[Quix]

WOW.

Impressive report.

Thanks.

Thankfully, Holy Spirit is having HIS way in South America in the lives of millions formerly bound by such ideologies and idolatries.

Praise God.

[Quix]

Ping.

Praise God for a first person report.

[conservonator]

If Randall ever runs into a real Catholic, he just might experience first hand the fullness, the bounty and profound depth of all Christ provides for His Church. It's a pity he appears to spend so much time running into cartoon characters. It would be interesting to see how Randall would deconstruct the Catechism, seeing as how it must be the source of all the idolatrous inclinations of the neo-pagan idol mongers he saw all over the south.

[r9etb]

I have discovered that people by nature are the same. Man has a heart that is inclined to selfishness and idolatry.

Indeed, Mr. Easter. Are we to infer that you had no trouble seeing past the log in your own eye?

[Clemenza]

Being that I don’t have a dog in this fight, I nevertheless have more respect for those who proselytize in China and the middle east than to get the easy pickings among the Indians in Peru. Remember that the Indians (throughout the Americas) are notorious for mixing religions and/or changing their denomination depending on the latest missionary to show up.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Moses was outraged by the golden calf, the prophets passionately preached against idolatry, Jesus was angered that the temple was changed in an idolatrous business, and Paul preached to the idolaters of Mars Hill by telling them of the unknown God.

AMEN!

Same old, same old. Men love the calluses on their knees more than the wounds through Christ's hands.

[Gamecock]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

The closer you get to the third world the more pagan Catholicism becomes. (Or does it appear less pagan the closer you get to middle class America?) You don't need to leave the States, just go into any of the missions built by the conquistadors and you'll see it first hand.

A prime example is the Mission San Xavier del Bac on the Tohono O'odham reservation South of Tucson. It is downright morbid inside.

[RightWhale]

It is not idolatry, just a little token to focus the thoughts.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

I see you continue to post the “rants” of your dear friend. I’m pretty sure his first rant from Lima set a Freeper Religion Forum record for being pulled. It’s sad that uneducated people like him have followings.

[Between the Lines]

Footnote to All Prayers

C.S.Lewis

He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshipping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskilfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolators, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.

[Between the Lines]

I wondered how our church here in the states should respond to all of the idolatry in the world. What are the options?

Mr. Randall seems to miss the point here. I kept expecting him to search inwardly about idolatry, but he continues to point fingers instead.

The ten commandments are not about how others should live their lives, but are about how I am to live. They are not rules for them, but rules for us. Any question that directs the problem of not following the ten commandments to others and not ourselves misses the point entirely.

Perhaps a definition of just what idolatry is would help.

Look at the fifth chapter of Matthew.

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus makes it clear that the commandments still apply and that we are not only to practice them, but to teach them also.

22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

In these verses (and in other verses in this chapter) we see how Jesus expounds on the commandments and shows us how it is not the letter of the law that is to be followed, but it is the intent of the law that matters.

So just what is the 'intent' of the commandment forbidding idol worship?

God wants us to worship him and nothing else. The American Heritage Dictionary defines worship as "the reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity, idol, or sacred object." The Greek words for worship combine the ideas of "falling down before," "paying homage to," and "serving." From these definitions it is obvious that worship involves recognition of worth in God, and the offering of our honor, praise, and adoration to the One who is altogether worthy.

So following Jesus' example of expounding on the commandments it is reasonable to define 'idol worship' as anything that we put above God or between ourselves and God that prevents (or inhibits) our reverent love and total allegiance to Him.

An idol is anything that comes between ourselves and God. Both inanimate objects and abstract pursuits (money, pleasure, sports, relationships, even religion) can come between us and God and become forms of idolatry. Religion you say? Yes, The pharisees became so consumed with how well they followed God’s commands that they forgot to have a relationship with God. They were prideful about how well they obeyed the law and in doing so, forgot the intent of the law.

We need to examine ourselves regularly to see if there is anything that we wouldn’t be willing to give up if God asked. If it is more important to us than God, then it is an idol in our lives. It may not be wrong in itself. It’s wrong because it’s taken priority above God.

Many see statues, icons, crucifixes, crosses, relics, etc. as idols, but they are not idols. It is what we make of them in our own hearts that determines if they are idols. Because we lack the ability to judge what is in another person's heart, it is impossible for us to tell just what is and what isn't a idol in their lives.

but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Mr. Randall need look no further than this verse for the answer in how to deal with idolatry in the world today. We are to first practice His commandments and secondly teach. If we do not approach this introspectively first, then all of our teaching is for nothing. If we are not an example of our own teachings, then we are nothing, but hypocrites.

We must repent of our sin and turn ourselves over to Christ, removing our own idols. Only then is the pathway to Christ cleared where we can enter into eternal fellowship with our living Savior and be the salt and the light for others to follow.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

My favorite are the newspaper ads:

“Thank you St. Jude - for prayers answered”.

1) It’s one thing to say that only God the father answers prayers, as he is sovereign over all events and affairs of men; not the deceased.

2) It’s one thing to say that we have only one intercessor to God the Father, and that is Jesus Christ.

3) It’s one thing to say that dead people can’t hear you, nor respond to your prayers.

It’s entire something new to suggest that they read the newspaper from beyond the grave. Just sort of takes RCC idolatry to a whole new level!

[MEGoody]

I have talked with people who pray to the pope

I am not a Catholic, but I'm quite sure the Pope would be distressed at this practice.

[Marysecretary]

Wonderful article. Thanks for posting it. All too true, I’m afraid. Sigh.

[Captainpaintball]

Sorry, but the stakes are too high here, and time is running out. F-— Mexico and F-— Peru. They will never...NEVER get better. We have to try to save this country.

[streetpreacher]

BTTT

[P8riot]

From the Heidelberg Catechism:

1. Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?

A. That I am not my own,[1] but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death,[2] to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.[3] He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.[5] He also preserves me in such a way[6] that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head;[7] indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.[8] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life[9] and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.[10]

[1] I Cor. 6:19, 20 [2] Rom. 14:7-9. [3] I Cor. 3:23; Tit. 2:14. [4] I Pet. 1:18, 19; I John 1:7; 2:2. [5] John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14, 15; I John 3:8. [6] John 6:39, 40; 10:27-30; II Thess. 3:3; I Pet. 1:5. [7] Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18. [8] Rom. 8:28. [9] Rom. 8:15, 16; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14. [10] Rom. 8:14.

 

2. Q. What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

A. First, how great my sins and misery are;[1] second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery;[2] third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.[3]

[1] Rom. 3:9, 10; I John 1:10. [2] John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 10:43. [3] Matt. 5:16; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 5:8-10; I Pet. 2:9, 10.

[Tennessee Nana]

BTTT

[JDoutrider]

Bookmark

[humblegunner]

ESV Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Jews don't believe in Jesus as a savior.

To hell with them, per the Word.

I arrived back at home wondering how I should respond to all the idolatry that I have beheld in these last three weeks.

When the Pope moves, the media covers it.

I'm sure he's a nice guy, but let's not pray to a man, shall we?