Featured My Journey Into The Catholic Church

As I expected, there are lots of different questions and some will take some time to answer. This one is easy! The church I was raised in is CBA. I spent a few years as an undergraduate at Biola University before transferring and graduating from Cal. Baptist University (SBC)

 

I have time to respond to one of your questions now. The 'salvation by works' question will need to wait until later today or tomorrow. Also, I don't understand your question: 'Do all Catholics now believe that a fetus is not a person?' Church teaching couldn't be clearer on the subject. Individual Catholics may be confused as to what the teaches (maybe someone you know) but the Church is adamant, a fetus is a person. I think I read something on another thread you were on about lawyers for a Catholic hospitol arguing that a fetus is not a person. Certainly the Church does not support their argument and surely this was done without knowledge of Church.

Let's look at John chapter 6. Let me ask you, when Jesus said 'I am the door' or 'I am the vine', did anyone say 'how can this man be a door' (or vine)? Or 'how can this man be a plant?' When Jesus spoke in metaphor the people around Him seemed to know it. I ask you to look at the surrounding context of John 6:53 and I do not see how His words could have been clearer. He says He IS the 'living bread' that His followers MUST eat. Doesn't He say in no uncertain terms that 'the bread that I now give is my flesh'? Doesn't He say emphatically, 'truly, truly, I say unto you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.'
It is true that Jesus spoke in parables (common in that day) but this is no parable. Look at this and some other examples in Scripture where His followers are confused about his teaching. In John 4:32, Jesus says: “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” The disciples thought Jesus was speaking about physical food. Our Lord quickly clears up the point using concise, unmistakable language in verse 34: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work” (see also Matthew 16:5-12).
Now, let's look at the language used by St.John, a literal interpretation—which may disturb you—drives it home. Here in John 6:50-53 there are several forms of the Greek verb phago, “eating.” The Jews say how disturbed they at the suggestion they should be eating Christ’s flesh, and the language begins to intensify. In verse 54, John begins to use trogo instead of phago. Isn't Trogo a lot more graphic term, meaning “to chew on” or to “gnaw on”—as when an animal is ripping apart its prey?
Now we get to verse 61 where we no longer have great multitudes of people following Him (why?) but disciples who are having difficulty understanding this. SURELY now He would clear this matter up and explain 'this is all symbolic'! Well, what did He do? He again re-affirms what He has just said: 'Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?' in verses 61 and 62. Do you think anyone thought Him to mean: “What if you were to see me symbolically ascend?” I don't think you believe that. Didn't the Apostles see Jesus literally ascend to heaven?
When Jesus addresses the twelve what does He not say? He doesn't say: “Hey guys, I was misleading the Jewish multitudes, the disciples, and everyone else, but now I am going to tell you alone the simple truth: I was speaking symbolically.” He asks them if they will take off as well. And their response? “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” verse 68
I used to counter Catholics with: Doesn't our Lord says to the disciples “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” and doesn't this prove that Jesus was talking symbolically (spiritually)? But Jesus did not say "MY flesh is of no avail', He said 'the flesh is of no avail'. Big difference! Jesus would have been contradicting Himself because He just spent a lot of time telling them that His flesh would be given for the life of the world. Isn't The flesh a New Testament term often used to describe human nature apart from God’s grace? “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” Mark 14:38
It is the Holy Spirit that brings about the miracle of Christ being able to ascend into heaven bodily while being able simultaneously to distribute his body and blood in Holy Communion for the life of the world.
What confuses most people here is often based upon confusion between spirit—a noun—and the adjective spiritual. When spirit is used, “God is spirit” in John 4:24, it is taling about that which is not material. However, the adjective spiritual is not necessarily referring to the absence of the material; rather, it is referring to the material controlled by the Spirit. Don't His words have two meanings? “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail” Only the Spirit can accomplish the miracle which occurs at Holy Communion and only the Spirit can empower us to believe the miracle

 

I will do so. I want to suggest that all converts to Catholicism from evangelicalism, struggle with the differences between their former beliefs and their new beliefs. The incorrect ideas of the old faith need to go, if they are entirely incorrect, or transformed, if they are partially correct, and then replaced with the truths of the Catholic Faith. Sometimes you will probably find traces of my old and incorrect beliefs within my conversion to Catholicism. Other times I might, so as to avoid past errors, takes an idea too far in the opposite direction.
'And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.' (Matthew 10:22 [RSV])

Hopefully the following will clear up what 'Steaver' referred to as a 'hoped for salvation' instead of 'assurance of salvation'. If I persevere in faith to the end I will receive salvation. Salvation is a lifelong process that has been given to us by the Grace of our Lord. Obedience to Him is to be done at all times and when we fail we repent, confess and we will be renewed.

Our lives are not our, they belong to Christ. We must give our life to Him and be obedient in His word, we will fall, but we must get back up in His strength and have Faith (Trust) in Him. Faith is a lifelong process as well, it is not a one time deal.

Let's first look at the passage in (John 26-29)

26. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
27. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.
29. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,* and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

According to this passage Jesus' sheep will be given eternal life and no one will be able to take them away from God. But nowhere does this passage indicate that anyone will choose to remain one of Christ's sheep. The upshot is that Jesus will not disappoint those who are His sheep, but there is nothing about monergism which forces people to remain His sheep. I would agree with you and 'Steaver' that to be one of Christ's sheep means that one is justified, but I think the difference between us is that you think that justification is irrevocable while I don't.
So, in short, there is nothing you can do to be saved. Jesus Christ did it for all of us. What we must do is receive our Lord's Grace and have Faith and be obedient in Him by showing it in our works, that must be consistent with His teachings.

All I have time for today! BTW, dress code: shorts, tee-shirt and Birkenstocks-of course!