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To: Petrosius
"Wherefore of these men who have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, until the day wherein he was made a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place. And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."
(Acts 1:20-26)
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If you read the passage you are quoting to support this notion that your church has Apostles running it today, or has special authority based on succession, it will fall on it's face. Let me point out that when Mathias was selected it was by lots. Peter did not have any special authority to dictate anything. Also, some of the criteria for what is an Apostle are noted. Again I say there are no Apostles living today.

If you want some direction on what SCRIPTURE says the requirements to be an Apostle were they can be found in Acts 1:22,
I Corinthians 9:1 and Galatians 1:1.

BTW, it is falling into this trap of believing that your church and its leaders have special authority that leads you to tolerate your leader kissing the koran and embracing islam.
128 posted on 06/09/2006 10:58:16 AM PDT by wmfights (Lead, Follow, or Get Out Of The WAY!)
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To: wmfights
leads you to tolerate your leader kissing the koran and embracing islam.

By accusing him of embracing Islam, are you suggesting the lie that Pope John Paul II became a Muslim or believes Islam brings salvation?

Here are some of JPII's own words:

    Whoever knows the Old and New Testaments, and then reads the Koran, clearly sees the process by which it completely reduces Divine Revelation. It is impossible not to note the movement away from what God said about Himself, first in the Old Testament through the Prophets, and then finally in the New Testament through His Son. In Islam all the richness of God's self-revelation, which constitutes the heritage of the Old and New Testaments, has definitely been set aside.

    Some of the most beautiful names in the human language are given to the God of the Koran, but He is ultimately a God outside of the world, a God who is only Majesty, never Emmanuel, God-with-us. Islam is not a religion of redemption. There is no room for the Cross and the Resurrection. Jesus is mentioned, but only as a prophet who prepares for the last prophet, Muhammad. There is also mention of Mary, His Virgin Mother, but the tragedy of redemption is completely absent. For this reason not only the theology but also the anthropology of Islam is very distant from Christianity.
JPII knew perfectly well that Islam is not a religion of redemption. If you are disappointed that he did not call the Muslims the spawn of Satan, that is no reason to spread the calumny that he accepts Islam as a road to salvation.

You may believe JPII sinned by kissing the Koran. There aren't many Catholics, if any, including JPII, who don't think he was a sinner. The Catholic Church is a church of sinners. If you belong to a church for just the perfect, please tell us about it. JPII wasn't perfect and made many mistakes throughout his life. Many Catholics believe his kissing the Koran was one of them. Personally, I don't. I view it as a sign of respect to other humans beings and not as a sign that he accepts the Koran as the true word of God, as JPII clearly states in his words above. Spitting on the Koran that was presented to him, or even just refusing it would have accomplished nothing in the meeting he was at. JPII loved all people, including Muslims, and to me the kiss demonstrated that. I spent the previous 6-years working in a Muslim country in North Africa and the Muslims greatly appreciated the dialogue JPII opened with them and the respect he showed them. Did this appreciation result in mass conversions - I doubt it. But the dialogue is there and nothing will happen unless you acknowledge these people with respect. I am convinced that JPII's efforts increased the understanding of Christianity amoung many Muslims and I had a number approach me to talk about it, which I attribute to this effort.

Also, I don't recall seeing anything in the news from your congregation calling Muslims the spawn of Satan and the benefits that has reaped. If there has been, please share it with us.

131 posted on 06/09/2006 1:16:07 PM PDT by Titanites (Sola scriptura leads to solo scriptura; both are man-made traditions)
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