Need Answers, Not Assurances
Ivana from Croatia writes: I'm very interested in any site or forum that would help me and other catholics ask or share experiences with neo-protestantism which is spreading like fire, even in my own coutry, which has been known and claimed as 'traditionally' catholic. We are very exposed to false teachers and prophets. I have a lot of questions, but most of my friends just tell me to drop the issue. I have met a lot of protestants lately and I really need answers and advice; not just suggestions to leave things hanging in the air.
HSI: Read the Holy Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church - both of them together provide us with all the answers we need about our faith. The site Holy Spirit Interactive also provides a lot of catechetical information that you will find useful. Once we know WHY we believe WHAT we believe, we don't need to worry about false teachers and false prophets. Please also read the article on False Prophets by Aneel Aranha.
HSI: Read the Holy Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church - both of them together provide us with all the answers we need about our faith. The site Holy Spirit Interactive also provides a lot of catechetical information that you will find useful. Once we know WHY we believe WHAT we believe, we don't need to worry about false teachers and false prophets. Please also read the article on False Prophets by Aneel Aranha.
posted by Aneel Aranha ::
3 Comments:
Hi Ivana,
Glad to read that you are firm in your belief of the Catholic Church. Please note that it is extremely difficult to drill sense into someone who has left the Catholic Church, because to justify themselves, they will quote you a handful of Scripture and no matter how much sense you make, they will not budge, however it is our duty to try and to pray for all out lost bretheren.
Now as for your request, if you go to site Catholic.com, you will find a lot of relevant information, in question and answer format, this would really help you, also check out EWTN.com Q&A, really helpful.
And Yes Aneel, is doing a fabulous job with HSI.
God Bless you, and may he enlighten all to come together to become ONE BODY, ONE CHURCH, especially since Jesus prayed 'Father Let them be ONE'
Love
Salvador
Ivana,
I was once a catholic, and a very strong one serving daily in the choir and leading the youth group.
I then stumbled upon the Bible later in life, I read it and it conflicted like crazy with what the catholic church was teaching me and many times what the Bible says is opposite of the Church taught.
Muslims respect the Korans teaching as law but sadly many christians dont treat the Bibles teachings with half the respect...
Im not telling you what you must do, what I will ask you is Who are you wanting to serve ?
You either follow Gods word or Mans word. You cant do both.
I am now part of a Bible based church, I couldnt sit for a 20 minutes sermon without getting bored before, now I can sit out a 2 hour service daily if needed. Gods word is amazing.
I am more than willing to help you with more queries if you email me on L.Baldrey@mailcity.com
God Bless You
Lyndon
A Sobering Future
But what is behind the current emphasis on the Virgin Mary? Why is it growing, and where is it leading? Bible prophecies reveal that just before the return of Jesus Christ, a "beast power" composed of ten nations will emerge in Europe from the ashes of the old Roman (and "Holy Roman") Empire (see Daniel 2, 7; Revelation 13, 17–18). This confederation will be ridden by a woman—a rich and powerful church—described as a queen whose roots go back to ancient Babylon, and as a mother of harlots (other misguided churches) who has made the world drunk with her false doctrines (see Revelation 18:7; 17:1–6). This woman—called "daughter of Babylon" and the "Lady of Kingdoms"—will claim to be the one true church, saying: "I am, and there is no one else besides me." She will lead an end-time movement to bring her "separated children" back to the "mother" church (Isaiah 47:8–9; Revelation 18:7–8).
Worship of the "Queen of Heaven" would provide a "common ground" to unite nations and religions of the world, in an attempt to bring peace to mankind. Many nations in Old Europe have been consecrated to Mary: the Ukrainian and Hungarian peoples shortly after 1000ad, and England as Mary’s "Dowry" in 1381. In the 1600s, Austria, France, Poland, Spain and Portugal and their colonies were dedicated to Mary (see A Woman Rides the Beast, Hunt, p. 457). In 1996, Pope John Paul II designated the shrine of Our Lady of Europe (set up in Gibraltar in 1309 by King Ferdinand IV of Spain) as a "potent symbol" for the unification of Europe and "a place where, under the patronage of Mary, the human family will be drawn ever more closely into fraternal unity and peaceful coexistence." This shrine is not far from a cave on Gibraltar where Phoenician seafarers set up a shrine to Astarte, the Queen of Heaven, seven centuries before Christ.
But the New Europe is also awash with Marian symbolism. The flag of the European Union—a ring of 12 gold stars on blue background—is drawn from pictures of the Madonna with 12 stars in halo around her head. In the cathedral at Strasbourg, France (site of the European Parliament), a stained glass window—designated the "window of Europe"—depicts the Madonna and child with a halo of 12 stars and crescent moons along the edges. May 5 has been designated "Europe Day"—it is also the feast day of Our Lady of Europe in Gibraltar.
Catholic leaders recognize the ecumenical potential of a mother goddess. Nearly 40 years ago, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen predicted the conversion of Islam to Christianity "through summoning of the Moslems to a veneration of the Mother of God" (see Hunt, p. 458). Sheen pointed out that Mohammed had a daughter named Fatima, that the Blessed Virgin appeared in the Portuguese village of Fatima and that, when a statue of Our Lady of Fatima is displayed in Muslim countries, thousands turn out to venerate her image. A shrine to Our Lady of Fatima is also being constructed in Russia—a stronghold of the Orthodox Church and home of a large Muslim population—to facilitate the return of many Russians to the "true" faith.
The female Madonna also appeals to feminists who reject the patriarchal flavor of traditional Christianity, and to New Agers who worship an "Earth Mother." The increasingly frequent reports of apparitions of one calling herself the "Lady of All Nations," and the growing Catholic emphasis on Mary as the "Queen of Heaven" fit well with an effort to pull the religions of the world together.
The worship of the Madonna is a significant thread that connects the ancient worship of Semiramis in Babylon, and the mother goddesses of Egypt, Greece and Rome, to the modern veneration of the Virgin Mary. It is an unbiblical practice that is actually condemned in Scripture. Worship of the mother goddess dominated the ancient world and played a key role in attracting pagans to the early church. The Bible reveals that devotion to the "Blessed Virgin," the "Lady of All Nations," the "Queen of Heaven" and the "Queen of the Universe" will play a significant role in key events that will fulfill end-time prophecies. We are watching those events take shape today!
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