J&J Bible Ministries has a new post on the blog, Truth Matters, with the same title as this post (link). In the post, quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church are provided, followed by quotations from the Bible. The only commentary provided is via selection (of course) and through the use of emphasis in the quotations from the CCC.
Without endorsing all the comparisons made, I think the post highlights some areas that Romanists should be prepared to answer, specifically the issues of forgiveness of sins, justification by faith alone, and Mary's role (or absence thereof) in salvation.
-TurretinFan
Friday, October 03, 2008
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2 comments:
I'm surprised at the use of Mark 2:7. Since when is a complaint, uttered by the Pharisees against Jesus, an acceptable proof text for Christian doctrine? Even if you think that something the Pharisees said happens to be right, still you can't use that as an authority to prove anyhting.
Dear Ben,
Because Jesus did not dispute that point, but instead confirmed that he was God, with a miracle.
As Chrysostom put it (Homily 29 on Matthew):
Upon their murmuring, then, and saying, This man blasphemes; who can forgive sins but God only? let us see what He says. Did He indeed take away the suspicion? And yet if He were not equal, He should have said, Why fix upon me a notion which is not convenient? I am far from this power. But now has He said none of these things, but quite the contrary He has both affirmed and ratified, as well by His own voice, as by the performance of the miracle. Thus, it appearing that His saying certain things of Himself gave disgust to his hearers, He affirms what He had to say concerning Himself by the others; and what is truly marvellous, not by His friends only, but also by His enemies; for this is the excellency of His wisdom. By His friends on the one hand, when He said, I will, be thou clean, [Matthew 8:3] and when He said, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel; [Matthew 8:10] but by His enemies, now. For because they had said, No man can forgive sins but God only, He subjoined,
But that you may know that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins upon the earth (then says He to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up your bed, and go unto your house.
And not here only, but also in another case again, when they were saying, For a good work we stone you not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man, makest yourself God, [John 10:33] neither in that instance did He put down this opinion, but again confirmed it, saying, If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works.
*** End of Chyrsostom ***
We agree with Chrysostom as to the sense of this text, namely that the words of the Pharisees were right in their major premise (only God can forgive sin) but wrong in their minor premise (regarding Jesus' deity).
-TurretinFan
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