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Religion & Culture (Religion)

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  • Proverb A Day, Proverb 12 [Prayer and Meditation]

    02/12/2018 5:31:41 AM PST · by OneVike · 4 replies
    Bible NKJV ^ | 900 B.C. | Solomon
    Proverb 12 (NKJV) The House of the Righteous Shall Stand 01 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, 00 But he who hates correction is stupid. 02 A good man obtains favor from the LORD, 00 But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. 03 A man is not established by wickedness, 00 But the root of the righteous cannot be moved. 04 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, 00 But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. 05 The thoughts of the righteous are right, 00 But the counsels of the wicked are...
  • AMERICA PRAYER VIGIL 2-12-18 {Prayer}

    02/11/2018 10:34:55 PM PST · by Kitty Mittens · 27 replies
    2-12-18 | Kitty Mittens
    The “Donald Trump/Mike Pence Prayer Vigil” and “Pray for our American Heroes" Prayer Thread have Combined to Form the AMERICA PRAYER VIGIL Prayer Thread! Join with Fellow FREEPERS to Pray for our PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. 'And this is the Confidence that we have in Him, that, if we Ask Anything According to His Will, He Heareth us.' 1 John 5:14 Religion Forum Threads Labeled [Prayer] are Closed to Debate of Any Kind. Psalm 89:20-24 I have Found David My Servant; with Mine Holy Oil have I...
  • 'Guilty of Love': Miami Catholic School Teacher Says She Was Fired for Being Gay

    02/11/2018 6:05:54 PM PST · by marshmallow · 34 replies
    NBC Miami ^ | 2/9/18
    "In their eyes I’m not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner," Jocelyn Morffi wroteA first-grade teacher at a Catholic school in Miami says she was fired for being gay, and now a group of upset parents say they may pull their children from the school. Days after marrying the love of her life, Jocelyn Morffi, a teacher at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, wrote in an Instagram post that she was fired for being gay. "In their eyes I’m not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner," she wrote, along with the...
  • Proverb A Day, Proverb 11 [Prayer and Meditation]

    02/11/2018 7:22:22 AM PST · by OneVike · 2 replies
    Bible NKJV ^ | 900 B.C. | Solomon
    Proverb 11 (NKJV) The Folly of Wickedness01 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, 00 But a just weight is His delight. 02 When pride comes, then comes shame; 00 But with the humble is wisdom. 03 The integrity of the upright will guide them, 00 But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. 04 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, 00 But righteousness delivers from death. 05 The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, 00 But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. 06 The righteousness of the upright...
  • Chinese Priests Ordered to Put Up Signs Banning Children From Churches

    02/10/2018 7:22:57 PM PST · by marshmallow · 49 replies
    Chinese officials have said churches will not be allowed to function unless they post the signsSince China’s new regulations for religious affairs took effect on February 1, minors have been banned from entering places of worship in several regions. A priest in Hebei province who asked to remain anonymous told ucanews.com that authorities had asked clergymen in some parts of the province to post signs prohibiting minors from entering religious venues, prayer houses and other church premises. “They also threaten churches that they cannot be used if they refuse to post the signs,” he said. A blogger wrote that “religious...
  • San Diego Bishop: Some Catholics Have ‘Corrosive and Repugnant’ Views on Homosexuality

    02/10/2018 7:13:39 PM PST · by marshmallow · 41 replies
    LifeSite News ^ | 2/7/18 | Lisa Bourne
    February 7, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy said recently that there is “repugnant” and “corrosive” bigotry toward individuals identifying as LGBT on the part of “a group of people across all religious views.” This “particularly antagonistic” regard for LGBT individuals by people in this group generates from the depths of the souls, Bishop McElroy said. It is a reality that must be faced and one that is “incompatible with what we hope to be as a church.” The bishop was cited and quoted by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni for a recent “The Scariest Catholic in...
  • The Tin Foil Hat Brigade

    02/10/2018 3:54:15 PM PST · by Roman_War_Criminal · 47 replies
    RR ^ | 2/6/18 | Pete Garcia
    You know who you are. You are the person other people tip toe around when it comes to discussing current events or religion. You are the person who can spend hours devouring scripture or news with equal vigor, pointing out ‘last days’ events to anyone who would listen to you. You are semi-shunned at church. You are disinvited from church socials, because you are just too intense and narrow-minded. You are called a ‘conspiracy theorist’ or a ‘Jesus Freak’ behind your back. You are always going on about the Lord’s return and that “Rapture thingy”. Admit it. You are one...
  • [Catholic Caucus] The China Invented by Bishop Sánchez Sorondo. His Diary ...

    02/10/2018 11:21:32 AM PST · by ebb tide · 5 replies
    L'Espresso ^ | February 10, 2018 | Sandro Magister
    “We can understand that in the enthusiasm of wanting an agreement between China and the Vatican, Chinese culture, Chinese people and Chinese mentality are exaggerated and exalted, as Pope Francis does. But presenting China as a model…” It is a dumbfounded Fr. Bernardo Cervellera, director of the agency Asia News of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, who comments on the judgments of Argentine bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, just back from a trip to China.Sánchez Sorondo is the chancellor of two pontifical academies, that of sciences and that of social sciences, as well as a diligent lackey of the court...
  • Who Made Xi Jinping Pope?

    02/10/2018 10:15:57 AM PST · by ebb tide · 19 replies
    Wall Street Journal ^ | February 8, 2018 | Mark Simon
    A Vatican-China deal is imminent. Millions of Chinese Catholics should be afraid. Feb. 8, 2018 7:15 p.m. ET Ever since the red flag rose over China in 1949, Roman Catholics there have suffered because of their fidelity to the pope in Rome. Now the Holy Father himself has become a source of tribulation. In its eagerness to reach a deal with China, the Vatican is elevating the persecutors over the persecuted. Xi Jinping, an atheist and hard-line communist, became leader of China in 2012. The Chinese government has since stepped up its violations of human rights, including religious freedom. This...
  • What is a Cult?

    02/10/2018 7:10:14 AM PST · by tiredofallofit · 62 replies
    Running Away From My Church Blog ^ | 2/07/18 | Robert Messner
    When I tell people about my childhood church, they will usually insist that I was in a cult. While I strongly suspect that they are correct, I never thought of myself as a cult member. Sure, my church may have shunned the outside world and taught that it alone possessed “the truth” but we never had to swear our undying loyalty to the leaders or live in a compound or drink poison. Should you wish to stop attending the church, you were free to do so, but you had to accept that the members who remained were no longer your...
  • Proverb A Day, Proverb 10 [Prayer and Meditation]

    02/10/2018 6:57:38 AM PST · by OneVike · 2 replies
    Bible NKJV ^ | 900 B.C. | Solomon
    Proverb 10 (NKJV) A Wise Son and a Foolish Son01 The proverbs of Solomon: 00 A wise son makes a glad father, 00 But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. 02 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing 00 But righteousness delivers from death. 03 The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, 00 But He casts away the desire of the wicked. 04 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, 00 But the hand of the diligent makes rich. 05 He who gathers in summer is a wise son; 00 He who sleeps in...
  • A European Court Vindicates a Fashion Designer Whose Images Upset Catholics

    02/09/2018 4:46:49 PM PST · by marshmallow · 37 replies
    The Economist ^ | 2/5/18 | Erasmus
    A court victory for a designer accused of blasphemyTHIS week the European Court of Human Rights handed down a verdict, which law-and-religion pundits will be pondering for years to come. It vindicated Sekmadienis, a company selling the work of Robert Kalinkin, a Lithuanian fashion designer. The seller had been fined for using images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary which Catholics found offensive. The case refers to a Kalinkin campaign in 2012 which featured a bare-chested young man and a woman, both with halos: the man was sporting jeans and tattoos, and the female figure wore a white dress with...
  • Mosul, Iraq: ‘I Cannot Believe My Eyes When I See What ISIS Has Done to My Church’

    02/09/2018 4:37:44 PM PST · by marshmallow · 7 replies
    Aid to the Church in Need ^ | 2/6/18 | ACN Staff
    LEMONS, GRAPEFRUITS, oranges and figs grow in abundance in the three gardens of Nadia Younis Butti’s house in Mosul, the house her parents built from scratch. She used to enjoy the lush trees and alluring fruits, sitting in her rocking chair near the flourishing, scented bushes. On July 17, 2014, however, Nadia had to leave Mosul, because ISIS had captured Iraq’s second-largest city. “With pain in my heart I left,” she says. ISIS has been ousted from Mosul and Nadia, who belongs to the Assyrian Church, recently returned to visit the city of her birth. “It is still extremely dangerous...
  • Chinese Tabloid Disses Breitbart, Defends Vatican Bishop for Speaking ‘Truth’ About China

    02/09/2018 1:22:19 PM PST · by ebb tide · 3 replies
    Breitbart ^ | February 9, 2018 | Thomas D. Williams
    The communist-party controlled Global Times has lavished praise on a Vatican bishop who recently proposed China as the “best” model of Catholic social teaching, claiming he speaks the “truth” about life in China. In a Friday op-ed, Global Times writer Ai Jun said that recent comments exalting China’s communist government by Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, express “the perspective of an authoritative religious figure” and are helpful in contradicting “misunderstandings of China.” The Global Times is owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily. “The overwhelming majority of Catholics in China have...
  • No, El Shaddai does not mean 'God with breasts'

    02/09/2018 12:32:00 PM PST · by Sopater · 36 replies
    OneNewsNow ^ | February 9, 2018 | Dr. Michael L. Brown
    As reported earlier this week, the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Washington, DC, passed a resolution to stop using masculine pronouns for God in future updates to its Book of Common Prayer. The resolution to "avoid the use of gendered pronouns for God" was passed quickly by delegates to the Diocese's 123rd Convention. To be sure, this is not the first group to move in the direction of "gender-inclusive" language when it comes to the deity.
  • [Catholic Caucus] Some Chinese Catholics see restrictions as new religion rules take effect

    02/09/2018 11:02:58 AM PST · by ebb tide · 4 replies
    Crux ^ | February 9, 2018 | CNS contributor
    Since China’s new regulations for religious affairs took effect Feb. 1, minors have been banned from entering places of worship in several regions. A priest in Hebei province who asked to remain anonymous told ucanews.com that authorities had asked clergymen in some parts of the province to post signs prohibiting minors from entering religious venues, prayer houses and other church premises.“They also threaten churches that they cannot be used if they refuse to post the signs,” he said.A blogger wrote that “religious venues are the third premises, following clubs and internet bars, where minors are prohibited from entering by authorities.”RELATED:...
  • A Vatican-Based Bishop Extols China: Reality checks in Rome are badly needed these days.

    02/08/2018 10:43:12 AM PST · by SeekAndFind · 8 replies
    National Review ^ | 02/08/2018 | George Weigel
    Despite the media and blogosphere attention he attracts, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, a 75-year-old Argentine who is chancellor of various pontifical academies, is a small-bore bit player in the current drama of what friends and critics alike regard as an increasingly dysfunctional Vatican. Yet when someone of even his relative insignificance announces that “right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese,” that dysfunction comes into sharp relief — and a correction of the record is imperative. Catholic social doctrine is built on four foundational principles: 1. The inviolable dignity and value of...
  • [Catholic Caucus] On Eve of Vatican Sellout, Bishop Sorondo Hails Communist China ... a

    02/08/2018 10:00:35 AM PST · by ebb tide · 2 replies
    Fatima Perspectives ^ | February 7, 2018 | Christopher A. Ferrara
    On Eve of Vatican Sellout, Bishop Sorondo Hails Communist China as Example of "Catholic Social Teaching" by Christopher A. Ferrara February 7, 2018 Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, circa A.D. 2018 Even the secular conservative news site Brietbart has begun to notice the corruption of the Catholic Church at the very top as a key element in the sociopolitical crisis that represents the final stage of what Patrick Buchanan has called The Death of the West. Brietbart reports on an interview of the Argentinean Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo in a Spanish daily concerning his recent visit to communist China, where the Vatican...
  • No, You Can't Rewrite the Bible to Remove Gendered Language for God

    02/08/2018 9:57:48 AM PST · by SeekAndFind · 29 replies
    Townhall ^ | 02/08/2018 | Michael Brown
    As LifeSite News reported, earlier this month, “The Episcopal church in the Diocese of Washington, D.C., passed a resolution . . . to stop using masculine pronouns for God in future updates to its Book of Common Prayer.“The resolution to stop using ‘gendered language for God’ was passed quickly by delegates to the Diocese's 123rd Convention.”To be sure, this is not the first group to move in the direction of “gender-inclusive” language when it comes to the deity.Back in 2011, I documented how some gay churches replaced God as Father with God as Creator in their hymns. And last year,...
  • [Catholic Caucus] De Mattei: The spirit of resistance and love for the Church

    02/07/2018 5:58:41 PM PST · by ebb tide
    Rorate Caeli ^ | February 7, 2018 | Roberto de Mattei
    As the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ election draws near, we hear repeatedly that we are facing a dramatic and absolutely unprecedented ‘page’ in the history of the Church. This is only partly true. The Church has always experienced tragic times which have seen the laceration of the Mystical Body since its very beginnings on Calvary right up to the present day.The younger generations don’t know and the older generations have forgotten how terrible the years that followed the Second Vatican Council were, of which the present age is the result. Forty years ago while the 1968 revolt was erupting,...