Guy,
It seems to me that you have totally misunderstood the RC concept of
tradition. In RC understanding, here is absolutely no way Sacred Tradition
can be used to introduce "another Gospel". It has been said that there are
not a few hundred people who hate the RC church, but millions who hate what
they believe to be the RC church. I would urge you to carefully study and
understand RC teachings before offering criticisms - I think this is a fair
request that any reasonable person would agree with. And just to be very
clear, I mean you absolutely no disrespect and harbor no hard feelings.
Blessings,
Adrian.
-----Original Message-----
From: Guy Blanchet [mailto:guyblanchet@sympatico.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 2:54 AM
To: Howard J. Van Till
Cc: Vince D. Calhoun; James W Stark; asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: Is Jonah to be taken literally?
Mr. Van Till,
As Mr. Murphy pointed out to me, the subject of this discussion is now
somewhat out of the bounds of normal ASA related matters. However I will
briefly answer your questions.
Howard J. Van Till a écrit:
Guy Blanchet a écrit:
Mr. Van Till,
You're confusing the Church of God with the Church of Rome. The arguing
over whether or not Jesus was God was simply the beginnings of what the
Chruch of Rome has come to refer to as Tradition. The Bible may clearly say
something but Tradition may decide to 'rephrase' certain things to widen the
road and give elbow room. That's what makes that institution a 'thoroughly
human institution' as you say.
Mr. Blanchet,
Before I respond, let me be certain that I understand you correctly.
(1) Are you saying that, of all Christian denominations, the Roman Catholic
Church is the only one that might be described as a 'thoroughly human
institution'?
There could be other 'Christian' denominations taking the humanistic path
while more or less giving an outwardly appearance of following Christ.
(2) Are you saying that "Tradition" (by which I presume you mean "binding
ecclesiastical decisions") do not play a role in denominations other than
the Roman Catholic Church?
Traditon is always present. It is not intrinsically wrong, but in the case
of the RC., Tradition has been the vehicle used to progressively introduce
another Gospel.
(3) What do you mean by "the Church of God"?
(a) A specific denomination or set of denominations? If so, what are the
criteria of selection?
No. It is the Church that Jesus instituted while on earth; the assembly of
believers in Him.
(b) A subset of members from several denominations? If so, what are the
criteria of selection?
(c) A set of persons, not necessarily members of any institutional
church, who are committed to certain tenets of faith? If so, what are these
tenets?
Those that Jesus laid out.
Howard Van Till
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