Please email me with your questions, objections or comments.
Modern Christians often say:
"The Bible tells us that the Bereans checked
out what the Apostles taught to make sure that their teachings were Biblical.
This tells us that the Bible is all we need. " modern Christians try to use the
Bereans to bolster the Renaissance era doctrine of Sola Scriptura ("Bible Only")
because the Bereans "searched the scriptures."
Sola Scriptura is an
unbiblical doctrine invented in the middle ages and is most commonly defined as,
"Scripture: the SOLE infallible rule of faith." Meaning that one's personal
interpretation of the Holy Bible is sufficient to the exclusion of the
historical teachings and interpretation of Christ' ancient Church.
(Although
there is no agreed upon definition of this Protestant only doctrine because
Protestantism has no central/final authority to define it for all
denominations).
"Click here:
If you have been taught that Sola Scriptura or the "Bible Only" theory is taught
in the Holy Bible"
Did the Bereans practice Sola Scriptura or "Bible Only" because they "searched the Scriptures?" No, surprisingly they didn't. The answer is no because they accepted "extra-biblical" ideas/doctrines. Case in point is that the messiah, i.e., the Christ, was he the "Jesus of Nazareth," verse the "Jesus living in Antioch" or the "Jesus of Berea" etc. Which Jesus was the Messiah? Only extra-biblical information told them that they had the correct Jesus or that it was a man "named" Jesus at all. The scriptures didn't teach them this. The Apostle Paul did. Thus they "accepted" Paul's NEW revelation to them that "Jesus of Nazareth" was the Messiah, AND more importantly, that this Jesus was "GOD!" The Jews believed (and still do) that the Messiah would just be a man. A mortal. Not the Son of God and the Second person of the Holy Trinity. In fact the idea OF a Trinity is another extrabiblcial refelation taught to the Bereans (and the Thessolionions). These are three NEW revelations not believed by the Jews of ancient Palestine. Nor even the Jews of today.
It was only through the teachings of Christ's Church that they received these revelations. When they "searched the scriptures," they found the former not there and the second two revealed to them only through Paul's teachings. It was only through the teachings of Christ's Church that they came to realized the truth in them. "Sola Scriptura" or the "Bible Alone" idea excludes the teaching authority of Christ's Church, and unbiblically, (see 2 Peter 1:20) leaves interpretation of the very Word of GOD up to each and every individual. If the Berean's had embraced this this idea, it would have left them believing (through their personal readings of the OT and a rejection of the teachings of Christ's Church) , that Christ was NOT God when the OT Scriptures actually proved he was. Hence the teaching authority of Christ's Church is again proved to be essential in echoing the Words and intent of our Lord Jesus Christ. A Biblical example of the guidance needed and afforded by Christ's Church is found in the Book of Acts: The Holy Scriptures tell us the function of Christ’s Church is to teach and guide Christ’s flock:
“ Philip ran up and heard him [an Ethiopian eunuch]
reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he
invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8: 30-31
The purpose of Christ's Church is to teach and guide. Just as Our Lord told us commanded His Church to do in his last words of the Gospel of Matthew:
"Teach them to observe all I have taught you and behold I am with you always until the end of the world"
Math 28:20.
(Since his disciples would not live forever, this promise is to his Church he commissioned in Matt 16:16-19.)
Did the Bereans embraced a primitive form of Sola Scriptura, or Bible
Only? Absolutely not, and fortunately they didn't.
But who did?
The real believers of Sola Scriptura (if it were to exist in
apostolic times), were the hard headed Thessalonians, who REJECTED St. Paul's
message. (Acts 17). For Scripture tells us that they ALSO "searched the OT
Scriptures" (as did the Bereans), only they found Paul's message wanting
for their interpretation of the OT Scriptures (and their rejection of the
guidance offered by Christ's Church) failed to point to Jesus "of Nazareth" as
the Messiah, it failed to instruct them on the Holy Trinity and it failed to
lead them to the belief that this Messiah was GOD!
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took
the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some
disciples 2 and asked them,
"Did you receive the
Holy Spirit when you believed?" They
answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
Acts 19: 1-2
Read the chapter again my friend. Regardless of what your pastor has taught you, the Bereans embraced extra-biblical ideas/doctrines and accepted the guidance and teachings of Christ's Church over their personal interpretations of Scripture. This renders Sola Scriptura or the unbiblcial "Bible ONLY" theory, null and void because Sola Scriptura rejects the teachings of Christ's Church as authoritative. Why would Christ start His Church if He would allow you to reject it?
The Bereans upheld the words of the Apostle Paul when he said:
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which
you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us." 2
Thessalonians 2:15
"Click here: Acts 17, the whole chapter."
Suggested reading:
Catholic Answers: "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" A compendium of basic Catholic beliefs and the Biblicism behind these beliefs. http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp
14 Questions for the Earnest Believer:
1. Are you a Bible Believing Christian? Does your pastor preach " Bible Only?"
Click Here: 40 modern Christian Practices and Doctrines not found in the Holy Bible... https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/unbiblical.html
2. Three Questions your pastor can't answer... https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/formypastor.html
4. THE ORIGINS & AUTHORS OF THE PROTESTANT THEOLOGIES.
Do you know who authored Protestantism's distinctive beliefs and in what century? You might be surprised. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/dates.html
5. "The 7 Stages of Christian Spiritual Development."
What stage you are in?... https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/7stages.html
6. Faith Alone (Sola Fide): It is a Catholic position.
Has your pastor taught you that Catholics must "work their way to Heaven?" Another misunderstanding of Catholic theology. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/faithalone.html
7. "Who is the Bride of Christ?
What does the Holy Bible say? ...https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/bride.html
8. Non-Catholics often ask: "WHAT ELSE IS THERE?"
"What else has Christ's Infallible Authority besides the Holy Scriptures?"
Read the verses not underlined in your Bible nor taught in your seminaries or present church. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/whatelse.html
9. Is Sola Scriptura or the "Bible Only theory" even Biblical?
Where does the Bible teach the "SOLA" in Sola Scriptura?
Click here to read what the Bible says about God's Word and how it is to be taught... https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/ss.html
10. Did the Bereans "Search the Scriptures" and thereby follow the "Bible Only" theory?
Many claim they did, but not if you read the whole chapter, i.e., the verses not taught in non-Catholic churches. Read the story again and then decide. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/bereans.html
11. The 3rd Unanswered Challenge for Non-Catholic Theologies: Is the Catholic Faith Apostolic?
Name just one Catholic doctrine that isn't. Name one doctrine the early Church believed,,,, that the Catholic Faith *no longer does*. Why can't the modern Christian theologies make the same bold claim? https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/3challenge.html
13. Is Praying to Saints Biblical? Is the "Hail Mary" prayer Biblical? (Read the Verses not underlined in your Pastor's Bible.) https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/saints.html
Return to Homepage "A Biblical Case for the Catholic Faith"
Please email me with your questions, objections or comments.
How do Non-Catholics/Protestants fit into the "Body of Christ?"
The Church has always maintained that: if one rejects Christ's Church by choice, and in full knowledge that this is the Church Christ started and empowered with the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, one is therefore outside of the Body of Christ. Yet because of Vatican II, the Catholic Church came to recognize Protestants and Anglicans as an integral part of the Body of Christ, although in "varying degrees" of communion with one another and with the Catholic Church.
1. What is the Body of Christ and
2. How many Churches does God have?
1. What is the Body of Christ?
The Catholic Church recognizes Protestants and Anglicans as an integral part of the Body of Christ, although in "varying degrees" of communion with one another and with the Catholic Church. This seeming contradiction is best explained by the concept of what Christ's Church is. The Body of Christ, is as Scriptures tells us His Church.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
And he is the head of the body, the church; Colossians 1:18
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. Colossians 1:24
See: http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:qbNxEQgkSJQJ:www.the-tidings.com/2007/09210
BTW, such phrases as "the Body of Believers" are outside of Holy Writ. They still have meaning, but they are unbiblical.
2. How many Churches does God Have?
Christ has one Church that teaches one Faith as the Holy Scriptures attest to.
"There is One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God." (Eph 4:5-6) But what of those Christians who do not embrace the whole of the Catholic (Universal) Faith? Are they part of the Body of Christ? Yes. Are they part of Christ's Church? Yes. They are part of Christ's Church in that there is only one true Church of Christ, not 2 and not 20,000. One. How is this possible then that Protestants are part of the "Catholic" Church?
Again: although Protestants are in "varying degrees" of communion with one another they are likewise in varying degrees of communion with the Catholic Church. Catholics do not believe that Protestants who are baptized, who lead a good life, love God and their neighbor, and are blamelessly ignorant of the just claims of the Catholic Religion to be the one true Religion (which is called being in good faith), are excluded from Heaven, provided they believe that there is one God in three Divine Persons; *that God will duly reward the good and punish the wicked; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God made man, who redeemed us, and in whom we must trust for our salvation; and provided they thoroughly repent of having ever, by their sins, offended God.
Catholics hold that Protestants who have these dispositions, and who have no suspicion of their religion being false, and no means to discover, or fail in their honest endeavors to discover, the true Religion, and who are so disposed in their heart that they would at any cost embrace the Roman Catholic Religion if they knew it to be the true one, are Catholics in spirit and in some sense within the Catholic Church, without themselves knowing it. She holds that these Christians belong to, and are united to the "soul," as it is called, of the Catholic Church, although they are not united to the visible body of the Church by external communion with her, and by the outward profession of her faith.
Very different is the case of a person who, having the opportunity, neglects to learn from genuine trustworthy sources what the Catholic Religion is and really teaches, fearing, that were he to become convinced of the truth of the Catholic Faith, he would be compelled by his conscience to forsake his own religion, and bear the worldly inconveniences attached to this step. This very fear shows a want of good faith, and that he is not in that insurmountable ignorance which could excuse him in the sight of God, not that he is one of those of whom it is said in Psalm xxxv. 4, "He would not understand that he might do well." Fairness, no less than common sense, teaches that a man should study and examine the teaching of the Catholic Church from Catholic sources before condemning her. Surely no man ought to reject Catholic doctrine if he has not made himself well acquainted with them. Nor is is fair to form a judgment from misrepresentations made by ill-informed, interested, or prejudiced persons; one should rather, by the study of authorized Catholic works, judge of the truth with that calm and unprejudiced mind which the all-important subject of Religion deserves. Thus having heard both sides, you will be in a state to pass a right judgment and not in danger of being misled by prejudice.
Our Saviour gave no hope of salvation to the Samaritan woman unless she entered the one true Church of the time, saying to her who was destitute of a sure guide: "You adore that which you know not; we adore that which we know; for SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS". (St John iv. 22.) So likewise there is no salvation for any one who, having by God's grace come to the knowledge of the truth, obstinately refuses to join the true Church of God. There was no safety out of the Ark of Noah during the deluge, and no one can be saved who is in no sense within the true Church, prefigured by the Ark. According to St. Cyprian: "No one can have God for his Father who has not the Church for his Mother. If any one could escape the deluge out of the Ark of Noah, he who is out of the Church may also escape." (Book on the Unity of the Church.) It is hard to understand how a Protestant can daily say in the Apostles' Creed, as many happily do still say, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church," without at least a thought arising in his mind, that perhaps after all the Church which alone is truly Catholic or universal, both in name and in fact, has more claim on his love and obedience than his own denomination, which really is not Catholic. Catholic Belief: A Short and Simple Exposition of Catholic Doctrine, Chapter XLIV.
(NY: Benzinger Brothers, 1884).
In summary, all Christians in good faith, (as opposed to those who are not through a conscience act of their own) are part of the Christ's Body and His Church, again, in varying degrees of communion with her and each other. Invincible ignorance of the True Faith can save the soul of those outside of full communion with His Body, His Church. But a willful neglect of what one might find, or worse still, a conscience denial of what one does find, is to turn one's back on the One Faith of Jesus Christ and subject one's self to eternal torment, for this is blasphemy against the Spirit of God, the unforgivable sin. (See: Mark 3:22-30, Matthew 12:22-32).
For scripture says:
Hebrews 10
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
See also: "Salvation Outside the Church" http://www.catholic.com/library/Salvation_Outside_the_Church.asp
What do the Holy Scriptures say of Christ's Church, the Body of Christ?
The Holy Bible tells us that Christ started the Catholic Church in
Matt 16:16-19. Christ himself said:
"And I say that thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, I give you the keys to kingdom of Heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and what ever you loosen on earth will be loosened in Heaven." Matt 16:16-19.
Regardless of who one believes the "Rock" is or what the "keys" mean, Christ started his Church on this day. In the first century there was but one Church with one set of beliefs. Yes, the Bible speaks of many Christian Churches through out the known world, (Church in Corinth, Church in Rome, Church in Thessalonia, etc.), but they all professed the same faith and the same Universal creed. In fact the Apostle's Creed states:
"…we believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the dead and life ever lasting." Have you ever read the Apostles Creed? Click here: "The Apostle's Creed"
Have you ever read the Nicene Creed? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed The Nicene Creed which in the 4th century formally defined the doctrine of the Trinity also speaks of the "Communion of Saints" and the Holy Catholic Church. Is your parish at odds with your earliest Christian Creeds and therefore at odds with historic Christianity itself? Did Christ's Gospel change since Apostolic Christianity? Does not the Holy Bible say that: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings." Hebrews 13:8-9
How then can Christ's Gospel change if Christ himself does not change? In fact there was but one Christian Faith for the first 1000+ years of Christianity, and that Faith was the Universal Faith. (Catholic in Greek means Universal).
Since the NT Bible consisted of rare scrolls and were not all combined into one book until the 4th century, if you wanted to be a Christian in the early Church, you professed belief in the "The Apostle's Creed." In the first century if you could not embrace this creed, you were outside the Church. The early Christians were Creedal Christians. They all had the same faith. They did not embrace 1000s & 1000s of contradictory doctrines/Statements of Faith as modern Christian churches do today. They believed the Catholic Faith, the same Faith the Catholic Church embraces today (the Universal Faith. In Greek Catholic means Universal). If you don't believe any of these Christian truths, do as the Bible commands us and:
"Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
The first written record of Christ's Church being called "Catholic" was the year 110 AD. This means it no doubt was called Catholic orally before 110AD. St. Ignatius of Antioch, student of the Apostle John and Bishop of Antioch wrote:
"Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church" (Letter to the Smyrneans 8:2 [A.D. 110]).
" Click here for more early Christians use of the title: Catholic Church."
The Greek word for "Universal" is Catholic. The Universal/Catholic Church had
and still has but one Faith. One Catechism for the worlds 1 Billion Catholics.
Truly a Universal Church and the ONLY Christian Church present in the first
1000+ years of Christianity. Yet many modern Christian pastors teach that the Church
and the first pope was created in the 4th century. Below is a link to the
Britannia encyclopedia listing the popes from St. Peter in 33AD to Pope
Benedict XVI. This is from a secular Encyclopedia. The same encyclopedia that
will describe the Holocaust of the Jewish people in W.W.II. and the "Lunar
Landing," two other facts of history the ignorant like to deny.
The following site
lists all 263 popes from 33AD-Present. Here are but 24 of them.
" Click here for the
list of Catholic Popes from 33AD-present from encyclopedia Britannia"
http://www.britannia.com/history/resource/popes.html
2000 Years of Catholic Popes (33AD-Present)
First
Century
St. Peter (c.33-67 AD)
Linus (67-76) (see 2 TIM
4:21)
Anacletus (76-88)
Clement (88-97)
Evanstus (97-105)
Second Century
Alexander I (105-115)
Sixtus I
(115-125)
Telesphorus (125-136)
Hyginus (136-140)
Pius I (140-155)
Anicetus (155-166)
Soter (166-175)
Eleutherius (175-189)
Victor
L (189-199)
Zephynnus (199-217)
===*break*===
Twentieth Century
Pius X
(1903-1914)
Benedict XV (1914-1922)
Pius Xl (1922-1939)
Pius Xll
(1939-1958)
John XXIII (1958-1963)
Paul Vl (1963-1978)
John Paul I
(1978-1978)
John Paul II (1978- 2005)
Benedict XVI (2005- )
Did Christ start the Catholic Church? He had to, for there was no
other Christian Church in existence. There was no other Church at the time and there would
be no other Christian Faith for the next 1000+ years. Clearly, the Catholic
Church is the only Christian Church with a direct link to Jesus Christ. Every
other Christian body makes their link though the Catholic Church.
This
might not be what you have been taught by your pastor, but they are the facts of
history and the Holy Bible. If Christ proclaimed that the "Gates of Hell" would
never prevail against his Church (Matt 16:16-19) and he would be with it until
the "End of Time" Matt 28:20, where is this church Christ started if it is not
the Catholic Church? Since there was only one Christian Faith for the first
1000+ years of Christianity, what was the belief system of this Church if it was
not Catholic? And if this church died and it no longer exists, was Christ in
err when he said the "Gates of Hell" would not prevail against it? How could he
be with it until the "End of the World" if it died or became Apostate? To deny
Christ started the Catholic Church is no different from denying the Holocaust.
It's the same denial of Christian history and common logic.
Find out who authored your particular Christian theology and in what century at:
"Click
here: The Origins and Authors of the Modern Christian theologies." If this article was
of interest to you, please visit the following link for 14 questions for the
earnest believer:
"
Click here: 14 SOBERING QUESTIONS FOR THE ERNEST BELIEVER: Discover the verses
most likely not underlined in your Bible and often overlooked in non-Catholic
churches and seminaries"
Please email me with your questions, objections or comments.
Suggested reading:
Catholic Answers: "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" A compendium of basic Catholic beliefs and the Biblicism behind these beliefs. http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp
16 Questions for the Earnest Believer:
1. "BIBLE ONLY" CHRISTIAN or "BIBLE BELIEVING" CHRISTIAN?
45 Practices and Doctrines not found in the Holy Bible.
2. JUST THE TRUTH: 2 Dozen Logic and Historical Facts Refuting the Apostolicity and Biblicism of the Modern Christian Belief Systems "Test Everything."
3. An Exercise in Logic, Two Logic Proofs from History 101 demonstrating how the modern Christian theologies did not even exist in the first millennium, making it impossible for Christ and His Apostles to have taught to His early Church.
4. Three uneasy questions for your pastor concerning his personal theology.
5. Seven Reasons Christians Go To Church, Which One Is Yours?
6. "The 7 Stages of Christian Spiritual Development" What stage are you?
7. The Historical Origins & Authors of the Modern Christian Theologies.
11. "Who is the Bride of Christ?" What does the Holy Bible say?
Please email me with your questions, objections or comments.
Return to Homepage "A
Biblical Case for the Catholic Faith"
“we are NOT born by good works, we are born TO good works; once justified, we should act as justified Christians, which includes good works.”"The Catholic Faith does not teach “works righteousness.” It teaches faith in action as a manifestation of God’s grace in one’s life. That’s why Abraham’s faith results in righteousness, only when he attempts to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God."(1) The Council of Trent in the 16th century after the Protestant separation reiterated this very fact, which was originally proclaimed 1000 years earlier at the Council of Orange in the 6th century. This has always been a teachings of the Christian Faith.
"CANON III.-If any one saith, that without the prevenient inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and without his help, man can believe, hope, love, or be penitent as he ought, so as that the grace of Justification may be bestowed upon him; let him be anathema. "
Click here, the Canons of
the Council of Orange (529 AD), note canons 5,6,7
Here is canon 7 that says we are saved by grace, and that we can do nothing of ourselves without God. This is from the 6th century which reiterates what the Catholic Faith has always believed, which BTW. is 1000 years before the Protestant reformation.
Canon XII. If anyone affirms that we can form any right opinion or make any right choice which relates to the salvation of eternal life, as is expedient for us, or that we can be saved, that is, assent to the preaching of the gospel through our natural powers without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who makes all men gladly assent to and believe in the truth, he is led astray by a heretical spirit, and does not understand the voice of God who says in the Gospel, "For apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), and the word of the Apostle, "Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5).
============================
Faith Alone or Sola Fide, is it a Catholic position?
Catholics believe in Faith
Alone as long as the word “Faith” is properly understood. The Apostolic Faith
does not teach that one can
simply say the “Sinners Prayer” and go to heaven no matter how grievous a crime
he commits afterward. (Most mainline Protestant denominations do not teach this either, although most Baptist and "non-denominational" churches do.) For the Holy Scriptures tells us of heinous crimes against God:
“They who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of
God.'' (Gal. 5:21).
(Not without repentance that is).
Even the original Protestants did not believe such a notion as "once saved
always saved" no matter what you do afterward. Catholic Theology also does not
teach that a mere intellectual acknowledgment of God, i.e. mental assent,
will save one’s soul; for in James 2 we are taught that MERE “Faith Alone”
will not save, for Satan himself has MERE Faith Alone:
“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” James 2:19
Do Catholics then condemn justification by Faith Alone? No.
Many Protestants today realize that Catholics adhere to the idea
of salvation sola gratia (by grace alone), but fewer are aware that Catholics
also do not have to condemn the formula of justification sola fide (by faith
alone), provided this phrase is properly understood.
Whether a Catholic will condemn the idea of justification by faith alone depends on what sense the term "faith" is being used in. If it is being used to refer to unformed faith then a Catholic rejects the idea of justification by faith alone (which is the point James is making in James 2:19, as every non-antinomian Evangelical agrees; one is not justified by intellectual belief alone).
However, if the term "faith" is being used to refer to faith formed by charity then the Catholic does not have to condemn the idea of justification by faith alone. In fact, in traditional works of Catholic theology, one regularly encounters the statement that formed faith is justifying faith. If one has formed faith, one is justified. Period.
A Catholic would thus reject the idea of justification sola fide informi
but wholeheartedly embrace the idea of justification sola fide formata. Adding
the word "formed" to clarify the nature of the faith in "sola fide" renders
the doctrine completely acceptable to a Catholic.
(From: Justification
by Faith Alone) http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/faith_al.htm
(1) http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=24119
Suggested reading:
Catholic Answers: "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" A compendium of basic Catholic beliefs and the Biblicism behind these beliefs. http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp
FAQ on the Catholic Faith from Columbia University: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/faq-cc.html
1. "Bible Only" Christian or "Bible Believing" Christian?
Click Here: 40+ Modern Christian Practices and Doctrines not found in the Holy Bible...
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/unbiblical.html
2. Three Questions your pastor can't answer...
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/formypastor.html
4. THE ORIGINS & AUTHORS OF THE PROTESTANT THEOLOGIES.
Do you know who authored Modern Christianity's distinctive beliefs and in what century? You might be surprised. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/dates.html
5. "The 7 Stages of Christian Spiritual Development."
What stage are you?...
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/7stages.html
6. Faith Alone (Sola Fide): It is a Catholic position.
Has your pastor taught you that Catholics must "work their way to Heaven?" Another misunderstanding of Catholic theology. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/faithalone.html
7. "Who is the Bride of Christ?
What does the Holy Bible say? ...
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/bride.html
8. Non-Catholics often ask: "WHAT ELSE IS THERE?"
"What else has Christ's Infallible Authority besides the Holy Scriptures?"
Read the verses not underlined in your Bible nor taught in your seminaries or present church.
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/whatelse.html
9. Is Sola Scriptura or the "Bible Only theory" even Biblical?
Where does the Bible teach the "SOLA" in Sola Scriptura?
Click here to read what the Bible says about God's Word and how it is to be taught...
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/ss.html
10. Did the Bereans "Search the Scriptures" and thereby follow the "Bible Only" theory?
Many claim they did, but not if you read the whole chapter, i.e., the verses not taught in Modern Christian churches. Read the story again and then decide. https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/bereans.html
11. The 3rd Unanswered Challenge for Non-Catholic Theologies: Is the Catholic Faith Apostolic?
Name just one Catholic doctrine that isn't. Name one doctrine the early Church believed,,,, that the Catholic Faith *no longer does*. Why can't the Modern Christian theologies make the same bold claim?
https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/3challenge.html
13. Is Praying to Saints Biblical? Is the "Hail Mary" prayer Biblical? (Read the Verses not underlined in your pastor's Bible.) https://www.angelfire.com/home/protestantchallenges/saints.html