Pope Francis greets the faithful at the May 8 General Audience (Credit: CNA / Stephen Driscoll)
Posted on 09/07/2013 3:49:35 PM PDT by NYer
.- In his daily homily on Saturday, Pope Francis reflected on the question of authentic Christianity and rejected the practice of focusing more on devotions than on Christ himself.
Jesus is “the center” of faith, said the Pope. “A commandment is valid if it comes from Jesus: I do this because the Lord wants me to do this. But if I am a Christian without Christ, I do this and I don’t know why I have to do it,” he said to the congregation at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta on September 7.
Like the Pharisees, he said, there are some people who “make so many commandments the center of their religiosity.”
Others who have a false sense of religiosity “only seek devotions” or “things that are a little uncommon, a little special, that go back to private revelations,” noted Pope Francis.
“If your devotions bring you to Christ, that works. But if you remain there, something’s wrong,” he explained.
“If Jesus is not at the center, there will be many other things,” so that people become “Christians without Christ.”
Remembering that Jesus is the center of faith “regenerates us, grounds us.”
Pope Francis further explained the mark of a true “Christian with Christ.”
“The rule is simple: only that which brings you to Jesus is valid, and only that is valid that comes from Jesus. Jesus is the center, the Lord, as He Himself says.”
Christians can avoid false religiosity by adoring Jesus as “the Lord, the only Lord.”
“If you aren’t able to adore Jesus, you’re missing something,” warned Pope Francis.
The sign of a true “Christian with Christ” is one who does “that which comes from Jesus” and that which leads to Jesus.
Such adoration bears true fruit in the life of a Christian, encouraged the Pope.
He said that Jesus also gives “the grace of loving Him so much, of following Him, of going along the path that He has shown us.”
A “Christian with Christ” has the courage to proclaim Jesus as Lord.
Pope Francis exhorted Catholics not to focus on false piety, but rather evangelize and “take the Gospel!”
I LIKE that!!!
“All they have to do is crack open a BIble and not listen to man or any man’s interpretation and they can read just what Christ said.”
Unless they can read Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, they’re reading a man’s interpretation. It’s called a TRANSLATION.
“SURE they will!”
Nope. Hence, the sect.
“And then it will be EXPLAINED to them what it REALLY means.”
Nope. If that were true, the sect would then cease to exist.
Then you didn't use enough... Turn it into toothpicks, sell the toothpicks (and YouTube rights) to buy a new chicken coop.... Think out of the box... Just sayin' : )
If I was holding your beer, you might not get much back...
S'alright... PBRs are cheap... I have more : )
“He is not constrained by walls or doctrines or teachers or where one worships.....”
He is not constrained ,but He has created but one Truth and founded only one Church. Remember, that Church teaches even the angels about God.
I think we probably have until the moment that we die to repent of our sins, but if we have scoffed at the work of the holy spirit in our hearts, thinking that we can choose our time of repentance on our own, we will die without that repentance, and hear him say “depart from me you worker of iniquity.”
That's a good question. Did he? And please provide the chapter and verse to cite it.
I do know how to spell duct tape, and I do know that it's principle use is for making furnace duct-work airtight... I was speaking in the typical redneck dialect.
[...] with Justin Bieber's pitcher on it for only TWICE as much as plain ol' gray.
That ain't right. That just ain't right at all.
Duck tape is ALWAYS to be gray EXCEPT when used to patch any color tarp (using the tape that closest matches the tarp, except blue nylon, where gray remains mandatory...) OR when patching up the lazy-boy, where color coordination is necessary to stand a chance at all of the better-half not pitching the chair. I am a purist. Justin Bieber on anything is just plain wrong.
Only if they were brought up speaking it.
Otherwise, even the guys that translated your Bible, are going by what they learned, AKA someone else's interpretation of the language.
So, how do you know you can trust the translation of the Catechism of the Catholic church? Mustn't you need to know Latin or whatever language it was originally written in or else you are trusting a translation?
That's be a *yes* answer.
The *Church* teaches angels about God??? FOTFLOL!!!!
God did not create the truth. He IS the truth.
OK. No problem with that.
Your statement shows the Roman church's idea of 'ecumenicism'. As always anyone who doesn't agree perfectly with her are 'the haters [who] spew their emotional, illogical, rabid junk.'
'My way or the highway' is not ecumenicism.
Although I see no real way to engage in any sort of ecumenicism anyhoo - Y'all preach a different Gospel.
“The *Church* teaches angels about God??? FOTFLOL!!!!”
Yes. Ephesians 3:10.
Once again we see that Protestants apparently don’t know nearly as much about the Bible as they often claim.
“Only if they were brought up speaking it.”
And were you? I doubt you were. So, you’re dependent on man’s interpretation.
“Otherwise, even the guys that translated your Bible, are going by what they learned, AKA someone else’s interpretation of the language.”
And how does that weaken my point?
“So, how do you know you can trust the translation of the Catechism of the Catholic church? Mustn’t you need to know Latin or whatever language it was originally written in or else you are trusting a translation?”
I do read Latin. Also, it was originally written in French - which I also can read - before a Latin typical edition was produced.
“That’s be a *yes* answer.”
Yes, but notice I CAN READ THOSE LANGUAGES. Can you read Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek?
I hope you are capable of distinguishing between disagreement over theological issues and what you call "hatred" that "spews forth". Being that I can only speak of my own heart, I do not hate anyone here and only desire to see that souls are won to the saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
It seems only Catholic Christians talk about ecumenism and unity. I’d be more impressed with non-Catholic Christians if more of them would publicly defend civility and chastise the haters when they spew their emotional, illogical, rabid junk.
There are numerous areas in which ALL Christians can band together and, if you look, you can see that happening on many of the threads that aren't specifically about religious differences (i.e.; abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, Conservatism). Where disagreements come up WRT doctrinal points, these differences CAN be discussed in respectful ways. Sometimes they will result in agreements to disagree, but they can be educational and have value for us all.
As for "chastising" posters publicly, you know that we aren't allowed to make it personal and rebuking individual Freepers for misbehavior would break those rules. On the other hand, I can't remember any Catholics doing that towards some of the blatant, hate spewing Catholics that frequent these threads (and who sometimes are warned and even get their posts deleted by the mods). So, maybe those who sincerely want ecumenicalism and unity and who detest hearing from people who disagree with them on religious things should not come to OPEN Religion Forum threads in the first place. Those who want to be the forum nannies are not usually received very well. Those who only see opponents as hateful, emotional, illogical and rabid junk spewers have no place in these threads anyway - as the Moderators remind us all too frequently, THEY are the real disruptors. I hope this was easy enough to comprehend.
Just joshin'...I've used cant hooks numerous times in the younger years...
Yep, the Roman Catholic cult also teaches many other things not found in Scripture. But, the claim that your church teaches angels about God? That is a new one to me. They are spirit, like God. They are His created servants.
That is as false as thinking Mary is forwarding our prayers to God! That is as false as thinking some guy in fancy clothes, surrounded by golden icons and idols, and who must be protected by armed guards, could be the leader of the body of God's chosen people. It's nothing more than cultic behavior.
Angels are messengers, warriors, and servants in Scripture. The Greek word "angelos" means "messenger". Please enlighten us with the Scripture telling us how some group on earth can teach them anything!
... There is where men lack. All lack of faith is due to not feeding on God's Word. You need it every day. How can you enter into a life of faith? Feed on the living Christ of whom this Word is full. As you get taken up with the glorious fact and the wondrous presence of the living Christ, the faith of God will spring up within you. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17. ...-Smith Wigglesworth
But don't you feel kind of lonely, empty, after he has passed thru your system???
I will poke my nose in here and say they do indeed follow a tradition of men - That tradition taught by the Roman church (and many Protestants with them) that the Torah is not important anymore, and that the coming of Yeshua changed things, giving authority to change what is written.
Herein lies the first folly of Christendom - If ANYONE can change the Word of YHWH, EVERYONE will change the Word of YHWH.
Even though I am not a Lutheran, I am finding myself having to educate "sad souls who've been fed lies like pablum" and who swallow it up, repeat it like a burp - without EVER bothering to check if their source is correct - and use it to prop up what they have become convinced is the truth, the whole truth and nothing BUT the truth. Here is the REAL story about Luther and this midnight encounter with Lucifer (if you desire to avoid spreading falsehoods in the future):
It seems some Catholics read books from their fellow Catholics about what Luther taught and take their word for it that they are being honest. One such book was written by Henry O'Connor's called Luther's Own Statements Concerning His Teaching and its Results. For the true story, we can read from here: http://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/search?q=luther%27s+encounter+with+satan:
O'Connor evaluates the dialog and determines that while "the Devil did not appear to Luther in a visible form," "it was nonetheless a real description of an event in Luther's life: For Luther writes: 'I once awoke at midnight, when the Devil began...' " "Luther's conference with the Devil was also not a piece of mere imagination." "But was it really the Devil? There cannot be the slightest doubt" (pp. 17-18).
This understanding of the passage is at odds with the editors of Luther's Works. They note "there was an internal development in [Luther's] theological thinking which is worthy of note. Three different outlines which Luther made successively in preparation for his book on private masses and priestly consecration, have been preserved"[LW 38:143]. They then point out,
"The idea of a disputation with the devil occurred to Luther while he was working on this third draft. This verbal exchange with the devil does not reflect his personal experience but is employed as an effective literary device in the first part of the book. The fact that Luther’s plan for the book changed as he developed these three outlines in succession is reflected in the rather abrupt way in which he concluded his writing as well as the remark that the book had become longer than he had originally intended it to be" (LW 38:144).
I went back and read Luther's dialog, and found no such argument that Satan gave approval to Luther's understanding of justification by faith alone. Even a cursory reading of O'Connor's citations will bear this out as well. While Luther did not delve into a deep explanation of the relationship between faith and works here, his writings are filled with such discussions, as I've documented. The faith that Luther clung to was not the same type of faith the Devil has. "Faith,” wrote Luther, “is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative. We are not saved by works; but if there be no works, there must be something amiss with faith.” Luther scholar Paul Althaus notes: “[Luther] also agrees with James that if no works follow it is certain that true faith in Christ does not live in the heart but a dead, imagined, and self-fabricated faith." The book of James describes a real true faith in Christ: a real saving faith is a living faith. If no works are found in a person, that faith is a dead faith (c.f. James 2:17). James then describes a dead faith: the faith of a demon. A demon has faith that God exists, that Christ rose from the dead- I would dare say a demon knows theology better than you or I. But is the faith of this demon a saving faith? Absolutely not. Luther says, “Accordingly, if good works do not follow, it is certain that this faith in Christ does not dwell in our heart, but dead faith…”
No, Luther did NOT relate a personal encounter with the devil nor does it make any sense whatsoever that the devil would approve of the doctrines of Justification by Faith and the authority of Sacred Scripture. If you, as you say, have something great, then you don't need to spread false stories about a man who died five hundred years ago to boost it, do you?
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