Belief and Agreement

[lisaraek]

While reading through some of the threads in this forum, I notice that there are a lot of comments that focus on whether or not someone “agrees” with this or that doctrine of the Church. This agreement seems to be the determining factor as to whether a doctrine is to be followed for some individuals. This puzzles me because I am having a hard time understanding just exactly what the role of agreement plays in our faith. For example, in John 3:16 we read “…so that everyone who believes in him might not perish,…”; Or when Jesus asks the blind man in John 9:35 “…Do you believe in the Son of Man?” or in John 20:29 when Jesus says to Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”.
Is it possible to replace the word “believe” with " agree" in these verses? Does God promise that those who agree with him will not perish?..or that Jesus was only asking for agreement from the blind man…or that he needed Thomas’s agreement to verify his wounds and resurrection? That doesn’t appear to be the case.
So why do some place their agreement as the sole judge of doctrine? Can a doctrine to which they do not agree be true anyway? Again, what role does agreement play that so many people put their eternal salvation on the line for its sake? I’d like to hear what others think about this.

 

[Waiting]

While reading through some of the threads in this forum, I notice that there are a lot of comments that focus on whether or not someone “agrees” with this or that doctrine of the Church. This agreement seems to be the determining factor as to whether a doctrine is to be followed for some individuals. This puzzles me because I am having a hard time understanding just exactly what the role of agreement plays in our faith. For example, in John 3:16 we read “…so that everyone who believes in him might not perish,…”; Or when Jesus asks the blind man in John 9:35 “…Do you believe in the Son of Man?” or in John 20:29 when Jesus says to Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”.
Is it possible to replace the word “believe” with " agree" in these verses? Does God promise that those who agree with him will not perish?..or that Jesus was only asking for agreement from the blind man…or that he needed Thomas’s agreement to verify his wounds and resurrection? That doesn’t appear to be the case.
So why do some place their agreement as the sole judge of doctrine? Can a doctrine to which they do not agree be true anyway? Again, what role does agreement play that so many people put their eternal salvation on the line for its sake? I’d like to hear what others think about this.

Clearly, some people are too full of themselves. Guess this is pride rearing its ugly head. If you claim to be Catholic, then you accept what that Church teaches. Otherwise, what’s the point of calling yourself Catholic? I don’t call myself a Democrat or a Republican because I can’t agree with everything either political party espouses. Therefore, I am an independent. In the case of the Catholic Church, we have Jesus’ word that it will not fall into error because the Spirit is guiding it. I can’t disagree with God, Himself, and still respect myself. Therefore, I am a Catholic.