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Indeed. The multitudes of Protestant denominations, sects, cults, isms, and schisms -- all disagreeing with each other and yet all claiming to be led of the Holy Spirit into the "true Gospel" -- is a profound testimony and witness to this fact. At the same time, there remains but ONE Catholic Faith -- the same as was given to the apostles by Jesus Himself.

What a crock! Romanism is as much a mixed bag as modern Protestantism regarding doctrine and theology, and always has been. It used to be much more unified liturgically, but even that has given way in the modern era. What's even more ridiculous about your claim is that you lump in the Eastern Orthodox with this "Catholic Faith," but the Eastern Orthodox in a great number of cases are quite as happy to condemn the Papists to eternal damnation as are the Protestants, and certainly they differ from Rome in a great deal of matters liturgical, theological, and doctrinal. I wish I could remember the link, I think perhaps William has it? But it shows how many denominations are really within Protestantism, and even goes on to show how many are within Roman Catholicism! The numbers are not quite as disparate as Roman apologists would like.

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My friend, obeying God is not Pelagianism. It is faith. God calls us to faith not as robots who can do no other than to obey because we are programmed to, but as the beloved Bride of Christ who freely gives her consent to the Beloved. That is the essence of what it means to "cut covenant" -- i.e., that we do so from a decision of our will, not from some inner prompting which we can not resist. We are human beings, not Borg (WARNING! You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile!).

You seem to betray rather a lack of familiarity with Calvinism in painting your caricature of it.

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If a man is not free to say "yes" to God, then it is not marriage, it is rape. God comes to us as our Beloved Bridegroom and waits that we either accept or reject His proposal to enter into the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.

Interesting you should bring up this illustration! Surely you are aware that marriage in the ancient world was hardly the equal decision of the man and his betrothed? Rare indeed was it for a woman to have a free choice in whom she might marry.

Kyle

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.