Craigbythesea
Well-Known Member
JackRUS,
Your performance in this debate has improved immensely and you are now quoting reputable Roman Catholic sources. As you have yourself illustrated in this tread, it is not difficult to find teachings within the Roman Catholic Church that are based upon interpretations of Scripture that are decidedly different than the interpretations of the same Scriptures held by the large majority of Baptists. Generally speaking I agree more closely with the Baptist interpretations than I do with the Roman Catholic interpretations, but there are some notable exceptions.
Their interpretation of James seems to me to be much closer to the truth than any of the very many “Baptist” interpretations of James, some of which come close to the insane. I would encourage you to study the many interpretation of James 2:14-26 that have been put forth by Baptist writers, read several of the leading Roman Catholics writers on James 2:14-26, and several of the leading writers representing other denominations on James 2:14-26, and then pray that the Holy Spirit will make known to you what was in the mind of James when he wrote what he did.
Then do the same thing with 1 Peter 3:18-22. If you will do that with 1 Peter 3:18-22, you will find that although there is a huge amount of disagreement concerning the first portion of this passage, there is very broad agreement regarding 1 Peter 3:21. Nearly all scholars of 1 Peter, regardless of their denominational affiliation, interpret this passage very literally, as does the Roman Catholic Church, to be speaking of water baptism, and the passage expressly says, “baptism now saves you.” They may not agree with Peter, but they do agree that 1 Peter 3:21, as we presently have it in the New Testament, expressly states the Roman Catholic position and expressly refutes the position of most Baptists, although that, of course, is slowly changing.
I have found that not very many Baptists are fully aware of how the Roman Catholic and the mainline Protestant churches apply their interpretation of the passage in the day to day life of the church. If they did, their feelings against the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant churches would not be so hostile.
One of the reasons why I am a Baptist is that I disagree to a substantial extent with how the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant churches apply the teaching found in 1 Peter 3:21, but I can not find fault with their interpretation of it without doing violence to the text. The text says what it says, and we need to be honest with ourselves and admit that it says what it says and then figure out what to do with it.
Your performance in this debate has improved immensely and you are now quoting reputable Roman Catholic sources. As you have yourself illustrated in this tread, it is not difficult to find teachings within the Roman Catholic Church that are based upon interpretations of Scripture that are decidedly different than the interpretations of the same Scriptures held by the large majority of Baptists. Generally speaking I agree more closely with the Baptist interpretations than I do with the Roman Catholic interpretations, but there are some notable exceptions.
Their interpretation of James seems to me to be much closer to the truth than any of the very many “Baptist” interpretations of James, some of which come close to the insane. I would encourage you to study the many interpretation of James 2:14-26 that have been put forth by Baptist writers, read several of the leading Roman Catholics writers on James 2:14-26, and several of the leading writers representing other denominations on James 2:14-26, and then pray that the Holy Spirit will make known to you what was in the mind of James when he wrote what he did.
Then do the same thing with 1 Peter 3:18-22. If you will do that with 1 Peter 3:18-22, you will find that although there is a huge amount of disagreement concerning the first portion of this passage, there is very broad agreement regarding 1 Peter 3:21. Nearly all scholars of 1 Peter, regardless of their denominational affiliation, interpret this passage very literally, as does the Roman Catholic Church, to be speaking of water baptism, and the passage expressly says, “baptism now saves you.” They may not agree with Peter, but they do agree that 1 Peter 3:21, as we presently have it in the New Testament, expressly states the Roman Catholic position and expressly refutes the position of most Baptists, although that, of course, is slowly changing.
I have found that not very many Baptists are fully aware of how the Roman Catholic and the mainline Protestant churches apply their interpretation of the passage in the day to day life of the church. If they did, their feelings against the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant churches would not be so hostile.
One of the reasons why I am a Baptist is that I disagree to a substantial extent with how the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant churches apply the teaching found in 1 Peter 3:21, but I can not find fault with their interpretation of it without doing violence to the text. The text says what it says, and we need to be honest with ourselves and admit that it says what it says and then figure out what to do with it.
