Wayne,

How does identifying that someone’s criticism of the Catholic Church is full of inaccuracies constitute a casual dismissal? Would you like me to go through all of the questions and identify where they are wrong?

Beware the Deceit of Rome,

You have only made vague statements about who you think Allah is and why you do not believe that he is Yahweh under a different name. I still don't understand your position other than it is in opposition to what JPII said. I have genuine faith in God and I know who He is through the Bible.

just a thought,

I haven't been purposely avoiding your question. To answer, I point you to the many passages of the Bible in support of praying to Saints - not Mary in particular, but Saints in general:

Tobit 12:12, Eph 6:18, Mark 12:25-27, Heb 12:22-24, Rev 6:9-10, Rev 18:18-20,Rev 5:8 among others. Paul stated a number of times that we should all pray for one another. Praying to Saints is a continuation of that.

John,

Further to who Jesus wants to be saved, see 1 Timothy 2:3&4.

Lurker,

Jesus said "Do this in memory of me". That is EXACTLY what every priest does, every day, in the Mass. We don't igonre ANY part of the Bible.

Wayne,

Yes I watched tha video and I also found it to be quite revealing - although I suspect in a differnt way than you.

I watched one of the videos with Richard Bennett. He seems to be sincere but rather misguided. He made quite a few statements that I thought were rather odd for a priest - current or former. He claimed that there were beliefs in Catholicism that simply aren't true. I have been going through the videos just a thought suggested and it is the same drivel over and over again. If they would be truthful and less melodramatic, they may produce a good, interesting and edifying video that could be used by Catholics and Protestants alike. Instead, they are more like political advertisements during an election bashing Catholicism. I find it rather unchristian to tear a strip off someone or something without proposing some sort of remedy for the perceived wrongs.

Michael,

I know who God the Father is. I just don’t understand why you are so reluctant to explain who you believe Allah is. Can you please state in unambiguous terms who you believe God the Father, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Yahweh and Allah are and their relationships?

Michael Hranek wrote:
Jesus is Yahweh in human flesh so the rejection He experience by the Jews (and by the Muslims today) doesn't make Yahweh a false god in the least.

Michael Hranek wrote:
by the way I though you Catholics supposedly didn't pray to Mary?
Bert wrote:
"If I want Mary to intercede for me, I have to pray to her and ask."
So apparently you violate the 1ST Commandment and sin against your Creator in having other "gods" besides Yahweh in this case a lesser being "saint" whom you pretend really isn't some kind of lesser diety but to whom you pray as if she were a goddess.

I learned that our God is a God of Love. That He wants ALL of us to be members of the elect who are welcomed into Heaven. But, as I mentioned to Chalkstone, we all have free will and can accept Jesus or reject Him. It is all up to us.

Mike wrote:
Previously posted:
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." To deny that which is true, is to believe in that which is false. Easy, no?

Just a thought,

Yu have been beating this "Allah is a false god" horse for quite a while. Yet you haven't provided any evidence to support your claim. I know that JPII was a brilliant man and an exceptional theologian and philosopher. With all due respect, Michael, I think that his credentials out weigh yours.

John,

1) Because God did not open their minds to understand.

2) I'm not 100% sure. I seem to recall reading an explanation but I can't remember what it was

3) Yes.

4) Because we have free will. He offers us salvation but many refuse His offer.

2) You aren't making sense. Why were the ones called but not chosen rejected? Could it be that they said "no"?

1) The Garden of Eden was a lot closer to Heaven than we are. And both Adam and Eve were completely sinnless before the serpant tricked Eve. Regardless, the point is that God told them not to eat of the tree and they disobeyed. Isn't that saying "no" to God?

2) The question is: Why aren't all of those called chosen? Jesus said MANY are called but FEW are chosen.

1) So what was the Garden of Eden? An idyllic place where you could talk to God face to face. That sounds a lot like Heaven to me....

2) Then why did Jesus say that many are called but few are chosen? If all of those called were the elect, then all of them should be chosen. Did Jesus err?

3) See 2) above.

I didn't say that mortals have control over God's Will. God offers us grace - He doesn't force it upon us.

OK, show me the Reformation in Scripture. Many people are quick to offer up the "Scriptura sola" argument so show me where Scripture references the Reformation.

How do you know that the Pope is the antichrist? It would seem to me that if the Pope was the antichrist, we wouldn't keep getting new ones. Isn't the antichrist supposed to be immortal?

If your claim is true, why can't the current 1.3 billion Catholics or the untold billions of Catholics who have died see any of this? Many of those people were a lot smarter than we are. Can you show me examples of these heresies, fallicious dogmas, etc?

Chalkstone,

2) Matt 22:1-14 is Jesus explaining how many people are called but few are chosen - contrary to your position that God calls and we obey. If everyone called obeyed, then all would be chosen.

3) That is not works based religion. It is the exercising of the free will God gave us. I didn't say that it was a good idea to say "no" to God, just that it is possible. Remember, satan was an angel at one point and he said "no" to God.

Fact: ALL mortals have been given the free will to refuse or accept God.

How did I prove that the Reformation was ordained by God? If you truly believe in the concept of "Scriptura sola" then you would reject the Reformation without another thought. How can I or any other mortal prove something that is extra-Biblical to be true?

I worship the One True God. If you believe otherwise, please show me how I am wrong. You haven't yet.

Well, I have never been to Ireland so I can't address what your lady friend said directly but I know that the many Irish Priests and Seminarians I have met here are definitely nothing like you describe. Nor have I ever heard that a priest has the power to condemn or save me. The Church is very clear on who has the ability to save me: Jesus Himself and no other. Unless there was some sort of misunderstanding, I can't understand why your friend would think that way. I know that I am certainly not afraid of our Pastor nor do I know of a single individual who is afraid of their Pastor or any other Priest.

I've only watched the first one, but it is garbage.

I have never said that we must go through Mary for anything. I said the opposite: we do not *have* to pray to Mary (or any other saint) at all.

Michael,

Yes, the Catholic Church does teach that Jesus will abide in us. We are also taught that He will never leave or forsake us.

We pray to Mary for the same reason we pary to all saints: To help us to be the Christians that God wants us to be and for intercessions with God for others.

John,

It is rather difficult to read, isn't it?

1) Yes, God has mercy on whomever He pleases. Just as with Moses and Adam & Eve (among others) we have the God-given right to say "no" to God.

2) Matt 22:1-14

3) I did not say anything about works. I simply pointed out that wee can say "no" to God.

Michael,

Jesus needs no assistant but we do. Mary acts like any mother would whose children have offended their father. She pleads our case before Jesus if we ask her to.

The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus just as He said.

Tradition in the Catholic Church is subordinate to the Bible, always.

Peter means "Rock".

I found [URL=http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/NTpdf/]]]the site[/URL] Wanye mentioned. The translation of John 3:5 is:

answerED JESUS AMEN AMEN I-AM-sayING to-YOU IF-EVER NO ANY MAY-BE-BEING-generatED OUT OF-water AND OF-spirit NOT he-IS-ABLE TO-BE-INTO-COMING INTO THE KINGdom OF-THE God

Kinda thows a wrench in the gears . It has neither "of water and spirit" nor "of water and of the spirit". Instead it says "of water and of spirit". So, are we looking at one event or two? I am inclined to say one because when you put the word "the" in front of a noun, you are referring to a specific instance of whatever the noun refers to. So, "the Spirit" would normally refer to the Holy Spirit. Without the "the" there, though, it is just referring to spirits in general or the spiritual realm.

I'll have to spend some more time on John 3:8 to figure out what is being said.

1) If you believe that God does not force salvation on people, how do you explain your position that the person has no say in whether they are to be saved or not?

2) Faith most definately a gift of God. In order for anything to be a gift, though, the intended recipient must have the option of accepting or rejecting it. If the recipient doesn't have that choice then it isn't a gift.

I prefer to avoid the greek scholars as well and if the two translations being discussed are basically the same, then we can. But, you have to admit that "born of water and spirit" and "born of water and of the spirit" do not mean the same thing. In cases like this, I feel that it is important to access whatever resources we have available to us to determine which is the correct translation so we can interpret it correctly. If the translation the article is using is correct, then Jesus was referring to a single event. If the other one is correct then Jesus was referring to two separate events. Wayne posted a link a while ago to a site that had many books of the Bible in their original form. I'll see if I can find that link to get the original of that passage.

Chalkstone wrote:
The reason why the 'natural' man's will is not free is because of sin. He is "dead in sin" as Eph 2:5 teaches. Grace saves NOT man!

You seem to have missed the point being made. Notice that the article says "In Greek, this phrase is, literally, "born of water and Spirit," indicating one birth of water-and-Spirit, rather than "born of water and of the Spirit," as though it meant two different births—one birth of water and one birth of the Spirit." so Jesus was referring to ONE birth, not TWO.

Michael,

Jesus is the sole mediator between us and God. Mary, as comediatrix, is His assistant, not His equal. We do not HAVE to go through Mary if we don't want to.

Which Sacrament(s) shows that we do not trust what Jesus did for us on the Cross?

Oral Tradition does nothing to diminish the authority of the Bible. On the contrary, we are instructed to hold to our traditions: "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or
by a letter of ours" (2 Thess 2:15).