A question to protestants

GodLovesCats · Aug 31, 2019

BobRyan said:
A good example of compromising church teaching is trying to insert faith in evolutionism as the "new doctrine on origins" as compared to the Bible teaching on origins.

This is not true at all. Churches don't teach science. They teach theology.

paul1149 · Aug 31, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
Would you care to explain your opinion? Protestants are the ones who accept the fact that sins don't need to be confessed to a priest in a church sanctuary because they have already been forgiven. This makes all Protestants more focused on the positive and Catholics on the negative when they talk about forgiveness.

I put Protestant in quotes because I was referring to the term itself, not the positive content of the theology. A protestant is one who protests. Essentially, I'm not protesting, I'm affirming Christ. I don't define myself by what I don't believe, but by what I do believe.

Bible Highlighter · Aug 31, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Hi. I grew up in a Catholic family, lived an atheist life of sin and returned to God through Catholicism. I knew nothing about other denominations.
My big issue was with Marion devotion, my parents being Portuguese are devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. But when I inquired about it in a Catholic forum I was labelled a Protestant.

"What is that?" So I looked into it. I always thought that Catholics where the original religion which held the bible sacred and then the denominations split off with new books, dogmas and doctrines. I was shocked to learn that its the Catholics that have a heap of other stuff besides the bible.

I learnt about "sola scripture" and that the protestants adhere to the bible and so began to wonder if I was even a Catholic anymore or a Protestant now as I believe in sola scripture and not the opportunity for humans to add doctrines to it without any bible foundation.

So now I"m surprised to learn that there are female priests in the Protestant priesthood.

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." Timothy 2:11-14 ESV

Scripture is quite clear on that topic, what happened "sola scripture" in this case?

One of the weaknesses of the Catholic church that I have noticed is that they do not focus on evangelism for Christ so much. There is no major push to lead the church to help others to accept Jesus as their Savior. While Protestants appear to be good at this at their church services, many of them do not get to know their members so much and help them to follow Jesus and to obey Him.

I believe we are living in the last days and finding true followers who are on fire for Jesus is rare. 2 Timothy 3:1-9 talks about how in the last days perilous times will come and men will be lovers of pleasures more than they are lovers of God. They will have a form of godliness, but they will deny the power thereof. I believe we are in that time today.

Chris35 · Aug 31, 2019

What really stuck out for me about catholicism. Im not sure if they have changed it yet because i havent picked up a catholic bible in 20 years. Check a catholic bible's 10 commandments and compare them to any other non catholic bible.

Traditional Catechetical Formula

I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

Which one is missing and what would the catholic church gain for removing that particular commandment?

mmksparbud · Aug 31, 2019

Chris35 said:
What really stuck out for me about catholicism. Im not sure if they have changed it yet because i havent picked up a catholic bible in 20 years. Check a catholic bible's 10 commandments and compare them to any other non catholic bible.

Traditional Catechetical Formula

I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

Which one is missing and what would the catholic church gain for removing that particular commandment?

Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

AMM · Aug 31, 2019

mmksparbud said:
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Some Protestants use the same numbering as Catholics (like Lutherans). And the Orthodox use the same numbering as the evangelicals (including the prohibition against graven images) -- and we have Icons.

This video was informative for me:

mmksparbud · Aug 31, 2019

AMM said:
Some Protestants use the same numbering as Catholics (like Lutherans). And the Orthodox use the same numbering as the evangelicals (including the prohibition against graven images) -- and we have Icons.

This video was informative for me:

Why skip anything? God wrote it with His own finger---that's good enough for me.

Not David · Aug 31, 2019

ChristianForCats said:
Would you care to explain your opinion? Protestants are the ones who accept the fact that sins don't need to be confessed to a priest in a church sanctuary because they have already been forgiven. This makes all Protestants more focused on the positive and Catholics on the negative when they talk about forgiveness.

What's wrong with confessing to a priest?

Sketcher · Aug 31, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Hi. I grew up in a Catholic family, lived an atheist life of sin and returned to God through Catholicism. I knew nothing about other denominations.
My big issue was with Marion devotion, my parents being Portuguese are devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. But when I inquired about it in a Catholic forum I was labelled a Protestant.

"What is that?" So I looked into it. I always thought that Catholics where the original religion which held the bible sacred and then the denominations split off with new books, dogmas and doctrines. I was shocked to learn that its the Catholics that have a heap of other stuff besides the bible.

I learnt about "sola scripture" and that the protestants adhere to the bible and so began to wonder if I was even a Catholic anymore or a Protestant now as I believe in sola scripture and not the opportunity for humans to add doctrines to it without any bible foundation.

So now I"m surprised to learn that there are female priests in the Protestant priesthood.

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." Timothy 2:11-14 ESV

Scripture is quite clear on that topic, what happened "sola scripture" in this case?

There are lots of Protestant denominations and offshoots. The tradition I'm from doesn't allow female clergy. Others that do will have to tell you their justification.

Also, the tradition I'm from (and most Protestant traditions) don't have priests in the same sense that the Catholics do, the role of the clergy is different. Keeping the faith the Roman Catholic way seems to be much more dependent on the clergy (hence their role as "priests" rather than simply "pastors" or "preachers" or "reverends"). Though our clergy's role still involves teaching and a certain limited amount of authority which is sufficient to make it off-limits to women according to the verses you quoted.

GodLovesCats · Aug 31, 2019

David Cabrera said:
What's wrong with confessing to a priest?

I did not say doing that is wrong. The comment that Protestants focus on a negative and Catholics do not is disproven by the idea that you are only forgiven for your sins after confessing to a priest.

Prodigal Son returns · Aug 31, 2019

dqhall said:
I attended numerous churches of various denominations and listened to sermons and homilies. I never heard the words “sola scriptura” uttered in church, only found them written in ChristianForums. I did not find one church where they only spoke words from the Bible as if nothing else mattered. There are thousands of books that might be useful including medical texts. Paul warned people he was not the one who was crucified, they were not baptized into his name (1 Corinthians 1). Paul is worth reading, but he is not God, nor is the Bible easily discerned without God. An object of paper and ink is not equal to the Holy Spirit.

I was actually thinking of doing that, attending other Christian churches

Prodigal Son returns · Aug 31, 2019

Bible Highlighter said:
I am a non-denominational Trinitarian Christian who believes in the teaching of Sola Scriptura but I do not agree with the name "Sola Scriptura" because we need GOD to understand the Bible and not our own human mind, and wisdom alone. We need to ask God for help in our understanding of Scripture. GOD will not talk audibly to help us understand His Word, but He will guide us by His Spirit to compare Scripture with Scripture and He will bring to your mind those verses that you already know or have memorized to teach you.

I disagree also with Catholicism because they add things that we do not see into the Bible (like praying to Mary, the saints, confessing sins to a priest, bowing down to statues or kissing them, etc.). I believe Protestants also add things to the Bible, as well. While Protestants get some things right (like the Trinity, and the Bible being the only physical words of God that we are to follow), they also get other things wrong. For they believe in certain things that I believe are unbiblical (like: Eternal Security, or some level of a sin and still be saved type belief, support of Martin Luther, Grace Alone, 10% tithing, and the idea that we must gather in a church building instead of in each others homes like it was in the early church).

Not all Protestant churches are the same or unified on all things. The same is true even of Catholic churches (despite some of them saying otherwise). There are Charismatic Catholic churches and Protestant Charismatic churches. While I lean heavily towards Partial Cessationism (that the gift of apostleship has ceased, and the miraculous gifts have ceased, but not the gifts on teaching, and ministry, etc.), I do not want to say that every Charismatic Continuationist type Christian on the planet is not of God (Because I do not want to speak out out against God if I am wrong). Most of what I have seen in the Charismatic movement disturbs me greatly, and the biblical case for Partial Cessationism (called "Cessationism") is very strong.

The way of truth is to follow your Bible and to follow GOD alone.
Do not trust in visions, prophecies, added holy books, or dreams, etc.

I say this because only the Bible and GOD will guide you were you need to go spiritually. Do not follow anyone but GOD and His Word. Most today are seeking to follow their own way. Many today seek to justify sin on some level, as well. Many add things to the Bible that is not clearly there. These added things have not proven themselves to be trustworthy like the Bible.

To see some excellent evidences that back up the Bible as being divine in origin, check out my Blogger article here:

Love Branch: Evidences for the Word of God

I believe church traditions, and or added holy books (like: The Book of Mormon, or Divine Revelation of Hell, or Heaven is for Real, the five points of Calvinism, etc.) contradict the Bible and they cannot be proven to be divine in origin on the same level as the Bible, either.

Nicely spoke. I appreciate that link you put up.
It wasn't long ago I believed in God but I had these "doubting Thomas" thoughts about Jesus being son of God and the resurrection. This extinguished any doubts I had. It was like Thomas feeling the wounds of Christ for me.

Why should I believe in Christ's resurrection? | GotQuestions.org

What is the importance of the empty tomb? | GotQuestions.org

Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ true? | GotQuestions.org

The first one is compelling enough on it's own. The other 2 just add further credibility.

Bible Highlighter · Aug 31, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Nicely spoke. I appreciate that link you put up.
It wasn't long ago I believed in God but I had these "doubting Thomas" thoughts about Jesus being son of God and the resurrection. This extinguished any doubts I had. It was like Thomas feeling the wounds of Christ for me.

Why should I believe in Christ's resurrection? | GotQuestions.org

What is the importance of the empty tomb? | GotQuestions.org

Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ true? | GotQuestions.org

The first one is compelling enough on it's own. The other 2 just add further credibility.

I am glad I was able to help.

May you always be strong in Christ.

Pádraigín Ní Saorlaith · Aug 31, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Hi. I grew up in a Catholic family, lived an atheist life of sin and returned to God through Catholicism. I knew nothing about other denominations.
My big issue was with Marion devotion, my parents being Portuguese are devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. But when I inquired about it in a Catholic forum I was labelled a Protestant.

"What is that?" So I looked into it. I always thought that Catholics where the original religion which held the bible sacred and then the denominations split off with new books, dogmas and doctrines. I was shocked to learn that its the Catholics that have a heap of other stuff besides the bible.

I learnt about "sola scripture" and that the protestants adhere to the bible and so began to wonder if I was even a Catholic anymore or a Protestant now as I believe in sola scripture and not the opportunity for humans to add doctrines to it without any bible foundation.

So now I"m surprised to learn that there are female priests in the Protestant priesthood.

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." Timothy 2:11-14 ESV

Scripture is quite clear on that topic, what happened "sola scripture" in this case?

Whether or not there are women in the clergy varies from denomination to denomination, even among denominations in the same tradition. For example, Episcopalians and Continuing Anglicans both belong to the Anglican tradition, but the former has women in the clergy while the latter does not.

Bible Highlighter · Aug 31, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Nicely spoke. I appreciate that link you put up.
It wasn't long ago I believed in God but I had these "doubting Thomas" thoughts about Jesus being son of God and the resurrection. This extinguished any doubts I had. It was like Thomas feeling the wounds of Christ for me.

Why should I believe in Christ's resurrection? | GotQuestions.org

What is the importance of the empty tomb? | GotQuestions.org

Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ true? | GotQuestions.org

The first one is compelling enough on it's own. The other 2 just add further credibility.

If you haven't seen it already, I think you would like the movie called,
"The Case for Christ."

You can rent this through Amazon Video or Itunes or YouTube:
Amazon.com: Watch The Case for Christ | Prime Video
‎The Case for Christ on iTunes
The Case for Christ on YouTube

If you are looking for the top best Christian movies (IMO), check out this thread here:

What Christian Movies Do You Find To Be The Most Rewatchable?

Some of these films are great at inspiring a believer to follow the Lord more.

Kid Knox · Aug 31, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Hi. I grew up in a Catholic family, lived an atheist life of sin and returned to God through Catholicism. I knew nothing about other denominations.
My big issue was with Marion devotion, my parents being Portuguese are devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. But when I inquired about it in a Catholic forum I was labelled a Protestant.

"What is that?" So I looked into it. I always thought that Catholics where the original religion which held the bible sacred and then the denominations split off with new books, dogmas and doctrines. I was shocked to learn that its the Catholics that have a heap of other stuff besides the bible.

I learnt about "sola scripture" and that the protestants adhere to the bible and so began to wonder if I was even a Catholic anymore or a Protestant now as I believe in sola scripture and not the opportunity for humans to add doctrines to it without any bible foundation.

So now I"m surprised to learn that there are female priests in the Protestant priesthood.

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." Timothy 2:11-14 ESV

Scripture is quite clear on that topic, what happened "sola scripture" in this case?

Thanks for your post. Kudos to your parents being on the right track. Their devotion to our Blessed Mother was most likely brought on by proper Catholic instruction.
And I'm sorry that some uninformed person on a Catholic forum got you mixed up by labeling you a protestant when inquiring about Mary.
Just to set the record straight, protestants see Mary as some sort of competitor to our Lord.
Catholics however see our Blessed Mother as someone who is inline with Jesus and helps us to find a life dedicated to the Blessed Fruit of Her Womb.
As for "sola scriptura", it is a man made belief created in the 16th century that makes no sense whatsoever.
Sola Scriptura believers will tell you that the Bible alone is the only authority needed to discover and interpret for yourself as a sole guideline to be an equipped "man of God".
Now the problem with this type of belief is probably what you are thinking. What if your interpretation is different than the next person? What then?
Well, "what then" may deal with an issue like baptismal regeneration, or issues like the Holy Trinity.
Protestant religions all are based on some non divine human to guide them.
So the "what then" is answered by protestants to create a protestant church that is inline to what the human interpreter believes, and then they hope to persuade you to fall inline to their way of thinking.
The Catholic faith is based on biblical scriptures, (since they put together the Bible), and traditions that were passed on from the Apostles themselves or by early Christians who were disciples of the Apostles.
There is not one protestant denomination that can claim they are following the 4 earmarks of the one true Church.
But there is truly One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church that Christ founded himself.
And that Church is the Catholic Church.
God Bless you and hopefully you will discover the truth itself by reaching deep into Christian history, which the protestant faith could never match and make their own.

AMM · Aug 31, 2019

mmksparbud said:
Why skip anything? God wrote it with His own finger---that's good enough for me.

We don’t skip anything.

mmksparbud · Aug 31, 2019

AMM said:
We don’t skip anything.

Then where is it? What wrote with His own hand can not be changed by anyone.

Not David · Sep 1, 2019

mmksparbud said:
Then where is it? What wrote with His own hand can not be changed by anyone.

They include the "images" part in the 1st commandment

Aussie Pete · Sep 1, 2019

Prodigal Son returns said:
Hi. I grew up in a Catholic family, lived an atheist life of sin and returned to God through Catholicism. I knew nothing about other denominations.
My big issue was with Marion devotion, my parents being Portuguese are devoted to Our Lady of Fatima. But when I inquired about it in a Catholic forum I was labelled a Protestant.

"What is that?" So I looked into it. I always thought that Catholics where the original religion which held the bible sacred and then the denominations split off with new books, dogmas and doctrines. I was shocked to learn that its the Catholics that have a heap of other stuff besides the bible.

I learnt about "sola scripture" and that the protestants adhere to the bible and so began to wonder if I was even a Catholic anymore or a Protestant now as I believe in sola scripture and not the opportunity for humans to add doctrines to it without any bible foundation.

So now I"m surprised to learn that there are female priests in the Protestant priesthood.

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." Timothy 2:11-14 ESV

Scripture is quite clear on that topic, what happened "sola scripture" in this case?

Excellent question. Unfortunately the world has infiltrated the church. Many Christians no longer accept that the Bible says what it means or means what it says. Hence the debate about same sex marriage. My view is that there is no debate. God settled the matter and SSM is wrong. The apostle Paul warned that these days would come. Picking our way through the doctrinal minefield is not easy. We need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He will lead us into all truth. Even the concept of the priesthood is wrong. All Christians are priests. Most protestant denominations pay lip service to that truth. In practice, the pyramid structure of the church remains, contrary to God's word.

A question to protestants

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