[Enter Friend's Name],
Like you, I want the deepest most intimate relationship with Jesus Christ possible. If He is truth, than that relationship, if it is going to be the deepest possible, must be completely based on that which is true.
Remember when we first met (on Facebook...lol), my questions centered entirely around one concept. We disagree about who Christ is, so how do we know which one of us believes error about him? How do I know it is not me, and how do you know it is not you? This is how I engaged you, as a question of how do we know that what we believe about Jesus is true. This is the fundamental question that I have never even seen you attempt to answer. That gives me great concern for you. I'm not in the business of determining who goes to Heaven and who does not, but I am in the business of attempting to help people deepen their relationship with Christ. By not being willing to even address those questions, I'm concerned that you are not able to enter the deepest most intimate relationship with Christ possible.
It was you, who, I sincerely believe out of love for my soul of which I'm very grateful, challenged me on my Catholic faith with your interpretations of such verses as 1 Tim chapter 4. You told me that this verse sounded a lot like Paul was talking about Catholics who had departed from the faith. I took your questions and comments very seriously, I read those verses and did a lot of research on them and responded to you with the intent to help bridge understanding between us. I hope you were just as diligent when I shared with you things like Mt 16:13-19 and Is 22:15-25. I can't know this because you never shared it with me.
Now in this conversation I've been told that I worship Mary and not God which I don't. I've been told that I've never heard God speak, but you and [another person] have. (How could anyone ever know that?) I've been told that I don't say prayers to God from the heart, but only repeat memorized things as if it is impossible for me to have a relationship with God because I'm Catholic. I've been told I'm more interested in pleasing men than I am about pleasing God. (As if Catholics have to make a choice of either being Catholic or loving Christ.) I don't intend to sound like I am a victim here, but I won't lie, it got a bit old, I know intent can get very tricky in texts, but the two of you sounded very arrogant time and time again.
That's when I decided to take a different approach in our conversation. If that drove you to anger or I hurt you I apologize. My approach became to be more direct and no longer take the "how do we know" approach.
And I believe you when you say that you feel like I'm attempting to torture you, not because it is true, but because that is your perception. I never intended to give you that impression. I apologize and I am asking for your forgiveness. But I did want to challenge you in order that you may question things that, contrary to what you say, simply aren't in the bible as you claim it they are, namely, what books belong in the bible, and where in the bible it says that the bible is the sole authority for Christians. Your beliefs in this regard, simply aren't in the bible like you claim them to be. If they are, give me the verse and I'll completely recant my Catholic faith because if it was in the bible, then the Catholic faith would be a lie. But the Catholic Faith is not a lie and the bible doesn't include those two things.
You and I believe that Jesus Christ is Truth and so everything that is true comes from Him who is Truth. If the Bible says that the Church is the pillar and foundation of Truth as it does in 1 Tim 3:15, then the bible, no matter how much we want it to be, is NOT the sole authority for Christians.
Christians all have the 27 books of the New Testament, but some say that homosexuality is not a sin, and some say abortion is a matter of personal choice, and some say that if you are failing financially it's because you don't have enough faith in God, and some say that if you don't more than 10% of your salary to their ministry then God won't even listen to your prayers. Many Christians have had the bible as their sole authority for over 400 years and it has led to as many interpretations as there are readers. The problem with modern day Christianity is not that there is a Pope, but rather, that there are thousands, if not millions of Popes.
And I want all of them to know Jesus Christ, meaning I want them to know truth. Why? Just as I had to get to know my wife when we were dating to have a deep intimate relationship with her, we can only have such a deep relationship with Christ if we know Him.
So it is with any relationship, but especially so with Christ. The more we know Him, the more we love Him. But when we believe things about him which are not true, then it creates a natural chasm whose natural consequence for us is to not love Him as deeply as we could had we not believed those things about Him which are untrue.
There is not one page in all of Scripture that says that God doesn't want us to know truth. He wants us to know Himself who is truth itself! Why? Because He wants us to have a relationship with Him. But that relationship cannot enter into its deepest level of intimacy if even some of what we believe about him is a lie.
And [enter friend's name], we are brothers in the same family of Christ. If we won't help challenge each other to have a deeper relationship with our Lord, who will?
All My Love and My Continued Prayers,
Nathan
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