Do Guarding Angels exist?

[Armchair Apologist]

The spiritual life isn’t about the “ feels “, it’s not about curiosity and experiences to be sort out like many who indulge in eastern or occult practices.

The spiritual life is exquisite in the joys but also the agonies, it is real living and awareness, more real than the temporal life.

The point is to be closer to God, in fact I tell people to ignore much of the “experiences” and focus on Jesus, these “ experiences “ are not the object of the spiritual life, and in fact can be a distraction from the true object.

Experiences will happen but do not make them the object and goal, Jesus is the objective of our contemplation.

Do not enter the spiritual without Jesus, Jesus life is our meditation in the rosary, and Grace takes us into contemplation.

Everyday we contemplate Jesus at the Incarnation through to His Passion Resurrection and Ascension into heaven in the Holy Rosary.

Entering inner life can be like entering Narnia as initial consolation but real growth happens by desolation to continue without any consolations or any “feelings” that God even loves you.
You “ feel “ abandoned by God completely, all attempts at prayer leave you feeling worse and everything seems pointless.

This is an important stage to pass through for our true spiritual maturity. It weeds out the serious from the merely curious seeking “ experiences “ like a druggy, they don’t really want a deep relationship with God.

As to the depiction, I don’t think the Vatican has team reviewing all childish cartoonic face book posts for orthodoxy. Nor should Protestants expect the accurate theological position to be expressed by cartoon memes and depictions. I do see some tongue in cheek humour here as well, it’s not posted for the uptight to mount their high horse and gallop a lather in high dudgeon.
I really don’t think the Vatican will send Silas the albino monk assassin to deal with a cartoon.
Maybe allow some humour and cut some Grace with things like this, not build a federal case on it.

Call it what you want. I call it blasphemous and my life is devoted to bringing the true gospel to Roman Catholics and calling them out of this godless cult!

 

[Cathode]

So ask the God of the living. He said ask Him. You misread Scripture into saying pray to saints.

It’s biblical for the saints to pray for each other, whether on earth or in heaven, we are united by the same Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ. They are not alien to us.

When one part of the Body of Christ is in need, another part of the body aids it.

“so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Cor

You misunderstand the spiritual realities at a fundamental level.

One ailing part of the body supplicates another part of the body.

 

[Cathode]

Call it what you want. I call it blasphemous and my life is devoted to bringing the true gospel to Roman Catholics and calling them out of this godless cult!

You bring the human founded earthly interpretations of scripture, Catholics have the supernatural apostolic interpretation of Scripture.

I look at all the human founded Protestant denominations each with conflicting interpretations and doctrines from the same bible, and all of them are blind to the irony.
They all claim to be guided by The Holy Spirit, so why are coming away with every conflicting interpretation and doctrine?

Each grant themselves a pseudo infallibility on reading the Bible yet each comes away with his own interpretations and doctrines calling it the true gospel, not what it really is, traditions of men.

 

[Ben1445]

It’s biblical for the saints to pray for each other, whether on earth or in heaven, we are united by the same Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ. They are not alien to us.

When one part of the Body of Christ is in need, another part of the body aids it.

“so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Cor

You misunderstand the spiritual realities at a fundamental level.

One ailing part of the body supplicates another part of the body.

What is it that you think the saints in heaven need? Do you pray for them?

We are complete in Christ. We don’t receive any answers to prayer from saints. Every gift is from the Father. You take the glory of the Father and give it to mere men. This is not right.

 

[Cathode]

What is it that you think the saints in heaven need? Do you pray for them?

We are complete in Christ. We don’t receive any answers to prayer from saints. Every gift is from the Father. You take the glory of the Father and give it to mere men. This is not right.

The saints in heaven don’t need our prayers, but we certainly need theirs.

The prayers of the righteous are powerful, those in heaven are the righteous made perfect, they are greatly concerned with us and their prayers to God for us are very powerful.

 

[Armchair Apologist]

You bring the human founded earthly interpretations of scripture, Catholics have the supernatural apostolic interpretation of Scripture.

No, they do not. The Roman Catholic Church as it is known today is as far removed as can be from the original apostolic teachings.

I look at all the human founded Protestant denominations each with conflicting interpretations and doctrines from the same bible, and all of them are blind to the irony.
They all claim to be guided by The Holy Spirit, so why are coming away with every conflicting interpretation and doctrine?

Each grant themselves a pseudo infallibility on reading the Bible yet each comes away with his own interpretations and doctrines calling it the true gospel, not what it really is, traditions of men.

I have already addressed this of which you have conveniently ignored.

 

[Ben1445]

The saints in heaven don’t need our prayers, but we certainly need theirs.

The prayers of the righteous are powerful, those in heaven are the righteous made perfect, they are greatly concerned with us and their prayers to God for us are very powerful.

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Romans 8:26
-- Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:27
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Romans 8:34
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.


What record do you have of the heavenly saints making intercession for us? Angels making intercession?

 

[Cathode]

No, they do not. The Roman Catholic Church as it is known today is as far removed as can be from the original apostolic teachings.

Says who and by what authority?

Your interpretation of scripture?

I have already addressed this of which you have conveniently ignored.

No you haven’t. No Bible aloner as ever given me a coherent answer on this.

Besides you haven’t addressed how John was able hear every creature in heaven on earth, under the earth, on the sea and in the sea in situ at the same time.

There is no problem with Mary and the saints and angels seeing everything in Eternity. The limitations of earth don’t apply in Eternity.
Entering the spiritual is in fact to a greater or lesser extent, entering the eternal. Awareness is one of the first things you realise in the spiritual state.

 

[Armchair Apologist]

Says who and by what authority?

The sum of all church history.

No you haven’t. No Bible aloner as ever given me a coherent answer on this.

On post #16, I stated that in the historic confessions, protestants agree far more than they disagree. Interpreting scripture is not rocket science - unless you want it to say something aside from what is obvously written.

Besides you haven’t addressed how John was able hear every creature in heaven on earth, under the earth, on the sea and in the sea in situ at the same time.

I can go to an Astros game at Minute Maid park and hear the entire stadium shout "GO ASTROS!" and this is pretty much what John is stating here in the passage you have cited. In a large room with mixed conversation, I have difficulty distinguishing one conversation from another and it only gets worse as I get older.

There is no problem with Mary and the saints and angels seeing everything in Eternity. The limitations of earth don’t apply in Eternity.
Entering the spiritual is in fact to a greater or lesser extent, entering the eternal. Awareness is one of the first things you realise in the spiritual state.

It has nothing to do with the limitations of earth but with the limitations of our finite, human nature. Only God possesses the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. We will never have these attributes even in our final, glorified state.

 

[Cathode]

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Romans 8:26
-- Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:27
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Romans 8:34
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.


What record do you have of the heavenly saints making intercession for us? Angels making intercession?

Where does it record the saints in heaven not being able to pray for people anymore?
There still is that injunction of Paul to always pray for the saints.

You are trying to make any intercessory prayer on others behalf superfluous and only go to God directly, scripture doesn’t teach that.
Scripture teaches both, direct and the intercession of others in prayer to God.

 

[Cathode]

The sum of all church history.

On post #16, I stated that in the historic confessions, protestants agree far more than they disagree. Interpreting scripture is not rocket science - unless you want it to say something aside from what is obvously written.

Protestant history began 500 years ago with a human founder, it has no history before that. Since then they have divided into every subjective human interpretation of scripture.
Before that the was The Catholic Church which canonised the Bible in the first place.

If Protestantism was correct and Luther was inspired in his new Bible alone idea, it would have been ratified manifestly by heaven so that all who read the Bible would have arrived perfectly with Luther’s interpretations and doctrines of scripture on reading it.

What Luther thought obvious in scriptures meaning was suddenly dog piled by everyone’s subjective interpretation in conflict with “ inspired “ old Luther.

It was each man’s subjective interpretation, a matter of each man’s fallible opinion.

Under Catholicism, the scriptures had a singular Apostolic objective interpretation going back to the Apostles.
Catholics still maintain the same traditional interpretation of scripture.

Protestantism founded every new conflicting human tradition, interpreting any doctrine they wanted.

I can go to an Astros game at Minute Maid park and hear the entire stadium shout "GO ASTROS!" and this is pretty much what John is stating here in the passage you have cited. In a large room with mixed conversation, I have difficulty distinguishing one conversation from another and it only gets worse as I get older.

It has nothing to do with the limitations of earth but with the limitations of our finite, human nature. Only God possesses the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. We will never have these attributes even in our final, glorified state.

It doesn’t say they were all gathered in a stadium or at one place. That’s your human rationalisations.

It says they were in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea and in the sea.

Clearly God granted John the ability to hear them all where they were.