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@Major1 How do you think the Church was like after the Apostles died and before the Reformation?
Well, there is also the Orthodox Church.In other words you want me to explain what the Roman Catholic Church was like before the Reformation.
The argument you are theorizing is misleading because it falsely assumes that:
- The Catholic Church was the only church before the reformation.
- The Catholic Church could not have fallen into serious error.
- The teaching of the modern Catholic Church is identical to that of the old Catholic church. All three propositions are false.
The teaching of the modern Catholic Church is different from that of the old Catholic church.
It is easy to be deceived by words. “The Catholic Church was the church before the Reformation..." is misleading because the doctrinal character of the modern Catholic Church is altogether different from the teaching of the old Catholic churches. We can mention the evolution of the hierarchy, papal supremacy and papal infallibility, the veneration of statues and praying to the saints, purgatory, the mass as a propitiatory sacrifice, transubstantiation, auricular confession, the rosary, the Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. These doctrines and practices originated sooner or later in the history of the Catholic Church, but they were absent in apostolic churches and the early post-apostolic era. Rome’s latest theological novelty is the assurance that members of other religions can be saved - a theory that was flatly denied by previous popes and councils.
Well, there is also the Orthodox Church.
They made me appreciate Tradition and Scriptures more, and since they developed different from Rome I trust them more. Plus I'm going to that Church now.Yes that is true but wasn't it the outrages of the Papacy that caused the problems that led to the Reformation?
History books say that it was the selling of 'indulgences' and Purgatory and the veneration of Mary.
As Mark Greengrass states in his online essay (which is here:http://www.gla.ac.uk/centres/tltphistory/protref/intro.htm),
"In the sixteenth century, something important and unique happened to the history of western European Christianity. It did not occur in orthodox Christianity in Russia or what was left of the Byzantine empire in Greece and it is difficult to find appropriate comparisons for it in the other advanced civilizations of Eurasia. It is called the protestant reformation and it was initially an attempt to reform the traditional 'fabric' of the western church. By fabric, we mean not merely the institutions of the church but also the supporting rationale for offering a means of salvation. Protestants sought to change things by using the Bible as the primary authority for doctrine and the early Christian church as an institutional model. In the process, protestants rejected papal authority and (with it) much of the traditional beliefs and practices of the established church."
Was Eastern Orthodoxy Unaffected by the Reformation?
The fact is that Orthodoxy had already put a separation between themselves and the papal excesses of the western church and the Eastern Orthodox Church continues to this day in independent fashion, not part of Roman Catholicism but neither part of Protestantism.
They claim that they alone are the truly established Church of Jesus Christ (in institutional form, anyway), although they freely accept Christians from other traditions as true believers. Without doubt, they continue to uphold many things which are entirely biblical; their teaching on salvation is more 'open' than that found within Protestantism because Eastern Orthodoxy received comparatively little influence from Augustine and almost none, of course, from Calvin.
They reject the immaculate conception of Mary which is Biblically correct however, they do affirm the perpetual virginity of Mary as well as her bodily assumption. They also give Mary the title "Mother of God," which of course is not Biblical. Neverthless, Mary occupies a lower place than within Roman Catholicism.
Eastern Orthodoxy should also be congratulated in that that it seems to have enjoyed amazingly harmonious leadership and organization; my understanding is that their 'patriarchs' only have authority to help, guide and advise local churches, but never to meddle or demand.
What is your opinion?
And as I have said about 100 times to you...……...I am not infallible, I am not authoritive of anything except my wife and dog and I am subject to error.
I am nothing more than an old country boy who reads the Bible and tries to explain it as best he can.
If you do not agree with me...…….WONDERFUL! As I have said---- I do not care!
If you would like to discuss any Bible Scripture or you would like my understanding of one, please post it.
If you would like to discuss any Catholic teaching that IS NOT IN THE BIBLE such as Purgatory or the Rosary, or calling men FATHET or the inability of the laity to marry, please ask me and I will be glad to give you the Bible response.
That is not about disunity at all. It was about believing something which is not found expressly printed in the Scriptures so as to allow you as a Catholic to continue to worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and many other NON Biblical practices of the Catholic church.
Please show me where in the Catechism of the Catholic Church where it say's we are to worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and anything else other than God?
They made me appreciate Tradition and Scriptures more, and since they developed different from Rome I trust them more. Plus I'm going to that Church now.![]()
Including your personal interpretation of Scripture?
But you seem to have difficiulty admitting your personal explanation/understanding of the Bible has a strong possibility of being in error, and people that read it should not take your "explanation/understanding" as being free from error. Why is that?
Good to know my friend
Sure...... I'd be happy too. However, if we were to come to a disagreement of a certain scripture passage, to what authority would we turn to determine who's in error, and who is not? I have no doubt to what authority I can turn too. And you?
Start a thread on what you believe are Catholic teachings that are not explicitly or implicitly in Scripture, and I'd be more than happy to go over them with you one by one, or how many others you think there are.
Now speaking of Purgatory, and the Rosary Maj1, back on post #80 you accused Catholics of worshiping them:
And my responce to you on post #86 was:
And your response............... Nada! These are some very serious allegations on your part, and need to be addressed or proven Maj1. For anyone to take these allegations serious, you need to back them up. I gave you the opportunity to do so by asking you to show where in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, where it teaches what you accuse Catholics of. I am offering you a second chance to do so, right here, and right now! Failure to do so, (back up your claim) proves not only to Catholics, but everyone else on this forum your true agenda. Keep in mind my friend, your credibility is on the line here, if you want anyone in the future to take your posts with any type of seriousness.
Have a Blessed day
I suppose this is a question of priorities. Assuming that everything which happens in Mass is above a child's level is simply nonsense. But even if they do fall asleep, one of their parents should wake them up. Faith requires nurture and no small amount of formation.Do you believe that children, say 5 or 6 years old actually understand/comprehend the things said and done in a worship service or have you not seen that most of them fall asleep????
I question it because I lived it and I know it's a silly waste of time.Why would you even question a process of an adult teaching children the Bible on a level that they can understand"
No it doesn't.Catholicism teaches there is, after death, a place of temporary punishment which can be escaped by the merits of other people.
I suppose this is a question of priorities. Assuming that everything which happens in Mass is above a child's level is simply nonsense. But even if they do fall asleep, one of their parents should wake them up. Faith requires nurture and no small amount of formation.
I didn't gain much from the silly finger-painting activities in the Protestant ecclesial communities in which I grew up. I enjoyed the stories though.
There's no good reason to divide families like that.
I question it because I lived it and I know it's a silly waste of time.
No it doesn't.
How many children have you ever attempted to teach Transubstantiation to?Agreed. It is about priorities.
I Personally do not believe you or any other child could comprehend "Transubstaciation" any more than they could "Virgin birth".
It's funny. I Googled part of that description you posted. The results?Well...….that is exactly what the Catholic Catechism said stated. So then your argument is with it not me my friend.
That is exactly why I listed the exact words from the RCC Catechism.
Catholicism teaches there is, after death, a place of temporary punishment which can be escaped by the merits of other people.
"What is purgatory? A place and state of temporary punishment after death.
Who goes to purgatory? Those ………
1) who die while guilty of unrepented venial sins
2) who die without having done sufficient penance to pay the debt of the temporal punishment still due their past sins.
Where do you go when you leave purgatory? To heaven to be with God.
Can you help the souls in purgatory? You can shorten their stay by having Masses said for them, praying for them and doing good works for them" .
Catechism, pp. 37-39.
How many children have you ever attempted to teach Transubstantiation to?
It's funny. I Googled part of that description you posted. The results?
View attachment 241473
Those are mostly non-Catholic sources. Even the one Catholic source is a message board where someone pulled a Major1 and pasted that text into a post in order to... I don't know what. Copypasta anti-Catholic nonsense.
To be clear, Purgatory is for purification. That element appears to be missing from your post. I find that Protestants, for whatever reason, cannot seem to get their heads around the idea that Purgatory is about sanctification rather than justification. But overlooking that simple reality (combined with a refusal to quote from the actual Catechism) results in incomplete copypasta posts like yours with misleading and inaccurate information.
I do not respond well to threats my friend. I do not even do well when having to argue.
That is not about disunity at all. It was about believing something which is not found expressly printed in the Scriptures so as to allow you as a Catholic to continue to worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and many other NON Biblical practices of the Catholic church.[/quore]
(not to mention what your thread "Non-Biblical Practices done by Catholic believers" thread is doing to your credibility)
And I asked not once, but three times:
"Please show me where in the Catechism of the Catholic Church where it say's we are to worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and anything else other than God?"
And your only attempt to responding is?
I do not respond well to threats my friend. I do not even do well when having to argue
This non-answer speaks volumes!
But since this is important to you I will respond to your threat.
Threat is your word.... not mine. All I'm asking is for you to show me where in the Catechism of the Catholic Church where it say's we are to worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and anything else other than God?
The Catholic Church has repeatedly taught that the Holy Rosary is one of the best forms of prayer. Are you practicing this devotion daily? Is it promoted in your parish?
From the CATHOLIC web sit at Catholic Essentials - The Rosary
I asked to show me from the Catechism of the Catholic Church where it say's we are to worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and anything else other than God. Not from some copy and paste you got from who knows where. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church Maj1..... The Catechism of the Catholic Church!!!!
Now as for all the quotes from many different papal encyclicals you copied and pasted, nowhere in all the quotes did it say Catholics are to worship the Rosary.
Conclusion: your claim that Catholics worship the Rosary, Purgatory, and anything else other than God is nothing more than a myth and out right lie.
I knew you'd get there in the end.To be clear and honest...…...PURGATORY is not found in the Bible anywhere or is there even a suggestion of such a place or a practice. It is a RCC practice only.
Oh I see. YOU have the ability to reject Christian sites such as "Got Questions" and Barnes' Notes on the Bible...……but those that represent the Catholic point of view are OK with you.
I could choose any of literally a 100 Christian apologists to respond to your Catholic friend but I will simply use Barnes' Notes on the Bible...…….
I am blessed to be able to answer you questions on Scriptures and I look forward to more.
Let's back up and take a look at what you said on post # 92:
And you'd probably come up with 100 differnt interpretations and or understandings of any certain passage of Scripture. How many of these 100 non-Catholic Christian apologists do you think are in 100% in agreement on matters such as Abortion, Same sex marriage, Euthanasia, baptismal regeneration and salvation, Real Presence, ect.?
This dis-unity my friend is one reason I rebuff some of the sites you quote from. Another reason is sites like "gotquestions.com" is in my opinion up there in the top five bigoted anti-Catholic sites.
Now, as far as the site "Barnes Notes on the Bible" goes, let's take a look-see at some this 19th cen. Presbyterian quotes and see if you agree with him....okay?
Reguarding Matt. 16:17-19:
“The meaning of this phrase may be thus expressed: ‘Thou, in saying that I am the Son of God, hast called me by a name expressive of my true character. I, also, have given to thee a name expressive of your character. I have called you Peter, a rock. . . . I see that you are worthy of the name and will be a distinguished support of my religion” ----Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, 170].---- (Albert Barnes (Nineteenth-Century Presbyterian)
On the Bible:
"The Bible, as a revelation from God, was not designed to give us all the information we might desire, nor to solve all the questions about which the human soul is perplexed, but to impart enough to be a safe guide to the haven of eternal rest."---- Albert Barnes"
Oops.... this quote must throw you for a loop!
Now my question to you Maj1, being you seem to be standing by this "Barnes Notes on the Bible web-site as a legitimate source, do you "reject" or agree with these quotes from Barnes Notes on the Bible?
As am I to question your sources, and like you, look forward to more.
Have a Blessed Day
Do you really think that I as a Protestant believer would copy and paste Catholic web sites ???? What kind of thinking is that?????
That is exactly why I listed the exact words from the RCC Catechism.
YES!