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Topic: Our site
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TB125
Advanced Member
Member # 2450
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posted
It might be well for us to recognize that the Christian faith is not completely and exclusively expressed in the doctrines and practices of the Southern Baptist Convention any more than they are in those of the Roman Catholic Church. I think that the faith that this Forum seeks to clarify and to express is not that of any denominational religion. While we each try to express our particular beliefs and to support them with Scripture, I don't recognize any of us as the final "authority" on any of these matters. There can be some value in personal discussions of these matters, and personal judgments can be made regarding different doctrines and rituals; but, as long as the participants are respectful of each other it might be well to maintain the discussions.
As I've indicated before, I don't believe that ongoing lengthy debates regarding these matters are helpful, and church history has proven this, but the errors and weaknesses of most heresies and cults and denominations are clearly evident in the light of God's Spirit. David has the right to establish and to enforce his rules for participation in this Forum, and I don't believe that they prohibit fair discussions of these matters but only the "promotion" of those that are contrary to the "faith" under which he established this Forum.
Let's encourage each other in the "faith" and avoid some judgmental labels. One way of doing this is to ask each other questions about their faith and the doctrines and rituals that they practice in support of it. The "truth" of these matters will be evident in the answers and personal testimonies that they give. Theological "houses" that are built on "sand" cannot stand against the forces of Satan or the judgments of God, but none of us are in a position to apply those forces.
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Bob
Posts: 449 | From: Rockford Illinois | Registered: Nov 2003
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botham
Advanced Member
Member # 7935
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posted
To be honest, I did not read the rules.
I stand by my remarks. I have met many Godly Catholics and many who would preach the prosperity doctrine are wonderful Christians.
Personally I do not agree with their stance but I am happy to discuss their beliefs and listen to their point of view.
The very people that you need to talk to you dismiss in an unloving way. Goodbye and God bless
Posts: 103 | From: canada | Registered: Nov 2009
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botham
Advanced Member
Member # 7935
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posted
Some of the comments are quite hateful in my opinion. The original post by a Catholic brother in Christ was meant to connect to other Christians to discuss some of the work he was involved in to help unfortunate people.
None of the posters has a right to say that this is not a Catholic board or to otherwise dismiss the comments of anyone who has a question or opinion about the bible or our Christian faith.
Many of the posters don't even seem to think for themselves at times. At least this Catholic brother referred to real tangible works that he is involved in. I've seen so many posts almost venerating the writings of others while the actual poster sprinkles in a couple of their own actual thoughts.
Take the log out of your own eye before worrying about the faults of others. Seek to build relationship and then perhaps others will listen to your ideas.
God is Love. Christ said to love your enemies.
It is easy to be critical but it takes intelligence to connect and engage with others. If you are so worried about a Catholic or a Mormon or a Jehova's Witness or you name it, entering into discussions here, then perhaps you have underlying doubts as to your own convictions.
We should have no fear talking to anyone if we have the Living Spirit of God in us for protection and wisdom. God bless, Botham
Posts: 103 | From: canada | Registered: Nov 2009
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KnowHim
Admin
Member # 1
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posted
This is not a Catholic message board. Don't promote Roman Catholicism on this board. One needs only to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He alone can save you and nothing else. We believe in all Ten Commandments here. Especially the second one that the Catholic’s removed. And it was written in stone, it states:
Exodus 20:4 -5 (KJV)
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;…
I know this commandment doesn’t exist in the Catholic catechism, but it is there in the KJV Bible and on the Ten Commandments that Moses received written in stone, by God own hand.
Thank you,
David Campbell
http://www.thechristianbbs.com/rules2.html
quote:
Originally posted by Fr. Chris:
We invite everyone to visit our sites. One is the site of the Archdiocese, the other is the site for our Monastery which has as its mission to care and provide for abused women/children, especially those sold into the sex trade in the US and Canada.
We look forward to meeting others here at this site and to share the message of our Lord: to love one another as He loved us, with one another here and elsewhere.
May God Bless all,
Fr. Chris
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Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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becauseHElives
Advanced Member
Member # 87
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posted
quote:
What has occurred in the past is in the past and cannot be changed.
Fr. Chris, you are so correct!
please read on....
botham, a good deed is a good deed, a heathen going to hell is capable of doing good works!
1 Corinthians 13 speaks of good works….. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, it profits me nothing.
The Masons do many good works, for an example; I submit "the Shriner's Hospital” where they treat severely burned children free of charge. But Masons are serving Satan and pleading ignorance will not be an excuse.
Roman Catholicism is not nor ever has been or will ever be Christian, it is paganism given a few Christian symbols! It is the ancient worship of Mother and Son (Isis and Nimrod)
"What is the origin of the Catholic Church?"
Answer: The Roman Catholic Church contends that its origin is the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ in approximately 30 A.D. The Catholic Church proclaims itself to be the Church that Jesus Christ died for, the Church that was established and built by the Apostles. Is that the true origin of the Catholic Church? On the contrary. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament will reveal that the Catholic Church does not have its origin in the teachings of Jesus, or His apostles. In the New Testament, there is no mention of the papacy, worship / adoration of Mary (or the immaculate conception of Mary, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the assumption of Mary, or Mary as co-redemptrix and mediatrix), petitioning saints in Heaven for their prayers, apostolic succession, the ordinances of the church functioning as sacraments, infant baptism, confession of sin to a priest, purgatory, indulgences, or the equal authority of church tradition and Scripture. So, if the origin of the Catholic Church is not in the teachings of Jesus and His apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, what is the true origin of the Catholic Church?
For the first 280 years of Christian history, Christianity was banned by the Roman empire, and Christians were terribly persecuted. This changed after the “conversion” of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine “legalized” Christianity at the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313. Later, in A.D. 325, Constantine called together the Council of Nicea, in an attempt to unify Christianity. Constantine envisioned Christianity as a religion that could unite the Roman Empire, which at that time was beginning to fragment and divide. While this may have seemed to be a positive development for the Christian church, the results were anything but positive. Just as Constantine refused to fully embrace the Christian faith, but continued many of his pagan beliefs and practices, so the Christian church that Constantine promoted was a mixture of true Christianity and Roman paganism.
Constantine found that with the Roman Empire being so vast, expansive, and diverse – not everyone would agree to forsake their religious beliefs and instead embrace Christianity. So, Constantine allowed, and even promoted, the “Christianization” of pagan beliefs. Completely pagan and utterly unbiblical beliefs were given new “Christian” identities. Some clear examples of this are as follows:
(1) The Cult of Isis, an Egyptian mother-goddess religion, was absorbed into Christianity by replacing Isis with Mary. Many of the titles that were used for Isis, such as “Queen of Heaven,” “Mother of God,” and “theotokos” (God-bearer) were attached to Mary. Mary was given an exalted role in the Christian faith, far beyond what the Bible ascribes to her, in order to attract Isis worshippers to a faith they would not otherwise embrace. Many temples to Isis were, in fact, converted into temples dedicated to Mary. The first clear hints of Catholic Mariology occur in the writings of Origen, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which happened to be the focal point of Isis worship.
(2) Mithraism was a religion in the Roman Empire in the 1st through 5th centuries A.D. It was very popular among the Romans, especially among Roman soldiers, and was possibly the religion of several Roman emperors. While Mithraism was never given “official” status in the Roman empire, it was the de-facto official religion until Constantine and succeeding Roman emperors replaced Mithraism with Christianity. One of the key features of Mithraism was a sacrificial meal, which involved eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a bull. Mithras, the god of Mithraism, was “present” in the flesh and blood of the bull, and when consumed, granted salvation to those who partook of the sacrificial meal (theophagy, the eating of one’s god). Mithraism also had seven “sacraments,” making the similarities between Mithraism and Roman Catholicism too many to ignore. Constantine and his successors found an easy substitute for the sacrificial meal of Mithraism in concept of the Lord’s Supper / Christian Communion. Sadly, some early Christians had already begun to attach mysticism to the Lord’s Supper, rejecting the Biblical concept of a simple and worshipful remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood. The Romanization of the Lord’s Supper made the transition to a sacrificial consumption of Jesus Christ, now known as the Catholic Mass / Eucharist, complete.
(3) Most Roman emperors (and citizens) were henotheists. A henotheist is one who believes in the existence of many gods, but focuses primary on one particular god, or considers one particular god supreme over the other gods. For example, the Roman god Jupiter was supreme over the Roman pantheon of gods. Roman sailors were often worshippers of Neptune, the god of the oceans. When the Catholic Church absorbed Roman paganism, it simply replaced the pantheon of gods with the saints. Just as the Roman pantheon of gods had a god of love, a god of peace, a god of war, a god of strength, a god of wisdom, etc., so the Catholic Church has a saint who is “in charge” over each of these, and many other categories. Just as many Roman cities had a god specific to the city, so the Catholic Church provided “patron saints” for the cities.
(4) The supremacy of the Roman bishop (the papacy) was created with the support of the Roman emperors. With the city of Rome being the center of government for the Roman empire, and with the Roman emperors living in Rome, the city of Rome rose to prominence in all facets of life. Constantine, and his successors, gave their support to the bishop of Rome as the supreme ruler of the church. Of course it is best for the unity of the Roman empire that the government and state religion be centered in the same location. While most other bishops (and Christians) resisted the idea of the Roman bishop being supreme, the Roman bishop eventually rose to supremacy, due to the power and influence of the Roman emperors. When the Roman empire collapsed, the popes took on the title that had previously belonged to the Roman emperors – Pontificus Maximus.
Many more examples could be given. These four should suffice in demonstrating the true origin of the Catholic Church. Of course the Roman Catholic Church denies the pagan origin of its beliefs and practices. The Catholic Church disguises its pagan beliefs under layers of complicated theology. The Catholic Church excuses and denies its pagan origin beneath the mask of “church tradition.” Recognizing that many of its beliefs and practices are utterly foreign to Scripture, the Catholic Church is forced to deny the authority and sufficiency of Scripture.
The origin of the Catholic Church is the tragic compromise of Christianity with the pagan religions that surrounded it. Instead of proclaiming the Gospel and converting the pagans, the Catholic Church “Christianized” the pagan religions, and “paganized” Christianity. By blurring the differences and erasing the distinctions, yes, the Catholic Church made itself attractive to the people of the Roman empire. One result was the Catholic Church becoming the supreme religion in the “Roman world” for centuries. However, another result was the most dominant form of Christianity apostatizing from the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the true proclamation of God’s Word.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 declares, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Fr. Chris
New Member
Member # 7993
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posted
Thank you. It seems you are a very well versed person. What has occured in the past is in the past and cannot be changed. No more than the abuse of the First Nations by the American and Canadian governments in the past. How much more horrible could one be than to deliver blankets to the reserves that had been rubbed over the bodies of smallpox victims a disease for which the First Nations had no defense. Or of the treatment of the Japanese during WWII.
No, once a sin has been confessed God no longer sees it, He sees the Blood of the crucified Christ who tells us we must love one another as He loved us or elsse we are nothing. We must be not only willing to die to self, we must actually die to self and place the needs of others ahead of ours.
The first Christians were Jews. They lived in communes, one with another. Everything was held in common, no one taking more than he/she needed.
The widows, poor, infirm -- those in need were all cared for without complaint. Meals were taken in common. Today's church, whether Catholic or Protestant, is so far from the practices of the early church as white is from black. There is great truth in what He says upon His return there will be many who call me by name and I will tell them I don't know who you are, go away. It saddens my heart to pieces to see the poor and modern equivalent of lepers cast out by society when these were the very people our Lord and Saviour lived amongst, ate with, slept with. I truly do not know what to say.
Posts: 2 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2010
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botham
Advanced Member
Member # 7935
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posted
Because He Lives --I would have thought that we contributors on the forum could come up with a better response. First you applaud the good works and then you dismiss the entire Roman Catholic Church as the such and such of Revelation.
Why would you view this beiever, errant as they
might be in your view as to his choice of denomination, differently than any other soul?
If you truly believe that they are in need of conversion from a denomination that you strongly disagree with, then you should attempt to form a trust relationship with them so that they might listen to what you have to say.
There are spirit filled Catholics and we must be careful not to broad brush this denomination with the darkness and abuses that have occurred in the past and certainly in the abuses by priests in this present day.
It is premature to conclude that the Catholic Church is the vanguard of religious-political world system of the antichrist. Many other factors are in play including Islam, which only recently in historical terms, has arisen as an important and intransigent component in this coming evil global phenomenon.
Please let us pray that the Holy Spirit tears apart the foundations of the nominal and apostate denominations and that the Truth be preached again to the people of God. God bless, Botham
Posts: 103 | From: canada | Registered: Nov 2009
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becauseHElives
Advanced Member
Member # 87
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posted
Chris I applaud your good works....
but Chris I pray you find the Truth and separate yourself from the Roman Catholic Wh!ore.
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Fr. Chris
New Member
Member # 7993
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posted
We invite everyone to visit our sites. One is the site of the Archdiocese, the other is the site for our Monastery which has as its mission to care and provide for abused women/children, especially those sold into the sex trade in the US and Canada.
We look forward to meeting others here at this site and to share the message of our Lord: to love one another as He loved us, with one another here and elsewhere.
May God Bless all,
Fr. Chris
[ January 14, 2010, 06:20 AM: Message edited by: KnowHim ]
Posts: 2 | From: USA | Registered: Jan 2010
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