It is has come to my attention that a group of folks have been in an uproar over my post about Catholicism being a cult.
It seems that I have offended some by my lack of love for those of "another denomination."
Well, here is what Webster's says about this term, denomination.
Denomination- "a religious organization whose congregations are united in their adherence to its beliefs and practices"
Can I rightly claim that Protestant churches believe this web of lies that the Catholic Church adheres to?
Please continue reading as I add some clarity to this subject.
Christ’s redemptive activity finds its apogee in the death of sacrifice on the cross. On this account it is by excellence but not exclusively the efficient cause of our redemption....No one can be just to whom the merits of Christ’s passion have not been communicated. It is a fundamental doctrine of St. Paul that salvation can be acquired only by the grace merited by Christ (Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Rockford: Tan, 1974), pp. 185, 190).
Are the sacraments necessary for salvation?
According to the way God has willed that we be saved the sacraments are necessary for salvation
(John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981), Questions # 401, 402, 461, 462, 1119).
If any one saith that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation...and that without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain from God, through faith alone, the grace of justification...let him be anathema (The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent. Found in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1919), Canon IV, p. 119).
Penance is...necessary because we must expiate and make reparation for the punishment which is due our sins...We make satisfaction for our sins by every good act we perform in the state of grace but especially by prayer, penance and the practice of charity (John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981), Question #1320).
The Sacrifice of the altar... is no mere empty commemoration of the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice. Christ, the eternal High Priest, in an unbloody way offers himself a most acceptable Victim to the eternal Father as He did upon the Cross...In the Mass, no less than on Calvary, Jesus really offers His life to His heavenly Father...The Mass, therefore, no less than the Cross, is expiatory for sins (emphasis mine) (John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981), Questions #1265, 1269, 1277).
Christ’s redemptive activity finds its apogee in the death of sacrifice on the cross. On this account it is by excellence but not exclusively the efficient cause of our redemption....No one can be just to whom the merits of Christ’s passion have not been communicated. It is a fundamental doctrine of St. Paul that salvation can be acquired only by the grace merited by Christ (Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Rockford: Tan, 1974), pp. 185, 190).
Are the sacraments necessary for salvation?
According to the way God has willed that we be saved the sacraments are necessary for salvation
(John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981), Questions # 401, 402, 461, 462, 1119).
If any one saith that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation...and that without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain from God, through faith alone, the grace of justification...let him be anathema (The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent. Found in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1919), Canon IV, p. 119).
Penance is...necessary because we must expiate and make reparation for the punishment which is due our sins...We make satisfaction for our sins by every good act we perform in the state of grace but especially by prayer, penance and the practice of charity (John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981), Question #1320).
The Sacrifice of the altar... is no mere empty commemoration of the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice. Christ, the eternal High Priest, in an unbloody way offers himself a most acceptable Victim to the eternal Father as He did upon the Cross...In the Mass, no less than on Calvary, Jesus really offers His life to His heavenly Father...The Mass, therefore, no less than the Cross, is expiatory for sins (emphasis mine) (John Hardon, The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (Garden City: Image, 1981), Questions #1265, 1269, 1277).
THESE COMMENTS OFFEND ME. THEY ARE TOTALLY DEMONIC!!!!!!
I guess that I am "cursed" since I belive in Grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone.
If this is not enough to convince someone that Catholicism is a cult then I seriously question their understanding of the gospel message and salvation.
In the end. I am not worried if the truth offends you. SIN OFFENDS GOD EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.
No, this is not self-righteousness on my part. This is me bringing to the surface what another RELIGION, not demination believes.
3 comments:
Greetings! Found your post via Technorati.
I read your earlier post. Your argument that the largest branch of Christianity, comprising 1.2 billion Catholic Christians, is a cult is critically flawed. The size of the Catholic Church alone is prima facia evidence that it doesn't meet the criteria for a cult. Most reasonable folks would doubt that the overwhelming majority of the world's Christians, who happen to be Catholic, are a cult. In fact, most of the world's non-Christians recognize the Catholic Church as the face of the Christianity and the Pope as the leader of Christianity. So, cult is a hard sell.
You do seem to have a lot of misunderstanding regarding the catechism of the Catholic Church. You quoted various sections, but omitted their scriptural references from the footnotes. The Catholic faith is found 100% in the scriptures. The Catechism is extensively cross referenced to the scriptures.
Its also clear from your statements that you do not seem to understand what you read and quoted. As you are not Catholic, that is reasonable and common.
You note with pride that you study dead theologians. I recommend that you read some earlier dead Christian theologians, such as:
Justin Martyr
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.ii.html
Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf207.ii.xxvi.html
There are some other very good dead theologians: Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Jerome, Irenaeus. Most can be found at the CCEL site.
Offended? Nah, how could Catholics be offended? Its clear from your posts that you misunderstand the Catholic faith. What would be offensive is you're not going back and reading the earliest dead theologians and discovering the truth of what the early Christian church taught and believed. Deliberately not seeking the truth would be offensive.
BTW, some good topics for future posts might be Luther and Calvin's beliefs in the Perpetual Virginity of Mary or Luther's continued practice of infant baptism and his belief in the real presence in the Eucharist.
May God bless and guide you in your studies of past Christian scholars...
- Timothy
Amen, Amen - Timothy.
It is typical for non-Catholics to take one phrase - whather it is scripture or not - and create a whole theology around it.
I am not offended...just sad that so many completely shut out taking any next step to prayerfully explore the fullness of truth that the Catholic Church teaches.
The early church fathers have written a great deal that can validate so much of what Catholics believe today. Of course, non-catholics wouldn't believe what they wrote - because most non-catholics only read what post-reformation theologians teach and say.....and of course they know the christian faith and can interpret scripture better than the direct disciples of the Apostles.
Of course, since truth can be terribly unsettling, I'm sure most of the readers here wouldn't even take a prayerful step to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church - (the official teaching of the CC) which extesively refers to more scripture and early church fathers than any other book ever authored.......(outside of scripture, of course.)
Non-catholic christians should think about not locking onto a couple of key scripture passages for their whole theological positions and soak up all of scripture. You are only missing the beautiful tapestry of the faith and graces God provides us as we journey home.
Here is a great website for study....
www.salvationhistory.com
I would challenge anyone who is truly seeking truth (that is Christ) and makes an honest and prayerful effort to spend some time with the studies and material on this website - would ever again claim that Catholic teaching is not scriptural - or blaspheme God's holy church by saying she was demonic.
(Perhaps I was offended.)
Anonymous #1,
You said...
"In fact, most of the world's non-Christians recognize the Catholic Church as the face of the Christianity and the Pope as the leader of Christianity. So, cult is a hard sell."
So, I guess since the lost world around us recognizes that the RCC is the face of Christianity and the Pope is the leader of Christianity then that's it.
You said...
"The Catholic faith is found 100% in the scriptures. The Catechism is extensively cross referenced to the scriptures."
Which catechism? It has been changed more times than you and I can count.
You said...
"Luther and Calvin's beliefs in the Perpetual Virginity of Mary or Luther's continued practice of infant baptism and his belief in the real presence in the Eucharist."
You are correct that a few of these gentlemen did continue to believe some of the controversial teachings. I am not aware of Calvin and the perpetual virginity issue. To me that is too easy. Read Scripture and see that that is impossible.
In the end if any belief has to hold to tradition and councils over Scripture; that is a huge problem!!
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