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From the first days of his papacy Francis has been hailed as a radical reformer. The mainstream journalists have enjoyed creating a new narrative: The shadowy Dan Brown-type Vatican (as we all know) is worm eaten with secret pedophiles, a cadre of homosexuals, mobsters running the Vatican Bank, an ancient, sinister international conspiracy and Cardinals who are shady, secretive and scheming. Benedict XVI was, at best, a congenial old duffer more interested in red shoes and fancy vestments and giving top jobs to his cronies than in cleaning up the church. At worst he was the Goblin King sitting happily...

Featured Term (selected at random): PARAENESISOriginally meant advice or counsel (Greek parainein, to advise). As a form of biblical composition, it is popular preaching or exhortation, of which the epistle of St. James is a classic example. It is exemplified in the moralizing parts of the Old Testament and is found in such Apostolic Fathers as Clement I and the Shepherd of Hermas. Besides James, it is frequently used by St. Paul, e.g., in his letters to the Galatians and Ephesians.  All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Over 12,000 people rushed into a crowded Times Union Center to hear “Pastor” Joel Osteen’s message of feel good, Broadway style contemporary worship and many came out changed according to an article in yesterday’s paper by Paul Grondahl. A star among the Christian world, Osteen claims the nation’s largest congregation in Houston, Texas with over 30,000 members Aside from being a good looking man with a deep southern accent and a warm welcoming voice that draws many in, what qualifications does this man have to be preaching to stadiums packed full of vulnerable people? The best selling author and televangelist...

This is the first installment of how a former Protestant leader crossed the Tiber. [1]James Tonkowich A little over a year ago my status changed. Having been a Presbyterian minister for over twenty years, I became a Catholic layman. How that happened is a long story.In a nutshell, though, reading a Catholic author here, meeting with a priest or two there, befriending groups of faithful Catholics, and attending lectures, meetings, and (occasionally) Mass all added up. At the same time, my questions about the viability of Protestantism in a post-modern environment became more pointed and my answers more frightening....

Although no one is immune to sexual temptation, a pastor leading an online pornography addiction recovery ministry says that church leaders may be especially vulnerable to sexually moral failure. Pastor Jeff Fisher, whose past secret addiction to pornography was discovered while pastoring a church in the Northeast several years ago, recently had his thoughts on the struggles church leadership might face in this area published on Pastors.com. Fisher and his wife, Marsha, have shared their road to recovery individually and in their marriage along with resources for others struggling with pornography addiction on their Website, PorntoPurity.com. In his post, "5...

During the 1960s a book Double Helix came out that described Francis Crick and James WatsonÂ’s discovery of the double helix structure that made up DNA. This was a landmark discovery for it enabled scientists to understand how living organisms were able to replicate themselves from generation to generation. DNA functioned as a unique blueprint for each human being: a set of instructions about the color of our eyes, the shape of our nose etc. In the 1980s scientists discovered the presence of telomeres, little bits of DNA located at the end of the chromosome chain. Telomeres function to keep...

The Faith Of The Saints Ernest C. Reisinger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Taken from the book, "The Faith of The Saints, The Assurance Of The Saints, The Perseverance of The Saints" Published by Mt. Zion Publications) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just over four hundred years ago, in late October, a young Augustinian monk, professor of theology and pastor in Whittenburg, Germany, in the fire of his zeal for Christian truth, nailed 95 thesis to the door of the Castle Church. He had left the study of law and entered the priesthood, seeking to be justified before God. His name was Martin Luther. As a result of...

Are There Devout Christians In Denominations?  John 10:16      Sadly, many in our brotherhood would answer “yes” to this question.  Denominations have for years taught that it does not matter what church you attend, as long as a person is sincere and honest.  Many in the Lord’s church have swallowed this idea.  They cry long and hard that there are sincere, devout Christians in any given denomination.  It is no wonder, then, that many congregations of the Lord’s church have joined hands with denominational churches to promote or to participate in any number of things.  Of course, they consider their...

In a 1574 letter to the "Members of the Lutheran sect in Flanders and Spain", Murad III made considerable efforts to highlight the similarities between Islamic and Protestants principles. He wrote: "As you, for your part, do not worship idols, you have banished the idols and portraits and "bells" from churches, and declared your faith by stating that God Almighty is one and Holy Jesus is His Prophet and Servant, and now, with heart and soul, are seeking and desirous of the true faith; but the faithless one they call Papa does not recognize his Creator as One, ascribing divinity...

I subscribe to a Mormon apologetic Newsletter titled FAIR (Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research). Normally it falls into my junk email account and I don't even open it, but today I had a few minutes and scanned the latest offering and was stunned to see the hypocrisy of the authors. Please note the entire email is posted below. This particular issue has a great deal of whining about those mean Christians who make the spurious claim that Mormons are not Christians, but are a cult. A couple of examples: -"Mormons are a cult" epithets into the national spotlight. In...

Obviously there is no logical reason for her unfavorables in the polls to be what they are. Did she do anything like let an intern give her oral sex or get involved in some disasterous scandal ? absolutely not. There is NOTHING on her. They have looked and looked and looked. Nobody has found a thing. She seems to be the kind of leader that the American people are wanting to represent them. They do. I contend to you that her unfavoribles mean NOTHING. It is useless polling data and should have no impact on who wins the nomination in...

Last week, a Texas jury convicted Warren Jeffs, leader of the polygamist FLDS Church, of two counts of child sexual assault...For Americans who are increasingly interested in the religion of the two Mormons running for president, Jeffs' conviction raises what could appear to be difficult questions about modern Mormonism. There is no formal connection between Jeffs' FLDS Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... From 1852 until 1890, however, the Mormon Church did publically teach and practice polygamy... Given that history, many Americans ask themselves whether Jeffs' cocktail of religious authority, polygamy and child sex represents some...

During the early 1830s, Emma Smith was beginning to have some strong suspicions that her husband, Joseph (Mormon prophet) might be involved in infidelity. While these were only suspicions, Oliver Cowdery (one of the three “witnesses” to the Book of Mormon) had proof of Smith’s adultery and confronted him on it. Smith denied to Cowdery that he was in any such activity. Cowdery would be excommunicated from the Mormon church on several counts including, “by falsely insinuating that he [Smith] was guilty of adultery.” 1 Emma’s suspicions were confirmed when she caught Joseph and 19-year-old Eliza Partridge locked in a...

When Joseph Smith died in June of 1844, the Mormon Church faced a succession crisis. Mormon historian Richard S. Van Wagoner explained, “Despite frequent kidnaping and assassination attempts, Joseph Smith established no firm policies regarding presidential succession in the event of his death. The resulting confusion threw the prophetic transition into turmoil. He simply had not expected to die at thirty-eight. Never given to full disclosure to any man or woman, the prophet’s public and private statements between 1834-44 suggested at least eight different methods for succession, each pointing to different successors with some claims to validity.” (“The Making of...

In a recent letter to the editor, the author of “The right vs. the law (5/26)” compared illegal immigrants to the early leaders of the church. He observed the early church members violated the law to practice polygamy and those men were still doing what was right, therefore there are cases when it isn’t wrong to break the law. This is all true. But then he implies by this same reasoning, illegal immigrants may not be doing something wrong. This is a false analogy, because the two situations are not the same in the relevant way. What made the church...

What's with the hatred of Michele Bachmann at Free Republic lately? I've seen some psychotic paranoid drivel about her secretly working for Mitt Romney, but apparently there's more to it than that. Please help me out here, folks.

DRAPER, Utah— Federal officers arrested 53 year old Felix Callejas, his wife and two of their children at their home April 19. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says a judge ordered Luca Callejas to return to El Salvador in 2008. Callejas' other family members got the same deportation order in 2009. The family appealed and their case was dismissed earlier this month. Callejas is the president of a Spanish speaking LDS Church branch in Draper. Concerned church members called local activist Tony Yapias saying they're now afraid to go to church. “The whole membership was devastated over what happened,” says Latino...

In a recent survey by pollster Gary Lawrence of how Americans view "Mormonism," a whopping 77 percent said they were not sure Mormons are Christians. Understanding how the public views us can improve our responses to gospel questions. SNIP 2. Ditch the lingo. Gary Lawrence is a respected pollster and adviser to the missionary department. He suggests we use simple terms to which our Christian friends will relate: Use "Christianity" instead of "gospel," "re-established" instead of "restoration," and "men changed" instead of "apostasy." 3. Stay on message. Only 12 percent of Americans know our central message. It is this: We...

HAVE YOU NOTICED THIS ABOUT MORMONS?   If you were to desire to enter the exclusive LDS-Mormon club, you would have to be agree to the church doctrine including this:   First Presidency Doctrinal StatementsIt is not only his discourses that form the basis of Joseph F. Smith's doctrinal legacy. During his presidency, several important documents signed by the First Presidency and/or the Twelve were issued that still serve as a touch stone of Latter-day Saint belief. One such document, The Origin of Man: By the First Presidency, was issued in 1909 during a time when evolution was gaining attention...

SNIP Teach of faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy. 4 Warn them that they will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith. Obedience allows God’s blessings to flow...