Are Catholics "born again"?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JohnWilliams
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Then I guess that Jesus lied when he said that they would be led in all truth, and if he lied then he can not be God, since God can not lie.
If that is the case, then the whole Bible is false, and Christianity if also false.
It is not “trusting our leaders”, it is trusting God, which said that the church would be sent the Holy Spirit to lead it in all truth. It is called faith.
But they are men and it’s possible for them to error, since they are human. I would hope they never would but it’s always a possibility. 😦
 
You can only say JESUS IS LORD by The Holy Spirit and if you confess Jesus as Lord you have the Holy Spirit so you are saved.

Hi, Yes
Confessing the lordship of Christ is not the same as praying “Lord Jesus I admit I’m a sinner and I repent and ask you into my life as your Lord and saviour, Amen” The amount of people that are called saved due to being coerced into saying that without any conviction whatsoever is horrendous.
Im sure you will not find those words at all in the bible. Asking God for salvation is something you can do all by yourself in the privacy of your own home,car,church wherever.
 
Nonetheless, would ANY evangelical Christian care to state what he/she thinks the Catholic explanation of being born-again is. Personally I don’t think any of them know.
Hi,
Could you please enlighten us or at least me. Im sure Ive seen it stated somewhere on the forums but I dont recall.:o

Thank you:D
 
Confessing the lordship of Christ is not the same as praying “Lord Jesus I admit I’m a sinner and I repent and ask you into my life as your Lord and saviour, Amen” The amount of people that are called saved due to being coerced into saying that without any conviction whatsoever is horrendous.
About a year or so before I became Catholic I went to a local fair that our county puts on every year. Some evangelical church had a booth with people outside saying, “take this test to see if you are getting into heaven.” I took the test and of course we all know how those things go, they give you a list of things and ask you what do you think will get you into heaven. They list all this stuff but the answer they have isn’t there on the list so everyone who isnt knowledgable about Christianity (like I wasnt) will get it wrong. I got it wrong and he went through this whole long thing about accepting Jesus Christ as you lord and savior. Then at the end he handed me a prayer that sounded a lot like the one you just read. He told me to say it, I asked why, he asked if I had a problem with praying. I said no and I said the prayer. Then when I was done he said I was saved. That was it. I was handed a prayer, didnt have any idea what it was for and I was “saved”. About a year later I joined the RCIA and became Catholic… Protestants have told me that I joined, “the whore of babylon” but why should they or even I care, I was after all “saved” at a county fair two years ago :rolleyes:
 
About a year or so before I became Catholic I went to a local fair that our county puts on every year. Some evangelical church had a booth with people outside saying, “take this test to see if you are getting into heaven.” I took the test and of course we all know how those things go, they give you a list of things and ask you what do you think will get you into heaven. They list all this stuff but the answer they have isn’t there on the list so everyone who isnt knowledgable about Christianity (like I wasnt) will get it wrong. I got it wrong and he went through this whole long thing about accepting Jesus Christ as you lord and savior. Then at the end he handed me a prayer that sounded a lot like the one you just read. He told me to say it, I asked why, he asked if I had a problem with praying. I said no and I said the prayer. Then when I was done he said I was saved. That was it. I was handed a prayer, didnt have any idea what it was for and I was “saved”. About a year later I joined the RCIA and became Catholic… Protestants have told me that I joined, “the whore of babylon” but why should they or even I care, I was after all “saved” at a county fair two years ago :rolleyes:
:rotfl: <-this was my first reaction when reading that last statement bolded. I’m just being honest here. :o

That is true though. If they believe that you were “saved” at that time, then what gives? And it just seems so strange to me that anyone would think that just by saying a prayer, that you are now saved. Sorry to say, but that just sounds ridiculous to me.
 
But they are men and it’s possible for them to error, since they are human. I would hope they never would but it’s always a possibility. 😦
Please review the following references from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
**
**[889](javascript:openWindow(‘cr/889.htm’)😉 In order to preserve the Church in the purity of the faith handed on by the apostles, Christ who is the Truth willed to confer on her a share in his own infallibility. By a “supernatural sense of faith” the People of God, under the guidance of the Church’s living Magisterium, "unfailingly adheres to this faith."417
[890](javascript:openWindow(‘cr/890.htm’)😉 The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium’s task to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church’s shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this charism takes several forms:
891 “The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. . . . The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter’s successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium,” above all in an Ecumenical Council.418 When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed,"419 and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith."420 This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself.421

892 Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a “definitive manner,” they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent"422 which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.

Note that there are at least two key components for a teaching to be infallible: the Pope exercises his charism of infallibility when “he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.” The implication is that infallibility is not assumed when he’s issuing statements on matters not related to faith and morals, and hasn’t done so by a definitive act.

In a sense, the charism of infallibility could be viewed as a negative protection - not tha the Pope will always be correct in everything that he says, but rather, that he won’t be incorrect - that is, he will be prevented from teaching error - when he binds the consciences of Catholics on matters of faith and morals (for the power to bind, reference Matthew 16:19).

Infallibility also fulfills the promise of Jesus that he will found a church and “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, NAB). Additionally, it could be viewed as a fulfillment of this promise of Jesus to the disciples: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b, NAB). At the last supper, Jesus made another striking promise to the disciples: “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13, NAB). Without the charism of infallibility, this promise would mean nothing.
 
Infallibility also fulfills the promise of Jesus that he will found a church and “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, NAB). Additionally, it could be viewed as a fulfillment of this promise of Jesus to the disciples: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b, NAB). At the last supper, Jesus made another striking promise to the disciples: “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13, NAB). Without the charism of infallibility, this promise would mean nothing.
I guess infallibility is the root of the issue I’m dealing with. I know the Church teaches that the Pope is infallible for the reasons that you previously listed. I, personally, am having trouble grasping the concept.
 
I guess infallibility is the root of the issue I’m dealing with. I know the Church teaches that the Pope is infallible for the reasons that you previously listed. I, personally, am having trouble grasping the concept.
I admit that it isn’t the easiest concept to understand, and believe me, I had to spend a TON of time on it before I was convinced enough to convert. Fortunately, there’s lots of helpful apologetics material on this very subject.

Catholic Answers has an excellent tract on Papal Infallibility, and I highly recommend John Martignoni’s Bible study on the subject, entitled Apostolic Authority and the Pope. For that matter, I recommend all of Mr. Martignoni’s talks, which are available through the website of his ministry, the Bible Christian Society.
 
:rotfl: <-this was my first reaction when reading that last statement bolded. I’m just being honest here. :o

That is true though. If they believe that you were “saved” at that time, then what gives? And it just seems so strange to me that anyone would think that just by saying a prayer, that you are now saved. Sorry to say, but that just sounds ridiculous to me.
If someone by power of the Holy Spirit acknowledges salvation in this manner, I believe they could have been saved at that moment. I try to avoid saying yes or no on peoples salvation like the plague. Just not my call to make. Someone responding to an alter call might better be described as converted or convinced. Its what they do afterwords that determines if a true conversion or salvation took place. Christians can rightly judge someone’s continuing salvation based on the fruits of a person’s life.

I love how simple it is in the Catholic church to know salvation. I find it much easier to understand and know “for sure”. No more of this once saved always saved horse-pucky…I wont even touch predestination. 🙂

P.S. on a side note, does anyone find it funny that the “c” word that ends in “rap” is filtered but the “d” word that ends in “amn” isn’t?
 
mrs_abbott, here’s another resource you may find helpful. I admit that I haven’t listened to this one yet, but I’ve watched a handful of their television programs, and they’re excellent. The ministry is called St. Michael’s Media, and they’ve done a program entitled, The Church, the same yesterday, today and forever. Considering your interest in the Bible, you may also like this one: Is That In The Bible?

Happy studying! 😉
That reflects Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” 😃
 
Indeed! I sure hope that the host, Michael Voris, refers to that verse in the course of the talk!
I’m at work right now so I’ll have to get on the computer at home and try and listen to it. I have dial-up at home so it’s a 50/50 chance I’ll be able to listen to it. 😛
 
I’m at work right now so I’ll have to get on the computer at home and try and listen to it. I have dial-up at home so it’s a 50/50 chance I’ll be able to listen to it. 😛
If that’s the case then you’re better off right-clicking and then clicking on “save target as” instead of just clicking and listening.
 
40.png
mrs_abbott:
That reflects Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Indeed! I sure hope that the host, Michael Voris, refers to that verse in the course of the talk!
:yup: Yes he does!! And this guy really gets you going! Woohoo!! I’ve already yelled out “AMEN!” several times already!! I’ve downloaded all the audio mp3’s already and have them on my iPod already!! 👍 And thanks to djrakowski because I’ve never seen that website or heard of this Michael Voris person before. So thanks so much djrakowski!
 
Hi,
Thank you for being kind to me.😃 I do not know who Matt Slcik is. I was just looking at different websites and happened upon this one. I am certainly not anti-catholic at all. If I was I would probably be a mean obnoxious poster.😦 That is not what Christ would want so that is never how I would be.

P.S. Thanks for explaining why you dont like CARM:thumbsup:
I am kinda curious how you are going to respond to dalcent’s question All for Him.

You sorta dodged it.
 
I guess infallibility is the root of the issue I’m dealing with. I know the Church teaches that the Pope is infallible for the reasons that you previously listed. I, personally, am having trouble grasping the concept.
Are you confusing infallibility with impeccability? That is often a common mistake. Just asking.

Infallibility - Immune from fallacy or liability to error in expounding matters of faith or morals by virtue of the promise made by Christ to the Church.

Impeccability - Having no flaws; perfect.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top