Catholic Dogma Infallible?

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "The pope has the power to bind and loose.  That means whatever he decides will be accepted in heaven."

"Binding and Loosing...

...Nowhere in the New Testament do we see divine power given to a sacrificial priesthood to bind and loose. Nowhere do we see the need to confess sins to a man in order to be forgiven. The keys which were given to Peter in Matthew 16:19 represent the authority (not the power) to make pronouncements concerning sin. This authority is given to everyone who has received the Spirit, as we see in John 20:22-23. Jesus said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." Every believer can use the authority of God's word to say to those who believe the Gospel: "Your sins are forgiven." Likewise, believers can say to those who reject the Gospel: "Your sins are retained." During my 37 years in the Roman Catholic Church, no priest ever asked me if I believe the Gospel. Tragically, I left the confessional box hundreds of times with a false hope, believing I was forgiven, but still carrying the eternal debt for sin..." full text:  Divine Forgiveness: Joyful Assurance or False Hope?  http://pro-gospel.org/x2/content/view/50/1/

See:

Calling People to Repent and Believe the True Gospel

"Bind loose"

There is a big difference between truth in the Lord and trust in a church or program.  We come to the Lord by faith.  Only the true gospel saves.  The Protestant Reformation was important in that it was an attempt to return people to the authority of the Word of God.  

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven [Matt. 16:19].
"What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? Were they given only to Simon Peter? No, Jesus gives them to those who make the same confession made by Peter, those who know Christ as Savior. If you are a child of God, you have the keys as well as any person has the keys. The keys were the badge of authority of the office of the scribes who interpreted the Scriptures to the people (see Neh. 8:2–8). Every Christian today has the Scriptures and, therefore, the keys. If we withhold the Word, we “bind on earth”; if we give the Word, we “loose on earth.” No man or individual church has the keys—to the exclusion of all other believers. We have a responsibility today to give out the gospel because it is the only thing that can save people. This is a tremendous revelation. Who is sufficient for these things? You and I have a responsibility that is awesome indeed!"
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ [Matt. 16:20].
"The Lord made this request because the mere knowledge of who He is will not save you. To find salvation you must know who He is and what He did and accept Him by faith."
McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:92-93). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "The gospel is the good news.  It does not save."

The gospel is the Bible (66 books of inspired scripture) from cover to cover.  Get to know God (Jn 8:31).  Your soul will live forever somewhere (Jer 19:1, Ac 20:31).

The real Jesus saves (he does not reside in a wafer [2 Chron 6:18]; he cannot be called down from heaven and sacrificed all over again [Jn 19:30, Heb 10:15-18]]).  The true gospel saves (there is one gospel; it is one of faith not works [Eph 2:8]).  There is one way, one truth, on live found in Jesus not a church, program or person (Jn 14:6). 

Don't be ashamed of the truth (Ro 1:16).  Become born again of incorruptible seed which is the word of God (1 Pe 1:23).   

See:

Inspired Scripture  http://www.vananne.com/inspiredscripture/

No Sacrifice  http://vananne.com/culttoasters/No%20Sacrifice.htm

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "If the written Word were so important, Jesus would have made sure the printing press did not wait to be invented for 1500 years."

"You have magnified Your word above all Your name (Ps 138:2)."  

"[I]t is for all believers to strive to understand, chiefly in prayer, these truths...at the end of the day, someone or some special group will need to finalize the meaning for all to adhere to"

We understand God and his plan for us primarily by his word.  Men lie (Ps 37:12).  God does not (Isa 26:4).  If you trust in men, you will suffer their fate (Mt 6:2).  Read Ps 119. 

"Maybe McGee has the Keys? Maybe not."

McGee points to Jesus.   He does not point to himself.  He worked to get the word of God out.  "The great sin of the average Christian is ignorance of the word of God." ~ J. Vernon McGee

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "The canon that came about was from the Catholic Church..."

Why Isn't the Apocrypha in the Bible?

Did Constantine Decide What Books Belong in the Bible?

What Occurred at the Council of Nicea?

Did the Roman Catholic Church Give us the Bible?

What is the origin of the Roman Catholic Church?

"...So his question is why do the Protestants accept Catholic Tradition when it comes to the Bible canon, but not other Catholic Tradition...If God worked through the Catholic Church when compiling his "Word" than why would he abandon the Church after?"

The Protestant Reformation was important and necessary as men sought a return to the authority of the Word of God.  You will trust men or you will trust God (Ps 138:2).  The "church" is an organic body of believers worldwide who have placed their trust in Christ alone for salvation (1Co 6:11; Eph 5:26,27).  God has always preserved a remnant of believers in him (Rom. 11:5). 

Tradition is fine if it is doctrinally sound (1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6).  Roman Catholic teaching is not.  Roman Catholics teach a:  different Jesus, a different gospel, and a different way of salvation than historical, biblical Christianity. 

See:

Reformation Time Line  http://www.vananne.com/applesofgoldbiblestudy/Reformation%20Time%20Line.PDF

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "We accept the Church's decree of what is scripture and what is not."

"Churches" lead men to hell because they depart from historical, biblical Christianity.  Jesus saves.  

The Roman Catholic Church departs from historical, biblical Christianity (Rev. 3:14–22):


a. This was the least faithful church mentioned in the New Testament.

b. The people were neither hot nor cold.

c. They bragged about their wealth, claiming they had need of nothing, but in reality they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

d. God admonished them to totally repent and allow him to re-enter fellowship with them.
Willmington, H. L. (1987). Willmington's book of Bible lists. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
 

"I'm starting to think you are J. Vernon McGee. Either that or you place much more faith in him than we do on our Pope."

He's dead.  Perhaps you do not like J. Vernon McGee because he gave out the word of God.  Roman Catholics murdered believers for this in the past. 

See:

Reformation Time Line  http://www.vananne.com/applesofgoldbiblestudy/Reformation%20Time%20Line.PDF

Your attitude toward the word of God is your attitude toward Jesus (Ps 37:4). ~David Jeremiah 

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "3 letters for you sir. KKK."

Ad hominem.   Address the doctrinal issues.  The Bible teaches that we are one race--the human race (Ac 17:26).  Darwinian evolution encouraged racism not biblical Christianity.  Hate slave owners not Christians who promote biblical truths.    

See:

Darwin's Plantation:  Evolutions Racist Roots  http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/product/Darwins-Plantation-Evolutions-Racist-Roots,5547,224.aspx

Response to comment [from a Catholic]:  "If there's one thing the Reformation taught us is that taking things into your own hands doesn't work."

You couldn't tell Ezra that.  True revival always starts with a return to the word of God (Neh. 8, Ezra 10; Neh. 13).  That is how we remove corruption in our midst. 

It comes down to where you place authority.  For the Catholic, it is men.  For the Christian, it is the word of God (Ps 138:2).  One leads to hell (Jude 11).  One leads to heaven (Jn 14:6).

"...He [Jesus] told them to go out and teach others to observe all He had commanded."

How are you doing with that?  Work-based faiths will leave you feeling inadequate and defeated (Ro 8:3).  They should.  You need to be born again (Jn 3:7).  

Catholic Dogma Infallible?