Calling all protestants...to Ash Wednesday!

[Kitty_Chan]

maybe for us in the peanut gallery whats with the cross ash other that the obvious Ash wednesday??

Why does one do this.
What is the meaning or and reason??

ps thanks Rachael

 

[MariaG]

Kitty Chan:

maybe for us in the peanut gallery whats with the cross ash other that the obvious Ash wednesday??

Why does one do this.
What is the meaning or and reason??

ps thanks Rachael

I just spent 20 fruitless minutes looking for a great explanation that I gave to my students. Here is the summary that is not as good as the original.

People used to mark people on the face if they were slaves. One reason that the ashes in the form of a cross are placed on our foreheads is because it is a way to declare “I belong to Christ” or “I am Christ’s slave”.

Ashes are used to remind us that we are finite creatures. All we are is dependent upon God. (From Ash/dust you were made and to ashes/dust you will return.)

Sorry I could not find the other paper and you have to make do with my slightly incomplete answer.

God Bless,
Maria

 

[searcher]

My wife and I are not Protestant. We are LDS. However, a close friend of ours invited us to attend the Ash Wednesday service at our local Catholic Church. We were pleased to be invited and both of us plan to attend.

God bless you and our friend for sharing all that is beautiful about your faith.

 

[Neilbass2]

12volt_man:

I didn’t say that you, specifically did. For all I know, you may not share your religion’s belief that we’re all going to Hell.

The Roman Catholic Church certainly does NOT teach that all protestants are going to hell. Other anti-catholic protestants just want you to think that. In fact, the church doesnt necessarily teach that anybody of any different faith, or no faith at all, is always excluded from heaven. You need to get your facts straight.

 

[LilyM]

The use of ashes on Ash Wednesday also reminds us that Lent is a time for self-denial, reflection and repentance … ‘sackcloth and ashes’ and all that.

In addition, the ashes are usually (I believe) made from the previous year’s Palm Sunday palms. The significance I get out of this fact is the cyclical and transient nature of life and the eternality and transcendence of the Easter story.

 

[Kitty_Chan]

MariaG:

I just spent 20 fruitless minutes looking for a great explanation that I gave to my students. Here is the summary that is not as good as the original.

People used to mark people on the face if they were slaves. One reason that the ashes in the form of a cross are placed on our foreheads is because it is a way to declare “I belong to Christ” or “I am Christ’s slave”.

Ashes are used to remind us that we are finite creatures. All we are is dependent upon God. (From Ash/dust you were made and to ashes/dust you will return.)

Sorry I could not find the other paper and you have to make do with my slightly incomplete answer.

God Bless,
Maria

thanks Maria I was just curious I am travelling at that time but who knows where God may lead us, if not maybe Ill see if my friend is going next yr. Maybe Im a weird protestant but this looks like a good idea. I just like to know what its about before I step into anything. See we are not all that wild

 

[Cubsfan]

12volt_man:

So, how can we take part in this ritual when the Roman Catholic church doesn’t even accept us as Christians?

We consider you Christian but you choose to be part of an ecclesial community versus coming on board with the Church.

C’mon in the water is warm!

 

[Archbishop]

Referring to earlier comments about Catholics not welcoming non-catholics to take communion…

As a former Southern Baptist pastor, I think it is important to note something about Baptist communion practices. In many Baptist churches “closed communion” is practiced. That is, only the members of that particular local church can take communion. I have been in several churches that made an announcement that visitors and non-members were free to leave before communion because communion was only for members of that particular local church.

There are other Baptist churches that practice “close communion.” This means that only people of “like faith and order” may participate in communion. Generally this means any other Baptists who are present even though they are not a member of that particular local church.

Then there are those Baptist churches who let any Christian partake of communion. This is called “open communion.”

My point is that it is not just Roman Catholics who practice a “closed communion” or a communion with restrictions. Many of the Baptists who practice a “closed communion” feel that anyone else other than those like them are indeed going to hell. Trust me, I know. I pastored a church like that in my younger days. I did not know the church believed like that when I became its pastor. I only found out later. I was totally shocked to find it out and left shortly thereafter.

Other Baptists of the “closed” or “close” persuasion would say that there are Christians among the Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, and even a few Roman Catholics. BUT, since they do not immerse, and since they baptist infants, they are not considered of “like faith and order” and therefore are not welcome to take communion, even though they are considered to be Christians.

I was baptized in an American Baptist church when I was six years old. Many years later, after I had been pastoring for several yeas in Southern Baptist churches, I went to a Southern Baptist Church in Illinois to candidate for the positon of pastor. When the people found out I had been baptized in an American Baptist church, they said that if they called me as pastor I would have to be re-baptized in their church as a Southern Baptist!!

 

[Archbishop]

12volt_man:

And yet not one of you has shown me where in scripture we’re told that one must depend on the rituals of the Roman Catholic church and not Christ’s atonement for our salvation.

As a former Baptist and Reformed Presbyterian, now Anglican, and one who has been religiously (pun intended) studying the Roman Catholic for four years now, I can assure you that no one is saved through rituals of the Church, that is, if by rituals you mean the following:

1. Praying the Rosary (not necessary to do)
2. Using sacramentals such as medals, holy cards, holy water, etc. (not necessary to do)
3. Following the church calendar and observing the seasons such as Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary time, Advent (not necessary to do but it truly does aid your spiritual walk and puts continuity to the year)
4. Asking the saints for their intercession (not necessary to do)
5. Devotion to Mary (not necessary to do)

As one who has over 25 years of Baptist ministry under my belt, and who was as conservative and legalistic as they came, and who still believes the Bible to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God, I can only tell you that there is such a vast spiritual treasury that I left untapped as a Baptist.

Yes, I was anti-Catholic. Primarily because I had never studied the writings of the Early Fathers and those who were disciples of the Apostles themselves and because I was simply never taught any differently. Even in seminary I just assumed that Luther had it all right and we were good from him on. But one day I realized that someone guarded the Gospel for 1500 years prior to Luther. And that someone was the Catholic Church.

There are some reasons that I have not yet swam the Tiber. 12volt_man, I would encourage you to read one book - Evangelical is Not Enough by Thomas Howard. I promise you it will change your life. It may not bring you to the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican Church, but I promise it will have a positive effect on you and how you view the so-called rituals of the Church.

 

[PaulDupre]

12volt_man:

First of all, we are not allowed to participate in Roman Catholic rituals, as we are not considered by the Roman Catholic church to be real Christians.

When all else fails, quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the only standard for determining what the Catholic Church really believes and teaches.

From The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 817-819:

817 In fact, “in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame.” The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ’s Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism - do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.

818 “However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers … All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church.”

819 “Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to “Catholic unity.”

 

[QUICUMQUE_VULT]

Archbishop:

As a former Baptist and Reformed Presbyterian, now Anglican, and one who has been religiously (pun intended) studying the Roman Catholic for four years now, I can assure you that no one is saved through rituals of the Church, that is, if by rituals you mean the following:

1. Praying the Rosary (not necessary to do)
2. Using sacramentals such as medals, holy cards, holy water, etc. (not necessary to do)
3. Following the church calendar and observing the seasons such as Christmas, Lent, Easter, Ordinary time, Advent (not necessary to do but it truly does aid your spiritual walk and puts continuity to the year)
4. Asking the saints for their intercession (not necessary to do)
5. Devotion to Mary (not necessary to do)

As one who has over 25 years of Baptist ministry under my belt, and who was as conservative and legalistic as they came, and who still believes the Bible to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God, I can only tell you that there is such a vast spiritual treasury that I left untapped as a Baptist.

Yes, I was anti-Catholic. Primarily because I had never studied the writings of the Early Fathers and those who were disciples of the Apostles themselves and because I was simply never taught any differently. Even in seminary I just assumed that Luther had it all right and we were good from him on. But one day I realized that someone guarded the Gospel for 1500 years prior to Luther. And that someone was the Catholic Church.

There are some reasons that I have not yet swam the Tiber. 12volt_man, I would encourage you to read one book - Evangelical is Not Enough by Thomas Howard. I promise you it will change your life. It may not bring you to the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican Church, but I promise it will have a positive effect on you and how you view the so-called rituals of the Church.

I very much enjoyed this post.
I am A convert from Fundamentalism
God speed on your journey
Daniel
Doce me Domine, Vias tuas!​

Teach me Lord, your ways!

 

[PaulDupre]

By the way, 12volt_man, after your heartfelt apology in another thread my opinion of you went up about 10000%!

God bless you, brother.
Paul