
I'd think it'd be a fairly easy question to answer.
That's a question which you evaded answering.
Contrarily, the Catholic Church is not pleased with the differences in doctrine with the Orthodox and are working to resolve them. We've been through all this before, but I guess you've slept since then.
It looks like a thousand years hasn't sufficed to reconcile the differences.
What's it going to take? Another thousand?
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