piusv:
Well, again, you are taking what I said and fitting it to your agenda. I used the context of Christendom where the Church had the ability to influence secular and political rule. There are some of you guys that still want the Pope to be a secular ruler. Those days are gone.
Now, I agree that Pope Francis is a bit of a loose canon in terms of how he speaks off the cuff. I wish he were more measured in what he says. He at the same time talks about the Devil as the source of evil and the reality of the Devil [and he does it in some in-depth theological language] not the way some other groups talk about that, he supports Mueller and the CDF and its criticism of the LCWF for being basically recycled Gnosticism and at the same time has a prayer meeting in the Vatican Gardens.
But, this is what you get when you have a 2nd half of the 20th century trained Jesuit as Pope. So I guess in some way, not all that surprised that Pope Francis would cause some head scratching. In fairness, John Paul II was a solid pope, in my view, and he did some things that caused me say hmmmmm. Pope Benedict on the other hand, I never really felt I did that. Pope’s come and go, but Christ and the Church and the Faith remain.
I don’t have an “agenda” TYVM.
You are not thinking broad enough with what the world follows and ‘worships’ at its basic levels..the greco roman latin church is Extremely Influential and not on its so own..
the Greco roman latin pope Gregory calendar is the standard of timekeeping in the entire world.. the ENTIRE industrial work (business, politics, and religious) world is united in the unbiblicla calendar with the namesake of a pope..
Because of that solar only based calendar with the pope namesake, the entire world’s business and politcal world is run by it.. and the religions of the world even use it to find each of their ‘Sabbaths’..
In addition to the sabbaths, because of the greco roman latin pope calendar, the world has its own man made ‘holy days’ that are only found using its calendar, including some man made religious holy days like December 25 and easter...
You underestimate the influence .... but Scripture tells us in Daniel and Revelation that times and laws would change and the whole world would be deceived..
Funny, Jews use part of our Heavenly Father’s timekeeping of the sun and moon (they ignore the stars) for two months out of the year because those two months contain the feasts in Torah..and those days fall on any ‘Gregorian day’ and Jews and christians never wonder about that..-.
Then they go back to the solar based pope gregory calendar for the rest of their time and even have ‘postponements and suspension rules’ for the feasts when those feasts bump into the man made Greco roman Latin calendar day they have chosen for their ‘Sabbath’ instead of what Scripture says!
That is remarkable slavery to a system that is not biblical for people who were entrusted the written oracles and the prophets for them to teach and be separated from the world-
But in choosing the greco roman latin man made calendar premises instead of Torah, they have really been blinded!
The world runs on a counterfeit timekeeping calendar that uses one piece (sun)of the ‘clock’ in the sky He gave us for signs, seasons, etc (sun, moon,stars)
And the latest man made calculated’version ‘ of the counterfeiting is the greco roman latin pope gregory calendar.
Study the origin of the names for those days and months in the gregrorian and you may be shocked, as I was, how many foreign gods, goddesses and creations ‘we worship’ in our daily life...even in ignorance and innocence.
So No, your premise that the church has little influence anymore couldn’t be more wrong- and I certainly reject it as false...
Satan is the greatest counterfeiter- and it looks like he has chosen the greco roman latin pope gregory calendar in our time to counterfeit our Heavenly Father’s timekeeping, sabbaths, new moons and feasts- His Appointed times and set times for worship...
And Satan likes to steal worship..
Example- On the pope’s calendar, today is a sun’s day- and is a holy Sabbath for most of Christendom...
But because of study and His amazing grace, I have learned it is the second Month of His calendar, and it’s a ‘work day’.. the second work day of the week actually. the Sabbath was two days ago on the gregorian Frigg’s day...and it was found and confirmed in the Holy Word..
If you learn His timekeeping and calendar that is actually in Scripture , you too will see this world as it is Counterfeit..and anything that ‘happens’ will be seen from a different premise..
And see the parties like jews, muslims and christians all accepting Satan’s false premises just like the secular humanist, satanists and even atheists accept them...there is so much worship of the calendar that even secular humanists have their ‘holy days’ too! (That doesn’t happen on our Heavenly Father’s calendar)
I promise you the world will start to make perfect sense.
And things like unity of religious faiths for ‘prayer’ will achieve exactly what the god of this world wants.. more counterfeiting of our Heavenly Father’s perfect Will..
There is another way to worship the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His only begotten Son, Joshua, the Messiah of Israel...
But it requires rejecting the counterfeit world that has substitute the greco roman latin calendar for His calendar- that has substituted the greco roman latin appointed and set times, for His appointed and set times....
And by simple logic, has substituted their own greco roman latin messiah for His, the Messiah of Israel- Torah that became flesh.
May all of the world turn to worshipping our Heavenly Father in Spirit and Truth instead of counterfeiting substitutes...
And may those who have been blinded by Satan have their eyes opened by His Spirit to what has been lies and half truths that the world, even the very elect, have accepted as gospel truths and givens in their daily lives and worship life...