Christian Adoption Agency Nixes Catholics

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.

>> I agree that Mary the mother of Jesus, as opposed to the mother of God <<

What do you mean "mother of Jesus, as OPPPSED to mother of God?" They are innerchangeable. I thought all Christians accept the belief that Jesus IS God made man. Are you saying Jesus wasn't divine?

Of course Catholics says Mary is the Mother of God, because Jesus is God the Son... God incarnate. (and to my knowledge, nobody has ever said Mary gave birth to God THE FATHER.) But if you think Mary ONLY gave birth to some guy named Jesus of Narazeth, I think you'd be Jewish, not Protestant or any other kind of Christian.

The belief of the trinity seems to be a universal Christian idea -- every branch of Christianity should accept that Mary's son was God.

Scripture says that Jael is also, where is the HAIL JAEL prayer?

Unlike the case of Mary, Scripture does not record that form of words addressed to Jael, so there is none ready to hand. A Catholic would most likely say: "Jael, defender of Israel, pray for us."

Look, there are just too many quotes from the Popes to deny people in the RCC dont pray TO Mary to ask MARY to talk to JESUS for us for you to expect me to even respond with any detail refuting that....

I will gladly assert that every day I ask Mary to pray for me and family at the foot of her Son's heavenly throne.

I also ask my own mom to pray for me to Jesus as well.

I am not worshipping my own mom when I do that and I am not worshipping Jesus' mother when I make the exact same request to her.

It's not difficult to comprehend.

You dont use the Bible as your measure of faith

Where did you get your Bible from?

Who told you it was the inspired word of God?

Who told you what books were canonical Scripture, and what weren't?

Who told you that the Bible alone was authoritative, when the Bible itself says to obey unwritten tradition?

Who absolved you from obedience to human authorities placed over the Church by God, when the Bible itself (Hebrews 13:17) commands it?

And that is why Roman Catholicism is NOT Christian.

And that is why Protestantism does NOT make sense.

Then how come no one ever says HAIL ELIJAH, HAIL THIEF ON THE CROSS, HAIL MOSES, HAIL ABRAHAM, HAIL ENOCH...at least the Bible says THEY are in Heaven, yet you never pray to/through them.

Nothing wrong with asking for the prayers of an Old Testament patriarch. There are plenty of Catholic prayers addressed to St. John the Baptist, who didn't die under the Christian dispensation.

But your argument is a funny one, Race: don't you believe that True Christians are infallibly saved? "Once saved always saved"? Then everyone who was a True Christian is in heaven. Surely you can name a few True Christians who have died, can't you? Is Spurgeon in heaven? Doesn't say so in the Bible, but didn't he die a True Christian?

What about you? You're going to die someday, as will we all. Nothing in the Bible mentions you by name.

Was the rich man alive or dead?

You just lost your argument right there. My point still stands: NO ONE ever prayed to a dead person. What you showed was a dead person praying to a LIVE one!

Nope.

You specifically asked for an example where ANYONE (caps were yours) prayed to ANYONE (caps yours again,) other than God. Race, you asked for it, and you got it, straight from the lips of Our Lord.

Rather than acknowledge that you have been given the exact proof you demanded, you're throwing out more objections. Race, you suggested that I open my eyes, now I suggest you do the same.

Jesus Christ founded a Church that was led by the Apostles, and promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. That Church is alive and well in the Catholic Church. Whatever religion you practice is derived from Catholicism, and owes any legitimacy it has to the Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ. Race, to the extent that your religion differs in doctrine from Catholicism, you can most likely trace those differences to traditions invented by your own human religious authorities sometime after the 15th century. To attack Catholicism is to attack the foundation of your own religion. Protestantism did not exist before the 16th century, and any attempt to project it into the first fifteen centuries of Christian history is an attempt to create an anachronism. Paul and the rest of the apostles were Catholics, Race, and your unique religious traditions only came into being one and a half milenia after their time. If you want to remain outside the Church founded by Jesus Christ, it's your choice, to be made of your own FREE WILL. Sola Scriptura, sola fide, lack of free will, predestination to hell, anti-Catholicism? None of that is found in the bible, Race. If you want to bet the farm on those or any other novel doctrines invented by men a millennia and a half after Jesus Christ founded the Church, that's your choice.

I could certainly respond to your questions about asking for Abraham's intercession, or about Mary being in heaven, but it appears that I am not dealing with an honest line of inquiry here. If you're interested, feel free to look those answers up for yourself.

BTW, if you want to take up the challenge of proving that sola fide and lack of free will are in the bible, have at it. I want to see exactly where it says, "there is no free will," and exactly where it says, "you are justified by faith ALONE." We both know that second one doesn't exist anywhere in the Christian cannon of scripture, and I don't ever recall seeing lack of free will. Plenty of people have tried to point out lines of scripture that are consistent with no free will, among others, but nobody I've ever met has been able to show me where it actually says, "You have no free will."

For the bonus round, can you show me where it says, "Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior, for even one moment, then you have been given a guarantee of salvation."? I didn't think so, especially since that's nowhere to be found in the Bible. "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved."? I understand that to mean exactly what it says, Race, BELIEVE, present tense, not once you have believed once, you have been guaranteed salvation. And as the apostle says, Race, the race is not always to the strong, but to him who keeps on running, so be sure not to let the good seed fall into a rocky place (Mt 13). My friends who have tried to get me saved have all ended up Catholic once they realized that their religion's claims aren't even in scripture. Maybe you will too, Race, we'd love to have a man of your persistence.

And for some food for thought, go back and take a look at your post, 677. You were given exactly the proof you asked for. Feel free to acknowledge that at any time.

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads."-Act 26:14

"Then how come no one ever says HAIL ELIJAH, HAIL THIEF ON THE CROSS, HAIL MOSES, HAIL ABRAHAM, HAIL ENOCH."

Because we're praying from scripture:

"Hail Mary, Full of Grace
The Lord is with you
Blessed are you among women
and Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."

Luke 1:28 "And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace!" (NAB: "highly favored one") [kecharitomene]!The Lord is with you."

Luke 1:41-42a "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women"

And we're doing it in consistency with Scripture:

Luke 1:48 "For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all generations will call me blessed."

.

Race, ,

We would love to have a man of your persistence in the Catholic Church. You have nothing to lose by being open to the truth, as the good book says, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

The idea of Catholicism is a very simple one. Jesus Christ, one in being with the Father, founded a Church, and promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. That Church, led by the apostles, and guided by the Holy Spirit, included a definite leadership of Apostles, Bishops, elders, and deacons. It also had a liturgy of worship, and was a unified, cohesive and organized structure capable of responding to the errors of self-appointed authorities, as described in the New Testament. The members of the Church began to call themselves Christians, and the New Testament was written within that Church, in keeping with the traditions handed down from Jesus. That same Church, which Jesus promised to protect, has continued to exist and function up to the present. It exercises its mission of preaching the Gospel, and passing on the Faith, received from the Apostles, as commanded by Christ, and is under his protection. Guided by the Holy Spirit, that SAME Church has survived countless persecutions and attacks, and has been opposed by many alternative interpretations of Christianity, but continues to serve its mission to the present, and will continue to do so, until Christ comes again in Glory.

I'm asking you to consider an extraordinary thing, Race. Peter, Paul, Matthew, Mary, Luke, Mark, James, Titus, Timothy: they were all Catholic. The Church of the Apostles, and the Faith of the apostles is in fact present in the Catholic Church, and you have been invited to the banquet. If you’re at peace with your own religion, so be it, but if not, why not investigate the claims of the 2000 year old Church?

The Bible was created within the Catholic Church, and as such, you will find Christianity at its most biblical, in the Catholic Church. If you love the Bible, this is where you are going to find the Biblical Faith at it's fullest.

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