I have to disagree. The Scirptures (OT and NT) were written for the elect, remnant, Christians, chosen ones.
I don’t think you can demonstrate this extra-biblical tradition anywhere from the Scriptures. The Scriptures themselves contradict this idea.
The word Catholic is not even found in the Bible. All Scripture is God-breathed and not just the NT.
If you check the Gk in Acts 9:31, you will see the earliest appearance of the words “kath holos” used to describe the One Church founded by Christ that is universal.
Of course all scripture is theopneustos. However, the NT was written by, for, and about the One Church founded by Christ, which is Catholic.
Therer is only two divisions in spiritual reality. Each person is either still united to Adam, or has moved from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and is united to the 2nd Adam (Christ).
I agree. However, most of Christendom does not know this. Your perception that there are only two divisions does not negate the fact that there are hundreds of thousands.
Predestination is very broad within the Catholic Church. Most Catholcs are very pelagius in thier personal views.
I agree with this statement. It should be noted that the Church herself defeated this heresy in the early centuries, and that these are only personal views. Those espousing them cannot be qualified as heretics, however, because they never learned the Truth about salvation by grace, through faith, as taught by the Church.
Code:
The Apostles woould disagree with you as recorded in the Scriptures. Actually, much of the Catholic faith is not really good news (gospel) when you think about it.
It is not “good news” when you think about it, because your mind is full of misunderstandings. Fortunately, the Catholic Church does not teach what you believe she does, so it is good news to the rest of us.
Of course we understand each other that our definition of the church is mutually exclusive of each other.
This is a false statement.
Actually, the regards to the remnant which goes way beyond Catholic Church members.
This is why it is false. Your definition, while true, is only a small part of the Apostolic Definition of Church. Yours is subsumed into the larger one.
Code:
I think the Catholic Church goes beyond my view of the remnant invisible church, since the Catholic Church includes other non-Christian religions as a way to Heaven such as Islam and Judaism.
This is a false statement also. The Catholic Church teaches that human beings can only be saved by the shed blood of Christ on the cross.
Did you see the thread about the struggling Catholic and the Catholic position on Islam?
No. I avoid threads about Islam.
If a Cathoic believes that the Catholic Church is infallible, to be a good Catholic is simply to believe whatever the Catholc Church claims to be true.
This is another false statement. Are you trying for a record? Have you considered posting your opinions with a qualifyer, such as “it seems to me that”, so that it will not appear that you are deliberately attempting to mislead others, coming across as if your statements are true?
Therefore, there is really no great motivation for Catholics to read their Bibles as exhorted by the Catholic who wrote the paper on the OP.
If what you have postulated were true, which it is not, this does not necessarily follow. The first Christians had no NT at all, but we see that they were very motivated to know the Scriptures.
It’s a modifed form of the dark ages in my view.
I can see your point. Good thing your premises are way off base.
I’ve been to a Catholic Men’s fellowship and saw that dilemma and tension found in Catholic men. One group were acting too Protestant by freely reading their NIV Bibles outside the guidance of the church. The other Catholic group wanted the Catholic Men to be catechized instead of freely reading the Bible.
It is definitely dangerous to read Scripture apart form the Apostolic Teachings. The unstable and the ignorant can twist them, to their own destruction.
Code:
It's the same on this thread since most on here really have no intentions of exploring the Scriptures with me.
We have focused on the foundation for studying scripture. We have rejected your premises as false. However, I will knwo you are serious if you make the invitation over in Sacred Scripture. I will keep an eye out.
Code:
If a Christian has a higher view of Sacred Scripture than Sacred Tradition, then that Chrisitan will always struggle in being a Catholic Christian.
Struggle does not mean one cannot live a successful Christian life.
Code:
That is quite the history of Catholic Christianity... and will always be that way. For me, the Sacred Scriptures is the Word of God; thus authorative and sufficent since God the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scriptures.
Certainly the Sacred Scriptures are indeed the Word of God, are authorative, and are sufficient. Certainly the HS illuminates the Scriptures in the hearts and minds of the faithful. None of these Truths imply that the Scriptures should be separated from the Sacred Tradition that produced them, or from what the HS has already revealed to the Church.
:juggle:
Whats up with that? What exactly are you talking about?