Attention all Catholic haters

[FA_Q2]

I do not hate Catholics. I will tell you why I could never actually ascribe to their belief system though.

The number one reason in that the church itself is incredibly arrogant and to claim infallibility confounds me. NOTHING that is manmade or man driven is infallible. Nothing. If it involves man then it is not infallible. The pope himself is the pinnacle of the absurd (IMHO) concept.
Papal Infallibility | Catholic Answers

Catholics also have a rather strange set of ‘extras’ added onto the bible that directly contradict the teachings in the manner that I understand them. I realize that the Catholics see this differently or they would not have faith in those precepts but I would disagree with much of the interpretations that they use to justify some of those precepts. Confession is one such instance that has already been brought up in the manner that the church seems to think that they are integral to confession. I find that rather silly. Prayer to the various saints is another such concept that I find silly. It smacks of idolatry.

Lastly, you say that you do not want any posts on the molestation incidents and I find that rather silly as well. The problem here is not that there were priests that molested children – insane predators will weasel themselves into any position that they can – but rather that there is the perception (I believe correctly) that the church was ACTIVELY coving for these monsters. THAT is a MAJOR breech. On top of that, people place an enormous amount of faith and trust into those that they go to for worship guidance. Far more than is placed in the other places that you mention. Conversely, when they see a breach of that trust it is felt far more. Pointing to other places where molesters have invaded is not sufficient to cover for the fact that the church – supposedly an anchor for one’s faith and trust – is violating that morality.

 

[Indofred]

What's your beef?

Please be specific. No "pedophile priest" answers, there are no more pedophile priests than there are pedophile scoutmasters. Or schoolteachers.

Give me your theological reasons. REAL theological reasons, not made up theology.

I have no hate for Catholics but I can see why some aren't too bothered about them.

First Council of Nicaea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basically, the church decided what was right and wrong and dumped the bits of the bible it didn't like.
Jesus was promoted to son of God status, part of the holy trinity, and decided to be an actual god rather than a prophet or, in catholic church terms, profit.
The people who didn't agree, Arius comes to mind, were booted out, their works burned and anyone found supporting his ideas, executed.
After that, the Catholic church really grabbed power, charging Henry VIII fortunes for divorced amongst many other dodgy deals.

However, that dodgy history doesn't make me hate the Catholic church, just wonder why anyone bothers with it.
The Church of England is even worse, founded by a mad, womanising king so he could get easy divorces, and used my his idiot daughter to kill as many people as she could.

 

[FA_Q2]

What's your beef?

Please be specific. No "pedophile priest" answers, there are no more pedophile priests than there are pedophile scoutmasters. Or schoolteachers.

Give me your theological reasons. REAL theological reasons, not made up theology.

I have no hate for Catholics but I can see why some aren't too bothered about them.

First Council of Nicaea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basically, the church decided what was right and wrong and dumped the bits of the bible it didn't like.
Jesus was promoted to son of God status, part of the holy trinity, and decided to be an actual god rather than a prophet or, in catholic church terms, profit.
The people who didn't agree, Arius comes to mind, were booted out, their works burned and anyone found supporting his ideas, executed.
After that, the Catholic church really grabbed power, charging Henry VIII fortunes for divorced amongst many other dodgy deals.

However, that dodgy history doesn't make me hate the Catholic church, just wonder why anyone bothers with it.
The Church of England is even worse, founded by a mad, womanising king so he could get easy divorces, and used my his idiot daughter to kill as many people as she could.

do you really want to go down that road because I can guarantee you that the history of virtually any religion is not going to be very pretty. Islam certainly is not going to look any better than the above.

 

[Clement]

Basically, the church decided what was right and wrong and dumped the bits of the bible it didn't like.

Have you ever read the parts they dumped? If you had you might know why they dumped them. Either it was more of the same or outright heresy.

Jesus was promoted to son of God status, part of the holy trinity, and decided to be an actual god rather than a prophet or, in catholic church terms, profit.

Jesus is declared to be God's son in the Gospels and in the writings of Paul. Jesus himself speaks of the Trinity himself when he tells the disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The people who didn't agree, Arius comes to mind, were booted out, their works burned and anyone found supporting his ideas, executed.

Today's descendants of Arius are Jehovah's Witnesses. Do you think they have it wired?

The Church of England is even worse, founded by a mad, womanising king so he could get easy divorces, and used my his idiot daughter to kill as many people as she could.

What is this, Peabody's Improbable History?

Try reading a book, there is a lot more to it than that.

 

[Clement]

I do not hate Catholics. I will tell you why I could never actually ascribe to their belief system though.

The number one reason in that the church itself is incredibly arrogant and to claim infallibility confounds me. NOTHING that is manmade or man driven is infallible. Nothing. If it involves man then it is not infallible. The pope himself is the pinnacle of the absurd (IMHO) concept.
Papal Infallibility | Catholic Answers

Catholics also have a rather strange set of ‘extras’ added onto the bible that directly contradict the teachings in the manner that I understand them. I realize that the Catholics see this differently or they would not have faith in those precepts but I would disagree with much of the interpretations that they use to justify some of those precepts. Confession is one such instance that has already been brought up in the manner that the church seems to think that they are integral to confession. I find that rather silly. Prayer to the various saints is another such concept that I find silly. It smacks of idolatry.

Lastly, you say that you do not want any posts on the molestation incidents and I find that rather silly as well. The problem here is not that there were priests that molested children – insane predators will weasel themselves into any position that they can – but rather that there is the perception (I believe correctly) that the church was ACTIVELY coving for these monsters. THAT is a MAJOR breech. On top of that, people place an enormous amount of faith and trust into those that they go to for worship guidance. Far more than is placed in the other places that you mention. Conversely, when they see a breach of that trust it is felt far more. Pointing to other places where molesters have invaded is not sufficient to cover for the fact that the church – supposedly an anchor for one’s faith and trust – is violating that morality.

You posted a link on Papal infallibility, didn't you read it?

...but rather that there is the perception (I believe correctly) that the church was ACTIVELY coving for these monsters...

You do understand the seal of the confessional, right? Even if you admitted that you had murdered your wife, the priest can't go to the police with it.

So, you people want the priest to keep his mouth shut when it suits you, and blab when it suits you. Is that about right?

 

[Clement]

I was hoping Marc would have joined us by now, but let's recap what we have so far:

We have people who are still butthurt over the Crusades, the usual assertions that the guy who persecuted the Orthodox church in Russia, Stalin, was a priest, and 9 out of 10 readers of the "Vatican Rag". Still waiting for the claims that Hitler was a Christian.

Claims?

He was.

As were the Nazis.

True story.

I knew it. Hitler used Christianity, he didn't practice it. Ask Dietrich Bonhoefer if you don't believe me. Having officially invoked Godwin's law by playing the "Nazi" card, though, you have lost the argument.

 

[Clement]

It's not really hate.

It's more of an understanding that you folks like to send other folks to meet your "maker".

Maybe if you spent less time killing, crusading and conquering..and a little more time helping others that "hatred" would abate.

But I ain't counting on it.

This is just pure ignorance. Were you there for the "crusades"? Why aren't you bitching about radical Islam?

In terms of body counts?

Islam pales in comparison.

If you blame 9/11 on radical Islam..which I suppose is appropriate, the reaction was apeshit by the Christian President of the US.

No one is going to forget that either.

And you folks cheered it on as a Crusade.

What if your mother, father, sister or brother had been one of those who were murdered on 9/11? Would you blow it off then?

 

[Sallow]

I was hoping Marc would have joined us by now, but let's recap what we have so far:

We have people who are still butthurt over the Crusades, the usual assertions that the guy who persecuted the Orthodox church in Russia, Stalin, was a priest, and 9 out of 10 readers of the "Vatican Rag". Still waiting for the claims that Hitler was a Christian.

Claims?

He was.

As were the Nazis.

True story.

I knew it. Hitler used Christianity, he didn't practice it. Ask Dietrich Bonhoefer if you don't believe me. Having officially invoked Godwin's law by playing the "Nazi" card, though, you have lost the argument.

Hitler was a Christian..

Unless you have some different notions of what it takes to be in the Christian club.

And the Catholic Pope at the time, Pius, backed what he was doing.

Even if you hold that Hitler was a Demon made flesh, he wasn't alone.

Every German pushing Jews into ovens, was Christian. Their "faith" didn't override their wrong doing. Quite the opposite..it buttressed it.

And Jewish leaders protested the building of Christian churches near the sites of the Death Camps, successfully.

Even Pope John Paul apologized for this abomination.

Be that as it may, you asked why people "hate" Catholics.

What?

You don't like the answers? Or you are just trolling for a fight?

 

[Sallow]

This is just pure ignorance. Were you there for the "crusades"? Why aren't you bitching about radical Islam?

In terms of body counts?

Islam pales in comparison.

If you blame 9/11 on radical Islam..which I suppose is appropriate, the reaction was apeshit by the Christian President of the US.

No one is going to forget that either.

And you folks cheered it on as a Crusade.

What if your mother, father, sister or brother had been one of those who were murdered on 9/11? Would you blow it off then?

Be careful about the family references bub.

And you'll notice where I live.

New York.

I worked at the NYSE at the time.

So 9/11 is near and dear to my heart.

I fully supported going after Al Qaeda and their supporters.

That would have meant cleaning out the camps in Afghanistan, and bombing the shit out of the Royal family in Saudi Arabia.

And killing Osama Bin Laden.

That didn't mean killing over 100,000 people that had NOTHING to do with it.

 

[Unkotare]

If you blame 9/11 on radical Islam..which I suppose is appropriate, the reaction was apeshit by the Christian President of the US.

No one is going to forget that either.

And you folks cheered it on as a Crusade.

That is an utterly dishonest post. We are not a theocracy. President Bush is a religious man but he was acting as Commander in Chief of the political entity known as the United States of America. Very shortly after the attacks of 9/11 and then over and over again President Bush explicitly stated that we were not making was against Islam.

If you have to be dishonest to make your point then you don't really have one.

 

[strollingbones]

In terms of body counts?

Islam pales in comparison.

If you blame 9/11 on radical Islam..which I suppose is appropriate, the reaction was apeshit by the Christian President of the US.

No one is going to forget that either.

And you folks cheered it on as a Crusade.

What if your mother, father, sister or brother had been one of those who were murdered on 9/11? Would you blow it off then?

Be careful about the family references bub.

And you'll notice where I live.

New York.

I worked at the NYSE at the time.

So 9/11 is near and dear to my heart.

I fully supported going after Al Qaeda and their supporters.

That would have meant cleaning out the camps in Afghanistan, and bombing the shit out of the Royal family in Saudi Arabia.

And killing Osama Bin Laden.

That didn't mean killing over 100,000 people that had NOTHING to do with it.

dont...he is just trying to provoke ya.....dont let him use 9/11 to do it...k?

 

[Indofred]

Today's descendants of Arius are Jehovah's Witnesses. Do you think they have it wired? .

Not really ........... but I can see the advantage in executing them.
The last lot I met were in a McD in Bintaro near Jakarta.

They tried to convert me.

Before I left the UK, another lot arrived at my door trying to convert me. They fucked off when I explained I was a Muslim.

However the funniest was a stupid woman and her daughter one early evening.
I had time to kill but I spared their lives for the sake of a joke or three.
I convinced the woman I was a Satanist and wanted her daughter to deflower and engage in Satanic rituals with.
The daughter realised what I was up to but her idiot mother took me at face value.
I was rather hoping the daughter, a pretty girl of about 21 years of age, would return alone, but she never did.

 

[strollingbones]

If you blame 9/11 on radical Islam..which I suppose is appropriate, the reaction was apeshit by the Christian President of the US.

No one is going to forget that either.

And you folks cheered it on as a Crusade.

That is an utterly dishonest post. We are not a theocracy. President Bush is a religious man but he was acting as Commander in Chief of the political entity known as the United States of America. Very shortly after the attacks of 9/11 and then over and over again President Bush explicitly stated that we were not making was against Islam.

If you have to be dishonest to make your point then you don't really have one.

this is totally off topic...but if that is all true uk ...why didnt we attack the saudi's.....o wait...the bush admin got them out...of the us....i remember 9/11 was saudi's and was financed by saudi's....so why did we attack iraq again?

15 of 19 hijackers were what.....saudi's...

 

[Sallow]

If you blame 9/11 on radical Islam..which I suppose is appropriate, the reaction was apeshit by the Christian President of the US.

No one is going to forget that either.

And you folks cheered it on as a Crusade.

That is an utterly dishonest post. We are not a theocracy. President Bush is a religious man but he was acting as Commander in Chief of the political entity known as the United States of America. Very shortly after the attacks of 9/11 and then over and over again President Bush explicitly stated that we were not making was against Islam.

If you have to be dishonest to make your point then you don't really have one.

Maybe conservatives should stop calling America, a Christian Nation, eh?

Or maybe Bush shouldn't have called the invasion of Iraq, a Crusade.

Since neither of those things, were or are the case..

My post wasn't dishonest.

I will say Bush was careful not to make "Islam" evil, initially.

He did call it a religion of peace. But he fell into conservative word traps many times.

 

[Unkotare]

Today's descendants of Arius are Jehovah's Witnesses. Do you think they have it wired? .

Not really ........... but I can see the advantage in executing them.
The last lot I met were in a McD in Bintaro near Jakarta.

They tried to convert me.

Before I left the UK, another lot arrived at my door trying to convert me. They fucked off when I explained I was a Muslim.

However the funniest was a stupid woman and her daughter one early evening.
I had time to kill but I spared their lives for the sake of a joke or three.
I convinced the woman I was a Satanist and wanted her daughter to deflower and engage in Satanic rituals with.
The daughter realised what I was up to but her idiot mother took me at face value.
I was rather hoping the daughter, a pretty girl of about 21 years of age, would return alone, but she never did.

Gosh, you're so cool! Oh wait, no, you're actually a low-life piece of shit. What would it matter if the girl came back, you flaccid little maggot? An impotent nothing like you wouldn't know what to do besides lying in your crib casting pointless invective against the US.

Neato story.

 

[Unkotare]

Maybe conservatives should stop calling America, a Christian Nation, eh?

Maybe you should start understanding what is meant by that.

 

[Unkotare]

Or maybe Bush shouldn't have called the invasion of Iraq, a Crusade.

Maybe you should go look up the full definition of that term and try to understand how it was used without your partisan blinders on.

 

[Indofred]

The Church of England is even worse, founded by a mad, womanising king so he could get easy divorces, and used my his idiot daughter to kill as many people as she could.

What is this, Peabody's Improbable History?

Try reading a book, there is a lot more to it than that.

Not really. Henry VIII was into serious shagging, his larger than average number of wives is testament to this.
He declared himself (by an act of parliament that would have been beheaded if they hadn't), "defender of the faith" (The original title was withdrawn when he told Rome to sod off) and started killing Catholics who objected. He also caused more than a few monasteries to require a fund to repair their roof, Fountains abbey being a prime example.
(I've visited that place - rather interesting)
After a bit of messing around, executing the odd Jane and so on, Lizzie strutted her funky stuff for many years, a bit pissed off at Catholics, mostly because of Mary, who burned about three hundred Protestants and slung Lizzie into pokey.
Lizzie went to to try to control Ireland, not a great job, but that also involved lots of mass murder, mostly because she wanted to keep the Spanish out, a bit like British tourists want to keep Germans off the beaches in Spain, but with more blood.

Nothing improbable about it.

I had a very good history teacher, Cheers, Billy wizz, and RIP.

 

[hobelim]

Sure I do. Would you like to see my credentials?

Yes, I would

Do you deny getting on your knees and worshipping the eucharist, a lifeless matzo made by human hands, that you then eat for spiritual life?

I don't know where you got your credentials from, but your sacramental theology sucks. Perhaps you missed the part in the Gospels where Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me".

Do you deny professing to believe that such a practice results in eternal life, even though scripture clearly states that such a degrading practice will result in death?

Really? Why don't you tell me where that is?

I'm looking for theological arguments, not some lame you don't know what you are talking about routine.

I can tell by your vast theological knowledge. First things first. Show me the place in the Bible where it where remembering Christ in the eucharist leads to death.

No, if you are attempting to argue for Catholic beliefs and practices you should at least know what those beliefs and practices are. The celebration of the eucharist is not a memorial of Jesus it a superstitious celebration of his death and an eating of the god ceremony where the priest turns the bread made by human hands into the body of Christ, the flesh of God , IN ACTUALITY, that is worshipped and eaten for spiritual life.

The substance of the Body of Christ are words that form the body of his teaching, words that Jesus received from God like manna from heaven and gave for the life of the world that must be consumed by the ear and digested by understanding. The body of Christ is not a lifeless piece of bread that can be handed out like a cheap snack food that is eaten one day and flushed down the toilet the next.

How can anyone worship the man made Eucharist, as if it was the flesh of God,. in remembrance of Jesus in whom the word of God became flesh, teaching, unless it is a deliberate desecration of that teaching and demonstration of pure hatred for God?

"For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves." 1 Corinthians 11:29


I will tell you something. Try to hear.

To Jesus, who said that he came to bring a sword, the nations were the enemy.


" Take from my hand this cup of fiery wine and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they have drunk it they will vomit and go mad; such is the sword that I am sending among them." Jeremiah 25:15


" from his mouth there went a sharp sword with which to smite the nations." rev.19:15


"Take this cup of wine and drink from it. This is a cup of my blood, the blood of the covenant."


'Just art thou in these thy judgments, thou Holy One, who art and wast; for they shed the blood of thy people and of thy prophets and thou hast given them blood to drink"

 

[MaxGrit]

Sola Scriptura: The Scripture Alone is the Standard

The doctrine that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority was the "Formal Principle" of the Reformation. In 1521 at the historic interrogation of Luther at the Diet of Worms, he declared his conscience to be captive to the Word of God saying, "Unless I am overcome with testimonies from Scripture or with evident reasons -- for I believe neither the Pope nor the Councils, since they have often erred and contradicted one another -- I am overcome by the Scripture texts which I have adduced, and my conscience is bound by God's Word." Similarly, the Belgic Confession stated, "We believe that [the] holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein...Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures nor ought we to consider custom or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God... Therefore, we reject with all our hearts whatsoever does not agree with this infallible rule" (VII). As the Scripture says,
Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Thy law....I will bow down toward Thy holy temple, And give thanks to Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth; For Thou hast magnified Thy word according to all Thy name....You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (Psalm 119:18; Psalm 138:2; II Tim. 3:14-17)

Soli Deo Gloria! For the Glory of God Alone

The Reformation reclaimed the Scriptural teaching of the sovereignty of God over every aspect of the believer's life. All of life is to be lived to the glory of God. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever." This great and all consuming purpose was emphasized by those in the 16th and 17th Centuries who sought to reform the church according to the Word of God. In contrast to the monastic division of life into sacred versus secular perpetuated by Roman Church, the reformers saw all of life to be lived under the Lordship of Christ. Every activity of the Christian is to be sanctified unto the glory of God. As the Scripture says,
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God; Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (1CO 10:31; 1PE 4:11; REV 1:6; 2PE 3:1; EPH 3:21; REV 7:12; ROM 11:36)

Solo Christo! By Christ's Work Alone are We Saved

The Reformation called the church back to faith in Christ as the sole mediator between God and man. While the Roman church held that "there is a purgatory and that the souls there detained are helped by the intercessions of the faithful" and that "Saints are to be venerated and invoked;" "that their relics are to be venerated" -- the reformers taught that salvation was by Christ's work alone. As John Calvin said in the Institutes of the Christian Religion, "Christ stepped in, took the punishment upon himself and bore the judgment due to sinners. With his own blood he expiated the sins which made them enemies of God and thereby satisfied him...we look to Christ alone for divine favour and fatherly love!" Likewise the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 30 asks, "Do such then believe in Jesus the only Saviour who seek their salvation and happiness in saints, in themselves, or anywhere else? They do not; for though they boast of him in words yet in deeds they deny Jesus the only deliverer and Saviour: for one of these two things must be true that either Jesus is not a complete Saviour or that they who by a true faith receive this Saviour must find all things in him necessary to their salvation." As the Scripture says,
There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time...For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. (1TI 2:5-6; COL 1:13-18)

Sola Gratia: Salvation by Grace Alone

A central cry of the Reformation was salvation by grace. Though the Roman church taught that Mass is a "sacrifice [which] is truly propitiatory" and that by the Mass "God...grant us grace and the gift of penitence, remits our faults and even our enormous sins" -- the reformers returned to the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. Our righteous standing before God is imputed to us by grace because of the work of Christ Jesus our Lord. In contrast to the doctrines of self-merit taught by Rome, sola gratia and the accompanying doctrines of grace -- total depravity, unconditional election, particular redemption, and perseverance of the saints -- were preached by all the reformers throughout the Protestant movement. As the Baptist Confession of 1689 says, "Christ, by his obedience and death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did, by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead the penalty due unto them, make a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God's justice in their behalf;...their justification is only of free grace, that both the exact justice and rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners." As the Scripture says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)

Sola Fide: Justification by Faith Alone

The "Material Principle" of the Reformation was justification by faith alone. As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, "Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love." The Genevan Confession likewise pointed out the necessity of those justified living by faith saying, "We confess that the entrance which we have to the great treasures and riches of the goodness of God that is vouchsafed us is by faith; inasmuch as, in certain confidence and assurance of heart, we believe in the promises of the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ as he is offered to us by the Father and described to us by the Word of God (Genevan 11). As the Scripture says,
Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in you." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." (Galatians 3:6-11)