G
guanophore
Guest
Such a statement demonstrates not only a deficient understanding of the nature of Church, but a misunderstanding of sin.A priori arguments that the Church can’t sin, shatter on the fact that the Church has often sinned greatly. Observation shows it can
The Church cannot sin because her divine elements prevent this. Men who choose to reject the teaching of Jesus do sin, and in doing so, separate themselves from His Holy Bride, the Church.
In fact, there is quite a bit of evidence that Jesus intended to keep His promises to prevent any sin in His Church. He promised to lead her into all Truth, and that the gates of hell would not prevail. There is no quicker way to pass through the gates of hell than sin.There is not a scrap of evidence in the NT that the Church can’t sin - & it would seem only right that the NT’s ideas on the Church should count for something.
I have never denied that men within the Church sin. We see this clearly in the NT. Ananias and Sapphira are a good demonstration of what happens to people in the church that try to lie to the HS.This is the fallacy of a thousand qualifications - by the time you’ve denied that
are both members of the Church & Catholic bishops, you won’t have a visible Church left.
- Popes & other bishops who have sanctioned:
- torture
- the castration of boys for their voices
- slavery
- persecution of witches
- persecution of Jews
- the removal of cbnildren from their families “in favour of the Faith”
- political assassination
- the removal of rulers from their thrones
There is a visible church left, in spite of centuries of ravaging and corruption from sinners. The reason that the visible Church is still standing is because she is infallible, and of divine institution.
It is certainly a great wound to the Church when persons occupying official capacity choose to separate themselves from her through sinful actions. However, they do not represent the church in their corruption any more than Judas represents Christ in his betrayal. That is like saying that all of what Jesus taught is defunct because Judas acted faithlessly.You will have a vast number of wolves. That’s what comes of trying to save the holiness of the Church by denying that those members of the Church were or are Catholics who acted in an official capacity in the Church.
Why is it so difficult to admit that they did evil, in an official capacity ? Why is it so hard to imagine that if the CC is going to call itself holy, it ought to act as though it actually were holy ? Why should anyone thinkit is holy, when it does not give any indication that it is - that, it is, in fact far from holy ? \quote]
The problem you are having, Gottle, is that your perception of “church” is deficient. You seem to think that Church is the sum of the visible parts, and this is not the case. It is not difficult at al lto admit that persons calling themselves Catholics did evil, or that some occupied official capacity. It is not at all difficult to expect that Catholics should act Holy, as they are Holy. However, it is wrong to define the Church according to those who have abandoned her teachings.
Gottle of Geer;5553427:
It appears that you have allowed the behavior of sinful men to blind you to the Holiness of the Bride of Christ. This is exactly the goal that Satan tries to accomplish by pulling such people into sin. He hopes to discredit the Holy Bride of Christ, and turn people such as yourself from seeing her divine nature.What the problem ? It does not do what it says on the tin, but behaves no better than if it had never heard of God or Christ.
I agree. I think the only solution is for people to return to the Apostolic Teaching on the nature of the Church. She is one with her bridegroom, pure, infallible, and made so by her Head, from whom she can never be separated, and by the HS, who is her soul, and by Whom she exists and is animated.So pointing to the sins of other bodies, Churches or parties or whatever, is a useless defence; for it does not show that the CC is any better than they are - it shows, if anything, obly that theuy are not better in some respects than it. Which is not the problem, but an evasion of it.
No, Gottle, you have fallen for the ruse. The Church cannot do evil, because she acts in accordance to the will of her Head, who is Christ. I agree, many official representatives have done a great deal of evil, and still do, but in doing so, separate themselves from His Holy Bride. It is the lack of distinction between this evil, and the Holy Bride, that causes divisions.Code:The fact is, that the Church has - through its official representatives - dome a very great deal of evil. It still does.
The Catholic Church is not “Roman”, Gottle, and she cannot be defective, as she has been purified and perfected by Christ. you fall for this lie because you have accepted a false notion of the Church as ‘the body of believers’ only, and have lost the incarnational reality of Church.Those of us who think,on the sttength of ikts behaviour & fruits, that the Church is fallible & sinful & seriously defective, don’t have to worry about being orthodox; those who set themselves up as “true Catholics” or as apologists or as both, have to square the claims of RC orthodoxy wwith the facts of history. I don’t envy them.