Posted on 01/26/2018 1:04:07 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
We are in a time of the first ever mass conversions of Muslims,” Father Mitch Pacwa SJ told me in a phone interview. “God is doing a mighty work among them.”
Pacwa said that mass conversions are happening even in very fundamentalist countries. There is rapidly growing number of conversions especially on the edges of the Muslim world in the western and southern parts of Africa, he said. “Africa is now growing predominantly Christian despite crackdowns,” Pacwa said.
Some of the noteworthy countries he mentioned include Iran, reported to have 3 million Christians, and Indonesia with reports of 2 million a year converting.
“In Mongolia, the president opened the country to Christians and there’s even an archbishop,” Pacwa said. “They built a Catholic school there too. If I was younger, I would have gone.” He said that the desire for a Western education was the impetus to open up the country to the Catholic Church.
There are even conversions happening in many strict Muslim countries, according to Pacwa. He did not want to go on record with particulars for fear of increased retribution. Mass conversions are also being reported among refugees that are filling up the Christian churches left empty by Europeans. Many wonder if those are authentic conversions or just a response to improving their chances for amnesty, but time will tell.
Signs of this conversion are showing up in the U.S. too, Pacwa said. “I was about to celebrate Mass at a Maronite church in San Diego and I said hi to a man who introduced himself as Achmad. I asked if he was a Christian. He said: ‘Yes, I was recently baptized.’ He said he from Morocco. Christians do not have the name Ahmad—that’s a form of Mohammad.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Catholics tell us that they pray to the departed and Mary and angels to ask them to pray to God for them.
But that’s not funneling a prayer to God through them. It’s praying directly TO them for them to ask God something.
So no way you can even begin to pretend that you are praying to God through them when you yourself admit you are praying TO them for them to intercede on our behalf.
So now you know.
That is where so many of the commentators here go astray. They think pray = adore.
Or they make as if they don't need the prayers of the Communion of Saints, a.k.a Mystical Body of Christ.
Tagline
We’re not bowing before an idol of Mary when we pray.
Scary part is there are sins we don’t even realize we’ve committed! That’s how encompassing the forgiveness of Christ is.
Good job. Neither are we.
Do I really have to post the pictures??
This is true of those of whom He spoke, however, the reality is that as cited, Scripture does warn believers as believers against having an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, drawing back unto perdition, back into bondage, making Christ of no effect, to no profit, falling from grace, etc., (Hebrews 3:12; Hebrews 10:38,39; Galatians 5:1-5) thus forfeiting what faith appropriated .
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:1-4)
Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. (1 Timothy 5:12)
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12)
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:35-39)
Thus God works to chastens wayward members to repentance, unto "Godly sorrow" which "worketh repentance unto salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10) lest they be condemned with the world. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:32) Thus otherwise they would be condemned due to their declension if not brought to repentance.
I would like to be able to say that "departing from the living God," drawing "back unto perdition," back into bondage, making Christ of "no effect," to "no profit," falling "from grace", etc., means something less than forfeiting what faith appropriated, but I do not see the texts teaching this. Here i stand. I should do no less.
Again, I am not concerned with presumption. It’s not important to me. Now, despair might be closer to the truth. We are all truly damned, no matter what we do. That I agree with. As Dan says, until one realizes they are a poor, lost, damned destitute sinner, without one single, solitary ray of hope, one will never be saved.
Yes, one must have their "day of salvation" with its profound basic changes in heart and life, and one can know, by examination that are "in the faith," and presently have eternal life, (1Jn. 5:13; Heb. 6:9) and know that of others as well, and thus affirm them as brethren, (1Thes. 1) though with some there can be doubt. (Galatians 4:20)
Thus to say that such was never born again because they fell away to die in final apostasy would be contrary to this knowing, since that would mean one can never now they are a true believer. .
Hmmmm... let's try it and see how that works...
Hail Mrs. Don-o, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
Holy Mrs. Don-o, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Amen.
No, it doesn't seem to to validate your claim...
A very illuminating illustration.
If I have to use a snippet of scripture from here, another from there and a smidgen from somewhere else to come up with a future event, I consider that it’s not to be to a very reliable compilation of parts; much like a Calvinosaurus.
That seems to be a much copied model.
I know we've disagreed with this before; mainly because I cannot find anything from Scripture to convince me.
Perhaps you could lay it out in better detail. for the other folks reading.
Of course you are meaning MARY to be the 'righteous person'; right?
Pray thru me.
I'm purty good; and sometimes fairly righteous.
For instance, I am not "Kecharitomene" (Full of Grace) and I am not called "Blessed" with respect to "the fruit of my womb Jesus," because I am not the mother of Jesus, obviously. These are among the "Great things" that God did for Mary: for the details, consult the first chapters of Luke's Gospel, from which all the quoted "Hail Mary" language comes.
If you want to set up some sort of analogy to me, you might try something like this:
Hail Mrs. Don-o, self-appointed FReeper Remedial Catechist and Civility Cop, may the Lord be with thee. Blessed are thou among Upper East Tennesseeans, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Ben, and also thy adopted son Vanya, thy husband Don-o, and all thy kinfolk both Protestant and Catholic.Holy Mrs. Don-o, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, and we holy ones will pray for you and your particular sinners/loved ones as well. Deal? Deal. Amen.
It's doesn't manage to entirely escape a tad bit of silliness. but as it stands, it'll do.
Mary sure would not have been allowed to TEACH by Paul!!
It appears she had to wait until he was DEAD before she started appearing randomly to obscure people on earth; delivering all kinds of WARNINGS!! and admonitions.
I ain’t seated nowhere; ‘cept in front of this terminal.
I expect to die some day,
be buried somewhere,
achieve a body temperature of 55-50 degrees,
be awaked at some future time by a trumpet sound,
get a ride up in the air to a vaguely described location,
stand around in a BIG crowd till some books are retrieved and read,
and then; finally; get what has been PROMISED to me!
But now; I just see thru a glass darkly.
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." (Galatians 5:1-4)
"Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith." (1 Timothy 5:12)
"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12)
"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:35-39)"
Amen to all that. I hadn't realized Hebrews, especially, was so "on point". Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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.