A naked Jesus made by chocolate? Granted this sculpture is a bit akward.
But how about the Catholic Church expressing that same passion towards the lost?
I know many Catholics who have a heart for “the lost”, as well as a heart for people in poverty, and need. The first 1500 years of Christianity was Catholic, and they’ve made and continue to make great contributions to Christian thought.
Mark,
Catholics have some of the most developed theological treatises and some of the most profoundest outreaches to the
“lost” that would shame many ministries. They have work in leper colonies, they have built hospitals, and work with the urban poor throughout the world. We have much to learn from our Catholic sisters and brothers.
“While still maintaining that the (Catholic) Church is necessary for salvation, and that they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it, it continues its dialogue with other religious traditions, even outside Christianity, in search of greater mutual understanding and in the hope of attaining greater visible unity among Christians.”
This quote was taken from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia in its definition of Catholicism.
Question: Do we really know if Catholics are our brothers and sisters when they believe that the Catholic Church determines whether or not we are saved?
I don’t know about you but that’s not what I read in my Bible.
I don’t know if Catholicism has done the greatest damage or the greatest good.
Profound Contributions:
(1)Foundation of many universities
(2)Foundation of many hospitals
(3)The development of art, music, architecture
(4)The development of the analytical, philosophical method
(5)Downfall of communism in Eastern Europe
Damaging Contributions:
(1)Forceful evangelization of Europe and Latin America
(2)Monasticism
(3)The Iquisition
(4)The Crusades
As I wrote before, I don’t know if Catholicism has done the greatest damage or the greatest good.
In Scripture, Jesus states that his disciples will be known by the fruit that they bear, by the love that they show one to another, for God is love. I have many dear friends and yes, brothers and sisters in Christ whom are of the Catholic tradition. We have prayed together, shared our journeys of life together and have stood for causes of peace and justice together.
Some of my favorite authors are Catholic priests and monks such as Henri J. M. Nouwen whose works have challenged me to grow deeper in my faith. It was my Catholic tradition as a child and during my adolescence that taught me to love God with all my heart and love neighbor as self. It also taught me that to speak of compassion is not enough but one must live it continuously through action.
I have found in my journey that there is much to be gained from keeping an open mind to the diversity within Christiandom and to glean “treasures” from a “generous orthodoxy” – it is time to look beyond the “us/them” paradigm and seek out the “we”.
It has been brought to my attention that my comments may have been misinterpreted.
We are living in a time when you can believe anything, as long as you do not claim it to be true. In the name of “tolerance”, our post modern culture embraces everything as relative and nothing as truth. But as Ravi Zacharias has so elequently pointed out, such unquestioning acceptance of all things spiritual is absurd.
The common challenge in writing an opinion tends to be that your emotions are not on display for the world to see. Written comments can become misunderstood and even sometimes when jokes are written they can become offending.
So, I would just like to take the opportunity to apologize to anyone whom I may have annoyed, hurt, or offended by my comments. It is my desire to communicate my personal worldview on issues such as religion and to do so in a kind manner. There is no reason to be unkind. Even when communicating one’s passionate beliefs there is no need to become harsh, hard, or pressing.
And if I have communicated my worldview in such a way, forgive me.
Much Love –
The Catholic Faith:
1)The church defines the Bible
2)Church organization supreme over the Bible
3)Only Popes, bishops and priests can correctly interpret the Bible
4)The Supreme doctrinal authority of Catholics is the Pope
Protestant Christianity:
1)The Bible defines the church
2)The Bible is supreme over the church
3)Anyone can understand the Bible
4)The Supreme doctrinal authority of Christians is Jesus Christ (the Word)
These shocking differences makes me question whether or not I can call Catholics my brothers and sisters. I am being completely honest here. What do you think?
mmm…very interesting topic. I think that like in most christian religions..only God will be the one to judge; even in the evangelical church,
what does matthew 7:21 says?
A naked Jesus made by chocolate? Granted this sculpture is a bit akward.
But how about the Catholic Church expressing that same passion towards the lost?
I know many Catholics who have a heart for “the lost”, as well as a heart for people in poverty, and need. The first 1500 years of Christianity was Catholic, and they’ve made and continue to make great contributions to Christian thought.
Mark,
Catholics have some of the most developed theological treatises and some of the most profoundest outreaches to the
“lost” that would shame many ministries. They have work in leper colonies, they have built hospitals, and work with the urban poor throughout the world. We have much to learn from our Catholic sisters and brothers.
Wow. You guys are priests indeed!
“While still maintaining that the (Catholic) Church is necessary for salvation, and that they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it, it continues its dialogue with other religious traditions, even outside Christianity, in search of greater mutual understanding and in the hope of attaining greater visible unity among Christians.”
This quote was taken from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia in its definition of Catholicism.
Question: Do we really know if Catholics are our brothers and sisters when they believe that the Catholic Church determines whether or not we are saved?
I don’t know about you but that’s not what I read in my Bible.
I don’t know if Catholicism has done the greatest damage or the greatest good.
Profound Contributions:
(1)Foundation of many universities
(2)Foundation of many hospitals
(3)The development of art, music, architecture
(4)The development of the analytical, philosophical method
(5)Downfall of communism in Eastern Europe
Damaging Contributions:
(1)Forceful evangelization of Europe and Latin America
(2)Monasticism
(3)The Iquisition
(4)The Crusades
As I wrote before, I don’t know if Catholicism has done the greatest damage or the greatest good.
In Scripture, Jesus states that his disciples will be known by the fruit that they bear, by the love that they show one to another, for God is love. I have many dear friends and yes, brothers and sisters in Christ whom are of the Catholic tradition. We have prayed together, shared our journeys of life together and have stood for causes of peace and justice together.
Some of my favorite authors are Catholic priests and monks such as Henri J. M. Nouwen whose works have challenged me to grow deeper in my faith. It was my Catholic tradition as a child and during my adolescence that taught me to love God with all my heart and love neighbor as self. It also taught me that to speak of compassion is not enough but one must live it continuously through action.
I have found in my journey that there is much to be gained from keeping an open mind to the diversity within Christiandom and to glean “treasures” from a “generous orthodoxy” – it is time to look beyond the “us/them” paradigm and seek out the “we”.
Definitely well noted. Thanks for sharing.
It has been brought to my attention that my comments may have been misinterpreted.
We are living in a time when you can believe anything, as long as you do not claim it to be true. In the name of “tolerance”, our post modern culture embraces everything as relative and nothing as truth. But as Ravi Zacharias has so elequently pointed out, such unquestioning acceptance of all things spiritual is absurd.
The common challenge in writing an opinion tends to be that your emotions are not on display for the world to see. Written comments can become misunderstood and even sometimes when jokes are written they can become offending.
So, I would just like to take the opportunity to apologize to anyone whom I may have annoyed, hurt, or offended by my comments. It is my desire to communicate my personal worldview on issues such as religion and to do so in a kind manner. There is no reason to be unkind. Even when communicating one’s passionate beliefs there is no need to become harsh, hard, or pressing.
And if I have communicated my worldview in such a way, forgive me.
Much Love –
I wasn’t offended at all. Thanks for sharing.
The Catholic Faith:
1)The church defines the Bible
2)Church organization supreme over the Bible
3)Only Popes, bishops and priests can correctly interpret the Bible
4)The Supreme doctrinal authority of Catholics is the Pope
Protestant Christianity:
1)The Bible defines the church
2)The Bible is supreme over the church
3)Anyone can understand the Bible
4)The Supreme doctrinal authority of Christians is Jesus Christ (the Word)
These shocking differences makes me question whether or not I can call Catholics my brothers and sisters. I am being completely honest here. What do you think?
mmm…very interesting topic. I think that like in most christian religions..only God will be the one to judge; even in the evangelical church,
what does matthew 7:21 says?