Posted on 12/13/2011 9:55:16 PM PST by dangus
I pray I haven't been guilty of the sin of calumny against a pope! In several Free Republic threads over the years I took as an accepted fact that the Pope kissed the Koran, and in several, commented that the Pope had erred on the side of peacemaking, by making this unscripted gesture of respect. I was surprised by finding some denials of this event.
Those who believe the Pope kissed the Koran apparently include the man who was the Patriarch of the Chaldean (Iraqi Catholic) Church at the time, Raphael Bidawid: "I renewed our invitation to the Pope because his visit would be for us a grace from heaven. It would confirm the faith of Christians and prove the Popeâs love for the whole of humanity in a country which is mainly Muslim. At the end of the audience the Pope bowed to the Muslim holy book the Koran presented to him by the delegation and he kissed it as a sign of respect.
Finding that quote, originally from a reputably Catholic source, seemed to clinch the issue for me. But then I noticed something: All of the other pictures of the Koran that I found are very plainly labelled, usually in Arabic, "Koran."
All the images of the pope kissing the Koran are stills from the same image, which is in pretty poor resolution. It is clear, however, that the stylish imprint on the book, while reminiscent of the Koran, is not actually the Arabic script that appears on the Koran.
The next thing that struck me is that as I examined the "Koran" that the Pope kissed is that it looked like a binder. Sure, it's a green book with fancy caligraphy embossed on the cover, but who puts the Koran in a binder?
Sure, you THINK you see the pope kiss the Koran, but I bet you also THINK you see him do so in front of the Muslim who gave it to him. Nope. The man in the picture is a Christian. Which brings up the next question: If it was the Koran, did the Pope know this? It's common Arab protocol to kiss a gift one has received, and the Pope could easily have been simply following protocol respectfully, and not recognizing that the gift was, if it was, a Koran. Has anyone ever read anything which confirms that he Pope knowingly kissed the Koran?
"As you, for your part, do not worship idols, you have banished the idols and portraits and "bells" from churches, and declared your faith by stating that God Almighty is one and Holy Jesus is His Prophet and Servant, and now, with heart and soul, are seeking and desirous of the true faith; but the faithless one they call Pope does not recognize his Creator as One, ascribing divinity to Holy Jesus (upon him be peace!).."The Ottoman sultan knew who would eventually unite with Islam -- as we saw in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 when Catholic Austria, Hungary, Poland etc. fought against Islamic Turks united with the Hungarian Calvinists
The official Adventist postion on the identity of Christ is pretty Orthodox.
He is fully God and fully man and through Him and His sacrifice, I am saved.
Some Adventists, who claim they are Historical Adventists, reject Christ being God. However, the church’s position shouldn’t be problematic as far as the identity of Christ is concerned.
Thank you for always posting only jokes as articles which are good for a laugh -- hoaxes like the "TV Evangelists Unite to Beam Gospel to the Stars"
She wrote that
The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty (ms 140, SDA Commentary V, p. 1129).
If you read the SDAs 1994 Clear Word Bible they have made Jesus Michael the Archangel in 1st Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 12:7 and Jude 9; and to make Him to be a mighty angel in Revelation 10:1,5,8 & 10
he SDA, Clear Word Bible perverts Jude 1:9...
Jude 1:9 King James Bible - "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."
Clear Word Bible - "In contrast to these ungodly men is the Lord Jesus Christ, also called Michael, the archangel in charge of the entire angelic host. When He was challenged by Satan about His intentions to resurrect Moses, He didn't come against Satan with a blistering attack nor did he belittle him. He simply said, 'God rejects your claim to his body.'"
Ellen G. White preached
"Michael, or Christ, with the angels that buried Moses..." (Jude 9, Spiritual Gifts, IV a, p. 158)
"And before the context closed Christ Himself came to Gabriel's aid--Gabriel declares 'But lo, Michael, one of the Chief Princes came to help me" (Daniel 10:13, Prophets & Kings, p.572)
"There is none that holdeth with me in these things but Michael (Christ) your prince." (Desire of Ages, p.99)
The name Michael means, “One who is like God”, which can be interpreted as “One, who is God.”
The term angel means messenger. Arch-angel means the “Main Messenger.”
Put it together and what do you have?
The Main Messenger who is like God (or who is God).
Who does that sound like to you?
Not expecting, just explaining. :)
Here is a more indepth explanation for you to read.
http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/Biblequestions/jesusothername.htm
Jesus Christ is/was/will always be God while Michael is an angel -- an Archangel yes, but a created being nonetheless.
And actually note that Michael is atually a question not a statement --> the Hebrew name מִיכָאֵל (Mikha'el) means "who is like God?"
to say that Jesus is actually the incarnation of Michael the Arch angel and resumed the name when he ascended into heaven leads to polytheism and puts forth the wrong notion that Jesus and the Father are two separate gods.
We all can’t agree on everything. I’m not here to convince anybody of anything, but I will explain anything I do believe and why I believe it.
Hope that’s cool.
Finally — Michael is “who is like God?” — that is also the meaning of Micah — but to claim that the prophet Micah is God too is silly.
oh, no worries — if you wish to believe that Archangel Michael is Jesus Christ, that is your right to interpret. I was just pointing out that that Adventist belief coupled with your prophet Ellen White’s statements that Jesus Christ is not God do indicate a move away from the belief in Christ’s divinity.
That was then...this is now.
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
It was not the link but the use of the term “AM” to define the group both on post 58 and 50.
ok — won’t mention the Assembly Mennonite Church again.
It took years after the event for it to come to light that it wasn’t a koran?
I don’t think so. If it wasn’t, it should have and would have been corrected at the time and it wasn’t.
Fail.....
That was exactly my thoughts all along. They did not immediately make sure people knew what it was exactly and that spoke volumes to me. I’m don’t recall the vatican denying it being the Koran to this date but could have missed it.
Pope John Paul II has been beatified. He can now be addressed as “Blessed” John Paul II, Pope.”
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