Testimony of a Former Irish Priest

BereanBeacon.Org ^ | Richard Peter Bennett

[Deo volente]

It seems the Scripture’s PLAIN wording isn’t enough. How hard can it be to read what the word says? Unless you don’t LIKE what it says. Then what to do? I guess one can always start a religion, based not on what God’s Word says but traditions that say something very different...

Wow, you just described Protestants' rejection of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist to a tee!

[26] And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body. [27] And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. [28] For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.

http://www.drbo.org/chapter/47026.htm

The "reformers" did not like what the plain wording of the text said, so they started a new religion and made their own tradition which held something very different than what had been believed by Christians for 1500 years.

[Jvette]

Well, the disciples who heard these words from Jesus but rejected them as too hard to accept had to go somewhere.

[don-o]

11. He (Augustine) taught that God has pre-ordained some for salvation and others for damnation and that the grace of God is irresistible for the true elect. By his own admission, John Calvin in the 16th century derived his TULIP theology on the “sovereignty of God” from Augustine. Calvin said: “If I were inclined to compile a whole volume from Augustine, I could easily show my readers, that I need no words but his” (Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, chap. 22).

So not just the Catholics, but the Calvinists get led astray by the heretical church fathers? By the heretic Augustine?

What a hoot!

[wagglebee]

In fairness, many Protestants (traditional Anglicans and Lutherans) DO accept the Real Presence (though their beliefs are somewhat different from ours). However, the fringe Protestant groups that are only significant in their own minds think they somehow speak for all Protestants.

[OLD REGGIE]

Mark - I absolutely agree. St. Augustine is one of the giants upon whose shoulders the modern Church stands.

Especially when he calls Peter "Rocky"!

[Cronos]

Yes, actually +Augustine does call Peter Petrus (=Rock in Latin). What do Unitarians call Peter?

[Natural Law]

"HIERARCHICAL, BUREAUCRATIC, POLITICAL, MAGICSTERICAL, ELITE POWER-MONGERING LED RELIGIOUIS HUMAN organizations."

An example of "Plain Wording"?

[Deo volente]

No where in Scripture is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit referred to as the Holy Trinity and yet Truth as defined by that very Church founded before the canon of Scripture.

BINGO!

Game, set, match. Isn't Logic beautiful!

[Invincibly Ignorant]

This is closer to the pagan god than the God of Jesus and Christianity.

No religion more influenced with paganism than the Catholic Church. But you already know this.

[OLD REGGIE]

<>"...It MIGHT be that James's using Simeon's given name is meaningful. It's not clear that it MUST be meaningful."

Is it meaningful that Jesus called him "Simon, son of John" the last recorded time He spoke to him (Simon)?

[small voice in the wilderness]

Imagine if the Church just accepted the Word of God as its final authority. No doctrines of fallen man, no traditions based on years of feel-good nothingness. And no one between themselves and God but Jesus Christ, the ONE MEDIATOR between God and man.

Imagine if there was One body, and One Spirit, even as ye are called in One hope of your calling. One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. “(Eph. 4:4-6).

Imagine if there was ONE gospel that saves. “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8,9).

Imagine if there was a group of people called saints, and they were made up of all living and dead saved believers. And not some elitist group that fallen men have decided to label and VENERATE as saints.

Imagine if there were no group of people on earth claiming they alone hold the keys to the kingdom and no one is saved outside their Church.

Imagine if God’s Word was studied, rightly divided, so as to be an approved workman of God that needeth not to be ashamed. Imagine being able to do this without running to a Church for the “correct understanding” of God’s Word.

Imagine having the Holy Spirit guiding you in all truth and not councils, and meetings, and dogma and doctrines of men and traditions that could or could not be the same day to day, depending on who is in charge.

Imagine being able to rest in the Finished Work of Christ instead of not knowing if you’ll ‘make it’ or not in the end.

You seem to think there is no chaos in your Church. Look behind the pretty curtains. It’s a MESS.

[Invincibly Ignorant]

Of course you’re right. Most RCs think Protestant worship services are more like bingo night. Oh, wait. That’s RC, isn’t it?

I was thinking more like the chuck-a-luck tables at the latest bazaar. :-)

[Deo volente]

Yes, I was thinking in terms of the fundamentalists, and should have clarified that rather than using the broad term “protestant”.

Thanks for reminding me of that.

[Jvette]

At this point in Scripture, Peter had already denied Jesus.

And so thrice, Jesus asks him so that he may be redeemed for each time he had made that denial.

[Jvette]

HaHaHa!

There has been chaos and dissent since the beginning.

But, there is only one declared truth and all the chaos and dissent is brought about by individuals exercising their free will and thought to deny or reject that truth.

The Barque of Peter is constantly being tossed about by the winds and storms of falsehoods and wild waves of personal interpretation of Scripture.

That is why the papacy and the councils of all the bishops is so important.

[wolfcreek]

Facebook is a fairly open *book* if you want it to be. (there are many security facets)

I noticed the *marketing* that uses the info ‘you’ provide in the very first week I was on there and proceeded to omit most of it.

It does need to be searchable in order to perform as advertised.

[Natural Law]

"No religion more influenced with paganism than the Catholic Church."

Actually, the religion is influenced by culture, just as Judaism was before it. But before you high five the rest of your hallelujah posse ask yourself why God chose the Roman Empire as the incubator for His Church.

[small voice in the wilderness]

Look at you! With each post you and your fellow believers roll up your carts. laden completely down with your doctrines, creeds, dogmas, traditions, etc. I can almost hear the wheels squeaking and threatening to collapse under the weight of your beliefs. Which you need ALL of them, in order to make One point with Each post. And here we stand, one bible each, every day, giving you scripture and showing you the futileness of your “points”. I would say it’s almost unfair. Except for the fact that you choose to pull that cart around like it’s some kind of ‘cart of knowledge’.

[Natural Law]

"Imagine if the Church just accepted the Word of God as its final authority. No doctrines of fallen man, no traditions based on years of feel-good nothingness. And no one between themselves and God but Jesus Christ, the ONE MEDIATOR between God and man."

You-hu-hoo may sayyyyy I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.......I hope some dayayay you'll join us, and the world will be one.......

[Quix]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM