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At least we pull out RC catechisms and writings. They, even when challenged, refuse to cite anything from any “Protestant” writing.

The challenges to Catholics on this forum are primarily on what Catholics believe. Defenses to these challenges would not be found in “Protestant” writings. They are found in the Cathecism of the Catholic Church and other Catholics writings.

There are so many different other beliefs, that Catholics would not know which specific “Protestant” or other Christian writing to cite. When Luther is quoted, the response is “I do not follow Luther.” When Protestant beliefs are challenged, the response is “I am not mainline Protestant.

What Confession do you follow? Do you adhere to the Westminster standards, or the Methodist confession of faith, or the Baptist beliefs, or the Assembly of God document of belief? Would you be willing to share your specific document of faith so we can discuss them?

There are so many different other beliefs, that Catholics would not know which specific “Protestant” or other Christian writing to cite. When Luther is quoted, the response is “I do not follow Luther.” When Protestant beliefs are challenged, the response is “I am not mainline Protestant.

Because it's true. Just because we don't fit into a box for the convenience of RC's doesn't mean we don't have our specific beliefs, which have have been posted on this forum many times.

What Confession do you follow? Do you adhere to the Westminster standards, or the Methodist confession of faith, or the Baptist beliefs, or the Assembly of God document of belief? Would you be willing to share your specific document of faith so we can discuss them?

The BIBLE.

There are so many different other beliefs, that Catholics would not know which specific “Protestant” or other Christian writing to cite. When Luther is quoted, the response is “I do not follow Luther.”

Because there is only one man that we follow. FRoman Catholics can't seem to get their mind around the fact we don't have a corporate headquarters in Wittenberg with a CEO that parades around wearing Prada shoes.

When Protestant beliefs are challenged, the response is “I am not mainline Protestant.

Define "Mainline." I'm certainly not mainline. Mainline churches are spiraling out of control. I left a mainline church that was already teetering on being heretical, and has most recently sealed the deal with Satan, as far as I am concerned. That is another thing FRoman Catholics can't fathom. The fact that, like promised by Jesus, churches can and will spiral out of control. When that happens it is time to man up and find a church that is still loyal to her first love, that being Jesus, the Christ.

All we hear from FRoman Catholics is "I don'r like the church since Vatican II," and I don't like this liberal Pope" and I don't like _____." All of which are warnings but somehow y'all think you can hear the truth through "homosexual priests who have filled the priesthood."

I follow the London Baptist Confession. But remember what that means in an Evangelical context. It doesn't mean we attach anathemas to those who don't share our exact same views on every detail. Most evangelicals however DO share a core unity on the five solas of the Reformation. You won't get that by trying to catalog all things "Not Catholic" as Protestant. That is an irrational methodology. There are always going to be looney toon outliers, both yours and ours, and they will consistently be grounded in a rejection of Scripture at some point.

Worse, in some cases you have massive defections from Scripture as the anchor, a full on rejection of Biblical supernaturalism, a falling away from Scripture that defines many of the main-liners. That's why you will see us old school evangelicals constantly differentiating ourselves from these mainline fellowships. Some of them even have pretty good confessions. But life on the ground is that they don't believe their own confessions. They believe what ever the latest fad is coming out of the liberal denominational seminaries. The Southern Baptists actually went through this, and for a period it seemed we might become as liberal as the Presbyterian Church USA. But then we had a conservative, Biblicist revolt, and took back control of the seminaries. It made a remarkable difference at the congregational level. The undershepherds have to do their job or the flock will scatter.

As another example of this, with a different outcome, my dad took us out of the Methodist church when I was just a small child (a looong time ago). We had had a long family history of being Methodist. We even had some ancestors who were Methodist circuit rider preachers during the Great Awakening. But one day, some newly minted seminarian was talking to my dad, and crushed a bible under his knee on the pew as he told my dad we didn't need that old book anymore. That was the end of it for dad. We ended up in the Christian Missionary Alliance where Tozer was preacher, and stayed there many happy years. The word of God was honored there, and many souls came to know Christ as their living Savior.

The upshot of all this is simple: You are going to have trouble getting where we are coming from until you realize that we really do see the word of God as the final authority, regardless of whatever lesser documents we may use for guidance and instruction. In any system of authority, there must be a starting point. When that starting point is some human organization, human corruption will take things off course. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. But always that is what will happen. But when we trust God to keep score, to keep the core beliefs lined up among His children by the power of His word and His Spirit, we find that no matter how diverse our organizational history, where we trust and take God at His word, and put Him first in determining truth, we find a true unity of both belief and spirit among ourselves, a unity that defies all of Satan's attempts to disenfranchise us from the precious Gospel of Christ.

Peace,

SR