ahimsaman72:
Total Depravity: Romans 3:11
11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
This is from Psalm 14, quoted by St. Paul. “Total depravity” is John Calvin’s interpretation of the Psalmist’s poetic words. Jews – and Christians for 16 centuries – did not read “total depravity” into the Scriptures. Calvin was the first to “discover” this novel meaning.
Election of God’s people: Ephesians 1:4-5
4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Romans 8:30
30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
This teaching is Biblical as Paul preached it and is well before John Calvin.
Calvin “found” his own interpretation of predestination in the Scriptures in the 16th century. The Catholic Church teaches predestination – but not the “double predestination” of the Calvinists. The Church was taught by the Apostles, and is guided in teaching faith and morals by the Holy Spirit [Jn 14:16-18, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-15, Acts 1:1-2, et al]. Calvin was his own teacher and interpreter.
Many things are implied - the Trinity is also implied, though not explicit. Protestants accept teachings as long as they can be deduced from Scripture. In the protestant mind, purgatory cannot be deduced from Scripture because there is not enough evidence to support that view. The best proof-text for it lies in Maccabees which is not accepted as binding on matters of doctrine.
If you’re a follower of Luther, and all Protestants are, that’s true. Martin Luther shucked 7 books and parts of Esther and Daniel from the OT canon that were Scripture to Jesus, the Apostles, all the writers of the NT, and the first Christians. These and the NT had been “Scripture” for Christians since they were canonized by the Church at the end of the 4th century. The Septuagint OT containing these writings was Scripture to the Jews long before that, and was used in the first century synagogues where Jesus and the Apostles were trained and taught. When Luther proclaimed his novel doctrine of Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone – he meant his own limited version of the Scriptures with Maccabees cut out. Clever fellow, that Luther.
Maccabees, however, is not the only scriptural “proof.” But Protestants filter the Scriptures through their own pre-programmed prism and find no mention of Purgatory
. It, like the Trinity, is implied. The Jews, Jesus, the Apostles, and the sacred writers of the NT, mostly Jews, all believed in purification of the soul after death. The historical evidence is Maccabees, even if one rejects it as “Scripture,” as Luther and his followers did. The Jews still pray for their dead to this day. The Church calls the process of purification preparatory to entering into the presence of God “Purgatory.” The Jews don’t have a name for it.
Everything is not explicitly taught in the NT. The NT is the literary record of the spiritual life of the newborn Catholic Church during the first 100 years or so of its existence. Period. It is not an instruction book, as Protestants have tried to make it.:nope: It has none of the qualities of an instruction book. It doesn’t tell how baptism is to be administered, how to become a Christian, how to worship God, or any essential instructions. It’s the Catholic Church’s job to teach Christianity, but Protestants refuse to listen. Jesus didn’t leave us a book of instructions – he left us a Church as our teacher.
Altar calls can be deduced from Scripture - because the principle is there. It is not stated - “thou shalt have altar calls and the pastor must use x + Y formula in doing so.” Of course not.
It’s simply another opportunity for people to confess their sins and pray to God for mercy and salvation (which you would agree are Biblical). So, altar calls are Biblical - because they are based on Biblical principles.
No one “discovered” that interpretation of Scripture until the 19th century,
after the practice of holding altar calls began.
It’s called
eisogesis – one begins with the doctrine or practice, then “finds” the justification in the Scriptures after the fact.
These come-lately interpretations of Scripture are
misinterpretations. If the Apostles didn’t teach it, forget it. Forget Luther’s Sola Fide, Calvin’s TULIP, Zwingli’s take on the Eucharist, and so on, multiplied by the number of Protestant denominations, which is thousands. Gimme that Ole Time Religion of the Apostles. (Hint: it’s Catholic).
Peace be with you,
JMJ Jay
