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From: rjb@akgua.UUCP (R.J. Brown [Bob])
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Catholics not Christian?
Message-ID: <668@akgua.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Mar-84 12:43:43 EST
Article-I.D.: akgua.668
Posted: Wed Mar 28 12:43:43 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 29-Mar-84 05:37:11 EST
Organization: AT&T Technologies, Atlanta
Lines: 52

I think that from a Protestant viewpoint that
there are practices within the Roman Church
that do not have a Scriptural Basis.  This to
some portion of Protestant thinkers is the rough
equivalent of saying that these practices are
"UnChristian" however offensive that kind of remark
is.  However, to cite Scripture against the practice
of asking the Virgin Mary to intercede for us ( for
example) is to miss a few important points.

(Roman Catholics on the net please correct or rebut
any erroneous ideas I put in Rome's mouth !)

First, Roman Catholics believe more literally in the
Authority of the Church than Protestants do.  Further,
the Church claims exegetical authority over the Scriptures.
(i.e. They mean what the Church says they mean).
To get real simple minded about it, the RCC position
is that the "Church produced the Scriptures" and the
Protestant view is "The Scriptures produced the Church."

Essentially, the Word of the Roman Church is equal to the Bible.

Second, the Bibles are different (no Apochrypha or inter-testamental
books in the most Protestant translations)

There are more, but these are sufficient to my point.

To complain that the New Testament teaches that there is "one
mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.." and
that praying to Mary or any other dead person to pray for you
violates this principle ( please don't bring up the bodily
Ascension of Mary right now...) falls on offended ears
because the CHURCH teaches etc.,etc.....

Like so many things in religion the arguments boil down to
authority questions.

I think that we who are Protestants should be careful about
using terms like "UnChristian" when applied to the various parts
of the Body of Christ.

Try to draw your circle big enough to include as many as possible
who believe that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

"Through a glass darkly..."

Bob Brown {...pur-ee!inuxc!ihnp4!clyde!akgua!rjb}
AT&T Technologies, Inc.............. Norcross, Ga
(404) 447-3784 ...  Cornet 583-3784