Did God intend people to interpret the Bible according to their own fancies?

Question

Or the so-called “leading of the holy Spirit?” Hasn’t this led to crazy interpretations? For example the justification of incest, slavery and the holocaust? The 30 years war between Catholics and Protestants, prejudices, more than 30,000 Christian denominations and the disunity of Christendom? Not to mention cults led by people like Jim Jones and David Koresh who tell their followers to commit suicide? Is this Christ’s way of uniting Christians following his prayer for all of us to be one? I certainly don’t think so.

Jesus prayed that His followers would be ONE.
"that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us..." (John 17:21)

St. Paul emphasizes that all followers of Jesus Christ should be ONE.
"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement." (1 Cor 1:10)

Why can’t Fundamentalists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals realize that when we bash each other we are effectively bashing Christianity? We have chosen different paths towards the kingdom of God. Why can’t we just walk the path we have chosen and let the other believers follow theirs for the sake of Christianity?

Your honest, prayerful, and Christian opinion will be highly appreciated.

Private interpretation of biblical doctrine is not the same as personal reading of the Bible for spiritual growth. The Catholic Church continues to protect the doctrinal interpretation of scripture as a matter beyond the decision of individual readers, but at the same time, in the strongest language encourages the personal, private reading and study of the sacred texts. If the inspired word is read in a spirit of faith and prayer, the Holy Spirit will protect from error and lead the reader to God's true message for his or her life.

Fundamentalism is defined as “the practice of asserting the absolute truth of your own beliefs and practices to the deliberate exclusion of the possibility of truth in the beliefs and practices of others.” Based on that definition I do not consider myself a Catholic Fundamentalist.

CJ
You just admitted you are a fundamentalist based on the above definition.

I must admit that sometimes I take a hard stance on fundamentalism but that is only when I have to defend my faith.
Asking questions about Catholicism for the purpose of being informed is one thing. Asking the same questions again and again in an insulting manner is another thing. That's the kind of stance that kills any effort towards ecumenism.

And by the way, after Vatican II the Church initiated moves for inter-religious dialogue. What do you think happened? The attacks on the Church became more virulent and nothing was really achieved.

bored 2
Ecumenism does not necessarily mean believing in the same things. My beliefs are not negotiable and so are yours. For starters we can stop bashing each other. That would be a big step. Don't you agree?

Answer 1

Good point !
The sad thing is that the human heart is very proud. Everyone thinks: "I am right and you are wrong".

Pride is one of the worse sins. The human being has not risen above it. Besides, nowadays there are many created interests that make it even more difficult

Concerning the protestant division, that was also politics, that goes hand to hand with religion, like it or not.
Many kings saw the opportunity to become their own masters and obey no one. Up to that moment, the Church was the only institution that kept the kings in a leash, but of course, they resented that. When they saw a chance to free themselves from obedience to the pope, they jumped to grab it

To chris: those guys you mention are British or yanks, no ?
That's politics as well.
By the way, Calvin burnt Michael Servet ( discoverer of the circulation of blood ) at the stake because of disagreement with his own ideas.
Luckily for us, they cannot burn anyone nowadays or you would burn anyone who disagrees with you

Answer 2

False eccuminism is not what Christ intended.If there are beliefs that pratice conflicting doctrines how is it possible to be united in Christ under one banner ?

There must be modifications,alterations and compromises between all to gain a common ground ?

In doing this the charter of that particular institution, organization or church loses it's traditions and fundamentally becomes detatched from what it always has believed in...

So that would mean in this case the eccuminism that is intrinsically deformative is "humanism" the new religion of the unified modern world.

This is true for any organization.The Church ceases to be in essence what you once claimed it to be.

regarding doctrine :
If the catholics say 1 + 1 = 2
denominations say 2 + 1 = 2
non-christians say 3 + 1 = 2

somebody is right and somebody is wrong ! In short if doctrines conflict how is it possible that they add up ?

"pass on what you have received" - tradition

"If an angel came down from heaven and taught a gospel different to the one I have taught you..."let him be anathema"

So I am only guessing that these words of Our Lord also apply to the Pope,clergy,laity,so on and so forth...

Did the martyrs die for false eccuminism or for the Catholic Church in Christ's name ?

Was not King Henry VIII and England collectively excommunicated from as some say something as trivial as divorce ?

You deny one article of faith in this Church you are a heretic !
That has always been Her teaching.

Catholic commonsense : what is Novus Ordo ?
The new oder of the mass,or the modern mass.

If the new mass was approved by six protestant ministers as appointed by the VII being anglican friendly.

What is that telling you....that it is not catholic and pleasing to heretics which we excommunicated...why ?

So I'm affraid that the mass / service you are attending at the moment is church of england approved...NOT Catholic !
And has been so since 1969...

Humanism is what you are really asking for; your right,I'm right we're all right that is the only way for false eccuminism to stay afloat is to deny your own faiths.Which means deny Christ's truths to hold hands and sing we are the world !

I wish we we're all one,I really do I will be tip-toeing through the tulips singing "the hills are alive...."

But this course of action will mean we will have to compromise the faith, which cannot be compromised at all costs even unto death !

God bless,

JMJ

ps.good luck with that sick dynamic ?

Answer 3

Sadly, I think that the day that all Christians are one is a LONG LONG way away.

Unity will not be achieved by anyone telling another person "You are wrong and I am right. Join my church."

I hear the above statement from Proestant Fundamentalists and Catholic Fundamentalists.

I am not saying that you are a Catholic Fundamentalist, Boniface. I am just saying that Catholic Fundamentalism is a hinderince to ecumenism as much as Protestant Fundamentalism. It is up to each person to seach his or her heart to see if there is intolerance.

Answer 4

I believe it's in Peter's epistles where it says that NO Scripture is for private interpretation only. Yes, you can apply its basic principles to your particular situation, but cherry-picking and prooftexting is where cults come from. I know, because I was raised in one. The kind that calls itself "the only true church." When you start to run into this sort of mentality, run do not walk away.

Answer 5

i,think maybe we,as christians should keep in mind that we as, catholics have two different ....bible 's but different words of god but we ,all in the holy ghost and the father..

Answer 6

Of course not. What baffles me is that so many people believe that if someone doesn't believe as they do, that they are wrong. I very much agree with what you're saying.

Answer 7

Reading and learning the Bible by the leading of the Holy Spirit has led to true Bible-based believers. The rejection of personal learning by the Holy Spirit leads to the catholic cult.

Catholics are not saved and are not Christians. Catholics believe a false gospel of works that leads to eternal hell (Galatians 1).

Bible teachers that said the Vatican and the catholic cult are an antichrist: John Bunyan, John Huss, John Wycliffe, John Calvin, William Tyndale, John Knox, Thomas Bacon, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Samuel Cooper, John Cotton, and Jonathan Edwards