Posted on 04/12/2011 7:55:27 AM PDT by bkaycee
Can a born again Christian be a member of a cult and be involved in idol worship? I once thought this was an impossibility until it happened to me. Now I understand why Jesus warned us that, in the end times, there would be an appearance of great signs and miracles that would deceive even the elect, if possible. I confess I have been seduced by signs and miracles associated with apparitions of Mary, and I offer my testimony so others may be warned and delivered.
Until recently I was serving as Director of Public Relations for the Queen of Peace Center in Dallas, Texas. This non-profit organization disseminates information and messages from Marian apparitions in Medjugorje and around the world. I co-authored a full page ad that was published in the June 25, 1993, Dallas Morning News at a cost of $10,000. This add announced "Mary's" prescription for peace and listed locations of her recent appearances. It also listed phone numbers to call for up-to-day recorded messages of Mary's latest apparitions, such as the one in Dallas (214) 233-MARY. I once thought it was special to be the only non-Catholic on the Queen of Peace board . . . that is, until I met Mike Gendron and his wife, Jane.
A Divine Appointment
Neighbors and close friends of mine knew I was seriously contemplating becoming Roman Catholic. They told me that Mike had been a Roman Catholic for 37 years and was now a pastor at a non-denominational church in the Dallas area. They said he understood many of the issues involved in being Roman Catholic and could help me with my decision. I looked forward to meeting both Mike and his wife, not for my sake, but for theirs. I felt certain the information I had collected about "Our Lady's apparitions" in Medjugorje would surely lead them back home to the "true" (Roman Catholic) church. Providentially it appeared, I attended a Queen of Peace board meeting the night before we met and asked the board to pray for this lost pastor and his wife, who had fallen away. When I arrived at their door the next morning, I first introduced myself, before returning to my car for the large stack of books and newspapers I had brought to persuade them. The materials would help explain what was happening in Medjugorje and how the Virgin Mary would help change their lives.
Confronted by Contradictions
After we met, they showed me a film titled Catholicism: Crisis of Faith. This film lovingly and objectively contrasted how the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church contradicts the teachings of the Sacred Scriptures. Mike would stop the film after each segment for my questions and comments. Initially, I was argumentative and felt uneasy and rather adamant about what I was witnessing. Mike realized he had forgotten to pray before starting the film and asked if we could ask God to make His truth clear, and that all deception would be exposed. After the prayer my whole countenance changed.
Each question I asked, Mike validated his answers using Vatican II documents and an official Roman Catholic catechism. It was amazing to me how Roman Catholic teaching contradicts the very Word of God. Question after question, he would bring the Bible over to me and knell to show me verses in context. His servant's demeanor and patient, understanding heart helped in unraveling falsehood after falsehood. There wasn't a question I could have asked him that would have provoked anger. As a reflection of our Lord, this man allowed Jesus to pull the scales away from my eyes.
There were three things in the film and our discussion that were most alarming to me. First, a church in South America has Mary placed on a crucifix rather than Christ. It reminded me of my visit to Our Lady of Guadeloupe Cathedral in downtown Dallas where Mary is positioned as the focal point at the alter and the crucifix is placed in another part of the church. These two scenes made me realize idolatry is practiced within the church.
Second, the Roman Catholic Catechism by Rev. William Cogan, now in its 44th year of print, has altered the 10 commandments of God. The 2nd commandment given to Moses reads, "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:4). The Roman Catholics have deleted this commandment but still came up with ten by splitting the 10th one into two separate commands. "You shall not covet your neighbor's good; and you shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Exodus 20:17). I was reminded of the scriptural warnings for those who add to or subtract from the Bible.
Third, Mike told me the only place in the Bible in which the queen of heaven was referred to was in the Book of Jeremiah. He encouraged me to study the passage and it would expose another false doctrine concerning Mary. Anyone who is familiar with the prayers and meditations of the rosary can tell you that in one of the mysteries Christ supposedly crowned Mary the queen of heaven after she was assumed into heaven. Neither of these events have scriptural validity, but I had decided to blindly accept these doctrines because all of the other meditations on the life of Christ were verified by Scripture.
The Queen of Heaven
After returning home, I looked in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible for the passage in Jeremiah 44. Here, the Lord was angered by the wickedness of the people choosing to serve other gods. The people refused to listen to the Lord. Instead, they would "burn sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven and pour out libations to her." The woman "made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out libations to her?" (Jeremiah 44:17, 19).
In Hebrew the word for queen has reference to "the heavenly handiwork" or "the stars of heaven." The reference might be to Ishtar, the goddess of love and fertility, who is identified with the Venus Star and is actually entitled "Mistress of Heaven." (The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, p. 975)
My head was spinning and filled with questions after reading this. Doesn't Mary usually appear with stars for her crown? Who then is the woman in Revelation 12:3-6? And most importantly, why would the Roman Catholic Church give the mother of Jesus the title of a pagan goddess? Had I been promoting the ministry of a pagan goddess whose messages were inconsistent with the Bible? Indeed her messages do contradict the Bible. In fact, she speaks of another gospel, another plan of salvation that nullifies and opposes the all sufficient sacrifice of Jesus. The apparition of Fatima said, "You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go, so save them, God wishes to establish in the world, devotion to my Immaculate Heart." The apostle Paul condemned anyone, even an angel from heaven, who would dare preach a different way to be saved other than through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ (Galatians 1:6-10).
As for the woman described in Revelation, she is not Mary, the mother of Jesus, but God's chosen people, the Jews. When the passage in chapter 12 is read in context with the rest of the book, and Genesis 37:9-10, this clearly refers to the nation Israel. God fulfills His promise to the Jews, by protecting them in the desert during 3 1/2 years of tribulation.
I later realized my prayers to Mary and the saints, the reciting of rosaries and chaplets of divine mercy, and the wearing of Marian medals and scapulars had taken my focus off of Jesus. I had allowed doctrines of the Roman Catholic church to do the very thing Saint Paul warned against, "But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3).
An Angel of Light
Recently, a person whom I love dearly, and who has a "Marian devotion" asked me, "Why are you bothering the people who are already good people instead of worrying about those who are lost?" The answer came to me the other evening as the Lord continues to guide me through His sacred Word. Saint Paul wrote that "Satan masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). We know the mother of Jesus would never oppose her Son, and since the apparitions do just that, they could very well be Satan masquerading as Mary. Saint Paul also wrote, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them . . . everything exposed by the light becomes visible" (Ephesians 5:11-14). Therefore, I feel called to expose these attempts by the evil one to divert people's devotion away from Jesus. The most authoritative way to do this is with the light of God's Holy Word. My new test for truthfulness is -- if it does not agree with the Scriptures then it must be rejected.
Freedom in the Truth
Now that I have torn down the altar in my bedroom, where I knelt and prayed to St. Anthony of Padua each night, and now that I have placed my rosaries, scapular and medals away, I have found a new freedom. The truth really does set people free! I have found special peace in knowing Jesus alone is my Savior, and not co-redemptrix with His mother. The Holy Spirit continues to lead me into all truth and is now the only teacher I need (1 John 2:27).
To all my precious friends who I have encouraged to seek Mary and to obey the misleading messages of her apparitions, I pray these Scriptures would minister to you -- "And it came about while He said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which you nursed.' But He said, 'On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it." (Luke 11:27-28)
This article was submitted by a former Director for a "Mary, Queen of Peace Center."
Pride was Satan's downfall. Seek truth with childlike humility, and your shall find. This requires a soft contemplative, prayerful approach, not a boasting bravado. JMHO
I never heard of anyone but Catholics keeping Lent.
As far as the Sabbath....
I don,t know any thing about lent and the protestants, but Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, which is the length of time that has been determined for lent, which obviously came from the law of the Nazarite. But i think the Catholics keep it for an entirely different reason as the Jews who wanted to serve God took the vow as a test of dedication. so i had my wires crossed, sorry.
As for the Sabbath, i agree but i don,t see where that has anything to do with changing it to sunday, the Sabbath is a day of rest, but most preachers work harder on sunday than any day of the week.
The fact that Paul taught on sunday simply shows his respect for the Sabbath which is on saturday although he did teach the Jews on saturday, yes every day is the Lords day but we can not change the day. it is fine to hold church any day of the week in my opinion except Saturday, but that does not make any day except saturday the sabbath.
Not sure what you mean by, “The Jews kept lent.”. Do you mean they had many different sabbaths and feast days? The Feast of Passover is what occurs during this same time for Christians, and it was the Seder that Jesus and his disciples shared together in what is called The Last Supper.
Don,t know how i got lent out of it.
As for the Sabbath, yes the gentiles were holding church on sunday, but it was most likely in respect of the Sabbath rather than any one wanting to change the Sabbath,
The Jews had no respect for the sabbath so they continued going to the temple as they had for hundreds of years.
Why does any one not wonder why Christ was not resurrected on Saturday, could it be because him being the son of God had more respect for his fathers laws than most people obviously believes he did?
We can say what the early Christians did all day long, but there is no scripture changing the Sabbath to Sunday.
To me, it was always like some far distant battlefield, which on rare occasion there was mention of. But not in church.
In this forum however, we hear the [figurative] cannon fire more directly, and see the rhetorical hand grenades thrown (get to toss a few ourselves! whee-haw).
(Meanwhile, up until fairly recently, there was still Catholic-Protestant conflict, in deadly earnest in Northern Ireland, which isn't quite so "whee-haw" funny)
After years of lurking through threads like these (and sometimes wading in) I understand better now.
I think I was happier when I didn't know. But I can't help myself. I want to know. Now I do, more than I did years ago. Thank you all.
That's exactly right boatbums....and generally that "something" does not bring them closer to the Lord in reality....but their minds will even convince them of that.
And yes....it is heartbreaking to see people live in a world of their own minds making. Very sad. Convincing them otherwise more often than not fruitless.
I am especially refering to the fact their is ‘an obsession’ with female goddesses when they are a part of their religious practices...and generally speaking these goddesses are elevated over men as well as their male gods.
OPC attacks. This is from their doctrinal site
This states clearly that this group wishes to believe that the sending of the Holy Spirit is UNREPEATABLE
It will be noted that the Confession sharply contradicts the view popularized today by the neo-Pentecostal movement. In essence this view would have us believe that we can have the same charismatic gifts that we read about in the age of the Apostles - such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and healing - today. This is a very serious error. In essence it is a result of a failure to grasp the Biblical teaching concerning the history of salvation. Never again will there be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit such as took place on the day of Pentecost.
The sending of the Holy Spirit is just as much an unrepeatable event as the birth of Christ was.
Furthermore, they go on to add that Pentecostals and Methodists are damned heretics who " preach the Gospel of Satan"
These are the same group that besides preaching their hatred for Methodists and Pentecostals also say this about all us Christians:
Well, it's simple -- as you can see from the post above, this group attacks all Christians, yet will tell you nothing of its belief (there is a reason for this that I point out below).
The group will hide behind the term "Protestant" when in fact the group is not even Christian far less Protestant.
The key point is what exactly does this group believe? The sad thing is that the group contradict itself over and over again, but it states that
and many more.
Yet the one thing the group is consistent about is fomenting intra-Christian fights -- remember Christian brethern that the leftist aim is to have us Christians divided so we do not form a united front
For the leftists, only mocking Christians as rednecks and rubes and simpletons will do. This is in-between the standard attempts to divide Christians
After seeing many of the catholics speak of what they really believe on these threads I am not so certain I would stand or be united with them if they keep going the direction they appear to be headed now.
Further there are many people who claim Christianity but are not Cronos....in all faiths... and that includes your church. When the time comes to stand we will know who each other is but for now I do not see Christians of various faiths standing together.....there’s a sifting going on now I think....
Nonesense Cronos.....your are painting a wide swath over those of the Protestant faith and not doing a very good job of that. Your’re points are not at all resonable and I don’t see even half of you’re complaints being stated by anyone.
Note that this is from the same radical group that attacks Pentecostals sayingStop accusing me of painting anything -- I am against those posing as Protestant when they are not Christians (as Protestants are) and their sole aim is to attack Christianity and foment discordOPC attacks. This is from their doctrinal site
This states clearly that this group wishes to believe that the sending of the Holy Spirit is UNREPEATABLE
It will be noted that the Confession sharply contradicts the view popularized today by the neo-Pentecostal movement. In essence this view would have us believe that we can have the same charismatic gifts that we read about in the age of the Apostles - such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, and healing - today. This is a very serious error. In essence it is a result of a failure to grasp the Biblical teaching concerning the history of salvation. Never again will there be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit such as took place on the day of Pentecost.
The sending of the Holy Spirit is just as much an unrepeatable event as the birth of Christ was.Furthermore, they go on to add that Pentecostals and Methodists are damned heretics who " preach the Gospel of Satan"
These are the same group that besides preaching their hatred for Methodists and Pentecostals also say this about all us Christians:
- accusing all Lutherans of being liberals and not following Luther
- Accusing Adventists of being a cult (note: that's an article they posted)
- Calling martyrs like Shahbaz Bhatti (the Christian who was murdered in Pakistan for his faith) as damned to hell
- anti-semitism: telling their members not to celebrate with Jewish friends Jewish festivals
They may pretend to be Protestant, which is a joke as Protestants are our Christian brothers, but under this mask, this group of leftists says the following about Christians and Jews (more details on my profile page)
:
This an entire cover-up of religion to keep their group's true agenda of fomenting discord -- just like the Westboro Baptist Club
Well, it's simple -- as you can see from the post above, this group attacks all Christians, yet will tell you nothing of its belief (there is a reason for this that I point out below).
The group will hide behind the term "Protestant" when in fact the group is not even Christian far less Protestant.
The key point is what exactly does this group believe? The sad thing is that the group contradict itself over and over again, but it states that
and many more.
Yet the one thing the group is consistent about is fomenting intra-Christian fights -- remember Christian brethern that the leftist aim is to have us Christians divided so we do not form a united front
The bible refers to such as this group that attacks all Christians (Pentecostals, Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, Orthodox, Menonites,Baptists, Copts, Armenians, Congregationalists, etc) when we read:
| Proverbs 6:12-14 A worthless person, a wicked man (OPC/PCA), Walks with a perverse mouth; He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. |
Remember again -- These are not Christians, far less Protestants, they do not believe in the same God that we Christians believe in (if they believe in God at all), but their sole aim and reason is to foment discord between Christians and to mock Christians and Christianity
it is apparent that the left gets afraid when Christians (Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, CAtholics, Pentecostals, Methodists, Presbyterians etc. etc.) are united, as they cannot proceed with their plans
So they foment discord.
They pose as Christians yet at the same time launch attacks on all Christians calling Methodists, Pentecostals etc. as damned, Lutherans as liberals, Adventists as cultists, Christian martyrs as damned, cursing Billy Graham as a pawn of Satan, etc. -- the leftists pick their targets, attacking one Christian group at a time, directing all others to attack them -- this is apparent in the concentrated attack on the Anglicans first then the Lutherans and Catholics and Presbyterians. The pinko agenda now also aims to foment discord among conservative Christians by baiting one against the other.
Anyone going through google or freepublic and seeing the number of posts making fun of Jesus Christ would come to the (wrong) conclusion that we in Freerepublic are the worst kind of people. The mocking of God reached its extreme yesterday with the entire litany of posts shown below
What was the point of this on FR? Was it a conservative discussion point? Maybe one, maybe two, but so many meant that the idea of these posts is to mock our Christian religious beliefs and to give people the idea that Christians are simpletons, are redneck rubes --> well, if that's the idea of the posts, then I think most of us will be proud to wear those titles.
In the General/Chat forum, on a thread titled Image of Jesus found!, : Image of Jesus found!
Image of Jesus appears in Ponderosa
04/11/2011 2:18:27 PM PDT · by Alex Murphy · 7 replies
ConnectTriStates ^ | 3/17/2011 | Sarah Deien
HANNIBAL, MO. — This is not a story of the image of the Virgin Mother on a grilled cheese sandwich or Jesus on a tortilla. Hope you’re not disappointed, but I think this is far better. This is the story of a spiritual journey that transformed a beam into a masterpiece, and the spiritual journey of the amateur artist himself. It takes a big leap of faith to go from carving ducks to chiseling the image of the crucified Jesus. It also takes inspiration. And time. In fact, the idea first stirred in Delbert Hayes’ imagination a dozen years ago...Image of Jesus Appears at Church [Following ceiling work at Fairmont’s First Presbyterian]
04/11/2011 2:16:02 PM PDT · by marshmallow · 8 replies
West Virginian Times ^ | 4/8/11 | J. Miles Layton
FAIRMONT — Parishioners, the faithful and even curious skeptics can look to the heavens at what appears to be an image of Jesus on the ceiling of one local church. “That’s inspirational because it makes people stop and think,” said Rev. Bill Sadler, First Presbyterian Church of Fairmont. “No matter what, you have to stop and deal with it being here.” The image was mysteriously formed in the plaster high above on the vaulted ceiling of the church’s sanctuary.Jesus Christ appears on rocking chair
04/11/2011 1:28:52 PM PDT · by Alex Murphy · 31 replies
The Metro UK ^ | February 18, 2011 | Ted Thornhill
Of course, the Saviour’s face has been getting around a fair bit recently. We’ve already availed you of his face’s visit to an MRI scan, to some chicken feathers, Google Maps, a drainpipe, a Marmite lid and a student’s frying pan. Well now it’s the turn of a rocking chair in, appropriately, the City of Angels to host the holy visage. The chair belongs to Lou Balducci, who lives in the Mission Viejo area of Los Angeles, and he was understandably taken aback. ‘When I first saw the image, I didn’t know what to think. As I thought about it,...Face of Jesus appears on log
04/11/2011 12:06:16 PM PDT · by Alex Murphy · 51 replies
The Metro UK ^ | April 10, 2011 | Ted Thornhill
The log’s owner, Mel Robertson, calls it the ‘holy log’ and says that she keeps it as a ‘lucky charm’. However, she admits that it ‘hasn’t brought any luck yet’, but is hopeful that one day it will. Fingers crossed, Mrs Robertson. The mum of two from Solihull told Metro.co.uk that the face first appeared back in October 2009, but got clearer and clearer as the months went by. She said: ‘We had some firewood by the fireplace – at first it looked like a skull and crossbones – but as the months wore on, it just appeared around the...Face of Jesus appears on tea towel
04/11/2011 11:50:57 AM PDT · by Alex Murphy · 15 replies
The Metro UK ^ | April 7, 2011 | Kavi Shah
It’s well known that cleanliness is up there next to Godliness, but Roisin McCourt wasn’t expecting Jesus to pop out of her washing machine load. Dance teacher Ms McCourt was shocked when she saw the unusual brown stain, which shows what seem to be the facial features of a long-haired, bearded man. Ms McCourt, 31, has since been mobbed with requests from believers wishing to make a pilgrimage to see the holy imprint. The Coventry resident said: ‘When I took it out I could not believe it. I could see it was Jesus straightaway. I took it to my husband...Jesus Statue Set Ablaze in Minn.
04/11/2011 11:30:54 AM PDT · by mandaladon · 36 replies
The Blaze ^ | 11 Apr 2011 | Jonathon M. Seidl
It was a clash of images on Sunday in St. Paul, MN when a local man, Tuan Pham, awoke to see his beloved, custom-made Jesus statue in flames. According to family, someone took wood from a nearby pile and used a spray can to ignite a fire at the base of Pham’s 7-foot ode to Christ. It’s statue that has been controversial from the beginning: It may have burned for awhile; Pham’s daughter took pictures of her father trying to knock down the flames. Fire investigators were going over the garden a few hours later. If they find evidence of...Surprise as ‘face of Jesus’ appears in Bristol barbecue plot
04/11/2011 10:42:49 AM PDT · by Alex Murphy · 31 replies
This Is Bristol ^ | April 1, 2011
WHEN his next door neighbour called over the fence and told him Jesus had appeared in his back garden faithful church-goer Ron Sims first thought he was joking. But when the pensioner caught a glimpse of the concrete barbecue his friend had knocked down six years before he couldn’t believe his eyes. Mr Sims, 77, of Magpie Bottom Lane in Hanham, said: “When I saw it I just couldn’t believe the likeness. “It’s such a strong image, it’s almost eerie.” The image is formed by the remains of concrete blocks Mr Sims used to build an outdoor barbecue when he...
I do, I think it's a big deal when someone thinks Christ is a liar. Especially when it's not just on the one issue of Christ lying to the thief on the cross, but when it impacts other places as well. People who on the one hand say that Sola Scriptura is all they need and on the other call Christ Himself a liar are clearly just making up whatever they like and calling it Christian while denying the divinity of Christ.
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