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The Church

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JoeT

Member
I notice no comment about God.
However, the Church is the Elect, those chosen by God to be saved and redeemed from their own rebellion.
So, there is only one Church, on body of Christ. The body of Christ congregates in many denominations. There is a small remnant in the Roman Church, but it is, sadly, not the majority of congregants.

I'm sorry your god-o-meter isn't working corretly, if one seeks truth, what is real, he seeks God. The True God.

JoeT
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
And what do you test every word of man against, your own passions? Instead let’s look for an objective truth, an immutable truth, an infallible truth. We know that God and Truth are convertible; St. Thomas says, “Whence it follows not only that truth is in Him, but that He is truth itself, and the sovereign and first truth. [Summa Theologica, Prima, 15, a5] Consequently there is an absolute infallible truth. If we hold that Truth is absolute then there can be only ONE absolute TRUTH. True?

Consequently, we cannot simply hold what ‘feels’ good, or what supports our life style, as truth. There can be no commonality in the various Christian faiths; in any two competing faiths, one must be True and the other must be false or they both must be wrong. There is a fourth outcome but it is inconsequential, both truths are real, thus they are the same reality. The reason should be obvious; truth resides in God, and what resides in God has definitive meaning. Since the Holy Scriptures are inspired by God then for each individual there can be only One Truth, One Word. It’s an obscenity to believe Scripture can have ‘different meaning for different folks’. The Holy Spirit inspires men to One True faith, else the spirit inspiring is not the Holy Spirit.

O soul pressed down by the corruptible body, and weighed down by earthly thoughts, many disingenuous and various; behold and see, if thou canst, that God is truth. For it is written that "God is light;" not in such way as these eyes see, but in such way as the heart sees, when it is said, He is truth [reality]. [St. Augustine, On the Trinity, 8,2]​

Therefore, to have a ‘Standard’ of competing faiths with which to measure the same Truth, the same Revelation, is self-contradictory. Pope Benedict XVI spoke directly to this issue in Truth and Tolerance, and specifically to the multiplicity of 'one faith':

The dominant impression of most people today is that all religions, with a varied multiplicity of forms and manifestations, in the end are and mean one and the same thing; which is something everyone can see, except for them. The man of today will for the most part scarcely respond with an abrupt No to a particular religion's claim to be true; he will simply relativize that claim by saying "There are many religions." And behind his response will probably be the opinion, in some form or another, that beneath varying forms they are in essence all the same; each person has his own. [Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Truth and Tolerance, Christian Belief and World Religions, p 22]​

A society of like religions is tolerance expressed as 'orthopraxy' (correct action), In architecture this would be akin to a structure where function follows the form [the true art is where form follows function]. The outcome of actions in this kind of society looks toward our desired outcome instead of God’s will. We experience self-serving acts in our technocratic socialist societies that replace a redemptive utopia found in Christ with the science of socialism. Ideologies of socialism replace faith with an enlightenment [hint, think French revolution which was a blood bath visited on Catholics], hope with progress, and charity with entitlements. God becomes an uber-Santa Claus, a good dude with a long white beard who takes delight in answering our prayers. Herein lies one of the sins of Protestantism, secularism, and naturalism, God simply becomes irrelevant.

What the True Church of Jesus Christ is not:

  • Church is not something whose unique differences between other various Christian religions are deemed inconsequential. “Based on incorrect theological perspectives and is characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that ‘one religion is as good as another.’“ Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris mission, December 7, 1990
  • Christ's Church is not reformable
  • Church is not a company of like minded believers joined together by some vague vibe of Christ's Divinity and Christ's humanity
  • Church is not a democracy subject to the will of men. Instead it is a rule of faith, subject to the will of God
  • Church is not constituted and commissioned by man
  • The Church is not Scripture is not a BOOK, i.e. Scripture Alone.
  • The Church is not body of believers, rather a body of faithful.
  • The Church is not solely the body of physical beings. Rather Church is the body of all the faithful, those living in this world, those in purgatory, and those in heaven.
From this list we see that you must hold Catholicism equal to your own religion, but your rhetoric doesn’t seem to relay that message.

I've found that the Church of Jesus Christ cannot participate in any such definition; primarily because Divine Truth is not an amalgamation of partial Divine Truths. Since faith resides in the intellect, this type of faith is "one's own invention and milieu" and will not "bring us into the company of believers", i.e. it is a dead faith. [Pope Benedict XVI, Principles of Catholic theology: building stones for a fundamental theology, 1987]. Thus, the Church is not a company of like minded believers joined together by some vague vibe of Christ's Divinity and Christ's humanity. God's word is immutable, never changing, and incorruptible; recall, "God is Truth" (Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas). There is only one True Word of Christ that resides in only one teaching authority, the Catholic Church. In commissioning the Apostles to teach, Christ created a Divine college, made sufficient by God to teach a divine Word. Any other is false. Thus we see that only a Divine College can infallibly teach disciplines of an irreformable Truth. Only the Divine can receive and bind others to immutable Truth with the authority to oblige. This Divinity resides only in the Catholic Church with Christ as her head.

The Catholic Church is constituted for the salvation of the faithful; explicit in the doors opened in baptism she is necessary for redemption, the faithful souls given an indelible mark, the new circumcision. She is a corporate family of adopted ‘sons of God’ redeemed through God's merciful graces given freely. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: he that believeth not shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16). The Church is the Divine Motherhood of our salvation; consequently we find our devotion to the Blessed Virgin a gift from heaven. Nevertheless, the Church is simplistically defined as the "Body of Christ". The totality of sacramental life is the Sacrament of Christ in which she becomes a type of sacrament. As the Church affirms our faith, our faith affirms the Church; it is only within her that eternal life exists. The Catholic Church becomes life in Christ. The sacraments are an outward signs of inward grace of sanctification. As a type of sacrament the Church herself is a visible and outward expression of her corporate priesthood signifying the graces bestowed through her.

"If Christ is the sacrament of God, the Church is for us the sacrament of Christ; she represents him, in the full and ancient meaning of the term; she really makes him present. She not only carries on his work but she is his very continuation, in a sense far more real than that in which it can be said that any human institution is its founder's continuation." Henri de Lubac, Catholicism: Christ and the common destiny of man, English edition 1988 , French original, 1947, p 76​

"The highly developed exterior organization that wins our admiration is but an expression, in accordance with the needs of this present life, of the interior unity of a living entity, so that the Catholic is not only subject to a power but is a member of a body as well, and his legal dependence on the this power is to the end that he may have part in the life of that body. His submission in consequence is not an abdication; his orthodoxy is not mere conformity, but fidelity. It is his duty not merely to obey her orders or show deference to her counsels, but to share in a life, to enjoy a spiritual union. [Henri de Lubac, Catholicism: Christ and the common destiny of man, English edition 1988, French original, 1947, p 76]​

Therefore, we can say that salvation comes only through Church, but as faith is bound to 'Church', Church is synergistically tied to faith. Only when the 'Catholic Church' and 'faith' are together, are they both alive. We commune in Christ as He abides in us (John 6:57). The importance of a dead faith is the emptiness of revolt, schism, i.e. an abandoned Church is those disciples who "went back; and walked no more with him." (John 6:67).

The Holy Spirit animates the Mystical Body of Christ the same way the soul animates the body of man. A man separated from his soul is dead; likewise a man separated from the Catholic Church is spiritually dead. St. Origen (185-232) once said “Let no man deceive himself. Outside this house, i.e. outside the Church, none is saved".

JoeT
I test it with scripture.
If a catechism or concord is written and it is not in agreement with the context of scripture, the catechism or concord is wrong.
Sadly, the double-speak of the Roman catechism is so twisted that it is hard to know what it is actually saying. This is why 10 priests interviewed will have 10 different answers. This is why the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Jesuits, the Benedictines, take your pick of at least 16 other orders all were created. They disagree on what the catechism actually means.
So, you can go through the catechism and get thoroughly confused or you can read scripture and test all words of men against what God says.
 

JoeT

Member
I notice no comment about God.
However, the Church is the Elect, those chosen by God to be saved and redeemed from their own rebellion.
So, there is only one Church, on body of Christ. The body of Christ congregates in many denominations. There is a small remnant in the Roman Church, but it is, sadly, not the majority of congregants.

I think your god-o-meter must be broke. One who seeks truth, ultimately finds God. You really believe that to congregate' is salvation? Explain then how the Holy Spirit can guide so many different congregates in one truth while they obviously hold different truths. If the Holy Spirit is true to Himself how then does He teach different things to different folks? Which Church is true? There can only be one (read my previous post). Is yours true 'enough'? How about mine, is it 'true enough?

JoeT
 
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Particular

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry your god-o-meter isn't working corretly, if one seeks truth, what is real, he seeks God. The True God.

JoeT
The Bible says this about man seeking God.
Romans 3:10-18 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The Bible says this about God choosing men.
Romans 8:29-30 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Let God's word be true and every man a liar.
 

JoeT

Member
The Bible says this about man seeking God.
Romans 3:10-18 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Excuse me if I said that "Church" is only for the righteous. In fact I didn't say Church is only for the righteous.

The Bible says this about God choosing men.
Romans 8:29-30 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Predestined for salvation and predestined for damnation? Really? Then our sins are God's fault, He made us do it in pre-commanding them?

Let God's word be true and every man a liar.

Indeed

JoeT
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
Excuse me if I said that "Church" is only for the righteous. In fact I didn't say Church is only for the righteous.



Predestined for salvation and predestined for damnation? Really? Then our sins are God's fault, He made us do it in pre-commanding them?



Indeed

JoeT

You said:
One who seeks truth, ultimately finds God.

I just shared scripture. You are the one saying it's God's fault.

God answers your complaint:

Romans 9:19-24 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
 

JoeT

Member
I test it with scripture.
If a catechism or concord is written and it is not in agreement with the context of scripture, the catechism or concord is wrong.

I can't speak to the Concord, in fact, I think I would agree that it has errors. As to the Catechism of the Catholic Church it is a teaching tool. Its purpose is not to translate Scripture, rather to teach as the Church was commissioned to teach - and Baptize.

Sadly, the double-speak of the Roman catechism is so twisted that it is hard to know what it is actually saying. This is why 10 priests interviewed will have 10 different answers. This is why the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Jesuits, the Benedictines, take your pick of at least 16 other orders all were created. They disagree on what the catechism actually means.

The double speak you hear is caused by your amplifiers being out of sync. I challenge you to explain why there are different orders in the Church, do they contradict doctrine or dogma, and if so how?

So, you can go through the catechism and get thoroughly confused or you can read scripture and test all words of men against what God says.

I have gone through the catechism and to date have found no contradiction with Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, The Church, or the Early Church Fathers. You seemed to have a strong criticism of the CCC, have you gone through it to find contradictions with Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, The Church, or the Early Church Fathers?

JoeT
 

JoeT

Member
You said:
One who seeks truth, ultimately finds God.

I just shared scripture. You are the one saying it's God's fault.

And I just shared the logical conclusion of one who seeks 'truth'. Does you faith prohibit reasoning?

God answers your complaint:

Romans 9:19-24 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

I wasn't aware I was complaining. How did you come to that conclusion?
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
I can't speak to the Concord, in fact, I think I would agree that it has errors. As to the Catechism of the Catholic Church it is a teaching tool. Its purpose is not to translate Scripture, rather to teach as the Church was commissioned to teach - and Baptize.



The double speak you hear is caused by your amplifiers being out of sync. I challenge you to explain why there are different orders in the Church, do they contradict doctrine or dogma, and if so how?



I have gone through the catechism and to date have found no contradiction with Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, The Church, or the Early Church Fathers. You seemed to have a strong criticism of the CCC, have you gone through it to find contradictions with Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, The Church, or the Early Church Fathers?

JoeT
Joe, I have read various parts of the catechism. It is filled with double-speak. Perhaps you haven't tested it against scripture so you are ignorant of what you don't know.
The catachism has been changed and adjusted over the centuries so the Roman Church isn't as consistent as you imagine.
What I am ultimately saying is that the Church at Rome has significant flaws and theological misunderstandings. Reform was required and sadly Rome pridefully refused.
Your church has a history of brutal behavior filled with murderous actions. It is not the pure, innocent dove you imagine it to be.
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
And I just shared the logical conclusion of one who seeks 'truth'. Does you faith prohibit reasoning?



I wasn't aware I was complaining. How did you come to that conclusion?
Did you read the text. Your concern is answered by God.
 

JoeT

Member
Joe, I have read various parts of the catechism. It is filled with double-speak. Perhaps you haven't tested it against scripture so you are ignorant of what you don't know.
The catachism has been changed and adjusted over the centuries so the Roman Church isn't as consistent as you imagine.
What I am ultimately saying is that the Church at Rome has significant flaws and theological misunderstandings. Reform was required and sadly Rome pridefully refused.
Your church has a history of brutal behavior filled with murderous actions. It is not the pure, innocent dove you imagine it to be.

Would could continue round for round, or you could bring forward a specific instance of ignorance in the 'True' faith.

JoeT
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
Would could continue round for round, or you could bring forward a specific instance of ignorance in the 'True' faith.

JoeT
Here you go.
A list of false teachings in the Roman Catholic Church | CARM.org


The Catholic church is the one true church

CCC 2105 "The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and socially. This is 'the traditional Catholic teaching on the moral duty of individuals and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ.' By constantly evangelizing men, the Church works toward enabling them 'to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and mores, laws and structures of the communities in which [they] live.' The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good. It requires them to make known the worship of the one true religion which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church. Christians are called to be the light of the world. Thus, the Church shows forth the kingship of Christ over all creation and in particular over human societies."

Infallibility of the Catholic Church

CCC 2035, "The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed."

Only the Roman Catholic Church has authority to interpret Scripture

CCC 100, "The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him."

The Pope is the head of the church and has the authority of Christ

CCC 2034, "The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are 'authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice.' The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him teach the faithful the truth to believe, the charity to practice, the beatitude to hope for."

The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation

CCC 846, "How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it."

Sacred Tradition equal to scripture

CCC 82, ". . .the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence'."

Forgiveness of sins, salvation, is by faith and works

CCC 2036, "The specific precepts of the natural law, because their observance, demanded by the creator, is necessary for salvation."

CCC 2080, "The Decalogue contains a privileged expression of the natural law. It is made known to us by divine revelation and by human reason."

CCC 2068, "so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments,"

Full benefit of Salvation is only through the Roman Catholic Church

"For it is only through Christ's Catholic Church, which is "the all-embracing means of salvation," that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation,," (Vatican 2, Decree on Ecumenism, 3).

Grace can be merited

CCC 2010, "Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification."

CCC 2027, "Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods."

The merit of Mary and the Saints can be applied to Catholics and others

1477, "This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission in the unity of the Mystical Body."

Penance is necessary for salvation

CCC 980, “This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn."

Purgatory

CCC 1031, "The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:

CCC 1475, "In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.

Indulgences

CCC 1471, "The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance. What is an indulgence? 'An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.' 'An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.' The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead."

CCC 1478, "An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity.

CCC 1498, "Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory."

CCC 1472, "...On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin..."

Mary (there are many false doctrines concerning Mary found in Roman Catholicism, here are a few)

Mary is Mediatrix, CCC 969, "Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.'"

Mary brings us the gifts of eternal salvation, CCC 969, "Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation..."

Mary delivers souls from death, CCC 966, "...You [Mary] conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death."

Prayer to the saints

CCC 2677, "By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the 'Mother of Mercy,' the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. And our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender 'the hour of our death' wholly to her care."

The Communion elements become the actual body and blood of Christ

CCC 1374, "In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained."

CCC 1376, "The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."
 

JoeT

Member
The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and socially. This is "the traditional Catholic teaching on the moral duty of individuals and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of Christ.” By constantly evangelizing men, the Church works toward enabling them "to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and mores, laws and structures of the communities in which [they] live. The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good. It requires them to make known the worship of the one true religion which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic Church. Christians are called to be the light of the world. Thus, the Church shows forth the kingship of Christ over all creation and in particular over human societies. [CCC 2105]​

Apostolicam Actuositatem postulates and declares that each of us is a disciple of Christ. The two greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart, mind and soul and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Thus, it is our moral duty to you and to the societies we live in that the laymen evangelize to infuse Christian spirit into that society. I would suggest that the Baptist Church teaches and does the same thing. True worship, true morals subsist in the Catholic and apostolic Church. Hence we become the light of the world. Then I would ask, is not Christ your Lord? Is He not Lord over all creation in particular all human societies? Or, do you just proclaim Him Lord within the confines of the four walls of your meeting place? This paragraph speaks to the responsibilities of the laity in its social duties of religion and the right to religious freedom. Paragraphs related to the “one Church” start at 833 and finish at 870.

The supreme degree of participation in the authority of Christ is ensured by the charism of infallibility. This infallibility extends as far as does the deposit of divine Revelation; it also extends to all those elements of doctrine, including morals, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, explained, or observed. [CCC 2035]​

This is related to the authority of the universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops. They are they successors of the Apostles and are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ and charged to teach a Divine truth divinely.

"The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him." [CCC 100]

The faithful are not bound by the force of “private interpretations”. “Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation." [2 Peter 1:20]. Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church"). [CCC 113]. Don’t forget while the Holy Spirit does indeed act on all the faithful it was He who was promised to the Church.

The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are "authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people entrusted to them, the faith to be believed and put into practice." The ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him teach the faithful the truth to believe, the charity to practice, the beatitude to hope for. [CCC 2034].​

It was the Church that was commissioned to teach and to Baptize, not the laity. There is a hierarchy established in Scripture. "Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." [Acts 20:28] also, “And God indeed hath set some in the church; first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors; after that miracles; then the graces of healing, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations of speeches." [1 Corinthians 12:28]

"Outside the Church there is no salvation"

How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it. [CCC 846]
I'll let the next paragraph speak to no. 846

This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: (my emphases)

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation. [CCC 847]


I'll be happy to go into detail on any one of these issues. However, it is quit obvious from the selections each was chosen based on your prejudices and hatred of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, if you don’t mind I’ll finish the remainder sometime tomorrow.

JoeT
 

Adonia

Well-Known Member
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I test it with scripture.
If a catechism or concord is written and it is not in agreement with the context of scripture, the catechism or concord is wrong.

You only have one thing when it comes to Scripture - your own interpretation of it.

his is why 10 priests interviewed will have 10 different answers.

No, that is not true. All religious orders and priests believe the teachings of the Church, they look to the head Bishop for clarification of things. There is not one priest who denies what is written about the Holy Eucharist for example. You simply have us confused with your own Baptist sect where the 1st Baptist on Main St. has one interpretation and the 2nd Baptist on Oak St. has another - and that is within one church. Do You really want me to mention the other 30,000 Christian sects out there where each one has even more differences than the other?

So, you can go through the catechism and get thoroughly confused or you can read scripture and test all words of men against what God says.

The catechism is merely a further expounding of the words written in Scripture. Go to a bookstore and you will find hundreds of books by Preachers and Pastors doing the same thing. The only difference is the catechism has the knowledge of the Church as a whole, not different men with different scriptural interpretations.
 
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Adonia

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By constantly evangelizing men, the Church works toward enabling them 'to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and mores, laws and structures of the communities in which [they] live.' The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in each man the love of the true and the good.

Good grief, what is wrong with that?

it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."

This is what virtually all Christians believed right up until your guy, John Smyth came along and rejected the Church of England and it's teaching about the Holy Eucharist. Then it was Zwingli who really got the non "Real Presence" thing started and people like yourself started with grape juice and crackers.

And by the way, CARM is hardly an unbiased source, so I personally give them little credibility.
 

Particular

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You only have one thing when it comes to Scripture - your own interpretation of it.



No, that is not true. All religious orders and priests believe the teachings of the Church, they look to the head Bishop for clarification of things. There is not one priest who denies what is written about the Holy Eucharist for example. You simply have us confused with your own Baptist sect where the 1st Baptist on Main St. has one interpretation and the 2nd Baptist on Oak St. has another - and that is within one church. Do You really want me to mention the other 30,000 Christian sects out there where each one has even more differences than the other?



The catechism is merely a further expounding of the words written in Scripture. Go to a bookstore and you will find hundreds of books by Preachers and Pastors doing the same thing. The only difference is the catechism has the knowledge of the Church as a whole, not different men with different scriptural interpretations.

I just quoted it. I didn't interpret it.
The double-speak of the Roman catechism is really bad. No one should cling to it as their source of guidance. Peter (ironic that he is erroneously claimed as first Pope) warns us about Rome just before his deathc.
2 Peter 2:1-3
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
The Roman Church's greed and exploitation is easily seen in history.
The catechism is an intentional muddying of scripture in order to force the masses to be dependent upon a group of priests for salvation. It is why Luther's recognition of the priesthood of believers was hated by Rome. All believers are the priesthood, not just a select group of elites.
Now listen, I have met a remnant of true believers within the Roman Church. They are few and it is mostly because their priests have elected to read the Bible and then pick only the nuggets of truth from the catechism, while tossing out the vast majority of falseness found in the catechism. To that remnant, I wish they had authority to reform the mother church. But, they don't. They, instead, reform the little group in which they reside.
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
Good grief, what is wrong with that?



This is what virtually all Christians believed right up until your guy, John Smyth came along and rejected the Church of England and it's teaching about the Holy Eucharist. Then it was Zwingli who really got the non "Real Presence" thing started and people like yourself started with grape juice and crackers.

And by the way, CARM is hardly an unbiased source, so I personally give them little credibility.
Peter rejected the Roman Church.

2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
 

JoeT

Member
Peter rejected the Roman Church.

2 Peter 2:1-3 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
Did it ever occur to you that the "false prophets" is the church in schism?

JoeT
 

Particular

Well-Known Member
Did it ever occur to you that the "false prophets" is the church in schism?

JoeT
Sure that occurs to me. Then I let scripture speak and it becomes clear that the Roman Church needed reformation due to false statements in its catechism that led the church to act in horrifically evil ways that came directly from hell.
When the catechism speaks accurately to scripture, we accept it. When it speaks falsely to scripture, we remove the false teaching. That is what reform does.
 

Yeshua1

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I’m studying Acts 2:41

I know there are no contradictions in the Word. I’m having problems with this word “added”. My question is can someone be saved and not be in the bride of Christ?

If people are "in the body" when they become saved and are baptized, then why would the scriptures tell us about this ADDED UNTO THEM?

Those words, ADDED UNTO means to place....ADDITIONALLY.
One must be saved to be part of the true Church, but many lost are members of the local church!
Here is another: Act 9:26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

Why did Paul wish to JOIN with the Disciples (the Church)? He was already saved, already filled with the Holy Ghost, already baptized...he was ALREADY a Jew too.. he assayed himself to JOIN himself to the Disciples...and IF he was "already a part of them, by getting saved" then WHY WERE THEY AFRAID to let him join them?

I personally believe, once someone is saved, they are placed in the body of Christ immediately. I’m trying to harmonize Acts 2:41, 9:26 and 1 Cor. 12:13 with each other. Maybe I’m overthinking this.

1 Corinthians 12:13
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

John Gill states there is an order: saved, baptized and then added to the church

Acts 2:41. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

John Gill states in his commentary
I am of opinion, that they were all baptized in one day; and that on the same day they were baptized, they were joined to the church; and that day was the day of Pentecost, the day on which the law was given on Mount Sinai, and on which now the Gospel was published to men of all nations under the
heavens; the day on which the firstfruits were offered to the Lord, and on which now the firstfruits of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ were brought in to him. Let the order be observed, they were first baptized, and then added to the church.
 
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