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Ok, so this portion of Acts is the first documented council in Christendom: The Jerusalem Council where St. James (Bishop of Jerusalem), St Paul, St Peter, and St Barnabas as well as other elders (priests) preside over a very important decision in the early Church. I posted this portion of Holy Scripture to show you that there is Scriptural precedence for Bishops and Priests. There are 9 more councils held by the Church that are authoritative and were presided over by Bishops. These councils were not declaring new theology but rather defending the revelation it received from Christ Himself. Here are 7 that most folks are familiar with, the final 2 councils are debated between the East and the West. They primarily cover the filioque clause (and the Son) that the Latins inserted into the Nicene Creed and the essence energies distinction.

1. Nicaea 325 Arianism Christ is fully God

2. Constantinople 381 Divinity of Holy Spirit Trinity affirmed

3. Ephesus 431 Nestorianism Mary = Theotokos

4. Chalcedon 451 Nature of Christ Two natures, one person

5. Constantinople II 553 “Three Chapters” Clarified Chalcedon

6. Constantinople III 680–681 Monothelitism Two wills in Christ

7. Nicaea II 787 Iconoclasm Icons venerated

The same authority you see in Acts is the very same authority (The Church guided by The Holy Spirit) you see in the councils that follow. Additionally, these same councils bring you the canon of Scripture (The protestant canon is not the canon that is eventually confirmed as it is missing the Deutercanonical texts) and the earliest complete list comes from St. Athanasius in the 360s.

OgFOMK ArTS 4mo ago

Sounds complicated.

I'm going to keep it simple.

The question is, are you saved, or not?

I'm saved through Jesus Christ.

If you don't know whether you are saved or not, then I would recommend reading the Bible and throwing away all commentaries.

It's even easier than that.

Get down on your knees and ask Jesus to come into your heart and life. Ask him to wash away your sins with his blood.

You don't need any councils for this. Just you and Jesus Christ. He's not dead. He's alive right here and now. He is waiting for you to let him into your heart. He's so far beyond all of the commentaries, icons and self righteous machinations. He's here right now.

He wants us to be in fellowship and he knows we are sinners. He's ready to accept our fellowship. I'm going to pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I ask you in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, to anoint us with the blood of your son and let us be in fellowship with you through your Son. Forgive us for our nonsense and grant us favor to do your will and your work. In your son's name, Jesus Christ; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, Amen.

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Discussion

The COG Catholic 4mo ago

The Bible believer believes that councils are necessary since the Bible shows a council was called in Acts 15. It was important to them; it should be important to us too.

As for getting on one's knees and praying, it should be no surprise that Catholics are used to that -- and often are even ridiculed for it.

We pray every week as Mass for mercy, as we publicly confess our sins "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." And then we accept Jesus into our hearts, onto our tongues, and into our tummies.

We will know we are ultimately saved when we die in his friendship.

The way to salvation is indeed simple, but not as simplistic as some want to imagine it is.

Lew☦️ 4mo ago

It isn't complicated, the Church has 2000 years of history that is worth everyone's time but I do very much appreciate the dialogue. God bless you brother.

OgFOMK ArTS 4mo ago

Actually we have 6000 years. We are still having it. We are in direct communion. The key is that Christ opened up the way to all of us because we are degenerates. Just in the book of Genesis we go from living nearly 1,000 years to barely 90! We are in Revelation now.

It's ok to think. It's not ok to go against God.

Lew☦️ 4mo ago

Or more specifically, the age of the Church 🙏

OgFOMK ArTS 4mo ago

If we look at Abraham with Isaac. We wonder why he would want to sacrifice his son. Recently I realized that Abraham knew God would not lie. Abraham believed that the sacrificial Lamb would be provided. He also believed that if he sacrificed his son Isaac, Isaac would be risen from the dead because God promised that Abraham would be the father of many nations through his only son. His other son, Ishmael, was also the father of many nations, the Arabs. Good promised that through his wife Sarah, Abraham would be the father of many nations.

This also prepared us for the emotional experience of God sacrificing his son Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:1 KJV “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

John 1:1-2 KJV “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. The same was in the beginning with God.”

Jesus, The Logos, is the word.

The Church was established before creation. It's an active and living body. It's also not an organization by men. It's an organization observed by men.

The COG Catholic 4mo ago

What is the organization observed by men?

The COG Catholic 4mo ago

Because nostr:nprofile1qqsr3qd74m4d9n8ymu0875n7nt0q54epujn0vyhlntyz4fkf9vq559c3x2qdj's argument is "it's okay to go against God."