Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Would you like fries with that?

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/9/91/Burger_King_Whopper_Combo.jpg

Just posted a comment to a commenter and when I wrote about being in the Evangelical world, where it was "Christianity MY way"...(which is why so many of our friends would split for another church, when the music/preaching/"feel of the worship" etc, just didn't "feed" them any longer, and they'd be off to another fellowship with "more this" "less that" "more hugs" "better coffee") it dawned on me that it's like going to Burger King of Kings Fellowship. Where you can always "Have it your way!" You can be assured then to "feed yourself" and be 'fed' what suits your spiritual taste buds. But is that what Jesus promises?

I can hear Jesus now: "Come, follow me where you can "order what you like" from my big book of bible promises! By the way, would you like fries with YOUR GOSPEL?" "I'll get my Angels and Saints here in the Heavenly Kitchen to whip up one "whopper of a sermon" for you...your way, of course!" OR was what he said more along the line of:

"DENY YOURSELF, take up YOUR cross and Follow me, or you're not worthy to follow Me." paraphrase of Mark 8:34.

It's true, in the Catholic Faith, (as we were discussing at our last RECON meeting,) there is SORT of the same thing in the CC, BUT there's a major difference. Though there are a broad range of spiritualities in the Catholic Church and numerous different ways to live out the spirituality that does suit the personality and soul God created you to have, (to worship and live out the Mass for Him) it's not a 'have it your way' spirituality, because there's still the ulitimate Authority to which we do have to submit. That the Vicar of Christ on earth, right where Jesus left him...WITH THE KEYS, to bind and loose, forgive and retain, etc. That's the kicker. The Eucharist isn't a symbol. Baptism does save us. Those are a couple of dogmas that can't be tinkered with, nor should you really WANT to tinker with them, because if you're a faithful practicing Catholic, you'll not always agree with things depending on where you're at in your journey, but you won't want to FIGHT the Pope or the authority of the Church. If that's what 'floats your boat' so to speak, you might want to take a look at where you might be drifting, as it might be a dangerous cove you're sailing near, and before you shipwreck or drift into a whirlpool you may best give Jesus the one and only thing you or I have TO GIVE Him....our surrender.

PAX,
susie

4 comments:

owenswain said...

I know this link is maybe a bit off the mark of the thrust of this post but the photo made me do it.

O
luminousmiseries.ca
onionboy.ca

Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

PD and I were talking about this very thing. Catholicism is universal and there exists one way to worship God correctly via the Mass, yet there are so many wonderful expressions of devotion and spirituality, charismatic to contemplative, It's all good becasue its all under on rook lead by one vicar, the Pope!
But we give up our have it your way mentality regarding doctrines, waus of justifying pet sins etc.

omniscientthefirst said...

AMEN!!! Back when I was doing all my theorizing, I wanted to find something that fit what I wanted. I wanted a church or denomination that agreed with each and every thing I believed and felt good to ME. Unfortunately, I must have believed that I had the authority to decide what ultimate truth was. I was clearly smarter than Christ and the doctrines of the Church He established. There was too much ME and not enough CHRIST in it all... which is why I'm thankful I discovered that true authority is found in those Christ left it to and all those who have come after them in valid succession.

With the whole 'sola scriptura' belief, how can it be that if Christ intended the Bible to be the ONLY authority, that there are so many different interpretations of it? If Christ wants us all to be ONE (John 17:22-23)it would appear to me that if He wanted the Bible to be the SOLE authority, the Holy Spirit would assure that ALL followers of Christ would come to the same interpretation of it. I leave it to everyone to survey the immense variety of interpretations that people have come up with. Funny how it's when the whole 'sola scriptura' belief came about with the Reformation that all the splintering and denominations came about. It's when we leave it to ourselves to interpret stuff however we want that heresy begins, and thousands of denominations pop up, ruining Christ's hope that we all be ONE.

That's not to say that I don't believe people of other denominations can't be good Christians, they've just strayed too far from the truth.

And now, allow me to step off my theological soapbox........!

"Jesus Christ did not intend for eternal truth to be determined by a democratic vote." - Fr. Corapi

Joyful Catholic said...

AMEN OTF! I always cite, sight, site the Piece de resistance of Sola Scriptura......

JIM JONES...

He had a bible, read the bible, prayed the bible and interpreted the bible HIS WAY..........and how many bloated corpses did they fine scattered around his own dead body? When I say that to a Evangelical friend of mine, I get NO ANSWER, no flippin' comment. Same goes for David Koresh....Bible believing Christian according to SOLA SCRIPTURA...how come he was wrong and Joe Blow Bible Thumper down the street is RIGHT?????

I'm befuddled with the lack of logic in this whole stoopid "bible alone debate' There IS NO DEBATE.... Either CC is TRUE or She's a diabolical cult. No Middle ground here.

now to get off my soap box and feed the dog and free the dolphins...or was that endorphins? I think they're [endorphins] are free, as that is why I am awake past 10:50!