Protestants, why are you not Catholic?

[Jon_S_1]

Wow. There’s so much wrong here. First of all, we Protestants submit to the authority of Jesus Christ, based upon his WORD, the Holy Bible, not some organization that claims to be the Church founded by Jesus. There is plenty of scriptural evidences. You and other Roman Catholic posters have not fully read what Kliska, Pocohombre and others have posted. You have been blinded by Roman Catholic dogma that you can’t see the truth when it stares at you.

Too bad without the church you rail on, you would have no Scripture to read and come to your conclusions.

Tell me.

Why should I trust your authority, or Luther’s?

I read my Bible, a lot.

I was Evangelical Protestant 30 years. I prayed for God to show me his truth. Expecting to be led to another Protestant denomination at most and likely just another Evangelical Church.

Instead by nothing short of a miracle, God led me to the Catholic Faith.

So please don’t patronize with this “can’t see truth staring you in the face” nonsense.

Bottom line. You have ZERO authority to say my Catholic flavored interpretation of the scriptures is wrong.

 

[batman1973]

Why do I suppose that people break away from the Catholic church?

One Word.

Authority

No one likes to submit to authority, of which Catholic Christianity demands.

This is why Protestantism is so popular. You get to be your own Authority. Just you your Bible and “supposedly” the Holy Spirit telling you what is right.

I guess the Holy Spirit must be schizophrenic or something seeing as it tells different people who are prayerfully seeking so many different things.

There is no historical support for Protestantism.

There is practical evidence against it.

There is countless scriptural evidence against it.

And most importantly, a religion invented 1500 years after Christ, founded on the backs of men such as Luther, has no more validity or foundation than the Mormons claims on Joseph Smith.

At least the Mormons recognize the need for authority and the church hence their “Great Apostasy” theory.

Oh, and I’m glad you mentioned Mormonism. As a former member of 4 different Mormon sects (LDS, RLDS, Remnant LDS and The Church of Jesus Christ-Monongahela, PA) The parallels between Mormonism and Catholicism are staggering. Both Mormons and Rome claim Apostolic authority. Both Mormons and Rome teach unscriptural man made “traditions” or doctrines (in the case of Mormonism) both Rome and Mormonism claim that they alone are able to properly interpret scripture, both claim that they are the One True Church, both claim an infallible leadership. Both claim to be started by Jesus Christ. Both claim that there is no salvation outside of their respective communities. Both churches have suffered splintering over doctrinal or authoritative issues. The list can go on and on.

 

[batman1973]

Too bad without the church you rail on, you would have no Scripture to read and come to your conclusions.

Tell me.

Why should I trust your authority, or Luther’s?

I read my Bible, a lot.

I was Evangelical Protestant 30 years. I prayed for God to show me his truth. Expecting to be led to another Protestant denomination at most and likely just another Evangelical Church.

Instead by nothing short of a miracle, God led me to the Catholic Faith.

So please don’t patronize with this “can’t see truth staring you in the face” nonsense.

Bottom line. You have ZERO authority to say my Catholic flavored interpretation of the scriptures is wrong.

Don’t trust my authority, or Luther’s. Trust in Jesus’. If you felt led to the Roman Catholic Church, then, that is where you belong. As I was led away from Roman Catholicism by the Holy Spirit. As far as my “authority to call your flavor Catholic interpretation wrong”, I don’t have to. The Bible does that for me.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Oh, and I’m glad you mentioned Mormonism. As a former member of 4 different Mormon sects (LDS, RLDS, Remnant LDS and The Church of Jesus Christ-Monongahela, PA) The parallels between Mormonism and Catholicism are staggering. Both Mormons and Rome claim Apostolic authority. Both Mormons and Rome teach unscriptural man made “traditions” or doctrines (in the case of Mormonism) both Rome and Mormonism claim that they alone are able to properly interpret scripture, both claim that they are the One True Church, both claim an infallible leadership. Both claim to be started by Jesus Christ. Both claim that there is no salvation outside of their respective communities. Both churches have suffered splintering over doctrinal or authoritative issues. The list can go on and on.

I’m glad you escaped the false religion of Mormonism! As a Lutheran Missouri Synod you are 7/8ths of the way to Christ’s Catholic Church.

Don’t let your LDS experience taint the one true church.

Since Mormons reinvented the wheel, their may be similarities, but it’s just an erroneous cheap copy.

I could honestly make a longer list of similarities between Catholic and Lutheran and this I guess declare Lutheranism as “false” but I think we both know deep down that’s ridiculous.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Don’t trust my authority, or Luther’s. Trust in Jesus’. If you felt led to the Roman Catholic Church, then, that is where you belong. As I was led away from Roman Catholicism by the Holy Spirit. As far as my “authority to call your flavor Catholic interpretation wrong”, I don’t have to. The Bible does that for me.

Lol!

The Bible does that for you?!?

How is it there are a billion Catholics all using that Bible that teaches is not to be Catholic and we don’t see it.

How did folks like Aquinas and Augustine miss it?!

The truth is, you are following your own interpretation.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Perhaps someone (batman) could answer for me.

Where was the Holy Spirit for 1500 years before Lutheranism?

Asleep? Didn’t care? What gives?

Where was Christ’s Church?

We know it was Catholic and Orthodox in nature until then, so why the change in 1500?

Where is the scripture telling us of a prophet to come and teach a new doctrine?

Wait I just remembered there is one…

Galatians 1:8

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

It says a gospel other than what was written in Matt, mark, Luke and John??

No! Other than a gospel that was preached to the Church and the writings reflect but do not encompass it’s entirety. The church and it’s Sacred Tradition encompass it’s entirety and it is demonstrated throughout history over and over.

Now…seeing as I see no prophecy of a “reformation”, and no authority for Dr Martin Luther, and the Bible tells me to pay no heed to such things.

I will practice the Christianity I see clearly demonstrated by the numerous church fathers of the first 1500 years of Christianity.

 

[batman1973]

Lol!

The Bible does that for you?!?

How is it there are a billion Catholics all using that Bible that teaches is not to be Catholic and we don’t see it.

How did folks like Aquinas and Augustine miss it?!

The truth is, you are following your own interpretation.

Wow, dude. You really don’t get it. Oh well. I’m done here. A closed heart and mind gets nowhere.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Wow, dude. You really don’t get it. Oh well. I’m done here. A closed heart and mind gets nowhere.

Really I do get it, and really I am asking.

Make your case of why I should belong to Lutheranism? Why when it comes to the books of the Bible, I should read Luther’s canon, why when it comes to theology, the Lutheran Confessions are correct, why these truths were no where to be found before Luther, and why I should accept them now.

You may say it doesn’t matter, that all that matters is I follow Jesus. But what does that mean?

The LDS and Jehovah’s Witness claim to be doing that.

The Branch Davidians claimed to be doing that.

I could start my own church making up my own canon of scripture based on what the Holy Spirit says and use the scriptures I pick to “follow Jesus” however I want.

The point is without a living and breathing authority given by God, there is no truth.

Just your opinion and mine and a million others.

This is why Jesus commands is in Matt 18 to ultimately settle this dispute by taking it to the church. The church he established as a living authority to carry out his work.

That church is not the Lutheran Church.