Post published by One Eyed Owl

St. AUGUSTINE himself acknowledges the leadership role of the papacy over the entire church.. read these his own words:. "Augustine
“If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we number them [the bishops of Rome] from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not conquer it.’ Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement. … In this order of succession a Donatist bishop is not to be found”

Hear what the council of Chalcedon says:. "Council of Chalcedon
“Wherefore the most holy and blessed Leo, archbishop of the great and elder Rome, through us, and through this present most holy synod, together with the thrice blessed and all-glorious Peter the apostle, who is the rock and foundation of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the orthodox faith, has stripped him [Dioscorus] of the episcopate” (Acts of the Council, session 3 [A.D. 451]).

The early Church, together with the Church fathers was Catholic in nature, acknowledging the spiritual supremacy of the papacy and catholic doctrines like the Eucharist.... There are too many quotes for me to put.....

I know much more about Luther and protestantism than you my friend.... No context excuses the utterly evil words that Luther uttered...

Luther and the other Protestant founders were nothing else but schismatics, shattering the Church of Christ into a thousand pieces and introducing false doctrines....

@hillmountain I respect your point of view and enjoy your engagement in the debate. The elect of God (saved by grace) is the universal church in my opinion. I'm sure we have them on both sides of the aisle? Do you consider Protestants who follow Luther to be ineligible of Gods grace? Would not all Christians comprise the universal church?

And yes you are truly good with history. I love that

Protestants who follow Luther are definitely Christians, eligible for God's grace and they are my brethren, but I believe they are mistaken to be following a schismatic....

God will save everyone, even non Christians who are mistaken but virtuous, but he has instituted the Catholic Church from which schism is a grave sin.... I'm not blaming innocent Protestants who were born and raised in protestantism at all, but those who fragmented the Church and led so many astray with false doctrines ( Luther, Calvin etc)

Read again this ancient letter from St. Jerome to Pope Innocent I. "I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that this is the rock on which the Church has been built. Whoever eats the Lamb outside this house is profane. Anyone who is not in the ark of Noah will perish when the flood prevails” (Letters 15:2 [A.D. 396]

Jerome warns that we should not break off communion from the chair of Peter, on whom Christ built the Church.... Exactly what the supposed "reformers" did

you do not know more about history than anyone else in this forum. you are not smarter than us, you are not more theologically adept than us. You are a miserable and disgusting sinner just like I am. if you really think that Luther's words can't be explained with context, than you havent read Luther.

btw that cyprian quote is absurdly devout of its proper scope. It comes from his treatise: On the Unity of the Church. read the whole chapter. it has absolutley nothing to do with papal primacy.

Why are you so defensive of Luther? His Central dogma " faith alone" is explicitly contradicted by Scripture...... You want to defend a man who taught teachings contrary to the Bible?

the papacy is an innovation that began to emerge in the late 4th century. if any church father from the first 1,000 years had their orthodoxy tested by the standards of Trent, they would all be damned, just like I am.

the ONLY PLACE "FAITH ALONE" appears in the bible is in this only line, which EXPLICITLY CONTRADICTS IT... "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24)

Invention of the 4th century eh? I'll disprove that, but before that, understand that protestantism is an invention of the 15th century....

you bear false witness against Luther. How would you feel if I told you your life story, but began with all of your porn searches. You've never read any commentary on James and Romans from a reformed point of view. If I bother to read Catholic Answers and called to communion, than you should be able to listen to our explanations with patience as well.

Saint Peter is told by Jesus himself that the Church will be built on him, he is given the "keys" which are a symbol of authority, and he goes and died in Rome, after appointing his successors

The almost universal interpretation of the early Church and early Church fathers was that the successors of Peter inherited his authority of headship..... See the many quotes from so many prominent early Christians that I mentioned above