4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Keith, you have a problem. Our Lord promised that the Church would not be prevailed against by the gates of hell. That promise means that the doctrines and teachings which were given to the apostles must have been the truth. The same truth which the apostles passed on to the very next generation.
Now from the earliest writings of the Early Fathers of the Church, we specifically do not see anything resembling Adventist teachings. What we do see is that the Early Church taught the Real Presence in the Eucharist and baptismal regeneration. So immediately, the Adventist position simply cannot be true because it did not exist back then. The claims that Ellen White simply restored what the evil papists corrupted is not true either.
The Church of Rome is the Mother of all these denominations, which came about as a result of those first Protestants that broke away from her.
No, the Church at Rome (there is no such thing as the Church of Rome) is the place where the bishop of Rome, who is the head over the Body of Chrsit here on earth, is located. The Church is Catholic, i.e., universal, and until 1054 and the schism of the Orthodox, was composed of patriarchates in 5 major cities. Rome, Byzantium, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria.
They broke away because of her blatant disregard for the scriptures.
There is no such thing as "blatant disregard" for the Scriptures within the Catholic Faith. There is a considerable body of people who think that their minds are smarter and their understanding more precise than that which was given directly to the apostles. We know, for instance, that St. Peter choose and taught one of the first martyrs of the 2nd century -- St. Ignatius. In his writings, it becomes quite clear that what Peter taught Ignatius is the Catholic Faith, and not Protestantism, nor especially the Adventist ideas.
The Protestants broke away because they were rebels and would not submit to the authority which Christ placed upon the earth.
Their violence was also learned from the church of Rome, whom is certainly not the least of offenders in this area.
Ad hominum attack. Not germane to the issue of doctrinal purity and authority on earth.
The Holy Spirit is promised to those who ask for it, not only to a select few.
First of all, the Holy Spirit is a HE...the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity of God.
The promise that we shall all recieve as believers the Holy Spirit is NOT the same as the promise of being infallibly led into all truth. The empirical evidence this is true is the vast number of conflicting assemblies who claim the Holy Spirit yet cannot even agree on doctrine. This is not found in the Catholic Faith. In the Catholic Faith there is unity of doctrine. What the Latin West believes is believed also by the Eastern Church and even by the Orthodox.
I do follow those men to whom He revealed the Faith. They are the men who wrote the scriptures, which are my rule, and guide for life. It is by the study of God’s word, that I know the Catholic faith is not the faith that He revealed.
Sorry. Hate to burst yer bubble, but if'n you read the writings of the time you are claiming, i.e., the apostolic times and the writings of the disciples who immediately followed them, you will find that their writings are entirely in agreement with the Catholic Faith.
No biblical doctrine is built upon one single verse.
Why not? That is what Ellen White did!
But beyond that, there is NUMEROUS verses which teach those things. For instance, the teaching of Christ on the Covenantal Kingdom in Matthew 21 which points directly to the establishment of the Church on earth to replace the nation of the Jews.
Or the performance of YOM KIPPUR in Heaven by the Lord in Hebrews 9 and 10. YOM KIPPUR is a corporate sacrifice made by a high priest only, and is for the covenantal nation, not the individual sins. Therefore, if Christ is in Heaven, offering YOM KIPPUR right now, then the Church simply cannot fail, for the Blood of Christ is the perfect and perpetual sacrifice for the nation which He established on earth.
You need to study typology and understand how these things tie together.
I have a bible. I will agree with what it teaches. It will be my guide.
And you forgive me, but bluntly said....no it is not.
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
You don't want any parts of this, yet Jesus Himself said that it is eternal life to eat His Flesh and dring His Blood.
Ac 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
You don't want any parts of this. St. Peter insists that baptism is for the remission of sins (i.e. takes away original sin).
You see, you don't want anything to do with the Bible when it contradicts your choosen ideas. The apostles were taught and did teach this very clearly. All you have to do to validate what I am saying is read the writings of the Early Fathers to see that they believed as I am positing -- the Real Presence and Baptismal Regeneration.
If the apostles were teaching something else, then you show me the EVIDENCE that these ideas existed in the second century. There is ample evidence of the Catholic Faith in the second century, as early as 113 AD. Where are the writings from the apostles disciples that show the Adventist position? They don't exist. They don't exist because it was not taught.
And now you have a real problem because the so called "Whore of Revelation" did not come into being, according to your teaching, for another 200 years.
Now what do you do? How shall you twist the facts to protect yourself now>?
Forgive me brother, but I trust it, more than you, or any other.
I'm your brother? I thought that I simply could not be, seeing that I belong to the religion of the Whore of the Revelation. Well, this is news to me.
I believe it is the word of God, and that God himself wants me to understand it.
I have been studying it for 25 years. Line upon line, precept upon precept, slowly but surely it led me backwards to the Faith which was given to the apostles and exists in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
That’s why he gave it to me, and anyone else who treasures it in their heart.
If you come to understand the covenant of God, you will "see" the Faith Catholic. That is what happened to me. The covenant of God is the key to understanding the Catholic Faith.
Cordially in Christ,
Brother Ed
