For those who don't understand the Catholic dogma of papal infallibility, look at the first book written by pope Benedict XVII on matters concerning the Faith, but as the pope claims in his book: «... it is not part of the Magisterium, everybody is free to refute me». It doesn't matter if a pope says that what he writes is infallible, what makes his teachings infallible is when he speaks or write «ex cathedra» or when he speaks or writes the beliefs and teachings of the Church from the beginning. MV Father John Zuhlsdorf was at the presentation of the Pope’s book, Jesus of Nazareth in the Aula del Sinodo on Friday 13 April 2007 and offers a lengthy account of his first impression: It is not new to receive a book from a Pope. In the past, they were the fruits of interviews, or they were biographical or poetry. But this is a work of theology. That’s new. Even though it is a work of theology, it is not a contribution to the Magisterium. That’s new. This point was heavily stressed in the presser. This book is a contribution of “Joseph Ratzinger” to all who are interested in Jesus. The novelty of this book is its context, coming as it does from a Pope. . . . http://www.popebenedictxvifanclub.com/blog/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Dr. Neville Jones Sent: 14 avril 2007 07:56 To: geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [geocentrism] Re: Forsaken Roots We have communicated now for several years, Philip, and throughout that time I have always perceived you to be honest, genuine and questioning. I do not understand the distinction between the "real" Catholic Church and what I observe to be the Catholic Church, but I respect your position. However, a very large number of people are dishonest and you and I know from experience that such people extend throughout any religion, Catholicism and Judaism included. Now, if you accept that the Devil really does exist (and I only came to this conclusion last year), and if you accept that he can manifest himself as an angel of light, then we all have to face the fact that the sole reason for manifesting himself thus is to lead people astray - i.e., to deceive as many as possible. Does this not account perfectly for the fact that there are apparently over 28,000 different sects, denominations, cults, ..., within the so-called Christian category alone. And what about the Jews and the Muslims, do they not argue amongst themselves as to meaning and interpretation constantly. The Sunnis, the Shi-ites, the Orthodox Hassidic, the Revisionist, ... We cannot put all of this down to lost meaning in ancient languages or translation. Even using our intellect, we must see that this confusion and these contradictions are designed, planned, deliberate. You have used a combination of your spirit and your intellect to discount certain popes as being false, in doing that you have held fast to your belief in the fundamentals of the Catholic Church. All I have done is use my spirit and my intellect to reject large sections of the "Old Testament," in particular, based solely upon my belief in God. Instead of never-ending debates, interpretations, word studies, etc., do we not instantly obtain two things simply by recognizing the Devil for what he is: 1. Harmony and agreement. 2. A view of the world which enables us to make sense of what is going on around us. It is not adequate for anyone to state that the Bible is God-breathed simply because the Bible claims itself to be so (2 Tim. 3:16, from memory). Such a claim must be in harmony with the Spirit. This is where the intellect must give way to the joining of our spirit with the Spirit of God. Best wishes, Neville. philip madsen <pma15027@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: but are you not in danger of abandoning your responsibility in this respect by accepting the conclusions of the Council of Trent, or Cardinal Belarmine (my apologies - I can see that I have spelt his name wrongly, but cannot remember the correct spelling at the moment), or Pope JP2, or whoever? Neville.. No apology needed. I would probably have spelt it the same way.. However you may have misread me, but you know from experience of my previous utterings that "my responsibility" prevents me from falling into the trap of blind obedience. This is where intellect is guided by the spirit perhaps, but if the Spirit intervenes with every individual, then He is certainly a complicated and confused person, given the variety of contradictions among most of the people, Catholic or not Catholic. I would accept the Council of Trent as dogmatic, but not Bellarmine. But I should not entirely trust my interpretation of Trent, it being a very complicated Latin presentation. I would listen to Bellarmine because he was closer to it, and had more authority than I.. I also allow my intellect, or the Spirit if you prefer, to abandon almost all of what popes Paul VI , or any of his successors say or have said , simply because they have shown themselves to be either confused or anti-catholic.. more probably the latter. The trouble with the spirit Neville is a very troublesome problem for the reasons I gave. Scripture says ( I cannot find where) we must test the Spirit in all things.. To do that we must have intellect and reason. Are we not in danger of abandoning our responsibility in accepting the conclusions of men whether they be other men or ourselves, deluded as we may well be by false spirits. God must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. You cannot have one without the other. Truth can be ascertained by correct reason. Discerning the Spirit outside of Scripture is not so cut and dried. As you have chosen to censor scripture, and reject large portions of it, how can you be certain of the authenticity of your "spirit" without intellect? Finally I have no dispute with this: it is not primarily intellect, but a striving of the spirit towards truth and constant prayer to request wisdom and understanding. That is why Christ states that we shall know the truth, rather than unravel it or work it out. Provided we are on track, He will give to our intellect the grace of comprehension. But Neville, both you and I know people who strive with constant prayer , but who are on many differing tracks....So what striving, and on what track was Paul, when he took the road to Damascus? Philip. Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now.