is Roman catholism Regarded as a Cult/False Gospel/ Gospel + Works/True Gospel?

Mormons say that we are saved by grace alone "...after doing all we can do". Catholics believe we're saved by grace, but have to perform salvific works or else God will take that grace away from you and, if you're really lucky, you get to go to Purgatory where you'll get the chance to expiate all the sins Jesus' blood didn't cover.

I'm having a hard time seeing much difference.

 

What did 1000 years of Christian theology mean by "the communion of saints?"

 

Isn't that sort of synergism much like the synergism suggested by those who have a LFW doctrine?

 

I. All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by His Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with Him in His grace, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other's gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man.

II. Saints by profession are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification; as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offers opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

III. This communion which the saints have with Christ, does not make them in any wise partakers of the substance of His Godhead; or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous. Nor does their communion one with another, as saints, take away, or infringe the title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions.

 

You have given a perfect example of the disunity among Catholics. Your friend had a vasectomy, believes it is okay, and still receives communion. I believe that the Catholic Church considers vasectomy (or any form of artificial birth control) to be a mortal sin. (I don't have my copy of the Catechism at my desk, so I am unable to quote directly from it.)

Catholics are not free to disregard Catholic teaching and receive the sacraments -- at least to the best of my knowledge. Those who pick and choose which teachings to follow are scornfully referred to as "cafeteria Catholics". Perhaps the teachings have changed; I have been gone from the Catholic Church for nearly 15 years.

Is the Catholic Church a cult? They do teach doctrines that are not in scripture, but I don't know if I would classify them as a cult...

 

Where - at your local church? And which history would that be? Protestant, Catholic, or non secular? Hmmm....

Ohhh please....

WM

 

To my knowledge, Catholic doctrine forbids praying to graven images as does scripture. If these people are doing this then they aren't following RCC teaching. Perhaps I am ignorant of RCC doctrine... Perhaps you can show me where they teach that a Catholic is to worship graven images...

WM

 

News flash! Saints are ALIVE in heaven with Jesus. He is the God of the living and not of the dead.

What if God chooses that someone in heaven can hear us? I suppose He can do whatever He wants - whether you like it or not.

In Revelation 5:8, where John depicts the saints in heaven offering our prayers to God under the form of "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." But if the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God, then they must be aware of our prayers. They are aware of our petitions and present them to God.

Oops...not only a swing but a knock out.

True. Yet that neither negates nor reinforces your argument.

WM

 

I'm getting this hunch you are not really a baptist, WestminsterMan. Are you another one of the undercover RC's that joined here under false pretenses in order to straighten out "us baptists"?

 

Oh - I see... because I disagree with your position I suddenly become a RCC spy. Nice.

WM

 

There have been a half dozen or so in the past year. The fact your handle states "westminster"...and your views are clearly not in line with that is quite puzzling if you are truly baptist.

 

I understand that they're alive in Heaven, but they are dead to us.

Romans 14:9 says otherwise.

Then He would have told us so in His word, rather than making a blanket condemnation against praying to the dead and then leaving us to guess whether or not there are exceptions.

And He will always be consistent with His Word, whether you like it or not.

Actually, it was a foul ball. First of all, the passage never says that the dead in Heaven can hear our prayers and even if it did, it still never says that we are allowed to pray to the dead or to anyone other than God.

So then, can the dead do this?

Rutgers University, Widener University, Del Tech, Camden Co College and currently, Chesapeake Baptist Bible College.

There is only one.

Now could you please answer my questions?

I'm off for my Monday night class. I'll be back around nine. I hope you will have had the courage to try to answer my questions by then.

 

While I certainly am no defender of Webdog, in all fairness to him, it is a little odd that you would pick a name that indicates a Reformed background and then use common Catholic arguments.

 

I too have classes until 9:00pm. After a 14 hour day, it will be tomorrow before I will have the "courage".

WM

 

I believe I can pick any name that I choose.

WM

 

Why that if you are an rcc apologist? That would be like me picking Sinlessvirgin or Queenofheaven as a baptist.

 

I don’t think you can prove that from scripture.

Mark 12:27 says so.

So you say. Not everything was written in scripture now was it?

“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).

I agree...He will always be consistent with His word. What I take exception with is YOUR interpretation of His word.

Wrong! We are explicitly told by John that the incense they offer to God are the prayers of the saints. Prayers are not physical things and cannot be physically offered to God. Thus the saints in heaven are offering our prayers to God mentally. In other words, they are hearing our prayers and they are interceding for us. You may not like it, but that is clearly what Revelation 5:8 says. Clearly, this can only happen by the power of God.

Again - saints are not dead and prayer isn’t always worship - it can be supplications as well as other things. Holding graduate history degrees, you should know that.

1) The saints are NOT dead.
2) They can do nothing on their own - the power comes from God and God alone.

I have.

WM