Ray Comfort on The Atheist Experience

Why the snide personal comments and attacks? Because you have no real argument? This is the behavior that I think should disqualify you as a moderator. We see this behavior a lot from you.

Absolute nonsense and word salad.What does that even mean Phat?

To Roman Catholicism. It was a purely political split and had almost nothing to do with theology. It was simply about who got to make political decisions.There were quite a few other extent Christian movements like the Eastern Orthodoxy and Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Greek Orthodoxy which were also all catholic but not acknowledging that absolute power of the Roman Catholic Popes. Protestantism was a break only from the direct rule and authority of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Exactly. Phat and Faith seem to want to push the idea that Protestantism is some sort of pure pre-RCC manifestation. Protestantism exists because of the RCC. It started out as a political break and doctrinal arguments were used to justify it.

Interestingly, all the points in Luther's 95 Thesis were agreed upon and implemented shortly after promulgated. But the biggest issue was the conflict between two calendars, the calendar of childbirth and the calendar of communications in the day. Henry needed an heir and that meant out with the old and in with the new and not just fertile but pregnant. Henry simply could not wait for the political and diplomatic process to carry through and so needed a divorce... a divorce right now.Luther's 95 Thesis was the real reformation and was carried through but at the political pace of the day.Protestantism though was a coup; the overthrow of the political authority of the Roman Catholic Pope in Western Civilization.

This is false, completely backwards. Luther had no intention of breaking from the RCC at all. He put up his 95 theses as a traditional challenge to debate, and that's all he expected: a debate on those issues which he considered to be corruptions in the Church. He was sure the Pope would agree with him and that measures would be taken to end the corruption.Instead the Pope took offense at Luther's arguments and excommunicated him. This is what provoked Luther to recognize the nature of the papacy as the Antichrist. Political actions started later as the peasants revolted against the political power of the Church, and Luther did NOT approve of that action..

Don't overdo it. Yes the original Reformers were all Catholics, of course, but the Reformation was an opposition to Catholicism and most of its work was in undoing Catholic errors of all kinds as they discovered them. Catholicism had distorted the teachings of the original apostolic Church and usurped power over all Christians, adding in pagan religious doctrine down the centuries to absolutely corrupt the original Christian doctrine. I listed its pagan accretions in a post above somewhere but I can list them again if necessary.All that is what the Reformation undid, and it most particularly undid the RCC's teaching on salvation by works, restoring the original biblical teaching on salvation by faith in Christ alone, after which it tells us we were saved UNTO good works, not saved by them.Yes, there was some holding over of some Catholici practices that should have been expunged but weren't, but most of it was superficial trappings. Although it is pretty disturbing to see that Dagon-inspired fishhead "bishop's mitre" on the head of Anglican priests. Actually the very title of "priest" is a Catholicism that should never exist in the Christian church as a special function because the Bible says all believers are priests: "ye are a holy priesthood."

But what does it mean to believe? That's an opinion not based on fact. There are societies all over the world that manage to feed their hungry as well as we do without one single, solitary "anointed Christian" - so clearly anointed Christians are not a factor.

original church --> Roman Catholic Church --> ProtestantismSo yes, Protestantism came from the Roman Catholic Church. The original church is not relevant. They were called "Protestants" because they were protesting against the Roman Catholic Church. They claimed to be going back to their "original" roots but that claim is questionable.

You are putting up a strawman. The facts are all Protestant churches derived form Catholicism. They were not created from a vacuum.

That is based on RCC false doctrine. They do not represent the earliest church though they claim to. The papacy didn't exist until 606 AD when the Bishop of Rome was made Universal Bishop against the very spirit of Christianity, and eventually became a world power that dominated all Christians.It is a purely historical fact that Protestantism developed out of Catholicism simply because the Reformers were Catholics. But as to substance and doctrine the Reformation recovered the truths of the biblical Church and left Catholicism behind.The RCC should not even exist any more, but they are still maneuvering to tryh to regain the worldly power they lost because of the Reformation. Protestants have lost any historical sense and actually treat the RCC as just another denomination when in reality it is the soul of antichristianity. Pontifex Maximus indeed. Do you know that was the title of the head of the Roman pagan religions? "Co-Redemptrix" indeed. Marian apparitions? Demonic seductions to the false Church that has blasphemously made "Mary" the equal of Christ.Scripture says to those in the false Church who are true followers of Christ nevertheless: "Come out of her My people, lest you partake of her plagues."Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.