Posted on 12/19/2006 6:37:07 PM PST by Coleus
The bongo drums and keyboard at Iglesia El Shaddai, a Pentecostal church in Elizabeth, are being played so briskly they can support a conga line. The El Salvadorian-born pastor shakes a tambourine, some women rock their hips and everyone sings praise to Jesus in Spanish. Soon, the pastor takes the service down a notch. But just a notch. With his eyes shut, Renato Castro shouts "Gloria, Jesus! Aleluya!" and paces before 300 people.
The worshippers, eyes also closed, shout as they feel the spirit -- the Holy Spirit -- moving them: "Oh, Dios! Dios!" "Gracias, Papa!" Lips tremble. Tears flow. In the first row, Evelyn Yax, 29, sways. Her right arm extends forward, her palm out. Her left arm clutches her 2-year-old daughter, Nathalie, to her bosom. Like most Latinos on a recent Sunday praying in this rented second-floor church space on Bridge Street, Yax was baptized Catholic. And like an increasing number of Hispanics, she left the Catholic Church to embrace an exuberant style of worship that she says brings her closer to God.
"I feel something special in this church," said Yax, a dental assistant born in Guatemala who, like many people interviewed for this story, said Catholicism in America lacks the appeal it once held in their home country. "In this church you feel Jesus is very close to you. You feel something in your heart, you feel something is weird." Pollsters say Catholicism remains the religion of choice for most Hispanics in the United States. But evangelical, Pentecostal and other charismatic churches are drawing an increasing number of worshippers away from their traditional choices.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Let's pause for a moment to speak in a tongue:
LA LA HUH LA LA HOO LA LA LA VE LA!
How dare you say that on a family website!!!!
It's not just a US thing. I went to Honduras this summer to build an Assembly of God church building. Over 100 new Assembly of God churches have been planted in Honduras in the past couple of years.
All churches . . . which . . .
AS SCRIPTURE NOTES
"have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof"
will be doing one or both of 2 things . . .
1. Withering into increased insignificance
2. Becoming part of the Globalist lowest commondenominator one size fits all . . . religion.
Yes, ALL KINDS of congregations with all kinds of doctrines have flaws and excesses--Pentecostal/Charismatic churches are no different on that score. And, given often enough various emotionally toned dramatic features of that sub-culture, flaws stick out all the more.
NEVERTHELESS, GOD DOES MOVE IN MIGHT AND POWER in and through such clusters of earnest believers . . . on average . . . FAR MORE than in other types of clusters of believers--something about FAITH AND EXPECTANCY probably plays a significant fact on that score.
And, mockers shall pay dearly for their mocking . . . increasingly . . . until the sorts of penalties dished out to the mockers of Moses becomes the norm in our era. I don't know when such penalties will start--but it will be in our lifetime and probably sooner than later.
There's plenty of warning in Scripture . . . though mockers usually pay not attention or have their own proof texts to jutify their mocking of those who believe diferently on the nonessentials.
The Church will increase as it did in the beginning. Acts 9:31 "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed (was having) peace, being built up: and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase."
There is a balance, a functional Godly family balance. Haven't we all been praying for a revival? Why are we surprised when we see it?
Good points.
I think both the darkness and THE LIGHT are becoming more intense and overt as the day of THE LORD'S return gets closer and closer.
"What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?"
They probably got taken in with a sack of groceries or a bag of clothes.
Rather sad that they would forsake their Mother - the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Substituting salvation by "feeling" for justification by faith. What happens when the mood magic ends?
They are being seduced away because of their ignorance of the Catholic faith.
"El Shaddai, El Shaddai, El Elyon Na Adonai. We will praise and lift You high, El Shaddai!"
You really miss the point.
All of your posts have something to do with Mary.
Maybe you might think about how the lady said she felt closer to JESUS and that was a comfort to her.
I wonder if like European and American Mainline Protestants, these new Hispanic Protestants' progeny will no longer feel the emotion that their ancestors originally sought in the Protestant churches and drift away from faith altogether. I think a sound catechesis in the well developed doctrine of the Catholic faith and the calm partaking of the Sacraments, prayer and devotions should lead to a faith with more staying power, although the Catholic Church in recent years has not valued its doctrine, sacraments or traditions enough to pass it on to future generations. So it's a conundrum...
Giving Mary the proper place Jesus gave her--the care of John--is hardly forsaking her.
Elevating Mary beyond what Jesus did is some measure of forsaking Jesus.
I don't wonder which God deplores more.
JESUS, as Scripture makes clear,
is to be our ALL IN ALL in matters spiritual and essentially, otherwise. Any eroding of that is at best dangerous; on average heretical and at worst demonic.
Mary is not our mother. She was Jesus' mother and the mother of Jesus' half siblings, as Scripture makes clear.
Substituting salvation by "feeling" for justification by faith.
= = =
Poorly taught may make such an error. Nevertheless, it is HOLY SPIRIT'S JOB to lead all of us INTO ALL TRUTH--to whatever degree we are WILLING AND FAITHFUL TO FOLLOW HIM THERE!
All manner of feelings in other denominations lead folks into all manner of errors as well. I've seen it plenty. But the FEELINGS are invested in stereotypic intellectual biases, rigidities, pride hooks etc. vs demonstrative actions . . . therefore, THE ASSUMPTION IS that the intense feelings in behalf of intellectual errors and hogwash ARE OK.
Hogwash.
No. Many well educated, trained priests are shifting religious affiliations as well--BASED ON
THE POWER OF GOD THEY SEE IN THEIR OWN AND OTHER'S LIVES
vs a more sterile, more dead
form of Godliness denying the power thereof.
There are Charismatic Roman groups who COULD offer a similar vibrant, alive, powerful, authentic, more intimate and more intense connection to God. I don't know why they aren't there and having a similar impact.
AMEN!
First, that current works both ways. There are a considerable number of Protestant ministers becoming Catholic with the help of groups such as the Coming Home Network (http://www.chnetwork.org/). Second, I fail to see how any priest that understands what he does and who he is as a priest could step into apostasy and leave the Church. These priests you're speaking of might be "well-educated," but they certainly are still ignorant of their Catholic faith.
THE POWER OF GOD THEY SEE IN THEIR OWN AND OTHER'S LIVES
vs a more sterile, more dead
form of Godliness denying the power thereof.
What do you mean? This is jargon that to me, coming from a non-Pentecostal non-Charismatic background doesn't explain anything. To me, as a devout Catholic, there is nothing more sterile and dead than the lack of the Eucharist in every Protestant church... even the most beautiful architecture or powerful sermon leave me with a feeling that there is something, or better put Someone, that is missing.
a similar vibrant, alive, powerful, authentic, more intimate and more intense connection to God.
Still sounds like it's all about how worshiping makes someone feel to me... and it still sounds like Catholics who don't know their faith being drawn to a worship style that entertains them and suits their feelings, away from worship that has great meaning but that they don't understand.
No. Not at all. Some have been most devout and earnest in their Roman practices and beliefs for decades.
They just have the spiritual maturity and horse sense to realize that Holy Spirit if above a LOT of other STUFF, sources, authrotities etc.
What do you mean? This is jargon that to me,
Over the decades, I've rarely observed that words, discussion, intellectual presentation will do much to make that clearer except in rare, exception cases.
It may be that if one asks God PERSISTENTLY, EARNESTLY, REPEATEDLY TO GIVE THEM ALL OF HIMSELF THAT !!!!HE!!!! WISHES, that then, eventually or soon or immediately, He will . . . in ways and timing of HIS choosing. THEN and often only then, will they understand.
Still sounds like it's all about how worshiping makes someone feel to me... and it still sounds like Catholics who don't know their faith being drawn to a worship style that entertains them and suits their feelings, away from worship that has great meaning but that they don't understand.
NO! But that's a common rationalization, in my experience.
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