Pope Francis Is Diminishing the Papacy. Good

I'll bet he's one of the few Catholics whom you don't feel threatened by.

7Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

8On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.

9The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

10The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

11But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:7-11 NASB

As a follower of Christ and in obedience to what He teaches, I forgive you of anything you have said towards me in the past and will do so going forward.

As a follower of Christ, I apologize to you for any hurtful comments directed toward you and ask for your forgiveness of the same.

Have a good evening ebb.

You are not surprised because you are an illiterate who picks up his theological vocabulary from the mass media.

7Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

8On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.

9The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

10The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

11But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Have a good evening Arthur.

It's a strange phenomenon: a hundred years ago, few people even knew what the Pope looked like, let alone what he sounded like. What little they did know of him came from their parish priest.

With the advent of radio, there grew among many a fascination with just hearing the Pope's voice, and television only enhanced that - Pius XII was not an uncommon sight on the box back then.

It just seems to have increased in intensity since then, particularly, as you point out, with JPII (cries of "Santo sùbito!" echoing through the streets of Rome and elsewhere the minute he died).

As you say, very unseemly.

Question: "What is the definition of a cult?"

Answer: When people hear the word cult, they often think of a group that worships Satan, sacrifices animals, or takes part in evil, bizarre, and pagan rituals. However, in reality, a cult rarely involves such things. In fact, a cult, in the broadest sense of the word, is simply a religious system with particular rites and customs.

Usually, though, a cult is more narrowly defined, and the word refers to an unorthodox sect whose members distort the original doctrines of the religion. In a Christian context, the definition of a cult is, specifically, “a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of biblical truth.” A cult is a group that teaches doctrines that, if believed, will cause a person to remain unsaved. A cult claims to be part of a religion, yet it denies essential truth(s) of that religion. Therefore, a Christian cult will deny one or more of the fundamental truths of Christianity while still claiming to be Christian.

The two most common teachings of Christian cults are that Jesus was not God and that salvation is not by faith alone. A denial of the deity of Christ results in the view that Jesus’ death was insufficient to pay for our sins. A denial of salvation by faith alone results in the teaching that salvation is achieved by our own works. The apostles dealt with cults in the early years of the church: for example, John addresses the teaching of Gnosticism in 1 John 4:1–3. John’s litmus test for godly doctrine was “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (verse 2)—a direct contradiction of the Gnostic heresy (cf. 2 John 1:7).

The two most well-known examples of cults today are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. Both groups claim to be Christian, yet both deny the deity of Christ and salvation by faith alone. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons believe many things that are in agreement with or similar to what the Bible teaches. However, the fact that they deny the deity of Christ and preach a salvation by works qualifies them as cults. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and members of other cults are moral people who genuinely believe they hold the truth. As Christians, our hope and prayer must be that many people involved in cults will see through the lies and will be drawn to the truth of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

https://www.gotquestions.org/cult-definition.html

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