A Seventh Day Adventist writes:

Last updated on: November 25, 2015 at 12:04 am by Mark Shea

A Seventh Day Adventist writes: 2015-11-10T23:11:17-07:00 Mark Shea

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I was raised Catholic. I can tell of your forthrightness after reading your article where you mention Maciel. I know some of his story.

Thank you!

Also, you use the Bible text, and for that reason, I am sending you the next thought:

An understanding of the revealed will of God enlarges the mind, expands, elevates, and endows it with new vigor, by bringing its faculties into contact with stupendous truth. No study is better to give energy to the mind, to strengthen the intellect, than the study of the word of God. No other book is so potent in elevating the thoughts, in giving vigor to the faculties, as is the Bible, which contains the most ennobling truths. If God’s word were studied as it should be, we would see breadth of mind, stability of purpose, nobility of character, such as are rarely seen in these times.

I agree. And the Catholic tradition has an incredibly rich biblical heritage.

You don’t mind if I challenge the teachings of your church?

As long as you don’t mind my challenging your challenge. 🙂

Because the archenemy of God mix error with truth, and this is fatal. Look at the next thought:

Our learned men are worse then our open enemies, they have made more infidels in our world than all the heathen mythology in existence.

Untrue. The problem is not being learned. The problem is pride. A learned man is not necessarily prideful and an unlearned one is not necessarily humble. Paul was deeply learned in Scripture, but he was also humble. Jesus in fact commended those who were learned in scripture and used it for the kingdom of heaven: ” “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”(Mt 13:52). It is, ironically, a false human tradition that insists only the unlearned are humble. Peter warns against such thinking: ” So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this* as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ***ignorant*** and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” (2 Pe 3:15–16). Ignorance, as much as learning can be a danger if you take pride in it.

What word of inspiration has not been turned, twisted, racked, wrested, distorted, and annihilated by these demons in human shape, until the public have become so confused and perplexed that, they know not what to believe. Their religious spirit is cold, formal and doubtful,

Who is “they”? Catholics? Not in my experience. Many Catholics are deeply godly people and Catholic scripture scholars are, without any possible comparison, some of the most profound and beautiful students of the Bible I have ever known. Have you ever heart of Scott Hahn? You should try reading some of his books.

but is well known fact that the men of today do give to the men of letters what the ancients did to the priests of idols gods an implicit confidence in all they utter.

On the contrary, I find that many people instantly assume what you do: that scholars are fools who should be automatically distrusted.

For example the state of the dead, and hell, in the Bible. I believe that the results of the wrong teaching on this issue had turned into insanity thousands through out the centuries.

I’m not sure what you mean.

And the source of witchcraft in its variety of forms.

Again, don’t know what you mean.

Do you want me to send you my view, or you send me yours first?

My view is summed up here. I see nothing unbiblical in that–a perfectly reasonable summary of apostolic teaching.

I consider you a very reasonable man.

Thank you. Before we continue, I think it would be wise for you to take a look at my book By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition. It’s not really possible to talk about the Faith without taking into account the role apostolic tradition plays in understanding Scripture, not only because Catholics take it seriously, but because whether you realize it or not (and whether you like it or not) you make use of it too–only Protestants typically don’t realize they do. It’s how you know what books belong in your Bible, or that monogamy is the only way to conceive of marriage, or that life is sacred from the moment of conception, or that God is a Trinity, or that revelation closed with the death of the apostles. If you really try to go with the Bible alone you very quickly start reading Scripture wrong.

So, just a heads up. That’s where I’m coming from. If you want a freebie copy, lemme know.

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