I love the Catholic Church too, there's no way to be too "extensive" in this thread.
Cradlers
- Thread starter Nihilo
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Which goes to prove that salvation is by grace and through trust, not by works lest any man should boast.
glorydaz
Well-known member
Indeed, only the wicked would gloat in another's wickedness....which Bluster sees all around him. :chuckle:
jsanford108
New member
I do not boast. It is only by grace, and the pursuit of Christ, that I found my home.
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You found and passed through the wide gate and you are in the broad way that leads to destruction. Easy to find, easy to pass through and easy to walk in deluded obedience.
jsanford108
New member
Allow us to add what the Catholic Church teaches and believes, contrary to what you imply.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 153:
[When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come "from flesh and blood", but from "my Father who is in heaven." Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. "Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.'"]
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The problem is with the word infused it falls wickedly short of what truly occurs.
Nothing can refute what I posted, because it is pure scripture and correctly applied to you.
Oh, sure. The Catholic Church does not demand a literal belief in the Genesis story. Enyart was just the final nail. The fact that there are substantial Christian denominations that do base their faith on a literal Bible---"Jesus believed it, it must be true" raises questions about all of it. Since Genesis is clearly just a story then so is the rest of it.
You and I are just physics and chemistry, there is nothing "special" about us, provided by some divine entity.
A bit off topic, but how does any God, not provide his creation with knowledge such that they are aware of what he desires? The whole faith vs. works for salvation is so basic yet, as shown here, it is the subject of enormous disagreement. It is just silly.
The Almighty places the knowledge of Himself in every man and coupled with the evidence of His power from the beginning, man is left without excuse. This is a general revelation and it is the root of all religions and cults.
There are varying degrees of this general revelation and most people that are brought up under the effects of the evangelism think that this revelation is salvation. They then try to serve and worship, but they cannot worship in spirit and in truth. They do their best, but there is always a niggling doubt.
Some will change denominations or cults. They will relish confessions, creeds and statements of faith but they are all in the broad way that leads to destruction.
The more they try to serve the more they rebel against the truth. The Eternal Almighty hates religion.
"There is a way that seems right to a man that leads to death."
glassjester
Well-known member
You don't think there are different genres of literature in the Bible?
And everything you say and think and feel is all determined, ultimately, by physics. Is that right?
glassjester
Well-known member
Do you deny this one ability of God, or do you deny the very possibility of God, outright?
I find no evidence of your God or any other. Is God possible? Could be, but I see no reason to buy that story any more without specific real world evidence. A Holy Book cobbled together several 1000 years ago from oral myth does not do it for me.
My comment was toward the incongruity of an all-knowing, all-powerful deity who is unable or unwilling to provide his creation with a straight up story to eliminate the kind of "I'm right and you are going to hell" discourse seen here and elsewhere. So your god should in fact have that ability, to set everyone straight, no disputes. But that does not happen, does it?
glassjester
Well-known member
Sure, an omnipotent being must have the ability to do so. I don't think any Christians are denying that.
But He may not want to do so. Perhaps compelling man to believe is not part of His plan.
glassjester
Well-known member
What (attempted) evidence have you been given for God? And what makes it insufficient?
It's the RESURRECTION, Jonahdog. "He (the Lord Jesus) is risen" (Mt28:6KJV Mk16:6KJV Lk24:6KJV) from the dead. The Catholic Church calls the RESURRECTION the "crowning" and "central" truth of the Christian faith. Everything else hangs on the RESURRECTION. Romans 10:9 (KJV)
Oh, I agree with that. Without the resurrection there is nothing. But the evidence for that is contained in the same Holy Book that was put together from non-contemporaneous accounts. Why should I buy that. It requires a belief in the rest of the book, a belief in a god to begin with. Not happening.
Oh c'mon. the standard---look at the wonder of a flower, at the stars, at a baby's smile. Along with The Bible, God's Word, blah, blah, blah.
what evidence do you have to provide
Then he really doesn't care for your immortal soul, does he? If he has the ability to show himself to you, but does not, but would rather allow you to be ignorant. Not a very nice god afterall.
glassjester
Well-known member
How about the fact that there's something rather than nothing? The universe, itself?
Would you agree that the universe must have a cause?