Majority of US Baptist Denominations UNITING WITH ROME?

:laugh: :laugh:

Your comments here about 'Rome', remind me of what one of my closest friends said of the system of 'Calvinism'.

My own $.02 worth.

Ed

 

With all respect, Jillian, it seems you are once again, attempting to paint a 'Mona Lisa' with a 6" wide brush. That may work fairly well for painting on a canvas the size of Mt. Rushmore, but doesn't do a very good job on a 3'X5' easel.

Speaking of errors:

Your inclusion of Ignatius of Antioch, with Eusebius and Augustine is actually a good example. Ignatius of Antioch, was contemporary and confederate with Papias, and Polycarp, and along with them, was a student of John, associated with Peter, certainly was acquainted with Paul and probably knew him, as well as Clement, very well also, and actually was martyred only a decade after the death of John, and some 40 years before the martyrdom of Polycarp and the death of Papias. He was born within 5-10 years of the crucifixion of Jesus. He was as orthodox as any, of his day, and is to be rightly considered, along with Clement, Papias, and Polycarp as one of the so-called Apostolic Fathers. By the time of his death, at around the age of 72 or so, 'church greats' such as Justin and Irenaeus were not even around. Justin would have been "about first grade" at some 6 or & years old, and Irenaeus would not be even born for almost 40 years.

And for one, then or now, to hold to the "orthodox" teachings of any or all "Church Councils", does not mean that one necessarily holds to the associated errors that may have accompanied such.

The First Nicea Council in 325 (over a half-century before Augustine would even be 'on the radar', BTW) was absolutely correct in the stand against Arianism; I hold to that, completely.

That Council 'separated' 'Easter' from 'Passover'; I hold that to be incorrect.

Other issues that the Council touched on included some baptismal questions; I consider that of mixed importance, as stated.

kneeling during prayer; I consider that to be irrelevant.

the avoidance of young women alone in a cleric's house to avoid the appearance of evil; I consider that to be prudent.

and a prohibition of self-castration; I consider that to be extremly painful!

Do you see my point? Don't throw out the baby (the Arian question, a good testimony, and the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ), along with the bathwater (castration, and sore knees)!

Oh yeah! Augustine had more than his share of errors, to be sure, IMO. And amillenialism may or may not be "nonsense", for that matter. But even though he championed a-millenialism, that teaching did not arise with him, by any stretch, having been around in varying forms and influence for at least some three centuries before his time, in the church.

There are enough attempts to re-write history, already floating around. Please, even if inadvertantly, don't "contribute to the cause".

Ed