Would you surrender your own beliefs in the cause of doctrinal unity?

[St. SteVen]

Dunno....I haven't run into a church based heavily upon Phillip....

Seems that he was more of an evangelist than a church-planting apostle.

It's an interesting study to follow Phillip's route in Acts chapter eight.
Make note of the cities he visited and the mileage he ran. Amazing.

Acts 8:26, 38-40 NIV
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip,
“Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ...
38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot.
Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,
and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about,
preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

/

 

[Augustin56]

Where is this "entirety of Divine Revelation" that was NOT recorded in the New Testament to be found?

/

Excellent question. It is in a combination of Oral Tradition (aka, Holy Tradition) and Written Tradition (Scriptures) as St. Paul referred to in 2 Thes 2:15. "Tradition" in this sense is not what we normally think of as tradition, i.e., common practices. Tradition in this sense means "teaching." The New Testament was taken from the Oral Tradition. SOME of what was taught orally was written down, but not all. (See John 21:25) Yet, Jesus commanded that all be taught. (Matt. 28:20)

 

[St. SteVen]

Excellent question. It is in a combination of Oral Tradition (aka, Holy Tradition) and Written Tradition (Scriptures) as St. Paul referred to in 2 Thes 2:15. "Tradition" in this sense is not what we normally think of as tradition, i.e., common practices. Tradition in this sense means "teaching." The New Testament was taken from the Oral Tradition. SOME of what was taught orally was written down, but not all. (See John 21:25) Yet, Jesus commanded that all be taught. (Matt. 28:20)

Thank you, excellent response.
What could a Protestant, that wishes to remain Protestant, do to inform and align themselves with the WHOLE that you refer to? (1 Corinthians 7:20)

/

 

[Augustin56]

Thank you, excellent response.
What could a Protestant, that wishes to remain Protestant, do to inform and align themselves with the WHOLE that you refer to? (1 Corinthians 7:20)

/

Well, I would separate the two issues: Wanting to remain Protestant and aligning themselves with the whole truth of Christ. One can, indeed, find out the whole truth of Christ and not become Catholic. It's a choice. Many have done that, including some well-known personalities. Some have found the whole truth and remained Protesant for a while, later converting. Dr. Scott Hahn comes to mind. He was a Presbyterian theologian who was studying the Catholic faith to refute it, because he was so anti-Catholic. He kept running into doctrines and Scriptures he had never encountered before and couldn't explain except from a Catholic viewpoint. He enlisted the aid of other theologians and some of his previous teachers to help refute them, all to no avail. He kept fighting it, but eventually ended up becoming Catholic, along with his wife. He now teaches theology at Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH.

We are all in a state of process. Everyone has their own backstory that got them to where they currently are in their lives and the status of their soul. God can do more in one minute than any of us can do in 100 years. For example, the actor, John Wayne, had a deathbed conversion. The interplay between our will and God's grace is where the rubber meets the road. And we cannot judge the culpability of anyone's soul. We aren't capable. Only God is. And He doesn't wait and watch to see what we do so He can decide how to react. He sees our entire lives, from conception to death in one glance, and has been able to do so for all eternity. He chose us to live in this place and time. He knows it all.

But He wants us to know all the truth He gave us, and to experience all the gifts He left us. All out of love, not force. True faith is never imposed...it is proposed.