Posted on 12/10/2010 9:27:36 AM PST by marshmallow
The truth is to be found nowhere else but in the Catholic Church, the sole depository of apostolic doctrine. Heresies are of recent formation, and cannot trace their origin up to the apostles.
1. Since therefore we have such proofs, it is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth: so that every man, whosoever will, can draw from her the water of life. Revelation 22:17 For she is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers. On this account are we bound to avoid them, but to make choice of the thing pertaining to the Church with the utmost diligence, and to lay hold of the tradition of the truth. For how stands the case?
Suppose there arise a dispute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to the most ancient Churches with which the apostles held constant intercourse, and learn from them what is certain and clear in regard to the present question? For how should it be if the apostles themselves had not left us writings? Would it not be necessary, [in that case,] to follow the course of the tradition which they handed down to those to whom they did commit the Churches?
2. To which course many nations of those barbarians who believe in Christ do assent, having salvation written in their hearts by the Spirit, without paper or ink, and, carefully preserving the ancient tradition, believing in one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and all things therein, by means of Christ Jesus, the Son of God; who, because of His surpassing love towards His creation, condescended to be born of the virgin, He Himself uniting man through Himself to God, and having suffered under Pontius Pilate, and rising again, and having been received up in splendour, shall come in glory, the Saviour of those who are saved, and the Judge of those who are judged, and sending into eternal fire those who transform the truth, and despise His Father and His advent.
Those who, in the absence of written documents, have believed this faith, are barbarians, so far as regards our language; but as regards doctrine, manner, and tenor of life, they are, because of faith, very wise indeed; and they do please God, ordering their conversation in all righteousness, chastity, and wisdom. If any one were to preach to these men the inventions of the heretics, speaking to them in their own language, they would at once stop their ears, and flee as far off as possible, not enduring even to listen to the blasphemous address.
Thus, by means of that ancient tradition of the apostles, they do not suffer their mind to conceive anything of the [doctrines suggested by the] portentous language of these teachers, among whom neither Church nor doctrine has ever been established.
3. For, prior to Valentinus, those who follow Valentinus had no existence; nor did those from Marcion exist before Marcion; nor, in short, had any of those malignant-minded people, whom I have above enumerated, any being previous to the initiators and inventors of their perversity. For Valentinus came to Rome in the time of Hyginus, flourished under Pius, and remained until Anicetus. Cerdon, too, Marcion's predecessor, himself arrived in the time of Hyginus, who was the ninth bishop. Coming frequently into the Church, and making public confession, he thus remained, one time teaching in secret, and then again making public confession; but at last, having been denounced for corrupt teaching, he was excommunicated from the assembly of the brethren.
Marcion, then, succeeding him, flourished under Anicetus, who held the tenth place of the episcopate. But the rest, who are called Gnostics, take rise from Menander, Simon's disciple, as I have shown; and each one of them appeared to be both the father and the high priest of that doctrine into which he has been initiated. But all these (the Marcosians) broke out into their apostasy much later, even during the intermediate period of the Church.
Once you've read the title with the assertion: ("The Truth is to Be Found Nowhere Else But in The Catholic Church"), the rest really doesn't need to be read, does it?
AMEN!
Who EXACTLY sold indulgences in the Middle Ages?
Make your point. I don’t understand it.
I asked a simple question. Who sold indulgences in the Middle Ages? Name the people who did it. You say other would not stand with them. How many of these sellers or indulgences were there?
Leroy Whitby. Franklin Xu. Moonbeam Zappa. And the infamous Chuck Mucklow. Standing against them were the Rock, Ginger Spice and Howdy Doody.
2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.
True...but who compiled and created the canon of scripture?
“No, it means that Scripture is given to us by the Church, to whom is entrusted its authentic interpretation.”
The blasphemy is scary. I continue to be amazed that so many Freepers are staunchly committed to strict adherence to the Constitution. It would be nice if they had the same respect for the Scriptures.
Your comment sounds a lot like: "Don't confuse me with the facts ... my mind is already made up".
LOL!
What a lovely post ! Please ping all the usual Mormon bashers to this thread. They band together to label the Mormons “a cult”; it’d be enjoyable to see them “hoist on their own petard”.
Here in Texas, many Baptists still don’t realize at one point we all came from the SAME Church.
I love pointing out a bit of history. I get looks like I just told them Aunt Gertie was a Nazi :)
You mkae lots of assumptions ... when you gain wisdom, the assumptions will melt away. You might even learn that the god of Mormonism and the jesus of Mormonism are not the same as the God and Jesus of the Bible. ... But i doubt seriously that such is in your future.
It is possible to pick and choose points they made, but tracing ideas to the early church fathers is not the same as tracing them to the apostles.
Some may act otherwise, but the catechism and doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church are not infallible. The Roman Catholic Church may contain errors and falsehoods.
According to the Roman Catholic Church, there are only a few select statements that are infallible. I think either a council or a Pope can make an infallible statement, but each has special rules.
The Scriptures are without error or contradiction. They are of a different order. Most Scripture is easy to understand. For difficult Scriptures, a main point can often be gleamed while accepting an imperfect understanding. However, we should be able to flip our focus and say "I may not understand what it does mean, but I do understand what it doesn't mean."
I think we can agree on 4 givens: Perfect God, Perfect Scripture, imperfect man and imperfect interpretation.
How can the idea of perfect interpretation be based on the imperfect interpretations of imperfect writings of imperfect men with imperfect knowledge? Seriously.
The early church fathers understood the universal church as those who are saved. The universal faith as that which saves and will not be burned away on judgment day. The use of the word Catholic by the early church fathers did not point to the earthly, temporal structure of the Roman Catholic Church, but to perfection and eternity.
In 180 AD, Irenaeus wrote in "Against Heresies", that "the Catholic Church possesses one and the same faith throughout the whole world." The correct interpretation is that there exists one faith that leads to salvation. Those who share the true faith are part of the Universal Church.
To use Irenaeus' statement to support an earthly, temporal authority is a clear example of imperfect interpretation.
As a matter of fact Christ's own words are "fact" more than enough for me.
Does Scripture often confuse you?
Great analogy.
Keep in mind this was before the Great Schism so the term Catholic included the Church of the East.
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