Posted on 03/24/2015 8:06:07 AM PDT by RnMomof7
Another observation is the dates of the apparition. The apparition dates are significantly on the 13th of every month of that year. Even until, Roman Catholics believe that 13th is always associated with evil things like Friday the 13t h bad luck and not placing 13th floor on buildings. Not to mention all the horror movies that happens on Friday the 13th.
Is this belief an exclusively Catholic belief? I've noticed it among Protestants and others as well, probably even those without any significant Christian belief or observance.
(My "side discussion" below was here before I moved it.)
Is this belief an "officially" Catholic belief at all? I'm not Catholic, but if this were an Official Catholic Belief, I probably would've heard about the fact earlier. I've never heard of this belief as a doctrine of any entity that calls itself a Christian church or denomination. I've always seen this belief called a superstition (and I've almost always heard of "superstition" in a negative light). If some group identifying as Christian officially believed that 13 is unlucky, the group would be an easy target for ridicule. The tolerant atheists would have a wonderful time, and so would those loving Christians. A search of the Religion Forum would yield many long threads.
(Groups around the world use a standardized chapter-and-verse divisions in the Bible. Do people avoid chapters or verses numbered 13? Does any group produce an edition of the Bible with such chapters or verses renumbered "12A"? Note that references to "verse 12a" usually mean the first part of that verse 12, and such references are not an example of what I mention. Does any group produce its own numbering to avoid "13" altogether?)
-----[Begin side discussion]-----
The idea that 13 is unlucky seems to derive from a Christian observation about the Last Supper, but it's probably easy to transmit the superstition without reference to the Bible or Christian belief.
I do not pretend that my experience is necessarily representative, but I myself knew about the superstition for years and years without knowing its origin, and I was familiar enough with the Last Supper from an early age. For example, some sources say that some versions of the superstition derive from an idea that Judas was the 13th guest, but I would've known that Judas is nowhere identified biblically as such. I might even have been able to answer a trivia-style question about "how many guests were there at the Last Supper," and I might have been able to make a guess that since Judas is indeed mentioned last in every biblical list of the apostles at the time, he might have wound up 13th in a list of known diners.
All of what I just mentioned, though, was not part of the "13 is unlucky!" idea as I learned about it. Until I did some reading about folklore, I had no idea of the connection.
The idea was also not more intense among the Christians whom I knew, let alone most intense among the most "intense" Christians.
In contrast, certain things regarding "666" probably would've formed a different matter. For example, from 2013: "Kentucky cross-country runner refuses to race after being assigned number 666"--I can imagine similar reactions elsewhere.
While I can respect the sensibilities of this student and can see why a "666" label may scandalize some Christians, I would not have agreed with this student that wearing that number would in itself "risk [one's] relationship with God." In fact, even when I was the age of that student--that is, when I was younger and less-informed than I am now--I probably would've considered such reasoning poorly formed (in terms of what the Bible actually says--wearing "666" is not taking the Mark of the Beast or something), maybe even superstititious.
-----[End side discussion]-----
And the Bereans did just that!!
Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Rome says:
Search our TRADITIONS...
Well, I think he was more than that. He gave his life and rose again. He is God. Writers come and go. God doesn’t.
I’ve seen how nasty your posts are about Jesus and Christianity before and would never confuse you as a Disciple of Christ.
Seriously? The only way you Catholics can reach Jesus is through his mother? Your entire post was built on that premise as you kept repeating it.
Speaking as a Christian, I can let you in on a little secret. I approach Christ though His Word and have accepted Him in my heart.
No room (no need) for rosary beads, icons, madonnas, and other add-ons.
All churches have doctrine that are not Scriptural. You are not a person who can accept anything that goes against what you “believe” to be true. I only share with people who are open to info.
The main two prayers of the Rosary are the Our Father and the Hail Mary. I assume no one will dispute the Our Father as not being biblical. The first stanza of the Hail Mary is:”Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee.” See Luke 1:28, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” The phrase “O favored one” was translated “full of grace” in the Douay Rheims translation. Ok, so that first stanza is biblically based.
The second stanza is, “Bless art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. See Luke 11:27, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that you sucked. Here wew see that second stanza is also biblically based.
The last stanza, “Holy Mary, Mother of God,pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” The term Mother of God comes from the Council of Chalcedon. This last stanza reflects the belief of Catholics and the Orthodox on the effectiveness of requesting intercessory prayers of the saints. See also 11 Maccabees. Obviously, you and I will disagree on that point.
Jesus isn’t God? I believe the Trinity. You don’t?
Bernadine: …all gifts, all virtues, and all graces are dispensed by the hands of Mary to whomsoever, when, and as she pleases. O Lady, since thou art the dispenser of all graces, and since the grace of salvation can ONLY come through thy hands, OUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON THEE.
Do you want to stand by your statement roman catholics don't depend on Mary for their salvation??
You know there are more statements from catholics just like this one.
Actually that phrase comes directly from the Douay-Rheims translation of Luke 1:28.
:-)
Wow, good luck with sharing anything with that guy. He’d have never converted anyone had he ever had that as a mission.
Agreed. The hardness of heart has done more damage to the kingdom of God than Nietzsche.
She DID!!??!!??
Not an Angel of LIght?
Did Fire from 'heaven' heat the ground and clothes?
Revelation 13:13
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
as proclaimed by the Church based in Rome.
Except that I don't ever ask DEAD people to pray for me.
Another non-biblical teaching from Rome.
John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
He DOES?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.