Posted on 11/11/2005 5:51:08 AM PST by NYer
semantics and thats all it is. lets have all the christians fighting each other so we can pave the way for islam to take over, that will solve the born again question once and for all.
for later
And that's the problem with folks interpreting the Bible any way they see fit. The term "born again" in Evangelical circles has nothing to with traditional Baptism (i.e. being born again into the light of the Church), but "I once lived a bad life, and now I need to go to Church and repent." Just ignore these folks.
I grew up Catholic, spent 16 years in Catholic school and university, and was proudly Catholic for 32 years. NOT ONCE in all that time, did anyone ever explain to me how I could FOR SURE have eternal life.
Now I am a born again Christian, an adherent of the Reformed faith, and a disciple of Messiah Jesus.
Do you know FOR SURE that you are going to Heaven when you die?
If you don't understand how to get rid of your sin (you can't, by the way, but Jesus can), then you have an eternal problem to confront. Don't trust in what YOU do, rather trust in what Jesus did FOR you.
Blessings!
"I grew up Catholic, spent 16 years in Catholic school and university, and was proudly Catholic for 32 years. NOT ONCE in all that time, did anyone ever explain to me how I could FOR SURE have eternal life.
Now I am a born again Christian, an adherent of the Reformed faith, and a disciple of Messiah Jesus.
Do you know FOR SURE that you are going to Heaven when you die?
If you don't understand how to get rid of your sin (you can't, by the way, but Jesus can), then you have an eternal problem to confront. Don't trust in what YOU do, rather trust in what Jesus did FOR you.
Blessings!"
Worth repeating!
Blah, blah, blah.
Every time you say the act of contrition and mean it, you are reiterating the call of Jesus into your heart.
As the Catechism says,
"Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before Him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the CONVERSION OF THE HEART, INTERIOR CONVERSION.
Every time you make a spiritual communion and mean it, you are calling Jesus into your heart.
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Every time you say an act of love and mean it, you are reiterating that relationship of deep commitment:
O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.
Born again, and renewed constantly by his love, faithful Catholics can say:
I adore thee, O Christ, and I bless thee,
for by thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world
and know we are in the heart of our loving God.
Being born again occurs when the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. I don't know if that occurs suddenly or gradually, but I do know that a person becomes a "new" and different person when it occurs.
Everyone I know, Catholics and otherwise, who have given themselves over to Jesus emerged from the process quite changed, quite reborn. So I think this author is confused. I was baptised as a child and that might have changed me in the eyes of God, but until I made the decision to ask the Holy Spirit to come into my life (which meant that I had to die so He could live through me), I was very human. Now I still make millions of human mistakes, but He pulls my fat out of the fire by my contrition and with His continual forgiveness.
Ditto ... did they use the Baltimore Catechism in Religion Class, when you attended Catholic elementary school?
You're right; I'm wrong. I should not have been sarcastic like that.
I apologize to you (and anyone else) who was offended by that and ask your forgiveness.
(Still working on Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians Chapter 5)
Blessings!
Only one who can ever tell you FOR SURE if you are going to heaven is Christ. So I am glad that no one ever did, as it would mean that Man is taking God's work into his own hands. The Church (as guided by the Word and Sacred Tradition) has been pretty clear on what is necessary for salvation, but MEN can NEVER say "Do this and you will go to heaven," as only Christ can say that.
I like the anti-Catholic site to which we were directed--those are some really ground-breaking arguments against the Church (arguments, when investigated, hold no water). Here's a question:
If the Bible is the Final Authority, where did the Bible come from? And why does the Protestant Bible have 7 fewer books than the original Catholic version?
So, they never told you that all who die in the state of grace go to heaven?
They never told you how to get into the state of grace?
They never told you how to stay in the state of grace once you got there?
Which is it? I ask, because I can guarantee that every one of those things is covered in the catechism.
By the way, there is no infallible assurance of salvation before death. St. Paul says so clearly in a number of places (1 Cor 9:24-10:12, Phil 3:12-14), as does Jesus. However, any Catholic who has made a good confession has a relative moral certainty that he would go to heaven if he died at that moment.
Being born again is not based on denomination. Like all Christian groups, there are probably many who are and some who aren't.
Seems to me that, after 32 years, you'd understand the Church a little more. Seems like it wasn't the Church that was lacking, but rather your desire to understand. The answers are there, you just have to actually investigate and put away your "feeling."
Indeed. Jesus knows his own, and his own know him!
This could get fun. Of course, "Biblewonk" got banned, so you never know.
Sorry--last time--
You might investigate the site from which this article comes--catholiceducation.com. It answers any possible question you might have (provided you are honestly seeking truth), as well as questions you might NOT have, and also provides loads of OTHER information on other topics (gay marriage, for instance).
For a Catholic, that born again thing is a lot like the Mormonism....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.