Over 250 Protestant Leaders Sign 'Reforming Catholic Confession' on Essentials of Christian Faith

[JonNC]

You cannot say the process of declaring the Canon was fallible and at the same time say that God guided us to be able to rely on His Written Word. Its a contradiction.

Protestants try desperately to avoid this dilemma.

Excellent point. The Lutherans take this into account by considering the historic evaluations of books: attested, disputed, (apocryphal) hidden, and rejected.
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/thinking-about-the-canon-a-lutheran-view

 

[nodelink]

What puzzles me, is that Protestants expect Scripture to be the supreme rule of faith

The US Constitution is the supreme rule of US civil government according to the interpretations of the US Supreme Courts. Similarly and sadly, the Bible is the supreme rule of self-government and church government according to the personal, private interpretations of millions of Sola Scriptura Protestants and Evangelicals who make their own personal judgments.

 

[nodelink]

Jesus is a great Prophet, great Priest, great King who founded one great Church to be his great Body on Earth.

Why should anything that Jesus has said or done be considered to be non-essential?

 

[JonNC]

Jesus is a great Prophet, great Priest, great King who founded one great Church to be his great Body on Earth.

Why should anything that Jesus has said or done be considered to be non-essential?

While I would have said the great prophet, etc., I otherwise agree with your post.

 

[JonNC]

I’ve noticed with interest the number of Catholics here who have acted like “Protestants” regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the 85 Theses.

 

[nodelink]

What should we do with the content of full-orbed Christianity that these 250+ prestigious elites left off their list of “essentials”? Should we consider it obsolete, disposable, dispensable, discardable, abrogated and void? God forbid.

 

[Wannano]

I’ve noticed with interest the number of Catholics here who have acted like “Protestants” regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the 85 Theses.

That same thought crossed my mind while reading here. While most are probably sincere in their concerns about what they see the Church presently doing it is important for them realize they have the luxury of expressing their differing opinions without being identified and dealt with as divisive or schismatic.

 

[rcwitness]

Im really trying to understand what you are saying. Sorry, could you put it in a way for dummies? Lol

 

[JonNC]

Check out some of the posts on threads about the 500 commemoration of the Reformation. Some Catholics have been scathing in their attacks on Catholic hierarchy

 

[rcwitness]

Ok, i see now.

I am just interested in theological beliefs, and whether there can ever be any real constructive results.

 

[adf417]

okay… it doesn’t make a difference to me. You can believe that as far as I’m concerned.

Blessings to you,

And why doesn’t it make a difference to you. Are you going to say everytime now when reffering to the book Romans “God’s letter to the Romans” and not use Paul’s name at all?

Peace!!!

 

[adf417]

The apocryphal books were the first books deemed not of God, for many reasons.

Also, was this deeming process in the sixteenth century an infallible process?

Peace!!!

 

[Don_Ruggero]

I’ve noticed with interest the number of Catholics here who have acted like “Protestants” regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the 85 Theses.

Yes. Remarkable, isn’t it?

Fortunately, such Catholics do not represent the mind of the Church’s teachers…which is the hierarchy.

The behaviour I encounter here in such Catholics as you reference is an aberration.

It reminds me of how important it is that each diocese has an Office of Ecumenical Affairs – and that the Bishop be most attentive in seeing that these diocesan officials are seeing to the education, on all matters related to ecumenism, of the lay faithful who are under their governance and jurisdiction.

 

[commenter]

I’ve noticed with interest the number of Catholics here who have acted like “Protestants” regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the 85 Theses.

Check out some of the posts on threads about the 500 commemoration of the Reformation. Some Catholics have been scathing in their attacks on Catholic hierarchy

Jon, you have usually been careful to differentiate “Catholicism”, from “Catholics behaving badly”.
Catholics are always behaving badly. We take on the vices of the prevailing culture. If the prevailing culture has biases and blind spots, we are affected by that. If the prevailing culture is right now, that means many of us are swept up by the anti-religious authority tidal wave. Thus the rants. Catholicism is different.

Describing “Catholics behaving badly” is about as difficult as hitting the broad side of a barn, throwing from 10 feet away. Identifying weaknesses in the argument for the necessity of a Magisterium is much harder, though you have in the past made some tiny dents.

To me the Reforming Catholic Confession seems to be assuming, “We will follow Scripture wherever it leads us, except this one door must remain closed.”

 

[JonNC]

Yes, I’ve really tried hard to not bash the Catholic Church on this.
Catholics behaving badly is neck and neck with non-Catholic Christians behaving badly.

 

[ATraveller]

Personally, those commemorations are odd. How do you get to unity with Mainline groups? The Catholic Church is orthodox and the Mainline ones are moving further away from orthodoxy. The Swedish organization’s Archbishop doesn’t even believe in the Virgin Birth and she actively supports same-sex ‘marriage’. Unless the Catholics involved are trying to pull them back to proper Christian teachings and one would hope that’s the case.
There’s probably more genuine unity between the Catholic Church and fundamentalist Baptists who call the Pope the Antichrist.

 

[JonNC]

I’ve said before here that dialogue between Rome and Lutherans, for example, is limited with the ELCA/LWF and they move further away from orthodoxy. The future is with confessional Lutherans

 

[rcwitness]

Would it be constructive for 250 Catholic Scholars, Bishops, and Pastors all over the world to write a statement affirming the essentials of the Council of Trent?

 

[tgGodsway]

Unless there is new information thrown into the issue to warrant another reformation concerning the books, I guess God is done. But you do not have any bragging rights over this as RC. Four centuries of banter is nothing to boast about. Obviously there were many things to consider and the process was difficult.

We do not take the position that those who made these choices were infallible. They were men like you and I who needed the Holy Spirit to guide them. The word of God was already in existence before they collected it. We contend that though the process was fallible, our God is infallible. He got His way despite our frame and weaknesses. And for that He receives all the glory.

Blessings,

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Would it be constructive for 250 Catholic Scholars, Bishops, and Pastors all over the world to write a statement affirming the essentials of the Council of Trent?

The Magisterium will clarify for the faithful – whom they govern as shepherds govern their sheep – how the Council of Trent is to be understood, in the light of subsequent developments.

To the extent they wish the (name removed by moderator)ut of theologians and historians of their choosing, that would happen. In all cases, such contributions are completely at the service of the College of Bishops. They alone, the Successors of the Apostles, are the teachers and the guardians of what the Church holds.