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Testimony of a Former Irish Priest
BereanBeacon.Org ^ | Richard Peter Bennett

Posted on 07/18/2010 6:04:05 AM PDT by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

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To: Recovering Ex-hippie

Or on what anyone of us think :)


241 posted on 07/18/2010 3:43:10 PM PDT by RnMomof7 (sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me)
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie
Do remember that when Christ had the last supper He sat directly with the twelve, (He wasn't dead nor arose yet). So how in the world then could His meaning be anything but a symbol of remembering Him? To say that the cup and bread change to his actual body would be cannibalism.
242 posted on 07/18/2010 3:43:53 PM PDT by caww
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To: narses; All

Prove he is a liar
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/


243 posted on 07/18/2010 3:43:57 PM PDT by RnMomof7 (sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me)
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To: narses

The greatest gift for all of us was Christ’s death at Calvary for the remission of our sin and the promise of eternal life for all those who accept Him as Lord and Savior. According to the article, this fellow accepts this gift, but not as a Catholic priest. I am nothing but a sinner saved by God’s grace. It was the prayer and friendship of a Catholic ‘Brother-in-Christ” that led to a spiritual renewal in my life.


244 posted on 07/18/2010 3:46:30 PM PDT by Upbeat
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To: narses

These are as well in the catholic membership but they are hidden and not revealed for fear of excumincation. But neither nor no church should be supporting these things. You are right about that...the difference is only to the degree the people are hidding these things.


245 posted on 07/18/2010 3:46:56 PM PDT by caww
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To: narses

Tell me, what is your definition of a cult? It would be interesting to know, since you’ve evidently decided that I must be a cult member, since I don’t believe the Catholic Church is the representative of Christ on earth.


246 posted on 07/18/2010 3:47:35 PM PDT by small voice in the wilderness (Defending the Indefensible. The Pride of a Pawn.)
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To: RnMomof7

“Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life.. not the Catholic church”

True, but if anyone wants to play the nmbers game, far more Catholics become Protestants than Protestants become Catholics.
About 10% of the population of the U.S. actually consist of former Catholics according to a Pew study.
http://religions.pewforum.org/reports
As a percentage of the population, the Catholic Church has not grown in many years (about 25%). The only reason they have grown in absolute numbers is immigration both legal and illegal.
The scary thing is the number of people who claim no religious affiliation whatsover has skyrocketed. This represents a failure of Christian Evangelism in both the Catholic and Protestant Churches.


247 posted on 07/18/2010 3:49:06 PM PDT by BnBlFlag (Deo Vindice/Semper Fidelis "Ya gotta saddle up your boys; Ya gotta draw a hard line")
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To: small voice in the wilderness
Yes, I read the article. It's typical Protestant anti-Catholic boilerplate. It proceeds like this: set up a straw man, claim its what Catholics believe, then knock it down. Case closed.

Except it's not what we believe. It's not what I believe, and I know my own heart and mind better than someone who's never even met me. And it's not what the Church teaches or practices. So I can tell you what I do believe, and I can site references as to what the Church actually teaches, but it will always fall on deaf ears. Tomorrow the same people will be publishing the same falsehoods, and any discussion will have been absolutely futile.

That's not how thinking works. That's not how intellectual honesty or integrity works. And such tactics should be beneath the standards to which Christians hold themselves. If a discussion is to be at all fruitful, the deliberate misrepresentation has to stop as a minimal prerequisite. Then we might have a chance of discussing our actual differences rather than the imagined propaganda of Protestant fever dreams.

Yes, we disagree on many issues, but we are facing together the annihilation of Christian culture in our country. It behooves us to work in concert against it, not waste our time with internal bickering. Divide and conquor is the devil's strategy, and it seems to be working well enough without our help.

Obviously the way forward is to begin by what we have in common. It may be more than you think. We probably share a belief in the Trinity. We accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We believe in the power of prayer. We honor the scriptures.

If we can put the sledgehammers down and stop bashing each other, but instead approach each other with humility and charity, we have a chance of actually coming to an understanding. Otherwise, Western civilization is going to continue to disintegrate.

Why, practically speaking is that a problem? Consider our legal system. If there is no common moral standard against which we can judge whether or not a law is just, then legislatures are free to pass any law they wish. Until recently, the prevailing Christian moral consensus applied. Now it's gone, and things are becoming increasingly tyrannical. It's happened before. The Nazi persecution of Jews was completely legal - the Reichstag actually passed the Nuremburg Laws which precluded Jews from certain professions, business activities, etc. Legal, yes, but totally immoral.

So we can try to be decent to each other, actually listen to and understand each other, or we can squander that opportunity and continue the bashing. If we choose the latter, everyone loses.

248 posted on 07/18/2010 3:50:43 PM PDT by cantabile
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To: BnBlFlag

God never said that a majority of the world would be saved, He called us the remnant..


249 posted on 07/18/2010 3:51:35 PM PDT by RnMomof7 (sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me)
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To: narses

To you who hold to the Rome and the Pope...this may appear to be the case because you are still bound to Rome and the Pope...but He is no longer bound to that..but free in Christ. “Who the son has set free shall be free indeed”


250 posted on 07/18/2010 3:52:07 PM PDT by caww
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To: caww

That is the mystery...That is why at first the disciples were shocked...then when he came back he explained this to them.
It is a miracle that reoccurs as a way to be in union with God’s son.

I defer to Scripture on this one...”This is my blood.”....he did not say “this a way to symbolically to remember me.”..He said, Drink this. this is my blood. DO THIS IN REMEBERANCE OF ME.


251 posted on 07/18/2010 3:52:08 PM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (Ok, joke's over....Bring back Bush !)
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To: caww
To say that the cup and bread change to his actual body would be cannibalism.

I thought protestants read the Bible. I thought they KNEW and UNDERSTOOD the Bible. Didn't you read the part where some were offended, and left, because cannibalism, or even drinking ANY blood were forbidden under all circumstances. Yet, Christ said it again. Read John 6, especially verses 52-59, and open your eyes. Matter of fact, read the whole chapter. You know, in context.

252 posted on 07/18/2010 3:52:26 PM PDT by Judith Anne (Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

Amazing and wonderful! I praise God for this!


253 posted on 07/18/2010 3:59:42 PM PDT by T Minus Four ("All religion ever made of me was a sinner with a rock tied to my feet" - FFH)
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To: cantabile
This is awesome!

So you don't believe that the Catholic Church teaches that she alone holds the keys of the kingdom, and has power to retain or remit sins? Because that's a BIG difference that would be near impossible to come together on. And you don't believe the dogma of purgatory? Another big one. And what about prayers for the dead/what does the Catholic Church teach about that? It's yet another big one. And of course, who can fail to mention Maryolatry? Because that one is probably close to the biggest problem for non-Catholics. But the biggest, by far, is the sacrifice of the Mass.

You desire that we come together for unity's sake. For the preservation of us all. But you do not speak of giving up your beliefs that I listed above. You want us to accept them. For all our preservation, you see.

that's not going to happen. Sooooo...here we are. The Catholic Church wants unity. On HER TERMS.

254 posted on 07/18/2010 4:00:33 PM PDT by small voice in the wilderness (Defending the Indefensible. The Pride of a Pawn.)
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie
Jesus own words here. He Himself called what was in the cup *the fruit of the vine*, not blood.

Matthew 16: 27-29 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

Mark 14: 24- 25 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

Luke 22: 17 & 18 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

The church fathers in the Council of Jerusalem decreed that Christians should abstain from the eating of blood. They made no exceptions.

Acts 15: 19-29 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

How can the Roman Catholic church call itself the true church and deviate from the clear teaching of Scripture on this one?

255 posted on 07/18/2010 4:02:12 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: cantabile
I have already spoken of name calling...and addressed those issues...but I do live in a real world where real people do say things that they later regret...and that with a good deal of passion behind it. These are Christian people...I do not live in a world of pew sitters every week...though admirable they are there to hear if God gives them so. You cannot judge these people alone by the vocabulary they use. Christ hears this day in and out and yet he still invites them.

Furthermore If I sin I have the spirit of God within me who has promised conviction when I need this...then I have forgiveness and hopefully will not sin in that area again. But if I do His forgiveness continues as I bring it to Him. I will not be in danger of Hell for I am no longer bound to the Law...Christ fulfilled that for me and now the Lord God sees me thru His son...otherwise I would have no hope in anything I might say do or accomplish.

Additionally Christians do not always treat one another with respect...they are not infallible...the only difference between the lost and us is we are saved and they are not...otherwise we are all under the same condemnation of God for our sins. That is why we can trust Christ who said...”It is finished”...He paid the price. Not we..not ever.

256 posted on 07/18/2010 4:05:31 PM PDT by caww
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To: daniel1212

Not an unbiased polling group:

George Barna:

After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.”

Barna is a Protestant group

“provides primary research services to organizations focused on enhancing people’s spiritual lives. It conducts qualitative and quantitative research on a commissioned basis, as well as developing self-initiated studies of the spiritual landscape of the nation. The company has worked with thousands of ministries across the country and is widely relied upon by media, churches and educational institutions for insight into matters of faith and contemporary society.

“BarnaBooks provides written communications – primarily books – for individuals interested in enhancing their leadership, cultural understanding, or family experiences. Working with a pool of leaders and communicators who are helping the Church to grow and become more effective in reaching people with God’s truth, these books are designed to inform, challenge and guide people to more authentic faith experiences and expression.”

“The Josiah Corps is a process developed to identify young people between the ages of 8 and 12 whom God has called to lead the Church in the future, and to provide them with developmental resources and experiences over a decade-long period.”

“Transformational Church Network (TCN) provides new thinking for a new context. TCN is a means of resourcing, connecting and partnering with healthy churches in the strategic development of the Church.”

That BE SADDLEBACK type churches.

http://www.barna.org/about

No sale.


257 posted on 07/18/2010 4:05:31 PM PDT by OpusatFR
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie

DO THIS IN REMEBERANCE OF ME....Exactly and a rememberance by it’s symbols. Certainly not His actual blood and flesh.


258 posted on 07/18/2010 4:07:56 PM PDT by caww
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To: caww

You still prove my statement.

Good night.


259 posted on 07/18/2010 4:09:55 PM PDT by OpusatFR
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To: Judith Anne

Thank you for encouraging my reading again...however the bread and wine are symbols of his death and resurrection...they were at His table and they remain so today....never ment as His actual blood and body as frankly He arose and death had no power over Him. His body no longer there.


260 posted on 07/18/2010 4:10:51 PM PDT by caww
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