And as you can not go on Pandora it wants this game in three dimensions so I had her avatar and she could run through the woods and touch those flowers!
SO VERY VERY WANT! ; _;
This Sunday begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. But what is true ecumenism? Is this something important? Do I really need to spend this much time? A whole week of prayer? If this is so important, why? And why so far ecumenism has brought so miserable fruit?
Below is the translation read Peter Kreeft on ecumenism. It gives the answer to at least some of these questions. It is not "authorized" in no time preparing to actually is just a paraphrase, not a literal translation. It was not my goal to provide the literal words Kreeft, but rather their sense of dedication. Anyway anyone can listen or read the original text.
So when Professor Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College and "convert" to Catholicism took on this voice, and I totally agree with him, it seems reasonable to simply transfer what she has to say.
Peter Kreeft. Ecumenism .
Is there hope for the unification of Christians? I am becoming increasingly convinced that it is more likely than many of us realize. And my hope is based primarily on the fact that most ardent ecumenical is Jesus himself. We've all heard his prayer to the Father just before the Crucifixion in the 17 chapter of the Gospel of John, " they all be one, as You, Father, are in me and I in thee, that they also be in us, so that the world may believe ." Jesus very specifically links apologetics of ecumenism. " I in them and you in me! That they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and thou hast loved them even as you loved me. "
When we read the first three chapters of the First Letter to the Corinthians we see that the division between denominations was not only scandalous, but it was almost totally unthinkable and unacceptable to St. Paul. It is not so much proliferation of groups belonging to some organization, but rather members of a body amputated. I like the normal one does not love war, can any normal Christian does not love war between Christians, which is a stumbling block for the world and weakens our witness. How to split the church can unite the divided world? Our divisions are thus at least such a difficult problem, as the war.
's nine points are the basis for the hope that ecumenism is a success. Are often cited, but none of them will never proved:
first Reasonable compromise.
second Understanding and education: The hope that somewhere in the very essence of things is really agree. We're talking the same, but different words and only for that we can not understand.
third Mystical experiences. If you've seen something like that, you know best, that the above point is true.
4th Tolerance. Act of aggression. "Can not we all live in peace?"
5th Subjectivism. Reducing the truth to the "my truth" or "your truth" or "our truth"
6th Skepticism. "In fact, no one knows the truth."
7th Scientific arguments. Maybe we'll see each other in a lab?
8th Incorrigible optimism. "Something comes up."
9th Temporary tactical and pragmatic coalition to fight a common enemy. Ecumenical jihad. Reason good, but not sufficient. None of the above is not picking opening the door to ecumenism.
golden key.
However, it is the golden key that opens the lock. He has called Jesus Christ. We do not we make, but he can . And we have a very clear from this tell. The main reason for the unification of Christians has not yet become a fact is that we do so to the end we do not believe in these stwierdzenie.Ciągle we think that we have done so.
Jesus is the world's most powerful source of unity, because it comes not from the world, but from Heaven. And His will be done sooner or later meet. In one way or another. We do not know if it will be earlier rather than later, and we do not know how it happens. But we know that will happen, because this is His will. We do not know when and we do not know how, but we know who.
Pope John Paul II said that the first millennium of Christianity was a millennium of unity, the second division, 1054, 1517 and more than twenty thousand denominations as the fruit of the Reformation in 1517, so the third millennium may be a millennium of unification.
But how? The deepest division is, of course, between Catholics and Protestants, Orthodox churches have remained intact, not split up into twenty thousand types of creed, liturgy, or rights. Preserved the fullness of Catholic faith. With the exception of the universal recognition of papal authority. But it is in its form, not in essence, has changed quite often in history, so it may change again. The pope himself said that Ut Unum Sint. But as Protestants and Catholics can achieve unity? (Cut here completely from solving the question of whether the Anglicans are Catholics, Protestants, and among others, that neither these nor those.) Well, certainly not by shouting, weakening their position, or to compromise when it comes to revealed truth.
All the major differences between Protestants and Catholics the questions what it really contains the truth revealed. For example, the doctrine of the Church of the Virgin Mary, the saints, the seven sacraments, the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and purgatory. Catholics accept them, because I believe this is true, and this truth revealed by God. Protesters reject them, because I believe that this is not true and that God has not revealed. Protesters say: "Catholics believe too much in the doctrines." Catholics say: "Protestants believe too little." Protestants say Catholics have something added to the original pure and simple Gospel of Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Protestantism, therefore, is a purified Catholicism: Catholic barge removed, according to Protestants, non-biblical pollution.
When I studied at Calvin College and was interested in Catholicism, zakochując in it and feeling guilty for that reason (because it was "inappropriate" church), I studied the history of the Church to explain everything. And for the first lecture, an old, wise professor asked, "What is the Church?" We freshly baked students, none of us did not understand anything, so nobody said nothing. So he said, "You see, once you meet a Catholic who tells you, 'You're in the wrong church are Calvinist and you're in the church that John Calvin founded 500 years ago.' What does he answer?" Nobody did not have the answer, and I thought: "I chose a suitable subject."
Professor continued: Here is what you say to Catholics: the Church today is something great and looks different than the organization with which you read in the New Testament, but it is the same organism. Just like the oak. It is the same in essence as an acorn. What is wrong that this conclusion? Catholics say that Luther and Calvin broken off several branches of oak, because they were rotten and tried to create another, but this can not be done, because there is only one Jesus. So only one Church. What's the answer? Where is the error? Nobody answered. And I said to myself: "I'm in the appropriate class."
professor continued: Here is the error of their reasoning. Jesus actually founded a church, which was like Noah's ark. I actually started to rot and sink. Luther and Calvin and Knox and others said: We have to cleanse it from all those additives. I cleared, restored to its original, simple, New Testament form. So we are in a real church. That Catholics are wrong. It is they who pododawali these pagan customs. I said, "Oh, you immediately feel better." I remember that I asked: "Professor, so he says you say that I along with my neighbor, a Catholic, he boarded a time machine and went back in time to the first century and we would go to mass together, a church which we saw would be more mine than his, & rdquo ;? He smiled and said: "This is exactly what you want to communicate." I said to myself: Okay. I mean, I do not have to be a great theologian, to get to the truth. The only thing I need to read the writings of the Fathers of the Church to see that They were Calvinists. I have read, and proved himself by the way, but that they were Catholics. So now I'm here.
word "Protestant" means "protesters" who rejects the Catholic part of the "whole". They think that they are unbiblical additions to what Jesus has given us. However, the "Catholic" means universal, comprehensive, full. And so we have a seemingly unsolvable problem, because the faithful teaching of the Catholic Church does not even allow the possibility of Christian unity on the basis of other than full acceptance of Church teaching. For he believes that all these doctrines are revealed by God. That Protestants have to bend. Catholics can not compromise in matters of faith deposit because it is not their deposit, but Jesus. Courier appointed by God, the divine can not edit items.
common plane.
So unification must take place under conditions of Catholics. So, for a complete, universal plane full deposit of faith. It can not be discussed for any orthodox Catholic. But at the same time unification must occur under the terms of the Protestants. This condition is also not subject to discussion. What I mean is the essence of the position of Protestants, or "Jesus only". Jesus plus nothing else. Jesus is not mixed with anything. If unification is possible only on this foundation. The only foundation of the Church, which is Jesus Christ.
course it need not and should not mean that "we have no creed but Jesus" or "Only Jesus, so we do not need the Church," or "Only Jesus, so we do not need no sacraments. " Most Protestants have their creed, the church and the sacraments.
So the level of understanding is little overlap. Or even much more than a little. In truth one could say that the only reason to be Catholic is the desire to become the best possible evangelical Protestant.
strange statement saying this I mean that in its essence, evangelical Protestantism is to become one with Jesus, the meeting Jesus, and this is also the best reason to become a Catholic. This is the reason for which we have the Mass, the Eucharist.
Christ is not great because of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is great because of Jesus. It is Jesus who first gave us the Church. It was only in consequence of the Church of Jesus gives us. But that He "put up in the Church." The church is a servant, a messenger, a postman. Church is the body, but the body of the head, which is Jesus.
We do not We bożkóww Church. Protesters accuse us of idolatry, "eklezjolatrię", "Sacramentology", "Mariolatrię. But Christ is the only "Idol." We worship Jesus, not the doctrine of Him. The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is the True Presence. Christ alone is the Absolute in Catholicism. Mary is holy only in relation to Jesus. She gave him to us by choice, agreeing to be his mother. And he gave it to us from the Cross. "Behold your mother."
The surprising solution .
katolikówz Protestant union without compromising still seems impossible. But it is surprising solution that can make the impossible becomes possible. "Only Jesus." This is a "condition of the Protestant", which I, a Catholic, you just put yourself.
Catholicism is perceived by Protestants as "Jesus plus paganism", "ark plus adnate to the shellfish, "or as" Jesus plus the traditions of men "," Jesus plus the pope, "or" Jesus plus Mary. " The most serious charges against Protestants to Catholicism as a religion, not theology, is that it violates the biblical principle of sufficiency economy of salvation in Jesus. He denies the transfer of the Bible, there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Protestants have the impression that Catholicism added other intermediaries between man and Jesus, Mary, saints, Church, sacraments, priests, human tradition.
But I would suggest that if the Protestants have made only one minor amendment in their vision, see a possibility of unification. Not only theologically, but deeper: religiously and spiritually. Without follow any compromises. And this amendment is not about to see Jesus in any other way but to see the church differently. Not as a barrier between us and Jesus, not even as an intermediary between us and Jesus, but as his body.
But why they would make such an amendment? And which of these two concepts of the Church is Biblical? *) Let the Protestants to answer themselves. Only sincere. We read all the Bible. Is not she the main authority for all Protestant? And while Protestants see the true identity of the Church, will begin to love him instead of being afraid of him. Because the body of Christ is Christ as your body is you. It is not something alien, not an obstacle. How your own body can be an obstacle? This gnosis! The body is not a prison or a coffin, or repentance. There is even a tool or clothing, or home. This is not a "little white house", it is you. Obviously this is not 'is you. " This is not your head, nor a soul. So it is with the Church, named in the New Testament body of Christ. The church is Jesus. But not all of Jesus, for he is the head of the Church. And the Spirit of His soul.
Protestants did not stop and should not consort protest against the Catholic Church until they see a totally Christ-centered nature of the church and all doctrines, which The church teaches. Sometimes understanding chrystocentryzmu Church may be the key to understanding the nature of all doctrines chrystocentycznej. Sometimes it works in the opposite direction. I know many Protestants who read the Catechism of the Catholic Church were amazed at how everything it contains is consistently Christocentric. But as long as the Protestants do not see how they can even think about unification? And as we have seen, when the Catholics do not show? But as Catholics have to show it when they do not see it? I like to see you do not have a teacher? "How it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! "
In this light, it seems to me quite providential that at the turn of the second and third millennium, the millennium and millennium of Christianity split, hopefully, re-unification God has called John Paul the Great. Most Christ-pope in history. The most ecumenical pope in history, and in addition one that is completely traditional and enthusiastically Catholic. Is the Pope Catholic? (Laughs listeners) But there were situations in the black church history, when a joke was not funny. Today is.
Why not now?
Well, if God can do it, if God can make ecumenical union, why not now? Why this delay? But we know that God is never too late. So if the Church's teachings are true, why God did not convince the protesters to these truths? I think the reason is there a more spiritual and personal than theology.
Why would God make the Protestants were Catholics, Protestants, when many (perhaps most) know Christ more intimately and more personally than many Catholics, (maybe even most)? How can God bring protesters into the fullness of faith in the Catholic Church before the fullness of faith is not what they learned at home, plus even more? And no less? When Catholics get to know Christ better than the Protestants, Protestants will be better than Protestants, and Protestants will then Catholics to become a better Protestant. When Catholics to repent, that Protestants accept the fullness of faith. Not before. Evangelism should be first.
So I think that Catholics have to change first. But this change does not involve the slightest of going to compromise on the faith. Only with the discovery of what is the essence of Catholicism. Frankly, it will need to add the Protestants rejected due to erroneous perception of some of their doctrine. But what we have to add (or rather to find), something more substantial than doctrine: namely, our relationship to Jesus, who so neglected. Because true friendship, true relationship with that person is more important than the truest knowledge of it.
Every good Protestant who hears this, he should protest against the one thing that I said a few moments ago: namely, that Protestantism is essentially a protest movement. Traffic mainly negative. Protesters defend Protestantism as something essentially positive. Why? Not because they do not have a pope transsubstancji, purgatory, the rosary (which is a negative thing) but because I have Jesus. It really know him. The very essence of Protestantism is the truth about Him, Jesus, the overall adequacy of the economy of our salvation.
This means however, that good Protestants are Protestants exactly for the same reason why Catholics are good Catholics: for the faithful to Jesus. So if Protestants and Catholics are really sincere in his chrystocentryzmie if the two sections of the orchestra of Christ does not want anything beyond the following of their one and only indicated the baton of the conductor, and when Jesus will never bend in his fanaticism and love for him loyalty to his person, it will be according to resonate. Because we know that Jesus is agreement and unity. Look at the most intimate insight into the inner life of the Trinity, we have in the Bible. Jesus' prayer to His Father just before his death in 17 chapter of the Gospel of John. Unity is the central theme. Moving away from Christ was a fundamental reason for the tragic split in the Church. Synonymous with "away from Christ" is "sin." So, back to Christ's return will cause the church to unity. It's logical. You can it would save in the form of syllogism.
It is also the matter of holiness. Another synonym for "return to Christ" is "sacred." When the bishops and theologians to be saints, Catholics become Protestants, Catholics and Protestants. When both Protestants and Catholics to become saints, unite. Because "holy" means "alter Christos", "another Christ" and Christ is not divided. The body of Christ is not divided. When Christ returns to the end of the world to marry his Bride, will not be polygamist. Church will not be his harem.
Summary and example.
see it again, but let's look in a different light. Because this hope for ecumenical unity without compromising on the seemingly impossible condition to meet. And yet ...
Ecumenism resisted all predictions and expectations. Seemingly simple bridges were not made, such as those between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. On the other hand, it would seem impossible bridges were built, such as the Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration of Justification. From my own experience I can see that this principle works in my life. More often I am able to understand the fundamentalist Southern Baptist church (which I sincerely believe that the whore of Babylon and the worship'm on my way to hell) or the Muslim (who rejects my faith, that Jesus is God as the absolute pagan blasphemy) than with some active members of the laity, nuns, (particularly former nuns), priests and even bishops. As Catholics may accept as true and more common doctrines, but in some ways we differ from each other more fundamentally.
Here's a puzzle. And here is what I found, trying to solve it. Let's start with God, His nature and His will. God is love and wants more than anything, we went to his love forever. Us to become part of the life of the Trinity. Everything God does, from the Big Bang, the Incarnation of the Son, to take care of each hair falling from his head to us, everything he does is just that one goal. And bearing in mind the overall goal and a very heavenly look of something very earthly and detailed. Look at the ecumenical situation in a very particular place. In Latin America. Catholics complain that evangelicals, fundamentalists and Pentecostals stealing their sheep. Protestant sects are increasing, and the percentage of Catholics is decreasing. However, it can instead of complaining you should look deeper into the realities of the Church? Why is this happening? I think that the fundamental cause is that God is love. The fact that he wants to attract everyone to Himself. Because of the spiritual gravity. That life abhors a vacuum. Likewise, in the physical world and the spiritual.
When the church failed to feeding the children of God's divine act of spiritual food that God gave the Church to be distributed, the children went to look elsewhere for food. And God allowed it, because it is a good father. He prefers that his children have left home and survived than would have been at home and starve to death.
course, it's not that simple. Reasons for leaving the Church are different and not all are positive, but I think that this is still the Holy Spirit. When the sheep are not much of Christ in the Catholic Church (whatever that was not the cause), and found him in the Protestant sects, and it is real and not just subjectively or emotionally, it is getting closer, not away from the fullness of the Catholic faith. They left the Eucharist is true, the real presence of Jesus in the Catholic Church, which is the most complete presence Jesus in this world, but I did not know the persons present in the Eucharist. A person whose body eat its flesh, but did not take her his soul.
When starving sheep leave the house to find the manna of Christ in the sects, they learn lessons that should be learned in the Church. But I have not learned. The first lesson is the only foundation on which to build a lesson in the second and third and fourth. So teaching the fullness, the fullness of truth which the Catholic Church has the sole responsibility of the foundation. As Catholics, these people may and have the real Jesus in the Eucharist, but they had his real presence in their hearts and their lives. They had the upper floors of the skyscraper Catholic, but no foundation. They did not have faith, hope and love of Jesus Christ - Lord and Savior. So to be good Catholics were first to be good Protestants.
Spiritual Gravity.
God rescued them from the Catholic Church and placed in Protestant communities, because God is Spiritual Gravitation and attracts us like a giant sun. How Its rays are obscured in one place, we must go to another place to find them. But we have to find them. They attract us, give us life. They are a matter of life and death. You may think that the example of the spiritual gravity is fetched, but why God would attract fewer than the sun? Why Grace would attract fewer than nature? Why is the spiritual universe would be less than united by the gravity of the physical universe? I think the comparison is absolutely correct.
see the physical attraction. It is like love. Closer to each other. Time and space hinder the achievement of full approximation. [...] When mankind through the law of gravity Newton knew that resulted from technological and scientific revolution. When we know the spiritual laws of gravity, when we will know that it is the person, and her name is Jesus, then we will witness even greater revolution. He promised it to us. "And I, when will I be exalted above the earth, will draw all to himself." "Before me every knee klęknie. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - the glory of God The Father. "These are the divine promises. Why limit it to what we have seen, or to what we can only imagine?
All acts of God beyond our imagination and our understanding. Jesus is the key to understanding history, and thus to the future of ecumenism. Not Sharing Christ fully understood by us and predictable pieces. This is exactly what I tried to make all the heresies.
I think the ecumenical unity has to wait until Jesus Jesus protestantówi Catholics see each other. Until we all see the same Jesus. You could say: Until we achieve "evangelical intimacy." It's the same for the Orthodox. They need to see the beauty and adoration of Jesus in us, or the reunification will be a compromise. Same with the Jews. Jews must see that we are more "Jewish", more faithful to God, more than Jews męczeńscy. The same with Muslims. They must see in us the "Islam", their absolute devotion to God. And Buddhists have in us to see a larger room. And even those world, sex maniacs, we must see the joy that they are looking for and can not find it.
It is a necessity, not an option, not unattainable ideal. Necessity due to gravity. It's not a choice, it is the nature of things. How natural gravity. May be delayed, slowed down, as gravity may be delayed by a hand catching falling apple, but only temporarily. No tricks will not change the nature of things. Nature always eventually triumph. The grass grows up abandoned buildings, and Jesus is more like grass, than as buildings. So do not powstrzymujmy his growth.
*) My remark on the sidelines. Recently I wrote about the Church as the Body of Christ and His Bride. You can read it HERE .
*) Full text of the Joint Declaration of Justification is HERE and HERE a critical analysis and historical HERE.
If you're against abortion, you bring bad news.
U.S. Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) to be signed if Congress passes it on January 21-22, 2009.
FOCA is sick the next chapter in the book break pregnancy.
If that happens, then all restrictions on abortion will be removed:
1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be required to perform abortions upon request. The bishops will have to close all the Catholic hospitals, and that is about 30% of all hospitals in the United States.
2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and without any restrictions.
3) Taxpayers will pay for an abortion.
4) Informing rodzicówo abortion in their daughters will not be required.
5) The number of abortions will increase by at least 100,000 annually.
And worst of all, FOCA government will now have control over the pregnancies of women. In the future, could be a possible amendment that would force women under the law to have abortions in certain situations (rape, children with Down syndrome, etc.) and could even lead to a situation in which government would have control over how many children women are allowed to have.
As Catholics, as Christians, we must stop this horrific act before it becomes law.
Plan: To say a novena (nine days of prayer) and fasting starting January 11.For Catholics - will be praying the rosary to stop FOCA.
For non-Catholics are encouraged to to pray with the same intentions, also for nine consecutive days.
Hope lies in the maximum effort on a global scale. We have very little time so we all have to act fast.
do three things:1) let us send this appeal.
2) Acting quickly.
3) novena begin Jan. 11 and pray for nine consecutive days.
With God all things are possible and the power of prayer is undeniable.
If you're opposed to killing defenseless children, the time now do something about it!
God bless you.| Sylvia wrote: |
| Hello, are interested me, your site www.polon.us and one of the best articles about Mary. But I would like to express their opinions on this subject, and actually use the Scripture, which is the Word of God: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, admonishing, straightening, to rebuke in righteousness "(2 Timothy 3:16) . |
| Quote: |
| Please, do not watch out my email for a while there, an attack, I just want to express their opinions and you can decide whether I'm right or not. |
| Sylvia wrote: |
| wrote that "Mary is the Queen and Mediatrix "The Bible says:" There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. "I do not have anything to add, is written in black and white, there is only one mediator, Jesus Christ! Should we trust the tradition, the Pope, etc, or God and the Bible? |
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| Bible does not forbid us to pray, does not prevent this, we turned for help to our loved ones in heaven forbids divination and tests communicate with the dead in order to know the future. "Could you indicate to me a verse in the Bible, which says that we should pray for the dead? |
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| " alive because they know that they must die, but it's dead do not know and I do not have to pay anything for them because their name is forgotten. Both their love and their hate and their zeal, their eagerness long gone, and you will never have an interest in anything from what happens under the sun "(Sal.9.56 BB) " What comes across your hand, you did it, do it according to its potency, because in the land of the dead, to which you are going, there is no action, nor's purposes, nor knowledge nor wisdom "(Sal.9.10 BB) "As the cloud goes out and disappears, so does not return the one who descended into Hades. I will never return to his home and his place of residence no longer knows anything about it "(Hiob76.9 BB-10) " When the spirit leaves him and returns to his dust, the same day killed all his thoughts " (Ps.146.4 BB) |
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| "And there is no salvation in any other, because no people under heaven given no other name by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). I am the way truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me "(John 14:6). |
| Sylvia wrote: | ||
result of your above statements, it does not consider the Bible as inspired and useful. |
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| Well Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written : This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me. But I am vain worship, preaching the teachings that are the dictates of men. Neglect the commandments of God and the human sciences are holding up. And he said them, cunningly avoiding the commandment of God to save his school. [...] Yes invalidate the word of God through his teaching, which forwards, and many such like things ye do "(Mark 7,1-13). |
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is one mediator between God and us, Jesus Christ! |