Just a thought that I began pondering as I was reading Scripture this morning. In Matthew 28.19-20 Jesus says:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Matt. 28.19-20, RSV
However, in John 20.30 and 21.25 John tells us:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. John 20.30, RSV
But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John 21.25, RSV
Now I know that in Matthew Jesus is talking about his teachings and in John it is talking about signs and things that Christ did, but I can't help but wonder, do we have "all" that Jesus taught written down in the Bible? I am not saying it is defective or it does not work, but by Jesus' command the disciples were told to teach others to observe all that Jesus had commanded them. If many of his signs were left out, why is it not possible many of his teachings were left out? Do we have all that he commanded? Why do you believe so or not?
In Christ,
Neal
P.S. This is not to undermine one's faith or discredit the Bible in any way. It is just somehting that made me go, "hmmmm...."
Do We Have Everything?
Discussion in 'Free-For-All Archives' started by neal4christ, Mar 28, 2004.
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I guess if one believes in the inspiration of the Holy Bible, one then also knows that all that we NEED to know is there.
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I agree that we have all we need to know. But then isn't there the chance that something has been lost and the Great Commission is impossible for us to fulfill today as Jesus commanded it (going on the assumption it is a command for us too, as has been taught to me my whole life)?
In Christ,
Neal -
Neal4christ,
If you are implying that after 2000 years the church is accurate in its "hand-me-down" oral traditions, you are fooling yourself. In 2000 years many someone(s) would have written down every one of the oral traditions handed down by the Apostles. That is the nature of the beast. We have nothing that remains a strictly oral hand-me-down tradition. Even the masonic organization with its "secrets" has them written down, albeit in cypher, it is still written down.
There are however many things in the Roman church especially that are "add-ons" that were not present with the Apostles, which the Apostles would have very strongly opposed, such as the worship of Mary, the Rosary, etc.
No, the bible does not contain all of Jesus' words, after all His ministry was 3 and 1/2 years approx., and the words that we have do not depict anywhere near all that he said. But what we do have is sufficient unto our belief in Him. If we do not come to belief with what we do have, many volumn of emmense magnitude would not convince us.
We argue endlessly over the few words we do have, can you imagine the wars we would be having if we had his every word? I'm convinced that less is better. -
Yelsew2 wrote:
"All honor and Glory is Yours
Almighty Father. Forever and Ever. Amen"
This is the focus of the Christain Catholic Life. There is no room to worship anyone but God. Stew on that for awhile instead of your hatred for the "Christain Catholic Faith".
God Bless You
John -
Stew all you want,
Included in Worship:
Erection of statuary "honoring" the one depicted in the statue.
Invoking the name of one, with words of praise and honor.
Invoking the name of one in Prayer as if that one had the power to grant one's petition. Such as "Hail Mary, mother of God hear our prayers"
If the general populous of the Catholic church does not do those things in regard to Mary, then I humbly apologize. But you have a great deal of explaining to do regarding the Rosary, the statuary in and around the Catholic church buildings, and the shrines to "the Blessed virgin" that I've seen in the homes of my staunch catholic, personal friends, who've explained to me that they do in truth offer prayers up to Mary, etc. -
This is a page from Gary Hodges web site
http://catholicoutlook.com/index.html
He does a far better Job than I do to counter your objections.
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That's wonderful, but that still does not explain "the things of practice"; that which is actually practiced among and within the Roman Catholic adherents!
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God Bless You
JOhn -
What Bogus reasoning! If as you say it is a commemorative of a "family member". Why is it limited to only a relatively few members of the family? Why not all members of "the family", are we all not just as equal in God's eyes? Did Jesus not come to save us all? Are all who believe in Jesus not children of God. Or is it just the "hall of famer's" that deserve shrines?
Purely bogus line of thought! -
Okay....this thread is not intended to be about the Rosary, Mary, etc. It is about whether we have everything Jesus taught. I gather from your post, Yelsew, that you would say no, we don't have it all written down. How then does that go with the Great Commission? How can we fulfill it? Or does it not directly apply to us? These are things that get my wheels turning, not to promote a set of beliefs.
In Christ,
Neal -
One important part of the verse was left out for some reason.
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: John 21:30
But observe verse 31:
BUT
THESE ARE WRITTEN
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Implying that, sure, there were many other things that Jesus did but only what God had put in Scripture is all that he deemed important for us to know for salvation. Therefore the so-called oral passed down traditions may be nice but worthless when it comes to eternal life. -
No reason it was left out. Reread the Great Commission. Is all = just what is necessary? Is that how you understand it? I agree we have what we need, and I am not even equating signs/works with teachings. Do you equate the two? That is the heart of what I ask. Is it even valid to equate the two and assume we don't have all that Christ taught?
Again, if you assume we don't have all Christ taught, how does this fit in with the Great Commission? Does it at all?
In Christ,
Neal -
Since there is some confusion, let me restate that I agree that we have what we need in relation to salvation in Scripture. However, the Great Commission does not say teach only what they need for salvation, but teach them to observe all that I commanded you. My simple question is do we have all that Christ taught and how it affects the Great Commission. Come on, now, this is not to promote a certain belief system, but to get the ole brain juices flowing. Ya'll are too eager to pounce on the RCC when you see something remotely resembling what they teach!
In Christ,
Neal -
Not Pouncing,...Questioning!
Neal4Christ, What will satisfy your inquiry? Opinion or evidence? -
#2. The Gospel accounts are written in direct response to Christ statement "Teach them ALL that I have commanded you". Christ's teaching was primarily PRE-Cross and the Gospels therefore devote the bulk of their material to His pre-cross teachings in direct fulfillment of the command to "Teach them ALL that I have commanded you".
But even that "is not an exhaustive account".
Yet the Gospel is there. It was "preached before hand to Abraham" Gal 3:7 it was preached "to us as it was to them as well" Heb 4:1 and it continues to be preached today.
That does not mean however that you are free to "make stuff up". Hopefully we both agree there.
In Christ,
Bob -
We do not worship anyone but God. I can understand that people who are ill informed of the Catholic faith can come to the conlusion that we worship Mary and the Saints but it just ain't so. We are not lieing to you and we are not trying to decieve you when we say we do not worship anyone but God.
God Bless You
John -
Then why not drop the trappings of worship in regard to the rosary? Why not change the prayers associated with each of the beads so that there is no "hail Mary, Mother of God, Save us" etc. I have no problem using reminders, I do that my self with 3x5 cards! But I have no prayers to Mary, and no prayers to any other saint! My prayers are all to my Heavenly Father, and All in the wonderful name of Jesus my savior!
If as you say you do not worship any of the saints or Mary, why not remove the staturary, and warn your parishioners about having shrines in their homes to "the blessed Virgin"
If as you say, you do not worship any but God, then get rid of the "graven images". They are not needed! -
Yeslew,
Opinion will be fine. I don't think anyone will have a definitive answer.
Bob,
I agree with you. But how does that plug in with the Great Commission? We can't completely fulfill it now since we don't have all Christ taught written down in Scripture. Correct? So are we kind of half keeping Christ's final command? I ask you just as much as I ask myself. I don't have an answer yet.
In Christ,
Neal -
Why don’t you just admit that you do not have a good enough understanding of the Catholic Faith to make informed conclusions of their teachings? What you get on this board with regards to explanations of the teachings of the Catholic Church is limited in scope and depth. I have been at it for 20 years and I have only scratched the surface. It is fine to disagree based on your own understanding. It is fine to say “this looks like Idolatry to me so for the time being I will reject this teaching” But when people come along and say “your knowledge on the subject is limited” you should humble yourself and learn more about the subject.
God Bless You
John
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