Muslims are Converting to Christianity in Record Numbers

National Catholic Register ^ | Patti Armstrong

[GoldenState_Rose]

We are in a time of the first ever mass conversions of Muslims,” Father Mitch Pacwa SJ told me in a phone interview. “God is doing a mighty work among them.”

Pacwa said that mass conversions are happening even in very fundamentalist countries. There is rapidly growing number of conversions especially on the edges of the Muslim world in the western and southern parts of Africa, he said. “Africa is now growing predominantly Christian despite crackdowns,” Pacwa said.

Some of the noteworthy countries he mentioned include Iran, reported to have 3 million Christians, and Indonesia with reports of 2 million a year converting.

“In Mongolia, the president opened the country to Christians and there’s even an archbishop,” Pacwa said. “They built a Catholic school there too. If I was younger, I would have gone.” He said that the desire for a Western education was the impetus to open up the country to the Catholic Church.

There are even conversions happening in many strict Muslim countries, according to Pacwa. He did not want to go on record with particulars for fear of increased retribution. Mass conversions are also being reported among refugees that are filling up the Christian churches left empty by Europeans. Many wonder if those are authentic conversions or just a response to improving their chances for amnesty, but time will tell.

Signs of this conversion are showing up in the U.S. too, Pacwa said. “I was about to celebrate Mass at a Maronite church in San Diego and I said hi to a man who introduced himself as Achmad. I asked if he was a Christian. He said: ‘Yes, I was recently baptized.’ He said he from Morocco. Christians do not have the name Ahmad—that’s a form of Mohammad.”

[Claud]

Gotcha beat by a month!

Ha!! Class of 98 baby!

[aMorePerfectUnion]

There is no salvation outside the Church.

Chapter & Verse in the Scriptures please.

[of course, it isn't there...]

[aMorePerfectUnion]

If you are baptized Protestant you are by that very act incorporated into the Catholic Church....although of course just like any Catholic you can lose your salvation due to heresy, schism, etc.

Sorry your religion has to proselytize by pretending to use other faiths.

Sorry you can lose your salvation 🙁 in your chosen religion. How miserable.

As a believer in Christ, I am sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, seated in the heavenlies with Chist, held in His righteous hand and have salvation & eternal life now.

I used to be on the Roman Hamster Wheel of guilt, but was saved by the Savior and His marvelous grace.

[Mark17]

I don’t take false doctrines personally nor do I try to ‘fix’ those whom I believe are ‘tainted.’

I don’t take it personally either. Are you into evangelism much? That might require some correction of false doctrines.

[Elsie]

I don’t take false doctrines personally nor do I try to ‘fix’ those whom I believe are ‘tainted.’ I just go about my life, side-stepping what is false and holding dear to what is True.

I guess we'll not be seeing you renamed Timothy or Titus any time in the near future.

---

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

1 Timothy 4:6
   If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

 

 

1 Timothy 4:11
  Command and teach these things.

 

 

1 Timothy 6:3-5
 3.  If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
 4.  he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 
 5.  and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

 

 

2 Timothy 1:13
  What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

[Elsie]

There are more protestant denominations than can be counted

You actually typed this with a straight face?

[Elsie]

And we have generally accepted the validity of heretics' Baptism, as long as there is proper form.

Well; I SURE don't wanna make any 'erroneous assumptions' about what proper form means; so I'll await your definition.

[Elsie]

So; can I assume that you’ve just illustrated that a ‘proper form’ of baptism is what saves a person?

[ealgeone]

Absolutely. There is no salvation outside the Church. Period. Full stop.

There is no salvation outside of faith in Christ. You can be a member of a church but not be a follower of Christ.

If one does follow Christ one is a member of His ekklesia....not the Roman Catholic church....just the church of believers. That is what the church is.

And we have generally accepted the validity of heretics' Baptism, as long as there is proper form.

That's a pretty big change on the part of Roman Catholics considering non-Roman Catholics disagree with much of Roman Catholicism.

Not sure how you can say non-Roman Catholics are members of Roman Catholicism when we reject Roman Catholic beliefs.

I believe we come to Christ through faith alone. Roman Catholicism, at the Council of Trent, damned anyone for believing that.

I believe in Scripture alone. Roman Catholicism has also damned anyone for believing that.

I believe you cannot lose your salvation based on the promises of Christ. Roman Catholicism has damned that as well.

I do not believe Mary was sinless. Roman Catholicism has damned that as well.

I do not recognize the authority of the pope as claimed by Roman Catholicism.

I do not recognize the Mass as understood by Roman Catholicism.

I do not believe baptism is what saves you as does Roman Catholicism.

In light of all that, how do say a non-Roman Catholic can be a part of the RCC??

[Mark17]

In light of all that, how do say a non-Roman Catholic can be a part of the RCC??

You and I were both members of a false religion at one time. Thank God, the truth of the REAL gospel was able to penetrate my super thick skull. 😄 I was NEVER self satisfied with it. I NEVER thought I could EVER make it to Heaven. Turns out I was right. I couldn’t, so I was open to the truth. 👍

[af_vet_1981]

Very surprising to hear a Roman Catholic make this statement.

From the scriptures it seems obvious to me that the Messiah was not issuing a blanket proscription against using those words. More than one apostle used those words. The Apostle Paul said he was a father to Timothy, Titus, and the Corinthians.

I found this interesting:
The bishops, who possess the fullness of orders, and therefore the fullness of both priesthood and diaconate, are as a body (the College of Bishops) considered the successors of the Apostles[15][16] and are "constituted Pastors in the Church, to be the teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship and the ministers of governance"[17] and "represent the Church."[18] In the year 2012, there were 5,133 Catholic bishops;[19] at the end of 2014, there were 5,237 Catholic bishops.[20] The Pope himself is a bishop (the bishop of Rome) and traditionally uses the title "Venerable Brother" when writing formally to another bishop.

If one says "Call No Man Father" to apply to all, as a commandment, what does one do with this other commandment ?

One would never eat with family, friends, or alone.

Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.

Luke, Catholic chapter fourteen, Protestant verses twelve to fifteen,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James

[aMorePerfectUnion]

.

[Claud]

Oh you USED to be on the Roman Hamster wheel of guilt!

What sinless life have you led that you ought not to feel guilt? Don’t you DESERVE to feel guilty because you ARE guilty?

And are you under the impression that you will automatically go to heaven *no matter what you do from here on out*, simply because you say so?

[Claud]

Proper form of Baptism generally means water and the Trinitarian formula: “I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost”.

Baptism in Jesus’s name alone, or according to other language like “Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier” is invalid.

[Claud]

So; can I assume that you’ve just illustrated that a ‘proper form’ of baptism is what saves a person?

Jesus saves...but by means of the proper form of Baptism.

Say you are drowning, and I throw you a life preserver. Who saved you, me or the life preserver? Would you continue to tread water and refuse to take the life preserver because you want me to reach in and grab you with my own hand? Would you critique the way I threw it? Would you say "no, I really wanted a blue one?"

Christ saves us by His sacraments. Refuse them, and we refuse Him.

[Mark17]

Baptism in Jesus’s name alone, or according to other language like “Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier” is invalid.

I was baptized in the name of Jesus, by a US Air Force Southern Baptist chaplain, (Major) in the swimming pool, at Bien Hoa Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, in 1970. I guess I must be screwed. 👎

[Claud]

That's a pretty big change on the part of Roman Catholics considering non-Roman Catholics disagree with much of Roman Catholicism.

We disagree on much, that's true, but this is not a change. There was a controversy already in the 200s between St. Cyprian and Pope Stephen about whether heretics' Baptism was valid....and Stephen's position in favor of heretics' Baptism won out.

Baptism is not just a symbol but leaves an indelible mark on the soul. It effects what it signifies. It removes original sin and opens the gates of heaven.

If you were baptized as a child (say in a Methodist church), that had a real and permanent effect. If you had died the next day you would go straight to heaven.

That may sound like it contradicts "no salvation outside the Church" but it really doesn't. You were within the Catholic Church, just invisibly.

Now adulthood is where it starts getting complicated. Adults can commit all kinds of personal sins that will exclude them from heaven...Paul lists a few in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. If any Christian adult--Catholic or Protestant--dies with these sins unrepented of, he will be damned.

[Claud]

I was baptized in the name of Jesus, by a US Air Force Southern Baptist chaplain, (Major) in the swimming pool, at Bien Hoa Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, in 1970. I guess I must be screwed.

Southern Baptists baptize in the name of Jesus only? Odd.

In any case, yes, if it was in Jesus's name only that was invalid. The good news is that you are still alive, and you can get that fixed pronto.

[Elsie]

If one says "Call No Man Father" to apply to all, as a commandment, what does one do with this other commandment ?

---

It is kinda confusing; when Jesus expounds on an age old question; and then we humans add all kinds of stuff to it; similar to what Eve tacked on in the Garden, "...and not touch it..."

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John 6:25-40

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷ Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’^[c]”

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

[Mark17]

Southern Baptists baptize in the name of Jesus only? Odd.

Actually, the truth is, it was 48 years ago. I can’t remember what the Chaplain said, but I think I will be ok. I know he meant well, and was very sincere. 😇