[Ottofire]

Ecumenicalism with compromise is an attempt to compromise truth.

Ecumenicalism without compromise is merely a conversion attempt hidden by guile and deception.

Either way it is a dissipation of the gospel.

Now we see that after the disunity that was caused by Florence and Trent, among others, the Catholic Church is trying to bring together Christians that were driven forth from the united Church by those that were seeking to retain worldly power in the RCC, rather than spread the gospel. And those that were driven forth are blamed for it by the RCC’s most vocal apologists. Yeah, that is the way to bring Christianity back together.

The only way to bring the church back together is to repudiate all the councils and go back to those first seven and stick to those alone. Since that is not going to happen, the RCC has painted itself into a corner. Sorry, ain’t gonna happen. Pride is seriously a deadly thing.

Like Reagan, the Protestants can truly say “We didn’t leave the RCC, the RCC left us.” And now the RCC is trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube.

Soli Deo gloria

[bdeaner]

Ecumenicalism with compromise is an attempt to compromise truth.

Ecumenicalism without compromise is merely a conversion attempt hidden by guile and deception.

This is a false choice. All one needs to do is spend a few minutes exploring FR's Religion Forum, and it becomes obvious that the great majority of Protestants who criticize the Catholic Church are actually attacking a straw man, due to their ignorance and/or exposure to anti-Catholic propaganda. While Catholics these days seem to be relatively open to dialogue with Protestants, thanks in part to the ecumenical spirit of Vatican II, a lot of Catholics do not have a clear understanding of the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism--a problem that is in large part due to the diversity of Protestant beliefs, in contrast to one, unified doctrine of beliefs over the course of history in the Catholic Church. Both sides can learn something from each other without compromising. If nothing else, ecumenism among Christians is necessary in order to create a unified front politically and philosophically against the securalism and other anti-Christian forces taking root in our time -- which requires focusing on common ground rather than differences -- also very much a possibility, without compromising anything.

God bless.