Question From a Protestant

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jmcrae said:
I’m thinking (no offense to the American South; this is just my impression of things) that if you were to count up the number of non-denominational churches in the American South, you’d probably have 90% of the total world-wide number of them.
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I’m quite inclined to agree with you. I think the American Bible Belt (the southeast and midwest) is today at the forefront of modern Protestantism, and they are showing us the face of 21st century Protestantism.
 
KennC said:
Well done!! … I’ve been there (a few years ago now) a wonderfull Church. Fr Vincent was there for a awhile, he’s at Brooks now.
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I remember him. Father Flannigan was the Pastor here, and he was assisting.

Right now, Father Newton is holding the fort while Father Edmund is in Rome taking some theology classes at the American Seminary.
 
… and we miss Fr Hui, St Marys Catherdrel, I wonder if he’s still in Rome? A large group of us went to his ordination at McMahon Stadium. We had Fr Mario with us for a short while too. We now have Fr Dan (Drumheller) with is, we made a promise to get in some golf this year 🙂
 
KennC said:
… and we miss Fr Hui, St Marys Catherdrel, I wonder if he’s still in Rome? A large group of us went to his ordination at McMahon Stadium. We had Fr Mario with us for a short while too. We now have Fr Dan (Drumheller) with is, we made a promise to get in some golf this year 🙂
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One of Father Mario’s god sons assisted me with my Catechism class that year. He was very excited about the Ordination. 🙂
 
jmcrae said:
Yes, I think so.

For example, in the Catholic Church, we have the Franciscans, who live very simply, and who try to be good stewards of the earth.

In Protestantism, you have the Mennonites, who try to live simply, and also try to be good stewards of the earth.

In the Catholic Church, we have the Jesuits (priests) and others who follow the way of St. Ignatius (who was the founder of the Jesuits), who value education and evangelism very highly.

In Protestantism, you have the Lutherans, who are also like this.

The difference between Catholicism and Protestantism would be that a Jesuit and a Franciscan could both go to the same Mass together, and both could be full members together at that parish (they could even both sit on the Parish Council together), whereas the Mennonite and the Lutheran would likely not attend the same church together - or if they did, one or both would be considered a visitor - certainly most welcome to attend, but it wouldn’t be their regular or preferred place of worship - and there would also be essential doctrinal differences between the Mennonite and the Lutheran that wouldn’t exist between the Jesuit and the Franciscan.
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Interesting. Yes it is true that people of different denominations would not consider themselves members of the same local body of believers. However, Protestants of different denominations would consider themselves members of the same church. The church, according to many Protestants, is the collection of all genuine believers throughout the world from all the different denominations.

For example, i do not agree with many of the teachings of Reformed Theology, but i have Calvinist friends who i consider true believers because they believe the same things i do about what i consider to be the essential doctrines of the historic Christian faith.

One of the Roman Catholics in this forum pointed out that the Roman Catholic Catechism has a similar teaching - namely, that those who are not members of the Catholic church might still be genuine Christians and true children of God. Am i understanding this correctly?
 
guanophore said:
I think not. All the Protestant denominations broke off from the Catholic Church because they disagreed about what were the essential doctrines. Protestants don’t recognize the role of Sacred Tradition, or communion with the bishop of Rome as important parts of their belief.
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Fascinating, Guanophore! May i ask what is a Catholic to do when there is a disagreement between her and another Catholic? You and Jmcrae disagree. To whom do you go to resolve your differences?

Also, would you consider this disagreement you have with Jmcrae to be over an essential or a non-essential doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church? (By essential doctrine, i mean one that a Catholic is required to hold in order to be considered a true follower of Jesus.)
 
Socrates4Jesus said:
Fascinating, Guanophore! May i ask what is a Catholic to do when there is a disagreement between her and another Catholic? You and Jmcrae disagree. To whom do you go to resolve your differences?

Also, would you consider this disagreement you have with Jmcrae to be over an essential or a non-essential doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church? (By essential doctrine, i mean one that a Catholic is required to hold in order to be considered a true follower of Jesus.)
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They may have a difference of opinion because Guanophore isn’t a Catholic…
 
Socrates4Jesus said:
Protestants of different denominations would consider themselves members of the same church. The church, according to many Protestants, is the collection of all genuine believers throughout the world from all the different denominations.
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This is the teaching of the Catholic Church. There is only one church.
Socrates4Jesus said:
One of the Roman Catholics in this forum pointed out that the Roman Catholic Catechism has a similar teaching - namely, that those who are not members of the Catholic church might still be genuine Christians and true children of God. Am i understanding this correctly?
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The Church calls these “separated brethren”.
 
Socrates4Jesus said:
Fascinating, Guanophore! May i ask what is a Catholic to do when there is a disagreement between her and another Catholic? You and Jmcrae disagree. To whom do you go to resolve your differences?

I would assume that I was wrong, first off, since jmcrae has a much better grasp of the faith than I do myself. The first thing I would do is ask her to explain it to me!
Socrates4Jesus;2012032:
Code: 
Also, would you consider this disagreement you have with Jmcrae to be over an essential or a non-essential doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church? (By essential doctrine, i mean one that a Catholic is required to hold in order to be considered a true follower of Jesus.)
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Which disagreement would that be? If it were an essential matter, and I was not able to submit to the teaching of the Magesterium, then I suppose that would make me a heretic, and a Protestant!
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Socrates4Jesus said:
Interesting. Yes it is true that people of different denominations would not consider themselves members of the same local body of believers. However, Protestants of different denominations would consider themselves members of the same church. The church, according to many Protestants, is the collection of all genuine believers throughout the world from all the different denominations.

For example, i do not agree with many of the teachings of Reformed Theology, but i have Calvinist friends who i consider true believers because they believe the same things i do about what i consider to be the essential doctrines of the historic Christian faith.

One of the Roman Catholics in this forum pointed out that the Roman Catholic Catechism has a similar teaching - namely, that those who are not members of the Catholic church might still be genuine Christians and true children of God. Am i understanding this correctly?
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You quote St. Augustine on your signature I noticed. Did you know he wasn’t Protestant but a Catholic?

Augustine

“When you shall have been baptized, keep to a good life in the commandments of God so that you may preserve your baptism to the very end. I do not tell you that you will live here without sin, but they are venial sins which this life is never without. Baptism was instituted for all sins. For light sins, without which we cannot live, prayer was instituted. . . . But do not commit those sins on account of which you would have to be separated from the body of Christ. Perish the thought! For those whom you see doing penance have committed crimes, either adultery or some other enormities. That is why they are doing penance. If their sins were light, daily prayer would suffice to blot them out. . . . In the Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance” (Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15, 8:16 [A.D. 395]).
catholic.com/library/Confession.asp
 
guanophore said:
…Which disagreement would that be? If it were an essential matter, and I was not able to submit to the teaching of the Magesterium, then I suppose that would make me a heretic, and a Protestant!
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Which disagreement would that be? Well my reply was this:

It sounds, then, that Roman Catholicism is like Protestant Christianity, without all the denominations. That’s not to say they are the same religion, but both hold that there can be differences of opinion on what are believed to be non-essential doctrines. Is that a fair comparison?
You said this is not a fair assessment and jmcrae said it was a fair assessment. To what should the two of you appeal to determine who is correct?
 
Socrates4Jesus said:
Which disagreement would that be? Well my reply was this:

It sounds, then, that Roman Catholicism is like Protestant Christianity, without all the denominations. That’s not to say they are the same religion, but both hold that there can be differences of opinion on what are believed to be non-essential doctrines. Is that a fair comparison?
You said this is not a fair assessment and jmcrae said it was a fair assessment. To what should the two of you appeal to determine who is correct?
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If the disagreement had been serious (it wasn’t) we could have taken a look at the Universal Catechism to see what it says, and if we continued to disagree even after looking at the Universal Catechism, we would then consult with a priest or Bishop to find out the teaching of the Church on this matter.

I am just curious: to whom can you go with your disagreement with your Calvinist friends, that would have authority over both you and them?
 
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