A compelling non-Catholic argument

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Revelations 12. Is the woman Mary or someone-something else?
:confused: And you consider that a fundamental difference comparable to that between an Arminian and a Calvinist? Moreover, why do Catholics use that verse?
Was Peter the founder and 1st pope of Rome?
What does the Catechsim of the Catholic Church say? It’s interesting how Protestants automatically know that Catholics believe that Peter was the first “pope of Rome.”
Must a person belong to the catholic church to be saved?
What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say on this issue?

God Bless,
Michael
 
mikeledes;3416329]:confused:
Originally Posted by justasking4
Revelations 12. Is the woman Mary or someone-something else?

mikeledes;
And you consider that a fundamental difference comparable to that between an Arminian and a Calvinist?
Probably not and we should not expect protestants to agree anyway since its been reported that there are over 33,000 different denominations. To have any differences in the catholic church is something i would think would suprise you considering its claims.🤷
Moreover, why do Catholics use that verse?
It has something to do with the marian doctrines.
Quote:justasking4
Was Peter the founder and 1st pope of Rome?

mikeledes;
What does the Catechsim of the Catholic Church say?
i don’t know.
It’s interesting how Protestants automatically know that Catholics believe that Peter was the first “pope of Rome.”
i suppose your right until they look at the evidence and believe otherwise after.
Quote:justasking4
Must a person belong to the catholic church to be saved?
mikeledes;
What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church say on this issue?
i don’t know. However the church has held different views of this.
 
Revelations 12:1 — some say the woman is Mary while others say its the church or something else.
We all say that this is a multilayered passage that refers to three different things at the same time - Mother Mary, the Church, and faithful Israel. At different times, we talk about the three different aspects of this passage as they relate to whatever point we happen to be making at that time.
Was Peter the founder and 1st pope of Rome?
Peter was appointed Chief Shepherd of the Church during the time between the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ. We see this in John 21:15-19.

Peter exercised his ministry as Pope (chief shepherd) in Antioch first, and then was taken away to Rome in chains. When he arrived in Rome, he was appointed Bishop of Rome, and held that role, in addition to the role of Pope, until the time of his death during the spring of 67 AD.

It is because he was Bishop of Rome at the time of his death that, since that time, the Bishops of Rome (who succeed him in the line of succession) also succeed him as Pope.

Being Bishop of Rome and being the Pope are two different roles, but they are traditionally held by the same man because Peter was holding them both when he was martyred for the faith.
Must a person belong to the catholic church to be saved?
Technically no, but in practice, it’s better to be a good Catholic than to take your chances and risk the hope that you are invincibly ignorant enough to make it in some other way.
 
This is the first i have see “the first proclamation of the written Scripture was done in the Mass.” Do you have reference for this?
The following is a pretty good summary of the history of canonization.
newadvent.org/cathen/03274a.htm

What I will point out is the following:
  1. The Teachings were first delivered orally, then the written limited to the books available in the community, and at least by the end of the 4th Century the complete Canon was availalbe to all.
  2. Because there was no printing press or universal availability but only copies under the direct care of the Priests, the flock only heard Scripture read to them at Mass.
I hate to reference Wikipedia but I don’t have time to find a better source. As this is my understanding of Protestant criteria for Canonicity,
I copy the Four Criteria for Canonicity en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_the_New_Testament_canon:

Many modern Protestants point to four “Criteria for Canonicity” to justify the books that have been included in the Old and New Testament, which are judged to have satisfied the following:


  1. *]Apostolic Origin — attributed to and based on the preaching/teaching of the first-generation apostles (or their close companions).
    *]Universal Acceptance — acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the ancient world (by the end of the fourth century).
    *]Liturgical Use — read publicly when early Christian communities gathered for the **Lord’s Supper (their weekly worship services). **
    *]Consistent Message — containing a theological outlook similar or complementary to other accepted Christian writings.

    Note:

    Universal Acceptance was determined by a Catholic Council.

    Liturgical Use: Was at the Lord’s Supper which the Church calls the Mass.

    While both the Protestants and Catholics have the same Canon, the “process” for it is different.

    For instance, the Catholic Church considers Criteria #4 only as a “proof-text” and not a criteria. What this means is that they didn’t edit what was Canon but allowed the Holy Spirit to determine what was inspired. Any “inconsistencies” are not the fault of the Canon but the understanding of the faithful.

    Also, because of the unity of the Church, Eucharist, and the Mass, the Catholic Church sees “Liturgical Use” as redundant to the concept of inspiration.

    In short, Catholic “Criteria” is primarily #1 and #2 as means of discerning inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

    I appeal to those smarter than me to clean this up if my attempt to summarize leaves some false impressions. I have gotten caught on some other matters that need my attention but I wanted to respond to you.
 
Revelations 12. Is the woman Mary or someone-something else?
Was Peter the founder and 1st pope of Rome?
Must a person belong to the catholic church to be saved?
You know JTA4 in your 3,000+ posts since you have been here you have been asking these same questions over and over and over again as if expecting to get a different answer. We always tell you the same thing or point you to the CCC.

You do know what they say about a person who keeps doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different outcomes don’t you? 😉 No thanks, we Catholics are already baptised in truth and are immune to a repetitive water torture kind of test of our faith. Why not try a change of style and assume for a moment that The Catholics just might have it right? Stand in our shoes and start examining scripture from an assumption of correct teaching and see if this explains why so many of the early Christians were willing to be martyred for their faith 400 years before anyone had a written cannon in their hands that was called “a bible”. 👍

James
 
Probably not and we should not expect protestants to agree anyway since its been reported that there are over 33,000 different denominations. To have any differences in the catholic church is something i would think would suprise you considering its claims.🤷
We are not saying that there are absolutely no differences among Catholics within certain parameters established by the teaching authority of the Church. The differences among Protestants are fundamental and deal with the very core of the Gospel, salvation. The only thing Protestants agree upon in this issue is the use of the phrase “justification by faith alone.” This phrase, however, means different and contradictory things among different Protestants. Arminians vs. Calvinists are just one example.
It has something to do with the marian doctrines.
Doctrines that all Catholics are supposed to believe and which Protestants are somehow easily able to identify as Catholic.
i don’t know
.

You can find out.
i suppose your right until they look at the evidence and believe otherwise after.
The only thing Protestants agree on is that Catholics are wrong. I don’t blame them because we came before them and Catholicism has to be wrong in order for Protestantism to be right.
i don’t know. However the church has held different views of this
Not that I’m aware of. 🙂

God Bless,
Michael
 
If you could remember your references regarding this, I would really like to read them. I have read so much controversy about whether Peter was considered the head of the church and my memory is so hazy on sources, I would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.🙂 🙂
Is this in scripture, or is it Tradition? ie. authority through Peter. As I said I am a bit fuzzy about sources. Thanks. Peace.🙂
 
If you could remember your references regarding this, I would really like to read them. I have read so much controversy about whether Peter was considered the head of the church and my memory is so hazy on sources, I would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.🙂 🙂
We all say that this is a multilayered passage that refers to three different things at the same time - Mother Mary, the Church, and faithful Israel. At different times, we talk about the three different aspects of this passage as they relate to whatever point we happen to be making at that time.

Peter was appointed Chief Shepherd of the Church during the time between the Resurrection and the Ascension of Christ. We see this in John 21:15-19.

Peter exercised his ministry as Pope (chief shepherd) in Antioch first, and then was taken away to Rome in chains. When he arrived in Rome, he was appointed Bishop of Rome, and held that role, in addition to the role of Pope, until the time of his death during the spring of 67 AD.

It is because he was Bishop of Rome at the time of his death that, since that time, the Bishops of Rome (who succeed him in the line of succession) also succeed him as Pope.

Being Bishop of Rome and being the Pope are two different roles, but they are traditionally held by the same man because Peter was holding them both when he was martyred for the faith.

Technically no, but in practice, it’s better to be a good Catholic than to take your chances and risk the hope that you are invincibly ignorant enough to make it in some other way.
Okay, pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between " Bishop of Rome" and Pope? Is Peter called both because at the beginning, before being given the “keys” by Christ, he was one disciple among others. Were the other disciples called Bishops? Do you know? I don’t. Please inform. Thanks. Peace.🙂
 
The scripture you use is not without question and is therefore inadmissable as inarguable evidence. Dont you think that, concidering its importants, Christ would have been more clear? Why did Peter never make this claim in scripture?

How was truth imparted to Adam? It was imparted in full. It only changed, because of the fall of man.
How was truth imparted to Moses? It was impated in full in the Commandments and was fully established with sacrificial blood.
Truth was imparted to Noah in full as well, as with Abraham.
None of these instances point to a gradual understanding. They do point however to the imperfection that was without Christ’s Sacrifice. God made covenant after covenant with his people. It was the people who failed to uphold the covenant, thus the need for Christ.
Yes the inquisition is over, but the church continues to persecute anyone who challenges their authority. Are you proud of the history of the inquisition? This is an indisputable fact of the Catholic Churches history. How could such bad fruit come from something that is supposed to be protected from Satan?
Dear Protestantman. In all sincerity, I am asking how does the Church persecute others? In this day and age, or are you talking about other times and eras? Thanks. Peace.🙂
 
Dear Protestantman. In all sincerity, I am asking how does the Church persecute others? In this day and age, or are you talking about other times and eras? Thanks. Peace.🙂
I was wondering the same thing. All I could think of was perhaps that some non-Catholics felt intimidated, insecure and bullied by the profound intellect, pedigree and credentials of our pope, cardinals, bishops, clergy, university professors and theological leaders compared to non-Catholic leaders. The truth is, when it comes to theology few if any people on the planet can stand eye to eye and head to head with the intellectualism of such recent popes as Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI nor the Catholic Church leadership and lay members in general; much less the spiritual achievement.

So I could see how some feel intimidated by all that.

James
 
Okay, pardon my ignorance, but what is the difference between " Bishop of Rome" and Pope? Is Peter called both because at the beginning, before being given the “keys” by Christ, he was one disciple among others. Were the other disciples called Bishops? Do you know? I don’t. Please inform. Thanks. Peace.🙂
He is Bishop of the Diocese of Rome, which is a Diocese just like the Diocese of Calgary or the Diocese of Denver, etc.

At the same time, he is also the Pope, which is the chief Bishop of the whole Church.

St. Peter was the chief Apostle (he was appointed to this position by Christ, as we see in Matthew 16:18-19 and in John 21:15-19, and also in other passages that I don’t have to hand just at this moment), and the other Apostles were also called Apostles - their successors and those whom they appointed to lead the new churches that were being formed throughout the whole world were the first Bishops.

An Apostle is an eyewitness of Christ; in our present generation, we have no Apostles in that sense of the word (although people who have visions of Christ are sometimes called apostles, if the visions are found to be authentic - but they are not apostles in the same sense of the word as the Twelve were, since they are not appointed by Christ to positions of leadership, nor are they ordained) - what we have are the Successors to the Apostles, and these are the Bishops. Every Diocese has a Bishop, and the Diocese of Rome has the Pope for its Bishop. 🙂

I hope this helps you.
 
We do know that the Pharisees did teach error even though they may have thought of themeselves as infallible. This same principle would apply to church leaders and teachers. It applies to popes and protestant ministers at all times.
No, ja4. Jesus would not instruct His disciples to “do all things that they tell you, for they sit in the seat of Moses” if it was erroneous. They were hypocrites, and Jesus instructed them to “do not as they do”. If they were teaching error, why did Jesus tell the disiples to follow it? that just makes no sense at all.
What were the three pillars of the reformation?
Luther, Calvin, Zwingli
This is also true of your church. No one in the NT church or even the church for the 1st three centuries held to the marian doctrines or celibate leadership.
When you say things like “your church” ja4, it seems to indicate that you do not realize that Jesus only founded One Church. The Church is the Body of Christ, and all who are in Christ are members of his one body. Such an expression denotes a divisive mindset.

You are wrong about the Marian doctrines. You cannot “see” these in scripture because you have separated yourself from the Apostolic Tradition which produced the NT.

Celibate priests in the Roman Rite is a discipline, not a doctrine. Leadership in the Church is not restricted to priests. In fact, most of the leaders are not priests. This is an example of calumny, and bearing false witness.
 
Yes, since the time of the Essenes, about 200 years before the time of Christ, until now, God’s faithful ones have always had a 73 book Old Testament.
This is impossible. How could Romans, and other apostolic books, have existed before Christ?
…also continue to use the 73-book Old Testament.
73 books in the Old Testament, or 73 books total?
 
It amounted to nothing? Then why did Christ live under those same laws. He maintained them though out his life, he did clarify the intention of those law from time to time, but still lived under them. If those laws meant nothing why would God be subject to them?
It amounted to nothing = it did not save them from sin. You are missunderstanding the point. If salvation could have been gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
 
Having been raised in a Protestant environment - specifically a Calvinist one - you have automatically accepted certain assumptions as true (i.e. Sola Scriptura, etc.) For example, you have accepted that the “66” books in your Bible are inspired. On what basis? Are you certain that every single book is inspired? How do you know that the men that God used to assemble the Bible got it right?

Studying the history of Christianity will show that the Bible did not fall from the sky neatly bound.

God Bless,
Michael
No, you are wrong. I always question any assumption that were a result of anothers teachings. My beliefs are my own. Regardless of whether they agree with Calvin, Luther or Zingwe, I never just assumed they were correct. My beliefs come from my own personal study of the word. I do not know whether or not there are supposed to be more or less books in the bible. This judgement will not rest on my head, but the head of the one who added or deleted. I do trust that the 66 were inspired by the prophets and the apostles
 
My point is that my seperation was not one that was willing. In order for me to rejoin the Catholic church, I would have to accept certain things that I do not believe. I would never be allowed to take communion because I do not agree with the True Presence in the Eucharist.

No, it is sola scriptura.

Prove it to me in scripture.

I guess forgiveness here is out of the question. I should probably note that.
Luke 17
1Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves.
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

For which I apologized. The Bible sas that scripture ONLY makes sense when the Holy Spirit makes the true interpretation made known. This is where all sound teaching begins. If you read a book and do not understand it, do you go to the author, or to his biggest fan?

The Bible is complete. So the only History that concerns my faith is the 66 books of History that I already have. Outside of faith, history is a way to learn from other peoples mistakes.
History to me is the fallible way in which humans try to make sense of what has happened. History begins with our immediate family, then goes back and beyond to our ancestors and even further back. Some history may not be exact, but it does give us a link to the thoughts and beliefs that have helped us form a chain down to the present. If you ignore history, you have only a half life and half of the whole. Peace. 🙂
 
I am not a member of this Church. So I must not be saved.
The perhaps you need to rethink what you believe and question the sources that have fed you thus far. They may cite scriptures and tell you they mean certain things but the fact is that they lack any authority but their own, and they do not agree with other scripture on the same topic or with the verifiable writings of the early church.

It’s time for you to begin doing your own history homework.
I am absolutely fallible. I have not claimed otherwise. This is kinda what Im talking about when I said personal attacks. You have made an assumption about my faith that is not true, and then you poke a stick at it.
The point is that when you tell me that you know better than the church to whom Christ gave His authority and contradict and oppose their teachings, you declare yourself a defacto authority, even when you are proven wrong.
I have no intent to convert anyone.
That’s good.
I did not create any excuse, I was merely saying that its difficult to understand my posts. Forums take away the aspect of my body language. I did apologize for the A-C copy-and Paste. No one seemed to understand that I was being sarcastic, therefore it was my fualt that you took it the wrong way. Again I apologize, would you Forgive me or no?
Yes, I forgive you.
 
😉 Believe it or not non-denoms are denominations- They are just single Church denominations. They usually always have a set tenets of beliefs. The basics that those that go to to that church are suppose to believe and espouse. They usually always have for visitors, and for those that want to become members of that Church, some document outlining “This is What We Believe”.
I consider myself to be a Christian, and nothing else.
And talk about disunity with the body of Christ - I have seen more disunity among non denominational churches than any other group because when one or a few members disagree with their non-denom Church or a particular Pastor they just go out and start their own non-denom church. Split after Split after Split.
This is true. I believe that this is one area where the Catholic Church prospers and the Protestant Church craps out. I think that the weaker structure of the reformation churches is much more succeptable to this. The protestant church ends up being like a Baskin Robins, or a buffet.
For example I know a nom-denom church around the corner that just had a split because a group decided that pre-trib rapture was not Biblical and a more correct and Biblical interpretation is Pre-Wrath rapture. (look that one up on the net)
I see this too. Notice that many times the arguments are absolutely unessesary. I personally do not care if its pre, post, or mid. These rediculous splits are a result of worldly arguments, that are often started by people who do not want truth, only victory.
I know Churches that after splits refuse to fellowship with other groups over things like, instrumental music in Church, wether a Church should have a kitchen.
I agree. These kinds of Churches are full of people who are not living in the HS. These are usually full of those who think they are saved because they go every week. Worldy disputes like this are not from the fruits of the Spirit. It also makes me understand why Catholics think we are all this way.
But you say oh we agree on the basics well in many cases they don’t.
The basis is Christ. Outside of that, there is much disagreement.
Many people who attend protestant churches are not really there to follow Christs example. The lack of structure seems to attract people who want the feel good of going to church. This is unfortunate, as many are lost this way.
Also Non-Denom Churches (and others) seem to revolve around the Pastor- get a good likeable and charismatic Pastor the church prospers, but then he leaves and the Church crumbles.
This is a result of poor leadership. In the church I attend, there is a decent structure. This is not true of all non-denom churches though. There are at least two others in my church that would take over if my father left, and the church would continue on without him. My father made sure that there was always a good structure of elders. In this, the church is not solely dependant on one person for any task.
I love the Unity of The Catholic Church. I Love it because of that unity they are effective in so many charities. (Talk about Good Fruit) They are the Largest Charitable Organization I think in the World. I love the fact that I can go anywhere in the World and the Catholic Churches will all be reading the same scripture readings for that day.
I agree, I wish that protestants would be more unified with each other.
I personally think the reason there is so much division in the Protestant world is that it is a very savvy tactic of Satan- Divide and conquer.
It is because the structure is weak. 3 little denominations and the big bad Devil:thumbsup: This is exactly why I want the total unification of the body of Christ. There is strength and power in unity.
 
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