Posted on 03/18/2007 6:29:20 AM PDT by markomalley
In order to continue His work on earth and lead all peoples to eternal salvation, Jesus established one visible and hierarchical Church. It is very clear from the continual preparation of the Jewish people in the Old Testament and then with the precise act of Jesus in Cesarea Philippi, that God willed to found one Church as a visible, hierarchical, living, and continuing authority, to teach, govern, and sanctify in his name. It is no less clear that Jesus appointed the Apostle Simon the fisherman as the visible head of His Church. Even as He conferred the authority, Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter; i.e., “rock.” The name “Peter” had never existed prior to this divine event in Cesarea Philippi.
Trials and tribulations will always be a part of the Church because it is not merely a human entity. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and Satan will continue to attack it until the Second Coming. Perhaps history will judge our age as presenting the most formidable challenges the Catholic Church has had to face, although it is true that there have been other dramatic moments in the history of the Church.
The Catholic Church is the only institution in human history that has continually survived its own problems and failures. As G.K. Chesterton once said, this is true, "because it has a God Who knew His way out of the grave." Jesus assures us of His continual presence and protection: "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt 16:18).
Rather than becoming discouraged, angry, or even rebellious during a difficult time of trial, we must stand fast through prayer and fidelity. We must always pray for our Church, and always trust that God will deliver us from all evil.
Unity in the Catholic Church is damaged when Catholics, be they clergy or lay people, deviate from the deposit of faith, either through an unhealthy attachment to the past or a detrimental deviation, in the name of progress, from authentic Church teaching and discipline. Both postures tear away at the garment of unity.
Every member of the Church is obligated to obey every teaching of the Church. Matters regarding faith, morals and discipline are not subject to personal interpretation.
We live in a moment of history when many openly defy the authority of the pope. We need to persevere, at times under very difficult circumstances, in the exciting adventure of fidelity. With God's help and the maternal protection of Mary, the Mother of the Church, at the end of our earthly existence we can repeat the sounding words of St. Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tm 3:7).
Many years ago when I was in high school and college, I too did a lot of discussing and debating. I too had many religious opinions, many of which were erroneous and unfounded. I debated other issues than the hot-button issues of today; nevertheless, I too struggled with obedience or disobedience to the pope. Thankfully, through the patient and loving guidance of a college professor who became a true life-long friend, I was able to openly search for the truth through deep prayer and sincere study, and I found it. I know that this truth is Jesus and all that His Catholic Church teaches. I love this truth very much and I will never leave it behind again, even if I have to stand alone with the pope, whoever he may be.
To leave behind the relativism that Cardinal Ratzinger spoke about before his election as Pope Benedict XVI, and fully embrace truth and charity, has been the most exciting and liberating event of my entire life. So, I truly do understand all of the debate, all of the discussion, and even all of the anger. I have been there, and I have left all of that behind only to find profound joy, peace and freedom in the Church that I have given my entire life to.
The only solution for the problems that we face as a Church in America is to get back to basics and rediscover the same Jesus that Peter encountered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:17). We must begin again by truly living as disciples of the Lord and living the Gospels with renewed authenticity. True Christianity will set us free.
5.56mm
That is not a true statement !
Could you share where a person was named Peter (Kipa, Petros, Cephas, Tsuwr) prior to that point?
(Having said that, I do realize that God identifies Himself as "Rock" several points in the OT, but the way I read it, the expression is primarily used as an adjective, with the following exceptions:
And even those do not reflect so much a "Proper Name" as a metaphor (imho).
Another great article!
One method of Hermeneutical understanding of Matthew 16:18
is to do a word study of all the scriptures which were then known
as the Holy Word of G-d when Y'shua spoke these words.
This will allow one to understand that all of the Holy Word of G-d
was inspired by YHvH; the whole counsel of G-d.
The only conclusion that one can come to unless you are
predisposed to believe in man's tradition over the Holy Word of G-d
is that Y'shua was speaking of himself as the "Rock "
e.g.
b'shem Y'shuaGenesis 49:24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed
[Or archers will attack...will shoot...will remain...will stay] supple,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,Deuteronomy 32:3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock , his works are perfect, and all his ways are
just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.Deuteronomy 32:15 ..... He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Saviour.
Deuteronomy 32:30 How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten
thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless
the LORD had given them up?Deuteronomy 32:31 For their rock is not like our Rock , as even our enemies concede
Deuteronomy 32:32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness.1 Samuel 2:2 "There is no-one holy [Or no Holy One] like the LORD;
there is no-one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.2 Samuel 22:2 He said: "The LORD is my Rock , my fortress and my deliverer;
2 Samuel 22:3 my God is my Rock , in whom I take refuge, my shield and the
horn [Horn here symbolises strength.] of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my saviour — from violent men you save me.2 Samuel 22:32 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
2 Samuel 22:47 "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock ! Exalted be God, the Rock , my Saviour!
2 Samuel 23:3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me:
'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,Psalm 18:31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
Psalm 18:46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock ! Exalted be God my Saviour!
Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.Psalm 42:9 I say to God my Rock , "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"
Psalm 78:35 They remembered that God was their Rock , that God Most High was their Redeemer.
Psalm 89:26 He will call out to me, `You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Saviour.'
Psalm 92:15 ..... "YHvH is upright; he is my Rock , and there is no wickedness in him."
Psalm 95:1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Psalm 144:1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock , who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.
Habakkuk 1:12 O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy
One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to
execute judgment; O Rock , you have ordained them to punish.
Given you are the Queen Keeper of the knowledge of the Names of God, including THE ROCK CHRIST JESUS on the forum . . . seems fitting to ping you to this.
Wonderfully done.
A little bit of research with the help of the Ru'ach HaKodesh.
AMEN!
I assume you've seen Alamo-Girl's thread on it.
Dr E posted a link upthread.
I posted this on that thread as well.Blessings on you and yours !
this is pretty much what markomalley said...you just reiterated his point.
#3 and the dissenters are here already.
Harry Potter and the Chair of Peter (Lead us not into temptation has meaning to Benedict XVI)
Could you share where a person was named Peter (Kipa, Petros, Cephas, Tsuwr) prior to that point?(Having said that, I do realize that God identifies Himself as "Rock" several points in the OT, but the way I read it, the expression is primarily used as an adjective, with the following exceptions:
- 2Sa 23:3 (Rock of Israel)
- Isa 30:29 (Rock of Israel [RSV])
- Isa 44:8 (There is no Rock[RSV])
- Hab 1:12 (and thou, O Rock[RSV])
And even those do not reflect so much a "Proper Name" as a metaphor (imho).
Bottom line, you didn't need to repeat a superset of those citations I already referenced. To do so insults the work that I already cited. Further, you missed several of the citations where Tsuwr was translated as some other word than "rock" in the KJV. I have a feeling that you must be using a Young's Concordance (that is a weakness of that particular tome).
BTW, as a point of interest, petros is the Greek, kipa is the Aramaic, cephas is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic, and Tsuwr is an English transliteration of the Hebrew.
First point of clarification, I do not contest (nor would I ever be so presumptuous to do so) that God identifies Himself as "the Rock" throughout the OT. If you would be so good as to read my post #4, you would see that I clearly make that statement.
Second point of clarification, the question I asked in post #4 was,
Could you share where a person was named Peter (Kipa, Petros, Cephas, Tsuwr) prior to that point?
That question was prompted due to XeniaSt's comment, That is not a true statement !
This comment was made in response to the following in the original article:
Even as He conferred the authority, Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter; i.e., “rock.” The name “Peter” had never existed prior to this divine event in Cesarea Philippi.
So if you could attempt to answer the question I posed in post #4 or, again, above, I would appreciate it.
Please to note, I, again, am not questioning that God calls Himself 'the Rock' at many points throughout the OT. I am also not trying to get into a petros vs petra argument here. Although we might disagree about the interpretation of petros and petra, I am not arguing that 'petra' is a much larger scale than 'petros.' So I would appreciate you answering my question...not answering some other question that you may attempt to read into my words. Thank you.
Indeed, the Name of God, the Rock, was specially announced in Deut 32:4 which is part of the Song of Moses which will be sung in heaven (Revelation).
The Name was lost in the Septuagint and the Vulgate. But the apostles knew:
Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. - Deu 12:3-4
Thanks.
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
I just finished the last several days several DVD's from last year's UFO conference by a Biblical set of Christians. Some great things. Will try and get you some copies or some such. One was an extensive discussion of THE BOOK OF ENOCH re THE WATCHERS etc.
I suspect the names of those gods to be pulled down would be congruent with the evil watchers who polluted mankind etc. What do you think?
LUB
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