Why ask someone else to pray for you if you can go to God yourself? This is the response I hear all the time to Catholic and Orthodox prayer to the Saints. But then the same people will defend their prayer lists and will often offer prayers for family members.
There is a difference between prayer and worship. To pray is simply to ask. Look at any court document. The request to the judge is labeled as the “prayer”.
The saints are the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) that Paul spoke of. We ask them to offer intercession for us (1 Timothy 2:1), because “the prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16)
I never truly understood this doctrine until I attended a Baptist Church. When the minister allowed a moment of silent prayer, I discovered I was alone. The Holy Spirit was not there, the cloud of witnesses (Saints) were not there. I never felt so profoundly sad and lonely in my entire life. I never went back. My next time in a Catholic Church, I knelt in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and I could feel the presence of Christ in my soul. The Saints and heavenly hosts were there as well, never intruding, just there. True peace and true joy.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Did Luther believe in the Assumption?
Over at "Beggars all" James Swan put up a post attacking another Catholics statement that Luther believed in the Assumption.
It is clear that Luther believed that Mary was in heaven. But, being true to Sola Scriptura he did not feel that her being in heaven should be an article of faith due to the fact that there was no explicit verse in the Bible one way or the other.
This varies with modern Protestants (especially the ones there) because they declare it as impossible, a myth and as a fact that it did not happen.
Of course, this ia a "argument from silence" as well, so I guess I could tack on James' quote here also.
"But an argument from silence is recognized by all to be quite weak. It implies that one must have almost total evidence before demonstration is possible. If this is the case, one could argue cogently that there may have been airplanes in the time of Christ." Dewey M. Beegle, Scripture, Tradition, and Infallibility (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1973), p. 178.
I would point out that there is just as much scriptural justification for the Assumption of Mary as there is for sola scriptura, but one Mr. Swan rejects outright, and the other he clings to as absolute truth, go figure.
It is clear that Luther believed that Mary was in heaven. But, being true to Sola Scriptura he did not feel that her being in heaven should be an article of faith due to the fact that there was no explicit verse in the Bible one way or the other.
This varies with modern Protestants (especially the ones there) because they declare it as impossible, a myth and as a fact that it did not happen.
Of course, this ia a "argument from silence" as well, so I guess I could tack on James' quote here also.
"But an argument from silence is recognized by all to be quite weak. It implies that one must have almost total evidence before demonstration is possible. If this is the case, one could argue cogently that there may have been airplanes in the time of Christ." Dewey M. Beegle, Scripture, Tradition, and Infallibility (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1973), p. 178.
I would point out that there is just as much scriptural justification for the Assumption of Mary as there is for sola scriptura, but one Mr. Swan rejects outright, and the other he clings to as absolute truth, go figure.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Answer Time!
I felt, I should answer my challanges, the first house belongs to the Rev. John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, it is in the same exclusive subdivision just down the street from George Strait and David Robinson.
The next house belongs to Robert Tilton, the 2.5 million dollar waterfront house is in Miami Beach, Florida.
And the quiz? The thing they all have in common? They are all TRUE (now reread #16).
The next house belongs to Robert Tilton, the 2.5 million dollar waterfront house is in Miami Beach, Florida.
And the quiz? The thing they all have in common? They are all TRUE (now reread #16).
Friday, September 07, 2007
This is fun....
Can you guess which of the following are true and which are false?
1. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
2. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button.
3. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years.
4. People do not get sick from cold weather; it's from being indoors a lot more.
5. When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop,even your heart!
6. Only 7 per cent of the population are lefties.
7. Forty people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute.
8. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until they are 2-6 years old.
9. The average person over 50 years old will have spent almost 5 years waiting in lines.
10. The toothbrush was invented in 1498.
11. The average housefly lives for one month.
12. 40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year.
13. A coat hanger is 44 inches long when straightened.
14. The average computer user blinks 7 times a minute.
15. Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than any other time of day.
16. Most of us have eaten a spider in our sleep.
17. The REAL reason ostriches stick their head in the sand is to search for water.
18. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot.
19. John Travolta turned down the starring roles in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Tootsie."
20. Michael Jackson owns the rights to the South Carolina State Anthem.
21. In most television commercials advertising milk,a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is used in place of the milk.
22. Prince Charles and Prince William NEVER travel on the same airplane, just in case there is a crash.
23. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle, built in 1903, used a tomato can for a carburetor.
24. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are used in vein transplant surgery.
25. Humphrey Bogart was related to Princess Diana. They were 7th cousins.
26. If coloring weren't added to Coca-Cola, it would be green.
1. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
2. Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button.
3. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years.
4. People do not get sick from cold weather; it's from being indoors a lot more.
5. When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop,even your heart!
6. Only 7 per cent of the population are lefties.
7. Forty people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute.
8. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until they are 2-6 years old.
9. The average person over 50 years old will have spent almost 5 years waiting in lines.
10. The toothbrush was invented in 1498.
11. The average housefly lives for one month.
12. 40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year.
13. A coat hanger is 44 inches long when straightened.
14. The average computer user blinks 7 times a minute.
15. Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than any other time of day.
16. Most of us have eaten a spider in our sleep.
17. The REAL reason ostriches stick their head in the sand is to search for water.
18. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot.
19. John Travolta turned down the starring roles in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Tootsie."
20. Michael Jackson owns the rights to the South Carolina State Anthem.
21. In most television commercials advertising milk,a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is used in place of the milk.
22. Prince Charles and Prince William NEVER travel on the same airplane, just in case there is a crash.
23. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle, built in 1903, used a tomato can for a carburetor.
24. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are used in vein transplant surgery.
25. Humphrey Bogart was related to Princess Diana. They were 7th cousins.
26. If coloring weren't added to Coca-Cola, it would be green.
The Return of the "Antichrist Information Center".
Nury Rivera (wife of the late Alberto Rivera) has resurfaced, now in Florida. She is still pushing her husbands agenda. She is now claiming that the Vatican has been hounding her since her husbands death, offering her 1 million dollars to reveal the location of his grave so that they can take his body. (Never mind that cemetery records are public record in Oklahoma.)
BTW, according to the survey for Rose Hill Cemetery in Broken Arrow, OK "Dr." Alberto Rivera is buried in section Moore (28) L-14 #3.
There we go, just saved the Vatican $1,000,000.
Anyway, they are keeping up their claims and still trying to push the fanciful story that Alberto was ever anything more than a con-man. They cannot prove he was a priest and often turn to the logical fallacy of demand that Catholics prove that we are NOT trying to take over the world. But, of course, you cannot prove a negative.
Alberto was a fake, perhaps he was mentally ill and sincerely believed everything he said, perhaps he did not, we will never know. But apparently there are more coming out now who knew he was a fraud and can prove it.
Donald R. Blanton, who used to work with him at AIC, sued him and won! (Rivera was famous for daring people to sue him, well, Blanton did, and Rivera could not prove a thing)
Roy Livesay also wrote a book about him, and was able to show he was a fraud as well.
Add to this the work of iconbusters and Cornerstone Magazine and Gary Dale Cearley and the evidence against Alberto is overwhelming.
BTW, according to the survey for Rose Hill Cemetery in Broken Arrow, OK "Dr." Alberto Rivera is buried in section Moore (28) L-14 #3.
There we go, just saved the Vatican $1,000,000.
Anyway, they are keeping up their claims and still trying to push the fanciful story that Alberto was ever anything more than a con-man. They cannot prove he was a priest and often turn to the logical fallacy of demand that Catholics prove that we are NOT trying to take over the world. But, of course, you cannot prove a negative.
Alberto was a fake, perhaps he was mentally ill and sincerely believed everything he said, perhaps he did not, we will never know. But apparently there are more coming out now who knew he was a fraud and can prove it.
Donald R. Blanton, who used to work with him at AIC, sued him and won! (Rivera was famous for daring people to sue him, well, Blanton did, and Rivera could not prove a thing)
Roy Livesay also wrote a book about him, and was able to show he was a fraud as well.
Add to this the work of iconbusters and Cornerstone Magazine and Gary Dale Cearley and the evidence against Alberto is overwhelming.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Here's Another:
Guess who this 2.5 million dollar house belongs to?
He is a popular TV preacher, and the dock is for his yacht.
(photo curtosy of MSN Local Live)
Which well know Pastors house is this?
Been playing around with MSN's new bird's eye view feature, can you guess which well known Pastors', three-quarters of a million dollar home this is?
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24
(Picture curtosey of MSN Live Local)
The Strange behavior of the Catholic turned Anti-Catholic
Lately, in my trips around the blogosphere, I have noticed that often the most vehement Anti-Catholic, is the person who claims to have been a Catholic at one point. Searching the net and blogger, you will find numerous sites from someone who claims to have been "saved" from the Catholic church and now wants to just devote their free time to bashing it.
This is an interesting phenomenon, often these people will latch on to any and every anti-catholic theory or fanciful history, they will use "drive by" apologetics to try to make points that really do not exist (quoting one or two sentences out of context in order to make it appear Catholics claim to be greater than the scriptures or have a very dim view of them, most often).
I am not here to point fingers, but I can't help but notice that I cannot find blogs from former-Baptists-turned-Catholic, bashing the Baptist Church, or any other Protestant denomination. Truth stands to defend itself against falsehood, falsehood attacks truth. That is why Catholics are always on the defensive from those who would tear it down.
This is an interesting phenomenon, often these people will latch on to any and every anti-catholic theory or fanciful history, they will use "drive by" apologetics to try to make points that really do not exist (quoting one or two sentences out of context in order to make it appear Catholics claim to be greater than the scriptures or have a very dim view of them, most often).
I am not here to point fingers, but I can't help but notice that I cannot find blogs from former-Baptists-turned-Catholic, bashing the Baptist Church, or any other Protestant denomination. Truth stands to defend itself against falsehood, falsehood attacks truth. That is why Catholics are always on the defensive from those who would tear it down.
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