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My Faith: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), from Catholic to Muslim
CNN ^ | 9/1/11 | Chris Welch

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 ...


TOPICS: Catholic; Islam; Theology
KEYWORDS: blackmuslims; islam; keithellison; muslim
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To: boatbums

You know what, I didn’t come here to argue. We’ve had this argument before. You know where I stand. I know where you stand. If anyone wants to explain to you why this site can be considered anti-Catholic, they can go on ahead. I’m not taking the time to do so. Have a good night.


301 posted on 09/04/2011 8:03:01 PM PDT by WPaCon
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To: presently no screen name
But hell is not Muslims for they have the 'catholic blessing'! LOL! Bow to and kissy kissy the koran - Pope John Paul II!

In the course of my work, I meet and work with many Moslems. None of them have ever treated any Christian with the sick phrasing in your post.

Are you sure that was a Koran he kissed? Or was it an Arabic Bible? Can you prove it?

302 posted on 09/04/2011 8:03:30 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: baa39
Do you suppose you would even HAVE A BIBLE IF NOT FOR THE CATHOLIC MONKS

You mean Luther? Thank you, Luther! LOL!

You guys wouldn't have a catechism if the RCC believed God's Word is The Final Authority! Who do you thank for that one? LOL!!


303 posted on 09/04/2011 8:05:33 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: Judith Anne; metmom
>> and receive my Church's assurance of forgiveness for them.<<

Christ really wasn’t good enough for you Catholics? Does the church need to forgive you because Jesus didn’t get it completely right or good enough or what? I’m astonished that that church has stepped between you and Jesus.

304 posted on 09/04/2011 8:06:45 PM PDT by CynicalBear
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To: boatbums

Do you know why there are Catholic Caucus threads? I was here when they first came to be, and it was because of Anti-Catholic bigotry. We were all sick of open threads, where we could not even discuss our own Church beliefs without the kind of trash found on this thread. The RM gave us the Caucus designation so we wouldn’t have to put up with the worst of the anti-Catholic posts while we’re trying to talk about a particular church issue.

Now, you can pick almost any Catholic Caucus thread on a general moral topic, and find MANY interruptions of the caucus. Meanwhils, the screams of outrage if a non-Catholic caucus thread is interrupted are deafening.


305 posted on 09/04/2011 8:09:29 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: CynicalBear

Who said anything about NEED. I’ve seen a lot of people face death, including my husband. Every one of them, and I’ll venture to guess you will too, welcomed the comfort of prayer and loved ones praying for them. Of course, it may feel “too Catholic” for you, and you may send them all away.


306 posted on 09/04/2011 8:13:33 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
Bible


"We are compelled to concede to the Papists
that they have the Word of God,
that we received it from them,
and that without them
we should have no knowledge of it at all."

~ Martin Luther




307 posted on 09/04/2011 8:14:56 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Judith Anne
In the course of my work, I meet and work with many Moslems.

Great! Did you tell them about Jesus?

What sick phrasing Bow to and kissy kissy the koran - Pope John Paul II!

Are you sure that was a Koran he kissed?

Are you sure it wasn't? Absolutely sure, like your life depended on it? You see, I don't have to be - I BELIEVE HIS WORD ALONE and have eternal life. I'm sealed and no one can snatch me from HIS HAND! All His promises to me are 'Yes and AMEN'!
308 posted on 09/04/2011 8:15:21 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: Not gonna take it anymore; Quix
>>You know exactly what I meant.<<

Yeah, I knew exactly what you meant. You were accusing Quix of making fun of the Lord and disparaging Him. I understood what you were saying very well thank you.

309 posted on 09/04/2011 8:18:24 PM PDT by CynicalBear
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To: Natural Law
Do you really not think that Jesus is recognized a one hypostasis within "the one, merciful God" by the Catholic Church or are you just acting stupid?

So then you are saying your muzlim brothers worship the same 'hypostasis with the one merciful God'...

and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

310 posted on 09/04/2011 8:18:48 PM PDT by Iscool (You mess with me, you mess with the WHOLE trailerpark...)
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To: Natural Law
So prove it was a Koran and not an Arabic language Bible. It should be easy since what you are referring to is not a matter of interpretation and belief, but a simple matter of documented history.

HaHa...Well, you tried...

311 posted on 09/04/2011 8:21:37 PM PDT by Iscool (You mess with me, you mess with the WHOLE trailerpark...)
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To: Judith Anne
>>Who said anything about NEED.<<

I did, and rather clearly too. The comment indicated that the “church” gives assurance of forgiveness. My forgiveness is assured by God Himself in His word. No earthly organization stands between me and the Lord I serve. Nor do I need their assurance.

312 posted on 09/04/2011 8:22:55 PM PDT by CynicalBear
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To: WPaCon
...do you have any explanations for that?

I certainly remember a time when there were more Trads and SSPXers than there are now, but their disappearance didn't happen all at once. Verdugo's recent banned makes for a good case study, though. Who wanted him forbidden from calling himself a Catholic? Who wanted him forbidden from posting in Catholic Caucus threads? Who hounded him on the threads? Who (snicker) accused Verdugo of being me posting via a sockpuppet account? Who had something to gain by his being gone? Hint: it wasn't the Protestants.

As I posted earlier, no one gets banned unless they violate the posting rules on FR, and Verdugo violated them (I forget the exact offense), as did every other banned Trad/SSPXer whose presense we're now missing. Abuse reports are empty threats unless real violations are connected to them. Had Verdugo kept his nose clean, he'd still be able to post.

313 posted on 09/04/2011 8:22:58 PM PDT by Alex Murphy (Posting news feeds, making eyes bleed: he's hated on seven continents)
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To: smvoice
"What about the Assumption of Mary not being in the Nicene Creed? And what about the Apocrypha not being included as inspired?"

If you want to have some legitimacy and credibility you need to put in the work to actually understand Catholic doctrine and dogma before you can intelligently criticize it. I'll dumb this down as much as possible, but try to keep up.

The Nicene Creed is not a Catechism, it is a confession of Faith. Please note that it does indeed include a reference to the "Virgin Mary" as an acknowledgment of her very special role in the Salvation of mankind. Unlike some of the fringe Protestant doctrines espoused in these threads, Catholic doctrine is not defined by a single out of context citation from Paul or found in a 2 hour sermon written 2,000 year later. The Nicene Creed, in part, established the orthodoxy of Christianity and with it the Canon of Scripture. The entire revealed Word of God, which includes the Scripture and the Apostolic tradition, forms the basis of for the Assumption of Mary.

314 posted on 09/04/2011 8:23:14 PM PDT by Natural Law (For God so loved the world He did not send a book.)
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To: Salvation
Then why did the Vatican excommunicate him? LOL!!

Notice 'compelled' - because that's Catholicism - that's what was drilled into him We are compelled to concede to the Papists.

God doesn't compel anyone to believe HIM. Those who KNOW Him love Him and want to by faith! BIG DIFFERENCE! As Luther found out as he found out what 'freedom in Christ' was all about! And the Vatican lost 'control' over 'their heretic'. LOL!
315 posted on 09/04/2011 8:23:24 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: Natural Law; smvoice
I get no hits with the direct quotes but about ten for the words without quotes.

smvoice, if quoting or paraphrasing another website, be sure to include the source link or information so that the moderators can check copyright restrictions.

316 posted on 09/04/2011 8:24:55 PM PDT by Religion Moderator
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To: presently no screen name
Great! Did you tell them about Jesus?

ARE YOU NUTS? Prosyletizing could get me fired. When asked, I have stated my beliefs, pretty much as I state them here. The credo is handy for that. But you feel free to come and hand out your tracts, all day. I can assure you that security will probably remove you. Surely you have no problem with being fired or arrested. Have you been arrested for preaching in public, yet? If not, why not?

317 posted on 09/04/2011 8:26:22 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: metmom
Scripture was written when the apostles were still alive, not three centuries later. Peter even recognized that Paul’s writings were Scripture while he and Paul were alive. Scripture was preserved by God, not some council of men. It was preserved in spite of any decisions of men, not because of them.

This is a very important point because we know that the early church received the writings of the various Apostles or their approved disciples AS the Word of God. The Christians received the writings AS from God, himself. It is nonsense to think that God inspired and directed the writings but then just left it up to a group to keep, preserve and determine what came from him. The councils that formalized the canon were not deciding which were Scripture or not. The Scriptures helped to formulate the tradition of faith in the community of believers and that faith tradition helped to shape the canon of Scripture.

Although a number of Christians have thought that church councils determined what books were to be included in the biblical canons, a more accurate reflection of the matter is that the councils recognized or acknowledged those books that had already obtained prominence from usage among the various early Christian communities. (http://www.tektonics.org/lp/ntcanon.html)

Of course, absent a cheap and easy way of printing out the letters and writings, much of the apostolic teachings were committed to memory and were orally transmitted, but the teachings WERE committed to the written word. As time went by and heresies began infiltrating the church, there was more motivation for the church to "canonize" the writings of the Apostles and their disciples.

In a perverse sort of way, heretics were partially responsible for the formation of the NT canon. They motivated the church to identify - and eventually canonize - the true works of the Apostles. These heretical movements, therefore, had a "collective" influence on the setting of the canon.[Gamb.NTC, 65]

318 posted on 09/04/2011 8:26:58 PM PDT by boatbums ( God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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To: Not gonna take it anymore

BTW, is it a new RC religious duty of obligation to bear false witness?

I don’t make fun of God at all.

Show me the post.


319 posted on 09/04/2011 8:28:14 PM PDT by Quix (Times are a changin' INSURE you have believed in your heart & confessed Jesus as Lord Come NtheFlesh)
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To: presently no screen name

PRAISE GOD.

BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.

THERE’S POWER IN THE BLOOD,
POWER IN THE BLOOD,
POWER IN THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF THE LAMB . . .


320 posted on 09/04/2011 8:28:17 PM PDT by Quix (Times are a changin' INSURE you have believed in your heart & confessed Jesus as Lord Come NtheFlesh)
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