So why do you all take the popes word for how scripture is inturpreted?
“The Pope” has actually had very little to say about how Scripture is interpreted. Very few passages “must” be read by Catholics in only one way. We have much liberty in our reading of Scripture. But in the Catholic view, the combination of Scripture, the history of the Church, the early witness of the Fathers, and the continuity of doctrinal development, all add up to a very powerful witness for the authenticity of the Catholic position and the authority of the Papacy – not to mention that the Catholic Church determined the canon of Scripture itself. So if you don’t accept the authority of the Church (at least to some degree), then you have a BIG problem with the authority of Sacred Scripture, which could not exist without the Church.
Are you saying just because one disagrees with you its anti?
Many who disagree with Catholic teaching ARE anti-Catholic. We didn’t make this up. Check out the SDAs if you want to see anti-Catholic.
I don’t feel you refuted any of my positions,all you did was try an tell me what scripture meant by your understanding of it,to which I totally disagree with.
OK. You disagree. I don’t think you REALLY disagree with the Catholic position, because you are not formulating your own positions or thoughts. You seem to cut and paste materials without giving them in-depth consideration. You’re just happy to know that you can find a canned answer to a Catholic position. Many here have amply demonstrated why WE disagree with you.
Im here on this site on my own,expressing my views,which are different than all of yours,as I expected for I am on a Catholic site,let me extend an invatation to the site where I am a regular member, Im not asking you to join,just check it out.
christianityboard.com/
Thank you for the link.
Im a Holy Spirit filled, God fearing Christian,denomanalized by no group,my Church is the body of Christ with its many membered body of believers with Christ as the head with no one member greater than the other.
OK. As you are aware, the Apostolic Churches (Catholic & Orthodox) hold a view of the Church as being very much linked to history, very much linked to ortho-doxy (true teaching) and to continuity of tradition. We see Scripture as PART of Tradition. And we tend not to “do” theology via proof-texting.
When a Catholic is “Spirit filled” one of the ways he knows it is that the Spirit is not guiding him into novel theologies nobody ever heard of. Any “spirit” that is telling me something contrary to the ancient and common faith is NOT the Holy Spirit. It is either indigestion, ignorance, stupidity, arrogance, vanity, or the devil.
As for “no member greater than another”, you seem to have the idea that perfect democracy is essential to church polity. But in the New Testament, pastors are counseled to “pastor” and the people are counseled to follow the leaders appointed as their guides. Christ came to preach His “Kingdom” not his “democracy.”
Brings me to my next question,if one is not a member of the Catholic Church is that person in danger of going to hell?
Here are the relevant passages from the
Catechism
How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.(336) This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.(337)
“Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men.”(338)