http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ecumenism-religion/ en-us Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:34:01 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047934/posts The Submission of the Believer " You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am " —John 13:13 Our Lord never insists on having authority over us. He never says, "You will submit to me." No, He leaves us perfectly free to choose— so free, in fact, that we can spit in His face or we can put Him to death, as others have done; and yet He will never say a word. But once His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly recognize His right to absolute authority over... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047934/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:34:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047837/posts Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,I give heartfelt thanks to God for this opportunity to meet and pray with all of you who have come here representing various Christian communities in Australia. Grateful for Bishop Forsyth’s and Cardinal Pell’s words of welcome, I joyfully greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus, the "cornerstone" of the "household of God" (Eph 2:19-20). I would like to offer a particular greeting to Cardinal Edward Cassidy, former President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who, due to ill health, could not be with us today. I recall with gratitude... Vatican http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047837/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:08:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047582/posts According to a friend, among the Anglicans now considering a corporate leap to Rome is a group of religious sisters called the All Saints Sisters of the Poor, who are located near Catonsville, Mayland about 10 miles from Baltimore.Their website introduction is refreshingly simple and straightforward:All Saints is a traditional Community desiring to uphold orthodox Christian faith and morality and to support the Apostolic tradition in ministry and practice. We are united by our common commitment to the One Lord Jesus Christ, and by the desire to live for Him. With that unity, and made possible by it, there... Black Cordelias http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047582/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:23:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047399/posts The Mystery of Believing " He said, "Who are You, Lord? " —Acts 9:5 Through the miracle of redemption, Saul of Tarsus was instantly changed from a strong-willed and forceful Pharisee into a humble and devoted bondservant of the Lord Jesus.There is nothing miraculous or mysterious about the things we can explain. We control what we are able to explain, consequently it is only natural to seek an explanation for everything. It is not natural to obey, yet it is not necessarily sinful to disobey. There can be no real disobedience, nor any moral virtue in obedience, unless a... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047399/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:34:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047010/posts Steenson as an Anglican BishopFormer Anglican Bishop Jeffrey Steenson is widely revered among Anglicans as a man of profound integrity and service in the Lord’s vineyard. Last week he spoke at the Anglican Use Conference. He spoke with his usual clarity and Anglican eloquence. Welcome home, Jeffery.His full address can be found here.It all begins with the conviction that the Catholic Church simply is. She is not one option amongst many. People who become alienated from their own churches will sometimes think that the next step is to go down to the marketplace and see what is on offer:... Black Cordelias http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2047010/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:39:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046795/posts The Miracle of Belief " My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom . . . " —1 Corinthians 2:4 Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046795/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:35:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046527/posts The Catholic Church will expand its provision of "Anglican Use" parishes in the United States in order to allow whole communities of traditionalist Anglicans into the Roman fold, a senior Catholic archbishop has announced.Rev John J Myers, Archbishop of Newark and Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision, told a conference of ex-Anglicans on Friday that "we are working on expanding the mandate of the Pastoral Provision [of Catholic parishes using Anglican-inspired services] to include those clergy and faithful of 'continuing Anglican communities'."We are striving to increase awareness of our apostolate to Anglican Christians who desire to be reconciled with the... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046527/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:59:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046230/posts The Concept of Divine Control " . . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! " —Matthew 7:11 Jesus is laying down the rules of conduct in this passage for those people who have His Spirit. He urges us to keep our minds filled with the concept of God’s control over everything, which means that a disciple must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek.Fill your mind with the thought that God is there. And once your mind is truly... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046230/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:32:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046121/posts ONE OF THE PUZZLING QUESTIONS likely to turn up sooner or later to vex the seeking Christian is how he can fulfill the scriptural command to love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. The earnest Christian, as he meditates on his sacred obligation to love God and mankind, may experience a sense of frustration gendered by the knowledge that he just cannot seem to work up any emotional thrill over his Lord or his brothers. He wants to, but he cannot. The delightful wells of feeling simply will not flow. Many honest persons have become discouraged... Man, The Dwelling Place of God http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2046121/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:27:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045936/posts Protestants don’t see why Catholics who come to disagree with essential teachings of the Church don’t just leave. Adult conversion to Catholicism involves more than adding a few new beliefs. It means a whole new world and life view. No ingredient in that new perspective was more of a shock to my old Protestant sensibilities when I became a Catholic than the idea that the God-man is really present in, and not just symbolized by, what appears to be a wafer of bread and a cup of wine. It seemed scandalous! It has ceased to scandalize me, though it has... Catholic Educators http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045936/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:23:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045671/posts My Life’s Spiritual Honor and Duty " I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . " —Romans 1:14 Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045671/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:29:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045638/posts Hello and welcome to another edition of the White Horse Inn, we are continuing our series "Christless Christianity." As we look around today we listen to a lot of sermons in mainline churches, in conservative Evangelical churches, in Reformed churches, in Lutheran Churches, in Baptist churches, really across the board regardless of what people believe on paper, this message of self-help--which really is Pelagianism at its heart-is what we find really quite pervasive and it has its roots in our own desire to be self-saviors. It is the natural heresy of the human heart. Whenever we are sort of lax... White Horse Inn http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045638/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:20:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045101/posts Suffering Afflictions and Going the Second Mile " tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also " —Matthew 5:39 This verse reveals the humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted, you must not only not resent it, but you must make it... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045101/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:33:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044789/posts The intrepid Andrea Tornielli, vaticanista of Il Giornale, and now travelling with His Holiness to World Youth Day, reports on his blog what Pope Benedict said about the Anglicans, whose communion is imploding. My translation and emphases: ---------- Benedict XVI is "near" to the Anglican bishops in prayer, and hopes that they can avoid "new fractures" and schisms, after the contested decision of the Church of England, bulwark of Anglican tradition, to admit women to the episcopate. During the long flight taking him to Sydney, where he will arrive this morning for the 23rd World Youth Day, Papa Ratzinger met... WDTPRS (Il Giornale) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044789/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:48:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044756/posts The Price of the Vision " In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . . " —Isaiah 6:1 Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. Let me think about this personally— when the person died who represented for me all that God was, did I give up on everything in life? Did I become ill or disheartened? Or did... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044756/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:36:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044729/posts An international interfaith conference taking place in Madrid next week is being hosted by a Saudi charity that is affiliated with organizations blacklisted by the U.S. government for bankrolling al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups. Among those invited to attend the gathering organized by the Muslim World League (MWL) were former Vice President Al Gore and senior figures from the world’s leading religions. Gore's office said Friday it had "declined that invitation some time ago due to a scheduling conflict." The high-profile July 16-18 event will be opened by Saudi King Abdullah, who laid the groundwork with a preparatory meeting -- also organized... CNS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044729/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:58:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044371/posts In last week’s catechetical post, I likened the deposit of faith–all that Christ has revealed to us through His Church–to a bank deposit, with the Church being the bank and the apostles and bishops having special authority to safeguard this deposit so that it might bear interest for the kingdom of God.Another way of approaching this reality is to think of the Church’s Magisterium, or teaching office, as a fence or wall. If the deposit of faith is understood as a body of teachings regarding what we are to believe and how we are to live as Christians in the world, one... cuf blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044371/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:24:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044357/posts The Spiritually Self-Seeking Church " . . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . . " —Ephesians 4:13 Reconciliation means the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ did in redemption. The church ceases to be spiritual when it becomes self-seeking, only interested in the development of its own organization. The reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044357/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:11:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044115/posts Following hard after God My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. Ps. 63:8 Christian theology teaches the doctrine of prevenient grace, which briefly stated means this, that before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man. Before a sinful man can think a right thought of God, there must have been a work of enlightenment done within him; imperfect it may be, but a true work nonetheless, and the secret cause of all desiring and seeking and praying which may follow. We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put... The Pursuit of God http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044115/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:32:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044051/posts New legal threat to teaching evolution in the US New Scientist ^ | 7/9/2008 | Amanda Gefter Posted on Friday, July 11, 2008 4:06:06 AM by Soliton Louisiana is another story. A hub of creationist activism since the early 1980s, it was Louisiana that enacted the Balanced Treatment Act, which required that creationism be taught alongside evolution in schools. In a landmark 1987 case known as Edwards vs Aguillard, the US Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional, effectively closing the door on teaching "creation science" in public schools. ID was invented soon afterwards as a way of proffering creationist concepts... New Scientist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044051/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:11:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044024/posts Bruce Reyes-Chow "PCUSA" is a "mainline" denomination of 2.3 million members. This is the spirit of the times (zeitgeist): certainly not the Holy Spirit. According to a story from the Catholic News Agency: San Jose, CA., Jul 8, 2008 / 11:57 pm (CNA).- Reaction continues to the decisions of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), which took place between June 21 and June 28. The assembly nullified proscriptions against sexual behavior outside of marriage and called for a vote to delete the church’s constitutional standard requiring fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness. It also... Cor ad cor loquitur http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2044024/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:21:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2043861/posts The Spiritually Vigorous Saint " . . . that I may know Him . . . " —Philippians 3:10 A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him. The Holy... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2043861/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:37:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2043380/posts The Fellowship of St Gregory the Great is the provisional title of the organisation of ex-Anglican clergy who plan to stay with their flocks once they become Roman Catholics. The Anglicans, led by the "flying" bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, are hoping that Rome will give the new body formal recognition - possibly as an "apostolic administration" supervised by a senior Catholic bishop. I've written an article in the Catholic Herald outlining what the Vatican may be prepared to offer Bishop Andrew Burnham and his colleagues, for whom it has the highest regard. I'm pretty sure that parishes will be... The Telegraph, U.K. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2043380/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:54:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2043341/posts The Spiritually Lazy Saint " Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . " —Hebrews 10:24-25 We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward... My Utmost for His Highest (The Golden Book of Oswald Chambers;1992) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2043341/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:35:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2042979/posts I have until now refrained from commenting on the turmoil affecting the Church of England, on the grounds that I am not an Anglican and therefore it is none of my business. As a Catholic, I have routinely been disgusted throughout the four decades since the Second Vatican Catastrophe by the propensity of outsiders - encouraged by the bogus ecumenical movement - to harangue the Holy Roman Church about its doctrine, practices and liturgy and to offer impertinent prescriptions for change. Now, however, the Anglican contagion is invading the Catholic Church and that is quite another matter. The news that Anglican bishops have... Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2042979/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 17:13:15 GMT