Posted on 09/02/2011 9:07:47 AM PDT by marshmallow
Minneapolis, Minnesota (CNN) –Prior to 2006, few people even knew that then-Minnesota state legislator Keith Ellison was a Muslim. Because of his English name, he said, no one thought to ask.
But five years ago, when he ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives - a race he would go on to win - word of his religious affiliation began to spread.
“When I started running for Congress it actually took me by surprise that so many people were fascinated with me being the first Muslim in Congress,” said Ellison, a Democrat now serving his third term in the House.
“But someone said to me, ‘Look Keith, think of a person of Japanese origin running for Congress six years after Pearl Harbor–this might be a news story.’”
Though Ellison's status as the first Muslim elected to Congress is widely known, fewer are aware that he was born into a Catholic family in Detroit and was brought up attending Catholic schools.
But he said he was never comfortable with that faith.
“I just felt it was ritual and dogma,” Ellison said. “Of course, that’s not the reality of Catholicism, but it’s the reality I lived. So I just kind of lost interest and stopped going to Mass unless I was required to.”
It wasn’t until he was a student at Wayne State University in Detroit when Ellison began, “looking for other things.”
(Excerpt) Read more at religion.blogs.cnn.com ...
You noticed that, too?
Yes, do you have any explanations for that?
It does show one thing, though. While this site is anti-Catholic in many ways, it’s not enough to drive virtually all the Catholics off the site. My guess is that Catholicism is too mainstream, has too many members, and is too reasonable to be completely driven off the site.
The usual failed repetitious cut and paste attempt at wit. Come out from behind the moderators skits and discuss and debate instead of sniping from the sidelines.
Since everyone else seems to be afraid to answer this question I'll ask you. Does the Nicene Creed reflect the Scripture or did the Nicene Creed define the faith that defined the Canon of Scripture that facilitated which of the Sacred documents were chosen to compile the Bible?
All that is necessary for solidarity is a common hatred of the Church. Unitarians, Paulians, Shoot-from-the-lip snipers, New-age UFOlogists, snake handlers, and extreme Judaizers are all embraced, encouraged and coddled so long as they persist in their attacks on the Church.
Yet, as we have experienced in this thread the one unforgivable sin is committed by Catholics who do not turn the other cheek and acknowledge the superiority of their homemade doctrines.
All that is necessary for solidarity is a common hatred of the Church. Unitarians, Paulians, Shoot-from-the-lip snipers, New-age UFOlogists, snake handlers, and extreme Judaizers are all embraced, encouraged and coddled so long as they persist in their attacks on the Church.
Yet, as we have experienced in this thread the one unforgivable sin is committed by Catholics who do not turn the other cheek and acknowledge the superiority of their homemade doctrines.
LOL.
Perfectly what?!
Matt. 4:4. Mark 12:36. Acts 1:16. Acts 28:25. 2 Peter 1:21.
It is not enough that God wrote His words in a book. He has also preserved them through history so all ages can have them. Matthew 22:31. Isaiah 30:8. Psalm 12:6,7. Psalm 119:89, 111,160. 1 Peter 1:23-25 (Isa. 40:8). And finally, see Deut. 17:14-18- They were to make copies of God's word for distribution and preservation.
"The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Psalms 12:6,7.
And does it really matter?
Nehemiah 9:5- GOD'S NAME IS ABOVE ALL.
Psalm 138:1,2.- GOD HAS PLACED HIS WORD ABOVE HIS NAME.
Psalm 19:7-10- THE PERFECT WORD
1 Thess. 2:13-THE WORD WORKS WHEN BELIEVED
Oh, yes, what a score, marshmallow.
God DID so love the world that He sent a book, The word. Telling us about His Son. The Word.
They go hand in hand. And the end result is our salvation, justification, sanctification, and eternal security.
But by all means, continue on with your "knowledge" of God, His word, and The Word.
Hopefully you will stumble across the Gospel of your salvation at some point and believe that. Or not. I guess it all depends on what the magisterium says God's word says about The Word.
There are wonderfully Orthodox and Traditional Catholic FReepers here. Few want to engage anyone outside the faith anymore, as even Christians of good will seem rabid when discussing Catholicism. Sad but true.
Some like those you are seeing on this thread are willing to brave the conflagration that is the RF and defend our faith in case there are lurkers who need to hear and see the Truth. To actively respond to any number of these viperous dissidents is to willingly place oneself in the line of fire.
I do read through a thread like this because once in a while someone, not usually a regular, will venture a question of real interest and then a reasonable discussion occurs. I also take note of the misunderstandings of Catholicism and use it to form and deepen my own apologetics.
As a confirmation instructor at my church, I am always looking for ways to prepare my kids as they are becoming adult Catholics. These are the things they will be hearing from their coworkers and peers outside of the Church. They need a defense else they be drawn into giving away their inheritance.
There is nothing that does not serve the good of those who love God, and even the nastiness on this thread and others like it can be used to His Glory and for His children.
Well, I’m glad that you can find some use for these threads.
I’ll admit that, for a while they did provide me with some amusement and insight into the Catholic faith.
My thinking now is that very few people actually read these threads, and that the anti-Catholics here are not taken seriously, so I stopped feeling the need to correct them.
If there ever is the occasional new person with real questions, they are worth the time to respond to, but it’s almost always the same people on these threads.
Finally, while there are still Orthodox and Catholic freepers here, it does seem to me at least that there are less here now than in the past.
Neither I nor you nor anyone else was there when all that was going on. All we have is the record of what happened. We do not know what specifically was going on in the minds of those making the decisions.
So, no. Any canon or creed or any statement of faith of a particular denomination, should be the criteria for determining what was considered Scripture. To do so otherwise is putting the wrong thing in pre-eminence. Scripture should never be subservient to anything.
For the believer, Scripture is canon and creed. Since we have Scripture, we don't need any statement of faith from a church to dictate our beliefs.
We're still here, we just tend to lurk more now.
As someone who is a traditional fundamentalist, let me offer an explanation as to why you don't see many of us. To me, the most interesting threads are those where iron is sharpening iron and we're hashing out what it is, exactly, that we believe and, more importantly, why we believe it.
This thread, on the other hand, isn't so much iron sharpening iron as it is Catholics and Protestants doing what Catholics and Protestants do best with each other; they're arguing. This will never be solved until Christ Himself sets it right, so there's nothing to contribute here for those like me.
John 1:14 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 17:6-8 6 "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
John 17:14-16 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
We should thank God every day that we have the written word, which is inspired and leads us to Christ. To scorn the word simply because it is written down on paper is the height of folly. Since all Scripture points to Jesus, to scorn it is to scorn Jesus.
If it weren't for the stability that having the written word preserved for all these millennia, it would surely have been corrupted by word of mouth.
Are you a Fundamentalist Protestant or a Traditional Catholic?
Having only been here a few years myself, I don’t know who is missing from the older times. I can think of a couple that I have had the pleasure of conversing with and have learned from on these threads.
I am not amused as much as I am amazed at the hatred some exhibit and the need to ridicule us. It is not limited to FR as I have seen it in many other places where religion is discussed.
NL, why the importance of placing canon and creeds above God's word? Do you honestly believe it is because of the RCC that we have God's word today? Let me refer you to a few Scriptures that SHOULD put this into perspective.
Matt. 22:31
Isaiah 30:8
Psalm 12:6,7
Psalm 119:89, 111, 160
1 Peter 1:23-25 (Isa. 40:8)
Matt. 5:17,18
And see please Deut. 17:14-18-They were to make copies of God's word for distribution and preservation.
Why?
2 Cor.2:17 warns that there are "many which CORRUPT the Word of God."
Do you honestly believe that God would place His word at the hands of people who could possibly corrupt it? Or would He make certain His word was preserved forever?
As far as the Nicean Creed, when was this written? I'm curious.
For full disclosure, I’ve only been here a few months and only lurked about nine months before joining.
I’m not the expert on free republic, but I’m basing my judgments on reading older threads and seeing that many of the posters on them are gone now.
Sorry, NL, post 217 was meant for both metmom and you. Sorry I didn’t ping you!
Amen! “believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved-and your house”. It’s as simple as that.
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