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15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Ephesians 4
1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20But ye have not so learned Christ;
21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27Neither give place to the devil.
28Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
There are many denominations, and there is one true Church - the "Body of Christ" - which is inside the individual which will be part of the resurrection to life.
Isaiah 26
19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
20Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
People changing Institutions probably has something to do with the Ecumenical movement to blur distinctions between Catholic and Protestant that looks to be on the horizon in order to unite all religions together. Look up Catholic and Evangelicals together. Uniting under a great error.
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Maybe the pastors who joined Rome just wanted a job, and job security? Of course, there's plenty of men and women of all denominations that only get into it for the pay check.
Hi, I haven't been following the Catholic threads so maybe this was answered somewhere, but a person who works with me shared that she is a Catholic and referred to believers who are not Catholics as Christians. So I am wondering if Catholics seem themselves as Christians. Just asking. Thanks and God bless.
I do think some Catholic lay people feel that the Church is "cold" and that people in the parish don't care about them. (Whether this is true or not) Also some I think want their second marriage, after a divorce, to also be a Church marriage even if the Gospels are also against remarriage after divorce. (Although there's debate on whether it's against in cases of sexual immorality of one spouse)
Ministers are sometimes more intellectual types and from my vantage point many Evangelical types don't have much to do for intellectuals. Catholicism is arguably the most scholastic-oriented or scholastic-friendly form of Christianity out there. It has a wonderful intellectual tradition from Justin Martyr to G. E. M. Anscombe.
Still even though I sort-of like that in Catholic parishes people mind their business I suppose many people really do need the kind of active involvement in their lives Evangelical and Pentecostal churches provide. So as long as it's optional maybe we Catholics should be doing more of that for those who want it. In my Catholic parish things like "Knights of Columbus" or "Daughters of Isabella" are kind of just seen as places for old people to gossip or play cards, not so much as things that reach younger people. While CYO, intended for the young, sadly developed a bit of a High-Schoolish "in-crowd" vibe here, which can be off-putting. I don't know if it's like that in other Catholic parishes, but that's also been a problem here with the groups for older people. My grandmother wasn't allowed in the DofI for the longest time because she was a convert, poor, and a little eccentric. And there wasn't any other Catholic group for her to join so I could see why some could feel like "if the Catholic community is just a 'closed circle' where people actively don't want someone like me socializing with them than maybe it's not for me." Because things like that do mean stuff to people.
I do think some Catholic lay people feel that the Church is "cold" and that people in the parish don't care about them. (Whether this is true or not) Also some I think want their second marriage, after a divorce, to also be a Church marriage even if the Gospels are also against remarriage after divorce. (Although there's debate on whether it's against in cases of sexual immorality of one spouse)
Ministers are sometimes more intellectual types and from my vantage point many Evangelical types don't have much to do for intellectuals. Catholicism is arguably the most scholastic-oriented or scholastic-friendly form of Christianity out there. It has a wonderful intellectual tradition from Justin Martyr to G. E. M. Anscombe.
Still even though I sort-of like that in Catholic parishes people mind their business I suppose many people really do need the kind of active involvement in their lives Evangelical and Pentecostal churches provide. So as long as it's optional maybe we Catholics should be doing more of that for those who want it. In my Catholic parish things like "Knights of Columbus" or "Daughters of Isabella" are kind of just seen as places for old people to gossip or play cards, not so much as things that reach younger people. While CYO, intended for the young, sadly developed a bit of a High-Schoolish "in-crowd" vibe here, which can be off-putting. I don't know if it's like that in other Catholic parishes, but that's also been a problem here with the groups for older people. My grandmother wasn't allowed in the DofI for the longest time because she was a convert, poor, and a little eccentric. And there wasn't any other Catholic group for her to join so I could see why some could feel like "if the Catholic community is just a 'closed circle' where people actively don't want someone like me socializing with them than maybe it's not for me." Because things like that do mean stuff to people.
I have some friends that attend a predominantly African American Catholic parish.
It has many of the traditions the African American members are familiar with. Lots of great music, a lot of "soul".
I can speak as one of those Catholics who is thinking of leaving the church,and their are numerous reasons I believe lay people join protestant denominations.The main reason being they are searching for a sense of community which is not often found in ones local parish church.I think a lot of people are attracted to evangelical churches because of the "dynamic preaching",and the emphasis on the bible being the only authority vs the catholic church's emphasis on both the bible and tradition.
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God bless and peace.
