Chris Magrum said:
I'm not so brainwashed as to throw around accusations of blasphemy for anothers beliefs which it would be quite easy to do. As a Christian I wouldn't be that arrogant. I hope one day you will find the peace you seek in Christ. You have a ways to go as do we all. Blessings.
I HAVE the peace I seek in Christ. I follow the Word of God and hate that which is evil. The founders and heads of the Catholic church are part of that evil. Especially the popes. They alter the Word and that is blasphemy. Claiming Mary can save ANYONE is also blasphemy.
Dallas Kirk said:
Linda, is he too deceived or too lazy to do his homework?
Not sure. I used to think like he did. Until I learned the Truth of the Bible and how the Catholic church blasphemes it.
Linda Frucchione said:
Chris Magrum said:
Name someChris, you are obviously as brainwashed as Steve. This conversation is over, as you are just repeating your nonsense.
Linda, please... this is uncalled for. I don't appreciate you calling Chris brainwashed. And I'm on YOUR side of this debate! I agree with what you've said about the teachings of Catholicism. But Chris said he accepts Christ as his savior and I don't think you or anyone else needs to be getting this personal with him. You don't know him in person and you certainly can't judge his heart or his standing with God. When a man tells me he accepts Christ as his savior and understands his need for repentance and that forgiveness comes only through Christ. Then I have to stand back and believe that's GREAT! Even if we differ on other things.
Linda, I just think you'd do much better not to personalize this and certainly not to make accusations like being brainwashed. You're certainly not going to win any converts that way! Especially from among people who are as intelligent and thoughtful as Chris.
With that said, Chris - I'll say to you that what Linda is saying here is no different than what the protestant reformation was all about. She's a protestant (as am I) and when you asked what church she would agree with, there are many, many churches she would agree with. They're all protestant ones!
The basic difference between Catholic Christianity and protestant Christianity is that protestants (are supposed to) believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is the ONLY Word of God. The Catholic church believes the Bible is the Word of God but then they also believes two thousand years of church doctrine and church teachings and papl edicts, etc. are also the Word of God and must be added to the Bible.
Chris, I know you're from a part of the country where most Christians are Catholic and I've found that living in New York a lot of people have no idea what being protestant really means. (I've even had people, when they find out I'm not Catholic say, "so you're not a Christian!!??"). But those are the basic differences and that's what hundreds of millions (at least) of Christians have believed for hundreds of years.
Belief in things like praying to the saints aren't taught in the Bible at all. Linda calls those teachings heretical because if the Bible is your only source for what God teaches, then what's taught in the Bible is that we go to God the Father through Christ ONLY. And to us, any teaching that leads people away from Christ and to anyone else is considered heretical.
So that's where the differences lie.
For all you who believe as I do that the Bible is the full and only Word of God, we would all do well to remember Peter's teaching here: I Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with GENTLENESS and RESPECT."
Chris Magrum said:
Name some
God's people, the Church, are all those who confess Jesus as Lord and savior, and rely on Him for their salvation. They do not reside in a particular church or denomination. Far be it from me to say who is "saved", and a true Christian, based on where they attend "church". Although I, we, can judge whether a certain churches doctrine is Biblical.
As a former Catholic, I can say there are many Christians in the Catholic Church (CC), I was one who stayed even after a profound John 3 experience. Then I started reading the Bible for myself and realized how much it differed from CC doctrine...even the watered down US version. I started with the Gospel of John, and by the time I got to chapters 14, 15, I was pissed that I hadn't been taught that in my 12 years of CC school. I left the CC first in my heart, and then physically some time later, much to the chagrin of some in my family.
Catholic doctrine is not biblically Christian, and differs in the most fundamental areas like, how one is saved, and who does the saving. Catholics, at least in this country have taken on many characteristics of Bible believing people, yet stay in CC. This is not so in the countries where the CC is dominant. The CC there is more of the old school, and true CC doctrine, which would be foriegn to CC members in the US. What US Catholics fail to do is understand their doctrine, (not the amalgamized version they've come up with here and the CC allows them to hold to), but the true doctrine of the CC. The CC is a chameloeon and takes on its surroundings to survive in the given host culture.
Jonathan Cousar said:
For all you who believe as I do that the Bible is the full and only Word of God, we would all do well to remember Peter's teaching here: I Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with GENTLENESS and RESPECT."
You're right. And I apologize. It's just that I get upset that most Catholics are NOT saved, like my father. His whole side of the family thinks that Catholic sacraments and unBiblical teachings are the ONLY way to Heaven and that my mother, uncle (her brother) and I are the ones that are not following God because we're Southern Baptist instead of RC.
Julie Harris said:
@ Linda. I sense a great deal of pain and anguish in your last post. I will pray for you and your family. We all make conversation using our own backgrounds. We speak from what is in our hearts. May God continue to bless this forum and those that venture in to share what is apart of us with each other.
Thank you Julie :) God Bless you
