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NASB | Ephesians 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful]. |
Subject: catholic and protestant salvation view |
Bible Note: Thanks for taking the time to get those links for me, Emmaus. Of course, this is a Catholic Web site, and I was less than impressed with the Protestant's line of inquiry. One thing that was brought up regarding heresy that I would like to address with you, however. The Catholic said this: 'You can be sure that the Pelagians considered their doctrines to be the “true gospel,” and they had the Scriptures to back it up. Likewise the Nestorians, Donatists, and Monophysites considered their doctrines to be the “true gospel,” and they too had the Scriptures to back it up.' I would disagree here. The Pelagians and these other heretics were heretics precisely because their doctrines could not be backed up with the whole of Scripture. The early church condemned these groups as heretics, not simply because they differed with the Mother Church (which is another interesting argument in itself since Arians and Pelagians were PART of the Mother Church at the time), but because their views cannot be backed up by the whole counsel of God found in the Scriptures. Interestingly enough, if we look at church history, we find that doctrinal truth was often held by a minority of bishops. For example, at one point Athanasius stood virtually alone in his condemnation of Arianism, and he was exiled more than once by the powers that be. We could take a modern-day heresy and examine it in light of the question of authority. When a Jehovah's Witness comes to my door, I know that he will have verses which, taken out of context, will seem to back his theological perspective. However, being somewhat well-versed in the Scriptures, I know that there are a great many more passages from Scripture which shed light on the false interpretations of the Watchtower Society, rendering their theology to be false. Likewise, the Arians and the Pelagians and the Monophysites can be shown to be in error not simply because they disagree with the early church, but because they disagree with Scripture. When Luther stood before the church officials at Worms, he likewise said that he would not recant unless the Roman position could be demonstrated from Scripture or by common human reason. The problem for the Reformers was not that the church was interpreting Scripture wrong as much as the church was ignoring Scripture for the sake of human traditions that had gradually supplanted the supreme authority of God's word. It wasn;t what was "twisted" in Scripture as much as it was what was "added to" Scripture (and contrary to what Scripture clearly teaches and what the church originally held) and given apostolic authority. The other point I would like to bring up is this statement made by the Catholic participant, when asked about Roman Catholicism being a different gospel in light of Galatians 1: 'Okay, then you must also consider either Calvin’s or Luther’s gospel to be “a different gospel,” since their doctrines were radically different from each other. Which of these men do you think fell under Paul’s anathema, Luther or Calvin?' Now that is moving into a bit of intellectual dishonesty. While Luther and Calvin did disagree on certain issues (chiefly the nature and role of the sacraments), they did not disagree one bit on how a person is saved. Confessional Lutheranism and Calvinism are not "different gospels," any more than the Fransicans, Jesuits, and Benedictines are promoting a "different gospel" than the Dominicans, Cistercians, and Augustinians. As much as some Catholics try and suppress this fact, there are "in-house" disagreements on matters of doctrine in the Mother Church as well. --Joe! |