VATICAN CITY, 14 JUN 2011 (VIS) - Yesterday at 7.30 p.m. in the Roman basilica of St. John Lateran Benedict XVI inaugurated an ecclesial congress marking the close of the pastoral year of the diocese of Rome. The congress, which will run from 13 to 15 June, has as its theme: "The joy of engendering the faith in the Church of Rome".I suspect that the translation is just "unfortunate" and the modifier "in the church of Rome" really is meant to go with the "engendering" rather than "faith." Nevertheless, "faith in the church of Rome" is what Rome's apologists are promoting these days; especially those who push hard against the formal sufficiency of Scripture.
-TurretinFan
I'm thinking it means more along the lines of faith within the church of Rome.
ReplyDeleteJust a hunch.
BJ
Sure. That works too. The faith of the Roman Church, as it were - the faith that allegedly exists there.
ReplyDelete-TurretinFan
Faith being the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, one can say of Jesus, the Son of God, when He came into this world, as each of us have, when He was exercising Faith, He was exercising it as Savior, as the True demonstrator of its true affects upon one's soul. True Faith will always produce Living Hope by the very same Holy Spirit as produced by Jesus, and, as the Apostles produced Living Hope during their sojourn on the earth.
ReplyDeleteThat being so, one, who has truly received this Faith, this Gift, as Jesus demonstrated it for His people, as Savior, would be able to discern those who demonstrate a different faith, a faith that is not that Faith, the Gift, that produces Living Hope into the soul because of the fruit their faith produces.
It is one thing to suffer troubles because of the Living Hope received through the Gift of Faith. It is quite another thing to foist on those who have True Faith and believe receiving Living Hope, Jesus Christ, a different faith as the RCC does, even after they heard the Word of God and received forgiveness for their sins already.
I would only note one phrase in this line of reasoning from the Book of Acts to point to what I, too, have come to believe about the faith that governs the RCC, that is, that faith is not True Faith producing Living Hope in the soul of the hearer:
Act 4:4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
Faith is catholic. The Gift of Faith, when one hears it and receives Living Hope will cause similar conflicts and may even cause such a disturbance as is witnessed by the Scriptures.
From the very beginning until the very last day, there will be caused by True Faith such consternation in the world and disturbances among men.
Oh, so what is God doing, then, with this True Faith that produces such Living Hope in His people in this and coming generations?
Might I suggest and point to it with these Words:
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Now that doesn't mean we with True Faith are to remain silent among men. No, but rather, we are to contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints! And if it produces similar consternation and disturbances among men, well, so be it! :)
Rev 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.
Rev 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.