If you have questions or concerns with Catholicism, please use the comment box or email me. This post is for non-Catholics to talk about anything and everything with myself and fellow Catholics.
Non-Catholics, especially Protestants, I ask that you read an Open Letter to Non-Catholics first, which may answer many of your questions. Protestants, please also read the letter written by His Holiness Pope Pius IX, to all Protestants and other Non-Catholics at the convocation of the Vatican Council, September 13, 1868. If you are seeking conversion to Catholicism, I offer the following resources for you to learn more about Catholicism. In addition, view the posts in my sidebar under the title "Catholic Categories", specifically look through my Apologetic Posts.
- CatechismClass.com
- Fish Eaters
- One Bread Lay Apostolate
- Fish Eaters: Being Catholic
- Beginning Catholic
SHOP:
The following suggestions may all be purchased at the A Catholic Life Online Storefront, hosted through Amazon.com
Catechism:
- Catechism of the Council of Trent (very complex but it teaches the Faith)
- My Catholic Faith by Angelus Press (193 chapters covering everything you need to know about the Catholic Church)
- Baltimore Catechism (simple to understand; highly recommended)
- The Catechetical Instructions of Saint Thomas Aquinas (complex)
- This is the Faith by Canon Francis Ripley (Also highly recommended)
- The Catechism in Pictures: 66 Chapters
- A Biblical Defense of Catholicism by Dave Armstrong
- By What Authority? by Mark Shea
- Unabridged Christianity: Biblical Answers to Common Questions About the Roman Catholic Faith by Fr. Mario P. Romero
- Worthy is the Lamb: The Biblical Roots of the Mass by Thomas J. Nash
- Radio Replies Volumes 1 & Volume 2 by Fathers Rumble and Carty
- The Sinner's Guide by Venerable Louis of Granada., OP
- Liberalism is a Sin by Fr. Felix Sarda y Fr. Salvany
- 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal by Angelus Press or Baronius Press
- Know Your Mass by Fr. Demetrius Manousos; O.F.M.; Cap
- The Church's Year by Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine
- An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine by John Henry Cardinal Newman
- Calvary and the Mass by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
- The Seven Sacraments: Entering the Mysteries of God by Stratford Caldecott
- How Christ Said the First Mass by James Luke Meagher
- The Mass of All Time by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
- Explanation of the Holy Mass by Dom Prosper Gueranger, OSB
- How to Understand the Mass by Dom Gasper Lefebvre, OSB
- Dirunale: The Brevarium Romanun minus Matins
- The Roman Martyrology (as of 1962)
- Learning the New Breviary by Fr. Bernard A. Hausmann SJ (refers to the 1962 Breviary)
- True Devotion by St. Louis de Montfort
- Life of Christ by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
- The Faith of the Early Church Fathers by William Jurgens
- How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
- Seven Lies About Catholic History by Diane Moczar
- The Popes Against Modern Errors: 16 Famous Papal Documents by Tan Books
- Rhine Flows Into the Tiber by Ralph W. Wiltgen
- Gregorian Chant: A Guide to the History and Liturgy by Dr. Daniel Saulnier
- Black Robes in Paraguay by William F. Jaenike
- The Crusaders: The Struggle for the Holy Land by Regine Pernoud
- A Heart for Europe by Joanna & James Bogle
- Christians Courageous by Aloysius Roche
- Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know by Dr. Diane Moczar
- The Church at the Turning Points of History by Godfrey Kurth
- Isabel of Spain: The Catholic Queen by Warren H. Carroll
- The King with a Pope in His Belly by Bella Wyborn d'Abrera
- Swords Around the Cross: Ireland's Defense of Faith and the Fatherland by Timothy T. O'Donnell
- A Shepherd in Combat Boots by William L. Maher
- The Guillotine and the Cross by Dr. Warren H. Carroll
- 1917: Red Banners, White Mantle by Warren H. Carroll
- The Last Crusade: Spain 1936 by Warren H Carroll
- Catechism of the Crisis in the Church by Fr. Matthias Gaudron
- The Great Facade: Vatican II and the Regime of Novelty in the Roman Catholic Church by Christopher Ferrara and Thomas E Woods, Jr.
- Open Letter to Confused Catholics by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
- Against the Heresies by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
- Iota Unum: Study of the Changes in the Catholic Church in the 20th Century by Romano Amerio
- Love in the Ruins: Modern Catholics in search of the ancient Faith by Anne Larson
- Old Errors and New Labels by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen
Absolutely every Catholic should own a Bible. Translations like the King James Version and New World Translation are protestant and, therefore, should never be used because they do not even have all of the book of Sacred Scripture. The best Catholic Bible is the Douay-Rheims Bible, which was translated from the Vulgate. Although approved, I would definitely avoid the New American Bible [NAB] and Jerusalem Bible; the footnotes in the NAB are horrendous. Here are some recommended Bibles:
- The Haydock Bible (a larger print Bible)
- The Holy Bible (Douay-Rheims Version)
- Douay-Rheims Bible (with Soft Leather Cover)
- The Great Scripture Commentary by Fr. Cornelius a Lapide, S.J.
- Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Gospels by St. Thomas Aquinas (edited by Blessed John Henry Newman)
Posts
11 comments:
Hi Moneybags,
I would have posted sooner, but work kind of got in the way. I have read the Catechism of the Catholic Church a few times through, but i don't think i covered all the bases. I told you before the more that i keep digging, the more i am getting turned away from the Catholic Church. I guess the main reason, is because of the Bible itself. I believe that many of the teachings of the Church are based upon few or vague bible passages, that are a little twisted in translation, and I’m sure you've heard that before. The main reason i enjoy discussing with you is that because it is a great way to strengthen my faith, by daily reading the Bible. And i care for you, but i do believe that you and other Catholics are in danger of losing true faith. There is no doubt in my mind that many Catholics will be in heaven, and there will be many people from different synods as well. All those who believe will be saved. But all people are at risk of losing faith if they don't study the Scriptures, and receive the sacraments. I am not having discussions only with those of Catholic backgrounds but even Methodists, and Baptists-who fail to realize the significance of Sacraments as stated in Scripture.
Getting back to how I view the Catholic Church, I have great trouble with translation of the Bible when it comes to the establishment and authority of the papacy, and also why Tradition, is called "Sacred". On the EWTN question site, one person left the Church, and asked if he was stilled saved. I would have to recall this document for better citing, but i slightly remember the expert, calling the Catholic Church, "The ark of the Covenant", after further explanation, to me, he made it seem as if no one can be saved outside the Roman Catholic Church. He also began to talk about anonymous Christians.
I just finished reading your Open Letter to Non-Catholics; I noticed a lot of human logic that is used to imply things about the Church like apostolic succession.
I believe the apostles were one of a kind. They received hands on training from Jesus himself. Jesus taught them many things that he did not reveal to the multitudes of his other followers. The apostles needed this special training because the Bible wasn't written yet. How is the word of God going to get spread around? By mouth. from people who had heard it directly from Jesus himself, and were daily receiving strength. The person who was chosen as Judas' replacement had to be a person that was with them from the very beginning of Jesus' ministry at John's Baptism and he had to be a witness of the resurrection. To me i take this as believing that the apostles were a select group of people that do not have real successors because it is shown important that the apostles were with Jesus. When all of the people that had seen Jesus, and heard his teachings died, no person would be qualified to fill there shoes 100% because they didn't heard the message from Jesus first-hand. The apostles were not teaching the people there own words, but the Scripture was alive in them and there words. They had seen the scripture in living flesh and could now spread it to others. As evident in so many cultures, when word is passed down by means of mouth, it is very liable to be changed, even if only just slightly. That is why it was crucial that the word be written down. What does one believe that the apostles were teaching before scripture was written down? As for me, i believe they were teaching the same Scripture.
I have many times heard the apostles referred to as the "new priesthood", however i don't like this because Jesus fulfilled the OT as our prophet, priest, and king.
Jesus tells us in Matthew that all authority on heaven and earth has been given to him. The apostles said, "We must obey God, rather than man".
How does one know what God wants us to do? Look at his Word.
Hey Horicon,
Its been a long time since I have seen or chatted with you. I check out your blog periodically and haven't noticed much movement so I thought you had given up on blogging. I understand how work can be hectic. I read your post and would first like to say how happy I am that you are seeking out the truth, knock and the door shall be opened, and I am sure one day it will open wide for you.
On that note, I would like to address your question on salvation outside of the church.
I don't want to confuse you on this, its a touchy subject and one that is kind of hard to understand at first. There is no salvation outside the church. Now that being said, does that mean that everyone that is not Catholic, will not be saved? NO, it does not, basically what it boils down to is this, Non-Catholics can be saved through the prayers and sacrifices of the church. Say you are like that guy that knows in his heart that the Catholic faith is indeed the church that Christ founded, he has renounced that truth and has left the church. I cannot judge him, but on the authority of the church he has renounced God and his truths and therefore he might not be saved. Now on the other hand you have an individual that is a great christian, lets say a fundy prot that is living his life to the best that he can, he goes about serving God the way that he was taught and lets say that he has never heard the truths of the Catholic church... and then he dies, he can be saved b/c he is living his life to the best that he was tought and has not heard the truth about Christ through his chosen church.... He will be saved through the graces and blessings that he has recieved by serving God to his greatest potential, but lets say that he was given a chance to know the truth of Christ through his church, and he learned the truth, the bible, the apostolic succession, and the sacraments of Christ... lets say that he refuses them and says they are all wrong and will not listen to reason, well in a way he has doomed himself, he is like the rich man that came to follow Christ and when Christ told him to give all he had to the poor and follow him, the rich man could not part with his possessions so he turned away from Christ and went his seperate way, and Christ said was a pity that was.
I hope that wasn't too confusing. :-)
Lets first talk about what Catholic means, it means Universal it was the Universal church set up by Christ, the Latin Translation for that word is Kathlicos, and then the english translation is Catholic, both meaning "Universal" The first time that Catholic was used was in the year 81 in one of the Epistles the apostles sent to one another.
I know that you believe all of those that believe will be saved, but that was never in the bible, Sola Fides was not created by God, that was created by Luther. Faith alone will not save you, it also takes works, leaving a good life, following the commandments, and living the teachings of Christ, going to the sacraments, living in a state of grace, ect...
You also stated that you have great trouble with the translation of the bible, which bible are you reading from? How can you base your ideas on the bible and the words of Christ if you are following a "translation" that is only a few hundred years old and is missing important info. I want you to look up the Douay Rheims bible and read that in search of God.. You will find all the words of God and not a select few and missing parts like in the Protestant bibles.
Yes, the early apostles spread the workd of God by mouth and writings, letters, ect... That is what we call "tradition" we can trace our roots to the very apostles. You say that the line ended with the last apostle, how can that be so when Christ clearly chose Peter as the leader while he was in heaven, and then after Peter was dead the next was elected and an unbroken line for 2000 plus years. The laying on of hands, a 2000 year tradition, when a Priest is ordained he recieves the power of God through this sacred tradition.
The word 'tradition' is taken from the Latin 'trado, tradere' meaning to hand over, to deliver, or to bequeth. The teachings of Scripture are written down in the Bible, and are handed on, not only in writing, but also in the lives of those who live according to its teachings. The teachings of Tradition are not written down, but are lived and are handed on by the lives of those who lived according to its teachings, according to the example of Christ and the Apostles (1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15). This perpetual handing on of the teachings of Tradition is called a living Tradition; it is the transmission of the teachings of Tradition from one generation to the next.
The Magisterium has a role in deciding authoritatively which truths are a part of Sacred Tradition. However, the main means of transmission of the teachings of Tradition is the lives of all those who live according to the Way of life handed down from the time of Christ and the Apostles.
Oral Tradition was so highly esteemed in the early Church that Papias, near the middle of the second century, declared that he preferred oral tradition to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.3 In spite of the groundless claims of Protestant apologists, McDonald agrees with James Barr “that the ‘idea of a Christian faith governed by Christian written holy scriptures was not an essential part of the foundation plan of Christianity’.”4 Barr suggests that this perspective is expressed in 2 Corinthians 3:6: “who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.”5
Tradition refers to the body of truth that Christ entrusted to the apostles and was faithfully handed on by them to the Church. Together with Sacred Scripture it forms one sacred deposit of God’s word.6 The fundamental mode of transmitting this deposit of faith, called the depositum fidei, was the oral preaching and instruction of the Apostles. This sacred deposit contains those truths that God wants us to know for the sake of our eternal salvation.
Sacred Tradition is vitally linked with Sacred Scripture, because they spring from the one source - God. The New Testament, in particular, is the normative written expression of that orally transmitted Divine Revelation, which passed on to the early Church. Indeed, it can be accurately stated that the New Testament was written from the living Apostolic Tradition of the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The fact that the New Testament used Hebrew oral Traditions does not of itself establish a solid Biblical foundation for the Catholic understanding of Apostolic Tradition. This belief is based on the practice of the early Church, which does find a basis in the New Testament.
2 Thess 2:15 – “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” In the context of the passage Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to remain steadfast in the faith. He instructs them that the Lord's coming is not around the corner. They should not be concerned with such rumors, which might undermine their faith. This passage is important because Paul equates oral instruction with his letter, both of which he teaches is an expression of Tradition.
The popular New International Version (NIV) shows its anti-Catholic bias by mistranslating the Greek word paradosis, “tradition,” in this and similar passages (1 Cor 11:2; and 2 Thess 3:6) where this inspired word is used in a positive sense. In its place the word "teaching" is substituted. However, when the Greek text uses the word paradosis in a negative sense it is correctly translated as “tradition.” This misleads the reader to conclude that all “tradition,” paradosis, is condemned in the New Testament. This exemplifies of the evil of private interpretation, which seizes precedent over the words inspired by the Holy Spirit. In addition, unless the user of this translation reads the footnotes, he is denied the opportunity to compare this interpretation of the text with what the text actually says.
1 Cor 11:23 - In the same chapter cited above, Paul instructs the Corinthians on the doctrine of the Eucharist. Specifically, he describes the process of Sacred Tradition. “For I received from the Lord what also handed on to you.” The importance of oral Tradition is also seen in Paul’s second letter to Timothy.
Here I will talk on the Papacy and how The apostles chose the nest pope to follow Peter ect... Also how great scholars of that time and theologians acknowledged the papacy.
Clement of Alexandria
(c. 195) “The blessed Peter was the chosen, the preeminent, the first of the disciples for whom alone and himself the Savior paid tribute.”1
Tertullian
(c. 197) “What man of sound mind can possible suppose that these men were ignorant of anything, whom the Lord ordained to be teachers?… Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, who is called the rock on which the church should be built, who also obtained ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven’ with the power of loosing and binding in heaven and on earth?”2
(c. 212) “From what source do you usurp this right to “the church”? Is it because the Lord has said to Peter, ‘Upon this rock I will build My church’ and ‘to you have I given the keys of the heavenly kingdom’? Or ‘Whatever you will have bound or loosed in earth will be bound or loosed in the heavens’? You presume that the power of binding and loosing has come down to you—that is, to every church of Peter. What sort of man are you! You subvert and completely change the clears intention of the Lord. For He conferred this power personally upon Peter… This would mean that in Peter himself the church was reared.”3
(c. 213 Monogamy) “Peter alone [among the Apostles] do I find married, and through mention of his mother-in-law. I presume he was monogamist; for the Church, built upon him, would for the future appoint to every degree of orders none but monogamists. As for the rest, since I do not find them married, I must presume they were either eunuchs or continent.”4
Cyprian
(c. 250) “The Lord spoke to Peter, saying, ‘I say unto you, “You are Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church’.”9
(c. 251-256 The Unity of the Catholic Church) “And again He says to him [Peter] after His resurrection: ‘Feed my sheep.’ On him He builds the Church, and to him he given the command to feed the sheep; and although He assigns a like power to all the Apostles, yet He founded a single chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [Apostles]; but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair.” 10
(c. 271 Letter to the Lapsed) “Our Lord, whose commands we ought to fear and observe, says in the Gospel, by way of assigning the episcopal dignity and settling the plan of His Church: “I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever things you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, they will be loosed also in heaven.”11
(c. 251 Letter to All His People) “There is one God and one Christ, and one Church, and one Chair founded on Peter by the word of the Lord.”12
Damasus I
(c. 382 The Decree of Damasus) “Likewise it is decreed: After the announcement of all these prophetic and evangelic as well as apostolic writings which we have listed above as Scripture, on which by the grace of God, the Catholic Church is founded, we have considered that it ought to be announced that although all the Catholic Churches spread through the world comprise but one bridal chamber of Christ, nevertheless, the holy Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the conciliar decisions of other Churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord and Savior, who says: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall have bound on earth will be bound in eave, and whatever you shall have loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ In addition to this, there is also the companionship of the vessel of election, the most blessed Apostle Paul, who contended and was crowned with a glorious death along with Peter in the City of Rome in the time of the Caesar Nero… The first see, therefore, is that of Peter the Apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither stain nor blemish nor anything like it.”28
There are many more passages like this out there, Christ did set up the Papacy and it continues on today as it did from the beggining.
You also say that you don't agree with the Priesthood. Did God ask you if you like it or not? I think not, there was always a Priesthood in the OT and in the new Christ set up the Apostles, he even talked about Presbyters, and the Bishops. He gave the apostles the power to forgive sins, and he gave them the power to turn wine and bread into the body and the blood of christ. He gave them the gift of tongues, and he told them to pass on their knowledge. and they did, through the new Priesthood of Christ. Christ was and is the high Priest, he instituted the Priesthood at the last supper.
This has been way longer than I wanted it to be, my eye balls are about to fall out. I will come back and post more if you want more answers. Hopefully you won't fall asleep trying to read through this... :-)
J-M-J
Hi st. Michael,
I haven't given up blogging, for the most part, most of my friends don't have blogs, they all are obsessed with Myspace. And work really takes a toll on me physically and mentally. I don't think blogging is a waste of time, but there are just more important things in my life write now. I usually try to use the computer for at least a half hour or so every day.
Thank you for your response. There is much that you covered in your response, i will try to cover most of it, but it will probably take more than one post and more time then i have at the moment.
The first topic i would like to cover would be salvation outside the Church. You said, there is no Salvation outside the Church. I would say, there is no salvation outside of Christ.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
You also said,
Non-Catholics can be saved through the prayers and sacrifices of the church.
&
He will be saved through the graces and blessings that he has recieved by serving God to his greatest potential.
How did you formulate these statements? Where in the Bible does it say we can be saved by prayers and sacrifices? We can only be saved through faith in Christ. We can not be saved by our merits, the merits of others, or the combination of faith and merits. John 15, shows the blessings we receive and the salvation we have through Christ. Apart from Christ we can do nothing.
Another Statement you made,
{Faith alone will not save you, it also takes works, leaving a good life, following the commandments, and living the teachings of Christ, going to the sacraments, living in a state of grace, ect...}
Is Ephesians 2:8-9 a lie?
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Jesus is the only way of Salvation, we can not do anything to inherit salvation or contribute to it. On the cross, Jesus said, "It is Finished". Our salvation has already been won.
1Peter 3:18
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
2 Timothy 3:15
and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
The truth is, faith and works are not separate. The Bible tells us this, but it also tells us that it is by the grace of God, through faith that we are saved--Ephesians 2. When a person receives faith from the Holy Spirit, he is a new man. All who have faith in Christ will bear much fruit. Our salvation cannot even be partly dependant on ourselves because we cannot obey the law perfectly, which is required for salvation. When the Catholic Church says that we are saved by faith and works; that is the biggest stumbling block for all believers. {Romans 9 31-33} People fret and worry whether or not they are living a good enough life. When in reality, they do not need to worry about their salvation, because as children of God, we have Christ as our substitute, who paid for sins once and for all. Now we do not use this as a license to sin. All who do are not living in Christ and do not have faith. It does not matter how great we sin, because the sins of all believers are not accounted against then.
In our religion class, we talked about the unforgivable sin, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Isn't this sin, unbelief, or a lack of faith?
Moving on to another topic.
Who is the head of the Church?
Stumbling across the internet, i found a website heavily against the papacy. If you would like, i can give you that website.
Many websites are just biased, but i looked into this site because it relies so heavily on the Bible, and it also shed some light on the history of the Roman Catholic Church which could be false, but that is not the evidence that matters. Some of the main points it proves is that Scripture teaches us that Christ is the only head of the Church, and the equality of the apostles.
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18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he may have the preeminence.
Colossians 1.18
Says that Christ is the head of the body, the Church
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8 Beware lest any man make a prey of you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2.8-10
Says that Christ is the head, we should be based on Christ rather than the world and traditions.
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23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Ephesians 5.23
Says Christ is the head of the Church.
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The elders who are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight of it, not by constraint, but willingly; not for dishonest gain, but from a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
I Peter 5.1-4
Others are told to feed the flock, of which Jesus is the chief Shepherd
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11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ephesians 4.11
Where is the role of papal authority?
I don't like to use evidence like this to prove a point, but i think it is very strong
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19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Ephesians 2.19-20
Christ alone is the chief cornerstone.
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The site gives more passages that go strongly against the papacy. I can not believe that the papacy is scriptural from the few passages one gives to support it.
One last topic i would like to cover, Tradition.
You said,
The teachings of Scripture are written down in the Bible, and are handed on, not only in writing, but also in the lives of those who live according to its teachings.
This statement confuses me, isn't scripture the Bible? I would say, The teachings of Jesus and the inspired word of God are written down in the Scripture (Bible).
There is no doubt that Traditions can be a good thing, but how can you be sure that traditions that are not in the Bible are man-made, or God inspired. Man-made oral traditions are destine to change over time. We know that God instituted the Lord's Supper because it is written in the Bible.
---
One question kind of off topic-
Does the Catholic Church believe that everything "NECESSARY" for our salvation and daily lives is written in the Bible?
---
We know that the Bible itself is God's 100% truthful and inspired word, but there is no guarantee that all traditions will be line up with God's Will. How do we know God's Will? By Scripture.
I think i'm going to wrap it up here for now. My topics are spread out and i have a few random questions that i have in the middle of the text, but i hope that my writing is clear and gets to the point.
Horicon,
Thank you for replying... I haven't checked the blog for awhile, I thought maybe you were too busy to answer it. I will take this piece by piece.. that was we won't get confused.
by the way, check out my blog if you have a chance and comment on my side if youd like. I don't have any real contraversery comments... yet. :-)
URGENT
BRAZILIAN BISHOPS SUPPORT ABORTIONIST CANDIDATE LULA
Our bishops in Brazil are supporting the presidential candidate who has signed the abortion law project. In his homepage he clearly says he is for legal abortion and has pressed for abortion all along. And our bishops (CNBB, Mauro Morelli, Demetrio Valentini, et caterva) are supporting him. They are using the Bishops structure to advertise for the abortionist president. The Pope needs to learn about this to help the population. All one needs to know to find out if this this message is true, is to go to the Lula candidate home page www.pt.org.br, click in Programa 2007, click in Programa para Mulheres, and open in Item 5, page 19, the last paragraph (abortion open to everyone with no reason up to the 9th month) - PL-1135 (www.camara.gov.br) -
Why would a Catholic bishop support abortion?
Have pity on the Brazilians and warn the Pope.
Matthew,
Why wouldn't you recommend the Jerusalem Bible?
Mark, the Douay-Rheims is the English translation of the Vulgate, and the only version approved by the Church in Council, i.e. Council of Trent
Thanks, Matthew!
How can the Catholic church be One, "holy" church of Jesus Christ when so many children in Ireland and the USA were abused by priests and when the church establishment attempted to hide and protect those who had commited offences rather than the victims??
Extremely valid question. The answer is that those priests are not "real" priests. Learn about Traditional Catholicism such as the Society of St. Pius X, which has true Catholic priests and not men who think they are priests but commit such crimes.
http://sspx.org/
"Too many Christians too readily believe that with the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross the work of the redemption is concluded. But you know, and you ought to teach with ever increasing ardor, that that concept is not trust. As Paul told us (cf. Col 1:24), not only must we supplment the Passion of Christ with our own sorrow, but we must remember each day that the Redemption can never have its full effect if it is not accepted, understood, and continued by man. God has done His full part; not it is our turn. Our share consists not only in a loving participation in the divine sacrifice, but demands an even greater collaboration, always higher and more aware, to the point of rendering us worthy of the sublime assurance that Christ desired not only to cancel the sin of mankind, but to re-integrate in us the fullness of our original perfection."
Source: Page 67 - 68The Letters of Pope Celestine VI to All Mankind
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