Another Protestant tries to take dismiss various Catholic teachings as unbiblical. Fortunately for him, Art was available to clear up his misunderstanding by giving our Protestant friend a bible lesson. Bible Jim's comments are in purple. Art responds in blue.
I can't trust you to use any of your files. Again read your Bible, try Galatians, it's a good epistle about grace vs Law.
I am afraid that your attitude sounds legalistic. Are you so afraid of the truth that you refuse to accept any evidence that your prot minister has not pre-chewed and digested for you? Or has your minister forbidden you to study and think for your self? Why do you trust him and not the rest of us or yourself? If you have a position to defend, then you have a moral and religious obligation to do so. In the New Testament, Pope St Peter said in his First Encyclical
...but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence…(1 Peter 3:15)
We are awaiting your reply.
I think the only verse that you are allowed to memorize is James 2:24.
Which verse on its own refutes the Protestant error about justification.
Where, in the history of the first century church (the book of Acts), do you find priests offering sacrifices for sins, people seeking indulgences to remit punishment for their sins, prayers for souls in purgatory, church leaders forbidden to marry, infallible popes, salvation dispensed through the sacraments. Where do you see rosaries, scapulae, holy water and statues?
You also do not find anyone preaching double predestination, justification by faith alone without doing good works, baptism as a mere ordinance without efficacy, eucharist as a mere memorial, altar calls, vacation Bible schools, aggressive bus ministries, personal interpretation of the Scripture, vernacular Bibles, or any evidence of a democratic church order. What you don't seem to get is that the Church's life develops organically. She grows in depth and knowledge under the superintendance of the Holy Spirit. Her practices follow suit over time. Even a Protestant has to see that the Church in the book of Acts is only an embryonic form of what was to come. No Protestant group looks exactly like them either.
Genesis 3:15 "He will crush your head" was changed to "She will......" This was to get the RC members to believe that Mary was our Savior as opposed to Christ.
I disagree with you. In Biblical Hebrew there is no difference between the pronoun for 'he' and 'she'. The currently used Hebrew text (the Masoretic text) added vowel marks to the original text in the 8th Century AD. This nikudot distinguish the words but they were not present in the original autograph. The noun for 'Strike" is masculine, but in Hebrew it is often true that a forceful action by a feminine subject uses the masculine noun form.
There is also a three fold synonymous parallelism in Gen 3:15 -
I will put enmity between YOU (Satan) and THE WOMAN between YOUR child and HERS SHE will strike at YOUR head and YOU will lie in wait for HER heel.
So the particular translation that you don't like is a possible reading of the text.
Genesis 14:18 Melchizedek was said to have "sacrificed" bread and wine. The church changed this to bring in the transubstantiation concept.
The Hebrew actually says that Melchizadech was a priest-king who came OFFERING bread and wine. The word for offering can be understood in a sacrificial sense. Most likely, he came with a sacred offering of cakes and libation used as a communion with God. This was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist for certain.
Genesis 6:5b The human heart "only and always set on evil" was changed to "prone to evil". This was changed to take away the doctrine of original sin.
Here is the Revised Standard Version: Genesis 6:5 "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
Here is what the Vulgate says: Genesis 6:5 videns autem Deus quod multa malitia hominum esset in terra et cuncta cogitatio cordis intenta esset ad malum omni tempore.
I don't know how good your Latin is, but they say the EXACT same thing.
John 14:26 said the Holy Spirit "will reveal whatever [Jesus) will say" to His church, rather than "did say." This was to support tradition.
This is the Revised Standard Version: [John 14:26] "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
This is the Douay Rheims version based on the Vulgate: John 14:26 But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.
This is the Vulgate: John 14:26 paracletus autem Spiritus Sanctus quem mittet Pater in nomine meo ille vos docebit omnia et suggeret vobis omnia quaecumque dixero vobis
No difference. I think you are mistaken AGAIN!
In my opinion, the Vulgate is second only to the New World Translation in inferior translations.
Looks to me that you need to learn a little more before you form your opinions. ;-)
The New Testament says that salvation is through Christ alone,
Which is Catholic Dogma as well.
Arinze responded, "If a person were to push what you said a little further and say that if you're not a Christian you're not going to heaven, we'd regard that person as a fundamentalist...and theologically wrong.
Amen. Cardinal Arinze speaks the truth. Let me sample a few Scriptures for your education:
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. (Romans 2:1-16)
Also, there is the words of St. Peter in Acts:
And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35)
And of course we have the words of My Lord and Savior:
John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. (Mark 9:38-41)
I would say that Cardinal Arinze has good Scriptural warrant on his side. ;-)
I caution you not to be too niggardly with the grace of God. God may save anyone he wants to by any means he wants to. His word has already told us this. The Christian faith is the ORDINARY means by which men can be saved, but God may choose to act in an extraordinary manner. His word tells us so.
It also says we are not saved unless we subject ourselves to the pope:
Absolutely. Unless you come to God in the way that God prescribes, you cannot enter Heaven. The only way to do that is through HIS Catholic Church, not through some man made prot cult. Just picking up the Bible and imagining that what you read empowers you to speak in the name of Christ is like reading the Constitution and then declaring that you are empowered to be president. No Protestant cult has any depth in history beyond it immediate HUMAN founders, and none of them lived before the 16th Century.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep... I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:1…16)
Jesus goes on in John 21:
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go." (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me." (John 21:15-19)
So riddle me this, after Jesus ascended into heaven who was the ONE shepherd of the ONE flock on Earth? Jesus is always our Heavenly Shepherd, of course, but when he left, he designated St. Peter to be the vicarious shepherd in his absence. That is why the Successors of Peter are called the Vicars of Christ.
It is also why we take Jesus' words seriously:
He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. (Luke 10:16)
So if you refuse to join the ONE Church that Jesus actually founded and instead go after false shepherds. Draw you own conclusion.
Art Sippo
The Catholic Legate