ThinkAloud

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

Are you saying the Holy Spirit guides those Jews in the synagague? or the Muslims in the Mosques? No, i am saying the inspiration is what guides all of the leaders of those institutions. The HS (which is Archangel Gabriel)was only sent to messengers and prophets with God's Direct word. Since the Church leaders as you said are not messengers or prophets, then the HS is not involved in what they say or write. It is their own ideas and thinking based on

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

The OLd and New Testaments of Sacred Scripture (SS) is God's only written Word and every one of the Books of Sacred Scripture was written by His chosen writers (His Messengers you call them) under Divine Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, Sacred Scripture is inspired by God. 2Tim 3:16. In no way i called the writers "messengers". The writers ARE the writers. they wrote what they did many years After the messengers returned to their creator. The messenge

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

The Chruch's dogmatic statements are not the same as God's self-revelation. They are the medium through which Catholics place their faith in God. For example, the mystery of the Blessed Trinity which we've discussed at length is a Church dogma. That is what i mean by "disturbing" lula. The Church states a "Dogma" which is not based on any of God's Direct Revelation and the Dogma is called Scared just like God's revelations. to me tha

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

I'm curious....WHY is the way I talk about the Lord God so disturbing to you? I just told you, because of what you sometimes say about Him. I am sure you mean well and good. but read what you say in comment # 56: The main lesson is how we can help God with His desire that all men be saved. God doesnt need any help from anyone Lula. HE IS GOD.

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

How does the way the Holy Spirit guides the Church apply to Jews and Muslims? what you quoted in #44 explains that. It is not a Holy Spirit that guides these people of the Church. it is God's inspiration that comes to all humans with ideas and theories. The Holy Spirit are sent only to messengers and prophets. Humans express their inspiration in their own words and understanding which is subject to errors and incompleteness. All that MUST be ju

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

I take it these messengers that you speak of here are God's prophets. In this case, yes, I agree the message is from God, therefore inspired and that it contains no error whatsoever. (btw, although every writer of Sacred Scripture was not a prophet per se, Christians believe every writer was inspired and that's why we believe the whole of Sacred Scripture is inspired, not just the words that Christ spoke directly.) I think here you sealed the arguement.

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

I can't agree with you when you cay God created EVERYTHING. God didn't create Satan and He didn't create evil. God did not create or cause the evil things we humans DO either. So God did not Create everything?and He didnt Create Satan? How can you explain Gen3.1: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord had made" wasnt the serpent Satan in disguise? If God didnt creat Satan or evil, who create

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

You are not representing St.Thomas' writings fairly. Rape is an evil act. In your example and applied it to St. Thomas' definition of evil, then rape would be the defiency of a good. now, pulling this through, rape is an evil act, evil being something privative, cannot be the term of a postive creative act; therefore rape cannot be a positive creative act. Rape is neither a positive nor creative act. Evil is neither a positive nor creative

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

We get to "know" God through His written and oral Revelation. That's why He gave it to us. Can we ever "know" everything about Him? NO, He's incomprehensible, so we can't. But you talk about God as if you know everything about Him. You use what the Church say and repeat it without even thinking about it. Sorry Lula. it is really disturbing to talk about God the way you do. You talk as if you and the Church know every single detail about Him. Still, you

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

He sent the Holy Spirit to guide the Church in teachings of matters of doctrines and morals. When the Church teaches under the guidelines of ex cathedra, the Spirit of truth guarantees the Chruch has not been led into error. All that also applies to Jews and Muslims. However, what you call HS is in r

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

Thomas teaches in Summa Theologica, that evil is a "deficiency of some good which ought to be present". It's a real privation Therefore, God cannot be the cause of evil for evil

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

There are two deaths. One is when our spirit is separated from the body (the physical) and the other is when our spirit is separated from God (eternal). I really dont understand the tenedency to using terms like "separation from God" "Absence of God", or "God did not create Satan" as Lula says. These

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

Sorry, this was double post

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

the Church does itself no favours trying to define everything down the last degree - it cant the Church does make it harder for those looking in to understand what Catholicism really is when it contradicts itself in this way. Zydor. These two statements say it all. What you have to keep in mind is this: The Church, The Synagogues or the Mosques are institutions for explaining and teaching God's words. T

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

The death of the soul took place the instant the sin was committed. That is, because the soul is immortal, the moment it commits a grevious sin, it loses its supernatural life, founded on grace and friendship with God. The loss of grace is the soul's spiritual death, and leads to its eternal death. This is why Catholics call grevious sins "mortal" or "deadly" sins. I guess that is what Zydor called verbal gymnastic. It is a philosophical definition for t

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

But what are you talking about when you say "certain sins?" I believe there is no sin he left behind that is unaccounted for but unbelief You are correct. Unbelief is not forgivable. Forgiveness of other sins which do not involve others's rights are forgivable for those who desreve it.He decides who deserves it based on their actions before death like sincere repentence, other good deeds,....etc. Sins which involve other's rights are subject to

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

Why? Can't God be just and merciful yet Sovereign as well? In other words is it not his own perogative who He decides to give faith to or not? Think of it from a Christian perspective. We all sin. We all deserve death. For God to be as just as you're saying, we all need to be punished. That's what a human judge

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

I would not be concerned about that, the whole question cant be proved in an absolute sense in terms of "right" or "wrong ", which ever faction one resides in. (emphasis is mine) If you keep that in mind, and not ask for an absolute proof, the most probable explanation of what we see is the

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

I do believe it was bringing God into the equation that made the difference. So it sounds like your Mom had this same idea. That is the whole idea. bringing Him into the equation in a way that a little kid will realize that doing things that He disapproves has serious implications. <TABLE cell

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

Think Aloud I have a question for you. In your belief system, where does your FAITH come from? Is it something you will yourself to have? Is it something you discipline yourself carefully to achieve? Where or what is the exact source of your faith? Ooooh KFC. You asked a hugely deep and also personal question and i will try to be as brief as i can. Let me say this before I start. My belief in God is based on a complete convi

Reply to The Professor & The Student in Religion JoeUser Forums

Again, all that of course, is verbal gymnastics, and any rebuttal would in a similar way be based on unverifiable evidence. So we are back to Faith again, and I see no problem with that, if an individual has that Faith, why worry or complain if others dont? If an individual does not, why worry or complain if others do? It all sounds good and fair. There are two points, however, that i would like to highlight: One, Faith is not something that exi

Reply to Genesis 4 in Humor JoeUser Forums

I'm not going to just believe whatever you say simply because you say it. Nor will I ask that of you. Just a final word to you about this. I didnt ask you to believe anything. You asked a question and i provided a scholar's opinion based on his research, not a claim of a fact. your responded saying i was speculating then asked for link to support MY speculation which never happened in the first place. not only that, you even ridiculed that sch

Reply to Genesis 4 in Humor JoeUser Forums

Btw, TA, who was God talking to when he referred to 'us?' ANYWAY, if one reads the Bible literally, there were plenty of people created before adam and eve, (male and female.) Adam was created singularly, for a specific purpose, and was given the breath of life and a 'living soul.' Thanks for the tour of the text. But honestly. i dont read it that way. However, i agree completely with you that if you take it literally the whole text sounds odd a

Reply to Genesis 4 in Humor JoeUser Forums

Sisters? Their own? Or borne of the heathen, souless mud-people who were created prior to Adam? According to Alqurtubi, their own twin sisters. Each boy had a twin sister, Adam suggested that each boy marry the sister born with the other. but Able's twin was more beautiful than Cain's. That is when th

Reply to Genesis 4 in Humor JoeUser Forums

Link me the great scholar that somehow made all that up. And then I want to see his historical evidence of it You are a great BS---tter, aren't you? if it is not linked then it is rejected. as if the internet is the only source of information. That figures. You want to know the source? here it