Sacred Tradition comes from Jesus

The Apostles Taught all that Jesus commanded.  Thus, Jesus Christ taught about the Marian Doctrines in His Traditions which compose the Deposit of Faith upon which the New Testament is based.

Therefore, Scripture …

…St. Peter is the Pope or Vicar of Christ:
Matthew 16:18-19
King James Version (KJV)
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

…tells us that Mary is the Mother of God
Luke 1:43
King James Version (KJV)
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

...commands us to bless Mary:

Luke 1:48
King James Version (KJV)
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

…that Mary is Queen of Heaven
Revelation 12:1
King James Version (KJV)
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

… and that Christ is the image (i.e. icon) of God:
John 14:9
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Therefore, since we have seen God, we can depict God in icons.  But if you are not Christian, if you do not believe that Jesus is God, you have not seen God.

Sincerely,

De Maria

Only God justifies

SM says:
The Catholic Church teaches a law tinged gospel which is not pure.

Let's compare your words to Scripture:

Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

In reality (although is says it is not), the Catholic Church is semi-Pelagian.‘A lot of God…and a little bit of you.’

Wrong.  Pelagian means that you believe that you can save yourself without God.  That is parallel with the Protestant idea that you can save yourself by your faith alone.

Semi-Pelagian says that people have the capacity to turn to God without God's initiative.  Without the prevenient grace of God.

The Catholic Church teaches that only God justifies.  And we only turn to God when God gives us the prevenient grace of faith to believe in Him and to believe in His goodness and to diligently seek Him.  And that this requires us to obey His call in order to be saved:

Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Hebrews 5:9
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

And if that’s the case, then why would Jesus even bother with the Cross?

In order to pour out His grace upon us in the Sacraments.

He could just as easily line us all up and judge us on how well we are doing.

That happens to all who submit to the Sacraments.  The Sacraments are prejudgement events.  When we approach the Sacraments, God looks in our souls as He did at Abraham and says, "He believes, therefore he is righteous".

But God only does this for those who keep His Law:

Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Those who refuse to keep God's law, blaspheme if they approach the fountains of grace and are condemned:

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

But EVERYONE will stand before the judgment seat of Christ on the last day.  EVERYONE:

Romans 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

This from a lifelong Catholic who finally heard the gospel preached in it’s purity. Without the add-on’s on self, or clergy having to be attached to it.

It is the Protestants who have added to and taken from the Word of God and changed the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their own image.

Sincerely,

De Maria

God is protecting His people

Catholic Apologetics is not generating a whole lot of interest on my blog.  But these questions were asked on my "Get rid of the Nanny State" article.  So, I thought they might be worth repeating.

What do you mean by "the silent Christian majority?"

The majority which elected Trump and rejected liberal ideology in England and is rejecting liberal ideology throughout the world.

They are enacting the policies right now. Who is going to stop them?

And their policies are biting them in the behind. In Seattle, the mayor got rid of the police. Now the liberal mob wants to get rid of the mayor. The liberals wanted to open borders, but now that they are afraid for their lives, they have even closed the borders around their states. The liberals wanted to get rid of the second amendment, but when they thought a food shortage was iminent due to the CV-19, they the first in line to buy guns and the gun industry had an unforeseen boom. Even now, with the riots occurring and the police too busy to go to every neighborhood, liberals have discovered that it is your personal responsibility to protect your life and your family and are causing a gun and ammo shortage.

Just who do you think is going to stop these autonomous zones?

They will self-destruct.

People all over the place are donating to them.

Capitalists are donating to them in the hopes of getting cheap publicity. In the end, however, all those jobless people will have to get a job in order to be able to get a home.

Our nation is going under water.

On the contrary, our nation is doing far better than any other country in the world.

Can you not see it?

Here's what I see.
1. The anti-police people in what they are calling the Chaz, abolished the police. Then, as their first order of business, established their own police force.

2. These same liberals are also anti-gun and especially, anti-assault weapon. Their next order of business, arm their police force with guns and assault weapons.

3. These same people call themselves anti-racism. Their next order of business, establish segregate gardens for blacks, natives and whites. In other words, segregate by race.

4. These anti-capitalists are trying to raise money for their cause. Guess who they are asking for donations? Capitalists.

Rest easy. They won't last.

God is protecting His people.

Romans 3:24-26

AnonymousMay 17, 2014 at 1:14 PM
nope! not consistent at all. you're still dead in sins and trespasses and hell bound. God justifies a "lost sinner".by faith in the BLOOD of Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Romans 3:24-26). 

Romans 3:24-26 says nothing about lost sinners being justified.  Let's read it together.

Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  25 Whom God hath 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;  26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Is he talking about "lost sinners"?  No!  He's talking about those who have turned to Jesus Christ in faith, repented from their sins and keep the law:

Romans 3
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

don't hop, skip and jump verses ... God is not the author of confusion.

Let's compare Scripture to Scripture.

Romans 2:13 says God justifies those who do the works of the law.

Romans 8:7 says that those who refuse to do the works of the law are enemies of God.

The rest of Romans 8 says that those who do the works of the law, are those who live by the Spirit of Jesus Christ and are the Sons of God.

Sincerely,

De Maria

We step by faith

CR
Its no wonder that Catholics are starved of intelligence
when they feed it with a wafer.

That is no problem for us:
1 Corinthians 1:19-21

King James Version (KJV)
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

You can have the wisdom of the world. We step by faith (2 Cor 5:7).

Try reading Scripture

ET

And now you swallow a bread god and work to prove it? Seriously.. there is something very much lacking in that righteousness, that obviously comes from YOU.

There is not one truly born again believer in Jesus who would go to the Roman catholic church. A late arriving entity, that has no foundation in the prophets, Jesus of Whom the prophets wrote about, nor Jesus Himself, nor Jesus' apostles. No not one.

Scripture says otherwise.   Scripture proves the following:

The Catholic Church was established by Jesus Christ upon the Rock of Peter (Matt 16:18-19):
First, the Bible describes a Church which is infallible (1 Tim 3:15; Eph 3:10).
Then it describes a Church which is united (Eph 4:5).
It also describes the doctrines of the Catholic Church which are distinctive from other churches:
Purgatory (1 Cor 3:15).
Eucharist (1 Cor 11:23-27).
Communion of Saints (Rom 12:12-20).
The Mass and the necessity to attend (Heb 10:25-31).
The Sacrament of Confession (Heb 13:17).
The Sacrament of Holy Orders (1 Tim 4:14).
The Sacrament of Baptism (Titus 3:5).
Justification and salvation by faith and works (Rom 2:1-13).

The Catholic Church is the Church which Jesus built.

Get rid of the Nanny state!

It makes me angry that the Democrats are keeping us from opening the economy back up.  And one of the things they are doing to maintain a grip of fear on the country is forbidding the use of the hydroxychloroquin regimen that the President is using to prevent and cure COVID 19. 

Its time to call your congressmen and tell them that we are adults and we can decide for ourselves if we want to take the risk of taking this drug which has been used for decades without ill effect. 

Get rid of the Nanny state.  This is America.  We can take care of ourselves.  Let us have access to the drug which has been proven to prevent and to cure COVID 19 infections!

Not as though I had already attained

GC
Your position is biblically untenable.

Oh it sounds real religious, modest and humble, but will in fact, send you to hell.
You are pinning your hopes on an inherent righteousness that is infuuuuused into you, but that righteousness comes and goes like the waves of the sea and will remain IMPERFECT until the day you die, as Paul admitted (Phil 3:9-12).

That is correct. It is precisely as St. Paul describes:
Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Alert: An imperfect righteousness will NOT get you to heaven.

That is true. That is why, those who are imperfect will have to go to Purgatory. Or, are you saying that St. Paul is not in heaven?

The truth is, that we are constituted as righteous by the "OBEDIENCE OF THE ONE" says the Romans 5.

There is more to it than that:
Hebrews 5:9
King James Version (KJV)
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

As it says, just as by the offense of one (Adam) came upon all men, condemnation; likewise by the righteousness of one, will justification come to all that believe.

Believing presumes obedience. 
Philippians 2:12
King James Version (KJV)
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

If you believe, you will obey also. In other words, it requires faith and works. Faith is believing. 
Romans 16:26But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

The entire life and death of Christ is subsumed into one ACT of righteousness, per 5:18, and this act of righteousness cannot be madethe act of many, EXCEPT BY IMPUTATION.

You need to look at all of Scripture. Not just one here and one there. The gift spoken of is the gift of the Holy Spirit:
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

It is because of Christ's sacrifice that we can now be infused by the grace of the Holy Spirit, poured out upon us in Baptism:
Acts 22:16

King James Version (KJV)
16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

The conclusion is that you are trusting in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit IN you to merit your salvation,

That is correct. Our salvation is God's work:
Philippians 2:11-13
King James Version (KJV)
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.


13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

which the Bible denies---

Where? Produce chapter and verse.

and refuse to trust in what Jesus did FOR you,

That is what Jesus did for us. By His Sacrifice, He established the Sacraments which are the washing of the Holy Spirit in His Body and Blood.

which results in the righteousness of Christ imputed to you,

Infused. The imputation or crediting of righteousness goes hand in hand with the infusion of righteousness. 

The Sacraments are pre-judgment events. When we come before God, believing His promises, He imputes it to us as righteousness. In other words, when we believe what God promised and come before Him for the Sacraments, He credits to us as righteousness. Then, He infuses us with His grace, effectively washing us of sins.

whole and entire and able to stand before the Judgement Seat on that final day.

At least you understand that we will all stand before the Judgment Seat on the final day. Most Protestants deny that fact.

However, judgment comes to the Church FIRST, through the Sacraments of God's grace:
1 Peter 4:17

King James Version (KJV)
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

P.S. Don't bother trying to say that the R.O.C. infuuuused is enough to make you stand in confidence on Judgement Day because your theology doesn't bear that out.

We stand in hope:
1 Thessalonians 5:8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

You know the sanctifying work of the Spirit remains INCOMPLETE, otherwise were it sufficient, you would have no need for purgatory!

That is correct. Only those who have been perfected in this life will go directly to heaven. Those who remain imperfect must go t purgatory. God judges who fits which category.

Not you.

Body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ

 GC

If you really believed Paul, you would not need to swallow the Eucharist to have Jesus living inside you..... thus proving that non-catholics have everything you claim to have by not swallowing the Eucharist..... which meeeeens the RC claim that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation, is a sham and a hoax and not needed at all.

It is because we believe that the Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ that we believe St. Paul. It is Jesus who taught the Apostles. It is Jesus who taught St. Paul. And we believe St. Paul because He is repeating the Teaching of Jesus Christ:

1 Corinthians 11:23-24
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

We have faith in Christ

Hi RT, You said:

RT March 28, 2013 at 7:43 pm
De Maria,
When you can produce an early church father who taught the bodily assumption of Mary, then you may criticize me for believing in things not taught for hundreds of years in church history.

I sincerely doubt that Robert. Because I’m sure you are aware that the Early Church Fathers are all priests, many of them Bishops, who recognize the authority of the Church, believe in faith and works for salvation, received and provide the Sacraments, believe in the Real Presence, in Purgatory and all the other Catholic Doctrines. Yet, you don’t believe any of them.

So, producing a Church Father who taught the bodily assumption of Mary for you to believe in his teaching, would be an exercise in futility. You would simply say that one wasn’t enough and demand another.

That is what I sincerely believe regarding your attitude towards the Faith of Christ.

To address your specific question:
1. Jesus tells Peter that He will give Peter the keys, namely the authority to bind and loose, in Matt. 16. It’s a promise to do something in the future, not at the moment.

And you don’t believe Jesus kept the promise?

2. In Matthew 18:18, the authority to bind and loose is given to at least all the disciples. That is future from the perspective of the original promise in Matt. 16.

But to whom are the keys given. As far as I know, only Jesus and St. Peter possess the keys. Yes, all the disciples can bind and loose. But they must borrow the Keys from the earthly boss, St. Peter to whom Christ gave the other set.

3. Ergo, the keys are not given to St. Peter alone but to all the apostles.

They are given to St. Peter alone. The others are also given authority. But this authority can only be wielded in union with St. Peter.

Peter had a leading role, yes. He was the first to preach to the Gentiles, if nothing else. But there is no hint in that text that Peter was given a special authority that would be perpetually passed down through the history of the church.

Every office which Jesus established is perpetually passed down. This is illustrated in
Acts 1:20
For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.

And confirmed by St. Paul elsewhere:
2 Timothy 2:1-2
King James Version (KJV)
1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.?
Jesus established an ongoing concern. He established the first Corporation, the Church. And appointed therein a Chief Executive (St. Peter; Matt 16:18-19) and a Board of Directors (the Apostles; Luke 6:13) and many other officers (the disciples; 1 Corinthians 12:28).

I know that Rome believes itself infallible and the guarantor of orthodoxy.

We have faith in the words of Christ (Eph 3:10; Luke 22:31-32).

That claim was more credible many centuries ago when Rome actually disciplined people. Get your church to again start excommunicating Roman Catholics who flaunt the Roman church’s teaching on birth control, who promote the mortal sin of abortion, who deny papal authority, and who hire lesbian pagans to teach theology at Roman Catholic institutions, and then we can talk about Rome as the guarantor and protector of the truth. Until then, you are living in a fantasy world that I’m not even sure all the other Roman Catholics commenting here would accept.

Spoken like a Pope wannabe. Obviously, you wish the Church were run according to your whims and not according to the Divine Judgment of Jesus Christ who still runs the Church today, through the men He appointed.
2 Corinthians 5:20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The Catholic Church is the voice of God in this world. I will obey her.

The New Testament is the product of Sacred Tradition

Anonymous said...
There is no proof for example that Mary was conceived without sin or kept from sin 

This is taught in the word, kecharitomene (Luke 1:28) and in the fact that God said He would put enmity between the Woman and Satan (Gen 3:15).

Kecharitomen means that one is "ever full of grace". Meaning that Mary was never touched by sin. This is because God put enmity between her and the Devil. Therefore, they never had anything in common.

or that there is indulgences. 

In fact, there are several explicit teachings. The only thing missing is the word, Indulgence. Listen to Jesus:

Luke 11:41

But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

In today's terminology, Jesus would have said, "Give to the poor and you will receive a plenary indulgence.

Here's another,

Mark 10:21

Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

In today jargon, Jesus would have said, "Sell all you have and give to the poor and you will have many indulgences."

Where has your church officially defined what tradition is and what all the traditions of your church are?

In the New Testament.

Sincerely,

De Maria

Positive results of our response to the Corona virus

Although the COVID bug is nothing to sneeze at, it is becoming clearer and clearer that it is not as deadly as first predicted.  This video from Youtube is the first indicator that I saw, which reveals that the bug is far more prevalent in society than we knew and that it has a similar mortality as the common flu:

Thank God for that!  I mean, if you listen to the hot mic incident, it is stated that the mortality is between .1 and .3 percent.  Which makes this disease a mere variation of the flu.  Not the deadly plague that was originally prophesied.

So, we can breathe more easily.  With all due respect to all those who lost loved ones during this time, there were some positive aspects of our human response to this emergency.

THE FEAR OF GOD

As Scripture says, "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom".  And many people began to think of their eternal resting place during this pandemic.  Their personal mortality and frailty was on full display and as a result, many turned to God for help.  Some people whom I've never heard to invoke God before, suddenly were praying.  I consider this a good thing.  I pray that the grace of God remains with them after the fear for their lives, is gone.  Hopefully, we will again see packed houses when we are permitted to return to the Mass.

PRAYER AT HOME

Relatedly, I have heard that people are praying, lighting blessed candles and using holy water and oil, at home.  I pray that these customs persist long after the pandemic is relegated to the footnotes of history. 

HOMESCHOOLING

People have been forced to homeschool their children.  And, although there are some videos humourously panning the practice:

I have heard from a friend who spoke to a friend about another friend whose family is thoroughly enjoying their unexpected experience.  Apparently, they are using the Public School curriculum because their daughter is thoroughly familiar with it.  And, she has learned to give herself more vacation days by getting up to two weeks ahead and then, relaxing until the curriculum catches up!  Brilliant kid!

EATING TOGETHER

One of the sad facts of chasing the American dream, is that too many people did it at the expense of family life.  I don't know how many times my co-workers lamented to me that they never ate dinner with their family.  Everyone was too busy.

But now, many have rediscovered this beautiful tradition.  We homeschooled our kids and we've never ceased to eat together even though they are now grown up.  But to so many of my co-workers, this has been a surprise blessing.

WATCHING MOVIES TOGETHER

Again, something which comes naturally to homeschoolers.  But something which my co-workers said they seldom did.  Now that they are forced to be together at home, they are doing this more frequently, as well.  And thoroughly enjoying it.

SAVINGS

This is a personal thing.  By the grace of God, I'm still working.  Although my children have lost their jobs.  However, we are not adversely affected because we have suddenly stopped buying all the unnecessary things that we used to buy.  No more eating out at restaurants, uh, because they're closed.  No more going to the movies, because they're shut down.  No more shopping sprees because unnecessary trips outside the home, are discouraged.

So, actually my wife and I are saving more money.  And my kids are wondering why they have to return to work.  Because I said so!  That's why!

It seems to me, that God is turning this evil pandemic, into a blessing in disguise.

May God bless you and may you and your family remain safe.

The Teachings of Jesus Christ are best understood in the light

1. DE MARIA March 28, 2013 at 7:03 pm

   Hi RT,

   You said:

   RT March 28, 2013 at 4:15 pm
   De Maria,
   I have been reading your posts, and there is a lot to respond for. But just so you are aware, if you want Protestants to believe that:
   a. Jesus invested Peter with authority over all the apostles;

   That seems self evident in reading Matt 16:18-19. Or did Jesus give the keys to the Kingdom to anyone else?

   b. That Peter founded the church at Rome?  

   c. That Peter passed on this authority to his successors at Rome;

   I don’t remember that being mentioned in my commentary nor in any which I addressed. Are you now bringing that up?

   d. That the early church recognized the supreme binding authority of the bishop of Rome;?e. That the early church unanimously exegeted Matt. 16 to invest Peter and his successors to have authority over subsequent bishops

   That’s a red herring. The Church was up and running with St. Peter at the helm well before any of the Scriptures were written.

   f. and all the other Roman claims

   I’ll do my best. I just ask we do it piecemeal. I know its in your best interest to confuse several arguments at a time in order to muddy the waters and hinder understanding. But the Teachings of Jesus Christ are best understood in the light.

   You have to do more than just quote Matt. 16 as if any of those points are self-evident.

   The point I was making is self evident in that verse. Jesus named Simon Bar Jonah after Himself, thus indicating the position which Simon would occupy.

   There is a precedent for this in Scripture:

   Exodus 7:1
   King James Version (KJV)
   7 And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

   Exodus 18:13-15
   King James Version (KJV)
   13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:

   Exodus 19:9
   King James Version (KJV)
   9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.

   God put Moses in a position of authority over the people. Jesus has done the same thing with Simon. God covered Moses with the Cloud, Jesus gave Simon His own name:

   John 21:15-17
   King James Version (KJV)
   15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
   Jesus has appointed Simon as Shepherd over His flock. And in order to bring this point home, Jesus gave Simon His own name, “Rock” or “Peter”.

   This is to signify the type of authority which Jesus has given to Simon. He has the authority to bind and loose in the name of God (Matt 16:19).

   Many of the other questions you have asked specifically of me have been addressed in some of my comments on other postings. I will try and respond as I have time to things you have specifically directed to me, but I don’t know how much I will be able to. In any case, if you want to know why I reject Roman Catholic soteriology and ecclesiology, you can read the exegesis and theological works of Cyprian, Diogenetus, Athanasius, Augustine, John Calvin, Francis Turretin, R.C. Sproul, and James White. Obviously not all of those early church authors would necessarily disagree with every single aspect of what has become Roman Catholic theology and ecclesiology, but neither were they Roman Catholics. They weren’t Protestants either. They were the early church fathers.
   In other words, I’m not trying to say anything new.

   If you are preaching Protestant theology, you are saying something that was not seen for 1500 years since the Teaching of Jesus Christ came into the world. Therefore, you are supporting something new and full of error.

   Sincerely,

   De Maria

Questions about Osas for Protestants II

I had a response to my article Questions about OSAS for Protestants. 

Basically, it was just a link to my old nemesis' blog, Answering Catholic Claims.  The author of the article doesn't identify himself, but I'm assuming its Russell, the person who owns that blog.  And the link he provided is simply his testimony as to why he left the Catholic Church.

Anyway, I've got a few of my own testimonies recorded on this blog.  My testimonies explain why I left the Catholic Church and then, why I returned.  If you're interested, you'll find them here:

Analysis of a Conversion 

I think Russell and I track very closely as far as our shared experience of being cradle Catholics.  We diverge in the following facts.  

1.  I became an atheist.  He became a Protestant.

2.  I returned to the Catholic Church.  He did not.

In addition, I have a good opinion of Russell.  I think he speaks honestly and in good faith.

So, what I'd like to do is go through his testimony and simply point out where we differ and my reasons why I am of a different opinion.  So, let's go through it.

So, Russell says:

Today’s article will be different. It will be about my personal experience with the Catholic Church and its teachings. Anyone who has read this blog knows that I am not a Catholic and that I disagree strongly with the Catholic Church on many issues, although there are some things they teach with which we can agree. For the record, I did not leave the Catholic Church for personal reasons. I was not berated by a bishop. I was not molested by a priest. I did not leave the Catholic Church because I wanted to shack up and live guilt-free with my girlfriend, or because I found its views on contraception too strict. And it wasn’t because Catholics are mean people. In fact, I live in an area with a high concentration of Catholics and many of them are great people and wonderful neighbors.

No, I left the Catholic Church for doctrinal reasons. I strongly disagree with many of its teachings which I believe are not biblical.

Of course, I disagree.  I believe that the Catholic Church is the author of the New Testament and the Institution which gathered all the existing religious writings of the early Church and put them together in one volume which we know today as the Bible.  Furthermore, I believe that the New Testament was written on the basis of Catholic Doctrine and that the Old Testament texts which are included in the Bible were selected on the basis of their agreement with Catholic Doctrine.

My Childhood

I was raised on a farm and was one of six siblings and, for the most part, had a great childhood. We were raised Catholic, although we were not devout. We very seldom went to church except for weddings and funerals. My dad didn’t see attending church as a necessity, although he certainly taught us right from wrong. My mom was the one who taught us our prayers and helped us through First Communion, Confirmation, etc.

Even though I was hardly ever in church in my younger years, I was somewhat tender toward the things of God. I really did want to go to church, but just didn’t get much opportunity to do so as a child.

I vividly remember one day speaking with my oldest brother about how old some people get. He said, “Yeah, some people grew to be 500 years old and even older. It’s in the Bible.” I thought, “Wow, that’s amazing! But it must be true if it’s in the Bible.” Now, I didn’t think this because we were Sola Scriptura (“Bible only”) believers. In fact, we didn’t even have a Bible at home (that I was aware of) and I knew almost nothing about the Bible, but somewhere down the line, I became aware that it was God’s Word and it needed to be taken seriously. From that moment, I had a greater respect for the Bible and I will ever be grateful to my brother for sharing that information with me that day.

Russell and I were raised miles apart and in very different cultures.  I am a first generation American of Mexican descent, born and raised in America on the Mexican border.  Yet, I also vividly remember discussions with my Catholic friends on the fact that the Bible contained no errors.  If the Bible said it, it was true.  This is Catholic Teaching.

The Skunk

As the years went by, I started attending catechism at my small-town elementary school. Almost everyone in that school was Catholic and I remember how most of the students knew a lot more about their catechism than I did, since they attended church every week.

Anyway, as a side note, there was kind of a funny thing that happened one day. As I said, it was a small school in a small town and we would sometimes walk from the school to the Catholic Church a few blocks away to attend catechism there. On one of these trips, a group of us were walking back to the school after catechism class and we found a dead skunk in the middle of the street. As we surrounded it, one of my good friends, Greg, somehow managed to toss it on me. I don’t remember how it happened, but it certainly did and the evidence was there! When we got back to school a few minutes later, the teacher immediately smelled it and scolded Greg for his mischievous deed. We still laugh about it today.

I don't have a skunk story to tell.  I have a bunch of others, but, you kind of had to be there to truly understand it.  So, I'll just pass on this.

Trouble on the rise…

As a kid, I very seldom got in trouble. I was basically a good person in everyone’s eyes, a “goody-two-shoes,” if you will. But the sinful nature of Adam in me prevailed and I grew tired of this image. I remember walking down my gravel road one day as I decided I was going to do something bad. I wasn’t even sure what I was going to do yet, but I really wanted to break out of this “good guy” mold. At that moment, all I can describe is that something definitely changed. Something seemed to “click” in my mind. My heart was set to do evil (Ecclesiastes 8:11).

Because of this, a series of personal events occurred and things quickly went south. It was almost as though God was saying to me, “Oh, so you want to be a tough guy, huh? You want to go against the good I’ve given to you all your life? Ok, then I’ll turn up the heat!” God loves us but He will discipline us for our own good (Job 5:17; Proverbs 13:24; 22:15; Revelation 3:19). And the “spanking” began. This was the start of the worst period in my entire life. Things began to happen that caused depression, bitterness and hatred to set in. I had become a miserable, lustful, foul-mouthed and angry young man and I found out that when God decides to spank a wayward child, you’ll know you’ve been spanked! I don’t know what would’ve happened if God had extended this period of misery, but only by His grace did I survive it.

Ditto.  I was a nice kid.  But I was also a pain in the butt.  But, when I started misbehaving, I didn't get the spankings from God that Russell describes.  In fact, I remember liking the results of my misadventures, at first.

In desperation one day, I suddenly remembered I had a book written by a preacher collecting dust on my bookshelf. I opened it and read for the first time about God’s plan for His people. It was as though the author was speaking directly to me. I began to cry like a baby in a much-needed emotional release. At this time, God wonderfully began to change my heart and my whole situation.

If you read my conversion story, you'll see that I didn't get to this point until my wife conceived our first child.  I was 30 years old by then.

Something Lacking

A short time later, my girlfriend and I got married and since we were both Catholic, we were attending a local Catholic church. One day at work, I met a guy named Elliot, who shared the gospel with me. He told me things from the Bible that I had never heard in the Catholic Church. He also encouraged me to read the Bible for myself. So, I bought one and began reading it. This was an eye-opening experience.

My wife and I were still going to the Catholic Church, but we both felt like it was similar to going to a restaurant with a large buffet, yet only taking a tiny taste and leaving unsatisfied. We enjoyed the very short “homily” (sermon), but everything seemed to be swallowed up in rituals. As time went on, we discovered that many things the Catholic Church taught were not found in Scripture and that some things actually went against what the Bible teaches. Once again, we did not leave the Catholic Church for personal reasons, but because of what it teaches. If you are wondering about which teachings I object to, there are many articles on this blog which will give details on different topics. One of the most important topics with which we disagreed with Catholics was justification, i.e., how a person is saved, and the differences here are too important to ignore.

So, here's a big diversion in our experience.  The Bible had a great deal to do with my leaving the Catholic Church.  I thought the Bible was ridiculous.  And the Bible had nothing to do with my returning to the Catholic Church.  In fact, at the time that I returned to the Catholic Church, I was still unaware of the relationship of the Bible to Catholic Teaching.

Conclusion

I want everyone to know that this blog was not produced out of bitterness or to personally attack Catholics.

Well thanks.  And I want everyone to know that I also have no bitterness towards Protestants.  Many Protestants are good friends of mine.

Throughout the blog, I am just attempting to share what God has shown me.

I'm doing the same thing.  I'm sharing what God has shown me.  I don't think God is giving contradicting messages.  So, one of us is wrong.

Again, I have many great Catholic friends (and family) and this blog is not meant to disparage them. Rather, I hope that this article arouses their interest and lets everyone know where I am coming from.

Ditto.  I have many Protestant friends and family.  I am not disparaging them.  But I hope someone will understand where I am coming from.

Having said that, if I am wrong about the content of all these articles, you may have nothing to lose… but if I am right, there are serious spiritual consequences for those Catholics who choose to continue to embrace the teachings of Rome.

Same here.  If I'm wrong, you have nothing to lose.  But, if I'm right, then there are serious spiritual consequences for the Protestants who choose to continue to reject the Catholic Church.

There's a difference though.  The Catholic Church teaches that a righteous person can be saved whether he is Catholic or not.  So, according to Catholic Teaching, a righteous Protestant will be saved.  Righteousness is achieved by keeping the Commandments.

Lastly, I want to urge everyone – Catholics, Protestants and otherwise – to test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21), including the things I say, with Scripture, since it is the only God-breathed revelation for mankind today (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Certainly, I agree.  Please test all things.  I'd urge you to start with Russell's interpretation of 2 Tim 3:16-17.  It does not say that Scripture is the only thing that is God breathed.  It merely says that Scripture is God breathed.  In other passages, men are also God breathed.  See, for example,

John 20:22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Since Jesus was breathing on the Apostles, the Foundation of the Church, we know that the Church is also, God-breathed.

It also does not say that one should pick up the Scriptures and interpret them apart from the Church.  It describes teacher, teaching, preaching and admonishing a student.  Something the Bible, a simple book, can't do.  Here's what it says:

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy word is truth. (John 17:17)

It also says that the Church is the Pillar of Truth:

1 Timothy 3:15if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

And that His Word is brought down to us in oral Teaching:

2 Thess 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits[a] to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings[b] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)

Yes, but God assigned the Church to Teach us all that He commanded.  And all that He commanded has to be true.

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So, that's where Russell and I differ.  Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church.  That's why I follow the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church put the Bible together and wrote the New Testament.  That's why I believe everything in the Bible.  Protestant teaching contradicts the Bible.