Sirach,
I have taken your advice and clicked your link from the following post. posted 18 March, 2005 16:30March 18, 2005 05:30 PM
The following contains direct quotes from
www.catholic.com. The statements that are in bold type are made that way by me to emphasize a point. All comments by me are in parentheses followed by - daktim. I did not cut and paste portions of sentences together.
daktim
p.s. I am not hateful.
The Bible Only?
Since the Immaculate Conception and Assumption are not explicit in Scripture, Fundamentalists conclude that the doctrines are false. Here, of course, we get into an entirely separate matter, the question of sola scriptura, or the Protestant "Bible only" theory. There is no room in this tract to consider that idea.
Let it just be said that if the position of the Catholic Church is true, then the notion of sola scriptura is false. There is then no problem with the Church officially defining a doctrine which is not explicitly in Scripture, so long as it is not in contradiction to Scripture.
(“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. ” Proverbs 30:5,6 “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18,19 – daktim)
The Catholic Church was commissioned by Christ
(assumption - daktim) to teach all nations and to teach them infallibly—guided, as he promised, by the Holy Spirit until the end of the world (John 14:26, 16:13).
The mere fact that the Church teaches that something is definitely true is a guarantee that it is true (cf. Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 10:16, 1 Tim. 3:15).
(What a bold statement!. - daktim)
Mary and the Saints
True Devotion To Mary St. Louis De Montfort
Email to a friend.
True Devotion To Mary by St. Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort (1673-1716) is considered by many to be the greatest single book ever written on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Seemingly divinely inspired, it is the classic statement on
the spiritual way to Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin Mary . Beloved by countless souls, this book sums up the entire Christian life, showing a way of holiness that is short, easy, secure and perfect-
a way of life chosen by our Lord Himself , as explained here by the "Apostle of Mary".In this beautiful and sublimely inspiring book, St. Louis De Montfort explains the wonderful spiritual effects which
True Devotion to Mary brings about in a person's life, leaving the reader with no doubt that
this devotion provides the key both to sanctity and to salvation . There is no better way to advance quickly in holiness, no better way to please God, and
no better way to guarantee one's eternal salvation than True Devotion to Mary .
(Not very Biblically sound. – daktim)
Christians have always
(assumption - daktim) interpreted the Bible literally when it declares, "Baptism . . . now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21; cf. Acts 2:38, 22:16, Rom. 6:3–4, Col. 2:11–12).
Thus the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized" (CCC 1281; the salvation of unbaptized infants is also possible under this system; cf. CCC 1260–1, 1283).
(So if I’m understanding this correctly, all Catholics who know that baptism is required for salvation, according to the Catholic church, must be baptized or they will be damned. But if I’m a martyr, or a novice, or just sincerely trying to find and follow the will of God, I’ll be okay. Do I have it right? When was the above-mentioned Catechism written? It looks like the RCC has softened its stance on the necessity of baptism. Please read below for the conflicting statements by former Catholic church leaders. – daktim)
Tertullian
"Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life. . . . [But] a viper of the [Gnostic] Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism—which is quite in accordance with nature, for vipers and asps . . . themselves generally do live in arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes after the example of our [Great] Fish, Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water. So that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes—by taking them away from the water!" (Baptism 1 [A.D. 203]).
"Without baptism, salvation is attainable by none" (ibid., 12).
(None. - daktim)
Origen
"It is not possible to receive forgiveness of sins without baptism" (Exhortation to the Martyrs 30 [A.D. 235]).
(Not possible. - daktim)
Cyril of Jerusalem
"If any man does not receive baptism, he does not have salvation.
The only exception is the martyrs, who even without water will receive the kingdom.
. . . For the Savior calls martyrdom a baptism, saying, ‘Can you drink the cup which I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am to be baptized [Mark 10:38]?’ Indeed, the martyrs too confess, by being made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men [1 Cor. 4:9]" (Catechetical Lectures 3:10 [A.D. 350]).
(Only exception? What about novices, unbaptized infants and sincere people? – daktim)
Augustine
"
There are three ways in which sins are forgiven (What an interesting statement! - daktim) : in baptism, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance; yet
God does not forgive sins except to the baptized " (Sermons to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15 [A.D. 395]).
(Except to the baptized. - daktim)
Fulgentius of Ruspe
"From that time at which our Savior said, ‘If anyone is not reborn of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5], no one can, without the sacrament of baptism,
except those who,
in the Catholic Church , without baptism, pour out their blood for Christ, receive the kingdom of heaven and life eternal" (The Rule of Faith 43 [A.D. 524]).
(So at this point, only Catholic martyrs were excluded from needing baptism. See how things change? And if baptism is necessary for salvation, according to the RCC, this would be a change in a major doctrine, not just a way of doing things, like Living4Him implied in an earlier post. “The Church does not change in the areas of Faith and Morals. A way of doing things may change, but God's Truths are not changed.” Originally posted by Living4Him posted 17 March, 2005 06:25March 17, 2005 07:25 AM – daktim)
NIHIL OBSTAT: I have concluded that the materials
presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
Can you see the contradictions now?
In Christ,
daktim