What Catholics and Protestants Have in Common
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We both have trouble understanding scripture in its spiritual context.
That, to me, seems to be the reason for most of the divisions within the Church. And, to be honest, even though I would like hold the simplicity of the gospel that Paul speaks of, the Bible seems to be a bit more complicated than that. There is a natural gravitation to Law, which has to be defined and then explained using scripture. All of us end up explaining away or adding to scripture to arrive at our conclusions. For example, the group that I assemble with says that, because of two scriptures, we must meet on the first day of every week (something that we share with the Catholic Church), but we disregard all of the other verses (I believe there are about 17...its been a while since I counted) that say the first century Church met daily. "We" also say that, because of one scripture, that we must take communion every Sunday AND only on Sunday...And yet, we do not wash feet, which, in my opinion, comes across more clearly as command than taking communion only on Sunday (which, I don't understand to even be implied as a command). We also condemn instrumental music based on two verses (one of which is preceded by words of love, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience).
We like to complicate things by making salvation requirements where the Bible does not suggest them.
Having said all that, there are a number of things that the Catholic Church teaches that I cannot accept. I do not condemn, but feel quite strongly that God is not pleased with these teachings and practices (not that He is pleased by incorrect teachings of those I assemble with).
I have been listening to a lot of Catholic radio lately and they have several shows that I enjoy listening to, but there is a lot of nonsense as well. I listened to a show the other day about a scapular, which apparently was given to some saint by Mary. They were teaching that, if someone wears this scapular, Mary would protect them when they died, but only if the wearer lived a good, Christian life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no reason for such a thing. If someone is a good Christian, then they are "protected" by Jesus Christ.
I don't mention the scapular to bash Catholicism, but I would like you to really think about this for a few minutes...the scapular is unscriptural and pointless.
That, to me, seems to be the reason for most of the divisions within the Church. And, to be honest, even though I would like hold the simplicity of the gospel that Paul speaks of, the Bible seems to be a bit more complicated than that. There is a natural gravitation to Law, which has to be defined and then explained using scripture. All of us end up explaining away or adding to scripture to arrive at our conclusions. For example, the group that I assemble with says that, because of two scriptures, we must meet on the first day of every week (something that we share with the Catholic Church), but we disregard all of the other verses (I believe there are about 17...its been a while since I counted) that say the first century Church met daily. "We" also say that, because of one scripture, that we must take communion every Sunday AND only on Sunday...And yet, we do not wash feet, which, in my opinion, comes across more clearly as command than taking communion only on Sunday (which, I don't understand to even be implied as a command). We also condemn instrumental music based on two verses (one of which is preceded by words of love, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience).
We like to complicate things by making salvation requirements where the Bible does not suggest them.
Having said all that, there are a number of things that the Catholic Church teaches that I cannot accept. I do not condemn, but feel quite strongly that God is not pleased with these teachings and practices (not that He is pleased by incorrect teachings of those I assemble with).
I have been listening to a lot of Catholic radio lately and they have several shows that I enjoy listening to, but there is a lot of nonsense as well. I listened to a show the other day about a scapular, which apparently was given to some saint by Mary. They were teaching that, if someone wears this scapular, Mary would protect them when they died, but only if the wearer lived a good, Christian life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no reason for such a thing. If someone is a good Christian, then they are "protected" by Jesus Christ.
I don't mention the scapular to bash Catholicism, but I would like you to really think about this for a few minutes...the scapular is unscriptural and pointless.
