I was upset with a substitute priest at Mass

You wrote:

“That is because, my FRiend, one cannot recognize an encounter with the living Christ until He removes scales from the eyes.”

I have none. They were removed many years ago.

“When He gives freedom to the enslaved, grants rescue to the wicked, saves the unworthy it does not look like the sick and twisted religion of Rome.”

What is sick and twisted is simply what you imagine. Reality is much different. I hope one day you receive the grace you need to know Christ. You will be in my prayers.

"No, it looks like Dutchboy88 instead. What religion are you, if we may ask?"

Well, I am not of the Star Wars faith in the Dark side and Light side, BenKenobi. Is that the cousin of ObiWan? And, isn't that some kind of Yin/Yang Eastern mysticism?

Anyway, I am a biblical Christian, one who has been laid hold of by the Rescuer of Israel, the Lamb provided by God, the Only Name under Heaven by which a man can be saved. I have been persuaded that the plenary message of the Scriptures is the only Gospel, one that never needed "enhancing" by men in long robes, tall hats and gold dripping from their necks. I don't cling to the empty, deletirious doctrines of the darkness of Rome (the Vatican), and see no man as anything other than another broken vessel needing forgiveness. Fellow pilgrims, if they hold to Christ alone.

To beat on Calvin, Luther, Zwingle, Hus, Edwards, et al, will do nothing but get a nod from me. They saw the destructiveness of the Roman heresies and gave us excellent reminders to return to the Bible, but they had feet of clay and would readily admit it. They, however, would not claim the mantle of exclusivity. Rome should take a lesson.

There are no mediators between men and God, save that one Man Christ Jesus. His Holy Spirit blows where He wishes and saves across the face of the earth men and women granted faith to cling to Christ alone. That body of believers congregates in many churches and assemblies, not looking to openly crucify Christ anew, but to remind each other that the death, burial, resurrection of the Lord Jesus was a one time event in time-space history. One devastating, single sacrifice bought our redemption once, for all time. Then the great King of the Kingdom sat down at the right hand of the Father and took up His rightful glory, once again.

All glory and power and might belongs to Him, not Rome. Rome needs to repent of its arrogance, self-righteousness, protection of evil men, and vile doctrines that have replaced the simple truths of the Scriptures. That is, if it can repent (Heb. 12:16).

I am a biblical Christian, one who has been laid hold of by the Rescuer of Israel, the Lamb provided by God, the Only Name under Heaven by which a man can be saved. I have been persuaded that the plenary message of the Scriptures is the only Gospel, one that never needed "enhancing" by men in long robes, tall hats and gold dripping from their necks. I don't cling to the empty, deleterious doctrines of the darkness of Rome (the Vatican), and see no man as anything other than another broken vessel needing forgiveness. Fellow pilgrims, if they hold to Christ alone...

There are no mediators between men and God, save that one Man Christ Jesus. His Holy Spirit blows where He wishes and saves across the face of the earth men and women granted faith to cling to Christ alone. That body of believers congregates in many churches and assemblies, not looking to openly crucify Christ anew, but to remind each other that the death, burial, resurrection of the Lord Jesus was a one time event in time-space history. One devastating, single sacrifice bought our redemption once, for all time. Then the great King of the Kingdom sat down at the right hand of the Father and took up His rightful glory, once again.

AMEN! Poetry, Dutchboy. Straight from God's holy word.

All glory and power and might belongs to Him, not Rome. Rome needs to repent of its arrogance, self-righteousness, protection of evil men, and vile doctrines that have replaced the simple truths of the Scriptures. That is, if it can repent (Heb. 12:16).

Amen.

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." -- John 3:19

I remember a young priest when I was in jr high. The kids all loved him, but when he was preaching one Sunday morning, he questioned the virgin birth, after all, we all know how babies are made, ha, ha, ha, wink wink, nudge, nudge....

You could hear a collective gasp from the crowd and I was shocked as well.

Well, the long and short of it was, shades of KGB, the guy was GONE, like overnight. Never saw him again, never heard what happened to him.

Awesome......

Yes, it was awesome! :-)

Almost as good as the Awesome Lightening that went over Chicago on Memorial Day!

“Well, I am not of the Star Wars faith in the Dark side and Light side, BenKenobi. Is that the cousin of ObiWan? And, isn’t that some kind of Yin/Yang Eastern mysticism?”

I think Alec Guinness is one of the best actors ever.

“Anyway, I am a biblical Christian, one who has been laid hold of by the Rescuer of Israel, the Lamb provided by God, the Only Name under Heaven by which a man can be saved.”

Which tells me, nothing.

“I have been persuaded that the plenary message of the Scriptures is the only Gospel”

So you are a protestant who believes in Sola Scriptura. Did Scripture teach you this?

“one that never needed “enhancing” by men in long robes, tall hats and gold dripping from their necks.”

Personally, I was not brought to Christ by Him, but by men, friends to which I owe my faith. One of whom wears the cloth. It’s not what they wear but what they teach that is the important thing. Or do you believe that the clothes unmake the man?

But I’m not after why you hate the Church. I’m after what drives you to persecute his Children. You say you are a child of Israel, and yet you reject those who preach Christ crucified.

“I don’t cling to the empty, deletirious doctrines of the darkness of Rome (the Vatican), and see no man as anything other than another broken vessel needing forgiveness. Fellow pilgrims, if they hold to Christ alone.”

Question. If Rome were empty, why is it the scriptures that you hold before you today were written by the same Roman church all these years today? If you believe in the book, how can you reject the men who wrote the book?

“To beat on Calvin, Luther, Zwingle, Hus, Edwards, et al, will do nothing but get a nod from me. They saw the destructiveness of the Roman heresies and gave us excellent reminders to return to the Bible, but they had feet of clay and would readily admit it. They, however, would not claim the mantle of exclusivity. Rome should take a lesson.”

Neither does Rome. Extra ecclesium nulla salus is not what she teaches. Christ saves those whom he will save, and many will be saved who are outside the church, and many will be damned who are inside the church in body and not in spirit.

“There are no mediators between men and God, save that one Man Christ Jesus.”

Do you ask God to help your brothers and sisters? Do you implore that he hear your words and answer your prayers? Do you intercede on their behalf? So do the saints. They interecede for us and we can ask them to pray for us just as we ask our brothers and sisters who are still with us to pray for us.

“His Holy Spirit blows where He wishes and saves across the face of the earth men and women granted faith to cling to Christ alone.”

Very true. You have no quarrel with Rome.

“That body of believers congregates in many churches and assemblies, not looking to openly crucify Christ anew,”

So you do not believe that Christ is bodily present in the Eucharist? Why do you hold the Lord’s supper? Do you not recall his words, “I am the living bread”?

“that have replaced the simple truths of the Scriptures.”

So when Christ says to Apostle Peter, I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail, he lied?

She has nothing to apologise. The Catholic church is the church Christ founded. While it is true that you can be saved outside the Church, you cannot claim that the Church was not founded by Christ. To deny the one is to deny that Christ’s disciples should be united in body and in spirit.

AMEN AMEN AMEN!

Thanks for that important story in post #184.

“Lightening strikes Giuliani?

June 5: Rudy Giuliani experiences a surreal moment at the Republican Presidential Debate in Manchester, N.H. When asked about his views on abortion, a lightning storm outside interrupts his response.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19077654/

More of the same tripe that got Rome where it is now...darkened with error.

I can imagine it might be difficult for you to understand these words "biblical Christian" since they are foreign to the cult of Rome. A biblical Christian, as opposed to a Catholic, is a person that has been brought to recognize the Gospel of Jesus Christ and rejects religion. Religion is a man made self-attempt to reach God, the Gospel is God's work reaching those He elected before the foundation of the world. Which group are you in?

"Did Scripture teach you this?

Certainly it did. Eph. 1, Rom. 8, and on and on and on.

"Personally, I was not brought to Christ by Him, but by men,"

Tragic. You have my sympathies. John 6:64, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws Him; and I will raise him up on the last day." Unless you are a universalist, not everyone will be raised up on the last day, and thus not everyone is drawn by the Father to Jesus.

"...and yet you reject those who preach Christ crucified."

Some reading lessons are clearly in order. I reject those who openly crucify Him anew, the very thing transubstantiation claims to bring down. Heb. 7:27, "...who does not need daily (or weekly), like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because He did once for all when He offered up Himself."

"If you believe in the book, how can you reject the men who wrote the book?"

Now here, here is a pivotal, but pathetic, Roman error. These characters actually believe they wrote the Book!! It is beyond the pale such arrogance even exists, let alone it calls itself Christian. I cannot dignify this gross self-aggrandizing with an answer. My fingers just won't do it. The Jews wrote what we call the...no, those darn fingers just won't do it. Just too much self-importance from Rome.

“There are no mediators between men and God, save that one Man Christ Jesus.” My words.

"Do you ask God to help your brothers and sisters?"

Certainly not for salvation. And that is what is at stake here. I Tim. 2:5, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." But, this would require you to acknowledge Scripture controls doctrine, not Rome. Where again does the Scripture teach that Rome controls doctrine and its meaning?

"So when Christ says to Apostle Peter, I will build my Church"

Again, more Bible reading lessons are in order. Peter was not an apostle when this was said. Peter is one rock, and the claim that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, was the other rock, the one upon which the Church is built. Rome chose the wrong rock...sorry. Just a short time later Peter is rebuked as having a Satanic attitude about Christ's required death. Apparently some of those attitudes remain in Rome.

And no one here wants an apology from Rome. That would be more of the pathetic self-absorption that Rome already wallows in. It is little wonder you confused it with my request. We want repentence from Rome. But, repentence is granted by God when He sees fit and if none is forthcoming then none is granted. The entity dies in its sins and trespasses.

Thx, Quix.