Re: Purgatory?

On Mon, 1 Dec 2003 11:14:22 -0700, "Iconoclast" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

>
>"Joseph Geloso" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> On Mon, 1 Dec 2003 07:40:26 -0700, "Iconoclast" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >"Joseph Geloso" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>> >news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >> On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 20:15:52 -0700, "Iconoclast" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >"Joseph Geloso" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>> >> >news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >> >> On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 07:20:16 -0700, "Iconoclast" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> >> >> wrote:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >Faith is an attribute, not a church or belief system.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Faith is a virtue, one of the three theological virtues of Faith,
>> >> >> Hope, and Charity.
>> >> >
>> >> >Do you have clue what you wrote?
>> >> >
>> >> >Faith is given by God.
>> >>
>> >> All virtue is given by God, and Faith is one of the virtues. A virtue
>> >> that a person possesses could be said to be an attribute, so that a
>> >> faithful person is said to have the attribute of faith, or perhaps
>> >> fidelity would be a better choice.
>> >>
>> >> >You don't grow it.
>> >>
>> >> God will increase your faith if you ask Him to.
>> >>
>> >> >You don't produce it.
>> >>
>> >> God produces it in the soul.
>> >>
>> >> >It is one OF THE three attributes.
>> >>
>> >> It can be said to be an attribute, as above, but fidelity would
>> >> probably be a better choice of words. Faith is one of the seven
>> >> principal virtues, of which the first three are called the Theological
>> >> Virtues, namely, Faith, Hope, and Charity. The remaining four virtues
>> >> are called the Cardinal Virtues of Temperance, Justice, Prudence, and
>> >> Fortitude. All these virtues can be cultivated and increased in the
>> >> soul, by their exercise, and by prayer.
>> >
>> >Who said?
>>
>> I did. Just above. How bad is *your* memory??
>

>If you don't know what faith is or how it is obtained, you haven't the
>knowledge to continue in any subsequent theological conversation.  

Faith is a virtue and it is obtained from God. God gives the first
impulse to Faith without anything done on the part of the believer,
since no one can initiate Faith within himself. The first grace God
gives is the grace to pray. When a person accepts that grace, he
prays, and God answers his prayers by increasing his faith.

Now there remains the following, which you did not address:

>
>The ONLY productive attribute in scripture is Faith.

Show the Scripture that calls Faith "an attribute." Then show the
Scripture that calls it the "ONLY productive attribute."

>
>I'm not interested in pedantic Catholic semantics.  It is man made and
>obscures truth.

Assuming you mean to confine truth to that which is explicitly in the
Scriptures, I'm waiting to see what you claim is there.