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The preceptive will of God relates to the revealed commandments of God’s published law. When God commands us not to steal, this decree does not carry with it the immediate necessity of consequence. Where it was not possible for the light to refuse to shine in creation, it is possible for us to refuse to obey this command. In a word, we steal. We must be careful not to make too much of this distinction. We must not be lulled into thinking that the preceptive will of God is divorced form His decretive will. It is not as though the...

SPINDALE, N.C. -- When Andre Oliveira answered the call to leave his Word of Faith Fellowship congregation in Brazil to move to the mother church in North Carolina at the age of 18, his passport and money were confiscated by church leaders -- for safekeeping, he said he was told. Trapped in a foreign land, he said he was forced to work 15 hours a day, usually for no pay, first cleaning warehouses for the secretive evangelical church and later toiling at businesses owned by senior ministers. Any deviation from the rules risked the wrath of church leaders, he said,...

November 14, 2017 Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 2:23–3:9 God formed man to be imperishable;the image of his own nature he made them.But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,and they who are in his possession experience it. But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;and their passing away was thought an afflictionand their going forth from us, utter destruction.But they are in peace.For if before men, indeed, they be...

FULL TITLE: Revealed: The evangelical North Carolina church that 'kidnapped children with the help of a social worker insider and brainwashed them through years of abuse' A secretive church congregation in North Carolina has used money, influence and lies to rip more than two dozen children from their parents and take them in as their own, an investigation has revealed. Once the children were inside the Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, the evangelical church physically and verbally abused them for years, former congregation members claim. Word of Faith Fellowship regularly used its muscle to turn children against...

God’s decretive will is sometimes described as the sovereign, efficacious will by which God brings to pass whatever He pleases by His divine decree. An example of this may be seen in God’s work of creation. When God said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3), He issued a divine imperative. He exercised His sovereign, efficacious will. When He did so, it was impossible for the light not to appear. It appeared by the sheer necessity of consequence. The decretive will can have no other effect, no other consequence than what God sovereignly commands. He did not request the light to...

AMERICA Prayer Vigil: Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for our President and Vice President and for AMERICA: Government, Family, Military, Business, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

November 13, 2017 Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin Reading 1 Wis 1:1-7 Love justice, you who judge the earth;think of the Lord in goodness,and seek him in integrity of heart;Because he is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.For perverse counsels separate a man from God,and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;Because into a soul that plots evil, wisdom enters not,nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin.For the holy Spirit of discipline flees deceitand withdraws from senseless counsels;and when injustice...

Some of Jesus’ starkest warnings come in the form of parables. In them, the drama of human life in the valley of decision (Joel 3:14) is vividly proclaimed. Indeed, the parables are mostly about the drama and decisions of human life and the stance we take in the cosmic battle that rages around us. Our decisions point to our destiny. Of Jesus’ 37 parables, 20 are ones that remind us that our decisions can bring blessing or curse, rise or ruin, salvation or condemnation. Let’s review some of them, in order of increasing intensity: The rich fool (Luke 12:16–21): This...

November 12, 2017 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 6:12-16 Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,and she is readily perceived by those who love her,and found by those who seek her.She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire;Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,for he shall find her sitting by his gate.For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,and whoever for her sake keeps vigilshall quickly be free from care;because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her,and graciously appears to them in the ways,and meets them with...

There are many religious people in the pro-life movement, and they take courage and inspiration from their faith. Pro-life Christians want their pastors to speak out against abortion. But the following clergy members have come out in favor of abortion, and some of the things they say are shocking. To illustrate exactly what they are talking about when they speak of abortion, below is a picture of an 8-week-old preborn baby, a potential victim of an abortion. ***IMAGE ON LINK*** There are many religious people in the pro-life movement, and they take courage and inspiration from their faith. Pro-life Christians...

Texas religious leaders gathered Thursday to bless an abortion clinic and its staff as a judge considers whether to allow the state to ban brutal dismemberment abortions on live unborn babies. The pro-abortion clergy prayed at the Whole Woman’s Health abortion facility in Fort Worth, Texas, blessing its staff and patients, saying prayers and singing “Hallelujah,” according to the Daily Caller. The Texas abortion chain is one of the groups challenging the state dismemberment abortion ban. It also has a poor reputation for patient health and safety, racking up dozens of health and safety violations in the past decade. They...

November 11, 2017 Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop Reading 1 Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 Brothers and sisters:Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus,who risked their necks for my life,to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles;greet also the Church at their house.Greet my beloved Epaenetus,who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ.Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.Greet Andronicus and Junia,my relatives and my fellow prisoners;they are prominent among the Apostlesand they were in Christ before me.Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in...

As children we played games drawn from the scenario of war. When a friend approached we pretended that we were sentries. The dialogue was simple: “Halt! Who goes there? Friend or foe?” Our categories left no room for indifferent neutrality. They were restricted to two options, friend or enemy. Those are the only options we have in our relationship with God. No one is neutral. We are either God’s friends or God’s enemies. Jonathan Edwards once preached a sermon titled, “Man, Naturally God’s Enemies.” In this sermon Edwards declared: “Men, in general, will own that they are sinners. There are...

What should Jehovah’s Witnesses do if they think someone they know has sexually abused a child, but no one was there to see it?Nothing.So say leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who instruct elders not to take action against a member of the religion accused of child sexual abuse without a confession or at least two witnesses to the crime.That policy is based on Scripture, according to the religion’s top officials.The vast majority of sexual predators abuse their victims in secret, with no witnesses present. And even though Jehovah’s Witnesses are under pressure worldwide for covering up child sexual abuse, a...

November 10, 2017 Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Rom 15:14-21 I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,that you yourselves are full of goodness,filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,because of the grace given me by Godto be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentilesin performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,sanctified by the Holy Spirit.In Christ Jesus, then,...

Devin Kelley, an atheist and Air Force reject, a man who had been court-martialed and dishonorably discharged for assaulting his wife and child, entered the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday in full combat gear and cut down 26 Christians in cold blood and put another 20 in the hospital. Victims include eight members of one family and the pastor’s own 14-year-old daughter. The fill-in pastor was shot in the back as he made his way up to the pulpit. Said Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt, Jr, “He (Kelley) just walked down the center aisle, turned...

We are warned not to allow ourselves to become hardened, because if we look at the whole concept of hardening in its biblical perspective, we see that something happens to us through repeated sins. Our consciences become seared. The more we commit a particular sin, the less remorse we feel from it. Our hearts are recalcitrant through repeated disobedience. When God hardens the heart, all He does is step away and stop striving with us. For example, the first time I commit a particular sin, my conscience bothers me. In His grace, God is convicting me of that evil. God...

November 9, 2017 Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Reading 1 Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 The angel brought meback to the entrance of the temple,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the façade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the southern side.He said to me,"This water flows into the eastern district down upon...

The visual impact of the furnishings and the buildings of both the Old Testament tabernacle and temple was awesome. The eyes were dazzled with a sense of the splendor of God. Sound was vital to Old Testament worship. The choral compositions of the Psalms were moving to the Spirit. They were accompanied by the full harmony and rhythm supplied by the harp, the lyre, the flute, and trumpets. The piano and the organ are marvelous instruments, but they cannot produce the sounds that the other instruments provide. Hymns and choral anthems are greatly enhanced when they are supported with greater...

November 8, 2017 Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters:Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;you shall not kill;you shall not steal;you shall not covet,and whatever other commandment there may be,are summed up in this saying, namely,You shall love your neighbor as yourself.Love does no evil to the neighbor;hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Responsorial Psalm Ps 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9 R. ( 5a) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to...