/lit/ - Literature

>>20217491
>exile-era writings like Ezekiel have God as something totally beyond human experience.
Common misunderstanding, God appears as a man in Ezekiel as well (Ez 1:26, 3:23), though His glorious chariot-throne depicted in detail often takes away from this fact. Apostolic Christians interpret all of these theophanies as God the Son, aka "[...] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD" (Ez 1:28), or, as St. Paul puts it, "The Son is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15).

>>19412171
>At the same time, the fathers teach salvation by faith rather than works (so point for the protestants)
Why do Protestants always seem to get this point wrong? Catholics do not believe in salvation by works. We believe that Christians are saved by grace through faith. As the Catechism puts it:

The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ" and through Baptism:

Through the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in Christ's Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being born to a new life; we are members of his Body which is the Church, branches grafted onto the vine which is himself: By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature... For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.

The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.

Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals.

Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness here means the rectitude of divine love. With justification, faith, hope, and charity are poured into our hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us.

Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life [...]

Justification establishes cooperation between God's grace and man's freedom. On man's part it is expressed by the assent of faith to the Word of God, which invites him to conversion, and in the cooperation of charity with the prompting of the Holy Spirit who precedes and preserves his assent:

When God touches man's heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet, without God's grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God's sight." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1987-1997)

>>19288044
Yeah, you can hold local synods. But if you want to convene an ecumenical council in lieu of an emperor, temporal ruler, or pope, you have so far been unable. Even your best attempt in 1000 years, the 2016 council, led to the patriarchs of some of the world's largest churches, like Bulgaria, Georgia, Antioch and Russia, literally just leaving. Your church is in schism with itself. I will pray for you, and I do hope you respond to the other criticisms when you have time. God bless.

>>19288059
>Every bishop has the same power as St. Peter did, the power to bind and lose, the keys Christ speaks about are received by all bishops, not only St. Peter
"On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord." (St. Cyprian of Carthage, Unity of the Catholic Church 4)

The Holy Trinity is leader of the church, the cathedra of Peter holds primacy and is the source and intrinsic reason of unity, which chair holds primacy over the sees of the Apostles, who hold primacy over their flocks
Simple as.