tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-867031730743967442.post720645235207097613..comments2024-02-27T21:11:10.535-06:00Comments on The Hurricane Report: OFFENSIVE PARTICULARITYCamillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10036194567800082159noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-867031730743967442.post-29172042601964146102010-11-09T20:47:58.156-06:002010-11-09T20:47:58.156-06:00Suzanne,
Amen!Suzanne,<br />Amen!Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10036194567800082159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-867031730743967442.post-25544531662884950722010-11-09T20:46:20.627-06:002010-11-09T20:46:20.627-06:00Michael,
You make some good points, others that ar...Michael,<br />You make some good points, others that are confusing. Among my Christian friends, I can't think of a single one who would assert that Roman Catholics do not believe the Bible. Nor can I think of a single Christian friend, Protestant or Catholic, who denies the value of tradition. I think the point of "Sola Scriptura" is that all traditions must be subjected to the scrutiny of Scripture. As fallen men, it is very possible that our traditions wander from what is true and good.<br /><br />In my particular church, we sing hymns, many of which we composed hundreds of years ago (some as early as the 7th century). These are a precious part of our faith, and are rich with doctrine. But, should a favorite old hymn be revealed to proclaim something contrary to Scripture, it must be abandoned.<br /><br />Likewise, we value extra-Biblical documents, such as the writings of Augustine, etc. But again, these must be studied in light of the truths of Scripture.<br /><br />Sola Scriptura states that Scripture alone, as the infallible, inerrant word of God, is the standard by which every other document/tradition/etc. must be measured. Scripture is the objective standard of truth. Judging our traditions by our traditions is rather like supporting our opinions with our opinions.<br /><br />Regarding you three-sides-of-truth illustration...First, I really don't think you meant to claim that Scripture contains double standards, at least not in the sense that truth is relative - eg, what is true here in Scripture is not true there in Scripture. Also, this illustration sounds like a rather democratic approach to ascertaining truth. "Let me consider all the options, all the voices/sides, and then I'll decide what, in my best judgement, is the truth." It is very possible to have two, or more, completely WRONG sides to a story, and two wrongs don't make a right. I think this very clearly exposes the danger of basing our understanding of truth on anything BUT Scripture. Truth may have many sides; we may perceive and understand different facets of truth; but in the end, it is God's truth that stands, regardless of our preferences or opinions.<br /><br />"...the Bible is sufficient and nothing else is needed for salvation." I disagree. The Bible doesn't save anyone. Rather, Christ saves sinners. However, in God's good providence, He speaks to the heart of sinners through Scripture - Scripture read, prayed, sung, or preached.<br /><br />I think your comments expose what is perhaps the most fundamental difference between Protestants and Catholics. Is it the church (and its teachings) which gives authority to Scripture, or is it Scripture which gives authority to the church? I had a young Catholic friend tell me once that the Catholic church wrote the Bible. Yet it had always been my understanding that the Bible was written by holy men (a bunch of Hebrews/Jews, no less) who were inspired by the Spirit of God...that God Himself wrote the Bible. I think therein lies the heart of many of our differences. Ultimately, do we put our faith in men and institutions, or do we put our faith in God? Maybe you would say BOTH. But, knowing the sinful nature of our kind, I'd rather stick with God.Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10036194567800082159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-867031730743967442.post-3784250036558091912010-11-09T16:37:58.763-06:002010-11-09T16:37:58.763-06:00Well put, Michael Gormley. The One, Holy, Catholi...Well put, Michael Gormley. The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church remains the Church that Christ founded. The countless cults that have been spawned by the political revolt against the power of the papacy and the emperor committed to protecting that power has come to be glorified in Protestant history texts as a glorious reformation of the Church. The father of lies is the gloating father of the distortion of history. Half truths sadly pave the way to his domain. There are many wonderful snippets of truth being espoused in the cults to convince followers that their salvation depends upon clinging to the cults' doctrines, as opposed to seeking Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, really present and yearning for their adoration. Sad to the point of damnation. Christ, have mercy.Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14084273151697734199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-867031730743967442.post-88421881502582588472010-11-09T01:42:07.064-06:002010-11-09T01:42:07.064-06:00Is Half of The Story Sufficient For Salvation?
Ho...<b>Is Half of The Story Sufficient For Salvation?</b><br /><br />How many sides are there to a story? If you say two, then you are wrong. If you had one side and I had one side that would make two sides. However, there is a third side, the side of truth. <br /><br /><b>Rule # 1...</b> One half of truth does not a truth make. Neither does one half of a story make the full story. No intelligent person can hear one side of a story and decide which side has the truth. <br /><br />Both sides have to be heard, then analysed, and then a decision has to be made as to which side (if either) has a valid story, and after that, the right side(s), or truth side, can be determined. <br /><br />This thinking holds true for discerning what Holy Scripture tells us. <br /><br />Throughout the Bible there are double standards, yet the fundamentalist thinking shows only one standard, or one side of the story, or only one half of the truth. <br /><br />Their thinking is in violation of rule <b># 1.</b> With only one half of truth, you do not have truth. Anything less than the whole truth is error. <br /><br />In the following example, side <b>'A'</b> is the first side, side <b>'B'</b> is the second, and side <b>'C'</b> is the right, or truth side. <br /><br /><b>Example ... Sola Scriptura...?</b> Only the Bible. Fundamentalist thinking is that the Bible is sufficient and nothing else is needed for salvation. <br /><br />First of all, in order to believe in the <i>'Bible Only'</i> philosophy, you have to show that Scripture says it. Is that not true? The doctrine of <i>'Sola Scriptura'</i> is not to be found in Scripture. <br /><br /><b>A.</b> Tradition is condemned in many places in Scripture, such as Job 22:15, Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:3-13, Galatians 1:14, Colossians 2:8, 1Timothy 1:4, Titus 1:14, and 1Peter 1:18. Look at these verses and grasp their meaning. <br /><br />They all address <i>'vain'</i> human traditions and are rightly condemned. This is one half of the truth. <br /><br /><b>B.</b> Tradition is supported in more places in Scripture than it is condemned. Study Isaiah 59:21, Luke 1:2, 2:19,51, Luke 10:16, 2Thessalonians 2:14-15 - <b>"Stand firm and hold the traditions you have learned..",</b> 2Timothy 1:13,2:2, 1Peter 1:25, 1Jn 1:1,2:24, 2Jn 1:12, Revelation 12:17,19:10. <br /><br />These are different traditions than mentioned in <b>'A'.</b> These are the Traditions of GOD, or <i>'Apostolic' Tradition.'</i> Again, this is only half of the truth. <br /><br /><b>C.</b> The truth is, yes, we do condemn the vain tradition of men, as shown in <b>'A',</b> and we must keep the Tradition of GOD, as shown in <b>'B'.</b> <br /><br />Thus we have half the truth in <b>'A',</b> and the other half in <b>'B',</b> and combined we have the full truth. <br /><br />The false doctrine of Sola Scriptura adds A and B together and puts the total in A, rejecting all of tradition. <b>A+B=C.</b>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07940745178193985942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-867031730743967442.post-65555086417303878372010-11-09T01:41:22.152-06:002010-11-09T01:41:22.152-06:00Some Protestants have the notion that Catholics do...Some Protestants have the notion that Catholics do not “believe” in the Bible, so they bring up Second Timothy 3:15-16 to support their belief of Sola Scriptura:<i>"... from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."</i> <br /><br />Certainly Catholics believe in the Bible (Catholics put together the Bible!) but this verse does not really support the belief of Sola Scriptura; it does not say <b>that scripture alone is an adequate guide to the faith</b> For that matter, the whole Bible does not say <b>that we should believe in the Bible alone,</b> nor does it say which books are inspired by God. This is only one hole in the belief of Sola Scriptura; there are many more.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07940745178193985942noreply@blogger.com