- Thanks for the prompt response. I respect what you say about the disconnect but don’t know what you mean. We are both Christians going through life seeking God’s guidance.
It seems you are placng much emphasis on the Church (Catholic in your case) whereas I depend more on the Bible. The Church (Christian with no particular denomination) uses the Bible and the Catechism (whether Catholic or Westminster or others) to guide their flock.
- If these Catholic lawmakers were not torn apart by many influences of the world and reverted to the Holy Bible for guidance they would not be advocating same sex marriage.
Pope Francis goes the to Bible to reject the lawmakers ideas on this. To me the Bible is the common denominator, the guide to what God says. These lawmakers are buckled as you say to political pressures of man and not listening to what God says in the Bible.
3.Your last paragraph is a little deep for me. I’ll try to understand. Do you mean “manner of discipleship of Jesus Christ” as a method of witnessing to non believers then I agree to- one faith (belief in Jesus as my savior) -one Lord (only Christ Jesus) and one baptism. Both Bible and catechism attest to these things then yes I do agree. Some faith communities (I think you mean other denominations)are joined to the Body of Christ although imperfectly (we can’t all be perfect but we’re trying to imitate Christ as best we can). Yes I did say we should read scriptures,the Bible, for guidance as to what God wants of us.
I was looking from you a response regarding the Church writing the Bible. I really don’t know where that comes from. Can you explain? It seems very clear to me from reading in the Catholic Catechism that the Church in its’ formative years relied greatly on Sacred Scriptures or Old Testament. The Bible was written by various men under the inspiraton of the Holy Spirit, i.e. John the apostle, Mark, Matthew, Luke, Paul, and others. All of these men were Christians, followers of Jesus and members of the Christian Church.
Hope this finds you well. Thanks.
Hi DavidJohn31. Regarding the response to the Church writing the Bible, I’m not sure I had a horse in that race but I’ll see if I can help. The Church was founded first by Jesus and its mission carried out by the apostles, their teaching transferred down through the ages by their successors. The Gospels and letters we have today (or “memoirs of the Apostles”, as they were called) were written records of the formation and acts of that Church. There were many other letters that testified to the acts and faith of the Church, such as the Didache and Shepherd, which were often read in the local churches but of these 400+, the 27 we have today were officially accepted as Sacred Scripture at the 3rd council of Carthage in AD411, “pending approval from across the lake (Rome)”. I don’t usually get into the chicken and egg debate since they were both from the same henhouse anyway. My point is that both the Holy Writ and the Church reflected the same reality and there is not disconnect between them.
I agree whole-heartedly that Sacred Scripture is authoritative, however, I do not agree that each individual person is authoritative in their rendering of its passages. As Catholics, we are instructed not only to read scripture, but to first pray and ask God to shield us from predispositions, bitterness, feelings of pride, etc. so as not to subject the Holy Spirit’s message to our preconceived notions. We need to avoid tell the Bible what it says and empty ourselves (or at least not be full of ourselves).
Not only is my own small town filled with 56 different “bible-churches” that cannot agree on anything other than “Jesus died for me”, (except the JWs) but the forum that we are currently on is filled with threads demonstrating the same. If one group accepts the efficacious grace given at Baptism and another group rejects this, they are clearly not of the “same faith”, wouldn’t you agree? If they both point to the Bible for their proof, how is the truth decided?
The early Church was called Catholic because of its nature. It was not exclusive in terms of salvation as Judaism or later Gnosticism. It was Catholic because it embraced all of humanity as Children of God, that Jesus died for all of humanity. By accepting this faith in Jesus Christ, you “named” (“nomen”, eg. our English word nominate) yourself to the Catholic faith. Later, schisms led to people “de-nomen-ate” themselves, which is why they are called denominations. Catholics are not de-nominated, we are nominated. These denominations have made choices to accept or reject certain sacraments, authority, etc.; lots of different reasons. So does it matter if you accept or reject that baptism is necessary? I answer “yes” it really does. Does it matter if you believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist? I answer “yes” it really does. By accepting of rejecting different aspects of the faith handed down by the apostles, we drastically change the personhood of Jesus Christ and the image of who we are worshipping.
And the OP, I am sincerely sorry to derail and take due responsibility for messing up your thread. My vote is for the Great Adventure although the cost might be prohibitive. I hope your Bible study is fruitful!
