I'm a Protestant Christian. Ask me anything!

[anneramones]

What are your thoughts about Purgatory and why Protestants don’t talk to people that have died? If they are in Heaven they are closer to God than us and dear to him and can bring to his throne our prayers. Thanks

 

[Justin_Mary]

If you don’t mind me asking, what do you mean by “I hope to attain unity with the Holy Trinity”? I don’t want to misinterpret your response.

Like the Saints, like Christ, that my will be completely conformed to the Father’s.

That I become a true image of Christ.

That when you see me, you see the Father.

 

[JonNC]

I think we have different understandings of sola scripture. Of course there are other sources that are true such as songs, commentaries, sermons, etc. What I believe sola scriptura is all about is the authority that is placed on the Bible. If the Bible is God-breathed, and if God is constant, then all traditions, commandments, songs, sermons, and commentaries must be in agreement with all of scripture. Biblical authors constantly remind us that what they are writing is God’s word.

I don’t entirely disagree, but it is the Church that practices hermeneutics. The Church sets doctrine.

 

[gazelam]

The title says it all. Ask me anything regarding my faith and I’d love to give you a reason for why I believe what I believe and have a friendly discourse.

One of the divisions within Protestantism is that of “free will” vs “predestination”. Where do you fall, and why? Thanks in advance!

 

[OrbisNonSufficit]

should be estimated and judged are the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testament alone

(emphasis added)

Yes, what this describes indeed is Sola Scriptura, however what you described as “final norm” being Scriptures was by Anglican Church described as “Prima Scriptura”. I also think Catholicism itself does unofficially subscribe to Prima Scriptura but uses Tradition to interpret Scripture- though there are some who deny this, both inside and outside the Church. John Paul II, Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas are all considered to have held Prima Scriptura as belief.

What Catholicism says is that Scripture must be interpreted in light of Tradition of the Church and as Church has written Scriptures, She can interpret their meaning infallibly. This is akin to Apostles abandoning need for circumcision (contrary to Scriptures of that time- Old Testament, by their authority which Bishops now possess because they have inherited it). If I may ask, how would Lutherans view this principle?

Also, off-topic I want to thank you for actually describing traditional Lutheranism to me through various threads, as now I have very different view on Lutheran Churches than I had before- many in my area tend to be a bit more liberal from my experience (which, admittedly, is not very high).

 

[Lenten_ashes]

I also think Catholicism itself does unofficially subscribe to Prima Scriptura

I feel the same. We do sorta subscribe to a “prima scriptura” type of method. I always say that Tradition is equal to scripture but not equal in stature, it’s equal in a supporting role.

 

[OrbisNonSufficit]

I always say that Tradition is equal to scripture but not equal in stature, it’s equal in a supporting role.

Yes, I would say that Scripture is part of Tradition- the Prime part. To speak about Scripture and Tradition as different things always seemed funny to me.

 

[Chistian-ity]

What inspired you to make this post?

(Sorry if it’s already been asked)

 

[TheLittleLady]

@nick2 bumping this question.

 

[nick2]

(I’d say in the same way, we can’t have faith apart from works either, but that’s probably opening up another can of worms, lol)

No. I’ve probably read bits and pieces. I’m more familiar with the Lutheran catechism given that I grew up in a Lutheran Church.

 

[nick2]

Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m assuming you are asking about addressing prayers to the dead. Such as saints or past loved ones. If that’s the question, then I have a few different reasons. The simplest way to put it is this: How would someone hear your prayers? What is the physical activity of prayer? On its own, prayer is just speaking. There’s nothing innately spiritual about the activity of prayer. The reason God hears our prayers is because He alone is omnipresent and omniscient. Because God is everywhere, we can speak to Him as if He is in the room… because He is! In the same way, we can pray silently to Him because He knows our thoughts. The same cannot be said for anyone else, living or dead.

 

[SeekerOfTruth7]

The Catholic teaching of Prayers to the Saints is that God directs the prayers to them. The issue you have is a well documented issue that is well answered through Catholic dialogue. Catholic Answers has many articles and videos on it, check them out

 

[TULIPed]

A bit of unsolicited advice. If you come into somebody’s else’s home, you’ll find it perhaps a bit easier to be welcomed if you take the time to understand and respect their rules and culture. You might even be taken more seriously. The easiest way to learn about and Catholicism (besides sitting down and listening to a Catholic friend) is to read their catechism. It’s well written and organized and easy to read. You can find it here:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

 

[HomeschoolDad]

The title says it all. Ask me anything regarding my faith and I’d love to give you a reason for why I believe what I believe and have a friendly discourse.

How do many Protestants justify abortion in cases of rape or incest, but not otherwise?

 

[Dougbro1]

How would someone hear your prayers?

God can allow them.

The reason God hears our prayers is because He alone is omnipresent and omniscient.

Well, Heaven is outside of time, plus, omnipresence and omnipotence are not required per se, for instance, to see the opinions and (name removed by moderator)ut of people all over the world, like in these forums.
In a similar (though not identical) way, God can allow the saints to hear the prayers asking them to pray for us. I don’t think the elders in Revelation were omnipresent or omniscient when they brought the prayers of the saints to God.

The Catholic teaching of Prayers to the Saints is that God directs the prayers to them. The issue you have is a well documented issue that is well answered through Catholic dialogue. Catholic Answers has many articles and videos on it, check them out

Thanks, this is a good explanation, too.

 

[TULIPed]

This is a great question - I’d love to hear Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden’s answer (among many, many other Protestant and Catholic public figures) for example.

This I do know - if you doubt the horrific effect of sin on God’s children, go no further than this question. But for the grace of God go we…

 

[HomeschoolDad]

This is a great question - I’d love to hear Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden’s answer (among many, many other Protestant and Catholic public figures) for example.

Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden don’t support restrictions on abortion “except in cases of rape or incest”. Many people do. Their reasoning seems to be “this is the best pro-life legislation we can get in the present real-life situation”. The Church doesn’t require people and legislators to say “it’s either all or nothing”, and to reject laws that decrease the potential number of abortions. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

Some people, though, seem to be saying “abortion is a terrible thing, but if it’s a case of rape or incest, well, those could be acceptable reasons”. What is their reasoning behind this? That forcing a woman to carry and bear a child under these horrific circumstances is worse than killing the child?

As the saying goes, “where does it say that in the Bible?”.

 

[TheLittleLady]

At every Protestant funeral I have ever attended (and there are too many to count), the family of the deceased is comforted with “she is in heaven now watching over you” “he is now your guardian angel!” etc.

Only in those sects that believe soul sleep are these sorts of comforts not proclaimed.

When a Christian dies, standard Christian belief is that person stands in the presence of God. That Christian, who prayed every day for their family and friends and for the salvation of the world, why do we think they would not continue to stand before God and intercede for those they love?

St Paul said we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, he did not say those witnesses are unaware of us who are still running the race.

 

[Wannano]

I am not disagreeing with all your thread but think it is imperative to not build or justify a belief by what people say to each other when confronted with death. I have heard many weird things proclaimed that seems to bring a level of comfort to a bereaved person. And not only by Protestants!

 

[vsedriver]

This is expository preaching, meaning if the Bible talks about it, then we talk about it. This takes a huge burden off of the pastors. Instead of developing a message that wows the crowd, they just explain God’s word

So your church is bible study focused as their Sunday obligation? The Catholic Church’s Sunday obligation is focused on worship. Scripture is presented as part of the liturgy but indepth Bible study is done outside of worship.