Posted on 07/15/2005 11:29:25 AM PDT by nypokerface
JACKSON, Miss. - A Christian adoption agency that receives money from Choose Life license plate fees said it does not place children with Roman Catholic couples because their religion conflicts with the agency's "Statement of Faith."
Bethany Christian Services stated the policy in a letter to a Jackson couple this month, and another Mississippi couple said they were rejected for the same reason last year.
"It has been our understanding that Catholicism does not agree with our Statement of Faith," Bethany director Karen Stewart wrote. "Our practice to not accept applications from Catholics was an effort to be good stewards of an adoptive applicant's time, money and emotional energy."
Sandy and Robert Steadman, who learned of Bethany's decision in a July 8 letter, said their priest told them the faith statement did not conflict with Catholic teaching.
Loria Williams of nearby Ridgeland said she and her husband, Wes, had a similar experience when they started to pursue an adoption in September 2004.
"I can't believe an agency that's nationwide would act like this," Loria Williams said. "There was an agency who was Christian based but wasn't willing to help people across the board."
The agency is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has offices in 30 states, including three in Mississippi. Its Web site does not refer to any specific branch of Christianity.
Stewart told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that the board will review its policy, but she didn't specify which aspects will be addressed.
The Web site says all Bethany staff and adoptive applicants personally agree with the faith statement, which describes belief in the Christian Church and the Scripture.
"As the Savior, Jesus takes away the sins of the world," the statement says in part. "Jesus is the one in whom we are called to put our hope, our only hope for forgiveness of sin and for reconciliation with God and with one another."
Sandy Steadman said she was hurt and disappointed that Bethany received funds from the Choose Life car license plates. "I know of a lot of Catholics who get those tags," she said.
She added: "If it's OK to accept our money, it should be OK to open your home to us as a family."
Bethany is one of 24 adoption and pregnancy counseling centers in Mississippi that receives money from the sale of Choose Life tags, a special plate that motorists can obtain with an extra fee.
Of $244,000 generated by the sale of the tags in 2004, Bethany received $7,053, said Geraldine Gray, treasurer of Choose Life Mississippi, which distributes the money.
"It is troubling to me if they are discriminating based on only the Catholics," Gray said.
you might find this web site interesting
http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/deutero3.htm
I know I'm nit picking, but....When did people stop capitalizing pronouns that refer to God? When I was in elementary school, we were taught those pronouns should be capitalized. I've noticed a lot of people have stopped doing that. Am I imagining things? Have some of you noticed it too?
>>I bet you go to Catholics to learn what non-Catholic Christians believe, huh?<<
Nope. I have watched Creflo Dollar (even contributed at one time in my life) and Kenneth Copeland, read mulitudes of websites from different churches, but right now, I'll go with Scott Hahn.
I live in the South; I really can't help knowing what non-Catholic Christians believe in excruciating detail. You been saved, brother?
Luther also kept out the Gospel of Luke initially, but added it back later after protest.
OMG - Creflo Dollar! Are you serious?
Hermann, you know that you're going to have to explain the concepts of latria, dulia and hyperdulia now don't you ;)
Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants are all Christians.
This anti-Roman Catholic, anti-Pope prejudice is getting boring.
As I recall, Luther really didn't like the book of James; that whole faith/works - thing, you know. I never knew about Luke.
I can't get it to open. Maybe a firewall thing.
You do realize that you've opened up another can of worms? :-)
About Mary being sinless....
The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.
The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for "daughter"). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.
Fundamentalists’ Objections
Fundamentalists’ chief reason for objecting to the Immaculate Conception and Mary’s consequent sinlessness is that we are told that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23). Besides, they say, Mary said her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior.
Let’s take the second citation first. Mary, too, required a Savior. Like all other descendants of Adam, she was subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way—by anticipation.
Consider an analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place. This is the illustration Christians have used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Christ. By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in original sin and its stain.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that she was "redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son" (CCC 492). She has more reason to call God her Savior than we do, because he saved her in an even more glorious manner!
But what about Romans 3:23, "all have sinned"? Have all people committed actual sins? Consider a child below the age of reason. By definition he can’t sin, since sinning requires the ability to reason and the ability to intend to sin. This is indicated by Paul later in the letter to the Romans when he speaks of the time when Jacob and Esau were unborn babies as a time when they "had done nothing either good or bad" (Rom. 9:11).
We also know of another very prominent exception to the rule: Jesus (Heb. 4:15). So if Paul’s statement in Romans 3 includes an exception for the New Adam (Jesus), one may argue that an exception for the New Eve (Mary) can also be made.
Paul’s comment seems to have one of two meanings. It might be that it refers not to absolutely everyone, but just to the mass of mankind (which means young children and other special cases, like Jesus and Mary, would be excluded without having to be singled out). If not that, then it would mean that everyone, without exception, is subject to original sin, which is true for a young child, for the unborn, even for Mary—but she, though due to be subject to it, was preserved by God from it and its stain.
The objection is also raised that if Mary were without sin, she would be equal to God. In the beginning, God created Adam, Eve, and the angels without sin, but none were equal to God. Most of the angels never sinned, and all souls in heaven are without sin. This does not detract from the glory of God, but manifests it by the work he has done in sanctifying his creation. Sinning does not make one human. On the contrary, it is when man is without sin that he is most fully what God intends him to be.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was officially defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. When Fundamentalists claim that the doctrine was "invented" at this time, they misunderstand both the history of dogmas and what prompts the Church to issue, from time to time, definitive pronouncements regarding faith or morals. They are under the impression that no doctrine is believed until the pope or an ecumenical council issues a formal statement about it.
Actually, doctrines are defined formally only when there is a controversy that needs to be cleared up or when the magisterium (the Church in its office as teacher; cf. Matt. 28:18–20; 1 Tim. 3:15, 4:11) thinks the faithful can be helped by particular emphasis being drawn to some already-existing belief. The definition of the Immaculate Conception was prompted by the latter motive; it did not come about because there were widespread doubts about the doctrine. In fact, the Vatican was deluged with requests from people desiring the doctrine to be officially proclaimed. Pope Pius IX, who was highly devoted to the Blessed Virgin, hoped the definition would inspire others in their devotion to her."
And please stop stating that the idea is weird. That is offensive.
Just kidding. I'd rather make fun of Unitarians.
Look at Revelations 12. Who do you think the woman is that is crowned with twelve stars? Note that immediately before this John reports seeing the Ark of the Covenant, it then becomes the woman. The Ark carried the tablets of the Ten commandments, a sample of manna and Aaron's staff. In other words, the Word, the bread from heaven and the symbol of the priesthood. Mary also carried the Word, the Bread of life and the priest like unto Melchizadek - all Jesus.
My Grandmother, who turned 102 last week, told me decades ago that no matter how much things change it will always be fashionable among some folks to bash Catholics. Every so often the NYTs, Hollywood and certain bozos on the Free Republic prove her right.
You call them the Apocrypha. Catholics and Orthodox call them the Deuterocanon.
I've read them and have no idea why Luther would exclude them.
He gave four reasons. At various times he said their dotrine was corrupt. He also felt that since they were written in Greek, not in Hebrew they should be excluded. They are not directly quoted in the NT (of course, neither are some other OT books). And finally, because the Jews did not accept them.
There are problems with all four reasons.
I saw no contradictions to Protestant teachings - but I am not a theologian.
The Maccabees narrative supports the existence of Purgatory and the legitimacy of praying for the dead.
I thought the canons were compiled by two seperate church committees.
Luther came up with his own canon (which at first was to exclude Esther, James and Revelation). This created heated debate among other Reformers and wiser heads like Philip Melanchthon prevailed - keeping the entire Jewish canon and the full NT canon.
I had no idea Luther had anything to do with it. i must do some study...
The basic issues are the four ones raised by Luther.
Do you think the bible fell from heaven? Do you know that the Church gave you the bible and preserved it for you throughout the centuries? Do you know that the bible you have been reading for years is missing old testament books -- authentic books of the bible that Martin Luther removed because they contradicted his heresy? Do you believe in the apostolic succession? Do you understand the concept of Tradition? Do you think Jesus will appreciate you dissing his Mother?""
You go girl:) I especially like the last thought there. I mean, most protestant folks don't even talk about Mary much, like its pretty irrelevant to anything concerning their faith. Think: She did have to say yes, praise the Lord all day long because she did say yes to what God asked her to do.
Folks, I've got to finish a project this afternoon. Could you please handle this one. Thanks!
>>OMG - Creflo Dollar! Are you serious?<<
You can be shocked and not believe but my adopted sister turned me on to him. He is interesting and dynamic. Very entertaining to a young person searching.
All I am saying is that I didn't turn to the Catholic church to explain other Christians.
I'd really like to see you cite some sources on that one.
Catholics do not beleive that saints are ghosts or revenants.
And no Catholics I know of believe that by approaching a relic they will automatically be anointed by the Spirit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.