And you have only demonstrated the Protestant penchant for hurling nasty contrived accusations when you get backed into a theological corner.
And that's the problem with you people. It's one of the reasons I crossed the Tiber after more than twenty years as a fundamentalist/evangelical. If it's not lying, cheating, or stealing you people don't recognize any of the other cardinal sins, as sin. Protestant Bible thumpers have turned respect for Scripture into the very definition of legalism. It's no wonder many cradle Catholics don't even bother with the Bible.
That is the saddest statement I have heard, but profoundly true. Many catholics don’t bother with the Bible. Why should they listen to God when they can have someone else tell them what the catholics think they should believe? They cut themselves off from Truth and instead accept a hodgepodge of culture/pronouncements and declarations from a corrupt earthly system. What could go wrong?
And Catholic hands are clean in this regard? You must be new to these discussions. BTW, I'll give you an example of "the Catholic penchant for hurling nasty contrived accusations." I reprinted your next paragraph in case you forgot:
And that's the problem with you people. It's one of the reasons I crossed the Tiber after more than twenty years as a fundamentalist/evangelical. If it's not lying, cheating, or stealing you people don't recognize any of the other cardinal sins, as sin. Protestant Bible thumpers have turned respect for Scripture into the very definition of legalism. It's no wonder many cradle Catholics don't even bother with the Bible.
The last accusation is better laid at the feet of the Catholic clergy than at the feet of the Protestants.
The "nasty contrived accusations" are actually accurate warranted rebukes, while instead of dealing with the argument, you resort to asserting i was backed into a theological corner, which you can only imagine to have done!
For you not only attempted to justify a doctrine construe the argument as prohibiting a practice simply based on lack of any example, the fact is that there is not only zero examples for prayer to created beings in Heaven - despite providing approx. 200 prayers - but Scripture only teaches that God is the addressed in prayer, and only teaches that God has the power and privilege to hear all prayer from Heaven. And sets forth Christ as the only Heavenly intercessor bwtn God and man, by whom believers have direct access into the holy of holies to present their supplications to God. (1Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:19; 7:25; 10:16) And while prayer to created beings in Heaven is only condemned wherever it occurs, as is the manner of adulation and supplication given to such.
Thus only God is set forth as the immediate proper object of prayer, and while you to try to justify your doctrine by arguing that lack of any example is no basis for prohibition, the reality is the argument is not simply based on a negative, while what is being really prohibited is doctrine that is essentially based on what is surmised to be possible, despite what is shown to the contrary. Even prohibiting a prohibition if simply on the basis of lack of any support where it should be still will not justify a doctrine that lacks such support. Unless one want to claim to be providing new public revelation as doctrine. But I do not think the Holy Spirit would be negligent so as to not include at least one positive example of what Catholics hold to be a common basic practice.
And that's the problem with you people. It's one of the reasons I crossed the Tiber after more than twenty years as a fundamentalist/evangelical
Yes, searching the scriptures to ascertain whether what is taught is so was/is a problem for false teachers and apostates, but not for the apostles and early church.
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1 John 2:19)
Cradle Catholics don't bother with the Bible because they're told from the cradle that it's not their business to read it and they can't understand it.
The priests and the nuns, who are *trained* in the things of God, are supposed to do that job for you and all you have to do is trust them that they are telling you the truth, which you can't know unless you know the Bible yourself.
Nice little racket they have going there.