Yeah, as I’ve pointed out elsewhere, particularly regarding traditions, Protestants often accuse Catholics of things they actually already believe themselves.
Yep. People misunderstand what Total Depravity is referring to. I am reading a book by a Catholic and find that I agree with probably 90% of what Scott Hahn says. And the rest I am still researching
Which book is that? I’m curious because I’ve been reading different apologetics books by Catholics.
You are right, and a quick search pulled up what you are saying is correct. I apologize for the error.
1701 "Christ, . . . in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation."1 It is in Christ, "the image of the invisible God,"2 that man has been created "in the image and likeness"3 of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God.
Blow it off and send him a link to the following articles from my blog which will refute it. He’s trying proselytize Catholics away from our most holy faith.
Cute here. He’s not talking about the Pope.
Really? That’s odd since the Catholic Church has been calling all of us to be born again for 2,000 years based upon that same passage of scripture and continues to teach this need for rebirth even today. For instance, the Catechism says.
This guy is preaching to the choir here and in fact if you’ll enter the catechism at paragraph 1987 and read down for context you’ll see that the Church teaches very clearly and strongly on the need for conversion. it goes on to say.
(Cont’d)
He’s dead wrong here though because a “good Catholic” is as good a Christian (and in many cases far better) than any n-C believer, especially since we are followers of the original, New Testament, “full gospel”, Christianity and not some of the modern new winds of doctrines of men that came into being some 500 years ago.
This is nothing more than the error of Sola Fide. CA has the following article that will help here. Justification Sola Fide | Catholic Answers
This is fairly typical anti-Catholic polemics. The truth is that we Catholics are involved in our “religious activity” specifically in the obedience of faith in Christ, since He established His Church and the wonderful sacraments it ministers to us in His name. “I Find No Sacraments In the Bible” he said. Far from being a rejection of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, it is specifically in response to that sacrifice that we obey His call to receive His new birth in the obedience of our Baptism.
As John Martignoni (Bible Christian Society) often says, Catholics have no problem at all with what that verse says and will say “Amen” and “Alleluia” to what it says, though we will not agree with what this guys says it means, which is his (or more likely someone else’s) errant personal interpretation.
Why would I do this? What’s wrong with praying my Rosary and meditating on the life of Christ? Again…is this an authentic presentation of the New Testament Gospel or something new and different? (See Who REALLY Preaches “A Different Gospel”?)
I looked at that site. It’s fraught with many of the usual errors of modern n-C communities, the most glaring one being that they are very heavily Sola Scriptura, a doctrine that is nowhere found in the Word of God. Nowhere in the Word of God does the Bible lay any claim to being the final and ultimate authority that they preach it to be. It’s simply not there and that has been discussed here at CAF many times in threads like the following.
I strongly suspect this is wrong, since if true it would mean there is goodness completely independent of God.
I think you are right in your analysis. What I’ve found is that the tract distributing protestants typically have a poor understanding of the role of works in their own beliefs, let alone Catholicism. Higher thinking individuals like yourself understand that the differences are much more nuanced.
Before the fall, Adam and Eve were full of sanctifying grace!
Isn’t a works alone salvation a condemned heresy?
Well, Catholics are Baptized by definition and this so this is a non sequitor since Baptism has transferred man out of state which he is speaking of. If a Catholic falls from grace they have the Sacrament of Reconciliation, established by Christ, which a “good Catholic” would make use of. Then they go on with the “faith alone” part which the others are refuting for you.
No worries.
Every man, or just those who are baptized?
Actually, I think it is referring to general revelation. Notice the wording: “By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator.”
There are definitely quite a few theological presuppositions underlying the criticisms in the tract. I also didn’t like the use of the phrase “Holy Father,” as it seems to poke fun at the Catholic use of that phrase. The writer might not have meant it sarcastically, but it almost seems that way.