Given the purpose of this board, which is to expose the false doctrines of the Roman Catholic church, and the many postings to that effect one might read here, some may get the idea we are declaring that nothing Rome teaches is true.
I cannot, of course, speak for anyone but myself so the following comments should not be considered as representative of all those who post here.
There is no question in my mind that the Roman Catholic Church, when exercising her Teaching Authority, indeed does teach biblical truth. Even the most cursory review of The Code of Canon Law or the Catechism of the Catholic Church, two 'official' sources used in teaching Roman Catholic doctrine, will discover many statements of biblical truth. I cannot imagine how anyone could deny this. Let me cite but a few examples of biblical truth as contained in these documents:
266. "Now this is the Catholic faith: We worship one God in the TRINITY and the TRINITY in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal' (Athanasian Creed: DS 75; ND 16). -- Catechism of the Catholic Church, (c) 1994/1997 United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
Isn't this the same thing that Christians believe? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Creation, is one God in three distinct Persons. So, taken as written, the RCC teaching would appear to be biblical truth. But does that truth hold up under close examination? I think not. Certainly it could be argued that religious and lay Catholics offer many more prayers , observe more feast days and display more idols to or for Catholic Mary than for any or all the members of the Trinity. Does that not suggest that there exists a fourth person in the Catholic version of the Trinity, more appropriately called the Catholic Quaternary?
The purpose of this forum is to examine doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church in the light of Scripture. I do not doubt that the results of these examinations may be upsetting to at least some of those who read here. Pperhaps that is at it should be.
"Speaking the truth in love" is no longer "popular" or "politically correct" so many in the evangelical world have lost their taste for it. Thus, one of Satan's most effective weapons against Christ's Church is tearing away at the very core of Biblical Christianity. That weapon being, teach a lot of truth and mix in a little bit of error. Once we have developed a taste for error the dosage can and will be elevated!
One of the problems is that we have bought the lie that to confront error is not showing love. We have redefined love! In the context of Scripture it is not the one who allows his brother to continue in sin and error who is showing love but the one who confronts is showing love (Matt. 18:15). Love and truth can no more be separated than can God, who is Love and Truth by His very nature!
The phrase "speak the truth in love" comes from Ephesians 4:15. Paul begins this chapter in Ephesians with an appeal to "preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Thus unity was extremely important to Paul. aul lists even elements of Christ's unity, those being: (1) One body (the universal church), (2) One Spirit, (3) One hope (a future eternity with God), (4) One Lord (this historical, Biblical Christ, (5) One faith (the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints), (6) One baptism (believer's identification with Christ's body - 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 6:1-4). There can be no unity with those who do not come together on these seven elements!--Mal Couch and Russell L. Penney, Doctrines That Cannot Be Compromised (C) 1996 Couch & Penney
