Protestants, how can this be possible?

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=NotTooSmart;5703259](Now you do sort of lessen your point by claiming there are over 30K Protestant denominations when there are not. Your point would be better served by using an intentionally smaller figure than the actual amount. Anyway…)
I have heard the issue of Protestant denominations cited by Catholic apologists bigger than everybody here and it is 1/2 convincing but not totally. Let me illustrate.
Anyway, you just asked for my reaction to the phenomenon of denomination and I gave my silly opinion as best as I can.

Here are my two sources:
Originally Posted by Ferde Rombola showthread.php?p=4998139 - post4998139showthread.php?p=4998139 - post4998139
“Various ecumenical movements have attempted cooperation or reorganization of Protestant churches, according to various models of union, but divisions continue to outpace unions, as there is no overarching authority to which any of the sects owe allegiance, which can authoritatively define the faith. Most denominations share common beliefs in the major aspects of the Christian faith, while differing in many secondary doctrines, although what is major and what is secondary is a matter of idiosyncratic belief. There are “over 33,000 denominations in 238 countries” and every year there is a net increase of around 270 to 300 denominations. – World Christian Enclycopedia (2nd Edition) David Barrett, et al. Oxford Unniversity Press (2001)”
Jon Meacham
NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Apr 13, 2009
It was a small detail, a point of comparison buried in the fifth paragraph on the 17th page of a 24-page summary of the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey. But as R. Albert Mohler Jr.—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, one of the largest on earth—read over the document after its release in March, he was struck by a single sentence. For a believer like Mohler—a starched, unflinchingly conservative Christian, steeped in the theology of his particular province of the faith, devoted to producing ministers who will preach the inerrancy of the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only means to eternal life—the central news of the survey was troubling enough: the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent. Then came the point he could not get out of his mind: while the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the report said, “this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified.” As Mohler saw it, the historic foundation of America’s religious culture was cracking."…
SOURCE TWO:

The Catholic Almanac 2007 who does such an inventory every years also shows just over
33,000.

Sorry, but that the information I have. But even ifs it 330, that’s too many! There is only One truth!
 
Here is what your KJB says:

v. 19:** “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:** and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”

That friend is THEE Protestant Bible agreeing with us. What the heck are you using to back your persoanl point of view:shrug:
I agree with this. I have no problem with what is in th bible. The Kingdom of God is for everyone. It is an incredible gift!!! It is the making of man whole. It is the making of man into his true self. When one enters the Kingdom of God Jesus become the King of one’s life. The servant of Jesus then sees Jesus in all people he or she meets. The servant of Jesus serves Jesus in everyone he or she meets. It is a mystical union of life.

He who does what is true comes to the light that he deed may become manifested as having been wrought in God.

He who has ears let him hear!! He who thirsts let him drink!!!
 
=Seeker100;5704157]I agree with this. I have no problem with what is in th bible. The Kingdom of God is for everyone. It is an incredible gift!!! It is the making of man whole. It is the making of man into his true self. When one enters the Kingdom of God Jesus become the King of one’s life. The servant of Jesus then sees Jesus in all people he or she meets. The servant of Jesus serves Jesus in everyone he or she meets. It is a mystical union of life.
He who does what is true comes to the light that he deed may become manifested as having been wrought in God.
He who has ears let him hear!! He who thirsts let him drink!!!
Isn’t that nice:eek: So sin does not exist, heaven does but not hell:shrug: You must not have the King james or any Catholic Bible. What ever your reading is pretty much a fairy tale. Read 1 Jn. 1:8-10, 1 Jn.5: 16-18 John 20: 22-23 and how about Mt. 19:16 :rolleyes:
 
Isn’t that nice:eek: So sin does not exist, heaven does but not hell:shrug: You must not have the King james or any Catholic Bible. What ever your reading is pretty much a fairy tale. Read 1 Jn. 1:8-10, 1 Jn.5: 16-18 John 20: 22-23 and how about Mt. 19:16 :rolleyes:
You missunderstand me. Sin does exist and so does heaven and hell. When I mean the Kingdom of God is for everyone I mean it is available to whomever wants to serve Jesus. As Jesus says, “Whoever wants to drink, let him drink!”

Life is for any who want it! Life is living in love. Life is being in the Father and the Son in us.

Jesus came and set up his Kingdom the Kingdom of God. We can all be part of this Kingdom by serving Jesus in everyone we meet. It is a mystical Kingdom. It is a mystical union between the servant and his Lord.

It is life and this life is available to anyone!!

In this union living waters flow out of one’s spirit!!! Denomination does not matter. Loving God does.

It is such a wonderful gift from God, we can do things for Him in others. With Jesus we can serve God in Jesus by doing things for Jesus in each person we meet.

As Mother Teresa says, “The poor are Christ in disguise.”

Jesus brought us such a gift. He brought us Himself. He brought us the Kingdom of God. He who wants drink, Let him drink!!
 
They are far more free to learn in the Catholic Church, where there is no confusion of doctrine, and the teachings are plainly taught.

:rolleyes:

The Bible was not “locked away” - it was chained to a podium next to a large window, so that anyone who wanted to could read it, just like an encyclopedia at the library, because in those days, they didn’t have the printing press and Bibles were really expensive.

Up until the days of the Internet, they used to chain up the encyclopedia, because they could only afford to buy one, and people couldn’t afford to buy their own - so by chaining it up, the library made it accessible to everyone, with nobody being allowed to take it home only for themselves. Today, now that we have the Internet, it’s no longer necessary to have encyclopedias at the library - everyone can look up whatever they want. Up until the time of the printing press, Churches would have Bibles chained up that everyone could read, in exactly the same way and for the same reason.

Many people also could not read in those days, so in addition to having a Bible available in the Church that everyone could use (and no one could steal) they heard the Bible read out at Mass and in the Divine Office, and they meditated on the stories of Christ’s Incarnation in their prayers of the Rosary. They also participated in various pageants (our modern Christmas pageant is a remnant of those days - Bible stories told through stylized acting and set lines that everyone - even the smallest children - knew off by heart, and through the art and architecture in the Church itself.

In fact, I would bet that the Bible was less of a mystery to your average illiterate medieval Catholic peasant, than it is to many learned Protestant scholars of the modern era. 🙂
Are you old enough to remember when phone books chained in a phone booth
 
And now, if you don’t mind, one quick question for you.

It concerns the idea of an infallible interpretation of the Bible. Last I checked, “interpretation” basically means reading something and rightly understanding what it means. Apparently, you (a mere layperson) are unable to infallibly interpret something all by yourself. So the CC gives you the CCC and presto, you have an infallible interpretation.
No, I don’t. My authority isn’t the CCC. My authority is a Person - Christ - who makes His will known to the Pope, who then delegates authority to the Bishops (including mine) who in turn delegates certain authority to the priests (including the one I go to Confession with) - so, when I go to Confession with a problem, I hear the teaching given by my priest. Or, I go to Mass, and I hear the teaching given in the homily.

I don’t even need to know that the CCC exists,let alone read it or interpret it.

All I have to do is make use of the Sacraments of the Church, and I’m within earshot of the correct interpretation of the teachings of Christ - and if I’m paying attention, Christ is speaking to me in a clear and unmistakable voice. If there’s something I don’t understand, I’m able to ask for and receive clarification. 🙂
 
No, I don’t. My authority isn’t the CCC. My authority is a Person - Christ - who makes His will known to the Pope, who then delegates authority to the Bishops (including mine) who in turn delegates certain authority to the priests (including the one I go to Confession with) - so, when I go to Confession with a problem, I hear the teaching given by my priest. Or, I go to Mass, and I hear the teaching given in the homily.

I don’t even need to know that the CCC exists,let alone read it or interpret it.

All I have to do is make use of the Sacraments of the Church, and I’m within earshot of the correct interpretation of the teachings of Christ - and if I’m paying attention, Christ is speaking to me in a clear and unmistakable voice. If there’s something I don’t understand, I’m able to ask for and receive clarification. 🙂
Do you see Jesus in all you meet?
Do you feel God in your heart directing you?
Do you have union of the Spirit?
 
Do you see Jesus in all you meet?
Every human being is a living icon of God, and in that sense, every person I meet is, in a sense, Jesus.

However, not everyone I meet has a correct understanding of Christian doctrine. So, I listen to those who have been carefully trained in these things, and who have received the graces to transmit them, by means of the Apostolic Succession. 🙂
 
Do you feel God in your heart directing you?
I feel lots of things in my heart, including God. I discern which voice is God’s by comparing the message I’m hearing to that which is given by the Church. When I find a match, I know it’s God. If I find a contradiction, I know that it’s either myself, or the Devil.

It’s always good to be sure of these things. 🙂
 
Every human being is a living icon of God, and in that sense, every person I meet is, in a sense, Jesus.

However, not everyone I meet has a correct understanding of Christian doctrine. So, I listen to those who have been carefully trained in these things, and who have received the graces to transmit them, by means of the Apostolic Succession. 🙂
I am not talking of doctrine here. Jesus is in every person on the earth. Do you see Him there?
 
I feel lots of things in my heart, including God. I discern which voice is God’s by comparing the message I’m hearing to that which is given by the Church. When I find a match, I know it’s God. If I find a contradiction, I know that it’s either myself, or the Devil.

It’s always good to be sure of these things. 🙂
So you cannot tell the voice of God in your heart without hearing what a minister tells you?

Can you not feel the joy of the Lord in your heart?
 
if you were to use the same method in counting Catholic churches, one woudl end up wiht several hundred Catholic “denominations”.
Thats not entirely true. There is only one Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. All the other ones, not for filling the requirement of believing in the Papacy’s leadership of the church, are not Catholics, but a protestant denomination themselves. 🙂
 
I am not talking of doctrine here. Jesus is in every person on the earth. Do you see Him there?
Yes, in the sense of not listening to them for Doctrine, but caring for them as Mary cared for Jesus. But if some drunkard in the street comes rolling up to me, sees my crucifix, and says, “I am Jesus, give me money!” he will go away empty-handed - I will pray for him, of course, and I will treat him politely, but it will be a very polite, “No, I don’t have any money for you today.”
 
Yes, in the sense of not listening to them for Doctrine, but caring for them as Mary cared for Jesus. But if some drunkard in the street comes rolling up to me, sees my crucifix, and says, “I am Jesus, give me money!” he will go away empty-handed - I will pray for him, of course, and I will treat him politely, but it will be a very polite, “No, I don’t have any money for you today.”
I mean everyone not just the homeless. Everyone.

Do you see Jesus in everyone?

I am not talking about what other people’s doctrine is.
 
So you cannot tell the voice of God in your heart without hearing what a minister tells you?
Priest. Not a minister. (A minister is as likely as not to be a heretic.)
Can you not feel the joy of the Lord in your heart?
Of course!! But that has nothing to do with what you were asking. You want to know if, if my body wants sex, is that a message from God to go for a roll in the hay with the next good-looking man? No - not because of what my heart is telling me (because every instinct in my body is saying “Go for it!”) - but because of what God teaches us in the Church. 🙂
 
Priest. Not a minister. (A minister is as likely as not to be a heretic.)

Of course!! But that has nothing to do with what you were asking. You want to know if, if my body wants sex, is that a message from God to go for a roll in the hay with the next good-looking man? No - not because of what my heart is telling me (because every instinct in my body is saying “Go for it!”) - but because of what God teaches us in the Church. 🙂
Oh my goodness!!! I am not taking about sexual arousal. Why do you keep changing the subject?

I am talking about joy. Do you feel the joy of God in your heart?

Joy has everything to do with what I am asking.
 
When I mean the Kingdom of God is for everyone I mean it is available to whomever wants to serve Jesus. As Jesus says, “Whoever wants to drink, let him drink!”
Yes, that is true, but you have to consider… so… Adam and Eve sinned, they CLOSED the gates of heaven, because of their SIN. Thousands of years later, the messiah came, Jesus, and died to OPEN the gates of heaven. So if all you have to do is believe in God to get to heaven, why would the gates of Heaven CLOSE after * sin came into the world, and open once he [Jesus] made the Bloody Sacrifice to save us from sin? Does this make sense to anyone but me? Why is sin not (according to non-catholics) such an important hinderance if it is VERY clear in the scripture that it is?*
 
Yes, that is true, but you have to consider… so… Adam and Eve sinned, they CLOSED the gates of heaven, because of their SIN. Thousands of years later, the messiah came, Jesus, and died to OPEN the gates of heaven. So if all you have to do is believe in God to get to heaven, why would the gates of Heaven CLOSE after * sin came into the world, and open once he [Jesus] made the Bloody Sacrifice to save us from sin? Does this make sense to anyone but me? Why is sin not (according to non-catholics) such an important hinderance if it is VERY clear in the scripture that it is?*

Sin is a hindrence. As a Protestant it is. That is why we stop sinning and serve the Lord!!

Sin is bad. Dont’ do it.
 
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