InHisTime77

Amen!

According to Wikipedia, there are a couple theories out there that could explain it. It's certainly an oddity though!

Indeed, Joe! Wonderful verse for the situation!

I hope he brings some good, positive changes to the Catholic Church. I'm interested to see what happens!

Amen to this!

I truly believe that God can bring us to a point of sinlessness, though it can only be through his guidance and grace. Everything in us is sinful, but everything in Christ is without sin. Thankfully we now have Christ in us. I hope one day to go even 24 hours without sin, something that seems near impossible for me now. But I must believe that our Father can give grace for even more than that.

I don't agree with the dogma of papal infallibility, but I think your reasoning could be dangerous. If man can never claim the teaching of man to be the infallible teachings of God, then how do we justify calling the Bible infallible? Is this not a case of God allowing men to write infallibly?

I'm not sure I understand your point here. Are you saying that it isn't possible for God to allow a human to teach infallibly?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the President legally bound to spend as the Congress designates?

This. Also in the original Hebrew this was an exaltation. God referred to himself in the plural both as a reference to the Trinity and as a sign of his greatness.

I searched, but found nothing credible. Could you perhaps provide me with an illustration?

Precisely! Catholic dogma simply does not claim that popes are infallible in everything they do or say. This is a myth.

As horrid as this is, I don't think it is actually in contradiction to the Catholic dogma of papal infallibility considering this support wasn't a matter of doctrine.

I am not a Catholic, and I do not believe the pope to be infallible. But I do believe that I can explain the Catholic doctrine on this issue. The pope is considered to be infallible only when he teaches ex cathedra. (meaning "from the chair"). There are a number of conditions that must be fulfilled in order for this to be the case (the teaching must be public; the teaching must apply to doctrine; the pope must intend for the teaching to carry apolistic authority; the pope must intend to bind the whole church by his teaching). Because of all the conditions, "infallible" teaching is very rare. And because of the conditions, infallible teaching can only be done by a current pope. So to be clear, infallibility does not mean that a pope is without sin. It also doesn't mean that a pope can't contradict another pope or make a mistake. Pope's are free to sin or err all they want without violating the doctrine of papal infallibility. The only thing that can't be done is to make a mistake while teaching ex cathedra. This is because when the pope speaks ex cathedra, he is thought to speak with the authority of the Catholic Church itself, which (from a Catholic perspective) is the authority of Christ himself. This is what supposedly makes the teaching infallible. So without the ability to teach with that authority, there is no chance to teach infallibly. Short version: According to Catholic dogma, Benedict can no longer teach ex cahtedra, meaning he can no longer issue infallible statements.

I am not making any definitive claim about whether or not God has spoken to you on this matter. There's simply no way for me to know that. My only point is that it is easy to attribute your own ideas to God. Many people do this everyday. My warning is to be cautious. How do you know this was from God? Was it revealed to you in scripture? If not, how was it told to you? Was it a vision? If so, you must ask what the source of this vision was (as it could be anything from God to demons to a hallucination). Was it simply a gut feeling? If so, how did you determine that this feeling came from God? Did it just feel like a spiritual revelation? If so, how does one determine what actually comes from God and what is just a misguided feeling? Do you see my point? God may have spoken to you, but you must be cautious when it comes to these matters. Question. Continue in prayer. Read the scriptures. These things lead to truth with or without personal visions.

Be careful with this. It is certainly good to go to the Lord in prayer, but be sure not to mistake your own ideas for God's. It's easy to wish something to be true and claim it as an answer to prayer rather than patiently waiting for God's reply.

What an incredible book! This is the first book I suggest any nonbeliever read (after the gospels of course) to learn about Christianity.