Posted on 03/15/2012 8:31:02 AM PDT by cleghornboy
When one of the world's leading exorcists, Father Gabriele Amorth, was asked how one can tell if someone is possessed, he replied, "By their aversion to the sacrament and all things sacred." One of the clearest signs of demonic possession is a hatred for the Eucharist or the crucifix. Back in December of 2009, little Jalen Cromwell of Taunton, Massachusetts, was forced to undergo psychological evaluations for drawing a stick figure of the crucified Jesus. See here. And electrician Colin Atkinson's palm cross was deemed "insensitive." See here. As noted here, "..David Cameron's government will insist at the European Court of Human Rights that Christians can be sacked by their employers for wearing crosses or crucifixes." And remember when the White House asked Georgetown University to cover the IHS monogram (a symbol of Jesus' holy name) at Gaston Hall where Obama was scheduled to deliver a speech? See here.
There are numerous other examples of this growing hostility toward the cross or the crucifix. In his treatise on ascetical and mystical theology, The Very Reverend Adolphe Tanquerey, S.S., D.D., explains that, "The Sacramentals and blessed objects are also efficacious remedies [for possession and diabolical temptation] because of the prayers said by the Church when blessing them...The Crucifix, the Sign of the Cross, and especially genuine relics of the True Cross are terrifying to the devil who was vanquished by the Cross: 'That the one who conquered by a tree should himself be likewise conquered by the Tree.' For the same reason the Evil Spirit dreads the invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus, which, on the Master's Own promise, possesses a wondrous power for putting the devil to flight." (The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology, p. 724, citing the Preface for the Feast of the Holy Cross, Tan Books).
Antichrist will reveal himself within the context of an atheistic, materialistic society which has lost its faith in God and which is prepared to fall down and worship man. The Antichrist will not tolerate the Cross or Christian symbols. In his Life of Christ (Image Books, 1977, p. 10), Archbishop Fulton John Sheen wrote, "We do know that at the end of time, when the great conflict between the forces of good and evil takes place, Satan will appear without the Cross, as the Great Philanthropist and Social Reformer to become the final temptation of mankind." Indeed, Paul Henri-Spaak, who served as Belgian Prime Minister and gained international prominence in 1945 when he was elected chairman of the first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, had called for such a "Great Philanthropist and Social Reformer": "We do not want another committee, we have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass in which we are sinking. Send us such a man and be he God or the Devil, we will receive him."
Saint Paul assures us that this man of iniquity will seek to displace God and to be worshipped himself. Robert Hugh Benson, in his classic The Lord of the World (a most prophetic work) describes the humanitarian religion of Antichrist as one which will replace Christian symbols such as the Crucifix with its own symbols: "Humanitarianism is a religion devoid of the supernatural. It is developing a ritual under freemasonry; it has a creed, 'God is man'; and the rest. It has, therefore, a real food of a sort to offer religious cravings: it idealizes, and yet makes no demands upon the spiritual faculties. Then, they have the use of all the churches except ours, and of all the Cathedrals; and they are beginning at last to encourage sentiment. Then they may display their symbols and we may not..."
Symbols are powerful they convey meaning. Which is why we are experiencing a push to strip Christian symbols from the public square. While Colin Atkinson came under fire for his palm cross and Jalen Cromwell was forced to undergo psychological evaluations because of his hand-drawn Crucifix, Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ," which depicts a Crucifix submerged in a glass of Serrano's own urine mixed with cow's blood, is considered by some to be a "work of art" and received $15,000 from the taxpayer-funded National Endowment for the Arts. Serrano's supporters have argued that the "Piss Christ" represents an issue of artistic freedom and freedom of speech.
And while the Obama White House asked for the IHS monogram to be covered up at Georgetown (a request which was honored), the same Obama White House had no such problem with a Masonic symbol - see photograph.
I never have worn a cross or crucifix. Wife does, but not me. I am on my way to buy one today. Gold seems a good investment anyway and I cannot think of a better use of it.
That is not the point.
Hey, Bible-quoter.
Can you tell me where in the Bible Jesus condones the recreational use of drugs? Can you tell me where he says to be drunk (or drugged) in the spirit?
I’m having trouble finding your Biblical support for the legalization of drugs.
Nice one! :)
I’m having trouble finding your Biblical support for the criminalization of drugs.
http://www.freerepublic.com/help.htm#guidelines: "Don't jump threads - If you get involved in an argument in one thread, it's considered poor manners to restart the previous argument in the middle of an unrelated thread."
No, it doesn’t. You don’t get it.
Yep, the rest of us worship a dead Savior. lol
Jesus was pretty clear about not allowing yourself to become intoxicated.
I’m sure you pick and choose His teachings to serve your own self-interest. Typical of liberals.
Aw, did it hurt your little feelings that I embarrassed you...that I pointed out once again that you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, that as you quote the Bible on one thread you are promoting the wholesale destruction of lives and families and societies by pushing demonically for the legalization of drugs, with no restrictions on those drugs, as you said you desire?
Too bad.
Go back to DU, troll.
Jesus was pretty clear about not allowing yourself to become intoxicated.
No support there for the criminalization of alcohol or any other intoxicating drug.
Aw, did it hurt your little feelings
Not at all - but it may perturb JimRob that you're blatantly violating FR posting guidelines. Maybe you should stop that before you run crying to him about my posts again.
that I embarrassed you...that I pointed out once again that you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, that as you quote the Bible on one thread you are promoting the wholesale destruction of lives and families and societies by pushing demonically for the legalization of drugs, with no restrictions on those drugs, as you said you desire?
Legal alcohol hasn't destroyed society, and other legal drugs won't either.
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