Posted on 01/18/2012 3:19:15 PM PST by NYer
.- Pope Benedict XVI said today that achieving Christian unity requires more than “cordiality and cooperation” and that it must be accompanied by interior conversion.
“Faith in Christ and interior conversion, both individual and communal, must constantly accompany our prayer for Christian unity,” said the Pope to over 8,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall on Jan. 18.
The Pope’s comments mark the start of the 2012 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that runs until Jan. 25. It will be observed by over 300 Christian churches and ecclesial communities around the globe.
The Pope asked for “the Lord in a particular way to strengthen the faith of all Christians, to change our hearts and to enable us to bear united witness to the Gospel.”
In this way, he said, they “will contribute to the new evangelization and respond ever more fully to the spiritual hunger of the men and women of our time.”
The Pope explained that the concept of a week of prayer for Christian unity was initiated in 1908 by Paul Wattson, an Episcopalian minister from Maryland. One year later, he became a Catholic and was subsequently ordained to the priesthood.
Pope Benedict recalled how the initiative was supported by his predecessors Pope St. Pius X and Pope Benedict XV. It was then “developed and perfected” in the 1930s by the Frenchman Abbé Paul Couturier, who promoted prayer “for the unity of the Church as Christ wishes and according to the means he wills.”
The mandate for the week of prayer, the Pope underscored, comes from the wish of Christ himself at the Last Supper “that they may all be one.” He observed that this mission was given a particular impetus by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) but added that “the unity we strive for cannot result merely from our own efforts.” Rather, “it is a gift we receive and must constantly invoke from on high.”
The theme for 2012 Week of Prayer – “All shall be changed by the victory of Jesus Christ our Lord” – was crafted by the Polish Ecumenical Council. Pope Benedict said it reflects “their own experience as a nation,” which stayed faithful to Christ “in the midst of trials and upheavals,” including years of occupation by the Nazis and later the Communists.
The Pope tied the victory the Polish people experienced over their oppressors to overcoming the disunity that marks Christians.
He said that the “unity for which we pray requires inner conversion, both shared and individual,” and it cannot be “limited to cordiality and cooperation.” Instead, Christians must accept “all the elements of unity which God has conserved for us.”
Ecumenism, the Pope stated, is not an optional extra for Catholics but is “the responsibility of the entire Church and of all the baptized.” Christians, he said, must make praying for unity an “integral part” of their prayer life, “especially when people from different traditions come together to work for victory in Christ over sin, evil, injustice and the violation of human dignity.”
Pope Benedict then touched on the lack of unity in the Christian community, which he said “hinders the effective announcement of the Gospel and endangers our credibility.” Evangelizing formerly Christian countries and spreading the Gospel to new places will be “more fruitful if all Christians together announce the truth of the Gospel and Jesus Christ, and give a joint response to the spiritual thirst of our times,” he explained.
The Pope concluded his comments with the hope that this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will lead to “increased shared witness, solidarity and collaboration among Christians, in expectation of that glorious day when together we will all be able to celebrate the Sacraments and profess the faith transmitted by the Apostles.”
The general audience finished with Pope Benedict addressing pilgrims in various languages, including greeting a group of men and women from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, before leading the crowd in the Our Father and imparting his apostolic blessing.
***Mary was a young Jewish virgin who was given the assignment of bearing the Christ because she had the right credentials (of the house and lineage of David).****
Nope, no jealousy or defensiveness there. LOL
Yeah, just an assignment to be the one to bear God Incarnate. LOL
Any old girl would do, right?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
****She, by her own admission, stated that she needed a savior, her tacit admission of being a sinner.****
I said no different than that in my post.
Proof, once more, that protestants are more interested in protesting and disparaging the Church than actual dialogue and conversation about one’s beliefs and why they believe it.
Proverbs 20:3...... It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Which is EXACTLY why Christ had to die and salvation is by grace through faith in Him alone.
The Law wasn't put into effect as a means by which we earn salvation, but rather to show us our sin and lead us to saving faith in Christ.
Galatians 2:16-17 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 3:6-11 6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
Galatians 3:24-25 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Clearly......
Catholics have tradition you know. Who needs Scripture?
Certainly not those whackadoodle faux 'christian' sects who claim that Catholics are idolaters, that those who celebrate Easter and Christmas are pagans and that claim that the idea of church on Sunday is a man made tradition and apparently not either Christian or Biblical.
I wonder if you are aware that certain sects of Orthodoxy disagree with the Roman Catholic doctrine of the sinlessness of Mary? Our FRiend, rzman21, posted a thread yesterday that spoke about the Veneration of the Holy Virgin Mary in the Syrian Orthodox Church. In it, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2835243/posts the writer said:
It is noteworthy to mention that the conception of Mary took place according to the natural law for she was of a man (Joachim) and a woman (Hanna). Mary is the daughter of two barren persons just like Isaac, Samuel and John, the Baptist. She inherited, just like them, and like other people, the original sin of Adam and Eve, which is the sin of all humanity starting with Adam who represented his race when he committed sin so his descendents were charged with sin, which could not be obliterated from falling humanity except by the incarnation of the second hypothesis of the Holy Trinity. That’s why the Apostle Paul says: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom.5: 12), and David said: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5.). Of all those who put on flesh, it was only Jesus Christ who was excepted from the legacy of this sin. “Who took everything we have except sin” and who became the propitiator for the sins of the whole world. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God”. (R.3: 23,24). “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world”, so by one man it was obliterated (Rom.5: 12:15). Just like all other people, the Virgin Mary, who was, most probably, born in Nazareth, was not without sin.
It seems that since the Catholics have no problem accepting the Orthodox within their fellowship - who in addition to not holding to the sinlessness of Mary also reject obedience to the Pope of Rome among other issues - they would also find it within their charity to receive other Christian faith traditions that hold to the basic tenets of what it means to be a Christian. It seems that most of these calls to "ecumenicalism" from the Catholic Church all too often come with strings attached that insist Rome is over all the Christian faithful.
Thank the Lord “we” are no longer under any curse, but alive in Christ Jesus.....for it is written:
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” Galatians 3:13
..and that includes any Anthema’s any church organization might think they have the power to do...it’s not there...for Christ is the “end of the law”.
So no...”we” do not hold to the catholicism.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/orob/bridge-too-far
It certainly is. Thank you for posting that.
From the article.....
At the central core of racism we find the sinful hearts of men living in a fallen world. This fundamental problem has no earthly cure. There is no speech that can be given, no law that can be passed, and no publicity campaign that can solve it. Only the truth of God’s Word combined with the strength of God’s Holy Spirit living within us can bring us victory over this sin.
Sola Scriptura teaches......
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
James 2:1-13 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
You can’t go against scripture, right?
No, so clearly those who don't follow Scripture will fall into error, as in the example of racism. Adhering to the clear, simple teaching of Scripture was the motivating force behind the efforts to end the slave trade made by William Wilberforce.
William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wilberforce_william.shtml
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Ephesians 6:10-18 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
1 John 4:4 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Their anathemas are meaningless noise. They can't do a thing to the blood bought, sealed by the Holy Spirit believer in Christ.
It’s really laughable for me that by declaring those they think they have some sort of power....well.....on second thought they do have enough to scare their own membership by threatening them with these curses. And by the way a-typical what cults do to retain their members as well.
In contradistinction, in distinction of contrast to in other words. That's a good way of putting it.
Which begs the question, what was this "teaching of the church" before during and after the Reformation, which the solas were set in contradistinction with? Please don't try and tell me it was the exact same things universally taught as from the beginning, for we can see there have been changes over time, just as we can see different aspects a faith being stressed or highlighted over other aspects within the near, and most far flung of the Catholic and Orthodox churches today.
Getting back to the discussion of the principle that scripture must be held foremost as a check, or test of practice...
One thing the Reformers were assuredly battling against, was the idea of papal supremacy itself. It didn't fit well from the Word, when taken in context of all else.
Though adherents and promoters of that particular dogma may attempt reliance upon tradition for support, that doesn't quite work when we refer back to the church teachings of that earlier time, current with the early Christological debates, which as you referred to previous, was a time when ""they sought what was coherent and consistent of the faith taught by Christ to His Apostles."
Going back even further, it gets even worse for papal supremacy. It was unheard of. Not found in the Word much either, unless one squints hard at certain verses, then ignores the pattern & practice of the foundational Apostolic church.
Since traditional belief and practice falls quite short of the goal of having all other genuine Apostolic churches of the world, whom previously had regarded each other as brethren, and together, with the head being Christ --- accept the idea of the Roman bishop being supreme, it is then the church of Rome must rely much upon it's own private interpretation of scripture (with a bit of spin of some carefully selected quotes of early church notables). The idea was first forcefully proposed as being irresistible by their own selves --- not arising from the group of other churches.
So what can be seen to have occurred, but for Rome to leverage the good reputation it had enjoyed times previous, earned in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, to force feed the rest of the universal church to eat that bowl of yopios which they crafted, pushing their own version la` petite of sola scriptura over and above tradition, far from being "coherent and consistent of the faith taught by Christ to His Apostles."
was mixed in as result.
Sola scriptura can have it's downsides, that much is true.
When we look to "...one faith, One Lord, one baptism" we can all indeed share much unity (even we separated brethren) when those on either side be focused upon the central figure. I'm glad you put him in the middle, for there is found best hope for us all.
I often wonder, spiritual blindness is n odd affliction.
Sure. But you cannot deny that the Southern Baptist Convention endorsed a fundamentally racist POV based on Sola Scriptura until about 40 years ago.
The Methodists were the ones who pushed for the abolition of slavery.
Sola Scriptura means that you can make the Bible say whatever the heck you want it to say.
Fundamentalists haven’t exactly been buddy buddy with the Methodists.
Methodists, for one, reject the idea of eternal security and embrace free-will. Not to mention, they invented social justice in the 19th century in their postmillenial phase.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matthew 5:17
But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.
Galatians 1:8
But your heresy is anathema.
This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:16
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14
Protestant teachers think they serve God, but they don’t.
Instead they are like the sons of Korah who set up another altar against Moses, whom God had set over his flock.
Protestantism has become so unlike ancient Christianity that it has to be treated like another religion.
Ecumenism with Protestantism is worthless, save for Election Day when we need to keep the atheists at bay.
An Ecumenical Council capable of resolving all of the outstanding issues between Rome and the Eastern Churches is a possibility.
Protestants, however, are mission territory.
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