G
Gabriel_of_12
Guest
Your reform depends on what your reforming? This Rock Jesus built upon Peter never needs reforming. How does man reform a Rock? The more protestantism reforms the more it splinters and the more it begs for a Vicar of Christ.
Reform is not new
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The problem I see with your reading of the Church Fathers who many are made Catholic Saints, had no need to mention Peter as Rock to their contemporaries because this position is already held since apostolic times. Re-read your commentaries and you will find these early Church Fathers dealing with another subject matter, not Peter as the Rock Jesus built His Church upon. So no, at times you will not need to find mention of Peter as Rock, when it was already revealed from Scripture, which any Early Church Father did not contest, because you never find them contesting the scripture of authority in Peter as you have Protestants do today. In fact you have many confirming Peter and his successors in the Popes as holding the unity of the Catholic Apostolic Church.
All believers? Read John 17, this consecration that Jesus gives to His apostles and those after them does not apply to all believers. Learning your scriptures from an Apostolic Catholic Tradition will help you see things more clearly between divine authority and the laity. It will remove any doubt.
Half gnostic? lol…The Gnostic’s claimed to have a “secret” revelation only for their select few. What I am holding to is not secret, I proclaim it from the roof tops. The Catholic Church revealed to the world from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition the “Trinity”, when the Trinity was never penned in scripture. Yet protestants believe in this Catholic revealed Apostolic oral Tradition handed down. God does not change, but men do…The Church is never the reflector of Truth, who has vexed you? The Church of the living God is the Pillar and foundation of Truth. Don’t add or subtract from this Apostolic written and Oral Tradition. Why do you try to invent something that is never there since the resurrection of our dear Lord Jesus Christ? Not everything Jesus said and did was written, there are not enough books which could contain them all according to John the beloved of Jesus.Quite a few Church fathers said Christ is the rock ,and make no mention of Peter .I am not denying that later Fathers (4th C. on) did put forth your argument.I have read that Catholics say Peter was made Vicar when the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter whom Jesus was. I am not sure they mean Jesus just happened to appoint Peter at that time ,or that was made in effect because of the revelation .If it was the latter , all the rest of the apostles had the same revelation from the Holy Spirit ,as do ALL believers.
Let me help you with the Church’s teaching of Vicar once again; The Pope, bishops, and pastors are all Vicars of Christ. When they conduct Mass and or hear confessions when they are in persona Christi. I can respect you being protestant did not take this Apostolic succession with you, so you can only invent or imagine what these biblical historical biblical revelations reveal from the perspective from man, so I hesitate going into these revealed Apostolic mysteries.
cont;