A compelling non-Catholic argument

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Might want to recheck that idea with the Holy Spirit there, dude, & reread Acts, chapter 9.

While Paul was converted at the same time as being struck blind, he remained blind for 3 days. (Acts 9:9)

After this, Paul was then baptized into the church & received the gift of the Holy Spirit as an apostle through the laying on of hands by Ananias.(Acts 9:17-19)

A relatively short time later, (several days after being baptized and ordained,) Paul was presented to & stayed with the apostles in Jerusalem, until the Grecian Jews tried to kill him, when the apostles sent him on to Tarsus. (Acts 9:23-30)

So the only way your “fact cannot be eluded” is if you reject the Bible itself.

Again, God bless,

Chris
I think the 14 years he may be referring to can be found in Galatians 2:1-2 which reads—
Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
 
Actually, the body is incomplete (and dead) if no head exists. If the head is separated, the body is dead, & as a part of the body, so is the head. (Although I just got a funny mental picture of those disembodied heads in glass jars from Futurama!) 😛
The Body is a whole. Yes, one can label specific different parts, down to the individual molecules, but without all of the parts, the body is not a whole.
I agree, but they are still distinct from each other. A hand is different from a foot, etc. This is distinction.
Agreed, the church is built upon the rock, & is not the rock itself.
Agreed:thumbsup:
 
After this, Paul was then baptized into the church & received the gift of the Holy Spirit as an apostle through the laying on of hands by Ananias.(Acts 9:17-19)
This is not a direct quote from scripture.
A relatively short time later, (several days after being baptized and ordained,) Paul was presented to & stayed with the apostles in Jerusalem, until the Grecian Jews tried to kill him, when the apostles sent him on to Tarsus. (Acts 9:23-30)
He was still a Desciple
So the only way your “fact cannot be eluded” is if you reject the Bible itself.
You mean your misquoted bible? If you are going to use scripture, then quote it. Do not expect me to trust your additions to it.
 
Yet Luther, Calvin, and Zingwie were cut off.
They committed heresy.
Is it not possible that even the Pope could be cut off and the rest of the body remain?
As a man, the Pope could be cut off (in which case, he would be immediately replaced), but the Papacy (the role of leader of the Church) can never be cut off.
 
They committed heresy.
That seems to be the going opinion of the church. Still, we will not know for sure until Christ returns.
As a man, the Pope could be cut off (in which case, he would be immediately replaced), but the Papacy (the role of leader of the Church) can never be cut off
Earlier, you said that he could still teach infallible ex-cathedra. Why would you cut him off?
 
That seems to be the going opinion of the church. Still, we will not know for sure until Christ returns.
Well, we know for sure that at least two of them did, since they each excommunicated each other for heresy, too. Truth cannot contradict Truth.
Earlier, you said that he could still teach infallible ex-cathedra. Why would you cut him off?
If he were to leave of his own accord, as the Protestants did, then he would be cut off. The Church doesn’t actively cut people off: it’s purpose is to bring people into the Kingdom of God. People leave by themselves, and then sometimes the Church has to make a public declaration that they are gone, so that people don’t become confused about who they are or what they are doing.

But they left long before that happened - the Church doesn’t make declarations like that until every other channel has been exhausted.
 
Well, we know for sure that at least two of them did, since they each excommunicated each other for heresy, too. Truth cannot contradict Truth.
Which ones? Who was it that authorized the excommunications?
The Church doesn’t actively cut people off:
What about Scizm?
 
Which ones? Who was it that authorized the excommunications?
Nobody. Each of them had taken authority for himself, and he excommunicated the other two. Thus, all three of them became excommunicated from each other.

They were excommucated from the Catholic Church (that is, publicly declared to not be practicing the Catholic faith) after they created their own churches, and when it became clear that they were never going to regularize their services of worship, or stop teaching heretical doctrines in their churches.
What about Scizm?
“Schism.”

People go into schism by starting up their own churches without any authority to do so from the Pope, and stubbornly refusing to acknowledge his lawful authority.
 
Are you saying here that the Pharisees did not teach error? If that is what you mean that would run counter to what we find in Matthew 15:1-14. The Pharisees taught a lot of error.
The Pharisees were not impeccable, but they had been made the custodians of the oracles of God. The personal sins of the teachers did not nullify the Word of God.

Matt 15:1-9
15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, "And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.’ 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8’This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’"

Jesus is pointing out that the commandments are still valid, even if the teachers did not follow them. He was criticizing their hypocrisy.

Matt 23:1-4
2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.

Jesus commanded the disciples to “practice and observe whatever they tell you”. Do you think Jesus is commanding the disciples to follow error?
The problem with these quotes is that they have nothing to do with church leadership. These passages are dealing with other issues.
ja4, it is YOU who are inaccurately equating the celibate priesthood with Church leadership. You have been repeatedly informed that this is not a doctrine of the Catholic Church, and that most of the leadership in the parishes is comprised of married persons on the pastoral council.
Your 2 responses above were not held by the NT church nor the early church for centuries.
I don’t see how this is a problem. The same is true for Sunday worship, the Trinity, the hypostatic union, and the canon of scripture. You seem to accept all these other doctrines just fine. 🤷
 
Nobody. Each of them had taken authority for himself, and he excommunicated the other two. Thus, all three of them became excommunicated from each other.

They were excommucated from the Catholic Church (that is, publicly declared to not be practicing the Catholic faith) after they created their own churches, and when it became clear that they were never going to regularize their services of worship, or stop teaching heretical doctrines in their churches.

“Schism.”

People go into schism by starting up their own churches without any authority to do so from the Pope, and stubbornly refusing to acknowledge his lawful authority.
So they did not excommunicate each other, but rather were excommunicated from each other. Either way, this does not prove Heresy.

The bible gives commands to EXPELL the immoral. Do you not uphold that command?
 
So they did not excommunicate each other, but rather were excommunicated from each other. Either way, this does not prove Heresy.
Read their writings if you want to know about heresy. :rolleyes:
The bible gives commands to EXPELL the immoral. Do you not uphold that command?
Look, what is it that you are looking for? First, you are upset that the most immoral people in the world got excommunicated from the Church, and now you are upset because we didn’t throw them out on their heads at the first sign of trouble, but tried every other avenue to try to convert them, first. :whacky: :whacky: :whacky:

Which way do you want it? 🤷
 
Look, what is it that you are looking for? First, you are upset that the most immoral people in the world got excommunicated from the Church, and now you are upset because we didn’t throw them out on their heads at the first sign of trouble, but tried every other avenue to try to convert them, first. :whacky: :whacky: :whacky:

Which way do you want it? 🤷
The only thing that upsets me is a lack of unity. If they were rightly excommunicated, then I have no problem with that. I am not saying that you should have thrown them out either. What I am asking is this:
Does the Church actively follow the command to expell immoral members? Those who have been proven to be sexually immoral, drunkards, greedy, slanderers, swindlers, etc. 1 Corinthians 5 gives us that command. So does the Catholic Church follow this command?
 
Code:
 Does the Church actively follow the command to expell immoral members? Those who have been proven to be sexually immoral, drunkards, greedy, slanderers,  swindlers, etc. 1 Corinthians 5 gives us that command. So does the Catholic Church follow this command?
After every other avenue has been exhausted, yes, we do.

Read in some of the other sections on this Board, the messages from those who have been living immoral lives, and are wanting to learn what they have to do to repent of their sins and be brought back into the Church. Perhaps you will be enlightened about what it means, to be excommunicated from the Church. 🙂
 
That seems to be the going opinion of the church. Still, we will not know for sure until Christ returns.
Wrong…we know now because we can verify that the New Testament does not teach his doctrines and we can verify that the Early Church did share them. It’s called discernment.
Earlier, you said that he could still teach infallible ex-cathedra. Why would you cut him off?
Let’s put it this way. Had Luther been pope he’d have been excommunicated. However, the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in keeping the promise of Christ that the gates of hell would never prevail against his church and that it would be led into all truth. (Matthew 16:18, John 16:13, John 14:17, and John 15:26) has proved true for 2,000 years because even when the few popes came along who were far less than righteous men, they never attempted to mess with the doctrines of the faith.
 
This is not a direct quote from scripture.

You mean your misquoted bible? If you are going to use scripture, then quote it. Do not expect me to trust your additions to it.
Sigh. :rolleyes: Sorry, didn’t mean to get your blood pressure up. Here.

Acts 9:17-19
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Granted, Acts does not specifically say how long Paul was in Damascus or Arabia before going to Jerusalem, nor does the Bible specifically state when Paul became an apostle, although it is apparent in Scripture that he did become one at some point. He could have been ordained at or at any time between the two events. I’m not sure exactly if (or when) the Church identified it, but scripture and history generally agree that Paul’s conversion was in the year 35, & his first visit to Jerusalem (in which he met the apostles Peter & James) occurred in the year 37.

Galations agrees with this, disproving the claim of ministry for 14 years before acceptance by the apostles. Additionally, Gal 2, from which people get the figure of 14 years, actually says that this was a repeat visit to Jerusalem for Paul.

Gal 2:1 - “Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also.”

In comparing Galations 1, to Acts 9, it is apparent that they agree that Paul went to Jerusalem only three years after his conversion & baptism.

Gal 1:15-17
15But when God, who set me apart from birth[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.18-Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days.

Acts agrees:
Acts 9:8 – “Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.”).
Acts 9:26-2826When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

Sounds like he was accepted by the two apostles he met, especially if they put him up & all. Could Paul have been been ordained a full apostle (aka-bishop) in Jerusalem by Peter or James at that time? Or perhaps earlier, or later? Who’s to say?

None of this is to say that the Gospel comes from men - not the apostles, not disciples, not bishops or priests or non-denominational pastors.

Neither Paul, nor any of the other apostles, nor any of their successors, nor does the Church make any claim but that it is revealed by the Father through the Holy Spirit, as Jesus both stated & promised. This gift of the Holy Spirit is passed down through apostolic succession - again, as Jesus stated.

Chris
 
Does this mean then the catehchism and church pronouncements are not infallible either since these things do not come from the lips of Jesus Himself?
The infallible pronouncements of the Church are so because they represent Jesus speaking through the Church.

16 “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Luke 10:16

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."Matt 16:19

The catechism is considered a “sure norm” for the teaching of the faith.
What exactly did the "Apostles defined with clarity what one must believe in order to be considered a “Christian”?
The Apostles’ Creed is considered a good summary.
If what you say is true then by this statement there will never be unity since all men will always have their perceptions of the truth. This would also mean that a prayer of Jesus failed.
No, because if people are willing to relinquish their own stubborn ways and embrace the Teaching of Jesus by faith, unity will happen. Not everyone thinks that their own perception is more important than God’s REvelation, ja4. There do exist people that are humble enough to accept what Jesus taught, even though it does not seem to make sense. 👍
Who contains in the catholic church today some of God’s revelation? Is this revelation also inspired-inerrant which is a property of revelation?
All of Gods Revelation is inspired-inerrant.
Scripture.
The problem with this is that scripture does not have a brain, and does not make decisions. What results is that each man does what is right in his own eyes (perceptions). This just produces more disunity.
Huh? The unity that Jesus prayed for was “organic”. There were no differences in purpose and mind between the Father and Son. Even your church among itself has failed to live up to this standard.
When you use the phrase “your church” it indicates that you do not accept the Scripture when it says that there is One Church, and that we are all part of One Body. This is a divisive phrase to use, and represents your hostility toward your brethren in Christ.

What does “your church among itself” mean?

Persons who are not in unity with the Church are not Catholic.
Read church history on Mary and you will see different views of her.
How is this relevant? The Teaching is what is unified. Those who reject that for a “different view” are not Catholic.
I’m confused here. First you say the individual is not led by the HS and then you say he is. Which is it?
Both are true. But the charism of infallibility was not given to individuals, only to the Church. A person who follows the leading of the HS will find themselves in unity of belief and doctrine with the church.
Not sure i understand you here. When was alive and establishing the churches was he in accord with the “church”? What church was guiding him?
Yes, Paul was writing epistles to the young communities. The Teaching he passed on to them was in accord with the Kath holos - the universal faith around the world.
 
That seems to be the going opinion of the church. Still, we will not know for sure until Christ returns.
No, we don’t have to wait that long. The Church has the Divine Revelation. We know that what the Reformers taught is not consistent with what we have received from Jesus through the Apostles.
Earlier, you said that he could still teach infallible ex-cathedra. Why would you cut him off?
A pope might be cut off for living a sinful life, or embracing heresy, like Honorous did.
The bible gives commands to EXPELL the immoral. Do you not uphold that command?
Yes, this would be a good example.
The only thing that upsets me is a lack of unity. If they were rightly excommunicated, then I have no problem with that. I am not saying that you should have thrown them out either. What I am asking is this:
Does the Church actively follow the command to expell immoral members? Those who have been proven to be sexually immoral, drunkards, greedy, slanderers, swindlers, etc. 1 Corinthians 5 gives us that command. So does the Catholic Church follow this command?
Yes. However, most Catholics fall into a state of mortal sin, separating themselves from the Church, so a public statement is not necessary. Some engage in behaviors, such as abortion, that incur an automatic excommunicaiton.
 
From Protestantman: Some have done that. And yes its frustrating, because it seems they have already made up their mind.
You are new to apologetics but you must learn to separate statements about your ideas and not take them so personally. Apologetics is about discussing ideas.
FRom Protestantman: He was not ordained/accepted as an apostle for 14 years. This fact cannot be eluded. So, for 14 years he did not act under the direction of the Apostles. He acted under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Later, after he was accepted by the Apostles, Paul continues to say that he was acting under the direction of the HS. He never made the claim that it was from the HS, through the Apostles.
Bolded: Show me this in Scripture
Underlined: I do not understand what you are trying to say here.
Acts 9:17-19
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength

This does not say that he recieved any other gift than the HS. Nor does it say that he became an Apostle.

This passage calls him a disciple. There is a difference between an Apostle and a Disciple. When Mathias was chosen to replace Judas, he was chosen from among other disciples.

Galations 2:6-10
6As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. 7On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles,[a] just as Peter had been to the Jews.** 8For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9James, Peter[c] and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

This passage makes two things clear.
1- Paul was not accepted as an apostle for 14 years after his conversion.
2- the colored section proves that he did not recieve any additional teaching or beliefs from the apostles. It says that they added nothing.** I’m not sure that I accept that he DID not have Apostolic Authority before then. Scripture is silent on whether it may have occurred 1 day before or 13 years before.
protestantman;3421695:
Yet Luther, Calvin, and Zingwie were cut off. Is it not possible that even the Pope could be cut off and the rest of the body remain?
You seem not grasping the distinction between the Office of the Pope (Chair of Peter) and the person of the Pope. I told you much much earlier that there was a procedure for removing the person of the Pope. But even without a Pope the Chair exists, the Teaching Authority exists, etc. Unless you grasp this, understanding and discussing this entire issue is impossible.
Earlier, you said that he could still teach infallible ex-cathedra. Why would you cut him off?
I will say this again. A Pope is not impeccible. He suffers from temptation just like you and me and he falls just like you and me. However, when He speaks from the Chair on teaching matters of Faith and Morals, he is nfallible becuase of the power of the Holy Spirit.
The bible gives commands to EXPELL the immoral. Do you not uphold that command?
The only thing that upsets me is a lack of unity. If they were rightly excommunicated, then I have no problem with that. I am not saying that you should have thrown them out either. What I am asking is this:
Does the Church **actively **
follow the command to expell immoral members? Those who have been proven to be sexually immoral, drunkards, greedy, slanderers, swindlers, etc. 1 Corinthians 5 gives us that command. So does the Catholic Church follow this command? Yes. Yes Yes.

Every single time a person commits a mortal sin with full knowledge and full consent, the sinner is “expelled” from the Church. We are then rejoined when we make a complete confession of our sins with sincere contrition.
 
From Protestantman: It would be helpfull if you would stop saying that I contradict myself. Why not just ask me to clarify my point? Tell me that you do not understand, as opposed to making accusations that I am in contradiction with myself.
I will try to be more sensitive. However, you are engaged in a discussion on the apologetics forum which is about debating ideas. Exposing contradictions is a normal, customary, and necessary component of probing issues.
From Protestantman: I do. The bible makes the distimction that Christ is the head and the church is the body. How is that not a distinction. If a body has no head it is still a body right?
The relationship between Christ and His Church and His flock is a mystery, mystical, and supernatural. Referring to Christ as the Head and the Church/flock as Body is an allegory. While it is not a complete explanation, this figurative representation is a picture for us limited humans to grasp it in a way that we can understand. However, it is neither a complete or literal representation.

But this allegory has importance as it describes three things:

Christ is the Head which means He exercises ultimate control, reason, etc.

The Body represents that the movement/action/mobility is here. Christ uses the Body to implement His wishes/thoughts. We (Church and flock) are cooperators.

And then together, they are a united unit. While they each have different functions, they both rely on each other.*

When you try to describe the Body and Head as distinct entities, you defeat the purpose of the allegory. If the intent was to have an allegory with distinction, the allegory might have been Christ is a lumberjack and we are the axe. But that is not the allegory used.
  • Please don’t overreact. I’m not trying to say anything that diminishes Christ’s soveriegnty. Remember this is an allegory. It is not a literal or complete discription.
From Protestantman: I believe there is a distinction. This is why our spirits will be given new bodies. The ones we are in are still a part of a corrupted creation. In order to be completely unified with Christ, we must be stripped of our earthly flesh. This means that we are not in the full likeness of Christ. Under those cercumstances, there is a definate distinction between the Church and Christ. The church is still wrapped in sinfull flesh, Christ is completely without sin.
Remember this is an allegory.

Second, you are now trying to introduce not theology but what happens at the Second Coming.

Third, God described all of His creation good and His creation of humanity as very good. Catholics reject the idea that our bodies are not bad. What is bad is in our hearts.
From Protestantman: Yes IF.
That is the rub.
From Protestantman: He was given his direct mandate from Christ himself, not the Apostles. The Apostles accepted him, because he was teaching the same Gospel.
As are all Bishops today.
From Protestantman: Also, where does it say that, Ananias instructed him, or Peter, or any of the Apostles. All his claims where that** his instruction were direct from Christ himself**. The fact that his teaching was the same as the Apostles’ is because the sources were the same. The source was Christ, not the Apostles.
Instruction? Or Authority? Big difference.

If your 14 year interim period is correct, why do you think Christ would need 14 years? Could it be that he was being instructed by men?

]
It is still a distinction. The Head of the body is distinct from the body itself. Even if it is not severed, there is still a distinction. Your point that the body is dead if it has no head is correct. This is evidence of my point. If one can be seperated from the other, then there must be a distinction. Like a hamburger, the patty and the bread are distinct, but together, they make a burger. You cannot say that the patty and the bread are one in the same.
It is the same with the body of Christ. The church is built upon the rock. The church is not the rock.
Have I covered this distinction clearly enough above. Lumberjack and axe are distinct. Two people are distinct. Head and Body are a unit. This is an allegory.
From Protestantmant: Please do not associate me with these two groups. You believe in God and so does the Devil. So should I associate you with him? In the same manner, I am neither a Gnostic or Manicheist. All of creation was tainted with sin when Adam sinned. Why else would revelations speak of trading our old bodies for Heavenly ones?
If your arguments contain components of Gnostic or Nanicheist theology, denying you are not one doesn’t change the nature of your arguments.

To answer your last question, it is just to make our new glorified nature to be more like God’s nature as it is more appropriate in Heaven to be in God’s Presence.
 
This is not fallacious logic but sound reasoning that follows from the those who claim the church is not united under the defintions that they use. The day will never come when all Christians will believe all alike. These days will never come before the day of Christ if it is based on the criteria that most people offer. If Christ prayed for unity and we don’t see unity by a certain criteria then the criteria is wrong and not that the prayer of Christ has failed.
Are you attempting to project infallability here again in your assertion that ‘the day will never come when all Christians will believe all alike’? It seems to me that some who call themselves Christians are nothing of the sort. Could it be that the day will come that Jesus told us about where ‘not everyone who calls me Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven?’

Unity will come when Jesus separates the goats from the sheep and the tares from the wheat. Just because we have heretics does not mean that The One Church is not in unity with Jesus. It just means that we still have time to save a few more souls. It has nothing to do with our criteria and has everything to do with God’s criteria. I am not worried that Christ’s prayer will fail. But I am worried that those outside of the Catholic Church are extremely vulnerable to failing Christ.

James
 
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