well...precisely. I understand perfectly what you mean. But mine is not faith; I just read the Bible and pick what my heart acknowledges as rightful and divinely inspired. Because it matches with my vision of God.
all right. That makes me a heretic.
If you were once Catholic and have willfully and with full knowledge of your actions abandoned what you understand to be the truth in favor of your own ideas, then yes, you are a heretic. I'm not sure if that term applies to you.
In any case, you cannot honestly call yourself a Catholic if you reject so much of its basic foundation. Not accepting the Immaculate Conception as a dogma? Sure, I can see that. Not believing that the role of the Pope is dogmatic? Dandy, I did the same when I was a Catholic. Disagreeing with Anselmian atonement theory? That's fine too. But rejecting massive portions of the Old and New Testaments, having fundamentally different beliefs about God, believing that Jesus is unnecessary to our salvation, that we don't need God to be saved... You can't call yourself Catholic if you reject much of the basics.
well...I deeply respect your view. But we, she and I, think the exactly opposite thing. That is: Satan wants us to think we are nothing without God. He wants us to think that we are doomed to sin, and so we are inferior to God. But man won't try to stop sinning, if he thinks he's nothing.
We think that by becoming autonomous, man will stop sinning.
You have it completely backwards. Jesus Himself says that we can do nothing without Him--see John 15:4-5:
Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you
are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing.
This woman is preaching the exact opposite of what Jesus taught. She is teaching that we do not need God. We do not need to know Him, or obey Him, or follow Him, or have a relationship with Him. Jesus is no different than any other major religious figure.
Contrast all that with what Jesus said in John 14:6... "Jesus said to him, 'I am the
way, the
truth, and the
life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
And also look at what Jesus says in the Gospels:
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at
them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with
God all things are
possible.”
Mark 10:27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men
it is impossible, but not with
God; for with
God all things are
possible.”
Luke 18:27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
If we depend on God, and rely on Him, and abide in Jesus, and walk with Jesus in the Holy Spirit under the guidance of God the Father, then we will be saved, because we need Him. But if we reject the Father, if we reject the Son, if we reject the Holy Spirit, then we cannot be saved, for we have rejected the way to salvation.
Satan would have us believe that we don't need God. We don't need the Source of Life. We don't need Him Who created the Heavens and the Earth. We don't need the Lord of Heaven. Satan wants to divide and conquer. He wants to convince the sheep that it will be just fine without the protection and guidance of the shepherd. He wants the sheep to try and go out on its own without the guidance and help of the shepherd, because Satan is a prowling lion, seeking whom he might devour--and once he gets the sheep out on its own, away from the shepherd and foolishly believing that it can go its own way and be just fine, rest assured that the sheep will be devoured.
1 Peter 5:8-10 Be sober, be vigilant; because[
c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may[
d] the God of all grace, who called us[
e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle
you.
But Jesus says in John 10:
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have
it more abundantly. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. . . 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock
and one shepherd. . . 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch
them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and
My Father are one.”
I would suggest that you pray about these Scriptures that I have shown you--the words of Jesus and of His Apostles. Contrast them with what that woman has been telling you. Who will you believe--Jesus, or that woman?
well...but this woman is still alive, whereas those men are dead.
Wait, are you seriously following the words of this woman over the hand-picked disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, just because she was born 2,000 years later than them? You're basing your religious allegiance on whether the person in question is living or not?
You can base your beliefs off of whatever you like and follow whoever you choose. Just know that the way you are taking is leading you away from Christianity, and into something other. I pray that you will understand this, and that God Himself will show you the Way.
Sorry...I didn't make myself clear. I meant that given that Caiaphas was irremovable in his decision, Jesus had to respect his decision (and so respect his freewill). That's what I meant when I said that he could have never interfered with his freewill. God cannot interfere with our freewill.
God chooses not to, but that doesn't mean that He lacks the ability to.
Have you forgotten the sons of Korah? Or any number of sinners and unrighteous kings in the Old Testament that the Lord slew or had slain? Do me a favor and read Exodus 16:20-40. There God kills a lot of people.
1 Chronicles 13:10 Then the anger of the
Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He
struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.
2 Chronicles 13:20 So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the
Lord struck him, and he died.
Acts 12:21-23
21 So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.