I myself do not make that determination. That is where I place my faith and trust on the church. Precisely why Catholics,Orthodoxs,Coptics and all the ancient liturgical churches believe Christ gave the 12 and their successors and the church the authroity and Holy Spirit to guide into all truths.
No one has made the claim that Scripture represents the exclusive authority. It is, however, the only infallible one that the Church currently possesses. The problem with the doctrinal differences you cite is Scriptural interpretation, not Scripture itself. It was also 2/3rds of the “the church” that sided with the Arians.
So…2/3rds of the church sided against Athanasius. Athanasius contra mundum, correct? So was Arius right as an individual, or did he have to get the (name removed by moderator)ut of the rest of the bishops who opposed him, i.e. the church?
If you were alive in 350 A.D., and you placed your trust in the church, you would be placing your trust in the hands of Arians. How would you have been able to tell the difference between the two camps? It does no good to say the church is infallible, if you must fallibly determine which teaching currently in vogue in the church is the infallible one.
My mistake!
I disagree. The church IS infallible,not it could-be or might-be when it suits it. Using your argument would mean EVERY orthodox doctrine would be flawed or riddled with errors,including the canon of scripture.
Then you must not have formal college studies in the classics.
Prayer, study and Apostolic Authority in communion with the man Christ place in charge together with the other bishops of the Church. The scripture warns us against isolating ourselves from interpreting on our own. It does not however tell us not to study scripture or not to learn the truth. In fact, it’s the opposite. To bad far to many Christians don’t study God’s word because when we study God’s word, consisting of Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, we come to learn truth. The Holy Spirit leads us, so long as we do not become the reiegade heretic that chooses to do what ever his heart wishes in order to live the life style he chooses rather than obeying God. How do we know? We following the teachings of the Church as passed down through Apostolic succession. etc. etc.
My Baptist grandmother in Charleston would be rolling over in her grave…say it ain’t so!
LOL Julianna…yeah. It seems it is mostly the Southern Baptists and the independent fundamentalist Baptists who are opposed to alcohol. It’s a distinctly American phenomenon, arising out of the pietist movements in the late 19th century. Baptists traditionally never had an issue with liquor. Most Baptists would be shocked to see the eminent Charles Spurgeon photos of him with a glass of scotch and a cigar,My Baptist grandmother in Charleston would be rolling over in her grave…say it ain’t so!
When we got married, we asked the priest about the reception as we had Baptist family members…he said “Have a Catholic punch and a Baptist punch…then sit back and notice which one you are replenishing more often…”.
I grew up in Massachusetts and moved to SC in my teen years. Went to a Baptist wedding reception and asked “When is the band getting here…let’s rock and roll”…and they looked at me funny…
Simple question, Nicea. How do you know it’s infallible?
a lot of my relatives are baptist But, i’ve never went to a baptist church with them I’ll Go to mass is it a sin to say No? because i’m catholic i’ve said no before but i’ll never say no to go to Mass though i dont knowphew! for a moment i thought it was me.I wasn’t thinking of you. I had #13, 16, 17, and 18 in mind
I realize, of course, that polemics and straightforward rebuttals of doctrinal positions can be helpful and used to clarify where each respective party sits on any given topic. I am by no means a doctrinal relativist and clearly believe Rome to be incorrect on any number of issues. The denominational grandstanding that is evident, however, is distasteful to say the least. Given the OP is asking about the nature of Baptist churches, it’s a been funny that so far it’s been nothing but a boastful few responses from Catholics on the subject.
Hopefully your grandparents and MIL let you stick around for the casseroles after church
i do come down pretty hard on fundamentalist from time to time. i wont deny it. but i do have two baptist on my friends list. rev kev is one. shall i make it a third? peace Baptists DO pray of course, but their prayers are directed ONLY to God / Jesus / The Holy Spirit. They would never say a Hail Mary or a prayer involving a saint. They do not believe in intercessionary prayer involving the dead.So You dont pray prayers? at all? i love being catholic
Three sources teach us that the Church is infallible;
No, you did not sin by refusing to go to a Baptist Church.
)