This is a debate forum and things get said that could and often should be considered as harsh. But, for the record...most of us here LOVE THE CATHOLICS. Do we disagree on things? Yes, but we do so as parent and child. Allow me to explain:
We are indeed the children of the fathers of the church...but we all have not taken the same path as our parents. Which is not to say that we have left off from following God, but have rather taken a different fork in the road, a different path. You see, the passages that Catholics sight as the reason for what they believe, claiming that Christ said He would build His church on the rock otherwise know as Peter...also says something else. In fact the whole passage is about "how" Jesus would build His church, not upon "who." This, He said was by the same means by which Peter came to know that Jesus was the Christ, which was by the spirit, through His Father in heaven. So, Peter was just the [object] of that passage, but the [subject] was the spirit of God...and that is the fork in the road: the church fathers followed Peter and built their church on earth, while the spirit of God built His church without hands.
Thus, being the children of both men and of the spirit of God - some have gone separate ways. Which does not make us enemies, but makes us separate in spirit, siblings of another father...but having the same mother (so to speak).
Another way to view our family tie, is to consider that we are like the next generation of Israel that crossed the Jordan after God saw fit to let the previous generation wander in the wilderness and die in the desert and not get to go on into the promised land. Do you think there was any rivalry or hatred between the next generation and their forefathers? Maybe. But if there was, it would have been uncalled for - just as it is now uncalled for between the church fathers and we who are of their children who have crossed over the Jordan that Jesus presented between building His church upon a man or by the spirit of God.
So, yes, there has been a departure between those who follow the sons of men and those who follow the spirit of God - and rightly so. But we are family...and we do not hate our forefathers, not Israel, and not the Catholics.
We are indeed the children of the fathers of the church...but we all have not taken the same path as our parents. Which is not to say that we have left off from following God, but have rather taken a different fork in the road, a different path. You see, the passages that Catholics sight as the reason for what they believe, claiming that Christ said He would build His church on the rock otherwise know as Peter...also says something else. In fact the whole passage is about "how" Jesus would build His church, not upon "who." This, He said was by the same means by which Peter came to know that Jesus was the Christ, which was by the spirit, through His Father in heaven. So, Peter was just the [object] of that passage, but the [subject] was the spirit of God...and that is the fork in the road: the church fathers followed Peter and built their church on earth, while the spirit of God built His church without hands.
Thus, being the children of both men and of the spirit of God - some have gone separate ways. Which does not make us enemies, but makes us separate in spirit, siblings of another father...but having the same mother (so to speak).
Another way to view our family tie, is to consider that we are like the next generation of Israel that crossed the Jordan after God saw fit to let the previous generation wander in the wilderness and die in the desert and not get to go on into the promised land. Do you think there was any rivalry or hatred between the next generation and their forefathers? Maybe. But if there was, it would have been uncalled for - just as it is now uncalled for between the church fathers and we who are of their children who have crossed over the Jordan that Jesus presented between building His church upon a man or by the spirit of God.
So, yes, there has been a departure between those who follow the sons of men and those who follow the spirit of God - and rightly so. But we are family...and we do not hate our forefathers, not Israel, and not the Catholics.
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