dl2y+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU (Donna Marie Lewis) (01/15/90)
Mr. Evans, " Mother of God " is an old, old title for Mary. Look
up " Nestorianism ", a heresy of the sixth century, I believe, which
said that she wasn't. As for the seven hills of Rome, the Book of
Revelation was written when the Roman Empire was persecuting
Chrisitians. No wonder that Babylon is seated on seven hills !
The Catholic explanation of the difference between " petros "
and " petra " is gender. In Aramaic, the common language of Galilee,
both words are " kepha". However, in writing the Gospels, the author, (
the human, not the Divine, one) did not want to apply the feminine word
" petra " to Peter. Thus the difference in words. There is some
Biblical substantiation for this belief in the fact that Peter is
referred to as " Cephas " elsewhere in the Bible. As for Jesus
referring to Himself as the Rock, why did He use the word " this" rock ,
immediately after calling Simon " Rock" ? In English, anyway, this
construction usually means the thing referred to in the first part is
the same as the thing referred to in the second part. I don't know if
the construction's meaning is different in Greek.
The big question is does one believe the Church is a living
body, guided by the Holy Spirit, or not ? If so, you're Catholic, or
possibly Orthodox, or maybe Anglican, although I'm not that familar with
this denomination. If not, how does one explain the New Testament's
authority ? There were a lot of writings claiming inspiration
circulating in the early centuries. It was up to the early Church to
decide what was inspired and what not, and she did. Of course, once this
was decided, the Church submitted to the New Testament, and nothing in
her teaching contradicts the Bible. If one says the Church never had
inspiration, the gospel of Thomas is on the same level as the Gospel of
Luke. If one says the Church had this authority and lost it, the problem
is, why ? Sinfulness of the Church's members ? When weren't men sinful ?
Isn't that why the Spirit's guidance is needed in the first place ? ( If
one belongs to the bodies I mentioned, the problem is, which church is
the One, I think. If I'm wrong, or unintentionally heretical , please
correct me. )
Unrelated query:, are there any other Newman fans out there ? I've
been trying to find " The Developement of Christian Doctrine "
without much success. I think it's an essay, so it would probably be in
a collection. Anyone know a small collection of essays that has it ? I
devoured " Apologia " ," Present Position" , and " Collected Verses " I
found the first brilliant, the second very funny in spots , and the
third so-so, with great ideas but not brilliant poetry. . I should read
" Idea of a University " soon, if I have time.
Yours in Christ,
Donna Marie Lewis
Cor ad cor loquitur - " Heart speaks to heart "
Gaudete semper - " Rejoice always "D2MG@SDSUMUS (Kurt Evans) (01/16/90)
Donna Marie,
As I mentioned in a personal mailing, I spent a large part of
Christmas vacation studying the history of Roman Catholicism. I came
across Nestorianism completely by chance(?) while looking up Nero.
It seems they believed Jesus was part God and part man, and although
they acknowledged that Mary was the mother of the man part of Him,
they did not acknowledge that she was the mother of the God part of
Him. The encyclopedia gave no information that would make me think
it was a heresy (unless, of course, you define a heresy as a conflict
with Catholicism).
You write, "...does one believe the Church is a living body,
guided by the Holy Spirit, or not? If so, you're Catholic, or possibly
Orthodox, or maybe Anglican..." I believe the Church is a living body,
guided by the Holy Spirit, but I do not identify with any denomination.
Jesus is Lord,
Kurt