Posted on 06/13/2015 3:56:17 PM PDT by Eleutheria5
The historic Christian Syrian town of Maalula celebrated Saturday as a new statue of Mary, worshiped in Christianity as the mother of Jesus, was erected in its center, replacing the figure destroyed in rebel attacks in 2013.
Dozens of families gathered alongside government officials and religious dignitaries in the main square, which was adorned with government flags and a giant portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Located north of Damascus, Maalula is one of the world's oldest Christian settlements, and its inhabitants still speak Aramaic, a language spoken by Jews in Israel at the time Jesus was said to have lived.
In April 2014, government troops backed by pro-regime militia recaptured the town from rebel groups, including Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Nusra Front.
The fighting damaged the ancient Mar Sarkis monastery and forced the town's 5,000 people to flee their homes and abandon their modest storefronts.
On Saturday, Syrian officials unveiled the new statue of Mary, draped in a white robe topped with a blue shawl, her hands lifted in prayer.
"I made the statue as a message of peace for the ancient and unparalleled town of Maalula," said sculptor Buhaij al-Khoury.
The fiberglass figure stood at just over three meters (10 feet) tall and was placed on the base of the original statue.
.....
(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
That would appear to be, possibly, a Mass honoring the Christ child (Santo Niño de Cebú), which is a big thing in the Philippines. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Niño_de_Cebú;
So...”LIAR” isn’t allowed, but “DEPRAVED.....EVIL....GOD HATERS, etc. are???? OMG!! Seriously???
I have no reason to lie about anything I posted. It is all true. It is an example of a mission field rife with opportunity to demonstrate the falsity and cultic nature of the Roman Catholic religion.
What's not to love?
From the picture source...
PHILIPPINES-FEAST-STO. NINO
Devotees of a local religious cult stand by statues of the baby Jesus, locally known as 'Santo Nino', during blessing rites outside a church in Tondo in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009. Many Filipinos in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines keep the small religious images in their homes as an expression of deep faith and due to a belief that the statues help keep evil and misfortune away
Now don’t be gettin to uppity with the bile spewing anti-Catholic protected class here on FR or the mod is going to put you on time out.
White is the new Black
I will say it again, take a barbie doll place a scarf over the head and declare it to be a statue of Mary and people will fall down before it.
Same as the Portuguese explorer who circumnavigated Africa and worshiped before a Hindu woman statue he thought to be Mary.
AGAIN, MARY deserves respect as she was the mother of our Lord Jesus, but let’s not get carried away with it.
The rules are plain to see when you post a comment:
“Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts.”
Hit the abuse button on posts with the comments you described so moderators can see them.
If they are pointed directly at a member, they will be dealt with.
Thanks.
Loved all the Catholics coming to Mary's defense, though.
Well....I sure don’t see any sign of it...this place is REALLY anti-Catholic lately. Have at it.
Bmk
We DON’T WORSHIP MARY....we VENERATE HER!! Only dumbasses don’t know the diff, like this writer.
If this were the playground this is when the fun begins.
A “LOCAL” religious cult??/ Well.....it is certainly NOT Roman Catholic......we don’t believe in curses and good luck crap.
I guess I must be over the target! When a Roman Catholic cultist cannot refute and complains about SCRIPTURE, the battle is over!
I'll take the win! Thanks for playing!!!
Romans 8: ... 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Then I must mention that during the early 1960s, in SPAIN, a local Catholic Bishop stopped a procession of a gold statue of Mary as he perceived the local population was actually WORSHIPING THE STATUE. The Bishop did correctly.
God haters can not be found on this thread.
Evil and depraved are found, in quoted scripture from the Bible.
They are allowable in that context.
This is not the Religion Forum, but Bible quotes are allowed outside the RF.
OKEY DOKEY....Good luck in ETERNITY!!!
Good!
“...has [have] been her[e] since the BEGINNING if FR!!!”
Thank you for your support.
NOT HAPPY right now about my continued support and checks. I feel like Catholic haters have taken over FR......it’s certainly not the same smart thinking site it once was.
...worshiped in Christianity as the mother of Jesus....
***
Mary is honored but not worshiped. Only God is worshiped.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.