re: Christians who somehow thought it wasn’t Christianlike to vote for Trump

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The creed with the filioque.

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Got it. So the criticism from DeerHunter against reformed churches applies equally to the RCC?

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A couple of weeks ago, Trump said he wanted to save thousands of lives so that he could earn his spot in Heaven (paraphrase). That is a works-based salvation, and not a Christ-based salvation.

Jesus alone paid the price of our sin-debt against God, and we receive forgiveness when we trust in Jesus alone by faith. If we try to add anything to our salvation, we say what Jesus did wasn’t enough, and we do not have the gospel.

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God often used sinful men (women) to help extend his Kingdom and fulfill prophecy. There is always hope that Trump (and many others) will learn how to reach Heaven.

I will say this - if comparing Trump's ethics/morals and actions to the Clinton's and the Biden's, he might have all of the competition beat.

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So then the question becomes, how do we know which church has true apostolic succession? Both make that claim, and yet, they are divided.

Isn’t it better to examine them against God’s Word/ Scripture? Isn’t that why the Bereans were commended? Because they tested Paul’s message against Scripture as the ultimate authority?

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The answer is found in what caused the schism (breach of union). It was gradual over many years as the West became Latinized (post 384 A.D.) versus the Greek East and innovations entered the western Church. It culminated in the Bishop of Rome claiming Papal supremacy over the 4 Bishops in the East and the Filioque controversy - all innovations.

The RCC since created more innovations such as indulgences, purgatory, papal infallibility, etc. which Orthodox do not ascribe to.

I pose a question to you since you still have not answered my first asking what confession your church ascribes to.

Does the church you attend engage in sacramental worship as instructed in the Holy Scriptures to eat of the body and drink of the blood of Christ?

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For example, Jerome didn't consider the Deuterocanon as authoritative and canonical and essentially said as much in his preface to those books. He didn't want to include them in his translation into Latin but then was pressured to do so by the Church.

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Pure revisionism. Jerome wasn't "pressured". He submitted to the authority of the Church and accepted her rule. He stated his opinion, and left it up for the Church to decide.

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The long and short of it is that the canon was widely known and accepted early on with only a few of the books being disputed, and yet that which is Scripture was still authoritative. The Old Testament was still authoritative even before any of the NT Scriptures were written, and as a book or letter was written and given to the Church as Scripture, it was accepted as such and added to the authoritative canon.

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Who determined that books or letters were given as scripture?

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What you're also missing is what sola scriptura actually means. You're claiming a self-own when there is no need. Scripture doesn't have to be fully known and distributed throughout the whole of the Church in order for it to be the highest and only infallible authority for the Church. The heart of the doctrine is authority, not full availability.

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You owned yourself once again here. If scripture doesn't have to be fully known, how do you know if someone is preaching a false gospel? You're implying that there are instances where some people have access to knowledge that others don't. That's a form of gnosticism.

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If someone starts a small church in Africa and they don't have their own Bible to consult, that doesn't mean that the sola scriptura doesn't apply. It just means that whatever is taught and any corrections that are needed must be accountable ultimately to the word of God.

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Interesting. Who, and by what authority, would administer these corrections?

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I implore you to stop accusing me of lies and double speak. What you're doing is asking for a complete systematic theology, and when I'm not going into full detail on every aspect, you're accusing me of being disingenuous. Let me explain.

I'm not appealing to the creeds and confessions as authorities but as summaries of biblical truths. I adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith. I reference it all the time and appeal to it often within the context of my church life. However, I don't do so because I believe it is my ultimate authority, but I view it as a subordinate standard to the Bible that faithfully summarizes what the Scriptures teach. The same is true for those creeds. My appeals are not to an ultimate authority, but to clarifying summaries of the only ultimate authority in the Bible.

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If someone rejects a creed or confession, though they are summaries of biblical truth, but they read their Bible, go to Church, and believe in Jesus, can you say they are Christian (or to put it nicely, in the Body of Christ)? If yes, then your view of what is faithfully taught in scripture is called into question. You yourself said they are summaries of biblical truth. If no, then those creeds and confessions must hold some form of binding authority, since they summarize a proper interpretation of scripture.

And speaking of interpretation:

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No, Scripture is still my binding authority. Private judgement or liberty of conscience just means that external, human authorities cannot bind the conscience where the Scriptures do not. Human traditions cannot compel the Christian to belief where the Bible does not.

Also, having the right to interpret the Bible does not mean that one has the freedom to interpret it wrongly. It is a misuse of the Bible to cherry-pick verses or to twist a plain meaning to get a result you want, rather than to draw from the text what is says. We all will be accountable to God for how we handled the blessing of His word, and that's a scary thought, and should cause us to approach God's word with reverence and carefulness.

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You seem to believe there is a normative authority for proper interpretation of scripture. Based on your posts, would it be accurate to say that you believe scripture, since it is the final and sole infallible authority in your view, can interpret itself? Even though it doesn't have a mind required for interpretation?

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God gave the Bible. The Church received it. The Bible doesn't require an infallible authority to testify that the Bible is what it is. The Church can err, but God's word cannot.

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Is the Bible created?

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You ask this after 278 posts later?
Are you being serious or capricious? If serious, you need to not be debating Orthodox doctrines.

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I would have just left him the parable of the sheep and goats

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I would have just left him the parable of the sheep and goats

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Brother,

You know It’s not for him - just as he doesn’t engage in intellectually honest conversations with those who disagree with him. He wants to pontificate and drive dissenting opinions away knowing most folks could care less.

Holding him accountable on here is for that one soul - who like myself - was searching for the One Faith, the One Church, in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

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There’s never been a more Christian president than Trump. He puts God above all else.

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I voted for him and would vote for him again but I don't know about that.

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There’s never been a more Christian president than Trump. He puts God above all else.

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Totally not in a cult.

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faith is rightly understood as a life lived in faithful obedience to God. It is accomplished at baptism, the sacramental instrument by which sins are forgiven, and is maintained by confession of sins.

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Absolutely correct. Amen. The EOC doctrine stated here is right and the RCC doctrine is in total concord and agreement.

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That is a works-based salvation, and not a Christ-based salvation.

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I’d say staying neutral in an election where evildoers want to destroy the most influential Christian nation on earth is even less Christian.

Revelation 3:15-16:
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth".