Posted on 11/03/2011 7:29:48 AM PDT by marshmallow
The essence of the problem is not the secondary questions surrounding purgatory, Mary, deutrocanonical, baptism etc. The primary problem is the question of Sola Scriptura, a term, which also does not appear in the bible. Since the church uses Scripture and Tradition, a tradition to be distinguished from the OT traditions of man, these secondary arguments will never be resolved to the satisfaction of many.
The church claims to be guided by the Holy Spirit which if true, trumpts any argument their adversaries might offer. Thus, the guidence of the Holy Spirit, and Scripture in concert with Tradition, is the core of the question.
It’s a view of the Early Church that was colored by Germanic culture at the end of the Middle Ages. Luther was heavily Renaissance humanism and late medieval pagan nominalism.
His mutant version of Christianity was far removed from the Semitic Christianity that the apostles and their immediate successors knew.
Protestants hit at Catholics for borrowing the language of the Greek philosophers, but a close look at St. Paul shows he had a strong familiarity with their language. In fact, his works resemble those of Philo of Alexandria whose blend of Platonism and Judaism affected the Hellenistic Jewish communities around the Mediterranean.
The chief sin of Protestantism is that it rejects Christianity’s Jewish roots completely in favor of later concepts.
http://bit.ly/ssTuYt
Right?
Everybody did that ~ and they were still burning witches in the 1600s!
Part of the problem was Europeans didn't have much of a history of religious conflict up until the 1300/1500 period and had little idea how to deal with it ~ outside of Spain, of course, where they simply fought pitched battles with Moslems, or Christians if they were Moslem, or with nobody if they were Jewish.
They incorporated some amelioration in their law codes ~ rough as they were you generally didn't get executed for religious views in Spain until Christianity swept the field in 1492 by expelling Moslems and Jews who would not convert. More converted than left and there was always a question of how seriously they'd converted (plus, there was the Protestant threat which was even then sweeping other Hapsburg lands).
King Philippe I/II got the idea that everybody should attend mass anyway ~ and ended up challenging just everybody who had a different thought (including the Moslems who refused to abide by peaceful trade agreements in the Eastern Mediterranean ~ so he organized the Catholic League and utterly destroyed the capacity of the Moslems to exercise power over seaborne commerce).
His son King Philippe II/III put an end to most of the major European conflicts for 20 years by dividing Part of America with the French, and the Protestants (chief among them the English).
This was considered an incredible achievement since Europe had been at war for centuries with no break.
They were back at it next with the Thirty Years War ~ a series of wars between and among European "powers" over various issues including nation state control of religion.
In the end the epochal Peace of Westphalia was concluded ~ a series of treaties between and among all parties on all issues that settled once and for all that European people would no longer settle religious issues with military power.
So, two epochal things conceived in peace or for peace ~ the founding of our America on the Eastern seaboard of North America AND the creation of the modern nation state!
Now, a question for you, why should the Catholic Church or the Presbyterian Church "repent" of any of these things settled 350 years ago by some pretty brave Europeans?
It's over.
What about all the Catholics martyred in England, in Europe, in Vietnam, in Mexico, etc. etc. etc.
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. Peter [Catholic Caucus]
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. Andrew [Catholic Caucus]
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. John [Catholic Caucus]
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. James [Catholic Caucus]
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. Matthew [Catholic Caucus]
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. Simon [Catholic Caucus]
The Twelve Apostles of the Catholic Church: St. Thomas [Catholic Caucus]
“What about all the Catholics martyred in England, in Europe, in Vietnam, in Mexico, etc. etc. etc.”
What about them?
Well said. Game, set, match.
As a former Catholic myself, I do not believe the way to engage in meaningful dialogue is to call other believers in Christ a "cult" simply because they associate themselves with the Catholic Church and adhere to its doctrine.
I would be interested in hearing why you are a "former" Catholic then, if you believe the doctrines of the "Catholic Church" are things to which one might reasonably "adhere". Please, if you can, be specific.
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