Conversing with Catholics

Lybrah said:

Maybe he found some ways that the Catholic mass could be like Revelation, but I have read the book, and books of other scholars, and Revelation is widely assumed to be about the end of the world. Throughout the bible there are many other prophecies that are also mentioned in Revelation as well.

Click to expand...

There are many analogies that tie the Mass to Revelation; but the statement that the Mass is based on Revelation is wrong; rather it is based on the whole of Scripture. The Revelation gives us a glimpse of what heaven is like. We read of the gathering around the throne of the Lamb; which is what we do when we gather around the Altar to (for those of us who hold the traditional, and literal reading of Scripture) eat the body of Christ and drink the blood of Christ; this "communion" is not just the community present in the congregation, but the transcendence of both time and space with the coming together of the whole Church, not just those in our building but those who are now in heaven along with all of the heavenly beings.

In the preface to the service of the sacrament this, or something very similar precedes the singing of the Sanctus "... And therefore with Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify your most glorious name evermore praising you saying:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest.

This is taken from The Revelation.

Lybrah said:

Maybe he found some ways that the Catholic mass could be like Revelation, but I have read the book, and books of other scholars, and Revelation is widely assumed to be about the end of the world. Throughout the bible there are many other prophecies that are also mentioned in Revelation as well.

Click to expand...

Actually, there are alot of scholars that do not consider Revelation to be chiefly about the end of the world, as that notion is often understood in evangelicalism. So your Catholic friend's assertions are not groundless.

NW82 said:

If you are referring to the differences between the Catholic Bible and the Protestant bible that's something one has to decide for themselves.

Click to expand...

On what basis should he decide?

My point is that Traditions that contradict the bible, such as graven images, and teaching that others are intercessors rather than Christ being the only one.

Click to expand...

The Catholic Church has no Sacred Traditions that contradict Sacred Scripture, so that is a moot point.

Afra said:

On what basis should he decide?

The Catholic Church has no Sacred Traditions that contradict Sacred Scripture, so that is a moot point.

Click to expand...

The Catholic Church teaches that priests called "father" can advise to absolve sin. This is in contrast to the bible in two ways.

Please do not debate here or discuss this amongst yourselves. Always address the OP.

A mod already was posted about that in this thread. Conversing with Catholics Please follow the directions in the Mod hat.

NW82 said:

This is in contrast to the bible in two ways.

Click to expand...

Not true. If you start a separate thread on it we can debate it there.

Lybrah said:

I was talking to a Roman Catholic the other day and I felt myself getting annoyed because this person was telling me things about Revelations that are wrong. For example, saying that the book of Revelations is what the Catholic mass is based on? What? I left behind the Catholic faith. I don't particularly want to go back. Anyway, the issue here is I get annoyed when talking to people to are wrong and insist they are right. I don't want to be like this. Any suggestions?

Also--- is Catholicism wrong? Catholics believe in Jesus and stuff, but in your opinion, what parts of their beliefs and rituals do you find erroneous or unnecessary?

Click to expand...

The Catholic Church is not in the bible, therefore it is not right! My point is that it is not the church that Jesus built!

Doulos 7 said:

The Catholic Church is not in the bible, therefore it is not right! My point is that it is not the church that Jesus built!

Click to expand...

There are a lot of things that are not in the bible, however that does not lead to a logical conclusion that they are not right.

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The Constitution of the United States of America
• The Internet
• Mobile Phones
• X-Rays
• Polio Vaccine
• Plastic
• etc

Jesus's Church is built of human hearts and minds, and so cannot be confined by a denominational structure, yours, mine, or the church in communion with the Bishop of Rome.

The word catholic comes from two greek words kata and holos which have been joined together to make the compound word catholic. The meaning of those words is 'according to' and 'the whole' so when we speak of the catholic church in the Nicene Creed we are speaking of the whole church (in every place, in every age). It has made it a little confusing that one denomination has elected to claim the word as its brand, yet I contend that does not exclude them. So I believe that the Catholic Church is part of the church catholic.