It is often funny that some say we should learn what Jesus wants, yet at the same breath (or the same thought) would point out that they found what He wants in the church they’re in now.
Jesus chastised the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, not because of traditions or added explanations that they gave. He in fact called His listeners to listen to the Pharisees–but cautioned them not to follow their example. In other words, Jesus did not contradict the traditions that they follow, since He Himself followed them. What He did not agree with was the Pharisees’ hypocrisy in heaping these traditions on the people, when they themselves do not follow it.
Does this actually prove anything? When one thinks about it, there are also gay Protestant clergy a well as Protestants who get divorced. It’s not an exclusive Catholic thing.
Milliardo:
I didn’t mention anything about the church I am now in. I am talking about Jesus’ teachings not mans, not a churches.
I am repeating myself, but I understand how hard it is to keep up with different postings. Christ was most certainly talking about the added traditions and by laws added to God’s law by MAN.
Jesus had many encounters with the Scribes, Pharisees and other religious lawmakers of His time. These encounters are recorded in the Gospels written about His life. They are in Catholic Bibles, too. Read Matthew chapters 5, 16 & 23; Mark chapters 7 & 8; Luke chapters 11 & 12.
Jesus said, “Keep your eyes open, and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees.” (Matt. 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1) The meaning of yeast was their increase of God’s laws by their own added rules and explanations.
When Jesus was asked why His disciples did not follow traditions including the cleansing before eating, He answered, “It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: ‘This people honors me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations’ (Is. 29:13). You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.”
And He said to them, “How ingeniously you get around the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: ‘Do your duty to your father and your mother, and Anyone who curses father and mother must be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.’ In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.” (Mark 7:1-13; also in Matt. 15:1-20 & Luke 11:37-54)
Jesus calls them blind guides, hypocrites, serpents, & brood of vipers in Matthew chapter 23. In Luke chapter 11, He calls them fools. I would say that was pretty much chastising them for their traditions and added by laws (over 600 of them) to God’s commandments. The Catechism has over 2800 paragraphs of by laws/”explanations”.
Bible quotes are from the Jerusalem Bible one of the three sanctioned for liturgical use by the Vatican.
My comment about “gays” and divorce was in direct answer to a comment made about Protestants. So, the fact that both Roman Catholics and Protestants have “gay” leaders and get divorced was exactly the point I was making. However, like I said, I know how hard it is to keep up with all the posts on a subject.
Bamm
