Tag Archives: tradition

A Wicked and False Religion?

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Like I said, the Church has PR problems. Rand, of A Pattern of Sound Words, asserts:

"A Christian Roman Catholic, to me, is as opposite as a Nazi Jew. One cannot be a follower of Christ and be a follower of Romanism at the same time. Why? Because the Romanist worships a god different than the God of the Bible. For example, consider the 2nd person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ:"

"Romanism – Jesus was born of a sinless, perfect mother, who is declared the 'Queen of Heaven'.
Biblical Christinity – Jesus was born of a kind, godly woman, but still a sinner by birth and choice (Luke 1:26-38)."

The best explanation I have ever heard for Mary's sinless conception was from a Rabbi. The Ark of the Covenant was the seat of God on earth. It could only be safely approached and touched by ritually clean priests at certain times of the year. Mary was the ark of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:26-28). Her preservation from Original Sin, as well as actual sin, does not, as some suggest, imply that she did not need Christ's saving grace, made possible by the cross. God is not bound by time. He created it. Thus, Mary received at her conception the saving grace of Christ's sacrifice. Continue reading →

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A Season For All Men

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"The Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote the forty days’ fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (French carême, Italian quaresima, Spanish cuaresma), meaning the ‘forty days’, or more literally the ‘fortieth day’. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New Testament times. This etymology, as we shall see, is of some little importance in explaining the early developments of the Easter fast." – Catholic Encyclopedia

Lent starts early this year. Ash Wednesday is February 9. That’s just two weeks away. Are you planning on performing any acts of penance? Being a Catholic convert from fairly high-church Lutheranism, I don’t know much about "low-church" Protestant observances of Lent or lack thereof. I’d like very much to know how non-Catholics, particularly Evangelicals and liberals/progressives, observe Lent.

If you are a Protestant (of any flavor), I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it (queue Mission Impossible music). I’d like to know how you, your church, and/or your denomination observe (or don’t observe) Ash Wednesday and Lent. If you don’t have a blog, please consider leaving a comment to tell me what Lent means to you. If you do have a blog, please consider writing a post about what Lent means to you. Trackback this post and I’ll write a carnival-like post to tie the entries together. Also, please promote this meme on your blog. Thanks in advance. 🙂

Catholic Church Teaching Universalism?

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I'm discovering more and more that the Catholic Church has some serious PR problems. This Earnestly Contending post is representative of the many Protestant (mostly Evangelical) gross misunderstandings of Catholic teachings and teaching authority that I've encountered. My responses are drawn from comments I made at Weapons of Warfare. Continue reading →

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The Myth of Catholic and Orthodox Tradition?

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Cameron Porter, of Earnestly Contending, posts the following quote (apparently a favorite of his).

"Furthermore, that the body of tradition is not of divine origin nor apostolic is proven by the fact that some traditions contradict others. The church fathers repeatedly contradict one another. When a Roman Catholic priest is ordained he solemnly vows to interpret the Scriptures only according to 'the unanimous consent' of the fathers. But such 'unanimous consent' is purely a myth. The fact is they scarcely agree on any doctrine. They contradict each other, and even contradict themselves as they change their minds and affirm what they previously had denied. Augustine, the greatest of the fathers, in his later life wrote a special book in which he set forth his Retractions. Some of the fathers of the second century held that Christ would return shortly and that he would personally reign in Jerusalem for a thousand years. But two of the best known scholars of the early church, Origen (185-254) and Augustine (354-430) wrote against that view. The early fathers condemned the use of images in worship, while later ones approve such use. The early church almost unanimously advocated the reading and free use of the Scriptures, while later ones restricted such reading and use. Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome and the greatest of the early bishops, denounced the assumption of the title of Universal Bishop as anti-Christian. But later Popes even to the present have been very insistent of using that and similar titles which assert universal authority. Where, then, is the universal tradition and unanimous consent of the fathers to papal doctrine?"

– Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1962), pp. 78-79

Thoughts?

An Evangelical Catholic?

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From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Participation in Christ’s prophetic office

904 “Christ . . . fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy . . . but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei] and the grace of the word”438

To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer.439

905 Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.” For lay people, “this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.”440

This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful.441

906 Lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the sacred sciences, and in use of the communications media.442

907 “In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”443

438 LG 35.
439 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh. III,71,4 ad 3.
440 LG 35 � 1, � 2.
441 AA 6 � 3; cf. AG 15.
442 Cf. CIC, cann. 229; 774; 776; 780; 823 � 1.
443 CIC, can. 212 � 3.

I suppose, as a faithful Catholic Christian who blogs, the above could serve as my misson statement.

It is my intention to “teach in order to lead others to faith” by being always “on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful” through the “use of the communications media”. I also act knowing that I “have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”

In some sense, then, my mission makes me an evangelical. That’s the only way I can justify my presence in the Church Directory, an Evangelical blogroll.

“As the blogosphere matures it�s influence will continue to expand. It will continue to shape ideas, set political agendas, and shape culture. Christians who believe that a Biblical worldview has something important to add to the conversation cannot afford to ignore this medium. But that is what much of the church will likely do � at least until the blogosphere begins to have the same impact on society as the universities or the film industry. Then we will be rolling out the trebuchets for another cultural war siege.”

“But evangelicals are already within the walls. By simply coordinating our efforts we can soon become a force that won�t be easily ignored. To do so, however, we must set aside both envy and false piety. We must set aside petty jealousy when someone else�s blog has more links or gets more traffic. And we must also reject the simplistic notion that we should not strive to gain recognition for our blogging efforts. Our work should be pursued with godly ambition, helping others as we form a genuine community.”

“To be successful in this effort will require that we band together and help others whether their blogs are more popular or completely unknown. We need to link to and visit each other�s blogs, provide encouragement, and praise excellence and quality wherever it is found. Evangelicals can have a profound impact on society and culture. But first we must ‘buy a ticket [out of the Evangelical ghetto].'”

I am honored to have made the list and I hope that through it I can be help to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the blogosphere.