The one true church

[Rahn]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

 

[You]

jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Doctrines/what_is_heresy.htm

 

[jediliz]

jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Doctrines/what_is_heresy.htm

That site is blatantly anti Catholic (and even anti some protestants!). it is not a good resource for what Heresy is.

Better Link

newadvent.org/cathen/07256b.htm

 

[GaryTaylor]

jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Doctrines/what_is_heresy.htm

Care you elaborate on this? Thats 5-minutes of life I’ll never get back. I know what it said, I want to know what it means to YOU!

 

[GaryTaylor]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

Its going to get better my friend. I know its hard to see. But we are going to come out the other end of all this. Without a doubt.

 

[gt8952b]

To echo GaryTaylor, we must have faith in our leaders. I believe you are frustrated with many lay Catholics who berate protestants, and likewise some protestants who berate Catholics, but we should all want unity and we should trust in the leaders of the Churches and in Jesus to bring us unity. Remember, it does take prayer, so we should all commit ourselves to that.

 

[Hail_Linus]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

First, that passage is one of my favorites and makes me a little emotional. However, it is my personal opinion that your interpretation is not only wrong but is not focusing on the important issues of the verses.

The verse is clearly giving Peter a chance to be forgiven for denying Jesus. Then Jesus basically tells him that since Peter loves him he can expect to have a horrible death. No prosperity theology for Peter.

The verse that says “When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”” to me makes the point that you should not envy others and you are to follow Jesus. Well that is what the debate is between Catholics and Protestants. We believe that to follow Jesus means to be part of his Church in the fullest possible way.

Further, the origianl title of the Pope in the very early Church was the Vicar of Peter. So the early Christians did believe Peter did have a leading role. This is true even if we take the Eastern Orthodox position of “First among Equals”.

However, any Baptized Christian is part of the one true Church even if the union is incomplete. And we should all debate with charity. We should also keep in mind that many Protestants are more Catholic than many Luke-warm Catholics such as certain public figures which I will not name. In fact, although we get into some heated debates, I find the the Protestants on this forum in particular to be fine Christians. Finally, if it were not for a certain Protestant Preacher getting me excited about scripture I may have never returned to the Catholic Church.

So if you are saying that we should be kind to each other, I agree. But the truth is the truth, and I will stand up for the truth.

Finally, we should be happy to debate here. I don’t know about you but I learn a lot from these debates.

 

[JonNC]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

Thank you for this, Rahn.

May I also mention that this shoe fits just as tightly on our side of the Tiber, when I hear Protestants who claim Catholics are not Christian, when I hear them say Catholics are not saved (simply because they are Catholics), or “Whore of Babylon”, and other derisive remarks. We, too, must do more to see the Holy Spirit in each other, and thank God for the Catholic Church, which preserved scripture, Baptism, and the other sacraments. As Luther said, what would we know of these were it not for them?

Jon

 

[truthsave]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

for somebody it has been clear all the time, for somebody else it is like belonging to a team or another that make him in a way more worthed of Jesus.
I always had this picture in my mind, even when not Christian yet.
People like belonging to religion like they follow a team. They are supporter and supporter can get mean toward other team supporter. But at the end nobody of this supporter is actually playing the game. They are just spectators, making noises, dressing colorful things and shouting. But they are not running they are not risking an injurie, they didn’t trained for hours to be better in their way of playing.
the best team, the best Christian Religion is the one that gives you really first the desire, then the need to go out and play with the other player on the field.

In Christin case to play for Jesus in Jesus name and not to play for humanity in humanity name.

Maybe it is not too clear but it is how I see it.

 

[Kathryn_Ann]

I am saddened to read of your struggles. Holy scripture tells us that God is not the author of confusion. Nor is he the author of fear or contention. He is the Author of love, and of the divine continuity of the Catholic Church which is unparalleled and should cause us to rejoice.

We can be Catholics and know that our Church and Holy Father the Pope allow for discussion and compassion between people of good faith. Yet to be a Catholic is to be The Bride of Christ, the Ark of the Faith. Some may come to Heaven on a different path, due to family history or life’s many varied journeys. God loves us all, and so much so that he handed the Keys to Peter and said that the “Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,” let alone our individual, passing doubts and fears. No wolves in sheep’s clothing will prevail. Humans have free will, but we must fully embrace the joy of the Church, founded on His great sacrifice and His conquering of death and sin for all the world.

We are to be as loving and welcoming as He is, yet always remembering the uniqueness of the Sacraments and Holy Church, which, through our history, are unbroken despite centuries of disputes. The Communion of Saints, our Sacraments, Holy Blessed Mother, Holy Trinity, traditions and magisterium are there for all of us if we only embrace them!

We belong not to a mere “denomination.” There are thousands of divided sects that can barely agree on anything. Christ Himself handed His Divine Universal Intent of the Holy Church to us, to Peter, through history. Other sects and denominations were begun be mere mortals. This does not mean that we claim superiority in ourselves, but the opposite, we claim Christ’s authority, not ours. We are mere humans, clay vessels, yet allowed to shine His light to all.

There may be other ways, members of many faiths may find Heaven. I believe that because of my great need for Christ, that I need every Sacrament, every Church tradition, and the centuries of wisdom begun by Him in order to journey towards Heaven. Our Lord knew that there would be divisions and troubles down through the ages, but these shall not prevail against Holy Church.

Ecumenism, compassion for all, and the loving example of outreach from the Vatican is proof of a love for all mankind. We as Catholics are not superior, it is Our Lord Christ Who began the traditions of Holy Church knowing we would need this divine continuity.

Because of His great sacrifice and love for all humans, we reach out to all in distress, and learn His humility. Others may find Heaven another way, but His Holy Catholic Church is a joy to me that I shall shout from the rooftops. I’m sure He understands all our questions and doubts, but there comes a time when we must humble ourselves and lean into His wisdom in creating the Catholic, universal Church, only that we may help others to Him, to His saints, To The Blessed Virgin and the Holy Sacrament so precious and so needed equally by His beloved children all over the world. All are welcome! In this we can rejoice.
Peace to you,
Kathryn Ann :harp::heaven::grouphug:

 

[CopticChristian]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”./FONT]

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

I do not understand your sentiment. You speak for some I suppose. The question would be how does one see the reformation. It has taken me a long time to see the Reformation as I do now. I do not see it as “The Reformation” anymore, I see it as a deviation called “The Reformation” however I do not see it as reform. That took me years to see that. Knox, Zwingli, Calvin, Luther united under 4 basic points that exist today, The Bible Alone, Extrinsic Justification, Denial of Church Authority, and Faith alone. This in my mind is not reform it is change and in reality an attempt to change. When reading early documents about what is called the Reformation it was an attempt to destroy The One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. Many of the documents utilize this very term to dignify what they write calling themselves the One Church.

Time has shown that they failed to destroy or reform. They just started a movement that exists today scattered in many forms. In my opinion there is no such thing as Protestantism it is Protestant Thought that designates the many and sundry systems of belief calling themselves Christian.

Protestant thought divorced the Eucharist or Liturgy of the Eucarist and focused on the Liturgy of the Word. To claim you belong to the One True Church you include all those baptized in Christ in the trinitarian formula. We include “the heathen” and “the heathen” attacks what they do not know or understand based on the Protestant thought that pervades time, ie We are the Heathen to be destroyed from the outset of the movement. In the end The One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church prevailed, continues to grow and the “heathens” are few, the minority.

Facts are facts. Jesus is Lord. He founded a Church. Paul says it is the mystery hidden for all ages by which the Gentiles would be fellow heirs not just the Jews. Blame Paul. If you study our leaders, our team the Catholic/Reformed, Catholic/Methodist, Catholic/Baptist, Catholic/Anglican, Catholic/Lutheran dialogues…our leaders honor what those that profess Christ in what they bring to the table and conceed nothing but understanding of what we profess including the Eucharist, Baptism, Mary and more.

How can you be tired of what someone else thinks? I have no idea what you think. It appears that you are saddened by something and perhaps it is perspective that causes you to be sad.

My perspective is that Protestants exist to strengthen the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church and to cause us to engage in ways we could never have imagined. I don’t want to stand on a corner and thump a bible, convince them the bible is the word of God, get them saved, and then get them to go to church…that is what these guys do…It is pretty luxurious and no work to engage any Protestant…they believe the Bible is the word of God, they believe in the Trinity, Baptism, grace, and more…Can you imagine what it would be like to try to engage real heathens…God has caused us to get on our feet, engage our minds and profess Christ as we know Him in the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church…if you get tired…someone else will be there to help you…

 

[afiala2]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

The Truth is the Truth. Why are you ok with other people teaching things incompletely or even falsely? Knowing the beauty and deepth of the One True Church Christ founded should make you want to help our other christian siblings and non-christians to know the fullness of truth in Jesus Christ that can only be found in the Catholic Church. Knowing the truth gives the person the greatest chance of getting to heaven, don’t you want to help others get to heaven? Why are you content with divisions within christianity? Division is not christian.

This “21st century” relativist logic leads to an atheistic culture of death, look around. Is it ok to be an active homosexual and kill your children now that it is the 21st century?

We should strive for Christian unity, Jesus prayed for it. He also warned us of wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Holy Spirit brings unity not division.

Please pray to the Holy Spirit for Christian Unity.

 

[fhansen]

I am a Catholic, and I have had it.

I believe that there is one true church. And it is the church of Jesus Christ. This church encompasses all who truly believe the Gospel, regardless of denomination.

I am tired of my fellow Catholics thinking that the Protestant Reformation caught God by surprise and that we need to “fix” it by browbeating the “heathen” with phrases like “we are the One True Church” and “we trace our lineage back to Peter” and “we have the Eucharist and you don’t”.

May I present some foundation for my rant:

John 21:15 – 22: When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Peter is the rock, and he proved this in spades once he was filled with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He is rightfully our leader. But, look at this passage of scripture. The Lord is telling Peter that this church is His and that it is not up to Peter to deal with the “others”, it is his to follow Jesus.

That would be good advice for us here in the 21st century. Who the Lord loves, He rebukes. He rebukes the Protestants, and He rebukes us. We are His children. We all are. We need to start acting like we are, and start loving our brothers and sisters.

So you’ve decided that it was OK, it was Gods’ will, for the Church to splinter into a myriad of groups, sometimes with widely diverse theological viewpoints usually based on their own unique interpretation of scripture, scripture which was never intended to be anyone’s personal theological handbook and had never been the sole source or rule of the Churchs’ authority since her beginnings?

 

[CopticChristian]

So you’ve decided that it was OK, it was Gods’ will, for the Church to splinter into a myriad of groups, sometimes with widely diverse theological viewpoints usually based on their own unique interpretation of scripture, scripture which was never intended to be anyone’s personal theological handbook and had never been the sole source or rule of the Churchs’ authority since her beginnings?

Rahn has been silent. I would be interested to know if Rahn posted to get answers or just because Rahn has had it?

 

[ConstantineTG]

I agree. True Christian love conquers by love, not by debates, proselytism, or worse, through physical force.

I do agree that those who are part of the Church are those who TRULY believe in the Gospel. The problem is the Gospel has been misrepresented to most. A lot think they are following the truth but are misled by the wolves in sheep’s clothing. But do we correct them by smacking the truth on their faces? No, we should correct in love and charity.

 

[CopticChristian]

I agree. True Christian love conquers by love, not by debates, proselytism, or worse, through physical force.

I do agree that those who are part of the Church are those who TRULY believe in the Gospel. The problem is the Gospel has been misrepresented to most. A lot think they are following the truth but are misled by the wolves in sheep’s clothing. But do we correct them by smacking the truth on their faces? No, we should correct in love and charity.

You may want to read the letter to the Romans again. Believing in the Gospel is Good. Doing the Gospel is better. Paul made it pretty clear. James said show me your works and I will show you your Faith.

the righteous judgment of God; 6Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath, 9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11For there is no respect of persons with God.

12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Paul was pretty insulting to the Jews telling them that they were under the power of sin just like the Gentiles. A gentle insult is sometimes necessary.

 

[fhansen]

I agree. True Christian love conquers by love, not by debates, proselytism, or worse, through physical force.

I do agree that those who are part of the Church are those who TRULY believe in the Gospel. The problem is the Gospel has been misrepresented to most. A lot think they are following the truth but are misled by the wolves in sheep’s clothing. But do we correct them by smacking the truth on their faces? No, we should correct in love and charity.

Actually Jesus used truth and love together. These two qualities seem to be inseparable.