You've proven nothing with this comment. Provide an excerpt. A cite.
A cite is worthless. Attending a service would be far more enlightening.
If that's what you meant by "elevate her to positions that rival Jesus and God," then you have quite a flair for the dramatic. Quite an exaggerator.
I've read more than I ever should have. I've wasted my time reading Protestant theology. The only thing it got me was a very deep understanding of the depth of the Protestants' misunderstanding.
Misunderstanding of what exactly? Catholic dogma or the Bible? Think about your back ground, your biases, before you answer.
Yes, Protestants do disregard the Apostles. To Protestants, the Apostles are only some of the New Testament authors, but not all New Testament books were written by Apostles, but that fact stands there in Protestant imagination without justification. What justification is there for the books of Mark, Luke, Acts and James for being in the Scripture? How did they get there? They're not Apostolic books. Why are they in the Bible?
They are in the Bible because
God wanted them to be. It is the utmost human arrogance to assume that they are responsible for putting together the Canon of scripture. Protestants always look to Scripture first and to Scripture to test all things. We have faith that that is why God gave us Scripture and we trust that above any extra biblical writings.
The answer is that the Apostles exercised their authority over the Church. The Apostles said what was Scripture, and they also said that the Church would be hierarchical, and that all the pastors shall all agree in matters of faith, doctrine and morals (on pain of excommunication). They taught the Christian faith, definitively, authoritatively, and both in writing, and by word-of-mouth. In the Scripture itself we see the Apostles passing on their authority, to hand-picked men, who had the authority to pass on this authority themselves, thus establishing Apostolic succession. We have secular and sacred evidence for this very early practice.
Yet Peter and Paul nearly came to blows over matters faith so disagreement can exist within the Body of Christ without damaging the body. The Body of Christ today is comprised of many different sects of which Roman Catholicism is but one. The individual churches do not derive their authority from hand me downs, they receive their authority from Christ. We teach our pasters who inturn teach the next generation of pastors so succession continues.
Protestants don't even know that, let alone "regard" the Apostles. They're nobodies in Protestant-land. And that's why it's no surprise that Protestants also disregard the Blessed Virgin, as it makes just as little sense as their disregard for the Apostles.
I have no idea where you get this rather goofy idea that Protestant disregard the Apostles. It is just plain silly. Protestants follow the Apostles teachings. That is what Luther was trying to say all those years ago to the Magisterium - go back to what the Apostles actually taught.
That's right! And what they taught was Apostolic succession. Orders.
And Protestants have succession. It does not follow RCC dogma, but it does follow the Biblical tenants of gathering in the name of Christ, anointing leaders and sending them forth in His name.
Yes, I know. Except that what you call "good protestant churches" are otherwise known as "Holy Catholic parishes."
Catholic only in so far as catholic means universal, i.e. Body of Christ.
True.
Sigh. Apostolic succession. What the Holy Catholic pastors universally teach about the Mother of God is what the Church has believed about her since the beginning. It comes from the Apostles. This is regarding the Apostles. Rejecting everything that raking over the New Testament with a fine-toothed comb doesn't turn up, is disregarding them. Protestant hermeneutic is no different from if the Apostles never really existed. And same thing with Mary.
The saddest thing about the Marion doctrines is that you CANNOT support them using the things that Jesus and His Apostles actually said as recorded in scripture. Sure, the RCC has always believed these things, it doesn't make them right or true. You and Cruciform and other Romanists on this site only ever discuss succession and Mary and how wonderful the RCC is. Never once do you ever discuss what Jesus has done for you and why others should turn to Christ. Its always about why others should join your church. Your church is so focused on Apostolic accession and Mary that there is no room left for Jesus save a few minutes a week during the reading of the Gospel and the Eucharist.
