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NASB | Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Proverbs 3:5 Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. |
Subject: Authoritative answers? |
Bible Note: Kalos Let me try to answer each part of your many questions separately. First let me say at the time of reformation the Catholic church was in need of reform. Also let me say I'm not, nor do I want to become a defender of the Catholic church. That said let us precede. You said: "Would it be better if everyone were Roman Catholic, since then we would all believe alike? I would think accuracy of doctrine would be preferable to unity of doctrine. I.e., truth is more important than all of us believing the same thing, whether it be truth or error." I respond: John I agree we must always follow truth, however who decides what is the truth? Since the reformation we have thousands of denominations and Christian religions all claiming they have the truth yet in many cases they lie in direct opposition to each other. Today we have everyone deciding for himself what is right and wrong and quite frankly there is more wrong than right. Look at the any stat on church growth, Christian lifestyle, morality or social reform, they are all saying we are slowing removing more and more of God out of our lives. You said: “Is there so little difference between Roman Catholic doctrine and evangelical doctrine?” I respond: Kalos read Luther’s 95 thesis, the reformation was a battle over the selling of indulgences not all the other peripheral issues many Protestants and Catholics fight over today. Read the Catholic church’s written doctrines or catechism and see how very close they are to what you call evangelical doctrine. You said: “Is the evangelical doctrine of salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion of secondary importance?” I respond: Absolutely not and that is not what Catholicism holds. You said: Is the authority of Scripture AND of the Catholic church to be preferred above the authority of Scripture only? I respond: The issue is not over what the Bible says, it is over who makes the call on what it means. In the Catholic church the Pope and his theological advisors determine what a verse means and how it applies. In the protestant church the head of the denomination along with their theologians does. For those that hold no denomination they are the deciding factor. Is one that much different than the other? Is one better? You said: “Is ritual more important than preaching?” I respond Absolutely not but ritual does have it’s place. In a Catholic church you will find a reverence for God that simply doesn’t exist in many protestant churches. Before you jump on me for this let me say. In the Catholic church they focus on the mysterious, majestic, wondrous aspect and power of God. Holding God in awe and reverence. They treat the things set apart as holy as being holy. This can lead to an impersonal cold religion. In the protestant religion we focus more on our accessibility to God, in many cases this leads to an almost casual view of God. One where little is respected or appreciated. Is one more correct than the other? Is one better than the other? You said: Moreover, the idea that there was universal agreement in the Catholic church before the reformation sounds like Catholic mythology. History indicates otherwise. I respond: Yes there was discontent in the Catholic church, but it wasn’t over interpretation of scripture or even doctrine it was concern over practices that weaseled their way into the church. The Catholic church had become corrupt becoming more of a political machine than a church and it needed reformed let there be no doubt to that. You said: “Ed, I don't mean to be critical, but it sounds like you're implying that the Protestant Reformation was evil, destructive, and undesirable -- that we'd all be better off if only we had remained faithful to the Roman Catholic church.” I repond: Kalos let me say once more I believe with all my heart the Catholic church needed reformed, overhauled, corrected, cleaned up. But I look at the results the fractured division within Christianity and say there had to be a better way. You know as well as I do everyone has opinion and in today’s world everyone is deciding for themselves what is right and what is wrong. We have homosexuality, same sex marriages, divorce, child molestation, abortion, fraud and etc. all in the church and being done under “that is how I READ THE BIBLE.” EdB |