Catholic Covenant Theology

[Truthstalker]

I like your list! I would be careful with number 16. Luther (he was a priest) certainly did have a right to bring reform to the church and the church badly needed reform. What he didn’t have a right to do was try to change the structure or teachings of the church. You may want to word that differently.

Internal reformation of the Catholic church was occuring independently of Luther - probably not at the pace that was needed, but it was being worked on. By “authorized” I mean no Pope, bishop, prelate, abbot or other authority asked Luther to take up the task of reforming the church.

Ask yourself what would have happened had the Church and Luther not blown the opportunity to do things right and Luther had been employed as a reformer from within the Catholic Church, and brought his considerable gifts to bear in removing corruption and restoring piety to the Church rather than attacking it from without. Calvin and others would have remained Catholic, I imagine, and his gifts, among others, would have been used to improve the Catholic church. I think we would have seen a lot less bloodshed and a Church that would have benefited from the zeal of the reformation applied not to the development of a Christianity outside the Church but to its internal reformation, which it badly needed and received, notably later at the Council of Trent. Perhaps there would have been a Council of Trent, and its focus might have been similar, but the energies expended against the Protestants could have been better spent on developing holiness among the people and clergy.

 

[Truthstalker]

Bump.

I haven’t read this thread in a while and thought I would wake it from slumber.

 

[Dan_Young]

I stole this from that irresponsible fool FenceSitter. He posted it on an antiCatholic forum and, after being subjected to everything they could throw at it, seemes to have successfully defended it.
Not that it changed anyone’s mind over there, but it should have.

Looking for loopholes. Those I’m finding I’m closing.

COME ON! SOMEBODY BLOW A HOLE IN THIS! ANYBODY!

What is the problem with infant baptism?

 

[Dan_Young]

Catholics accept the infallability of Scripture, but they also believe that it was the Church that determined what scriptures were included in the canon. If God could guide the Church to determine what scriptures were inspired, could He not also guide the Church in its interpretation of the Scriptures. The Apostles and Father’s had to know what was truth in order to determine what Scriptures were correct. Is that not so!