The One who made everything good in the first place is also the One who says He reconciles all things through the cross (Colossians 1:20)- and that every knee will bow and every tongue confess, in heaven and on earth and under the earth that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10–11). Not to mention, the Author does love good plot twists, and He’s got a soft spot for prodigals- even the really dramatic ones. So I’d say the smart money is on redemption winning. In the meantime, keep up the good work brother!
Playing off Lent thread, what religion are you?
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Complex question that you will have to continue researching, but we believe Jesus’s first documented miracle (wedding in Cana) happened through Mary’s intercession. Make no doubt- we believe she is subordinate to God. We don’t pray to her, but sometimes through her. Of course, this isn’t required if it’s not something you want to do.
I’m going to link Father Mike’s covering of this in his Catechism in a Year episode. The Catechism is our church’s book and what we believe and why we believe it and should be the first reference when you want to learn what we believe. I cannot explain it better than this will:
But I’ll be honest- I get a bit bored with it- it’s something I need to work on. If this doesn’t work for you, I’m sure there are other shorter YouTube clips by him that are more engaging, like this:
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Thank you I was curious what Chat GPT, or whatever, you used was thinking.
Ha. Id assume Chat GPT was Southern Baptist. As I said earlier, Id describe myself as a Christian universalist- this is coming from me- just a regular guy, not a professional Christian. I wasn’t always that, but over the years of wrestling with my own theology, reading Scripture, church fathers, and arguing theology with people who think God’s love has an expiration date- I have come to believe the Good News is even better than most people can imagine.
Christianity in the country has merged with politics. It’s one of the many reasons my faith has disappeared.
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You are always welcome to come with me to church! I enjoy your posts and on a lot of things we think alike (hope you aren't insulted). I am a critical thinker and always seek the truth. I stopped counting the number of times I've read the whole Bible years ago after I went over 7. It is an incredible book with history, philosophy, and religious content. I get something new out of it every time I read it through.
Plenty of Evangelicals think you can be baptized without a priest/pastor. Remember when Hugh Freeze was baptizing his players? (And not just at Liberty...)
Yes. I know. They at least have someone else doing it and aren’t doing it on their own.
This is to be an extraordinary measure only- in the event someone is dying typically and there is no priest or ordained person to do so.
Even Jesus didn’t dunk Himself.
Sadly, you are right sir. Most people that are agnostic or atheists were chased away from Christianity by so called "Christians". I know several individuals that used to attend the church that I attend. They left because a Deacon embarrassed them in front of other members. Now they consider themselves atheists. It is sad that most "Christians" don't understand that the term means Christ like. Pride leads many to "demonstrate" their faith by belittling someone they deem less Christian. I've never read where Jesus treated anyone, even his enemies, with anything but love (He did chase the vendors from the temple for making a mockery of God's Temple). I try to remember that I go to church to become a better Christian and do what I can to serve my church and community. Jesus said whoever is first will be last and whoever is last will be first and our mission is to serve one another. He never brow beat unbelievers.
Every church or group of friends ask people to pray for them, no different. What hangs some people up is thinking they are dead but you have to remind the whole heaven, ever lasting life deal.
This is the part I say gently & promise I mean no disrespect. Remember, I grew up Methodist & Baptist so this is all last 13 years for me. A lot of the “man why do they do that it’s so crazy” comes from never being taught church history. So much of this, esp reverence (not worship) of Mary, is what the early church did. All the early church fathers. A lot of what we know today as “normal” doesn’t align with the first 1,800 years of the church and originated in the last 200ish years.
Is there such thing as a perfect church, teaching, tradition, or denomination? Nope. Because we humans are flawed and screw it up. But I want to practice as close as possible structurally to those in the time of Jesus founding the church and the traditions started in those early days.
Au contraire, mon ami!
Ephesians 6:12
King James Version
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.Stop trying to blame it on us! The devil made me do it!
Catholic doctrine is based on 2,000 years of debates, councils, etc. They don't claim that you're going to find a "scripture" justification for all of their teachings in the first place, so looking for one isn't going to ever get you anywhere.
There is no where in the Bible that says I need to confess to a priest. Not even implied.
It does talk about the importance of sharing with believers.
This is my point. Fellow Christians can hold you accountable. You don’t need and are not required to have a priest or preacher to be closer to go god.
for the record, there are Baptist things I think are ridiculous as well. There are also things about catholic services I like.
but you do not need a priest to hear your confession to be closer to god or to make god happy.
I must say you are very fun to engage with. So, thank you for that. I really am curious about one particular part of your post. What is a professional Christian? I do not believe I have ever heard anyone use that terminology before. Not to imply it was poorly used. I just do not understand it. I would assume, and could be wrong, that is a reference to prosperity gospel?
I would say again that dads book was never intended to paint me in a very great light.
The Holy Spirit didn’t breathe on every believer. He breathed on the apostles- the first priests. Jesus gave specifically them the power to absolve or keep bound sins.
If you don’t believe this and don’t want to use this gift— that is your right. But to say it’s not in the Bible is not true. You may interpret it differently than 2000+ years of Catholics, but it’s in there.
I hear you but keep in mind this is only for mortal sin. Venial sin not required. The priest just tells you what to do to work through it. I imagine a preacher or mentor would give you feedback as well. I get the hangup but I think the spirit of the tradition fosters accountability. I’d venture to say most folks don’t confess anything to anybody. Just take it to god. I’m not saying that’s bad. It’s kinda like “good works alone don’t get you to heaven”. While that is 100% true, if that’s the mantra, it fosters an outcome on no one doing anything. Why not encourage good works along with spiritual salvation? I look at it like the church pushes that little extra step that test the human condition to be better. Ultimately for me that’s a good thing but I likely require an extra kick in the *** to do right.
I was referring to those who are employed or get paid to read the Bible and pray.
Thanks, but to be honest, even if I believed, I’d be reluctant to attend church services because of my tinnitus…
I gotta have background noise to act as a buffer, and one person speaking in a larger quiet room are the gasoline and matches that make my tinnitus run amok…
I gave up seeing plays for that reason many years ago…
Here’s a summation of my beliefs:
Salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone (solus Christus), based on Scripture alone (sola scriptura), for God's glory alone (soli Deo gloria).
Salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone (solus Christus), based on Scripture alone (sola scriptura), for God's glory alone (soli Deo gloria).
by definition, I am Baptist.......by grace, I am a pitiful sinner that deserves the worst and no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to do enough, but I believe Jesus rose, and God gives me salvation, and hence, I am a Jesus follower
Believing that doesn’t clear you of your transgressions. Lucifer believes it too and he will be cast into the lake of fire.
Kudos to being able to define your beliefs. I believe many don’t know what they believe. I’d love to hear to elaborate your pov on a few things if you don’t mind. 100% friendly discussion. These are things I’ve really dove in to the last decade examining theology.
Sola Gratia- don’t know how any Christian can disagree here
Sola Fide- grace is a gift from god. We’re in agreement there. I think Sola Fide can foster the attitude that works aren’t necessary which is dangerous & we see a lot of lazy, do nothing Christians who think they are good because of Sola Fide. I’ll concede it’s kinda a chicken & egg because if you really live out the principles good works will follow. Lastly, I think we agree works without faith doesn’t equal salvation.
Sola Christus- I think we agree that Jesus is the mediator but I have trouble squaring the idea that Jesus came to Earth to found a church with no authority. I know this isn’t deep theology and more just my practicality but the whole idea is submission & that fits pretty well with the sacraments & the church’s authority (like the cannon). I just see a free for all that’s gets too far away from the beginning intentions if there is not living, breathing, church on earth with at least some authority.
Sola Scriptura- The bible is the inspired word of god. I bet we agree there. I just have trouble squaring 2 things: in the time of Jesus, the Septuagint was what Jews used & if scripture is the only authority for Christianity, how do we reconcile the 1st almost 400 years of the church pre-cannon? And further, if the authority only resides in the bible, that leaves imperfect humans to make bad theological conclusions but they are backed by being “in the bible”.
Sola deo Gloria- we are in agreement.
In summary, imo the 5 solas are great starters but I view them like an academic in the business college views the teachings of the school. Meaning, nothing is incorrect but in the field some of the theories don’t work perfectly in practice. Ultimately, I think getting too far in the weeds in theology takes away from the ultimate mission of Jesus, a united group of followers on Earth. But I do enjoy the nuts & bolts and discussion I I learn more about the faith.
Why couldn't you? There is nothing special about a Preacher, Pope, Pastor............ etc..............
Many denominations say otherwise.
It's wild to me how people across the spectrum of Christianity (no denomination is exempt from this) take beliefs and doctrines particular to their own denomination and declare them to be objective "Christian" beliefs, when they know that lots of other Christian groups explicitly disagree.
Do Christians believe in salvation by faith alone, or can good works and the sacraments play a role? It depends!
Do Christians believe that non-Christians can go to Heaven? It depends!
Do Christians believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, or written by humans and susceptible to errors and contradictions? It depends!
Do Christians believe that communion is the literal body and blood of Jesus, or just symbolic? (Or something in between? Or simultaneously both?) It depends!
Do Christians believe that the pope is the vicar of Christ, chosen by the Holy Spirit, and can speak infallibly on religious matters? It depends!
Do Christians believe that the Bible is the source of all beliefs, and anything not explicitly found in there isn't worth believing in? It depends!
No to mention all the minor differences in beliefs across the churches, or even what books are "really" in the Bible or not. No one group has a monopoly on what is or isn't "Christian" though.
A great book that covers that change is The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan Hatch:
Quote the scripture where the Bible tells me to go to a priest and confess my mortal sins for forgiveness
Again, I don't know what you think you're accomplishing by asking this. The Catholic Church explicitly disagrees with the notion that everything has to be directly justified by scripture.
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