What do you think about the sacraments?

Gregory Thompson

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Do you like them, do you oppose them? Share your opinion.
They're important for sure.

Even when you're not attending an assembly, they point to the source, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.
 
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HTacianas

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Do you like them, do you oppose them? Share your opinion.

The sacraments are the Church. For a layman, the sacrament of baptism washes away previous sin. Chrismation, or the laying on of hands, gifts the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is the central sacrament of the Church. Through it we participate in the sacrifice of Christ, and receive life. Jesus said, "I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you". And again, "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day".
 
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Not David

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The sacraments are the Church. For a layman, the sacrament of baptism washes away previous sin. Chrismation, or the laying on of hands, gifts the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is the central sacrament of the Church. Through it we participate in the sacrifice of Christ, and receive life. Jesus said, "I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you". And again, "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day".
Yes, all of them are important
 
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Gregory Thompson

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So like a testimony?
Sort of, in the way that the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy, the Sacraments are vehicles for various mysteries of God.

Those who have gained the ability to learn from seeing what God does in people's hearts, or have been forced to due to the church not adequately discipling it's flock - can learn things from these mysterium or sacraments that are beyond words, since they are spiritual in nature.
 
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Bob Crowley

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Catholics believe in seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, eucharist, reconciliation, marriage, anointing of the sick and holy orders), whereas a lot of Protestants only believe in two (baptism and the eucharist).

I'm Catholic, so I accept the seven.

A definition of a "sacrament" is "a visible sign of an invisible grace." In Baptism we can't see the Holy Spirit descending upon the person begin baptised, but we can see the physical signs of the baptism, by immersion in or sprinkling of water.

Christ's baptism was an exception in that the Holy Spirit visibly descended upon Christ in the form of a dove, but in any baptism something similar is happening in an invisible way. The physical baptism is a sign that the invisible baptism is taking place.

When priests are ordained, with much liturgical celebration, we are aware that these men are being brought into a particular relationship with God.

Ditto for marriage, reconciliation, and all the rest.

A biblical basis for the Catholic sacraments is presented here -

Discover the Sacraments in the Bible - CATECHIST Magazine
 
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Not David

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Catholics believe in seven sacraments (baptism, confirmation, eucharist, reconciliation, marriage, anointing of the sick and holy orders), whereas a lot of Protestants only believe in two (baptism and the eucharist).

I'm Catholic, so I accept the seven.

A definition of a "sacrament" is "a visible sign of an invisible grace." In Baptism we can't see the Holy Spirit effect on the person begin baptised, but we can see the physical signs of the baptism, immersion in or sprinkling of water.

Christ's baptism was an exception in that the Holy Spirit visibly descended upon Christ in the form of a dove, but in any baptism something similar is happening in an invisible way. The physical baptism is a sign that the invisible baptism is taking place.

When priests are ordained, with much liturgical celebration, we are aware that these men are being brought into a particular relationship with God.

Ditto for marriage, reconciliation, and all the rest.

A biblical basis for the Catholic sacraments is presented here -

Seven Sacraments - Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay
Well, Protestants might say they only believe in baptism and communion but they still do stuff such as marriage and making someone a minister
 
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Paidiske

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Well, Protestants might say they only believe in baptism and communion but they still do stuff such as marriage and making someone a minister

We do; but we do not view them as sacraments. We do many good and edifying, even graced, things which do not qualify as sacraments.
 
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Bob Crowley

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As an aside to my post above (#11), on the matter of Holy Orders, I remember my old Protestant pastor talking to a group of us about his own ordination, when he was a young man.

When I met him he was Presbyterian, but originally had been ordained into the Methodist Church.

He said when he was being ordained, and taking some sort of oath of office, this "thrill" was running up and down his spine - very obvious and very pronounced.

For my money, God was giving him an invisible sign of an invisible grace. The oath of office in my opinion, in his case at least, was a sacrament, whether or not he formally recognised it as such.
 
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Albion

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In how many sacraments do you believe Albion?
Two, although it doesn't offend me terribly if people sometimes use the word to refer to other ceremonies that have been solemnized by the church and which are not in the same category as the "Sacraments of the Gospel."
 
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Not David

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Two, although it doesn't offend me terribly if people sometimes use the word to refer to other ceremonies that have been solemnized by the church and which are not in the same category as the "Sacraments of the Gospel."
Why do you call them that?
 
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Nathan@work

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Do you have something else in mind?

When I hear the word I think of the Last Supper and baptism.

But that’s why I asked, because I know there are a lot of views of what that word means to people.
 
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