Posted on 06/13/2015 3:56:17 PM PDT by Eleutheria5
Of course, I would expect such an answer. But, maybe Roman Catholics just walk around with their minds on other things than Christian practices. The people in the photo are part of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines.
Nope, Catholics don't believe in superstitions! /sarcasm!
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Where should you bury a statue of St Joseph?
According to tradition if you really want to sell your home quickly you should bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down in the yard of your home. Praying to St. Joseph for a quick sale and burying a statue of him is said to always bring a fast offer on the home. Realtors and homeowners swear that this legend is true and that if you do bury a statue of St. Joseph while praying for a quick sale that your prayers will be answered.
But make sure that you bury that statue of St. Joseph in the right spot. If you don’t bury the statue in the right spot then you might end up helping the neighbors across the street sell their home before yours or you might end up helping a person on the street behind you sell a home. Where you put that statue of St. Joseph can make a big difference in how quickly the home sells.
- http://www.saint-josephstatue.com/Where_to_bury_a_St_Joseph_statue.html
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THE CONQUEST OF NEW SPAIN by BERNAL DIAZ DE CASTILLO.
Cortez placing a statue in the shape of what he considered Mary between the Aztec stone statues of Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli , then falling down and venerating it.
To the Pagan eye, what was the difference between their worship of their stone gods and Cortez’ veneration of his stone or plaster statue? To them it all looked the same.
there were no denominations in the early days - they were called Christians, not Catholics. Different regions had its own differences, but they all followed Christ’s teachings including the “breaking of bread” or Holy Communion as commanded by the Christ. The Roman Catholic church as such didn’t form for a while but then organized the Western church which held until the Reformation when denominations came on the scene. Then splits began to occur. But for 1500 years there was only the church of Rome in the West.
If this were the playground this is when the fun begins.
The playground's different when it's filled with peaceful, patient, loving Christians. So I am told.
With another stipulation. The friends you ask to pray for you, are still alive on the earth. Once they die, you do not, of course, continue to ask them. If anyone does, they are sinning. It is called necromancy. It leaves people open to demonic oppression.
Actually, Ruy, you've brought up an interesting and important consideration. And that is, how do we understand, and help others to understand, gestures which vary across the continents, the centuries, and the civilizations?
An example would be the question of bowing. In ancient Israelite culture, both before and after the giving of the Law on Sinai, bowing was and continued to be a very common gesture of respect, appropriate not only to the Lord our God, but also to any person, place, or thing one wanted, legitimately, to honor.
The holy men and women of the Hebrew people did, frequently and legitimately, bow and even prostrate to the ground, to show respect for the anointed King, for a true prophet, for Jerusalem, for the Temple, for the Ark of the Covenant, --- that is, for revered persons, places and things.
I have quite a list here
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3059418/posts?page=292#292
... of Abraham, Jacob, Leah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, bowing down before persons and things whom they honored. Moses bowed down to his father-in-law, Ruth bowed down to Boaz, etc. etc.
In not one of these cases is it seen as idolatry, even though in the First Commandment (and other places) God says not to bow down to anyone but Himself.
But as I say, these dozens and dozens of other examples are not seen as adoring strange gods. Why?
The reason why is because they understood that there is a different in intent between bowing before Mt. Zion, say, or the anointed King, and bowing before God Himself.
I don't have time to elaborate on this right now, but it is a concern which has arisen whenever Christianity encounters a different culture. For instance missionaries found, and still find, that it difficult to help people in a Hindu culture understand that when we place a wreath on a grave, we are not proclaiming that the deceased has become a god. Nor is it easy for them to understand that we are not polytheistic, even though we worship and adore the Trinity.
We have an obligation to strive for deeper cross-cultural understanding.
Thank you for bringing up this topic with reference to the Aztecs. Once can think of other such examples of an alien culture not understanding the Christians, and vice-versa.
Of possible interest: #87
The female goddesses worshiped by many religions throughout the world will one day rally around catholcism’s mary as the Pope continues to unify the world into a one world religion conglomerate. So it’s not surprising another statue of her is raised....as she will be in other nations over time.
Sort of like with the New Agers and their female deities....and the environmentalists....all have a female representation and just like the enemy of mens souls to do just that....the world is ripe for deception now.
I would rather that the discussion had centered on the persistence of the devotion of these Syrian Christians, who have been observing the reverent customs of their faith for 20 centuries now.
And maybe a few reflections on the rarity of substantive religious liberty in the Middle East, not only the "worship" part, but the "free exercise" part, which is, or ought to be, much more far-ranging.
Thank you for posting this!!
The photo is Santo Nino ‘Catholic’ Church.
...”I would rather that the discussion had centered on the persistence of the devotion of these Syrian Christians, who have been observing the reverent customs of their faith for 20 centuries now”....
Well the reformation is still active and alive...God’s work is never done at exposing false teachings.
***We have an obligation to strive for deeper cross-cultural understanding.***
I agree! But we are admonished to abstain from the very appearance of evil, If we are venerating something we should not make it look like worship to the untrained person. like I said, a very thin line.
And Mary should be remembered for being the mother of the Lord Jesus. But beware of that fine line.
I know Protestants who have creches. Which means that Protestants have...
Wait for it...
STATUES OF MARY in their homes!!!!!!
STATUES OF MARY!!!!
Somebody fetch me some smelling salts!!!
Which means that...
Yes, it's true....
PROTESTANTS WORSHIP MARY!!!
Or maybe they're REALLY worshipping an ancient undersea goddess. Who knows?!!!!
As long as you don’t go around trying to say that Mary was sinless. Because she wasn’t.
Where do they get this stuff?
I thought the Gospels were written by Jews.
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