How can anyone hear the gospel and come away thinking that venerating icons is a gospel issue?

It’s genuinely such a pointless activity.

The “why” behind the trumpet and red light analogy is simple: It was designed to work that way by a designer.

The problem with much of modern science is that intelligent design is ruled out as a possible explanation before the evidence is even considered.

You cannot claim to be following the evidence wherever it leads if you’ve already decided where it cannot lead.

Instagram threads is overrun with atheists, it’s insane.

I mainly post on there in defense of intelligent design.

If thats something you are interested in, then go give me a follow and join the conversation!

These atheists are ANGRY.

threads.com/@indybeginning…

Code needs a coder, and atheists need a new theory.

Evolution faces challenges that I believe are not merely mathematical, but mechanical as well.

And that raises a problem for theistic evolution. It’s not enough to simply say, “Well, God guided the process,” when there are th the process itself.

When Paul instructed the Galatians to reject even the apostles themselves if they preached a gospel contrary to the one already received (Galatians 1:8–9), he was clearly affirming that they could recognize false teaching by measuring it against the gospel they had received.

Why, then, should this same principle not apply to those who claim to be the apostles’ successors?

Are we somehow no longer capable of recognizing a false gospel by measuring it against the apostolic gospel revealed in the Scriptures?

@catholicdads_ne of succession does not establish that you are the true Church.

Paul explicitly declares that even if the apostles themselves preached a gospel contrary to the one already received, they would be anathema (Galatians 1:8–9).

He rebuked the Corinthians for boasting in their association with particular apostles (1 Corinthians 1:12–13), instructing them “not to go beyond what is written,” so that none would become “puffed up in favor of one against another” (1 Corinthians 4:6).

He also warned against foolish controversies and quarrels about genealogies (Titus 3:9).

If even the apostles themselves were accountable to the gospel they preached, how much more those who claim to be their successors?

The true Church is not recognized merely by tracing a lineage back to the apostles, but by fidelity to the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

And Jesus gave all the apostles the keys in Matthew 18. He did not give Peter the keys in Matthew 16. He says “I will” FUTURE TENSE and he doesn’t say “only to you Peter.”

Whatever problems Catholics think Protestants have by appealing to Sola Scriptura, they run into the same problems when appealing to an infallible Church. 😆

The difference is we trust in God’s inspired word.

Crickets…

Paul practiced Sola Scriptura:

“And Paul … reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving…” (Acts 17:2–3)

Paul hypothetically places even himself and the other apostles under the authority of the gospel once for all delivered to the saints (Galatians 1:8; Jude 3).

How much more, then, must those who claim to be their successors be subject to that same authority?

The guy who goes around smashing icons is now wrongfully accusing the Orthodox of being homosexuals.

Listen, I’ve been very outspoken against the doctrine of icon veneration, but this is not the way to go about it. And hey, I’m not innocent either. I’ve made plenty of mistakes and learned from them.

Paul REASONED with the pagans in Athens. He even appealed to their own philosophy to persuade them of the truth.

He didn’t go around smashing statues or making rash judgments about people. He preached the truth of our Creator and Redeemer.

They’ll never recover from this magnificent beat down.

We stand firm on the unchanging word of God. That word commands that we honor those who have gone before us by imitating their faith, not by misrepresenting their words and venerating a lifeless trinket.

Christianity is life in Christ, received through faith in the promises of God. It is a life more abundant than we could ever imagine.

And it doesn’t require the veneration of lifeless trinkets.

Orthobros think kissing blocks of painted wood is essential to the gospel.

Dyer couldn’t articulate the gospel if his life depended on it.

Oh wait. It does.

Could someone who has never heard of Christianity stumble upon a Bible, read it, believe the gospel, and become a true Christian?

Absolutely.

In fact, John tells us precisely why his Gospel was written:

“These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)

Now consider a second question.

Could that same person, having never encountered Christian tradition, read the Bible and arrive at Roman Catholicism?

Its papacy? Marian dogmas? Veneration of images? Treasury of merits?

Not a chance.

And therein lies the problem.

Rome has added to that gospel and then declared those additions essential to the Christian faith.