Survey question: "If a man and a woman have sexual relations before marriage, do you think it is always wrong?"
Considering that sex is so heavily promoted and used in pop culture, I’m surprised that they even got a 30% Yes rate. I fear for what these numbers look like in the Evangelical / Conservative Evangelical / Fundamentalist churches.
Of course, it doesn’t help that Catholics really teach Scriptural positions on sex (or on justification, for that matter).
Of course, it doesn’t help that Catholics really teach Scriptural positions on sex (or on justification, for that matter).
"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells
The attached PDF (first post)is pretty good! Surprised by the source (R/C Church)
I was surprised by the differences between Catholic and Protestants on the question. Why the differences? I’m only suggesting two, I might be wrong, but these are my thoughts:
1. Despite the poor preaching in many Protestant evangelical churches, the focus of the conservative evangelical service has been preaching. I suppose the focus in the Catholic church is the Mass. I have watched the Catholic service on TV. The sermon is 5-10 minutes, tops. Compare that to John MacArthur who may preach 45 minutes, or Joel Beeke who seems to nearly always preach an hour. My guess is that by putting the focus on the Word of God, conservative evangelicals can answer the proposed question with greater faithfulness to the Word of God. Also, I’m just guessing, but since the Mass is the focus of the service, the average Catholic may look at it as a big eraser: fool around all week, then on the weekend everything gets erased.
2. Conservative evangelical undoubtedly have a higher percentage of truly regenerate people. I’m not suggesting that the Catholics who answered right are regenerate or that all evangelicals who answered right are regenerate, but I would think that our differences about how a person is saved (justification) would make a difference in how one lives.
Wasn’t it interesting that he made plain that he thought that the higher percentage of right answers didn’t come from liberal Protestants?
1. Despite the poor preaching in many Protestant evangelical churches, the focus of the conservative evangelical service has been preaching. I suppose the focus in the Catholic church is the Mass. I have watched the Catholic service on TV. The sermon is 5-10 minutes, tops. Compare that to John MacArthur who may preach 45 minutes, or Joel Beeke who seems to nearly always preach an hour. My guess is that by putting the focus on the Word of God, conservative evangelicals can answer the proposed question with greater faithfulness to the Word of God. Also, I’m just guessing, but since the Mass is the focus of the service, the average Catholic may look at it as a big eraser: fool around all week, then on the weekend everything gets erased.
2. Conservative evangelical undoubtedly have a higher percentage of truly regenerate people. I’m not suggesting that the Catholics who answered right are regenerate or that all evangelicals who answered right are regenerate, but I would think that our differences about how a person is saved (justification) would make a difference in how one lives.
Wasn’t it interesting that he made plain that he thought that the higher percentage of right answers didn’t come from liberal Protestants?
As long as the catholic church refuses to believe and teach the Bible as the literal Word of God catholics will treat it like a religion where it is a good luck charm to get to Heaven and I can live anyway I want to. I better be a good catholic and go to penance and mass to go to Heaven- All man made.
Protestants for the most part preach and teach the Word of God is God’s Word and must be lived by to please God. Christianity for protestants is my Christianity is a relationship where I want to please God rather than a man made religion.
Protestants for the most part preach and teach the Word of God is God’s Word and must be lived by to please God. Christianity for protestants is my Christianity is a relationship where I want to please God rather than a man made religion.
Jim Racke
I went to the blog at the archdiocese of DC and asked if a difference isn’t that in Protestant services that preaching is the focus of the service while in the Catholic service, a homily might only be 5-10 min. Thus, the peope are getting very little of the Word of God.
The answer I got was that the Catholics have something better-they have the Living Word (the real body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist), so the fact that Protestants put more of an emphasis on preaching is not the difference—so a few Catholics said.
The answer I got was that the Catholics have something better-they have the Living Word (the real body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist), so the fact that Protestants put more of an emphasis on preaching is not the difference—so a few Catholics said.
Discussion