C
Catholic Crusader
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- #241
We have a saying: We are bound by the sacraments, but God is not. In other words, since Christ commands us to be baptised, we must obey, and allow the sacrament to infuse grace into us and regenerate us. However, if God chooses to do this to certain people who have not been baptised, that is His perrogative. But, just because He can do that is not a green light for us to say it is not neccessary. Again: We are bound by the sacraments, but God is not.cybershark5886 said:CC, I can give you the Baptism Paper I wrote that I also gave to Devekut, but I believe that though one can become saved at the moment of physical baptism, that it is rather the Baptism of the Spirit which is effectual. Cornelius and the Gentiles first received the Spirit, and once Peter saw it and could not deny it (to his initial increduility/amazement) he then said he could not refuse them baptism, he had no grounds in which to refuse them after seeing such an evidence of salvation. It is also true for the (notably special/unique) case of the theif on the cross. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. If you would like to read the paper I wrote on Baptism please PM me your e-mail address and I will gladly send it to you.
God Bless,
~Josh
To be honest with you, its a challenge to take place in these discussions, because, in a sense, I am playing on your home field by your rules. My belief is that Jesus established a teaching Church, and endowed the apostles with the gift of teaching the truth: This gift was handed down through apostolic succession and resides with the pope and bishops in union with him. So thats all I need to know. I find great comfort in the fact that I don't have to "church shop" to find a group that fits my personal opinions, nor will my interpretation of certain scriptures change from year to year. I am home, and enjoy the fullness of truth. I cannot fathom the idea of being a protestant and constantly re-inventing the wheel. So this whole baptism thread is actually a moot point for me: Holy Mother Church teaches that it is a sacrament, and it is so. I play along with the give and take, but in the end, thats the final word for me.