| To all my Catholic Brothers and Sisters on this board. Jan & I want you to know we love you. So please do not be offended by the emotions of so many others. I just wanted to step in here and say we love you guys. Now to my Protestant friends. When thinking on the Body of Christ I like to think the diversity God gave us is wonderful. The way I look at all Catholics is what their stated creed is. I wish all people who say they are Christians believe all of this. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen Catholic means (universal or body of Christ) Now as to Mary what does the word say: The annunciation in the Gospel of Luke says all generations are to call her blessed. LUK 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, LUK 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. LUK 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. LUK 1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy [is]his name. LUK 1:50 And his mercy [is] on them that fear him from generation to generation. 1:51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 1:52 He hath put down the mighty from [their] seats, and exalted them of low degree. 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 1:54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of [his] mercy; 1:55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. Remember even the Angel of the Lord came for God and said: LUK 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women. Remember the greeting of her aunt Elisabeth LUK 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb. I personally do not pray to Mary because Jesus is my Advocate but I do Bless and Honor her because she is the mother of Jesus and because the Word says to. Now as to the rest: It is ok to place information here but please remember not to try and take up a cause There are Catholics who are saved just like there are Baptist and Assembly of God people saved. You are not saved by denomination you are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ through faith. Each denomination has something different about it. Their history is they formed because they believe in something different than what they came out of and they wanted the communion of like minded saints or believers to fellowship with. That does not make them better. Now please do not bring us the persecution of one group of people to others That had nothing to do with Christ. There are many men in the Protestant denominations who tortured people including John Calvin as well as the Catholics. Many people have made many mistakes but God had nothing to do with it. So My Dear Friends please be patient with me. I am not pointing anything at anyone. As some of you have expressed your personal feelings as the leader of the board I must do the same so people will understand where the leadership of this board stands. We can point out error in any denomination. Baptist do not believe miracles are for today Pentecostals do. Baptist believe once you are saved you are always saved Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists do not. But thousands get saved every year in Baptist churches and in Methodist churches etc. I do not think Our Precious Lord is upset with any of them. Almost all denominations have the infallibility clause in their statement of faith. They call it unity and submission. When any denomination issues a statement of faith and says to be a minister or member you must believe these things. They are saying they have heard from God and it is infallible. What I love about this site is the diversity and the love and unity we can have for one another. We honor our pastors and leaders of demoninations just as Catholics honor the priest and Pope. It is our diversity that makes us strong. So to my Catholic friends, thank you for being part of our family and we Love and respect you very much. Pastor Jerry & Jan |
