Posted on 07/07/2008 10:39:05 PM PDT by Gamecock
No.
No.
No.
Those who love me do not applaud lies about my faith.
To God be the glory!
No one disagrees with that. Those who do not believe are those whom God has left to their own fallen natures, those whose eyes and ears He has not opened to the Scriptures, those whose mind has not been renewed by the Holy Spirit, those who have not been born again by the will of God.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear." -- Matthew 13:-16"He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
"To them it is not gven." Christ says He spoke in parables for the precise reason that only those to whom God gives new ears and new eyes will hear the truth and see the truth and believe the truth and be saved by the atonement of the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
"The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them." -- Proverbs 20:12
Petronski, I don’t consider P-Marlowe a spokesman for me either. I’ve kept off this thread for quite a while, but I have to say that Alamo-Girl’s endearments do not impress me at all, particularly when coupled with some of the more egregious protestant posts.
When A-G expresses agreement, affection, and gratitude to a poster who characterizes Catholic posters as “white hanky brigade” and “attack dogs” and does the same to a poster whose abuse of scripture is the validation for mocking the Catholic Church, then it becomes impossible to think that A-G’s use of “dear” in addressing any Catholic poster is sincere.
Fake affection is despicable, particularly under the guise of “Christian Love.” Fake affection IS creepy.
On the other hand, I am comfortable to be, at times, one of the “White Hanky Brigade Attack Dogs.” That, at least, was honestly felt, and not the treacly, phony, “dear.”
It is a matter of courtesy and dignity to address someone in the way requested.
Wow! What a great line. I may have to steal that one. 8~)
Or at the least to avoid addressing them in a manner protested.
The love of God, which we Christians flow into the world, is not earned. Nor does it fade or halt because the object of the love does not agree with us. It does not fade or halt even if the object of our love is our declared enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. – Matthew 5:43-48
1. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”.
We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John's Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should ... have eternal life” (3:16). In acknowledging the centrality of love, Christian faith has retained the core of Israel's faith, while at the same time giving it new depth and breadth. The pious Jew prayed daily the words of the Book of Deuteronomy which expressed the heart of his existence: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might” (6:4-5). Jesus united into a single precept this commandment of love for God and the commandment of love for neighbour found in the Book of Leviticus: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (19:18; cf. Mk 12:29-31). Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.
In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant. For this reason, I wish in my first Encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others. That, in essence, is what the two main parts of this Letter are about, and they are profoundly interconnected. The first part is more speculative, since I wanted here—at the beginning of my Pontificate—to clarify some essential facts concerning the love which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together with the intrinsic link between that Love and the reality of human love. The second part is more concrete, since it treats the ecclesial exercise of the commandment of love of neighbour. The argument has vast implications, but a lengthy treatment would go beyond the scope of the present Encyclical. I wish to emphasize some basic elements, so as to call forth in the world renewed energy and commitment in the human response to God's love.
Apparently not. You missed my point completely. Your professions of love for me are not credible in light of your behavior. They are saccharin, treacly, fake, creepy, unwelcome.
Yet despite your volunteered assurance, you refuse to stop.
Yet you said you would.
But those days ended with the apostles' deaths and we know this because there is nothing written in Scripture about some unbroken line of priestly offices.
In fact, those lies are refuted in Scripture which tells us that now all believers make up the "royal priesthood," the priesthood of all believers.
The only sign Christians need now is the resurrection.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" -- 1 Peter 2:5,9"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ...
The first thing a conquering army does is install local chieftons who control the provinces. That's what the church in Rome has done by telling its people the office of this "royal priesthood" has been taken from them and divided among those who call themselves "another Christ."
creepy bookmarker
Again you violate your own promise to stop posting to me if I asked.
LOL. Do you really think Christ's words need to be augmented? That is not what Christ said.
He that believeth on me hath everylasting life." -- John 6:47
Be not afraid; only believe." -- Mark 5:36"He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life" -- John 5:24
You make the grace of God of no effect because you seek it by the law and not by grace alone through faith alone.
Today's calvinist mantra of 'sins washed away with the blood of Christ' is justification for a slacker's faith.
Where does any Calvinist around here give any indication of being a "slacker?" The grace of God brings with it the good fruits of the Holy Spirit. Good works are the evidence of our salvation, not a requirement for it. Grace saves, and grace alone.
Have your sins been washed away by the blood of Christ?
Or have your sins been merely pre-washed, leaving you to work on the final wash and rinse?
About 25% of our church is ex-RC's. Preaching The Gospel and Bible studies are how we participate in their wanting to be a part of our church.
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