The Myth of Mother Teresa: A Christian Perspective

Challies Dot Com: Informing the Reforming ^ | November 1, 2003 | Tim Challies

[CondoleezzaProtege]

“I love all religions. … If people become better Hindus, better Muslims, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there.” Or in another place, “All is God — Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc., all have access to the same God.”

We see, then, that Mother Teresa held beliefs that contradict many Biblical principles. Chief among these principles is that Christ is the only means of salvation. In John 14:6 Jesus states, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” By teaching that all religion could bridge the gap between man and God, Mother Teresa taught principles completely opposed to the Bible. At the same time she taught a bizarre “pseudo-pantheism” in which she believed Jesus was present in everyone. She said, “When we destroy an unborn child, we destroy God”

With such a statement we can only be left believing that she was more than a Catholic, but was a Universalist, believing essentially that all religion leads to the same God. Time and again we see her expounding such universalist beliefs. In an interview with Christian News a nun who worked with Mother Teresa was asked the following in regards to the Hindus they worked with, “These people are waiting to die. What are you telling them to prepare them for death and eternity?” She replied candidly, “We tell them to pray to their Bhagwan, to their gods.”

The whole article can be found at: http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/the-myth-of-mot.php

[tiki]

If people become better Hindus, better Muslims, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there.”

Where does it say in the Bible to only love other Christians?

[Carpe Cerevisi]

Recommended reading at bottom of page lists Christopher Hitchens. *snicker*

[freedumb2003]

It is always a challenge to hew to parochial beliefs. Although God gave us His Son, not everyone, everywhere knows about that, nor do everyone, everywhere include that faith.

I think Mother Theresa, who has already been documented as having an incurable crisis of faith (IMHO), was essentially doing a religious version of realpolitik.

Although we are taught we cannot buy our way to heaven with deeds, in my heart (such as it is), I honestly believe she was much more interested in feed, healing and comforting the poor, wounded and stricken than which particular God or gods they believed in.

It is in the purpose behind the works that we find the redemptive powers of God.

Again IMHO

[freedumb2003]

It is always a challenge to hew to parochial beliefs. Although God gave us His Son, not everyone, everywhere knows about that, nor do everyone, everywhere include that faith.

I think Mother Theresa, who has already been documented as having an incurable crisis of faith (IMHO), was essentially doing a religious version of realpolitik.

Although we are taught we cannot buy our way to heaven with deeds, in my heart (such as it is), I honestly believe she was much more interested in feed, healing and comforting the poor, wounded and stricken than which particular God or gods they believed in.

It is in the purpose behind the works that we find the redemptive powers of God.

Again IMHO

[HerrBlucher]

She sounds like a Pantheist. Whatever.

She wasn’t there to convert them. This also negates Hitchens assertion she only did it to go to heaven when, from her apparent perspective, there is no heaven, or, all go to heaven no matter what.

[tired1]

A message to all fellow Christians from St. Francis of Assisi:

“Preach! And if you must, use words.”

[rwilson99]

“At the same time she taught a bizarre “pseudo-pantheism” in which she believed Jesus was present in everyone”

They “pseudo-pantheism” has it’s roots in Genesis 2:7

[freedumb2003]

>>Where does it say in the Bible to only love other Christians?<<

I believe that you are supposed to show your love by showing those you love the proper path, through Jesus. The Biblical passage quoted in the OP is quite specific and extremely profound.

That is my understanding of at least one interpretation of loving thy neighbor.

I, OTOH, question the context of the passage. But I am no Jesuit, and must rely on my personal Biblical readings and how God speaks to my heart.

[a fool in paradise]

With such a statement we can only be left believing that she was more than a Catholic, but was a Universalist, believing essentially that all religion leads to the same God.

While Obama isn't on record affirming that God exists, he does believe in salvation through all paths, not just Christianity. He sees Jesus as a historical figure and sin as whatever "goes against my values".

He doesn't believe in condemnation for following a false religion and does not believe in the common concept of "Heaven".

But the media hits us over the head repeatedly in declaring him to be a Christian.

[Carpe Cerevisi]

And you’re dredging up a SIX year old blog post?

[MNDude]

Tim Challies is a blogger living a very comfortable life.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Hi tiki, we are called to love ALL men. From a worldly perspective, Mother Teresa did great work and there is no denying the immense sacrifices she made toward easing people’s physical suffering on earth. However, as Christians, reaching out to others does not solely end with doing acts of charity and comforting the downtrodden.

Both RICH and POOR alike must be spiritually *saved* and reconciled back to God by turning from sin and placing faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone.

If Jesus Christ’s primary message was merely about improving the physical conditions of the poor and sick, then that would put him on no different from a level as any other major religious figure such as Buddha.

However, Christ did miraculous healings to attest to his claim that he was indeed, the Son of God in flesh. Not only that, he claimed to be the only way to the one true and living God. He called on people to “repent and believe” on Him. Christ came to save SOULS—to save man from sin, death, and hell.

There is no distinction, whether you are a homeless leper in India or Bill Gates, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and we must have FAITH in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

So as Christians, loving our fellow man means caring for the state of people’s souls. We are called to point them to Jesus Christ.

[fish hawk]

The last time some one told me “I believe God is everything”. I asked him if God was a child molester.

[marron]

You love by loving.

[markomalley]

Recommended reading at bottom of page lists Christopher Hitchens. *snicker*

It gets better:

Suggested Reading:

• Article written by a former Sister of Charity (Note: URL for article is http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/shields_18_1.html)
• Interview with Christopher Hitchens
• Christoper Hitchens - The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (available for purchase at Amazon.com
• The Bible. Read it, study it, and you will see that the conclusions drawn in this brief article are simply unavoidable.

Hey, nothing new here:

(Know nothing cartoon)

(APA cartoon)

[GOP Poet]

treasured words! thank you.

[freedumb2003]

>>You love by loving.<<

Indeed — but that isn’t the broad interpretation.

[brwnsuga]

I know a lady at my former non-denominational church who had the opportunity to meet Mother Theresa. She said she was tiny but had an awesome power that emanated from her. I believe that Christ is the only true way to Salvation, but I believe that she was doing G-d’s work as well.

[freedumb2003]

>>And you’re dredging up a SIX year old blog post?<<

Theological discussions are not based on immediacy. Conceptually we are speaking of immortal souls and words witten thousands of years ago.

The OP is a relevant now as ever. We have had some fascinating — and spiritually urgent — discussions on papers written hundreds of years ago.

[Alex Murphy]

With such a statement we can only be left believing that she was more than a Catholic, but was a Universalist, believing essentially that all religion leads to the same God. Time and again we see her expounding such universalist beliefs. In an interview with Christian News a nun who worked with Mother Teresa was asked the following in regards to the Hindus they worked with, “These people are waiting to die. What are you telling them to prepare them for death and eternity?” She replied candidly, “We tell them to pray to their Bhagwan, to their gods.”

That absence seems to have started at almost precisely the time she began tending the poor and dying in Calcutta, and — except for a five-week break in 1959 — never abated. Although perpetually cheery in public, the Teresa of the letters lived in a state of deep and abiding spiritual pain. In more than 40 communications, many of which have never before been published, she bemoans the "dryness," "darkness," "loneliness" and "torture" she is undergoing. She compares the experience to hell and at one point says it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. She is acutely aware of the discrepancy between her inner state and her public demeanor. "The smile," she writes, is "a mask" or "a cloak that covers everything." Similarly, she wonders whether she is engaged in verbal deception. "I spoke as if my very heart was in love with God — tender, personal love," she remarks to an adviser. "If you were [there], you would have said, 'What hypocrisy.'"

Related threads:
Slur on Mother Teresa in Paper Stuns Church
Hillary removes Mother Teresa photo (from video campaign)
Teresa's agony: A meditation on walking by faith
Mother Teresa Did Not Feel Christ's Presence for Last Half of Her Life, Letters Reveal
Mother Teresa's Crisis of Faith

Megan Fox In The Role She Was Born to Play: An NC-17 Mother Teresa

[Augustinian monk]

“When the devil sees that he cannot hurt the cause of the Gospel by destructive methods, he does it under the guise of correcting and advancing the cause of the Gospel. He would like best of all to persecute us with fire and sword, but this method has availed him little because through the blood of martyrs the church has been watered. Unable to prevail by force, he engages wicked and ungodly teachers who at first make common cause with us, then claim that they are particularly called to teach the hidden mysteries of the Scriptures to superimpose upon the first principles of Christian doctrine that we teach. This sort of thing brings the Gospel into trouble. May we all cling to the Word of Christ against the wiles of the devil, “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

-Dr. Martin Luther, Commentary on the Galations

[AliVeritas]

Ooh, secularhumanism site. Now why would such an article (on a nun), be on that site? I’m shocked. /s

Humanists that hate humanity (only the exclusive few deserve to rule this planet and live... oh, and they’re smarter than you).

I’m sure those ‘humanists’ do a lot more for ‘humans’ than a crew of Mother Teresas.

May God bless them double.

(sigh)

[Alex Murphy]

“I love all religions. … If people become better Hindus, better Muslims, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there.” Or in another place, “All is God — Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc., all have access to the same God.”

Who, then, can be saved?

Catholics can be saved if they believe the Word of God as taught by the Church and if they obey the commandments.
Other Christians can be saved if they submit their lives to Christ and join the community where they think he wills to be found.
Jews can be saved if they look forward in hope to the Messiah and try to ascertain whether God’s promise has been fulfilled.
Adherents of other religions can be saved if, with the help of grace, they sincerely seek God and strive to do his will.
Even atheists can be saved if they worship God under some other name and place their lives at the service of truth and justice.

God’s saving grace, channeled through Christ the one Mediator, leaves no one unassisted. But that same grace brings obligations to all who receive it. They must not receive the grace of God in vain. Much will be demanded of those to whom much is given.

-- concluding paragraph (formatting mine) of Who Can Be Saved?,by Cardinal Avery Dulles, found at Catholic Education Resource Center

[Since 2009-07-21]

At the same time she taught a bizarre “pseudo-pantheism” in which she believed Jesus was present in everyone. She said, “When we destroy an unborn child, we destroy God”


I pull this quote as an example of the "writer's" sophistry. What is it about this woman that chafes shabby thinkers with their paltry arguments against her?

[Steelfish]

This is a scurrilous post and yet deserves a reply.

1. THERE ARE NO OTHER PATHS TO SALVATION: if there were other paths to salvation then the Way of the Cross, and ignominius death on a cross would be both meaningless and a sadistic act of God. Why go through all of this if other paths were available?

2. MOTHER THERESA SUBSCRIBED TO THE CATHOLIC BELIEF OF ONE GOD. How? She attended Daily Mass where the Catholic Credo is recited and she said the Daily Rosary which incorporates the Credo at the very beginning of this act.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/credo.htm

3. MATTHEW VERSE 16: YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS: Who can possibly doubt that Mother Teresa was a living example of the Sermon On the Mount?

4. LOCAL CUSTOMS & BELIEFS: The incorporation of local customs, rituals and ceremonies to reach Hindu pagans and Moslem heretics (See Hillaire Belloc on HERETICS) is, like in times past with the Greeks and Romans, unavoidable in bringing the message of the Gospel to these masses. Christ himself used the vehicle of Jewish customs to make Himself known.

[markomalley]

Ooh, secularhumanism site. Now why would such an article (on a nun), be on that site? I’m shocked. /s

A former sister.

Certain folks like finding disaffected clergy / religious and use them for their ends.

From the site in question:

For nearly a decade, Susan Shields was a Missionaries of Charity sister. She played a key role in Mother Teresa's organization until she resigned.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Alex, you will quote Cardinal Avery Dulles. I will quote the words of our Lord JESUS CHRIST as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and John.

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the NARROW GATE. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and ONLY A FEW ever find it.” ~ Matthew 7: 13-14

“Therefore Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I AM THE GATE for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters THROUGH ME will be saved.” ~ John 10: 7-9

“On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me...’” ~ Matthew 7: 23

So CHRIST plainly points out: the way to eternal life is hard. The majority of people in hell will be religious people of sorts—and a great many of them will have spent their lives thinking they were true Christians.

I will close with the words of the Apostle Paul, which is a direct response to the Cardinal’s notion that anyone can be made right with God simply by “obeying commands.”

“For NO ONE can ever be made right with God BY DOING what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.” ~ Romans 3: 20-22

[ARridgerunner]

1. THERE ARE NO OTHER PATHS TO SALVATION: if there were other paths to salvation then the Way of the Cross, and ignominius death on a cross would be both meaningless and a sadistic act of God.

For you, maybe, but not for others.

Why go through all of this if other paths were available?

People do exist that cannot crucify Jesus.

[tiki]

While I agree that leading them to Christ is our duty we can’t make them believe, God is in charge of that but we love them nonetheless. You have to love the sinner where they are, not where you want them to be. It is the gift that Jesus has extended to all and when we show true, selfless love, we show Christ, no strings attached.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

ARidgeRunner,

the very reason why Jesus was crucified was because his “Me only.” and “I’m the only way” and “I’m the only truth” and “You can’t save yourselves” statements did not sit well with the religious establishment or the culture for that matter. One wonders, if Jesus were to come back to the “anything goes” American religoius community today, he’d probably be crucified again—and by members of “churches” at that!

[freedumb2003]

While I agree that leading them to Christ is our duty we can’t make them believe, God is in charge of that but we love them nonetheless. You have to love the sinner where they are, not where you want them to be. It is the gift that Jesus has extended to all and when we show true, selfless love, we show Christ, no strings attached.

I was doing more an independent analysis that suggesting a course of action.

It is quite the conundrum.

[tiki]

However, as Christians, reaching out to others does not solely end with doing acts of charity and comforting the downtrodden.

On the contrary, it begins and ends with doing acts of charity. I am not narcissistic enough to believe that I can save one soul. I can teach the Salvation story, I can live my faith but faith and salvation come from God. Mother Teresa did her job, she lived God's love, she followed the most important commandments, to love God above all and your neighbor as yourself. If the most important thing was for us to convert others then Jesus would have told us that that was the most important commandment, but He didn't...He said it was love.

[ARridgerunner]

the very reason why Jesus was crucified was because his “Me only.” and “I’m the only way” and “I’m the only truth” and “You can’t save yourselves” statements did not sit well with the religious establishment or the culture for that matter.

And this was God's plan?

[mlizzy]

"13 There are three things that will endure--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love" --1 Corinthians 13.

Anyone questioning Mother Teresa is surely stumbling about. She did not preach hell and damnation to anyone. She loved and cared for the sick and dying discriminating against no one. If she didn't make it to heaven with her countless daily sufferings and love for the poor, we are all in a heap of trouble. These types of posts do no one any good at all. They should be avoided as they perpetuate darkness. Her place in heaven is higher than most of us will attain in ten lifetimes of doing good. I got to know Mother Teresa myself by reading her words, listening to her speeches, and suffering for her sisters and their order. Rock on [in heaven] Mother Teresa. Keep praying for these misguided souls.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

6 We are all infected and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds,
they are nothing but filthy rags. ~ Isaiah 64:6

Even our best acts—our “righteous deeds” are nothing but *filthy rags* before a holy, just, and perfect GOD.

If all of us could please God with our acts of charity, then there would have been no reason for him to send Christ to live the perfect life in OUR place and bear the punishment WE all deserve on the cross.

God would have simply laid out the rules every other religion lays out: feed the poor, go to a temple, be nice. But Christianity is not about what man can do for God, it’s about what God did for us in love, through Jesus Christ. It is the only religion in the world that claims there is no way to “earn” God’s approval through our own efforts.

Whether you are Mother Teresa or the Dalai Lama or Adolf Hitler, we are all born in sin. We’ve all told a lie before. We’ve all experienced dishonoring our parents. Jesus said that even LOOKING at a person other than your spouse with lust is the equivalent to comitting outright adultery. Even if we’ve never murdered someone physically, we’ve all thought hateful thoughts about others. Jesus said hating your neighbor is the equivalent to murder. Man may judge the crimes of the body, but God judges the thoughts and intents of our HEARTS. And by God’s standards, we all deserve eternal punishment.

And it is for these very crimes we all committ that Jesus bore the punishment for even though he himself was completely without sin.

[lastchance]

From a 1989 interview with Time Magazine. Please notice the context of the “better Hindu etc.” quote.

Time: What’s your greatest hope here in India?

Mother Teresa: To give Jesus to all.

Time: But you do not evangelize in the conventional sense of the term.

Mother Teresa: I’m evangelizing by my works of love.

Time: Is that the best way?

Mother Teresa: For us, yes. For somebody else, something else. I’m evangelizing the way God wants me to. Jesus said go and preach to all the nations. We are now in so many nations preaching the Gospel by our works of love. “By the love that you have for one another will they know you are my disciples.” That’s the preaching that we are doing, and I think that is more real.

Time: Friends of yours say that you are disappointed that your work has not brought more conversions in this great Hindu nation.

Mother Teresa: Missionaries don’t think of that. They only want to proclaim the Word of God. Numbers have nothing to do with it. But the people are putting prayer into action by coming and serving the people. Continually people are coming to feed and serve, so many, you go and see. Everywhere people are helping. We don’t know the future. But the door is already open to Christ. There may not be a big conversion like that, but we don’t know what is happening in the soul.

Time: What do you think of Hinduism?

Mother Teresa: I love all religions, but I am in love with my own. No discussion. That’s what we have to prove to them. Seeing what I do, they realize that I am in love with Jesus.

Time: And they should love Jesus too?

Mother Teresa: Naturally, if they want peace, if they want joy, let them find Jesus. If people become better Hindus, better Moslems, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there. They come closer and closer to God. When they come closer, they have to choose.

Time: You and John Paul II, among other Church leaders, have spoken out against certain lifestyles in the West, against materialism and abortion. How alarmed are you?

Mother Teresa: I always say one thing: If a mother can kill her own child, then what is left of the West to be destroyed? It is difficult to explain , but it is just that.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

yes, the article is indeed tragic. She claims to love Jesus Christ yet she loves all religions? Even those which deny God and deny Jesus is the Christ? Even the ones which insult His deity or deny his crucifixion?

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Tiki, you claim that you are “not narcissistic enough to believe that you can save one soul.” Yes, God saves souls, not us...but God uses us to TELL the world about His Son, especially those who are about to face death and judgment! ** The apostle Paul reminds us:

“For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And HOW can they BELIEVE in him if they have never HEARD about him? And how can they HEAR about him unless someone TELLS them?

And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring the good news!”

~ Romans 10:13-16

[vladimir998]

Wow!!!

Thank you so much for posting the interview. You just knocked the wind out of several anti-Catholics here by doing so!

[mlizzy]

Even our best acts—our “righteous deeds” are nothing but *filthy rags* before a holy, just, and perfect GOD ...

Mother Teresa of Calcutta worked tirelessly to bring "Light" to those who were destitute through her actions. You have selected to take four words from Mother Teresa [I love all religions] and used them out of context, much like you're done with the Bible verse on "righteous deeds" and "filthy rags." Through the Eucharist, which is the "sum and substance" of the Catholic faith, one can attain the strength and courage to be a Mother Teresa. She once said (and this might be a slight paraphrase), "I could not get through one day [not even ONE day!] with the work that I do without receiving my Jesus [through the Most Holy Eucharist]." Another Eucharist-loving saint (they ALL were by the way!) said, "Holy Communion is the shortest and the safest way to Heaven. There are others: Innocence, for instance, but that is for little children. Penance, but we are afraid of it. Generous endurance of the trials of life, but when they come we weep and ask to be spared. The surest, easiest, shortest way is by the Eucharist" -St. Pius X. And, of course, Padre Pio packed a punch with, "It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do so without the Holy Mass."

Mother Teresa "lived" on the Bread of Life, and to know her more completely (not to mention getting to know Christ completely!) would be to know her through the Breaking of the Bread. Until you do, you will not "clearly" understand the woman or her mission (or the Bible of His Word).

[paulist]

A message to all fellow Christians from St. Francis of Assisi:

“Preach! And if you must, use words.”

A message to all Christians from God, via the Apostle Paul.

“But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching.” - Romans 10:14

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” - Romans 10:17

[Petronski]

“At the same time she taught a bizarre “pseudo-pantheism” in which she believed Jesus was present in everyone”

They “pseudo-pantheism” has it’s roots in Genesis 2:7

How about a little Matthew 25:31-45 too?

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Petronski, Barack Obama also uses the verses in Matthew 25 (”I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, etc...) to justify socialism. That verse is one of the most misunderstood and taken-out-of-context verses in the Bible.

Yes indeed, WE ARE called to feed, care for, and help all people, including even our ENEMIES. But in that particular passage in Matthew 25, Christ is asserting that people will be judged not only by how they receieve him, but how they receive those who are IN Him: namely, believers who preach about him. **Christ is present in HIS believers**...so he is essentially saying “A believer was hungry and you did not feed him, a believer was persecuted for preaching about me and you did not visit him in prison. etc...”

For more context, see this passage earlier in Matthew: Jesus is preaching to his disciples before sending them out to Evangelize and PREACH the good news of salvation, and this is what he says:

“Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.” ~ Matthew 10:40

** Again, to people who say the words of Mother Teresa were taken out of context: please explain how ANYone truly in LOVE with Jesus Christ could “love all religions” if many of those DENY Christ as the son of God (Buddhism) or mock his crucifixion? (Islam) and insult the one true GOD by claiming worshipping false ones? (Hinduism)

Let’s not forget how GOD Himself opens the 10 Commandments: “I, the Lord your God, am a JEALOUS God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” (Exodus 20:5)

[Lorica]

Mother Teresa: I love all religions, but I am in love with my own. No discussion. That’s what we have to prove to them. Seeing what I do, they realize that I am in love with Jesus.

Time: And they should love Jesus too?

Mother Teresa: Naturally, if they want peace, if they want joy, let them find Jesus. If people become better Hindus, better Moslems, better Buddhists by our acts of love, then there is something else growing there. They come closer and closer to God. When they come closer, they have to choose.

THANK YOU. I've never seen the quote in context. You made my day.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

When I was Catholic—and I was for 13 years, I too spent more time defending members of the Catholic hierarchy than I did defending CHRIST Himself. I spent more time reading the words of popes than the words straight out of the mouth of Jesus Christ.

I spent more time defending Catholic traditions, papal encyclicals, and institutional dogmas of the Church more than I defended the very clear and plainly laid out words of God revealed in Scripture. I shut my ears everytime one of the Gospels or Paul’s epistles said something so starkly contrary to Church dogma.

God is indeed a jealous God and neither Mother Teresa nor the distractions of Rome are worthy of the affections that belong to Him and Him alone. God sent His Only Son to save us, and yet people will rush quicker to defend someone who blatantly says she loves the very religions that deny the CHRIST, rather than defending CHRIST himself! CHRIST wanted to be preached, he wanted His name heard and praised by all, and above all, he said plainly HE is the only way to Father. All roads may indeed lead to Rome, but the narrow way leads straight to Jesus Christ.

[Lorica]

When I was Catholic—and I was for 13 years, I too spent more time defending members of the Catholic hierarchy than I did defending CHRIST Himself. I spent more time reading the words of popes than the words straight out of the mouth of Jesus Christ.

Sorry to hear that. It seems your priorities were misplaced, but that is not the fault of the Church. And I have to say that the average Catholic so rarely reads the words of the Popes that you must have been an exceptional Catholic indeed!

[ArrogantBustard]

I shut my ears everytime one of the Gospels or Paul’s epistles said something so starkly contrary to Church dogma.

Interesting.

That means you NEVER shut your ears.

[lastchance]

Oh if only that were true. A lot of people forget that Blessed Mother Teresa had to do her work without running afoul of the anti prostelyzation (sp) laws of so many Indian states. So she could not just flat out say her goal was to convert those she served to Christianity. So instead of simply being silent about the Gospel she lived it and by doing so showed the least of these that they were indeed the face of Christ amongst us. I think the God who is love would approve.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

lastchance,

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” ~ Mark 8:38

Regardless of what a nation’s anti-Christian laws say, we are called ultimately to obey God and not compromise our faith and commitment to Christ and HIS Words—regardless of the persecution we face. “Blessed are the persecuted!” CHRIST claimed to be the only way to salvation. CHRIST warns us against giving credence to false religions and false prophets.

If we are ashamed of his message, he will be ashamed of us.