Where is God when bad things happen: (10 min video) On God, Tsunami and the Problem of Evil

How do you choose your church? I don't. The Church has chosen me. I gladly accepted.

She doesn't like Jesus then at all. His manners were sometimes terrible.

Cliche, but: 1. good for the forum as this 2. for days when we are not up to starting loooooong conversations :-)

We can go to the Book of Acts, where the first council in Jerusalem took place. The church of Antioch was looking for the answers from the Church of Jerusalem. The question was: is circumcision necessary for salvation? Paul and Barnabas did not impose their own understanding, but went to Jerusalem to consult and get the authoritative answer. Doctrinal (not only, but in this case unquestionable) unity was important.

This sounds almost as 'almost nothing bad has happened - Luther had good intentions, just those bad, bad Catholic leaders did not want to surrender to his holy wishes'. And it is not the truth. There were 'stages' to Luther's opinions and theology, there were vicious attacks on the Catholic Church. There are also so many political reasons that are omitted in those types of talks, and they are absolutely crucial to understanding of Reformation (which did not reform much). It is worth to say that during his lifetime there have been already over 100 Protestant denominations started - protesting away. It never ends, either. Th real reformers of the Church then were St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross. St. Francis de Sales. There is a difference between reformation and rebellion. And, of course, today every other Christian church adopts convenient dogmas, history and theology from the first centuries. It's called church consumerism, i.e. "I believe such and such, who agreed with me in the past?" But the problem lies in the lack of hermeneutical, theological and historical continuity with the early Church.

He understands Lutheranism perfectly. He is not a confused scholar. You would have to read his other popular and scholarly books and papers to see that his choice was the only he could made.

Not only you. :-) Many prominent Lutherans are converting during the last decade. "One of the most under-reported religious stories of the past decade has been the movement of Lutherans across the Tiber." Interestingly, I have not heard of Catholic priests becoming Lutherans. :-)

The simplest answer: Because the Bible (OT or NT) itself does not say which books should be included. It is the question of final authority (and somewhat of inspiration and interpretations of the Scriptures).

Yep. We need absolutes, logic, Socrates and all that jazz to untangle it all. God's grace being number one help, that is.

Lives of the Saints - Butler

Although there were SOME sects, the unity was visible from the very beginning. It is documented in the Scriptures (the order of authority and functionality of the early Church) and in the works of the pre-Nicean church fathers. Although the Scriptures were canonized (officially decided upon) in the fourth century, the majority of Christian local churches have already used mostly the same writings that later formed NT. The OT that was used was Septuagint, as this is what Jesus quoted while on earth. It wasn't, as some would like to have, hundreds of views and opinions about what Christianity was, and then by a democratic vote or mysterious process decided upon who was right. The church was one from the very beginning. If you read the early church fathers you will see at least this: it's unity. Facing heresies? Yes, but unity was visible.

One thing that I would like to underline, and it would be totally appropriate for the classical forum (since logic is part of classical education), is that people who are honest, really, really honest, and are searching for the deep things of God, sooner or later will come to the crossroad in where they have to answer a question: how do I determine that what I believe is an objective truth. Faith will follow or will lead to this point. Reason will agree with faith, bc there is no other way (St. Augustine said: I believe, so I can understand.) The search people are on is not only determined by a longing to fulfill their desires and feelings, although it does play a crucial role. It is not that someone suddenly desires to get smells and bells each week or history and tradition in place of 'worship and preaching' service. It is the search for the ultimate truth. The price is high and it will cost us all. But it's worth everything. Once you agree that there is no place for ecclesial consumerism, and you are not trying to find the next 'something' to fit your world, you will probably get to a place where your heart (and mind) will look first of all for the truth, and then will accommodate accordingly. Otherwise, looking for high liturgy, ancient traditions etc. is just another fashion and trend that will leave you in short lived fascination with the means, not the cause.

Colleen, I have a very similar story to yours, I think. I grew up Catholic and went through the Charismatic Renewal (full blown, i.e. worship, healings, street preaching, evangelism - everything that a good Evangelical Charismatic could get - I had in the Catholic Church). I drifted away toward more fundamentalistic theology, mostly bc of wanting to go after "signs & wonders" and away from formalized religion. Went through YWAM's DTS (first one in Poland, first one in the Eastern Europe!), went to be a missionary in Russia, met my Protestant future husband. Got married in AG, joined Vineyard, got ordained there, went through Toronto blessing :-), went to plant churches in Russia and Poland, then to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, back in the US for International House of Prayer in KC. Because we have traveled so much, we've seen and experienced so many ideas of how Christians should live and 'do the Church" that I was provoked slowly but surely to find what the church should really look like. When back in the US, I started to read Church Fathers. It shocked me how Catholic they were. I started to read about how the Bible was made, history of the Church, doctrines, councils etc. I came to the conclusion that the Church that Jesus Christ started was THE Catholic Church and the only way the unity can be achieved is by building His church. I also had a spiritual experience that sealed my decision. My husband's story is a bit different. He had a desire to live like saints, St. John of the Cross, St. Theresa of Avila, St. Francis of Assisi and while at the IHOP-KC (focus there was on prayer and intercession) he read a book "Fulfillment of All Desire" by Ralph Martin, Catholic Charismatic leader. He came to the conclusion that he was very presumptuous of wanting the grace that these saints had and their closeness to God without believing and practicing what they had believed. He realized that all of them talked about intimacy coming mostly from receiving Holy Communion as the real Body and Blood. He wanted it. One day he decided he will stop protesting. Few months later he went to his first confession. You can pm me if you want. Blessings.

The Authobiography of St. Theresa of Avila Its also online.

CLAA Common School

Then go to a Catholic church. :-)

History of Music?

Classical and Catholic Bible Studies

NT Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

Chesterton: "In America, they have feast to celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims. Here in England, we should have a feast to celebrate their departure.†And here is an article on Veneration of Images that probably explains what you are looking for.

Melissa, LOTH is easy and a great place to start is http://divineoffice.org

Check School of Classical Music by Jonatahn Peters through the CLAA

Maybe this will help you: How to create a schedule 1. Setting goals. 2. Setting objectives 3. Listing tasks 4. Framing a schedule 5. Establishing routine