Posted on 09/02/2011 9:07:47 AM PDT by marshmallow
Minneapolis, Minnesota (CNN) –Prior to 2006, few people even knew that then-Minnesota state legislator Keith Ellison was a Muslim. Because of his English name, he said, no one thought to ask.
But five years ago, when he ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives - a race he would go on to win - word of his religious affiliation began to spread.
“When I started running for Congress it actually took me by surprise that so many people were fascinated with me being the first Muslim in Congress,” said Ellison, a Democrat now serving his third term in the House.
“But someone said to me, ‘Look Keith, think of a person of Japanese origin running for Congress six years after Pearl Harbor–this might be a news story.’”
Though Ellison's status as the first Muslim elected to Congress is widely known, fewer are aware that he was born into a Catholic family in Detroit and was brought up attending Catholic schools.
But he said he was never comfortable with that faith.
“I just felt it was ritual and dogma,” Ellison said. “Of course, that’s not the reality of Catholicism, but it’s the reality I lived. So I just kind of lost interest and stopped going to Mass unless I was required to.”
It wasn’t until he was a student at Wayne State University in Detroit when Ellison began, “looking for other things.”
(Excerpt) Read more at religion.blogs.cnn.com ...
I’ve looked at many of the verses that the RCC uses to justify some of their beliefs that Mary was perpetually virgin and that she was born without sin and it’s really sad to watch so many just follow with no “to see if these things are true” attitude.
Not Bereans for sure
1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Granted, and yet most of us live life doing monotonously boring common duties with which we can glorify God.
Mary being a loving proper wife, doing her common, appropriate wifely duties, does result in her denigration. Rather she, like we, can glorify God in all that we do, no matter how mundane or common.
Despite what some think of us, we all agree that there is a uniqueness to the mediating ministry of Christ.
Paul uses the word μεσἰτης (mesites- middle man, so, intermediary, mediator) only 6 times (only 3 unless we give him Hebrews).
Gal 3:19 and 3:20, first referring to Moses and then to the idea of a middle-man.
Here at I Tim 2:5
Heb 8:6, where IHS is a mediator of a better covenant than that of which (it is understood) Moses was mediator.
Heb 9;15 -- Jesus
Heb 12:24 and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.
But we hit the big verse (as we seem so often to do in Paul) when he is giving instructions about what the church ought to do and how it ought to behave.
So what do we got here in the first verses of I Tim 2?
We should pray and give thanks for all men, BECAUSE Christ is the ONE mediator.
Now when I pray for you, I do so as a mediator, I think. Not a very good mediator, it's true. And, frankly, a TERRIBLE mediator, if I am relying on myself.
BUT I do not rely on myself. (Nor do I expect Mary or any great saint to rely on herself.) I am a member of the body of THE Mediator. Therefore, timidly if I think of myself, but boldly and gratefully if I fix my mind on Jesus, I pray for others and ask others to pray for me.
So, for my thinking, this whole thing comes down to the "in Christ" concept which figures so greatly in Paul, (And, I might add, in John, with his wonderful use of μἐνω, meno, abide).
With modern Physics to aid us, we can assert that since we do not understand how dimension TIME is woven to the soul and spirit, it is very possible that to the dead the leaving the body and awakening with The Lord is as an instant. I don’t follow what happens around the neighborhood when I’m asleep. Paul does say ‘we shall not all sleep’ and he also states the dead in Christ He will bring WITH Jesus when the calling out occurs. But it is somewhat confusing since Paul also states there in the letter tot he Thessolanicans that the dead in Christ shall rise first yet God is bring them With Jesus ... at the very least we ought to exercise caution in discerning the very real dimensional differences in body and soul.
Jesus said that His time had not yet come. There is no indicator that He performed any miracles as of yet.
Matter of fact, if He had, people would have been less likely to be amazed at what happened and probably it would have been recorded somewhere.
IMO, concluding that they knew a miracle was in the works is reading more into it than the passage implies. No doubt the servants were very confused at filling jars with water when the issue was that there was no wine and Jesus was going to deal with it.
God brought forth His pure word thru holy but fallen vessels, and there is no necessity for a sinless vessel for the word made flesh.
Though believing He did use one is not a salvific issue by itself, it does militate against the normative use of “all,” as well as the principle that notable exceptions about important characters are made known, from having more than 10 toes to being sinless, and thus Christ is at least thrice stated to be the latter. (2Cor. 5:21; 1Pt. 3:22; 1Jn. 3:5; cf. Jn. 8:46; Heb. 7:26)
Interesting subject, all in all.
The best argument I ever heard for the Perpetual Virginity was apparently from some catechetical work being done in a prison. One of the catechumens questioned the whole idea and when he got it said, “Ain’t nobody stupid enough gon’ sleep with GOD’s baby-mama!”
Works for me.
10-4. It’s easy to stumble over the Trinity.
However my heart DID skip a beat when I thought I was looking at Patripassionism. You’ll be getting a bill from my doctor.
Just FYI, I’m more in the “fitting” camp than the “necessary” camp for the Immmaculate Conception.
LOL!
Our gaze is directed toward you in great fear, to you do we turn with ever-more insistent faith in these times marked by many uncertainties and fears for the present and future of our planet. Together we lift our confident and sorrowful petition to you, the first fruit of humanity redeemed by Christ, finally freed from the slavery of evil and sin: hear the cry of the pain of victims of war and so many forms of violence that bloody the earth. Clear away the darkness of sorrow and worry, of hate and vengeance. Open up our minds and hearts to faith and forgiveness!” —Pope John Paul II
O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our minds with the eternal truths! O fragrant Lily of all holiness, captivate our hearts with your heavenly perfume! O Conqueress of evil and death, [She conquered evil and death?]inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell!
O well-beloved of God, hear the ardent cry which rises up from every heart. Bend tenderly over our aching wounds. Convert the wicked,[She converts the wicked, not the Holy Spirit?] dry the tears of the afflicted and oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatreds, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity in youth, protect the holy Church, make all men feel the attraction of Christian goodness. In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that they are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family, upon which may there shine forth the sun of a universal and sincere peace.
Receive, O most sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us that, one day, happy with you, we may repeat before your throne that hymn which today is sung on earth around your altars: You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are the glory, you are the joy, you are the honor of our people! Amen.
Prayer of Pope Pius XII
In Honor of the Immaculate Conception
http://catholicism.about.com/od/tothevirginmary/qt/Honor_Immacula.htm
Those prayers tell us that Mary is much more then a mediator and the people who pray prayers like that are indeed relying on Mary and not Jesus.
Actually, that’s about the most reasonable explanation I’ve heard yet.
While I do not doubt that many think as MD does, it obviously does not go for everyone.
Prayers like that go way over the line in regards to merely asking the person to pray for us.
And that is the problem that I see with many of the prayers to Mary and saints that can be found on the internet and even on the backs of those cards distributed at funerals, for example. To many of them are not prayers just to ask for them to pray for people, but prayers making actual requests OF the saint or Mary for the departed saint to actually DO something for the petitioner.
It’s a privilege to pray for others. By praying to saints instead of asking fellow living here on earth human beings to pray robs fellow living human beings of the chance to participate in God’s work here on earth. The dead in Christ are done with what God had for them to do. It’s our turn now and it’s one way to participate in His work here on earth. He doesn’t need us obviously, but allows us that participation in His work.
How gracious of Him.
There’s a difference.
Participate in God's WORK???? Wait now, all our deeds are as filthy rags, right? We can do NOTHING, according to earlier arguments. Now all of a sudden, we're supposed to refrain from asking the saints in heaven to do anything, because that robs us here below of our opportunity to participate in His WORK???? No sarcasm is intended, just that all y'all have shoved it in our faces so often that WEcan do NOTHING, only Christ can do ANYTHING. Ho \w does this make sense? Next, somebody is going to tell me that I'm not "rightly dividing" the personal interpretation of scripture of all y'all.
Logic and reasonableness not permitted!
Srsly!
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