tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post1485653501306494490..comments2024-03-29T16:46:16.845-06:00Comments on Unabashedly American: Defending the FaithDarrell Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05474956372325309461noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-79512527938457781582012-08-08T11:59:43.973-06:002012-08-08T11:59:43.973-06:00Jim, I would agree in certain respects that this w...Jim, I would agree in certain respects that this was precisely what the Council of Nicea was doing, sir. You are correct.<br /><br />It was absolutely to establish what the Christian faith believed in order to have a creed to reference and thus point out when heresies and false doctrine arose. (rules and bylaws, in other words.) <br /><br />The fact that it was convened and the Nicene Creed was established by church hiearchy via apostolic succession means that it was indeed sanctioned by God though. Again, God gave Peter and his successors the power to bind and loose and teach what Christ taught.Darrell Michaelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474956372325309461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-22516757256369312442012-08-08T11:43:56.844-06:002012-08-08T11:43:56.844-06:00Of course, you're assuming the Council of Nice...Of course, you're assuming the Council of Nicea was officially sanctioned by God. In my estimation it was just the first really big Christian convention and they were hammering out the club's rules and by laws.Jim Marquishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07192637469594429978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-13363657623555825762012-08-08T10:40:50.854-06:002012-08-08T10:40:50.854-06:00HR, thanks for defending my position... I think. ...HR, thanks for defending my position... I think. :)Darrell Michaelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474956372325309461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-33293090405727824702012-08-08T09:48:44.053-06:002012-08-08T09:48:44.053-06:00Mr Marquis, if I were responding and were a believ...Mr Marquis, if I were responding and were a believer, I'd say that there is still only one God and just 29,999 people who have their own interpretation of who that God really is. You can't blame Him for that.Eric Norenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14648635662703229678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-17345966248262511922012-08-08T09:40:42.129-06:002012-08-08T09:40:42.129-06:00Jim, I can understand and even sympathize with you...Jim, I can understand and even sympathize with your statement. I would say that such is the case because God gave man free will. From even very early in Christianity there were certain heresies that developed, such as the Arian heresy which stated that Christ was not Divine but was created. Fallen man, with his free will, has always tried to twist scripture, politics, philosophy etc. to justify his own actions. In 325 A.D. the Catholic Church convened the council at Nicea and produced the Nicene Creed which is still repeated at every Mass to this very day which states precisely what the Christian faith believes as taught by Christ himself and his apostles. Of course all of the heresies died out because there was no truth behind them. It wasn’t until Martin Luther came along in the 16th century during the Protestant Reformation that this major schism occurred with the church over doctrine. Nowadays, every fool with an opinion can open up his own church and tell you what Christ really meant by His words in scripture, hence the 30,000 plus denominations/churches claiming to be Christian today. While many or even most of these people really do have good in mind, I wonder how much influence Satan has in wanting to further spread disinformation and dilute the truth that Christ himself taught. <br /><br />Why would a loving deity allow evil to happen, whether amongst men or in the dilution of the truth of His own church? It is because he gave man the ability to choose and to do evil. We reap what we sow accordingly.Darrell Michaelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474956372325309461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-36904270175824504782012-08-08T08:38:06.814-06:002012-08-08T08:38:06.814-06:00Paine, I admire the way you feel about your church...Paine, I admire the way you feel about your church. But I guess I'm an agnostic because I don't understand why a supposedly loving diety would hand out 30,000 different instruction manuals. Or allow 30,000 different manuals to exist and confuse people trying to find the truth.Jim Marquishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07192637469594429978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-26517854497283228952012-08-03T17:52:54.201-06:002012-08-03T17:52:54.201-06:00HR, there are core tenets and doctrines which inde...HR, there are core tenets and doctrines which indeed are very straight forward. Then there are many aspects which can be misinterpreted, hence the reason to rely upon an authoritative Magisterium to explain what is meant and factual, and to put things in proper historical context.<br /><br />Until Martin Luther came along in the 16th century, the Catholic faith was THE only Christian faith. Now there are over 30,000 Christian denominations in the world, all with their own interpretation that often times stray, sometimes wildly so, from what Christ taught.<br /><br />That is exactly the point of my posting, sir.Darrell Michaelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474956372325309461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-408858764761620479.post-91692544507288650632012-08-03T17:45:33.917-06:002012-08-03T17:45:33.917-06:00You make Christianity sound so straightforward and...You make Christianity sound so straightforward and easy to know and understand. Like the bible contains no ambiguity whatsoever...Eric Norenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14648635662703229678noreply@blogger.com