Question for X-SDA or knowledgeable Catholic

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Cristian B, I can’t help but come to the conclusion that you didn’t quote most of my post not because you wanted to save space, but because you didn’t actually read it. I explained pretty much everything you said in my essay. So please double check it. Also, never cite wikipedia. The only reason I referenced it is because it had a nice easy to read map.

Also, I am not a “Roman” Catholic. Technically, there is no such thing as a Roman Catholic. There is Catholicism. Some members of the Church are of the Latin Rite, which is sometimes incorrectly called “Roman”, but the word itself was originally a Protestant insult.
Actually I did read it. Why shouldn’t I cite Wikipedia? Is there anything wrong with the information in my post? If so, what precisely?

And the only reason I made the previous post is that you got it wrong. The Catholic Church is on one of the seven hills. You talked about where the Catholic Church didn’t meet the criteria of being on Rome. Well, it actually is. So you were wrong at that point.
 
Actually I did read it. Why shouldn’t I cite Wikipedia? Is there anything wrong with the information in my post? If so, what precisely?
You shouldn’t cite wikipedia because anyone can edit it. I’m certainly not accusing you of this, as I don’t think you tried to pull this move, but I have debated with more than one person who goes to the relevant wikipedia article, EDITS it to say what they want, and then immediately cites it as a source of information to me. (Hilarity usually ensues if someone reverts the change within minutes.) The point is, anyone can edit it. Wikipedia is a great place to go for the citations it uses, but not the info itself.
And the only reason I made the previous post is that you got it wrong. The Catholic Church is on one of the seven hills. You talked about where the Catholic Church didn’t meet the criteria of being on Rome. Well, it actually is. So you were wrong at that point.
Well, you were actually talking about one Church, which sits on one hill, not seven. And while St. John’s may sit on one of the hills of Rome (I can’t tell from your picture), the point is that it sits on ONE of the hills, not all seven of them. It has to sit on ALL seven for it to count. So, no, I did not get it wrong.
 
I have been searching this forum to see if there is something on this topic but could not find one so I thought that I’d ask an ex-Adventist or any knowledgeable Catholic to comment on the SDA doctrine of the beast of Revelation 13:11= The Catholic Church. I don’t have a commentary on the book of Revelation and the one that I would like to get (Scott Hahn’s) is too expensive for our budget just now. Also, does anyone know if there is a Catholic commentary on the book of Revelation on the internet?

Thanks,

Annie
I don’t know off the top of my head about Rev 13:11 but the SDA refers to the Pope as the Beast in Rev 13:18 where it speaks of the number 666. Patrick Madrid in his book “Pope Fiction” answers this. I thought it was funny where he shows that the founder of the SDA, Ellen Gould White, could be the Beast. Her name, using their own method used to prove the Pope is the Beast, in Latin is: L + L + V + L + D + V + V + I = 666.

James224
 
Welcome to the boards, Chris.
Which passage do you take to mean a small country? Rev 17 talks of a wealthy nation, which the Vatican certainly is not.
Why not wealthy? chick.com materials have alleged gold in Fort Knox belonging to the Church, for example. There are a billion Catholics and many of them give offerings, some of which make it to the top…

Incidentally what do the Catholics say about tithing?
 
Why not wealthy? chick.com materials have alleged gold in Fort Knox belonging to the Church, for example. There are a billion Catholics and many of them give offerings, some of which make it to the top…

Incidentally what do the Catholics say about tithing?
The key word here is that Chick ALLEGES. He has no evidence for his claim. No indication or trend in church activities to indicate this. Where did he get this idea from?

Plus fort Knox doesn’t actually have a lot of money like people think it does. Well, it does, but its almost entirely U.S. government owned. Very little else is entrusted to that place. If the Catholic Church has anything at all stored there, it would be art or historical texts, but they have their own repository of that stuff, so why separate them?

As for the offerings Catholics give - they very seldom make it to the top. It goes to upkeep of the local churches, with a small portion heading to the diocesan head because that is where the paid employees are and they obviously need a paycheck. The money at the top, if by the top you mean the Vatican, comes from the diocese of Rome and from tourism, which they need to pay the bills. The Vatican has been in debt for the last five years straight.
 
Haven’t your own writings (Pope Innocent for example) made the pope sound like he is exalted as God?

Pope Innocent III “He judges all and is judged by no one”

Pope Boniface VIII “We declare, assert, define, and pronounce, to be subject to the Roman pontiff is to every human creature altogether necessary for salvation”

Pope Leo XIII: “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty”

Sounds like Vicar of the Son of God to me… your words, not mine

chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp

Also discusses purgatory and Eucharist

You all need some tracts of your own.
We don’t need tracts that lie and perjure.If that what floats your boat I really feel sorrow for you.

(Edited)

Yeah -using Chick crud as reference material-really hysterical.It is more fitting to be used as toilet paper.
 
A wafer doesn’t save me. It probably adds some calories to my fat body though.
I’m not going to purgatory.
I am absolutely assured of going straight to Heaven (gasp).
My God is not in Rome He’s in Heaven.

It is very simple and liberating. I asked Jesus to save me and help me live His way. Finito. It is finished. I need not fear the domination of anyone. What I do for Jesus is gratitude (a nice big tip) and helps save others who watch me.

We have shepherds at the local level to help us read and understand our Bibles and places to fellowship. It does require discernment to know if they are submissive to the Lord, not every pastor is. More Bible study and quiet time are going to be needed for life.
Arrogance.If Paul was working out his salvation in fear and trembling -what makes you better or anyone else any better.As far as anything else written it is plain that your ignorance of things Catholic is enormous indeed.SDA 's dogma of anti- catholicism is an ugly foul-smelling remnant of SDA’s origins in the 1840’s.Hatred has become a relgious “mitzvah” for the SDA-I couldn’t think of a more un-christlike thing to do then to perpetrate hatred. As far as the “Sabbath” keeping nonsense- that little chestnut has bee cracked long ago.It is plain unalduterated nonsense that any one with some intelligence could discover by merely picking up a history book.In fact posts of many pages have been posted time and again from non-catholic sources that disprove SDA rubbish.But you’ll have been so brainwashed that to pick up a book of history unapproved by your church is anathema.Ignorance truly is bliss!
 
I guess Jack’s done a job on you. I am not sure how much liberty he has taken. Maybe when I see that $25 Catholic apologetics book it will clarify things.

It is possible to be sincere, but be sincerely wrong

Still must be possible to come forward to Jesus in sincere contrition and be saved. The thief did. “That none should perish, but all should have everlasting life…” That really suggests Jesus means what He says about being saved, no doubts about it. You can say presumptious, but that is a presumptious verse in the NT.
 
Jack Chick’s trash is the moral equivalent of “The Protocols of Zion”.They are vicious,they are lies,they are hatred, they are ignorance and they both spread bigotry and cause pain.
 
Allowing someone to promote jack chicks website is like allowing the Klan to advertise in a NAACP magazine.Where are the moderators.And any vistor who does that has shows disrespect to his hosts , bad taste and bad manners.
 
I want to buy that book for $25 about why the Bible apparently tells Catholics to call the Pope father when Isaiah said don’t call any person father, etc.
Again, the sarcasm is uncharitable and suggests you’re just here to waste our time.

First, Isaiah never exhorts the Jews to not call any person father. The Chronicler had no qualms referring to Isaac, Jacob and Abraham as Fathers in the same sense that Paul describes a spiritual fatherhood in Rom 4:12 and 4:16-17.

Jesus does say “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father’, for you have one Father, who is in Heaven” (Mt 23:9) but to understand this admonition we must look at the broader context, which is a diatribe against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees “they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” etc. They, too, were likely called ‘Father’ in the same sense of honor as the patriarchs were, and Jesus argued they did not deserve this title nor did their behavior deserve imitation.

Contrast this with Paul’s description of Timothy as his spiritual ‘son’ (1 Tim 1:2, Phil 2:22). If Jesus’ desire was that we should not call anyone on earth our father (aside from our biological fathers, obviously) then Paul’s declaration to the Corinthians that “in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel” (1 Cor 4;15) is either flippant, disobedient or blasphemous.

No, the condemnation in calling the Pharisees ‘father’ is in the demanding of honor for what is not honorable - noting the hypocrisies that our Lord calls them out for in Matt 23.

If the condemnation were purely the use of the title ‘father’ then that condemnation could be avoided by changing the title (say ‘cura’ or ‘pastor’) but not the heart of the individual. That’s insubstantial.
 
The difference between many systems and one system give an honest Protestant options to leave, for example, when conscience dictates that the pastor is out of line with Scripture
The contrapositive is not true - that an honest Catholic hasn’t the option. The majority of priests are in line with doctrine. A few do step out of line and most are called on it either by visiting clergy or by a Catholic in the congregation who is knowledgeable about the faith.

Also bear in mind that a bad pastor is not the same as bad teaching across the entire church. If a Presbyterian minister is out of line with his teaching, the congregation can, with minimal difficulty, attend a different PCA chuch. Likewise, there is fluidity with which parish Catholics attend. There’s not supposed to be, but often Catholics will attend a parish that better fits their needs at the time, for example a young family would commonly choose a parish with a school and programs for kids rather than the ‘assigned’ parish which has mostly elderly parishoners. I have heard of Catholics leaving a congregation because of a bad priest - mostly because he’s abrasive rather than being out of line with doctrine.
The Pope serves for life regardless, I don’t suppose any human or humans oversee him.
I think too much is made of what the Pope could do as opposed to what he actually does. It is rare for a Pope to do or say something without the support of the College of Cardinals, a body of the most senior, educated and experienced clergy, from which the Pope is chosen. I can only think of one example in church history (dating back 500 years) when the Pope exhorted doctrine over the objections of the Cardinals. No, the Papacy tends to be a very conservative office, and if we had a Pope declare something absurd or heretical (such as “Jesus never actually existed”) we’d see some form of action taken to remove him from power. That may not be on the books, but the Cardinals are educated men who understand that the Magisterium must not deviate from orthodox doctrine except after exhaustive deliberation (as when the doctrine of limbo was called into question a few years ago).
The major difference between say one Protestant church (Baptist) and the Catholic church is the difference between heterogeneous and homogeneous.
Back to your valid concern.
What happens if a practicing Catholic has qualms with what the priest is teaching? The priest is responsible to the pastor of the parish (an elder priest) as well as to the bishop or head of his order. If it’s an issue with something other than theological matters, the parish council or board - composed of elected lay persons - often has overriding authority. For example, we locally have a very liberal priest who, while he’s very focused on living an active faith, crosses the line with his homilies. Three consecutive Sundays he exhorted and praised the gay community for their courage. He was censured - reprimanded following a meeting with the Archbishop who cautioned him to stick to orthodox teaching. Yes, there is room for homosexuals in the Church as there is room for all sinners. No, that should not be the focus of multiple homilies, and should certainly not be subject to praise. So there is recourse.

In practice, the process of Mt 18 tends to be performed by the clergy or some parish or diocesan leader during either a regular business meeting or a special council with relevant persons. I’ve heard of evangelical churches challenging a pastor directly during services - this would be considered disruptive in the Mass. And while lay people are free to voice their concerns to their pastor, not many Catholics know their priests and their Scripture well enough to do so. Those who are disenchanted - whether rightly or wrongly - tend to just leave or at least stop going.
If I was stuck with a pastor like Phelps,
May such a happenstance never befall you.
I could cite said Scripture, and in many churches, there is a procedure to discipline or remove an unrepentant embezzling or womanizing pastor.
Embezzlement and adultery are bright-line issues about which there should be no contention, and the process of calling such a pastor on the carpet as in Mt 18 should be a formality. What about theological dispute? The difficulty in carrying out Mt 18 is who ultimately decides who is right? If 300 of your 500 parishoners side against you, do you acquiesce to the majority, take the other 200 and start your own church, or do you kick them out and claim rightful leadership of the church property - since churches are often non-profit corporations that own their own buildings and land?

One benefit of an organized denomination is the ability to appeal to higher human authorities when a conflict at the local church becomes unmanageable. Not that this always prevents a fracture (consider the recent split among American Presbyterians), but it allows cooler heads to come in and attempt to settle the dispute.
If nothing else, a mature Christian who is discerning can leave. We lost Christians because we had a female (and otherwise disciplined) pastor for some time, and they could not abide by Scriptural requirements for a woman not to lead a man.
One would hope that the cause of discernment would lead one to take a leadership role in the church. I’m sorry to hear about the fracture yours suffered, and I hope you’ve not lost friendships as a result. I don’t think any church is immune to it, only that each approaches the threat of schism differently according to its organization.
 
So the Catholic Church is seated on one of the seven hills because it’s throne, official seat of authority, or whatever you want to call it, is located on one of the seven ancient hills of Rome. Interesting.
Yes, but …
Technically there are four papal basilicas:
St. John Lateran - on Lateran Hill (one of the 7)
St. Mary Major - on Esquiline Hill (one of 7)
St. Paul Outside the Walls - outside of the 7 hills (I don’t think it’s actually on a hill)
Papal Basilica of St. Peter - in Vatican City proper

The one used most often is the last one by virtue of size and proximity to the Papal residence. The Pope also lives in Vatican City and holds his office in Vatican City.

The oldest of these is the first one but it was a built at a time when Vatican hill wasn’t as densely populated. Also, since executions were held within Rome’s walls, many of the martyrs died upon the seven hills so churches built in memorial of them would have been constructured there, etc ad nauseum
 
Also, I am not a “Roman” Catholic. Technically, there is no such thing as a Roman Catholic. There is Catholicism. Some members of the Church are of the Latin Rite, which is sometimes incorrectly called “Roman”, but the word itself was originally a Protestant insult.
Easy lad, it’s common enough usage. Bear in mind that Calvinist and Anglican Protestants have an understanding of catholicity (universality) which is not co-equal with Catholicism (us). Adding Roman is easy demarcation, though I think presently it would be sufficient to just use “Catholic”.
 
The resident advisor I mistook for Buddhist was actually Christian (indwelt at least) and neither of us seemed to know it. I had actually met the Holy Spirit as a passenger in her mind, if not a driver. Perhaps if I had known earlier I might have been saved earlier.
That’s a unique position on the undersatnding of the Spirit. I think it’s more commonly believed that the Spirit is not given until after one responds to faith, such that only Christians - those who believe in Christ - have access to the gifts of the Spirit.
 
It has to sit on ALL seven for it to count. So, no, I did not get it wrong.
Just a point of information, we probably do have churches on every hill in Italy. There are also probably Protestant churches on each of the seven hills in Rome. The geography is not so important as the reference - the metaphor of the Harlot sitting on Seven Hills is that it refers to Pagan Rome in the 1st century. The reference to seven hills would have been well-understood certainly by those living there or within the Empire as well as those who were familiar with lyrical references (including Virgil and others, I believe).

To argue that Seven Hills could refer to any entity that exists in Rome at a non-specific point in history is absurd. Should we blame the carabinieri, or Alitalia, or the present nation of Italy?
 
Why not wealthy? chick.com materials have alleged gold in Fort Knox belonging to the Church, for example. There are a billion Catholics and many of them give offerings, some of which make it to the top…
You said small country - that’s what I don’t see in Rev.
In terms of wealth, the Vatican’s GDP is less than the comparable measure for the state of Rhode Island. It’s not a wealthy nation. Rome, during the Empire, was very wealthy. Israel benefitted greatly, too. Following the collapse of the Empire, not so much.

Nor do the $20 a week that most American Catholics give amount to much, and bear in mind most Catholics (like most people around the world) are poor. Like Farsight said, donations mostly stay local. Global relief efforts (such as CRS) are usually funded through individual donations or sometimes appeals through the parish, not some overflowing coffer in Rome.
chick.com materials have alleged gold in Fort Knox belonging to the Church, for example
See, when I read something that absurd, I ask for the source and I don’t expect to get an answer. I don’t mean Chick, I mean who Chick got it from. As with “My Name … In the Vatican?” it’s a story so opposed to reality that I just reject it on face. So I expect he either made it up or heard it from someone less than credible. Even if it were true, where would this information be available? And how much gold are talking about?

It also doesn’t pass the sniff test. Fort Knox is the most well-known bullion depository, but the Fed in New York holds more. And why would the U.S. hold gold for a foreign nation in the first place? It’s not unusual for the Fed and commercial banks to hold reserves of foreign currency for exchange purposes. To hold another country’s gold bullion is a more unusual - especially since the Vatican is on the euro and (so far as I can tell) does not adhere to the gold standard. Ie, there’s not reason for the Vatican to have excess gold laying around.
Incidentally what do the Catholics say about tithing?
The Church asks us to be generous but doesn’t set an amount. We don’t see the Mosaic rule of the tithe (giving of 10% of income) to be binding in the New Covenant, though the spirit of supporting ministry as one is able is binding.
 
Jerusalem also sat on seven hills.

The northern summit (hill) is called Scopus [Hill One],

The middle summit (hill) was called Nob [Hill Two],

The highest point of Olivet itself, and the southern summit (hill) was called in the Holy Scriptures the “Mount of Corruption” or “Mount of Offence” [Hill Three] (II Kings 23:13).

On the middle ridge between the Kedron and the Tyropoeon Valleys there was (formerly) in the south “Mount Zion” [Hill Four] (the original “Mount Zion” and not the later southwest hill that was later called by that name),

The “Ophel Mount” [Hill Five],

To the north of that the “Rock” around which “Fort Antonia” was built [Hill Six],

And finally, there was the southwest hill itself [Hill Seven] that finally became known in the time of Simon the Hasmonean as the new “Mount Zion.”
 
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