Catholic Friends,
I would like to ask some questions seeking a better understanding of official Catholic stances on certain doctrines. I am not seeking to debate (yet
), but to gain a more accurate understanding of Carholic doctrine.
No worries. I am here to enlighten.
1. What is the Catholic view of original sin?
That sin, through the Fall, is imputed onto mankind. This is called "Original Sin." We would view Adam and Eve as bearing a grace of original holiness (since they did not sin before the Fall). Thus, when they first disobeyed God, preferring to exalt themselves, they fell, and became the origin of the first sin of mankind, therefore, "Original Sin."
2. What is the view of/interpretation of predestination, particularly in regards to Eph. 1:1-14 and Romans 9?
It is undeniable that the Elect exist, predestined before their birth. However, we also know that free will exists. So, Catholicism rejects the Calvinist doctrine of election/predestination. This doctrine does not align with Scripture; an easy example being John 3:16. We know that God/Christ wants us to seek Him out. If we are predestined absolutely, then there can be no seeking. There can be no choice. There can be no intent. Such a doctrine eliminates personal responsibility, in the end, blaming God for souls going to hell.
My personal theory is that the Elect are those chosen to lead God's people at various times throughout history. Such as Moses, John the Baptist, etc.
3. What is the view concerning the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the role of the Spirit and the believer in sanctification?
The Holy Spirit descends on us in Baptism. It remains within us, unless we forsake it. God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, the Trinity, will never remove us from grace; we remove ourselves. Now, I would encourage all not to remove themselves, but that is just concern for their soul.
The Catholic view of sanctification varies from the Protestant view (most of Protestants at least), only in perspective. To find specific differences, I would need to know which denomination to compare the Catholic doctrine against.
Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life. Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of His Body. As an "adopted son" one can henceforth call God "Father," in union with the only Son. One receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into them and which forms the Church.
This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God's gratuitous initiative, for He alone can reveal and give Himself. It surpasses the power of human intellect and will. The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of His own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification. Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.
Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.
On a final note: if you have repented and been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, then you are a member of the mystical Body of Christ. Catholics view you as a brother/sister in Christ.
