A few questions for Protestants

[timothyu]

Jesus gave Rock (Peter) the keys to the kingdom

And that key, in response to what Peter had said, was that only truth came from God, not man.

 

[Carl Emerson]

If you read Isaiah 22 you will see that there was a type of prime minister in the Davidic kingdom. When the king was absent he gave the keys of the kingdom to his prime minister as a sign of authority. As a matter of fact, in words paralleling Isaiah 22, Jesus gave Rock (Peter) the keys to the kingdom, not to any other Apostle. The Word of God is not such awful stuff.

Did not Paul minister with such authority independent of the apostles in Jerusalem?

 

[timothyu]

Holy Scripture is 100% compatible with Catholic teaching.

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

 

[timothyu]

Christianity is not supposed to be about us and what's in it for us, but about God and what He will ultimately accomplish.

 

[Valletta]

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

It "could" have been, but realize God's ways are far above our ways. Jesus "could" have instructed the Apostles to compile and hand out Bibles to all nations. Now this is educated guessing, but since most of the Apostles wrote nothing down for us and much of the NT is directed to specific audiences and the NT books do not themselves say the books will be part of the Bible, it appears that at least a number of authors did not know the Bible would be so important in the future and that their writings would be included. As it was, the process of the Catholic Church choosing the books of the Bible spanned centuries. In choosing the texts for the Bible those texts first had to fully comply with the teachings of Jesus as passed down through the Apostles and popes. Then the Catholic Church had to decide what was actually God-breathed. For example, there are some beautiful Catholic prayers, such as "For thine is the kingdom . . . " which Catholics often said after the "Our Father." But the Church decided that that prayer and many others were not God-breathed. So the Bible is the book of the Catholic Church, not the other way around. At no time did the Church turn over authority to this compilation by many God-inspired authors.

 

[timothyu]

it appears that at least a number of authors did not know the Bible would be so important in the future and that their writings would be included.

Except for the fact all the teachings were already in the OT and available.

 

[Valletta]

Except for the fact all the teachings were already in the OT and available.

Jesus had teachings never heard before. Texts that ended up in the OT and NT, and a lot more that did not, were "available" but the Catholic Church did not finish the final selection of those books, the canon, until the late 300s.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Jesus had teachings never heard before. Texts that ended up in the OT and NT, and a lot more that did not, were "available" but the Catholic Church did not finish the final selection of those books, the canon, until the late 300s.

There isn't anything the Protestants protest against regarding the Roman Catholic Church prior to the late 300s though. The RCC didn't start doing things that went against scripture, which finally lead to the reformation, until after scripture was compiled and canonized.

 

[timothyu]

Jesus had teachings never heard before.

Such as?

 

[Ceallaigh]

Such as?

That's based on a misinterpretation of John 21:25, which I suppose means in RCC tradition that the Pope can come up with whatever and claim it's an unheard teaching of Jesus. I'm not sure whether or not there are any specific RCC teachings/traditions that are supposed to be unheard teachings of Jesus.

 

[discombobulated1]

Such as?

do good to those who hate you

 

[bbbbbbb]

That's based on a misinterpretation of John 21:25, which I suppose means in RCC tradition that the Pope can come up with whatever and claim it's an unheard teaching of Jesus. I'm not sure whether or not there are any specific RCC teachings/traditions that are supposed to be unheard teachings of Jesus.

Actually, Jesus never even hinted at major Catholic dogmas such as the Perpetual Virginity of His mother, the absence of biological siblings of His, the prophesied assumption of His mother into heaven followed by her coronation as Queen of Heaven, etc., etc., etc.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Actually, Jesus never even hinted at major Catholic dogmas such as the Perpetual Virginity of His mother, the absence of biological siblings of His, the prophesied assumption of His mother into heaven followed by her coronation as Queen of Heaven, etc., etc., etc.

Whereas He was emphatic that with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength we were to focus on God and nothing else but God.

 

[timothyu]

we were to focus on God and nothing else but God.

Meaning also His Kingdom, the only gospel which Jesus taught and also spoke of in the Lord's prayer. Kingdom is not just a place but also governance.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Whereas He was emphatic that with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength we were to focus on God and nothing else but God.

Actually, He also tossed in the bit about loving our neighbors as ourselves, as well.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Actually, He also tossed in the bit about loving our neighbors as ourselves, as well.

Which is a result of all of our focus being on God as demonstrated in the works of Jesus.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Which is a result of all of our focus being on God as demonstrated by the works of Jesus.

Yes, and no. There have been multitudes of folks who have been completely fixated on God who, for various reasons, have had no interest in anyone other than God, especially those nasty sinners in the world.

 

[timothyu]

His will be done, not ours. His will being love all as self.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Yes, and no. There have been multitudes of folks who have been completely fixated on God who, for various reasons, have had no interest in anyone other than God, especially those nasty sinners in the world.

We're supposed to be like Jesus, which would mean having the same kind of focus on God that Jesus had, which results in us being like Jesus.

 

[bbbbbbb]

We're supposed to be like Jesus, which would mean having the same kind of focus on God that Jesus had, which results in us being like Jesus.

That is why I said yes. However, not everyone sees it that way. Certainly, folks like the Crusaders believed that they had God's focus, which is executing righteous judgement.