tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897988.post115250910079500643..comments2023-08-25T03:54:55.647-06:00Comments on Believe and Profess: Introduction and conversion storyDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10829574522791907940noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897988.post-1152640314794778022006-07-11T11:51:00.000-06:002006-07-11T11:51:00.000-06:00Thanks Matt for your (always) thoughtful comment.I...Thanks Matt for your (always) thoughtful comment.<BR/><BR/><I>I don't think any thoughtful Protestant would say that the Bible alone is able to bring one to the same level of certainty that Catholics attain through the authority of the Church.</I><BR/><BR/>I hadn't considered this. While I haven't read a direct comparison between the certainty of faith between Protestants and Catholics, it seems that if Protestants don't claim certainty on certain doctrines they act like they do. For example, the Calvinist/Arminian debate concerning free will and predestination. Somehow both sides are certain of their position yet agree to disagree and call it "non-essential".<BR/><BR/>Thinking about Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit to teach the apostles ALL things (Jn 14:26), His command for them to teach all nations to observe ALL that he commanded (Mt 28:20), and the way the early Christians went about discerning the will of God with apparent certainty in council and then communicating that will to others (Acts 15), it doesn't make sense that he would suddenly cut off the guiding light of His Spirit. Other than the experience of Protestant churches' inability to decide doctrinal disputes with certainty, what leads you to believe that only some doctrines are essential? Is there scripture to support this?<BR/><BR/><I>I also accept the early creeds (Apostles, Nicaean, Chalcedonian) as unanimous declarations of the Church as to the essentials of the faith.</I><BR/><BR/>But what do they mean? What is "the one holy catholic and apostolic church" that you profess? Is it visible or invisible? Does an "apostolic church" require valid apostolic succession? Does the "communion of saints" mean communion with just those on Earth, or also in heaven? Do the saints in heaven help us? May we ask for their prayers?<BR/><BR/>These are all parts of the essentials of the faith contained in the creeds, but even the meaning of those are disputed. Also, many Protestant criticisms of Catholic teaching (related to my questions above) seem to be very certain, such as prohibitions against "contacting the dead" like Mary and the Saints in heaven.<BR/><BR/><I>All I'm getting at is that I do think we can all be led by the same Holy Spirit -- in fact, I think that you and I are -- even though we come to different conclusions on many issues.</I><BR/><BR/>I can agree that it is the same Spirit of Christ who leads us both. But in the end, one or the other of us is coming to the wrong conclusion, because the Spirit of Truth can't lead us to error.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10829574522791907940noreply@blogger.com