Happy Birthday

To Dr. Otto von Habsburg, who turns 95 on Tuesday. A Christian statesman and head of the house of Habsburg, he is the personification of a Catholic servant of the people.

Europe NewsOtto von Habsburg turns 95By DPANov 19, 2007, 16:26 GMT
Vienna - Otto von Habsburg, son of Austria's last emperor, turns 95 on Tuesday.
Bearing the full title Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius Habsburg, Imperial Prince, Archduke of Austria and Prince of Hungary, he was born on November 20, 1912 at the heart of the then-Austrian empire.
Four years later his father Karl's accession to the Austrian throne made young Otto von Habsburg crown price, expecting one day to inherit the Austro-Hungarian empire.
But history, and Austria's loss of World War I changed not only Europe's fate, but also the fate of the Habsburg family.
The Habsburgs were forced to abdicate in 1919, but the dynasty's scion regarded himself in line for the throne for many years to come. Only in 1961 Otto renounced his claim to the throne, but none of these adversities prevented him from embarking on a political career.
Habsburg served as a member of the European parliament for the conservative German CSU for 20 years. From the 1930s onwards, the trained lawyer, who holds Austrian, Hungarian, German and Croatian citizenship, was an outspoken opponent of Nazi Germany.
During the Second World War he lobbied in the United States to re- establish Austria as a state. From the mid-1950s onwards Habsburg settled in Bavaria in southern Germany.
Since his retirement from politics he has been a prolific writer, focussing on European issues.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

His name says it all....

One of the most lavish "Pastors for profit" I have ever seen is Creflo Dollar:















Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19)

I thought this guy was a healer?

Looking around the internet I found Benny Hinns website. Benny Hinn claims to be a "healer" and has cured people of AIDS, Cancer and other diseases. So explain the benefits at his company:

BHM Benefits

Our competitive benefits package includes:

• Subsidized health insurance coverage
• Subsidized dental insurance
• Life and AD&D benefits
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Workers' compensation insurance
• 403(b) retirement savings plan
• Direct deposit paychecks
• Supplemental dependent life insurance available
• Paid Time Off
• And the biggest benefit of all: the knowledge that you are working to win souls, souls, SOULS!

The information contained here is meant as a summary overview of benefits. The benefits listed above apply to U.S. employees only. Specific benefits will be discussed with employees on the date of hire.

Call me crazy, but if this guy is a legitimate faith healer. Why does he have to offer his employees health insurance, workers comp and dental? Can't he just heal them?

Ah well, but, winning souls does seem to be quite lucerative, hence his 3 million dollar mansion in Dana Point, California overlooking the Pacific ocean;

correction

After further research, there is no indication Paula White is the new associate pastor at the FPC

More Pastors for profit....

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:23-24)

Recently, here in San Antonio there have been a series of stories on a local (and anti-catholic) pastor by the name of Rick Hawkins.

"Bishop" Hawkins founded the "Family Praise Center" And it apparently has been quite lucrative for him. According to the Kendall County Appraisal District Mr. Hawkins owns just under 1 million dollars worth of land northwest of Boerne, Texas:

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Oh, but pastor Rick, is not alone. The new associate Pastor at that Church is the recently divorced Paula White. Ms. White recently purchased this house, also in Boerne:


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It is over 3000 sq feet with a three car garage, guest house and pool.

I close with the words of Pope Paul VI in his encyclical "Populorum Progressio":
Thus the exclusive pursuit of material possessions prevents man's growth as a human being and stands in opposition to his true grandeur. Avarice, in individuals and in nations, is the most obvious form of stultified moral development.

My Response to Joe C.

Over at Symphony of Scripture, I have been posting in the comboxes over there, defending the Catholic Faith. Joe C. responded to one of my comments, and wanted a detailed response, so I will post it here. His words are in italics.

Hey I have the Holy Spirit too, cool!!!! Guess I have as much authority as the apostles and Pope by your reasoning? I think you better restate that argument, or nix it alltogether.

The Holy Spirit, gives different gifts to different people. Not everyone is called to be a successor to the Apostles, to possess teaching authority. But those that are called, are Bishops of the Church.

If you need to fill ‘vacancies’ in an ‘office’ of apostleship (aka, mormon alert), then why aren’t there Catholic apostles? And don’t say the cardinals, bishops, and priests are. Why not exactly 12?

Sorry, Joe but the bishops are the modern day successors of the Apostles. I know you told me not to say that, but that is like saying "tell me what 2+2 is, and don't say 4!". Anyway. In Acts we see the first apostle added outside of the twelve (Paul) As the church grew, so did the numbers of apostles.

Why isn’t the Pope the most like Jesus out of all of us, Kenneth? Read my previous comment, please. If the Papacy is God ordained and infalliable (do you even see how cultish and power grabbing that is????), when from the seat of Power, then what of the crusades and burning/torturing/persecution of the heretics? Very Christian, very Christ like. All proclaimed ‘legal’ by the perpetrating Popes, and from their seats of power. Where did Jesus command such actions, how is any of that “Christian” and “From God”? I’d say that’s proof of the Papacy being not what it claims to be, among many other things, and without the Papacy, there is no Catholic anything. Think about it, and please go and study non-catholic written/influenced history, to learn what your “mother church” has done over the past 1700 years.

Because the Pope is still a man, not God. Yes, the Pope is Christs Vicar here on earth. But that does not automatically make him anything more than he is. He is NOT infallible in all things. Merely on matters of faith and morals and even then only when speaking ex cathedra. The Holy Spirit is capable of using men to speak and write infallibly. The Bible is proof of that.

About human nature, all being sinners, and infants…

“Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” Ps.58:3

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Ps. 51:5

All have surely sinned. All are evil by nature, by the Curse on Adam. Surely God will not hold infants accountable, but that doesn’t negate their sin nature, and wicked hearts. Have you raised children? Full of lies, deceit, and disrespect, from birth even. And, as your Pope finally decided to contradict the other popes (red flag?), they don’t need a man made tradition of infant baptism to avoid the make believe place of ‘limbo’.

Yes, all have original sin, they are not, however, "evil by nature". God created man in his own image. So if man is evil by nature, God would need to be as well. And your verses confirm original sin, something I am not denying, but they do not speak to when or whether Mary was saved from original sin. In them, David, confirms his sinfulness. They do not speak of Mary. Also, I don't believe that children are "full of lies, deceit and disrespect from birth". Perhaps I am lucky, but that does not describe my daughter at all.

As for Limbo? That was never an official teaching of the church. It was a theological theory that the current Pope settled as baseless. I am not aware of any other Pope teaching it as fact.

I’m not sure how you consistently avoid the quoted verses from Hebrews on the Sacrifice of Christ being ONCE and for all, and ONLY ONCE. You keep changing that to fit your pre conceived bias ingrained in to your mind. Please stop. And don’t accuse us of believing in an ongoing sacrifice from ‘a different point of view’, who are you, Obi Wan Kenobi? (I just watched starwars tonight, lol). It was done once, once and for all, only once. How is that not clear to you? It’s not clear because you pre-assume the Catholic position is correct, and reinterpret based on that. That’s what happens with an ‘infalliable Pope’ and Magistrate.

The Catholic Church has always affirmed that the bloody sacrifice at Calvary spoke of in Hebrews was "once for all" (CCC 1364). In the Eucharist, however, it is made present. I attempted to explain the Catholic position to you in a way you would understand. That when a Protestant "accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour" His sacrifice is made present in their lives. Apparently I am wrong, as evidenced by those who have corrected me. So I apologize.

This argument is pointless, no one is changing their minds, so I suggest we just stop. Like I brought up with an athiest evolutionist a few months ago, why come to this site to attack or defend, if you’re completely unwilling to change your mind? That means you just came to cause a fight, bicker, whatever, only you know. But why bother if you’re not willing to be open to change, or the truth on certain things? I just don’t get it. I wouldn’t go to a Catholic apologetics site if I wasn’t willing to be open to changing what I believed. Are you willing to change? I hope this message finds you well.

Joe

In debating, we search for truth. I do not seek to convert, but when I see Catholic beliefs being presented improperly, I respond. If Catholics were misrepresenting your beliefs, wouldn't you want to correct them. You may reject Catholicism, but you should accurately know what you are rejecting. Hope this helps

Zeitgeist: The Movie

A woman at work recommended I watch "Zeitgeist the movie", I did and needless to say, I was not impressed.

The movie is divided into three parts.

Part one deals with the filmmakers idea that Christianity is merely a rehashing of the Horus myth. He makes the laughable statement that there are 16 other deities that claim lives identical to Christ. All born on December 25th. Of course this shows a lack of historical knowledge (the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians did not use the Roman calender). And he also does not seem to realize that there is not a single Christian who believes Jesus was born on December 25th, that is just the day we observe it because we do not know the actual date.

He also states that the star in the east is the star Sirius, which aligns with the southern cross only on Dec. 25. This statement alone shows he is an idiot. Stars don't change positions. Sirius is aligned with the southern Crux EVERY DAY. Of course he obviously does not realize that these stars cannot be seen north of the equator.

Over at "Preventing Truth decay" (love the site name BTW) the site author does an excellent job of debunking Part 1 of Zeitgeist point-for-point.

The other glaring problem is that the Celtic cross (cross with a circle) is just an ancient zodiac symbol. It is not. When St. Patrick converted the Druids, he would draw crosses over their lunar symbols, thus symbolizing the defeat of paganism by the True Faith.

Parts II and III are rehashed conspiracy theories about 9/11 and racist Jewish conspiracy theories from the late 19th century. At the end, the author tells us not to take his movie as truth, but to search out the truth. I did and he is wrong.