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To: RJR_fan
God, for reasons of His own, makes Himself known to His own, while allowing others to go their own ways, their preferred way

This is Catholic teaching, not Calvinism.

spiritually deceived person

So again, Mary deceives people, but Calvin got his fantasies out of the Holy Ghost? You sure about that?

55 posted on 04/23/2008 10:01:31 AM PDT by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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To: annalex
So again, Mary deceives people,...

An entity masquerading as the humble Jewish maiden has led millions into perdition, and away from God. Again, deception is sweet, enticing, and easy to fall into. Satan rarely shows up in red tights, tail, and pitchfork. As the angel Moroni offering a brand new testament to the Savior, yes. As the apotheosis of a deified Bible character, yes. As the ghost of John Frum, yes. As spoon-waving "Phil, prince of insufficient light," not hardly.

It's amazing how convincingly "righteous" the demonic can be. A man realizes that, thanks to the web, he is now "findable." As he bikes into work, he is suddenly seized with the rock-hard conviction that, "thanks to God's mercies," he can pray with confidence that the other party to a broken romance from decades ago will get in touch, and pronounce words of healing, forgiveness, and restoration. And then, decades of emotional kinks and constraints will evaporate, and a new era of fruitfulness will commence. For the glory of God, of course. You may recognize some of the ingredients. The rationalizations. The preternatural certainty. The sense of light, energy, wholesomeness, healing. The temptation to fully embrace the fantasy presented to his heart, mind, and soul.

And, in this case, sufficient insight to say to himself, "You know, I was raised Catholic. This has left lesions in my mind, and a dangerous aptness to consider, and embrace, alternate feminine channels to God's grace."

When a little dog smells on the children the scent of other dogs, he trembles with anxiety. When this man toyed with the presented illusion for ten minutes, his wife was agitated and ill for a weekend, without knowing why.

There are consequences to indulging in untamed fantasy lives. Ask any porn addict. Compulsive gambler. Spiritist. Mariolator. Or, for that matter, any truly honest Christian. God gives us grace to walk with Him -- but the enemy of our souls offers us experiences more moving, more exciting, than humble faith.

Addictive deceptions are, let's face it, deceptive. And addictive. And largely immune to reason. May our God have mercy upon all of us, and lead us through His Son Jesus Christ, into eternal felicity.

70 posted on 04/23/2008 11:36:49 AM PDT by RJR_fan (Winners and lovers shape the future. Whiners and losers TRY TO PREDICT IT.)
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