Free Republic

Hi, let me clear your doubt about animal gods..... It is said that . Thousands of years ago, the deamons and humans used to pray god and posessed powers. Some of them posessed dangerous powers and tried to destroy the world. They while asking for the boon,, they askid like no, human or a god should be able to kill them. Since god cannot take his word back. In order to protect the world, He came in different forms to kill those different daemons. The gods wich hindus prays like ganesh and hanuma are mentioned in the hindu bookd even...

A senior west of Ireland bishop has strongly appealed to Catholics intending to travel to Knock next month to stay away from a predicted apparition of the Virgin Mary on December 5. Speaking yesterday in Ennis, Co Clare, the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, said he would not like to see a large number of people going to Knock on that day expecting "strange visions". The bishop was responding to the announcement by Dublin self-styled visionaries Joe Coleman and Keith Henderson that Our Lady will appear on Saturday, December 5, at 3pm. Bishop Walsh is the first member of...

Pope Benedict must be left alone to decide on whether to promote a controversial Nazi-era pontiff toward sainthood... Pope Pius XII has been accused by some Jews of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust during World War Two.... ....Pius did not do enough to save Jews. "(Jewish groups) told him loudly and clearly that if he did anything in favor of Pope (Pius), relations between the Catholic Church and Jews would be definitively and permanently compromised," Benedict's decision to readmit to the Church a bishop who denied the extent of the Holocaust in January also strained ties.

On Thursday Afternoon, November 5, 2009, 12 pro-lifers were arrested inside or outside in the hall at Nancy Pelosi's office at #235 Cannon office building. They entered, with two complete copies of the bill - all 2,000 pages (4,000) - and proceeded to rip it up, page by page, and strew it on the floor...

Just this year, Dobson gave 2009 Miss USA 1st runner-up Carrie Prejean the same treatment. To her credit, she had spoken out against same-sex marriage during the pageant, yet she seemed to have no moral dilemma when it came to posing for some prurient photographs. Dobson praised her for the former and had little to say about the latter, holding her out as a fine example of Christian womanhood who had been martyred by the media. I was still program director at a Christian station at that time, and we were given a choice between airing the Prejean interview or...

Time for me to leave FR.

Cremation 1134. Why does the Catholic Church forbid cremation? It was a pagan practice which Christians avoided from the very beginning. In the third century we find Christian writers, such as Minucius Felix, warning Christians against imitating the practice, and bidding them retain the custom of earth burial. In comparatively recent times Atheists and irreligious materialists have reintroduced it in order to destroy Christian belief and to impress in an imaginative way the doctrine that all is over at death. This, in itself, would be enough to justify the Church in her refusal to accept a practice credited with such...

MORE THAN one in ten Britons don't know which famous landmark Guy Fawkes failed to blow up. A staggering 13 per cent of people could not identify the Houses of Parliament as the target of the infamous Gunpowder Plot. Three per cent of clueless participants even named the London Eye as Fawkes' target - even though it was erected almost 400 years later - a figure that, shockingly, rises to eight per cent among London residents. One in 20 thought the religious conspirator - who was captured in a cellar beneath the House of Lords on 5 November, 1605 with...

November 6, 2009                                     Friday of the Thirty-first Week                                 in Ordinary Time   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 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...

Part Two:  Channels of Grace Marriage Table of Contents     Marriage is not of human origin. It was instituted by God, as described in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis.But when Christ came into the world He elevated the natural institution to the level of a sacrament. He wished to provide not only individuals with the means they need, as persons, to reach eternal life: He also wanted to give grace to His followers as social beings. Marriage is the foundation of the family, which is the bedrock of human society.In the Church’s own language, the sacrament of Marriage...

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” – Mary worshipping God in Luke 1:46–47 Mary was simply a very godly young woman who loved the Lord and trusted in Him despite great risk to her own reputation. She repeatedly appears as a devout woman who loved God and was a loving mother to Jesus. Contrary to some aberrant teaching, she did not remain a virgin, but mothered other sons such as James and Jude, who visited Jesus with Mary during His ministry (Matthew 12:46; Mark 3:31–35; Luke 8:19–21) and later became pastors who penned...

The South African Catholic blog Signum has an article reporting that TAC in UK accepts "Ordinariate" At the 2009 Assembly of the Traditional Anglican Communion UK, the following resolution was passed:That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution.The Assembly also suggests Bishop Robert Mercer as a possible candidate for Ordinary. I hear...

Join me in prayer for the fallen soldiers at Fort Hood. Lord be with the injured and heal them, receive into Your loving arms those that perished, comfort the loved ones of all the victims, and give Your justice to the murderers who perpetrated this horrific crime today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Sr. Verónica Berzosa Madrid, Spain, Nov 5, 2009 / 01:51 pm (CNA).- A 43 year-old prioresses has revolutionized an old Poor Clares convent in Spain, turning it onto a magnet for dozens of young professional women.Sister Veronica joined the Poor Clares Convent of the Ascension founded in 1604 in Lerma (Spain) at at time when it was going through a vocations crisis.  It was January 22, 1984, and Marijose Berzosa - Sr. Veronica's name prior to entering the convent - decided, at age 18, to leave behind a career in medicine, friends, nightlife and baketball."Nobody understood me. There were...

Writings of the Fathers of the Church  Alexander of Alexandria (Saint)   - Epistles on the Arian Heresy and the Deposition of Arius Alexander of Lycopolis   - Of the Manicheans Ambrose (340-397) (Saint) (Doctor)   - On the Christian Faith (De fide)   - On the Holy Spirit   - On the Mysteries   - On Repentance   - On the Duties of the Clergy   - Concerning Virgins   - Concerning Widows   - On the Death of Satyrus   - Memorial of Symmachus   - Sermon against Auxentius   - Letters Aphrahat/Aphraates (c. 280-367)   - Demonstrations Archelaus   - Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes Aristides the Philosopher   - The Apology Arnobius   - Against the Heathen Athanasius (Saint) (Doctor)   - Against the Heathen   - On the Incarnation...

A recent convert recounted a conversation he had in his shop. It went something like this: A friend came in and said, "Hey, I hear you're a Mormon now." "Yep." "So, you worship Joseph Smith?" "Nope." "But other Mormons do, right?" "Nope. Not a one of 'em." The convert explained that Joseph needed a Savior like the rest of us do. He was "just a prophet." "Just a prophet?" "Yep. But a really great one." "How so?" "Had a big job on hand, putting things back that were lost for, like, centuries. Had to do it all before he died...

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." ~Lamentations 3:21-25

GUEST LIST November 5 Fr. Thomas Euteneuer Exorcism Ask Fr. Thomas Euteneuer a question Fr. Thomas Euteneuer BIOGRAPHY: Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer became president of Human Life International in December of 2000. Human Life International is the worldÂ’s largest pro-life organization with affiliate offices and associates in seventy-five countries around the world. In five years of service to this unique mission Fr. Euteneuer has traveled more than 500,000 miles as a pro-life missionary and visited more than forty countries. Fr. Euteneuer was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1962, the fourth of seven children born to Joseph and Marian Euteneuer....

The film, The 13th Day, distributed in North America by Ignatius Press, continues to earn rave reviews from viewers. Sr. Helena Burns, FSP, who authors the "Hell Burns" blog, writes: This is a triumph of a film. And I don’t think I’ve ever used that word for a film before. “The 13th Day” was screened here at the 1st Annual John Paul II Film Festival in Miami: http://www.jp2filmfestival.com/. British producer Natasha Howes (birthday: May 13, feast of Our Lady of Fatima) was present. I was prepared not to like this film, and very apprehensive about not liking it because...

Forty years ago, BYU and Wyoming met at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo., for a football game that turned out to be much more than a game. It was October, 1969 -- a turbulent time in American history, with demonstrations and protests abounding around the country, sparked by the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. So when 14 black Wyoming football players decided to wear black armbands for the game against BYU -- to protest what they considered to be "racist practices" of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns and operates BYU -- and...

Last night, by a comfortable margin of 53-47%, the citizens of Maine became the 31st state to vote down gay marriage (as has every single state that has given its citizens a chance to vote on the issue). Not surprisingly, the mainstream liberal press is beside itself with frustration, especially because it drives yet another nail in the "inevitability" and "wrong side of history" arguments we are often fed. As I wrote on National Review this morning, Maine voted for traditional marriage "despite it being a liberal state, despite a 2-1 funding disadvantage, despite aggressive legal action against traditional-marriage...

Pope Benedict XVI (C) arrives to lead a mass to commemorate cardinals and bishops who died this year, in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican November 5, 2009. Vatican City, Nov 5, 2009 / 11:17 am (CNA).- This morning, Pope Benedict celebrated a Mass for the souls of the cardinals and bishops who have died over the past year.  In his homily, the Holy Father described death as “an enigma charged with anxiety,” and noted the importance of faith, hope and mercy in times “of human sadness and distress.”The Mass, which is a traditional November occurrence, was concelebrated by members...

This alone might put an end to liturgical dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxwV08YsKCg&feature=player_embedded

Christ, Lunatic or God? If reason alone were all we had to establish the existence and essence of God, we might feel curiously dissatisfied. If God is a Supreme Spirit, omnipotent and of total benevolence, the origin and end of us all, why does He not speak and re-assure us? The Christian claim is that, in fact, God has spoken to mankind first in the prophets of the Old Testament and last of all through His Son made man. The historical existence of Christ is what we are now concerned with and also with His claim to be the Son...

Before starting the text of a long article, I want to explain what it is. In discussing the meaning of the Eucharist with Catholics on FreeRepublic, I've frequently been told that the Church Fathers, from the very beginning, have taught it was a 're-presentation' of Calvary. I've read little of the Church Fathers - as have many who have lectured me, I suspect. The norm on both sides of the argument is to pull quotes from those who help your case, and ignore what does not. In excerpts below, taken from his 7,000 page history, Philip Schaff discusses the nuance...

Featured Term (selected at random):MIGNE PATROLOGIA The most comprehensive editions of the Fathers of the Church and ecclesiastical writers in existence. Jacques Paul Migne (1800-75) had been a parish priest in Orléans, France, until 1844, when he began publishing the corpus of Latin authors up to Innocent III (217 volumes, 1844-55). Then followed the Greek writers to A.D. 1439 (162 volumes, with Latin translation, 1857-66). The two collections, Patrologia Latina (P.L.) and Patrologia Graeca (P.G.), although lacking the critical perfection of modern scholarship, are still a standard source for reference and quotation. All items in this dictionary are from Fr....

In case you needed an excuse to have a couple of cold ones, burn stuff and light fireworks, look no further. November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day. On November 5, 1605, England held a celebration for the opening of Parliament. Guy Fawkes tried to spark a revolution by blowing up the building – and the royal family along with it – in what is known as the Gunpowder Plot (PDF) . The plot was foiled when one of Fawkes's co-conspirators sent a letter to a friend telling the friend to stay away from Parliament that night. The letter was intercepted...

Abandoning the diplomatic language typical of ecumenical pronouncements, the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation, chaired by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, has issued a candid critique of the 2007 “Ravenna document,” a modest milestone in Catholic-Orthodox ecumenical relations. The Ravenna document, while not purporting to be the Church’s official teaching, was issued by the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, chaired by Cardinal Walter Kasper and Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamon. A month after the document was issued, Cardinal Kasper told other cardinals...

Please keep my son Gabriel and I in your prayers as we work here in China. Here are some updates. Denny China Diary Entry #4 November 03, 2009 "Don't you hate it when you go to wash some clothes in the bathroom sink and the sink falls off of the wall and shatters on the floor at your feet? Only in China. I think I should forget the room deposit!" Posted: 04:58 AM China Diary entry #3 November 03, 2009 (Nov.1)The children are very curious around us in these areas. The roads to get here were mostly dirt and rough....

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - November 5 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." - Isaiah 54:17 This day is notable in English history for two great deliverances wrought by God for us. On this day the plot of the Papists to destroy our Houses of Parliament was discovered, 1605. "While for our princes they prepare In caverns deep a burning snare, He shot from heaven a piercing ray, And the dark treachery brought to day." And secondly-to-day is the anniversary of the landing of King William III, at Torbay, by which the hope of...

In Everything Today's Scripture "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (Thessalonians 5:18, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Are you giving thanks in every circumstance? This might seem like a stretch at first, especially when you are going through a season of difficulty. But notice today's verse doesn't say to give thanks "for" everything, it says give thanks "in" everything. In other words, no matter what's going on, find something to be thankful for. Don't just focus on what's wrong in your life; focus on what God will do...

Conservative leaders today are rejoicing over the out come of last nights 2009 election victories that have taken place. Many of the conservative leaders and their base are touting that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and our optimistic. Last night’s victories are quite encouraging in light of the past shellacking that conservatism and the Republican Party have taken but they are the last struggling convulsions of a nation on the precipice of total collapse. The absolute reality is that the conservative, optimistic ideal cannot support the excessive weight of the current crises and realities...

Partakers of His Suffering ". . . but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings . . ." —1 Peter 4:13 If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, "Oh, I can’t deal with that person." Why...

An invitation to enter into the rest of the Lord—Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave unto charity. Between A.D. 400 and 421 1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which they...

We are awash in information about how to have healthy and successful churches. Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven church movement claims to have trained many thousands of pastors around the world. The website for this movement states the vision: “Our vision is to see healthy, balanced congregations producing Purpose Driven lives of all ages everywhere.”1 This movement is being called a new reformation: “Saddleback Church is now but one among thousands of Purpose Driven churches – the vanguard of a new reformation.”2 The churches who most successfully copy Rick Warren’s pattern are honored with a “Church Health Award.”3 As contemporary evangelicals...

November 5, 2009                                    Thursday of the Thirty-first Week                                in Ordinary Time Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Rom 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters:None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on...

Part Two:  Channels of Grace Holy Orders Table of Contents     Among the sacraments, none is more distinctively Catholic than the sacrament of Order. The plural, Orders, is commonly used because there are three levels of this one sacrament, namely the diaconate, priesthood, and episcopate. In the Church’s own language, this sacrament is described in the new Code of Canon Law. By divine institution, some among Christ’s faithful are, through the sacrament of Order, marked with an indelible character, and are thus constituted sacred ministers…. They are thereby consecrated and deputed so that each according to his own grade, they fulfill,...

On Theology of the Heart or the Mind "To Make Truth Triumph in Charity" VATICAN CITY, NOV. 4, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address today during the general audience held in St. Peter's Square. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, In the last catechesis I presented the main characteristics of 12th century monastic and scholastic theology, which in a certain sense we could call, respectively, "theology of the heart" and "theology of reason." A wide debate, at times fiery, took place between the representatives of each current, represented symbolically by the controversy between St. Bernard...

ABC's sci-fi series V, tackles questions of blind faith, asking, "Would we believe them?" In the first episode of ABC's remake of the '80s alien-invasion series V (Tuesdays 8/7c), a teen boy is led down the path of destruction by a powerful force: the winsome smile of a cute girl. The dark threat behind innocent flirtation illustrates not only an allegorical shift from the original V series, but also the theme of the new hour-long drama: Things are rarely as pretty as they look. In the original V, the conquest of powerful reptilian aliens—known as the Visitors—was a metaphor for...

Eldorado, Texas » Attorneys will hear closing arguments Thursday in the trial of a polygamous sect member whom the state alleges sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in 2004. Fifty-first District Judge Barbara Walther told jurors Wednesday that "we are getting very close" to the final stage of Raymond Merril Jessop's trial and asked them to bring a packed suitcase in case lengthy deliberations require them to be sequestered. The state is expected to recall at least one witness -- a Texas Ranger who was the lead investigator in April 2008 when authorities raided the Yearning For Zion Ranch and uncovered...

Freemasonry 1104. Does not the Church absolutely forbid Catholics to become Freemasons? Yes. 1105. You have never been a Mason. How can you know anything about it? I seem to know so much about Masonry that I have been challenged over and over again with the charge that I am an ex-Mason of the Royal Arch Degree. However I have never been a Mason. But just as I can speak about New York even though I have never visited that city, so I have authentic information about the origin and aims of Masonry. 1106. Your Church takes the stand of...

The Spotless Lamb of God November 4, 2009  "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, . . . But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19) Guilty, vile and helpless we, Spotless Lamb of God was He; Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah, what a Savior!  Before God each individual stands as an absolutely guilty sinner. "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Being more "good" than "bad" doesn't help, "for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and...

November 4 Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Throw Off Hindrances Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.... --Hebrews 12:1-2 Is Satan giving you a hard time in your life of faith-in the Christian race you are running? Expect it if you are a believing child of God! Satan hates your God. He hates Jesus Christ. He hates...

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Russian Ministry for Justice has proposed amendments to the law on "Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" that, if adopted, will introduce stronger restrictions on the activities of Evangelicals in the country. The community is on alert: If the proposal becomes law, among other things the evangelicals can no longer pray freely without a permit and people with a “criminal record” will not be allowed become members of their communities. The latter condition, which also concerns other religious groups because it would clear the path for state interference in the individual freedom of conscience. The document...

Denver, Colo., Nov 2, 2009 / 06:39 pm (CNA).- Stressing that “there is very little time to act,” Bishop James Conley, the Auxiliary Bishop of Denver, told CNA in an exclusive interview on Monday that now is the time for President Obama to prove his critics wrong and show them that he really meant it when he said abortions would not be funded in the health care reform bill. Bishop Conley added, “If we don't demand honesty from our public officials and responsiveness to the serious concerns of the Catholic community, nobody will do it for us -- and we,...

“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...

The past 12 months have been noteworthy for the number of Roman Catholics elected or appointed to top political posts, and yesterday's election results kept the streak going. The winners of the two biggest races, gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey, are Catholic Republicans who appear to be committed to their faith. Virginia's governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, has talked about his Catholic upbringing shaping his political views. New Jersey's governor-elect, Chris Christie, and his wife send their kids to parochial schools. The relatively new heads of the two major political parties are both Catholics whose lives have been deeply influenced...

Christ Is Necessary for You MILLIONS OF MEN have lived in this world yet only one Man could say in His own right and back up His words with proof: "Which of you can convict me of sin" (John 8:46)? Hundred of men over the ages have been teachers of their fellowmen, hundreds have pointed out the way life should be lived, hundreds have led others of their fellow beings, but not one of them dared say of himself as did this Man: "I AM the way, and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Many claimed to be sent...

“I must add, though, that I don’t believe making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many circumstances to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish contexts. Brian McLaren, "Emergent" Church leader

Responding to “many news reports” and “various inquiries” about the apostolic visitation of institutes of women religious in the United States, Cardinal Franc Rodé, prefect of the Congregation of Institutes of Religious, released an English-language statement on November 3. He said that the visitation’s purposes are to “encourage vocations and assure a better future for women religious” and “promote the Catholic identity and vibrancy of life of women religious.” “For many years,” he said, “this dicastery had been listening to concerns expressed by American Catholics-- religious, laity, clergy and hierarchy-- about the welfare of religious women and consecrated life in...