Dave Armstrong has a timely article on Luther's disgust over Protestant sectarianism ...
It's weird, but I was thinking along these lines myself. I was thinking the division on Catholic social media and among traditionalist Catholics is veering close to a similar sectarianism and buffet of claimed 'heresies' which ultimately reject infallible authority. Armstrong doesn't make such a comparison in his article, although I wonder if he may have had it in mind?
Protestant founder Martin Luther's radical change of the rule of faith from an infallible Bible and Church and tradition to private judgment and sola Scriptura (Scripture as the only infallible authority) and comments about plowboys being able to interpret Scripture without the checks and balances of that Church and tradition, naturally led to excesses of individuality and sectarianism.
People reasoned (consciously or not) that since Luther felt free to break away from Catholicism and gave the example of an ongoing smear campaign of propaganda and calumny against the existing Church, that there was little reason why they could not reject both the Catholic Church and him. - Dave Armstrong
Seems to me we have a lot of protestant Catholics vigorously critiquing other protestant Catholics these days.
Bunch of flamers.
You always say you're going to stop posting on the heretic agenda. Then this.
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I wrote about Catholic divisions recently:
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Thanks Dave - that is excellent. I like this:
Delete"One can see how very clever the devil is. Rather than uniting to evangelize the world, and to oppose the world-system, the flesh, and the devil, instead, a great many Catholics spend time devouring each other (above all, online). Jesus predicted this, too. The Church is like a family, and our Lord said, "a man's foes will be those of his own household" (Matthew 10:36)."
BTW - I wasn't able to understand the cradle Catholic vs convert Catholic. Even cradle Catholics need conversion - again I think of St. Therese and her 'second' conversion, which Garrigou-Lagrange and others discuss in regards the mystical life. Yes, I know what the controversy was about, but in Christian spirituality there is no place for that sort of attitude of 'looking down upon others'. Thanks for your Facebook summation.
Spot on piece by Dave Armstrong. I remember reading his articles on the Pathos website, I always learned something.
DeleteAnd yes, the devil is dancing a cackling dance as many of us who consider ourselves "devout," remain distracted by making sure "we are first in line."
Of late, these solemn words come to mind and I believe they will come to pass, "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:8
The institutional Church is divide just like all our other institutions. The Faith however is unchanged.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm......"God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family." guess who?
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