re: TIL the Roman Catholic basilica and shrine is the tallest building in Washington DC

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Totally makes up for having a globalist cuck Pope.

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DANG IT! I hate when someone take a dig at the Catholic Church... and then I gotta say, "well... he's right you know."

It’s okay, I don’t judge all Catholics by their supposed leader.

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its catholic....not Christian....big difference

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There are two kinds of Christians in the world. Catholics and heretics. Any person who claims to be Christian, yet doesn't belong to the Catholic Church, is guilty of heresy. It's as simple as that.

The Catholic Church outdates your pitiful denomination by over 1,500 years. If you're Orthodox, the Catholic Church only beats you by just over 1,000 years.

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ou must be a democrat, because your sources suck...catholicism began under constantine, when pagan rome adopted "christianity" and bastardized it with pagainism...you better check again

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You're honestly saying catholics aren't christian?

What crazy fricking snake handling shite denomination do you belong to?

It’s the tallest habitable building. The two tallest buildings are Hughes Memorial Tower and Washington Monument.

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and most everybody other than a few Protestant groups acknowledge that.

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Ya, hence my comment about him being a member of some batshit-crazy snake handling cult

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Jesus was not saying those who do good things go to Heaven while those who do bad things go to Hell. Such a concept of salvation is entirely merit-based and completely does away with the concept of God's grace which is taught throughout the scriptures. If we go to Heaven because we do good things, Jesus' death was pointless. The reason why we are saved through faith is because in doing so, Jesus' righteousness is applied to us. If we can work our way to Heaven with Jesus, Jesus didn't have to die at all. Jesus taught that His people do good works, but they are not His people because of their good works. They "follow Him" (in obedience) because they are His; they aren't His because they follow Him: "Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” -John 10:25-30

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But this is perhaps the most grossly MISREPRESENTED of all Catholic doctrine. No where does the Catholic faith teach that "we can work our way to Heaven". It teaches that "faith without works is dead" which is what Matthew 25:31-46 is clearly about.

A follower of Christ cannot deny the hungry, the thirsty, etc. without denying Christ Himself.

The Catholic Church is (I'm not certain) but perhaps the only Christian denomination that publishes and defends it's beliefs. You can go to any Barns & Nobles (etc.) and buy The Catechism of the Catholic Church. That book heavily references Scripture in defending it's teachings.

Nowhere will you find that the Church teaches that works without faith can get you to Heaven. But at the same time, it vehemently teaches that professing Faith yet ignoring works is no faith at all. In short, Faith is as much a verb as a noun.

Look, this can all be found online at www.Catholic.com, but Cliff Notes:

Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant.

Just as the OT Ark of the Covenant carried the Word of God, and manna that sustained the Israelites to the Promised Land; MARY carried the Word Made Flesh who called Himself the bread of life which if you eat will give Eternal Life (Promised Land).

That Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant is emphasized in Revelation end of chapter 11, beginning of chapter 12 (remember "chapters" did not exist until the 12th Century so Revelation would have read like a letter; AND remember that the Isrealites were praying at that time to recover the Ark, so the fact that John says, "I saw the Ark" and immediately starts talking about 'the woman' tells you were he believed the emphasis rested."

So if the OT Ark that carried the Word of God - though made with human hands - was SO HOLY that in the book of Samuel, poor Uzzah is struck dead for touching it (and not because he was desecrating it, but simply to keep it from falling over); than how holy would the Ark that carried the Word Made Flesh be? Thus the belief that Mary was preserved from sin for the purpose of being the Ark of the New Covenant.

A misunderstanding by non-Catholics is that this teaching implies Mary did not require the death and Resurrection of her Son. But that is not Catholic teaching. She was preserved for the special purpose of bringing the Word Made Flesh into the world, but in the fullness of time still required His sacrifice.

This, btw, was the teaching of the Church Fathers and is also shared by the Eastern Orthodox church.

Last point... some say the Church invented the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in the 1950's. Not true. The teaching that Mary was preserved from sin as the Ark of the New Covenant has been around since the beginning of the Church. It was proclaimed a doctrine in the 1950's, but was always a teaching.

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Someone is not familiar with Matthew 25: 31-46. Christ could not speak more plainly.

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And you could not misinterpret or misapply the text to any greater extent. You have not taken the entire counsel of God. Here Christ is comparing and contrasting the actions of righteous (saved) with those are not.

Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 4:6 Even as David also dfescribeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

and the definitive passage
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

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I'd personally rather Christians brag about the goodness and mercy of God and His son, Jesus Christ, than the size of our church buildings.

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Savage yet earnest