Ask a protestant a question thread.

[bengal_fan]

Name 3 people (preferably a Church Father) that you consider to be a genuine Christian who lived between 250AD and 1000AD.

i am wondering why you think i can judge who is a “genuine Christian”. i think there were many attempting to follow Christ and His teachings to the best of their ability. i would say that even Arius was trying to follow Christ (even though he was deemed a heretic).
name a church father and i would say they were a “genuine Christian”. Basil, Gregory, Anthanasius, Ambrose, Augustine, Cyril, Leo, Maximus, Aquinas, and hundreds of others. of course i don’t need them to agree with me on everything for me to consider them “genuine Christians”.

 

[bengal_fan]

What happens to babies who die before they are baptised?

… The CCC says…

maybe that’s why they asked a protestant what they thought, because they already know what the CCC says.

 

[khutcheson]

What is an Arminian Protestant?

Jacobus (James) Arminus, a Dutch theologian who advocated free will over Calvin’s doctines of predestination.

 

[bengal_fan]

Jacobus (James) Arminus, a Dutch theologian who advocated free will over Calvin’s doctines of predestination.

and calvin derived his views from augustine who got his views from paul. lol

 

[Syele]

When you move to a new town, how do you choose a church?

Thanks. RAR

I will begin by saying it is not easy and takes alot of prayer.

I recently moved to a new town so I will break down what I did. I got out the phone book and look what churches are present. There are 13 churches listed here. (Yep small town!)

Abundant Life Family Church Categories: Interdenominational Churches

     Calvary Chapel of [My town]      **

Categories:** Non-Denominational Churches, Calvary Chapel Churches

Church of Christ **
Categories:** Church of Christ Churches, Church & Religious Associations & Organizations

Episcopal Church **
Categories:** Episcopal Churches

First Assembly Of God Church **
Categories:** Assembly of God Churches, Church & Religious Associations & Organizations, Religious Practitioners

First Baptist Church **
Categories:** Baptist Churches

First Baptist Church of [my town]
Categories: Churches, Baptist Churches

First Christian Church **
Categories:** Disciples of Christ Churches, Church & Religious Associations & Organizations, Religious Practitioners

First Presbyterian Church **
Categories:** Churches, Presbyterian Churches, Church & Religious Associations & Organizations

Foot of the Cross
Categories: Interdenominational Churches

Grace Harvest Church **
Categories:** Christian Churches, Non-Denominational Churches

Saint Eleanor Catholic Church **
Categories:** Churches, Catholic Churches, Church & Religious Associations & Organizations

(there is also a Nazarene Church here but I didn’t find it in the phone book)

Then based on that list and the Categories the Phone Company so nicely uses in the phone book, I simply eliminated the Denominations that were not compatible with my faith. (I grew up inter-denominational or non-denominational and not Calvinist.

That left:
Episcopal Church **
Categories:** Episcopal Churches

First Assembly Of God Church **
Categories:** Assembly of God Churches

Foot of the Cross
Categories: Interdenominational Churches

Grace Harvest Church **
Categories:** Christian Churches, Non-Denominational Churches

From there I prayed and visited each one to see what the teaching was.

Many Protestants would have narrowed the search much more by being a member of only one denomination. Often once the denomination section is isolated… people find just one or two churches that are the same denomination and reasonably close to their own homes. People in Larger cities may have to visit many more churches than I did being in a small town but the process is the same generally.

Most churches also have “Visitors packets” to help the visitor know more about the Church. These packets outline Church doctrines, list service times, give information on how to contact the Pastors for a meeting, list activities for various groups and sometimes also include a gift for the visitor like a CD with worship music, a devotional type book, or a Bible.

 

[Syele]

What is an Arminian Protestant?

the-highway.com/compare.html

 

[Syele]

What happens to babies who die before they are baptised?

This has been discussed to death elsewhere. The CCC says, in effect, that it’s God’s decision, and He has not revealed it.

Yep that question is asked alot on CAF… you can read any of those threads, I even saw it in the “Ask an Apologist” section, but this thread is for the protestant answer. If you want to debate the validity of the Protestant answers given here, please start (yet another) thread for it.

Thanks.

 

[RAR]

Thanks for the reply BengalFan and Syele, I always figured it would be tough.

RAR

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

Can you tell me the date when the Arminian Protestant faith began and its founder (s)?

How many followers do you have?

In what countries are you located?

Who is your authority of the Arminian Protestant faith?
Please dont say Jesus thats getting old from protestant faiths.

Do you believe in the sacraments?

Do you have a magesterium?

If I Joined your faith today, can I believe what I want to about Christianity and what I think the bible teaches?

 

[Syele]

Name 3 people (preferably a Church Father) that you consider to be a genuine Christian who lived between 250AD and 1000AD.

It is not my place to judge who was or was not “genuine.” Only God knows their hearts. I agree with bengal_fan’s answer to this.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

i am wondering why you think i can judge who is a “genuine Christian”.

I can judge because as Catholics we honor the timeless testimonies of those Christians who led exemplary lives from the time of the Apostles to this day. I can trust the work of anyone whom the Catholic Church considers a Saint.

i think there were many attempting to follow Christ and His teachings to the best of their ability. i would say that even Arius was trying to follow Christ (even though he was deemed a heretic).

I dont doubt most heretics are simply trying to explain a complex teaching, most heresy is oversimplifying a complex teaching in order to wrap your mind around it. That being said, they are heretics, they caused scandal and put many souls in jeopardy.

name a church father and i would say they were a “genuine Christian”. Basil, Gregory, Anthanasius, Ambrose, Augustine, Cyril, Leo, Maximus, Aquinas, and hundreds of others.** of course i don’t need them to agree with me on everything for me to consider them “genuine Christians”**.

Here is where I as a Catholic disagree with your line of thinking. This isnt about agreeing with 100% of what they said, but rather did they teach something that was heretical. If they taught things that were flatly incompatible with Protestant teaching then you must consider them heretics, not “genuine Christians”, after all Protestants cant condemn Catholics for believing X if they are going to consider an Early Church Father a “genuine Christian” despite also believing X.

For example, if none of them were preaching Sola Fide then how can you consider them a genuine Christian?

 

[deb1]

The thread would be better termed ‘ask a Protestant of the Op’s particular denomination a question’. Unless of course, he/she wishes to field questions about Baptists’ believes, Calvinist believes etc.

Some Calvinist accuse Catholics of being Arminianism in their view of salvation. How does the Op think that Catholics differ in their views on faith and salvation from his Church. Does his/her church teach OSAS. (once saved, always saved) Has the Op ever had a fellow Protestant tell him that he was not saved because his theology differed from theirs?

I ask the last question because I once attended an Independent Baptist Church in which the pastor voiced concerns that anyone from other Protestant denominations were actually 'saved.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

It is not my place to judge who was or was not “genuine.” Only God knows their hearts. I agree with bengal_fan’s answer to this.

Then you are saying there was nobody from the year 250AD and 1000AD that could testify to the Gospel you preach and believe today. Is that acceptable to you? It isnt to me as a Catholic, in fact I would be cautious of any Christian group that did not even claim historical continuity from the Apostles to today.

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

The thread would be better termed ‘ask a Protestant of the Op’s particular denomination a question’. Unless of course, he/she wishes to field questions about Baptists’ believes, Calvinist believes etc.

Some Calvinist accuse Catholics of being Arminianism in their view of salvation. How does the Op think that Catholics differ in their views on faith and salvation from his Church. Does his/her church teach OSAS. (once saved, always saved) Has the Op ever had a fellow Protestant tell him that he was not saved because his theology differed from theirs?

I ask the last question because I once attended an Independent Baptist Church in which the pastor voiced concerns that anyone from other Protestant denominations were actually 'saved.

You raise an interesting thought that began my hesitation about the OP. For a Catholic to ask a protestant a sincere question, one has to determine out of the 20,0000 to 30,000 different denominations. So I do agree with your statement, The Arminian is ball hogging this thread, unless other protestants speak up, or start their own, because , I dont believe all of you protestants are going to believe alike, making it difficult to thread this site, I feel sorry for any moderater if other protestant denominations way in. Just a thought.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

Jacobus (James) Arminus, a Dutch theologian who advocated free will over Calvin’s doctines of predestination.

So what church do you go to??

 

[Syele]

Can you tell me the date when the Arminian Protestant faith began and its founder (s)?

Jacobus Arminus did not found a church. He spoke out in opposition to Calvinist doctrines. The Calvinists responded with teh Synod Of Dort where they answered the 5 points, creating TULIP or the 5 points of Calvinism. This Synod od Dort meetings were held between November 1618 and May 1619.

How many followers do you have?

I do not have followers. As I mentioned, Arminius didn’t found a church but he and the remonstrants opposed Calvin. Denominations where Arminians can be found include, Methodist, non-denominational (usually has both Calvinists and Arminians mixed in one church), Church of God, Assembly of God, free-Will Baptists, Episcopalians, Pentecostal, Nazarene, Wesleyan, foursquare, lots of Charismatic churches, and others.

In what countries are you located?

Pretty much all of them.

Who is your authority of the Arminian Protestant faith?
Please dont say Jesus thats getting old from protestant faiths.

Maybe it’s getting old cause it’s our answer and you just don’t like it? If you want more detail on Authority:

In order of Authority:

• Scripture - *the Holy Bible (Old and New Testaments) (Scriptures themselves claim to be the inerrant Word of God)
• Tradition - *the two millennia history of the Christian Church (Scriptures also state the importance of Tradition)
• Reason - *rational thinking and sensible interpretation (Scriptures do not claim one must believe Blindly, but to study the Words of God)
• Experience - a Christian’s personal and communal journey in Christ (Personal revelation is presant in Scripture as well)

Do you believe in the sacraments?

There are two Sacraments, Baptism and Communion.

Do you have a magesterium?

We have the Holy spirit, Scripture, tradition, reason and experience, in that order.

If I Joined your faith today, can I believe what I want to about Christianity and what I think the bible teaches?

If you joined my faith, you would agree with it. It is unacceptable to make things up as you go along.

 

[khutcheson]

How does the Op think that Catholics differ in their views on faith and salvation from his Church. Does his/her church teach OSAS. (once saved, always saved) :

While some Arminians may believe in OSAS I think it’s usually associated with Calvinists, not Arminians.

 

[nsper7]

As an unconfirmed Episcopalian/Anglican (as I always say, I have yet to swim the Thames), I can try to address questions as well. Ask away.

 

[Deacon110]

What happens to babies who die before they are baptised?

They go to Heaven plain and simple. I’ll never believe Jesus would turn HIS back on them. My wife’s first child was still born. The cord was wrapped around her neck. There’s no doubt Jesus came and got her.

 

[Syele]

The thread would be better termed ‘ask a Protestant of the Op’s particular denomination a question’. Unless of course, he/she wishes to field questions about Baptists’ believes, Calvinist believes etc.

I did state I was not Calvinist and that another Protestant who is should assist me in answering questions.

Some Calvinist accuse Catholics of being Arminianism in their view of salvation. How does the Op think that Catholics differ in their views on faith and salvation from his Church. Does his/her church teach OSAS. (once saved, always saved) Has the Op ever had a fellow Protestant tell him that he was not saved because his theology differed from theirs?

I do not believe in OSAS. My views are much closer to Catholics in that respect than many Calvinists. The areas where I differ with Catholics on salvation really fall in degrees. I believe loss of salvation is possible, but more difficult that Catholics believe. Catholics have more rules for salvation regarding sacraments etc as well. I haven’t had another protestant tell me I am not saved based on this but I have had them sadly shake their heads at me and say I will be surprised when I get to heaven. I have (online) seen Arminians wrongly described as Peligans though.

I ask the last question because I once attended an Independent Baptist Church in which the pastor voiced concerns that anyone from other Protestant denominations were actually 'saved.

maybe it was the Peligan thing?