Posted on 04/28/2018 11:07:35 AM PDT by fishtank
Unless you are a mind reader, I disagree with your presumptions.
human nature is good, but fallen. Christ redeems, not re-creates. Christ’s human nature is the same as all mankind. Humans are the pinnacle of God’s universe, their basic nature cannot be evil.
Reciting the Apostles Creed or any other piece of literature does nothing for you, except maybe make you feel good about yourself...
Have you made Jesus your savior??? Have you asked Jesus to save you??? Do you know God??? Do you know if you are a child of God???
The devils believe in the Apostles Creed likely far more than you or anyone else does... And their end is not good...
Mat 11:28 Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Very true...And at the same time we can not know who IS in heaven...Anyone can look and sound religious but only God knows what's in a person's heart...
That's why it is not wise to pray to anyone except God...That person may not be where you think he/she is...
While that's Catholic theology, It's NOT bible...
This guy sounds like a raving Baptist.
You would do well to be a raving Baptist...
You’re right, that would have been a much better (and kinder) answer for that child than what he was told by the Pope. I think we wouldn’t have heard a word about it had he done so.
Do you get the impression that Pope Francis imagines whatever comes out of his mouth has an automatic infallibility to it by nature of his position? Like he can say no wrong?
Sounds like the only Catholic getting “bashed” is the Pope. Do you agree with what he said?
But the maddening thing is, he never comes out in a straight, clear, and honest manner to propose his ponderous piffle. He just pops in with off-the-cuff remarks to the press at 35,000 feet, ambiguous footnotes, parenthetical whimsies, inscrutable koans, stage whispers to the kiddies, or winks and nods to his senile atheist buddies.
Either he's quite a dim bulb, or there is method in his muddle and he's just trying to provide himself with plausible deniability.
Either way, there's nothing there that should inspire your respect, or mine either.
On second thought, your abusive judgments tell me more about you than about the atheist and his little boy.
Yes, that's mostly correct, but not quite. The God-honoring criminal crucified next to Jesus is unquestionably in heaven. A baptized baby who dies prior to the age of reason is definitely in heaven. Jesus' Mother Mary, as Kecharitomene, is certainly in heaven. We could confidently ask St. Dismas (as he is locally called) or Alfie Evans or the Blessed Virgin Mary --- or the Holy Angels in Heaven --- to join us in prayer.
But you are right about most "folk canonizations" being presumptuous, even if innocently so. "Your Grandma is in Heaven with Jesus now", spoken with such good will, nevertheless makes an assumption which cannot be verified until we are in heaven, ourselves, to see: unless God sends an unmistakable sign.
That's why the Catholic Church has historically required two miracles, after death, to verify a canonization, in addition to evidence of a life of heroic virtue. That's God's sign. It can't just be based on Grandma's reputation for sanctity, which, as you wisely say, might not be the case.
(1) Atheists go to hell.
(2) Only believers in Christ go to heaven. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
(3) Death bed conversions are real (the thief on the cross).
(4) We can hope the deceased father came to faith at the end.
Period.
That's God's sign.
That brings to mind a number of scriptures that are written for our admonition:
1Sa 16:6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.
1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Mat 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Mat 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
I don't know that I'd trust any signs...Jesus says we are to walk by faith, not by sight...
**I don’t know that I’d trust any signs...Jesus says we are to walk by faith, not by sight... **
So do you believe the Bible passage about Jesus walking on the water, and Peter taking several steps toward him on the water?
The signs given by God are in so many books of the Bible, both the OT and the NT. You have incidents like this:
2 Kings 13:21
Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
I'm sure that the people who saw the miracle in connection with these relics came away with the impression that Elisha must have been a true prophet, because of the way the Lord honored his mortal remains.
The same applies to the cures God granted when handkerchiefs and aprons touched by the Apostle Paul were applied to the bodies of the sick, and they were healed and evil spirits left them (Acts 19:12); and even the shadow of Peter, falling on sicks or crippled persons, could cure them through the power of the Lord Jesus (Acts 5:17).
Because of this, the people esteemed the Apostles; and many were added to the Church.
We're just reading the Acts of the Apostles in the Lectionary now, in the weeks after Easter. It's pretty exciting.
And no era in the history of the Church has been without miracles. It's happening today.
Of course I do...But that occurrence was not a sign...It was a lesson to Peter about lack of faith...
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