Quizzes & Puzzles48 mins ago
Advice Please.........
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If a female wants to become a Catholic and knows she will still be sinning i.e. will still take contraception, would this be truly bad? Thank-you
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Erm, in a word, yes. She would be breaking every law Catholics have that protects the sacred nature of life, and of course the Bible explicitly confirms that sex is for procreative purposes only. However, most Catholic churches in the West turn a blind eye to contraception, as (despite what the erstwhile Pope said) they recognise that contraception prevents more than unwanted babies. (Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI is researching this right now - I assume not personally). Plus, the mainstay of Catholicism is basically the premis that if you say enough "Hail Mary"s and repent then you can be forgiven anything...so really it's just a matter of personal conscience. No Catholic church will advocate the use of contraceptive, but neither will they advocate sex before marriage, yet they are aware of the common practice of both.
I am not a Catholic, but I was once Church of England. My parents were "mixed" (R.C. & C. of E.)
http://bereanbeacon.org/
This is a link to a site run by an ex Catholic priest, Richard Bennet, a fine man, a good Christian, who loves, particularly, Roman Catholics, so much, that he wants to give them the gospel.
Please take the time and trouble to listen to his testimony.
I would be interested to hear your views afterwards.
http://bereanbeacon.org/
This is a link to a site run by an ex Catholic priest, Richard Bennet, a fine man, a good Christian, who loves, particularly, Roman Catholics, so much, that he wants to give them the gospel.
Please take the time and trouble to listen to his testimony.
I would be interested to hear your views afterwards.
Wizard 69 is correct when he says I have a hatred of the Roman Catholic church, NOT Roman Catholics.
Why? Because the R.C. church deliberately leads people away from the teachings of the Bible, and into its own agenda.
Do I hate Roman Catholics? Not unless I suddenly started to hate my late father, my son in law, and my brother in law, who are all R.C. and fine people whom I love and admire.
Why? Because the R.C. church deliberately leads people away from the teachings of the Bible, and into its own agenda.
Do I hate Roman Catholics? Not unless I suddenly started to hate my late father, my son in law, and my brother in law, who are all R.C. and fine people whom I love and admire.
Hi Sonak - though the Roman Catholic church claims to be Christian, it is very far removed from true Biblical Christianity.
Romish practices such as the mass, confessing sins to a priest, the role of Mary in redemption - none of these are found or taught in the Bible.
God intends man to have a one to one relationship with God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, with no middle man in between.
We are to confess our sins to the Lord Jesus Christ Who is 'just and able to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness', not to a priest, who is a man just like us.
Nor are we, as Rome teaches, to work our way to heaven, but to rest in what Christ has done for us on the cross.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph 2:8-9
Romish practices such as the mass, confessing sins to a priest, the role of Mary in redemption - none of these are found or taught in the Bible.
God intends man to have a one to one relationship with God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, with no middle man in between.
We are to confess our sins to the Lord Jesus Christ Who is 'just and able to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness', not to a priest, who is a man just like us.
Nor are we, as Rome teaches, to work our way to heaven, but to rest in what Christ has done for us on the cross.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph 2:8-9
Fingerprint - The R.C. church teaches praying to dead people, the mass, (which denies the sufficiency of Christs sacrifice), attaining grace through good works, bestowing unwarranted honour on Mary, mother of Jesus, who was a good woman but a sinner like ourselves, in need of a saviour. Infallibility of popes, confession to men, celibacy, which the bible calls a doctrine of devils... Richard Bennets web site goes into far more detail.
Theland, without answering each of your points in detail I will try to discuss a couple of them.
In terms of confession through a priest, Christ began the sacrement of reconcilliation in John 20:19-23:
Jesus said to them (the disciples) again, �Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.� And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, �Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.�
Catholics do also believe in confession directly to God, but even if you don't agree with confession through a priest would you not accept that this is a reasonable interpretation of scripture.
The only reason the Virgin Mary is seen as holy within the Catholic Church is because she leads people towards Jesus. Every statue that is made of her now in the Church shows her holding Jesus to emphasise this point.
You stated that you feel the Catholic Church leads people away from the teaching of God, but would you not accept that many of the most respected Christians who have in many cases really worked to improve lives in the name of God have come from the Catholic Church, for example Mother Theresa, St Francis and John Paul II?
As a Catholic I find many of the teachings of the Evangelical or Pentecostal Churches uncomfortable. For example the view that everybody has the gift of tongues. But why take the view that anything different to that which you practice yourself is wrong? Why not just follow Jesus in the way that works for you, ultimately God is going to judge us by what is in our hearts and if we have been lead astray in anyway He will see past that.
In terms of confession through a priest, Christ began the sacrement of reconcilliation in John 20:19-23:
Jesus said to them (the disciples) again, �Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.� And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, �Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.�
Catholics do also believe in confession directly to God, but even if you don't agree with confession through a priest would you not accept that this is a reasonable interpretation of scripture.
The only reason the Virgin Mary is seen as holy within the Catholic Church is because she leads people towards Jesus. Every statue that is made of her now in the Church shows her holding Jesus to emphasise this point.
You stated that you feel the Catholic Church leads people away from the teaching of God, but would you not accept that many of the most respected Christians who have in many cases really worked to improve lives in the name of God have come from the Catholic Church, for example Mother Theresa, St Francis and John Paul II?
As a Catholic I find many of the teachings of the Evangelical or Pentecostal Churches uncomfortable. For example the view that everybody has the gift of tongues. But why take the view that anything different to that which you practice yourself is wrong? Why not just follow Jesus in the way that works for you, ultimately God is going to judge us by what is in our hearts and if we have been lead astray in anyway He will see past that.
Hi Fingerprint - What the Lord Jesus said in John 20:19-23 was said to His disciples, whom He then gave the Holy Ghost. ALL those today who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour are His disciples and they receive the Holy Ghost. If this passage defended the Roman Church's belief that a priest can forgive sins then it would be equally valid for ANY Christian to be able to hear confessions and forgive those sins.
You say the Roman church teaches that Mary leads people to Jesus. But this doctrine is found no where in the Bible. She is as powerless to do anything for your soul as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David etc are.
Have a look at all the verses that call us to repentance and salvation and Mary is never mentioned.
It is Jesus and Jesus only.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" I Timothy 2:5
You say the Roman church teaches that Mary leads people to Jesus. But this doctrine is found no where in the Bible. She is as powerless to do anything for your soul as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David etc are.
Have a look at all the verses that call us to repentance and salvation and Mary is never mentioned.
It is Jesus and Jesus only.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" I Timothy 2:5
Lighter, thanks for your reply.
Going back to the confession point, in the passage I quoted Jesus does give his apostels the power to forgive sins, how else would you interpret what he says? The Catholic Church was here founded by the apostles, the foundation of which was Peter who became the first Catholic pope.
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells Simon this after his confession of faith:
"Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." --Matthew 16:17-19
Regarding Mary, I may not have got my point accross very well, Catholics do not worship Mary but rather they honour her as a holy person but still a human never the less. She was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus so this makes her different to every other human for a start!!
I did not claim her to have the power to save souls, Catholics merely ask her to pray for them and whats wrong with asking someone to pray for you?
Going back to the confession point, in the passage I quoted Jesus does give his apostels the power to forgive sins, how else would you interpret what he says? The Catholic Church was here founded by the apostles, the foundation of which was Peter who became the first Catholic pope.
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells Simon this after his confession of faith:
"Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." --Matthew 16:17-19
Regarding Mary, I may not have got my point accross very well, Catholics do not worship Mary but rather they honour her as a holy person but still a human never the less. She was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus so this makes her different to every other human for a start!!
I did not claim her to have the power to save souls, Catholics merely ask her to pray for them and whats wrong with asking someone to pray for you?
Theland, I did read the article yesterday and felt that it had a blatant anti-catholic bias. The author was clearly trying to play up to popular misconceptions about the Catholic Church. But rather than picking Richard Bennet's article apart there is a wider question I want to ask.
Even amongst Evangelical Churches there are huge differences in doctrine and practices. If you study the theology of different Christian groups e.g Pentecostal, Evangelical, Church of England, AOG, New Frontiers, Baptist, Methodist, Brethren etc you will find numerous completely different interpretations of scripture and completely different attitudes towards differemt issues for example contraception, divorce etc. So do you feel that any group that differs from your own is practicing something that is wrong?
Fingerprint - The Bible says "Judge not", so it is not for me to judge.
Each of us must study the relevant scripture on whatever subject, and prayerfully come to a conclusion. Yes, it's O.K. to take advice, read interpretations etc, but the final decision on doctrine, must be ours, it's between us and God, not through a third party.
But I do take your point regarding the huge differences in doctrine that exist.
Many theologians have tried to emphasise the things that unite us, rather than the things that divide us. This is worthy of further study and practice, of course. But, the R.C. church goes too far for me to comfortable with its doctrine.
(Continued)
Each of us must study the relevant scripture on whatever subject, and prayerfully come to a conclusion. Yes, it's O.K. to take advice, read interpretations etc, but the final decision on doctrine, must be ours, it's between us and God, not through a third party.
But I do take your point regarding the huge differences in doctrine that exist.
Many theologians have tried to emphasise the things that unite us, rather than the things that divide us. This is worthy of further study and practice, of course. But, the R.C. church goes too far for me to comfortable with its doctrine.
(Continued)
(Continued) .... for example, you say R.C.'s pray to Mary etc. Yes, they do, but this is unbiblical, and is forbidden by the Bible. It's a form of necromancy, trying to contact the dead. Also, the R.C. church is in the process, (correct me if I'm wrong), of bestowing on Mary, the title, "Co-Redemptrix," which gives her equal status as a Saviour with the true Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Mary is also viewed as without sin, that is unbiblical.
So, no, I do not view most of the different branches of Christianity as "wrong" if I disagree with some of their opinions, on the contrary, it gets me to question my own beliefs, and search out the Biblical authority for the views I hold.
For example, I have listened to arguments for and against infant babtism, and I am still undecided, such are the differing appeals to different scriptures.
I am convinced though, that Gods' "rule book" by which He judges us, is our consciences, what is written on our hearts. That must mean some differences of opinion, as we each put more or less emphasis on a particular scripture.
Mary is also viewed as without sin, that is unbiblical.
So, no, I do not view most of the different branches of Christianity as "wrong" if I disagree with some of their opinions, on the contrary, it gets me to question my own beliefs, and search out the Biblical authority for the views I hold.
For example, I have listened to arguments for and against infant babtism, and I am still undecided, such are the differing appeals to different scriptures.
I am convinced though, that Gods' "rule book" by which He judges us, is our consciences, what is written on our hearts. That must mean some differences of opinion, as we each put more or less emphasis on a particular scripture.
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