Ask me anything: Roman Catholic Edition

Luke6_37 wrote: The Qur'an never directly refutes the doctrine of the Trinity. It appears to not even be aware of how it is dogmatically defined. The Qur'an refutes a belief in three divine beings: Father, Son and Mary. It also states that Jesus (despite his miraculous birth and sinless nature) was no more than a human prophet. Roman Catholics agree with the Qur'an that there is only one divine being, but there is no reason for us to accept it's claim that Jesus was merely a prophet. Everything that has been handed down directly to us from the first century by Scripture and Tradition supports the Christian doctrines of the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection.  The Qur'an coming out of left field to make other claims is simply not convincing in the least.

NABA wrote: Peacemaker once again I repeat God cannot have son, because Allah is creator he is not in the need of means,in fact he is the source of all means,he does what he intends to do,once again I repeat Allah is one he is eternal he is neither born nor give birth there is nothing like him.

I am not sure what you mean by "in the need of means". Are you saying that as one eternal being, God cannot be the source of himself? The Father/Son metaphor for the relationship between the Creator (Source) and Logos (Word) is just a convention that made sense to early Christians, because it was a great way to describe someone who wasn't the same person as the Creator, but who had all the power & authority of God and did things only God could do. However, if this analogy gets in the way of your understanding of the relationship between the Creator (Father) & Logos (Word), think of it like the relationship between Allah & the Qu'ran if the Qu'ran was expressed in body language rather than Arabic, and could walk among us, healing the sick and feeding the hungry, etc.

ovibos wrote: I'm just curious, I don't have any intention to argue or whatsoever, 1. About the Ten Commandments: Why does the Roman Catholic combine the first and the second commandment (of the Protestant version) into one commandment, but then break down the tenth commandment (of the Protestant version) into two different commandments? (by the way, in my opinion, <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that your neighbor’s.” seems to be one commandment, not two.</span> 2. which OT version do you think is more reliable: the Septuagint or Masoretic Text? 3. Do you believe that there is salvation outside the Roman Catholic, e.g. Eastern Orthodox Church, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam? 4. What do you think of same-sex marriage? Are you pro or against it, and why?

1. About the Commandments - Scripture states that they are a Decalogue, but does not explicitly number them, so there is only Tradition to rely upon for how to count them. Catholics believe that Saint Augustine rightly included the prohibition on creating graven images as part of, not separate from, the first commandment against any form of idolotry. It could not have meant a blanket prohibition on the creation of statues or images in general, because then God would have violated his own law by instructing the Israelites to place the images of two cherubim on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. The numbering of the other Commandments then follows from that.

2. The Septuigint is far older (1,000 years) than the Masoretic text, and Greek is a better language for writing, because it contains vowels. Having said that, I think that where the two texts disagree about a word or phrase, a Biblical scholar would have other sources to consult - such as the Aramaic Targums, the Dead Sea Scrolls & the Latin Vulgate in order to resolve the issue. So it really isn't an issue of deciding just between the two.

3. Salvation means to be liberated from slavery. Moses brought salvation to the Israelites by liberating them from slavery in Egypt. By dying on the cross, Jesus brought salvation to all the nations by liberating all of humanity from slavery to sin and death. This is a gift (a.k.a., grace) offered to everyone - no strings attached. Once you accept it you are part of the Church. The Sacraments are outward physical signs of having received this grace, but God is not constrained by the Sacraments and bestows His grace where he pleases. You may not realize this while you are alive, but if you truly love God & love your neighbor you are saved, regardless of what religion you profess.

4) Matrimony is one of the seven sacraments in the Catholic Church. It restores the unity of the original Adam, before God split him into male and female, so that the procreative aspect of humanity can be unleashed. This is impossible with two people of the same gender. So while a same sex relationship may have a unitive function, it is not by definition a marriage, because there is no procreative aspect to it. I believe that same sex unions are a thing - and sometimes even a good thing, but they are not a marriage. Legally, however, it's easier to simply classify them as marriages and I don't see any reason to oppose that.

NABA wrote: Peacemaker once again I repeat God cannot have son, because Allah is creator he is not in the need of means,in fact he is the source of all means,he does what he intends to do,once again I repeat Allah is one he is eternal he is neither born nor give birth there is nothing like him.