I said nothing of Papal Supremacy, merely that Pope Leo Was "head" of the Church and that he was the one who declared Hippo ecumunical. Whether the Pope is an absolute monarch or not is a largely political issue of Church governance and Episcopal Hierarchy. Whether he should be at the head of the College of Bishops is really only disputed by Constantinople, and the Patriarch has several times accepted the principle.
Hippo was the consolidation of Augustine's Conclusions. The issue has never been debated in Ecumunical Council, and while the Canon is broadly accepted, there remain issues even today; particularly with regard to Old Testement Apocypha. The question of how to use New Testement Apocrypha has never been properly addressed. Augustine became the final authority because he had both Papal and Imperial backing; the only way to enforce something on the regional Churches.[/QUOTE]I never denied that all of western Christianity looked to Rome. My point is that you are exaggerating the role of the Papacy in the formation of the canon. Hippo was the conslidation of what was already accepted - the gradual formation of the canon took place by consensus throughout all of Christendom, indeed the greatest single influence came from Athanasius in Alexandria, which Pope Damascus copied a few decades later. There is no reason to attribute the canon as it exists today to Rome.
Hay Don,
I know you're offended, and so am I, but you've come up with some doozies in your time too. You once told me Canterbury sought to supplant Rome.
Oft repeated is not the same as well established, the majority of Christins have always rejected the doctrine. An even higher percentage of Christians consider Calvin to be pretty much the worst thing come out of Renaissance Theology.
Well, I suppose if you believe the majority of Christians actually follow the Devil then this would be a problem for you. However, the rest of us would very much like to get on with the businness of putting the Church back together, thank you very much.And this thread isn't an unprovoked attack on the Catholic Church. On the contrary, I am concerned at the leading role that the Pope is taking in the ecumenical movement. One thing I do use Mr.Paisley's site for is the more up-to-date stuff (its up-to-date compared to 17th century theologians anyway), and this piece is a good example of where the ecumenical movement leads. Notice how this all isn't a modern fringe view, but instead the historic articles of the Protestant faith are being abandoned right left and centre.
First of all the Pope's no longer the antichrist, then idols appear in churches, then people indulge in the superstition of holy days, then they walk around town waving palm leaves about, then people are attending joint services with Catholics at the chapel. Protestants have conceded this, what ground has Rome given? None. Of course, this is the fault of liberal Protestants themselves, but it's happening nonetheless.
The Pope seems is granted more spiritual authority every century, and Protestants will increasingly look to him for leadership as the churches decline. This isn't my mind looking for conspiracies, Catholics will as readily admit it as anyone else. Orthodox, Anglican, and now even Presbyterians look to Rome. They will soon be one church. This is all real, it's prophecy in fulfilment, right here, right now.
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