Posted on 11/12/2022 7:44:47 AM PST by lowbridge
The famous Jewish actor and humorist Gad Elmaleh, beloved in France, announced his conversion to the Catholic faith, a process in which he says the Virgin Mary played a crucial role.
Elmaleh, 51, was the partner of Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, with whom they have a son named Rafael.
His conversion to Catholicism is depicted in his new film, “Reste un peu,” (“Stay a while”).
The Jewish actor, who according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo will take the name of Jean-Marie when he is baptized, has studied theology in Paris, and in 2019 he participated in a musical in London about St. Bernadette Soubirous, the visionary who saw Our Lady of Lourdes.
Elmaleh told the French newspaper Le Figaro that “the Virgin Mary is my most beautiful love” and expressed his surprise that in France the “vast majority of Catholics don’t live their faith openly.”
As a child, he recounted in the interview, he entered a church and saw an image of the Mother of God.
“It wasn’t a vision, just a simple statue, but I was petrified. I began to cry and hid for fear of being discovered by my family, for fear of curses and superstition. I kept it a secret for my entire childhood,” he recalled.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
Sorry! Mentioned you and then didn’t to ping you!
Is this any way to Win Friends and Influence People?
(Caveat: I'm not interested in the Seventh Day Adventist position.)
HMMMmmm...
I wonder where to start counting?
Perhaps, but how is my arrogance doing?
Yeah, I know.
I wonder what has made me this way?
2 Timothy 3:16-17
16. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17. so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 16:17
I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
1 Timothy 1:3-4
3. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer
4. nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith.
Titus 1:11
They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
Titus 2:15
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
2 John 1:10
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.
It’s amazing....this thread has over 380 mostly hateful posts from self proclaimed Christians because a Jewish actor has the nerve to convert to Catholicism....?!
Phil, you are being dissed from a distance here: #383
Is there any other way?
Church traditions are rather noisy on the subject of Jesus and Mary. Scripture shows a paucity of recorded dialog between he and his mother.
“I must be about my Father’s business”(12 year old Jesus found preaching and speaking to the temple officials)
“My time is not yet come” Jesus to Mary when she presses him about the wine situation at the wedding in cana.
“Behold your mother...woman behold your son” Jesus on the cross asking the disciple to take care of his mother.
That’s about it in terms of what we know about what jesus actually said to his mother in the bible.
So much for the cotton candy style puffed up spun sugar version of the church traditions regarding Mary. We know God “highly favored her.” She was a virgin who gave birth to Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit(and Jesus being the seed of Eve). We know she was a virgin because she asks the angel...”How could this be as I have never “known” a man?”
The scoffers that argue that the term in Isaiah or “almah” meant only young woman and not necessarily a virgin always seem to gloss over the account of what Mary actually asks the angel.(”...I have not known a man?) They just can’t believe that there was a miracle done and that Jesus was the “true seed of Eve” and their own dirty minds suggest that Mary had had a bit of “side action” making Joseph a “cuck”. That was how Joseph was going to treat the situation until the angel told Joseph that the thing was of God not man and to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Good on Joseph...he was a Mensch!
To ping or not to ping?
Aye; there’s the rub.
Slings and arrows and all that there stuff.
The drift of scripture suggests a pretrib or “as the Beast starts his rise” sort of timing for the rapture. We know the two witnesses rise in opposition to him and his evil world, having the power and authority to just “p—s” pretty much the whole of the world off. We read of the celebrations that practically the whole of the neo-pagan world hold(”even bringing gifts to each other” when these two “bad men” get
Beastly” justice...and the fear that falls upon the world along with earthquakes when God resurrects them) when the Beast is able to ‘kill’ the two witnesses...or was “allowed” to.(Obi Wan allowing himself to be Killed by Darth was a pale rip off...just being sarcastic...but making a point).
Still it tickles my fancy that the church might be taken up when the two witnesses are taken up but such symmetry is not necessarilly prophecy. We also read of “thrones that are set up and those who are killed because they didn’t take the mark of the beast are set upon them” which suggests that there are martyrs who became Christians and resisted the beast and his mark in the final 3.5 years.
It was impressed upon me strongly this morning that there is a difference between our conceptions of prophetic Messiah and Messiah as he is. We need Messiah...not conceptions of him!
Just some random thoughts, not necessarily fixed in stone opinions. Bless you brother and Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!
Like the early church was made up of: folks who looked past the old conceptions and accepted Christ as who He was...
Here is wisdom. Selah
Thanks, MHG. That means so much coming from you!
Your post regaled my soul! Such a pleasant post, to make such a clear Biblical teaching. Anecdotal stories are always fun without condemning.
Hi Claire.
I’ve re-written my response to you: my original took about two hours this morning. But I think, from what I’ve read of your post and my response, we’d only be talking *past* each other.
To avoid a too long; didn’t read — I started out born again / Protestant / fundamentalist, after attending Lutheran elementary school and junior high.
I’ve been reading the Bible daily since the 9th grade. And I converted to Catholicism as an adult when the Holy Spirit ordered me to, much to my surprise and over my personal objections; He wasn’t persuaded to change His mind despite my protests (”Protestant”, get it?)
I had many of the same objections you had, going in; and oddly enough, the objections I had coming in to the Church, were met with just-as-loud-objections from the other direction; except of course the attitude was “How dare you challenge the authority of the Church” or “How dare you disrespect the Mother of God?”
It seems Catholics don’t particularly like being called pagans or cultists.
There was a 1970s era Jesus Music pioneer, Keith Green, who founded “Pretty Good” ministries which distributed various devotional literature, tracts, Gospel Music, etc. Sometime before he died in a plane crash, he wrote a piece apologizing to the Catholics for offending them: I can only assume a bunch of Little Old Catholic Ladies gave him a piece of *their* minds. 😇
You have beliefs about Catholicism which I used to share: but since converting I’ve found out that they are factually incorrect.
And I no longer hold some of what you consider foundational beliefs: e.g. Sola Scriptura — as I described I think back in post #81. Holding solely to the Scriptures is *safe*; but you are liable to miss out on good things God has to bring you closer to Him, or to help you in your war against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. (Hint: Nuns in cloisters are not as given to the sins of avarice and sexual sins as, say, Jimmy Swaggart. Or worldliness like Joel Osteen.)
We are all servants of Christ, and all under constant warfare with Satan and his minions. Each person, each congregation, each denomination is under attack in its own ways, for our enemy is crafty. It were better we spend time praying for one another, and seeking those who don’t know Him at all, than spending all our time on doctrinal disputes.
Of course not, Mr. Cut and Paste! 😅
You cherry pick to suit your point of view. Pretty much pathetic.
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