[HarleyD]

HD-It doesn't matter HOW many conversions

Jesus-"You will know a tree by its fruit."

Numbers of conversions are a poor measurement of spiritual life. Elijah lamented that no one in Israel was left. Jeremiah weeped at the people's hardness. Noah preached all the while building an ark for eight.

If we want to use conversion as a measuring tool, we would have to say Islam is correct which is the fastest growing religion.

We're talking about 9 million conversions to Christianity. Does that sound like the work of Satan?

At great risk of drawing the ire of many Catholics, if we objectively look at this incidence, we are basing this whole situation on an apparition of Mary telling people to construct a "temple" to her so she will bless the people. If people followed her advise, they were not converted because there is no call for repentence and asking God for forgiveness as required in scripture. God uses all things to His glory so it is entirely possible that some of these people understood the message and "saw the light" so to speak. But, based upon what Juan told everone, this is not the gospel message.

Sometimes Christians aid other people without invoking God's name. That does't make their actions intrinsically evil.

And invoking God's name doesn't make their actions entirely righteous.

[Aquinasfan]

We're talking about 9 million conversions to Christianity. Does that sound like the work of Satan? At great risk of drawing the ire of many Catholics, if we objectively look at this incidence, we are basing this whole situation on an apparition of Mary telling people to construct a "temple" to her so she will bless the people.

But weren't they blessed? They became Christians. In doing so, they were baptized. Adult baptism requires repentance and belief. With this miraculous event, God, working through Mary, established the divine nature of His Church, so much so that millions of pagans were led into Christ's Church.

If people followed her advise, they were not converted because there is no call for repentence and asking God for forgiveness as required in scripture.

But in entering the Church through baptism, they repented of their sins and professed belief in Christ.

God uses all things to His glory so it is entirely possible that some of these people understood the message and "saw the light" so to speak. But, based upon what Juan told everone, this is not the gospel message.

Why would Mary be limited to strictly speaking the gospel message? She led the pagans to Christ's Church, and Christ Himself, as the woman whose offspring "crushed the head of the serpent."