Sunday Gospel: Two,three witnesses; Two,Three Legs of Church

[spauline]

Sunday Gospel: Two or three witnesses, Two or Three Legs: Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium



After two or three witnesses, if he doesn't listen to the Church, let him be a heathen and pagan. The power to bind and loose rests exclusively with those who have not merely Scripture, the first great witness, but TRADITION, which alone is had by BISHOPS, apostolic succession, and ultimately, the third witness, the Magisterium.

Where two or three are gathered, Christ will grant it, God is in their midst.When the Church, with, in one sense two legs, two witnesses, Scripture and Tradition, or Bishops, agrees on something in council, to ask for the truth on some theological sense, it is granted, for Christ said to the Apostles, and thereby their successors, I will send you the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into all truth.


But if there is no central Church to excommunicate, to bind and loose in the way of faith and morals, who then excommunicates in the name of God?

Behold, Rome teaches that the only men who can excommunicate from their communities are Bishops.


There are three levels of witnesses, three primary sources of truth: The Written Word, the Oral Word and Apostolic Succession in general, and Peter, who seals all things in the Magisterium.

Therefore, the Protestants can in no wise excommunicate anyone, for they have but only one witness, themselves and their Bible, their Written Word.Therefore, Christ is not in the midst of one man alone, who holds His Bible.

Christ is in the midst of two, the Orthodox, who have not merely the Written Word, but also the Oral Word, and the men that speak for God in general, the Apostles' successors. But only the Catholic Church has the fullness of three: The Written Word, the Oral Word and General Mediating Fathers, and finally the third, the Supreme Mediating Father!

In the midst of these ultimate three legs: The Written, the Oral and General Mediating Ones, and the Singular, highest Mediating One, Christ is there, granting the fullness of faith. And so the Gospel testifies to the infallibility of the Spirit given only to the men in whose midst the Son stands, granting all truth and the fullness of grace, the sacraments: the Scripture, the Tradition, two men, or to three, the Scripture and Tradition and Peter.

Where two are gathered, the Scripture and Tradition, the Holy Spirit grants truth, and the fullness of grace, the Sacraments. Not one, but at least two. For this a reason, a Protestant and his Bible is only enough for two of seven sacraments, Baptism and Marriage. But where the two of Scripture and TRADITION are gathered, all seven sacraments are present, the Orthodox. Also is the Spirit is given, for Tradition testifies to the true interpretation of Scripture. And if three are gathered, the supreme graces: The Tradition, all seven sacraments, and the fullness of all truth, the Magisterium, atop of which sits Peter, the Supreme Mediating Father.

[RBerman]

Matthew 18 :16 is clearly about three individuals, not three sources of church authority. Besides which, "the written word, the oral word, and general mediating fathers" are just three subsets of "the magisterial teaching" rather than three distinct witnesses. Even Scripture is just a subset of "tradition" to you. A claim to the presence of "the highest mediating one, Christ" is hardly unique to the Roman church.

[Cow Poke]

Jesus was teaching humans about how to deal with human problems in the Church. And it was not to "kick people out", but to maintain order in the Church, and win somebody back if at all possible - thus, the escalating involvement.

I have used this process on numerous occasions to deal with problems in the Church, and have found it to be quite effective.

[One Bad Pig]

I'm pretty sure Peter would rebuke you for calling him the "Supreme Mediating Father".