Posted on 03/21/2015 4:27:12 PM PDT by NYer
From The Salem News in Massachusetts:
If the deacon is a different sort of religious figure for the church, then Chuck Hall, 62, is a different sort of deacon. He came of age as an evangelical Protestant. Only slowly did he gravitate toward conversion, drawn by, of all things, the priest abuse scandals.
As one damaging headline followed another, he sensed an imbalance in the treatment of the church. Moreover, he saw the Roman church as at the very foundation of Christianity. While he never faulted the press for following the story, the fierce hostility brought on by the scandals seemed to him an attack on Christianity itself.
“It made me go back and study some church history. … I let the church speak for itself,” he said. The more he studied and understood, the more he began to feel that the conflicts always cited between Protestants and Catholics were overdrawn: “‘Do you worship Mary?’ No.”
The lessons of inclusion brought by Vatican II, the “inspirational” writings of G. K. Chesterton, also a convert, and the courage of Pope John Paul II eased Hall’s path.
“I went to my first Mass,” he said. The very interior of the church shouted of difference — the stained glass, the bright colors of the priest’s vestments, the statuary.
“A lot of things about being Catholic take some getting used to,” he laughed. But Hall began to see the beauty in these things and, sitting recently in the bright, soaring interior of St. John the Baptist, he smiled at the thought that God can be seen in such beauty.
“Art is a great gift,” he said. “The creative life is when we most imitate God.”
There is an added irony in Hall’s attraction to Catholicism. When he married 25 years ago, his wife, Mary, was teaching the Catholic catechism. As he was drawn toward her religion, however, she was drifting away. She currently worships in the Anglican church. Yet, he says, “She has been supportive of everything I’ve wanted to do.” They have no children.
The article has much more on deacons. Check it out.
Don’t mess with the Westboro Wing of the Free Republic Evangelical Dispensationlist Causcus of the Free Repubulic Religious Forum. They can withstand rattlesnake bites and Strychnine.
That's what attracts most Catholics...It just 'reeks' with religiousness...
In other words, it was edited from what was undoubtedly a much longer interview, for a secular publication.
I wish people would understand the realities of journalism. You know very well that Deacon Hall didn't just say the 4 or 5 sentences which show up as direct quotes. He probably talked to the reporter, Alan Burke, for an hour or more-- showing him around the church, talking about his relationship to Jesus Christ, his attraction to the Catholic Faith, the wonderful faith story that every convert has about God's plan for salvation and the grace that has been given him, to have a role in that plan.
A reporter inevitably selects what he wants --- maybe 4 or 5 sentences --- and leaves 99% of the interview on the cutting room floor.
Do you understand that?
This is something you could not possibly know.
> There's still a Commandment forbidding this kind of talk. It's called "bearing false witness against your neighbor."
Jesus Himself, teaching that the true God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, corrected the Pharisees by explaining to them that He is not a God of the dead, but of the living.
In other words, the souls of the faithful who have gone before us, and who are now in heaven, are not dead, but living.
You believe what Jesus said, don't you?
Then maybe you best talk with NYer....he/she posted the article.
There's no problem with her posting this article. The problem is with other people making dumb assumptions and wild extrapolations not founded in the truth.
That's why there are pages and pages n the Books o Moses about the splendid adornments of the Temple in Jerusalem.
People consider it fitting to give their best to God. This is not to be mocked.
Hey...glad you are back...trust you are felling better. (seriously...I am)
Regarding the article and others like it. I stand by my statement that I rarely hear catholics refer to themselves as Christian. I rarely read in these accounts how one came to Christ. I do read a lot of "I went to the catholic church and the music was good, the stained glass was pretty and I knew I was home." All that tells me is that you like the music and the architecture. It doesn't indicate you've come to have faith in Christ.
+++
They’re venerating on bended knee.
/is a sarc necessary ?
Dude, you’re drinking way too much coffee
Great post. Thanks for bringing levity to their irrational prejudice
God is the only Judge of who is saved and who is not saved, and you ain't God, and to pretend otherwise is both dishonest and blasphemous.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor? James 4:12---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christians don't have a temple in Jerusalem...Christians don't have a temple in Rome...
Jesus is the temple of Christians...Not some building...That's why Jesus and the apostles never spoke of adorning a physical church...
Mat_6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat_6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
That means no fancy buildings...No gold ornaments and vessels...No expensive tapestries...Not too hard to figure out...
"15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."
If he's gone to Rome and become Papist, he's showing his thistles.
Hoss
False witness? Against whom? Against Jesus?
Please tell me where I erred! You make blatant accusations and tell me you will pray for me, yet it is not I bearing false witness!
I suggest you look in the mirror!
Please don't pray to the demi-gods and saints of Roman Catholicism...
I have a direct line to my Father's Throne, where He has prepared a place for us! I don't need a Marycessor...
You explicitly posted:
There is no mind reading required. You actually posted it.
"From not saved to definitely not saved. Not a good transition. Hoss"
("Not Saved" is "Not Saved", and you are not the judge of that for anybody, nor will you ever be!)
Are you familier with the term... The Divine Office?
I don’t spend much time on the Protestant apologetics threads, but the impression I get is that Catholic Freepers don’t jump onto those threads and make ugly disparaging insulting comments. Am I wrong? Are the Catholics just as aggressive in attacking on Protestant threads as the Protestants are on Catholic apologetic threads like this one?
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