thank you. I was about to say, "let’s be careful not to say, ‘all Protestansts this’ or ‘all Protestants that’ "
Yes, the possibility of salvation has been achieved for us. We just need to choose to accept it. Please don’t think of me as holding the view that there we are “once saved, always saved”. Not true. As I said before, we need to continually grow in our faith and grow closer to Christ.
Where are you getting your facts from? Protestant churches do bear much good fruit, and have done so throughout history. Amazingly strong Christians such as C.S. Lewis, John Wesley, John Newton, William Wilberforce, Billy Graham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the many Protestants who are marytred around the world for their faith show that there is much good fruit being borne (along with, sadly, their martyred Catholic brothers and sisters). Again, a bad tree cannot bear such good fruit.
I do deny that the doctrine of the Catholic Church has mistakes. It is without error.
First of all, I never said that. Refer back to my previous post. I did not say that the Catholic Church’s doctrines had mistakes, I said that the people who are trying to practice them do. It would be a grave mistake to think that Catholic Christians have never made mistakes…a quick look through history disproves that.
Wow
I am so sorry you think that. Have you read up on any of the figures I mentioned in my previous post? What incredible witnesses to the faith they were. We all could learn a lot from them…their bravery, their dedication, their immense love for Christ, their passion, their love of Scripture, their knowledge, their wisdom. Please read any of C.S. Lewis’ works (heck, even any of his quotes that are posted online), or a biography of any of the above people. These were not just passive, nice believers. They were Christian to the core, to their very identity. Look at what C.S. Lewis has to say about his Christian identity:Those Christians are laudable, and their examples praiseworthy. Never said they weren’t. But they were members of an incomplete church, which is unfortunate. How much more could they have done if they had been backed by the graces of the one true faith? How sad that such nimble minds were deluded by the lure of Protestantism.First of all, I never said that. Refer back to my previous post. I did not say that the Catholic Church’s doctrines had mistakes, I said that the people who are trying to practice them do. It would be a grave mistake to think that Catholic Christians have never made mistakes…a quick look through history disproves that.
Wow
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
-from his essay “Is Theology Poetry?”
What you say does a great disservice to all the Protestant martyrs and those who have dedicated their lives to the faith. Surely you can learn something about their self-sacrifice and love of God even if you disagree with their doctrines. It’s even possible for a Catholic to learn things from people of other religions, such as Gandhi and his own self-sacrifice and passionate dedication to peace. So to refuse to learn anything or respect the sacrifice that Protestants, fellow believers in Christ, is even more bewildering to me. Having a humble spirit is important.
The Catholic makers of an ecumenical DVD series, called “Common Ground: What Protestants and Catholics Can Learn From Each Other” would disagree with you as well. So this is not purely a Protestant belief.
I don’t think it’s right for us to judge the theological leanings of C.S. Lewis. He chose Anglicanism over Catholicism despite the urging of his Catholic friend, J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis never said why in any of his letters or other writings as he likely wanted to avoid infighting between denominations. So I cannot say if his reasoning was good or not. He probably did so after much thought that is all we know for sure.
If the DVD isn’t enough for you, then I will refer you back to the writings of Pope John Paul II regarding non-Catholic Christians:
But it would have been better had he led people to the true Church, rather than a lacking offshoot. Surely, he did good. No one is disputing that. But why take GOOD when you can have IDEAL?
I believe he has done that though. True, not all who converted due to his works became Catholic but some of those converts did. There is nothing in his works which contradicts Catholicism.
I suppose we will have to agree to disagree on this point
