The Catholic Understanding of the Saints: Isn’t Christ the ‘One Mediator’?
Michael Barber – The Sacred Page – has posted his third article in response to Dr Jim West’s questions for Catholics.
Michael tackles the biblical or theological justification for believing that the dead pray for us, which can be found here.
The first article on ‘grace vs works’ can be found here.
The second article on the Catholic understanding of the Saints and the common objections from Protestants, can be found here.
May 30th, 2011 at 9:30 am
Your last link is taking me back to this page.
I am doing some research into the growing (small but growing) trend of US evangelicals converting to Catholicism. Its a sort of back door ecumenism. One of this issues is saints. I think this issue dissolves once evangelicals realise that they have “saints” – Christians whom they rever above all others (Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, Smith Wigglesworth).
I grew up in an area where St Ninian had lived and my school (a protestant one) was called St Ninians. It might be the influence of Iona, but we did know, study the lives of and revere the Celtic saints. I prefer these saints to the modern day “saints”. Much more interesting stories.
So I don’t see the idea of a saint – someone specially recognised for a life of faith or virtue – being anathema to protestantism at all.
By the way, St Valentine’s remains reside in Glasgow:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/279285.stm
May 30th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Thanks Gordon, updated the links.
I think this issue dissolves once evangelicals realise that they have “saints”
May 31st, 2011 at 10:47 pm
I’m coming to the conclusion that we as Christians argue about the wrong things sometimes, but such are people, lol. And I have been just as guilty as others in that respect. Without going into any detail I think it would be fair to say that often each side of the argument has good reasons and support for various things.
Bruce Lee once said: “Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against. For in the landscape of spring, there is neither better nor worse. The flowering branches grow naturally. Some long, some short.”
But these are the only things that are important: Do we all accept that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God? If yes than that should be enough. Do we confess that Jesus is Lord? Again, if yes than that should be enough.
Jesus said that those that had seen Him had seen the Father. St John wrote that He is love, and as that is the case then St Paul described His attributes to us as well:
He is patient and kind, He does not envy, He does not parade Himself, is not puffed up, is not rude, is not provoked, thinks no evil, rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. He never fails.
St John also wrote that love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
The question we should be asking as Christians is, do we love?