That is because the Jewish church also went into apostasy, and was in an apostate condition when Jesus Came. But the prophetic tradition hadn’t altogether ceased, because John the Baptist followed by Jesus came in that tradition, and the Apostles also were prophets.
Yes, but Jesus and His Apostles were all of the Jewish race, the race with which God had made a covenant through Abraham that through his seed all nations of the earth should be blessed.
We disagree. There is no scriptural basis for this. On the contrary, there is scriptural evidence to the contrary, as shown in previous posts.
I am sure to some extenet it has been present; but not the to the extent one receives it through the sacrament of the laying on of hands, because the authority to perform such a sacrament was lost.
I agree that she gets credit for preserving the Bible, the Christian tradition, and faith in Jesus Christ; but not for “giving us the Bible”—and the implication that Catholics like put on it, that it somehow gives them the sole copyright to the Bible, and the ultimate legitimacy as God’s only true church.
Para 1) That the Jewish church was in apostasy at the time of Jesus is a new one on me. From a Christian perspective, at least. It’s true, back in those days, there were a number of Jewish sects which thought of the others as apostate. Indeed, the Qumran community considered the temple in Jerusalem to be polluted and impure, and did not participate in temple worship. But Jesus participated in Temple worship. Perhaps Jesus and John the Baptist were apostate.
Of course, from a Christian viewpoint, Jesus and John the Baptist and the apostles were prophets, the Jews in general did not accept them as such. So, yes, after Jesus the Jews are indeed apostate.
Para 2) This paragraph doesn’t seem to be in keeping with paragraph 1. I don’t understand the point being made.
Para 3) I suppose we would disagree. Catholics and LDS are alike in many ways, but not in this way. Here Catholics and Protestants are in agreement; both believe that Jesus was the final revelation, as indicated in scripture. The apostles continued that revelation, which ceased with the death of the apostles. However, I can understand why LDS would not think that way.
Para 4) I mentioned guidance of the Holy Spirit to indicate that the Christian church preserves belief in prophecy to the extent that the Holy Spirit prevents the Church from teaching false dogma. But not prophecy meaning new dogma is revealed.
I wasn’t thinking of laying on of hands, nor perpetuation of the sacramental priesthood. However, this is a good point, because Catholic belief is that is what is meant by “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”–that the authority of laying on of hands to ordain new bishops will never be lost. True, LDS think it has been lost, and that both Catholics and LDS believe in such a priesthood is one of their similarities.
But I wonder, if the priesthood was lost once, will it be lost again? In fact, which LDS has the true priesthood? Where did the mantle fall? Brigham Young? Or the heirs of Joseph Smith? The Community of Christ (Re-organized LDS)?
Para 5) On giving us the Bible, the idea of copyright is mentioned, and this is really quite an important point. Who does own the Bible? That is, who has the right to interpret it? Protestants think that just anybody can. However, one would think that right belonged to the community that gave it birth, not outsiders to that community. That is, those ignorant of the teachings of that community. Peter says in regards to the letters of Paul, “There are those who are ignorant and unstable, who twist his writings to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the scriptures.” So, yes, the Catholic Church thinks she has the “copyright” to the Bible.
Now, I ask the question, if the LDS church is the true church, that has to mean that the LDS church has the copyright? How about the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price? Does the LDS church have the “copyright” to those? Could just anyone read them and then form their own Mormon sect, which might be quite a bit different from the LDS? (That is what Catholics think Protestants do.)
