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Conclusions, Observations & Meandering Ramblings |
The following are some of my thoughts developed since discovering religion on the web. I list them here, as they do not as of yet deserve a full article. Hey! It's easier than writing an article. :)
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1. Have you ever noticed the direct correlation between belief in the "Real Presence" in the Eucharist and the Honor shown to the Blessed Virgin Mary? An observation from my Common Ground page. |
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Church |
Eucharistic Belief |
Honor Mary |
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Anglican & Lutheran |
Believe in "Real Presence" but not full transubstantiation |
Fairly High Honor; some Anglican-Catholic similar to Catholic & Orthodox |
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Presbyterian/Calvinist Traditions |
Deny "real presence"; but reject mere symbolic view. Believe in "spiritual presence" |
Much less Honor & Respect |
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Baptist/Fundamentalist |
Mere symbolic view. Rabidly denies any notion of "real presence" |
No Honor or Respect. Rabidly against any such toward Mary. Only time they mention Mary is to trash the Catholic view. |
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"Independents" |
No Eucharist Whatsoever |
"Mary Who?" |
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2. Those groups most intent on proving the Blessed Virgin Mary had other children are the same groups who give her the least honor and respect. 3. Have you ever met an "Independent" who did not believe he/she was on a higher spiritual level than the rest of us who actually belong to a Church? No need for Church, sacraments or preaching for them. 4. A common fundamentalist tactic is to challenge your Catholic Faith by having you "prove" some doctrine from the Bible. Often, this is coupled with the offer to "convert" if you are successful. Invariably these challenges involve matters such as the Marian dogmas or Purgatory. But don't fall for that. Instead, turn it around by offering to prove Catholic doctrines such as the "Real Presence" in the Eucharist (Matt 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:25-69; 1 Cor.11:23-34) the primacy of Peter and the Papacy (Matt 16:13-20; John 21:15-19) and confession (John 20:21-23). Ask the fundamentalist if he will "convert" if you prove these doctrines from the Bible. Then watch the fundamentalist avoid these scriptural passages. The fact is, the fundamentalist challenge/offer is a sham. There is little likelihood of "proving" to the fundamentalist even these doctrines so clearly based squarely on scripture. 5. For all of their talk of being "Bible Believers", fundamentalists and most Protestants hardly follow the bible at all. When it comes right down to it, the Holy Catholic Church is the real "Bible Believing Church." 6. Fundamentalists often deride the Catholic and other sacramental churches for supposedly taking an "indirect" path to God. That "indirect" path, in the fundamentalist mind, is through a priest. The fallacy, however, is that it is God who is acting through the sacraments. Each sacrament is a direct contact with God. Picture a sacrament as kind of like the burning bush with Moses. God was directly present to Moses in a very real sense. Ask the fundamentalist if Moses was taking an indirect path to God by conferring with God in the burning bush. The fact is, the supposedly "indirect" sacraments are probably the most "direct" contacts with God! 7. A typical fundamentalist objection to the "Real Presence" is that a priest, a mere man, cannot change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. You must agree; a mere man cannot do that. But point out that it is Christ who is actually changing the host into his body and blood, not the priest. This objection is based on the fact that fundamentalists just don't see that it is God who is working through the sacraments. That is why they not only tend to see the sacraments as "indirect" ways to God but also tend to devalue the sacraments. 8. Since it is God who is present and conducting the Eucharist/Mass, why would He consider it an "indirect" way to Him? Why would He want anyone to deride it, say it is not necessary, spit on it? Especially when God Himself instituted the sacrament and directed that we perform it. Do the fundamentalists know more than God? Isn't their derision of the sacrament "another gospel"? 9. Prayer, scripture reading and preaching are all important. But the Eucharist is the only way by which Christ said He was to be remembered. Consequently, the Eucharist is rightly seen as the central rite and means of worship. 10. Which of the following is a direct Biblical quotation in answer to the question what are we to do to be saved? A. Say the Sinner's Prayer; B. Have a personal relationship with Jesus; C. Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; D. If you have faith in Jesus, you do not have to do anything. Christ has already done it all for you; E. Accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior. (Answer: See Acts 2:37-38) [Taken from the article, Born Again? by John & Jennifer Maloney] 11. Proselytizing groups assume that we Catholics will not be knowledgeable in either our Catholic Faith or the Bible. They count on that assumption and try to take advantage of it. Some are virtual professionals at "harvesting" Catholics for their particular sect. They will already have a plan designed for us once they find out we are Catholic. This plan, based on a combination of twisted Scriptural passages (2 Peter 3:16) and plain old anti-Catholic propaganda, will be designed to break down our Catholic Faith and convert us to their particular sect. The typical Catholic can be almost assured that the people at the front door are far more experienced in apologetics and proselytizing. And the proselytizers will almost never be alone. 12. At some point, either on your doorstep or simply among themselves, these groups will boast of the number of former Catholics who now belong to their sect. Many proselytizers on your doorstep will be ex-Catholics. Ex-Catholics seem to become some of the most rabid anti-Catholics, having become thoroughly brainwashed with anti-Catholic propaganda. They will probably see the Church as the cause and source of all of their problems: spiritual, personal, whatever. (Many of the sites on my "Creeds" and "Best of the Best" pages are by ex-Catholics.) 13. Proselytizing groups will sooner or later (usually sooner) resort to what I call "scraping the bottom of the barrel" by trying to focus on supposedly "unbiblical" teachings such as Purgatory. Purgatory is used as their trump card. Funny thing though - Purgatory actually has more biblical support than their position! Just look at the wonderful articles collected at Dave Armstrong's site - Biblical Evidence for Catholicism - at his Purgatory section (only one of many sites). Belief in a final sanctification or purification, as well as prayers for the dead, was a universal Christian practice only really challenged at the time of the Reformation some 1,500 years later. 14. Protestants have no scripture that really refutes Purgatory. Rather, their attack will usually focus on Purgatory's alleged absence from scripture. Ask them to provide you with scripture that clearly refutes Purgatory; i.e., that there are only two places after we die - Heaven & Hell. That should be both interesting and enlightening! 15. There are no scripture verses coming right out and stating that, "there are only two places upon death: Heaven & Hell." Therefore, what Protestants actually do is take a few verses and deduce or infer that there are only two places, Heaven & Hell, when we die. These deductions and inferences are fully met and countered by Catholic apologists such as at the Purgatory link above. 16. Protestants have succumbed to their own propaganda when they allege that Purgatory is not in Scripture, because it is their own view (only Heaven & Hell upon death) which isn't in Scripture. 17. Anti-Catholic proselytizers actually have two hurdles to overcome. First, they have to convince the Catholic or prospective Catholic (the "target") that Catholic doctrine is false. Second, they must then convince the target that the doctrine of that particular proselytizing group is the true doctrine. Unfortunately, many targets fall prey to these wolves without any real thought as to the second hurdle. It is as if whatever group convinces the target of the falsity of Catholicism is automatically assumed to be the true religion. The target walks out of the Catholic Church and down the street with whatever group manages to convert him: whether Jehova Witness, Mormon, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baptist, etc. 18. Consequently, the burden on the proselytizers is twofold: 1) Prove the Catholic Church is in error and 2) prove that that particular group is true. Why should a Catholic join, say, the Baptists, as opposed to the Jehova Witnesses, Anglicans, Lutherans or Presbyterians? Thus, when faced with a proselytizer the question becomes: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" John 6:68 19. Proselytizers will attempt to accuse us of following the teachings of the "Church" or "men", while claiming they follow Scripture. Don't fall for that! What they really want is for us to follow their interpretation of scripture. But they will never present it that way. They will simply speak as if their interpretation is the same as God's Word. 20. The failure to acknowledge the difference between Scripture and their interpretation of Scripture is perhaps the major dishonesty in Protestantism...especially among the aggressive proselytizing groups. 21. In other words, while trashing Catholic/Papal infallibility they simultaneously affirm their own infallibility at interpreting scripture. But it will never be presented as such. Instead, they (all of the numerous and conflicting groups) will claim to be "following the Bible." Yet what they are actually following is their own interpretations, prejudices and indoctrination from their Church traditions and pastors. 22. Most Protestants enjoy taking Matt. 16:18 and saying that the "Rock" is not Peter himself but either: 1) Peter's confession or 2) Christ. Some of the more clever Protestants even turn to the Church Fathers, attempting to cause confusion by claiming the Fathers believed several views: The "Rock" was Peter; or Peter's confession; or Christ. Their intent is to trash the Papacy by making Christ the true "Rock" upon which the Church is built. But the Protestant claim is bogus! 23. The Protestant claim is bogus because when they mean that Christ is the "Rock", they mean it in a symbolic sense only! Just as most of them view the Sacraments as symbolic, completely divorced from God, Protestants divorce God from His Church, allowing God only a symbolic connection with His own Church. In Protestantism, Christ isn't really the "Rock"; Christ isn't really the head & foundation of the Church: For if He were really the "Rock", if He were really the head & foundation of the Church, how could the Church have fallen into heresy & apostasy for some 1,500 years? In Protestantism, Christ is the "Rock" only insofar as we allow Him to be the "Rock"! 24. Ironically, only the Holy Catholic Church believes that Christ truly is the "Rock", the head & foundation of the Church, who is guiding His Church. This is ultimately the source of the infallibility of the Church. 25. Since Christ truly is the "Rock", truly is the head & foundation of the Church, the Protestant claim that the Church fell into heresy and apostasy for some 1,500 years is PREPOSTEROUS! 26. Consequently, the first thing a Catholic must do in leaving the Holy Catholic Church for a Protestant group is to deny that Christ is the "Rock" in any real, meaningful sense. (This is why I view Protestantism as being a form of atheism.) | HOME | |
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