The Mass is Apostolic, coming from the Apostles. The Lord's Supper has been celebrated by the Apostles and their successors this way for 2000 years. What you gleam from a Catholic book, is not crucial. What is crucial is how did the apostles teach how to celebrate and worship the Lord. We can see it in scripture, in the Didache written year 82 ad and many other writings of Ignatius, Mathias, Po...more

The Mass is Apostolic, coming from the Apostles. The Lord's Supper has been celebrated by the Apostles and their successors this way for 2000 years.

What you gleam from a Catholic book, is not crucial. What is crucial is how did the apostles teach how to celebrate and worship the Lord. We can see it in scripture, in the Didache written year 82 ad and many other writings of Ignatius, Mathias, Polycarp, etc.

The Mass or Divine Liturgy comes from the Apostles and came before the New Testament. We celebrate the one time sacrifice of Christ, remember Him with bread and wine that becomes the body and blood of the Lord for the forgiveness of sins and to have life in us.less

I think it is amusing to say the Church of England will allow the Anglicans to share use of the Churches. All of these churches were originally Catholic before the CoE took them over, and now these Churches will be again used as they were intended for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Praise God! Although, I was an evangelical assoc pastor and not an Anglican Priest when I converted last East...more

I think it is amusing to say the Church of England will allow the Anglicans to share use of the Churches. All of these churches were originally Catholic before the CoE took them over, and now these Churches will be again used as they were intended for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Praise God!

Although, I was an evangelical assoc pastor and not an Anglican Priest when I converted last Easter to Catholicism I am happy to say that a few of my cousins who were also pastors are looking at becoming Catholic too. We are all coming home, because the Catholic Church has the fullness of Truth Christ gave to His Apostles. May they all be one as Christ wanted.less

I do know the website and yes the Catholic Church is committed to ecumenism and restoration, but what we mean as I understand it to have conversations until others finally understand Catholic beliefs, realize they are not contrary to scripture and come home into the Catholic Church. God did give us an infallible Church: Here are the verses. While you may disagree with our interpretation for the...more

I do know the website and yes the Catholic Church is committed to ecumenism and restoration, but what we mean as I understand it to have conversations until others finally understand Catholic beliefs, realize they are not contrary to scripture and come home into the Catholic Church.

God did give us an infallible Church: Here are the verses. While you may disagree with our interpretation for them, you asked so I am delivering.
1. Jn 16:13 guided by the HOLY SPIRIT INTO ALL TRUTH
2. Jn 14:26 Holy Spirit to teach and remind them of everything
3. Lk 10:16 speak with Christ's own voice
4. 1 Tim 3:15 Church called the "Pillar and foundation of Truth"
5. Acts 15:28 Apostles speak with voice of the Holy Spirit

These passages of Scripture, properly interpreted, point to an infallible church. The fruits of that infallibilty defined the New Testament, Trinity, Incarnation, Christ dual natures, Sacraments, Faith, Atonement, Salvation, Worship, Forgiveness, Veneration of Mary, Immaculate Conception, Purgatory, infallibility, etc, etc.less

See you at the prayer vigil! Your second paragraph talks about how you believe. While on the surface I know you mean well, but your opinion is contrary to God's word and his will. If God didn't want the sacraments or the Apostles with Authority and the hierarchy they established that came from them, then your problem is with God not the Catholic Church for the Catholic Church only lived out and...more

See you at the prayer vigil!

Your second paragraph talks about how you believe. While on the surface I know you mean well, but your opinion is contrary to God's word and his will. If God didn't want the sacraments or the Apostles with Authority and the hierarchy they established that came from them, then your problem is with God not the Catholic Church for the Catholic Church only lived out and practiced what the Apostles gave.

When you apply an loosy goosy approach to what it means to be a Christian, and try to redefine it then you are creating more problems. God gave us the Church, the Apostles and His Word to guide us equally. What you and I believe should be Christianity is not important. What is important is what God's Church with His Authority believes and this is who has the authority to properly interpret God's word so that we can understand the Authentic Gospel and not just someone's opinion of it. All the many ecumenical councils since Jerusalem were useful for defining our faith and morals. We had to define a strict set of beliefs because they were constantly attacked by Gnostics, Donatists, Montanists and others who denied basic Christian beliefs. These councils infallibly defined the faith. Without an authoritative church with God's authority, you have chaos of belief as seen in the 30,000 plus denominations we have today all believing something a little bit different. It is good to know that many Anglicans, Lutherans are coming home to the Catholic Church especially their pastors. Also, the Orthodox and Catholics may reunite very soon.

If that Journalist doesn't have Christ in their heart, then all the sacraments in the world won't save him.less

The three fold ministry of Bishop, Priest and Deacon was in its seminal form, just like they use to meet in houses and with growth they built churches. Bishop, Priest and Deacon took on more comprehensive definitions over time which is true, just like how the Trinity as a concept developed over time with the Holy Spirit guiding His Church. In the first 100 years, Bishops were Priests as well as...more

The three fold ministry of Bishop, Priest and Deacon was in its seminal form, just like they use to meet in houses and with growth they built churches. Bishop, Priest and Deacon took on more comprehensive definitions over time which is true, just like how the Trinity as a concept developed over time with the Holy Spirit guiding His Church.

In the first 100 years, Bishops were Priests as well as they are today. As their population grew Bishops were the Head Priest "Overseer". Only Bishops could confect all the Sacraments, while Priests could not give Holy Orders or Confirmation. By the 2nd century these roles were more formally defined with the natural growth of the Church, but the essential meaning or role of these offices never changed but rather matured. Much like a baby is the same person as the adult, just more complex but the nature and identity of the person is the same.

You will also notice if you read Clement how as Bishop of Rome he interceded with his authority in Corinth way to the East. His letter to the Corinthians for many was like Scripture, but it wasn't. This is one of the earliest examples of the Bishop of Rome intervening in another See where a Bishop was already placed and more important while John was still alive. Clement had authority over the universal church.less

Hopefully, you are reading my posts as a friendly debate keeping the peace and love that Christ commands us to do. If you took any of my posts in a bad way, then I deeply apologize because it is not my nature to be belligerant but rather passionately convey truth. The Anglican Church is not Catholic in the truest sense since they do not have Valid orders. They are not considered valid by Cathol...more

Hopefully, you are reading my posts as a friendly debate keeping the peace and love that Christ commands us to do. If you took any of my posts in a bad way, then I deeply apologize because it is not my nature to be belligerant but rather passionately convey truth.

The Anglican Church is not Catholic in the truest sense since they do not have Valid orders. They are not considered valid by Catholic or Orthodox Churches and they realize this. All Anglican bishops or priests that come home to the Catholic Church must be properly ordained by someone who has Apostolic authority.

Both Catholics and Orthodox have called each other a lot of names in the past which is unfortunate. In fact, I heard about Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox fighting in the church of the Holy Sepulchre over who was to say Mass that day. Rediculous we humans are.

To define what is catholic or has catholicity must be defined by the Church that is the originator of being Catholic which is the Catholic Church. Here are the definitions; One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. One is faith, sacraments and worship, Holy-being founded by Christ as His bridegroom, Catholic-Universal in all places and "according to the whole" meaning according to the whole apostolic teaching, and finally Apostolic-having apostolic succession and authority to bind and loose, forgive sins, make doctrines, legislate, define morals and lastly confect all the Sacraments.

Only the Catholic Church fills all of these. The Orthodox have One faith and practice, Holy because they were a part of us in the beginning, and Apostolic but they lack catholicity because they are regional and not universal and they do not have union according to the whole of the Apostles with Peter.

Anglicans or any other Protestant churches for that matter are not One in faith and practice, they are not Holy being founded by men sepparted from Apostolic authority, they are not Catholic since they lack universality and a communion according to the whole and they are not Apostolic because they did not retain Apostolic succession.less

OS, Thank you, but this idea of works being the fruits of salvation is not an apostolic teaching. This is a much later idea, that was never accepted. It wasn't accepted because a person is not saved by one profession of faith, but rather a process. You can lose your salvation if you turn away from God, so we must pray for the grace of perseverance like the scriptures extol.

Waltman. Hello and peace of Christ to you. -Peter was not rebuked for doctrine or from straying from the truth but for poor behavior. Good on Paul for doing so. Peter is infallible in faith and morals, but not impeccable. Reread it so you can understand the context. -The Orthodox Churches are true churches because they have true worship, all the sacraments and apostolic succession and authority....more

Waltman. Hello and peace of Christ to you.
-Peter was not rebuked for doctrine or from straying from the truth but for poor behavior. Good on Paul for doing so. Peter is infallible in faith and morals, but not impeccable. Reread it so you can understand the context.
-The Orthodox Churches are true churches because they have true worship, all the sacraments and apostolic succession and authority.
-Protestant reformation sects are not true churches because they did not retain apostolic succession, Apostolic hierarchal(Bishop, Priest, Deacon) authority or all the Sacraments, or the style of Worship given by Christ to the Apostles.
-Later sects like Baptists, Pentecostals and Evangelicals are even more defective because they lack all the above plus their worship is man made.
They are all Christians for what they hold that is Catholic.
There is Salvation for other Christians because by being baptized you are baptized into the Catholic Church. You are not a full member, but there is enough truth of the Gospel for the members to learn and be saved.

I am happy to stand side by side baptists and other non-Catholic Christians and I do so almost every Tuesday where we hold a prayer vigil outside an abortion clinic. I am happy when a baptist or others bring the lost to Christ, but we would all be more successful for Christ if we were one church again. Our division is a scandal and we are both to blame for this error. This scandalous division is rooted in the flesh and we must come together by the Spirit of God, so that everyone will know who Christ is. It is more effective to preach the Gospel as one church, than many different churches saying different things.less

Catholics are not as involved in this Koom baya style ecumenism. To be ecumenical means for everyone to become Catholic again for there is only one churched founded by Christ scripturally and historically. Your interpretations are in error. Can you show me from the bible where you received infallibility? If you can't show me from the Bible where you were personally given this authority by God, ...more

Catholics are not as involved in this Koom baya style ecumenism. To be ecumenical means for everyone to become Catholic again for there is only one churched founded by Christ scripturally and historically.

Your interpretations are in error. Can you show me from the bible where you received infallibility? If you can't show me from the Bible where you were personally given this authority by God, then by God I have no reason to consider your exegesis do i? Holding to your own dogma of scripture alone, you cannot show me your authority to infallibly interpret. I can show you however where the original Apostles received this gift and passed it down through apostolic succession. Both the Orthodox and Catholic Church have apostolic authority, but you as an individual or I do not.less

OS, Your antagonistic attitude is not a Christian one for sure. When I was an Assoc Pastor for my dad's church I never felt bitter against the Catholics. In fact, when I was younger I didn't think Catholics were even Christians. When I grew up and went to high school I realized they were Christians but held a lot of beliefs that went against the bible. Then as I got into Seminary I realized that ...more

OS,
Your antagonistic attitude is not a Christian one for sure. When I was an Assoc Pastor for my dad's church I never felt bitter against the Catholics. In fact, when I was younger I didn't think Catholics were even Christians. When I grew up and went to high school I realized they were Christians but held a lot of beliefs that went against the bible. Then as I got into Seminary I realized that the Catholic Church is the orginal and it is us Protestants who are wrong and we are not founded by Christ.

Christ only found one church and gave that church alone authority in His name. I do concur that the Catholic Church after 2000 years has made some mistakes that were terrible. This holy church is made up of men and women and so there will always be scandal as evidenced by Peter denying Christ, Judas being a traitor, Thomas' unbelief, and the Apostles still thinking he was Elijah or John the Baptist, but the good of the Apostles outweighs the bad without comparison.

I can tell by your comments that you have never served as a missionary or served in a third world giving aid to the poor. If you had, you would know that while I was still an evangelical and serving in these capacities that Catholics Charitable services out gives, out performs, out loves any group on the planet. They serve more needy, clothe and feed more poor and educate more children than any religious or government entity. You could multiply the giving efforts of all non-Catholic Christians by 6 and still not equal what the Catholic Church does on a world wide scale.less

Here is some history for you by people who knew the Apostles and their direct successors. Ignatius of Antioch(Eastern Bishop) "Ignatius . . . to the church also which holds the presidency, in the location of the country of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of sanctification, and, because you hold the presidency in love, ...more

Here is some history for you by people who knew the Apostles and their direct successors.

Ignatius of Antioch(Eastern Bishop)
"Ignatius . . . to the church also which holds the presidency, in the location of the country of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of sanctification, and, because you hold the presidency in love, named after Christ and named after the Father" (Letter to the Romans 1:1 [A.D. 110]).

"You [the church at Rome] have envied no one, but others you have taught. I desire only that what you have enjoined in your instructions may remain in force" (ibid., 3:1).

Hermas
"Therefore shall you [Hermas] write two little books and send one to Clement [Bishop of Rome] and one to Grapte. Clement shall then send it to the cities abroad, because that is his duty as the one who presides over all in love" (The Shepherd 2:4:3 [A.D. 80]).

Irenaeus
"But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the succession of all the churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the apostles. With that church, because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world, and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition" (Against Heresies 3:3:2 [A.D. 189]).

The Bishop of Rome has always been the first "See" of Sees presiding in love. History also shows that the bishop of Rome was always seen as the final court of appeals. The Bishop of Rome intervened when asked by the East to settle disputes. The Bishop of Rome's decision was always final. The East ran very independantly from the West, but it always gave preeminance to the Roman Pontiff. This is a historical fact.less

Faith alone means Faith without a need for repentance. Faith alone goes directly against scripture and it is our works that will be judged because that is where our faith is exposed.

Can I jump in her Chris, since you are one of my many good mentors? ;) Believer and Online, this shows how little you understand the Catholic faith or your own for that matter. Your works show your faith, but alone they can merit you nothing. Real faith is faith that works in love. Salvation is not a one time thing, it is a process of responding to God's Grace. Faith alone is faith without ...more

Can I jump in her Chris, since you are one of my many good mentors? ;)

Believer and Online, this shows how little you understand the Catholic faith or your own for that matter. Your works show your faith, but alone they can merit you nothing. Real faith is faith that works in love. Salvation is not a one time thing, it is a process of responding to God's Grace.

Faith alone is faith without works, and this type of faith cannot save you. Doing good without faith will not save you either. Doing good to merit Heaven without faith will not save you. We cannot redeem ourselves. We are saved by Grace, through faith working in love. This is what the Catholic Church has always believed, as do the Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed, etc. Now that I have just mentioned 80% of Christianity how can you not concur?

Faith working in Love saved, saves and will save you. Faith without a response is not faith at all.less

Actually, Old STudent you are historically and scripturally incorrect. You normally seem pretty erudite, so I am surprised by your opinion. Rome presides as the President role among bishops as attested to in the first century by Ignatius of Antioch. Rome has preeminance for two reasons; Because of Peter's leadership role of the Apostles and the fact that Paul and Peter both founded the Roman C...more

Actually, Old STudent you are historically and scripturally incorrect. You normally seem pretty erudite, so I am surprised by your opinion.

Rome presides as the President role among bishops as attested to in the first century by Ignatius of Antioch. Rome has preeminance for two reasons; Because of Peter's leadership role of the Apostles and the fact that Paul and Peter both founded the Roman Church. Having been found by Peter and Paul nothing predates this church since all the churches founded by the Apostoles are Apostolic.

The Orthodox Church does not predate the Catholic Church and vice versa, since anyone who is Catholic or Orthodox will say we were one. Both the Orthodox and Catholic Church were the Catholic Church. The Western half and the eastern half split and that is why it is called a Schism, where they believe the same things but have moved apart.

You also make a mistake in calling them the wrong names too. We are not called the Roman Catholic Church, but the Catholic Church Latin Rite. It is important to clarify that because there are another 30 million Eastern Rite Catholics who are not Roman Catholic but they are 100% Catholic in union with the Pope. Also, the correct name for the Orthodox is the Orthodox Catholic Church of Russia of Greece of Serbia, etc, since they are divided by national lines.

Recently, at a meeting in Ravenna Italy as well as another meeting in Cyprus Greece, the heads of the Catholic and Orthodox churches defined that the Bishop of Rome has preeminance above all other bishops in a unified church as it was in the first millenium.

While sometimes I agree with you and sometimes I don't, this post gives me pause to whether you truly wrote it since it llacks any historical information or scriptural proofs. Your post is more categorized as an emotional opinion than anything else. You can't force your opinion on history, since it has been already accounted for and you are wrong.less

Waltman, while your view of everyone being fallible is a secular opinion it does not resonate with what the Word of God says. It says explicitly that the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles to be lead into all Truth, not just some Truth. Now, this does not mean that people cannot make mistakes, but rather when the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church in faith and morals these fallible human bein...more

Waltman, while your view of everyone being fallible is a secular opinion it does not resonate with what the Word of God says.

It says explicitly that the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles to be lead into all Truth, not just some Truth. Now, this does not mean that people cannot make mistakes, but rather when the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church in faith and morals these fallible human beings are made infallible. The 27 books of the New Testament were infallbly by fallible men with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guided the council of Jerusalem into all Truth and every council and synod ever since the beginning. For the gift of being able to interpret Truth from God's word was given to his church.

This is why the Catholic Church never changes its doctrines or its morals when infallibly proclaimed as Dogma. This is why so many other churches who have left us have so much division and strife because they have no absolute way of defining God's will, because that gift of the Holy Spirit being lead into all Truth is only with His Catholoic Church founded on Peter and the Apostles.

Can Popes make mistakes? Yes, because they are infallible not impeccable. BUT can they make mistakes on faith and morals when the Pope and the bishops in communion with him make an official decree. NO> The Holy Spirit will not allow the Catholic Church to ever promote someone not in accord with God's will.less

Occrest, I am assuming that you have not read the whole bible, so I will assist you in knowing God's will for unity. If you can't deduce God's will for total unity in faith, worship and morals by these explicit passages, then I would be surprised if you believe in the Trinity or the dual natures of Christ. Jn 10:16 there shall be one fold and one shepherd Eph 4:3-6 one Lord, one faith, one bap...more

Occrest, I am assuming that you have not read the whole bible, so I will assist you in knowing God's will for unity. If you can't deduce God's will for total unity in faith, worship and morals by these explicit passages, then I would be surprised if you believe in the Trinity or the dual natures of Christ.

Jn 10:16 there shall be one fold and one shepherd
Eph 4:3-6 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
Rom 16:17 avoid those who create dissunity
1Cor 1:10 I urge that there be no divisions among you
Phil 2:2 Be of sam mind, united in heart, thinking one thing
Rom 15:5 God grant you to think in harmony with one another
Jn 17:17-23 I pray that they be ONE as we are one..that they be brouth to perfection as One
1Cor 12:13 in One spirit we were baptized into one body in Christ
Rom 12:5 we, though many, are ONE body in Christ
Eph 4:4 one body, one Spirit, called to One Hope
Col 3:15 the peace into which were called in ONE body

St. Cyprian 250ad "God is one and Christ is one, and one is His Church, and the faith is one, and His people welded together by the glue of concord into a solid unity of body. Unity cannot be rent assunder, nor can the one body of the Church, through its divisionsof its structures, be divided into separate pieces.less

Rfwitt, Christos Anesti. Hopefully, you know what this means. I am actually studying for my Masters in Byzantine Theology so I am quite intrigued by your comments. Augustine was not infallible, but the Pope with the Bishops in communion with him are infallible in faith and morals. The Blessed Eastern Orthodox do not understand "Original Sin" as the west does because of our cultural differences, b...more

Rfwitt, Christos Anesti. Hopefully, you know what this means. I am actually studying for my Masters in Byzantine Theology so I am quite intrigued by your comments. Augustine was not infallible, but the Pope with the Bishops in communion with him are infallible in faith and morals. The Blessed Eastern Orthodox do not understand "Original Sin" as the west does because of our cultural differences, but they do understand the consequences of Adam and Eve's transgression which is death. The one cultural understanding about guilt is more of a cultural difference not a doctrinal difference, but you will clearly find many Russian and Greek Orthodox scholars speaking with Western cultural tones concerning this issue. The west has a different understanding of guilt than does the east because we have a different understanding of ancestral sin, but we both share the same understanding of the transgression and the penalty that we all inherited. In fact, Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologians would claim that the basic anthropology is actually almost identical, and that the difference is only in the explanation of what happened in the Fall. With the anthropology being almost identical, there stands little in the way of full communion. In fact, the Orthodox and Catholic Bishops and theologians have recently come together to decided how the two can become one with the Bishop of Rome holding the same primacy of honor as he did before the break.

If you are Orthodox, then I hope you will pray for our Bishop of Rome in the Divine Liturgy in your heart as I regularly pray for His all Holiness the Patriarch of Constantinople during the Holy Sacrifice of the Latin Mass and our Divine Liturgy of the East.

"God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the evil - for the devil is cold - let us call on the Lord. He will come to warm our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but also for our neighbor, and the cold of him who hates the good will flee before the heat of His countenance."

St. Seraphim of Sarovless

Rfwitt, Here is a forums discussion where Protestants and Catholic discuss the early church fathers undestanding of original sin. It was very helpful to me coming from an evangelical background. Heck, I didn't even know what an early church father was in the beginning. http://forums.canadiancontent.net/christian-discussion/62101-doctrine-original-sin-church-fathers.html Thank you, and be ...more

Rfwitt,

Here is a forums discussion where Protestants and Catholic discuss the early church fathers undestanding of original sin. It was very helpful to me coming from an evangelical background. Heck, I didn't even know what an early church father was in the beginning.

http://forums.canadiancontent.net/christian-discussion/62101-doctrine-original-sin-church-fathers.html

Thank you, and be blessed.less

For any of the Anglicans to become Catholic, they must accept the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its entirety. All Anglicans whether pastors or individuals must adhere to all Catholic teaching on faith and morals without exception. Accepting married clergy is not a doctrine, but rather a practice. The Catholic Church has both married priests and celibate priests. The Eastern rites have ...more

For any of the Anglicans to become Catholic, they must accept the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its entirety.

All Anglicans whether pastors or individuals must adhere to all Catholic teaching on faith and morals without exception. Accepting married clergy is not a doctrine, but rather a practice. The Catholic Church has both married priests and celibate priests. The Eastern rites have both marrried and celibate, while the Latin Rite has some married and mostly celibate. Celibacy is a practice and not a dogma of the Church. Peter was married, Paul and Jesus were celibate which is how our Ministerial priesthood has always been. A little bit of both.

So, the Catholic view is that Homosexuality is disordered and these people with same sex attraction must be celibate since same-sex activity is an abomination to God. You must accept this to be Catholic. If you don't then you are not being genuine in your faith, but that is an individual's free will. The Church is the foundation of Truth 1Tim 3:15 and that is why sheep need Shepherds, because sheep are really really stupid and will fall off a cliff if presented to them. All homosexuals must be treated with love and dignity as they are made in the image and likeness of God, but we will not tolerate their sin but rather love them to perfection in Christ.less

Thank you. I really appreciate your explanations. Universal Justification is not what was taught or ever held by the Church, but rather that Christ died for everyone not just some. It is our ability to cooperate with God's grace to receive the gift of faith, that sepparates those from being saved to those who are not. Universal Salvation has never been taught by the Catholic Church. While I do...more

Thank you. I really appreciate your explanations. Universal Justification is not what was taught or ever held by the Church, but rather that Christ died for everyone not just some. It is our ability to cooperate with God's grace to receive the gift of faith, that sepparates those from being saved to those who are not. Universal Salvation has never been taught by the Catholic Church.

While I do appreciate the fact that you did a very comprehensive study of the passages, I would not say it was exegetically formed. I would say that your interpretation had a pre-text, which will always negate the actual context; ergo, your interpretive account is more eisegesis based because you force your own conclusions on to the scriptures and purport ideas never taught by the Catholic Church.

While you are always entitled to your opinion, it is not infallible and therefore contains error. If you can show me from the Bible where you personally received the gift of infallibilit being lead into ALL TRUTH, then I will consider your thoughts at the level they deserve.

This was my problem as a scripture loving evangelical. My dad and my grandfather disagreed on doctrine so they split and created their own churches. Is that what God wanted? The Holy Spirit is the God of wisdom and clarity, not of confusion. In doing my research on early Christian history I found that the average individual had no authority for defining or interpreting scripture, but rather it was the hierarchy of the Catholic Church that defined and decided doctrine as it came to them from the Apostles. The Apostles had total authority to care for the people of God, and so did their successors. Without an Apostolic mandate, there is no Truth that is absolute. With Apostolic authority there is absolute Truth, and this Truth because it is Truth will never change.

Now that you know that I was an assoc pastor in an evangelical church and became Catholic through studying at an evangelical seminary, could you illuminate for me your background so I can better focus my attention and my comments toward your own specific theology.less