You don't fool me, I've heard that copout excuse said a hundred times from christians who then say "christianity is a way of life, not a religion" and conveniently ignoring the fact they are conformists to biblical teachings and customs, such as communion, baptism, prayer, church attendance, tithing, evangelism or missionary work, singing hymns, home groups, sunday school, church camps, reading the bible, quoting scripture, believing in miracles etc. Every christian church have the same basic model which christians adhere to, then you say its not a religion.
%% AS IF you know more than the word of God HUH?? I'm much more interested in what the Word of God says than a bitter opinion of yours...........................................................................Thanks
"I think we were brought up on different Gods, mine was Almighty. Nothing could stop his plan." Yes of course God is Almighty. and nothing can stop His plan and Jesus did intervene and Saul did not stop His plan. I don't understand your point. Jesus turned around what would have seemed nearly hopeless to the persecuted early disciples. Indeed Jesus turned a persecutor in a supporter and one that would go to Rome the seat of power at the time. And Saul a Pharisee was good with words and also knew the Old Testament scriptures well. Not only could nothing stop God's plan but he converted an enemy to a ally. Jesus often worked in this way, turning around a dire situation that might have seemed nearly hopeless at the last minute so people could see and believe. He even let Lazarus be 4 days dead ('but Lord he must be stinking by now') before raising Lazarus as another overwhelming display of power (as if feeding the 5,000 and the 4,000 weren't enough).
When Rome went from being pagan to Christian under Constantine, they had to find a replacement for the great mother of paganism. It was not until the time of Constantine that anyone began to look at Mary as a goddess. Since Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ, she was the most logical person to replace the pagan mother goddess. The pagans could continue their prayers and devotion to the mother goddess, only they would call her Mary. The pagans worshiped the mother as much or more than her son and this is exactly what the Roman Catholicism does. True Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is to be worshiped – not his mother. The Roman Catholic church, headquartered in Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican. The Roman Catholic church unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called “miraculous conversion” to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine but he still worshiped the sun god. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 A.D., Constantine, from 312 A.D. until his death in 337, was engaged in the process of simultaneously building pagan temples and Christian churches, and was slowly turning over the reins of his pagan priesthood to the Bishop of Rome. … Prior to the time of Constantine’s “conversion,” Christians were persecuted not so much for their profession of faith in Christ, but because they would not include pagan deities in their faith as well. Then, with Constantine’s emphasis on making his new-found Christianity palatable to the heathen in the Empire, the “Christianization” of these pagan deities was facilitated. For example, pagan rituals and idols gradually took on Christian meanings and names and were incorporated into “Christian” worship (e.g., “saints” replaced the cult of pagan gods in both worship and as patrons of cities; mother/son statues were renamed Mary and Jesus; etc.), and pagan holidays were reclassified as Christian holy days (e.g., the Roman Lupercalia and the feast of purification of Isis became the Feast of the Nativity; the Saturnalia celebrations were replaced by Christmas celebrations; an ancient festival of the dead was replaced by All Souls Day, rededicated to Christian heroes [now Halloween]; etc.). … Worshipping the mother goddess along with her child took place centuries before Jesus Christ was ever born in many different parts of the world. In 431 A.D. Mary worship became an official doctrine of the church in at the Council of Ephesus. https://onecanhappen.com/2015/02/17...mes-mary-replaced-the-mother-goddess-sun-god/ ------------------ Question: Where does it say that Mary was assumed into heaven? I have read in the Bible about Enoch and Elijah, but where does it say God called Mary to heaven? Answer: If you are looking for direct scriptural proof of this dogma, you will not find any. Mary’s Assumption was not recorded in Scripture. Pope Pius XII formally defined the dogma of the Assumption in his apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus on November 1, 1950: “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (MD 44). https://www.catholic.com/qa/where-in-the-bible-does-it-say-that-mary-was-assumed-into-heaven -------------------- Catholics attribute to Mary both physical (altars, bowing down, feasts, locations ) and spiritual (adoration, devotion to, entrust to, glory due to, looking to, prayer to, worship of) aspects of worship. But, God warns people not to fall into idolatry and false worship and to avoid such practices because they lead to sin. Roman Catholics say they do not worship Mary, but they do the very things that are consistent with worship. In other words, they do everything consistent with the essence of worship while denying that they actually do it. https://carm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/mary-adoration-of-small-min.PNG
Pray directly to the Father in Heaven Do not pray to another intercede for for you - not even me, Jesus, The Son John 16: 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” ================ but Catholic Church teaches to pray to others (Saints, Mary) intercede for us. -------- Like all prayers to Saints, our prayers to Virgin Mary rely on the Saints' special power to intercede for us before Christ and the Father. But since Mary has a unique role in salvation, and a unique relationship to the Trinity, our prayers to the Blessed Virgin also rely on her special power of intercession. "Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus' mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope." (Catechism, 2679) https://www.beginningcatholic.com/prayers-to-virgin-mary ---------------example of prayer to Mary------- O Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of goodness, show your love towards us. Let the flame of your heart, O Mary, descend on all people. We love you immensely. Impress true love in our hearts so that we have a continuous desire for you. O Mary, gentle and humble of heart, remember us when we are in sin. You know that all men sin. Give us, by means of your Immaculate Heart, spiritual health. Let us always see the goodness of your motherly heart and may we be converted by means of the flame of your heart. Amen. Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of love for God and mankind, and of compassion for sinners, I consecrate myself to you. I entrust to you the salvation of my soul. May my heart be ever united with yours, so that I may hate sin, love God and my neighbor, and reach eternal life with those whom I love. May I experience the kindness of your motherly heart and the power of your intercession with Jesus during my life and at the hour of my death. Amen. Prostrate at thy sacred feet, O august Queen of Heaven, I venerate thee with the most profound respect, and I believe that thou art the daughter of the Eternal Father, the Mother of His Divine Son, and the Spouse of the Holy Ghost. Full of grace and virtues and heavenly gifts, thou art the purest temple of the most Holy Trinity, thou art the treasury and dispenser of divine mercy. Thy Immaculate Heart, full of charity, sweetness and tenderness, has given thee the name of Mother of Divine Clemency. Therefore, in my affliction and agony I present myself with confidence before thee, our most loving Mother, and I pray thee to make me experience the love which thou bearest us; Grant me (specify the favor) if it be the Will of God and for the good of my soul. Amen. O Immaculate Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, I beg of you by the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and by the graces God has granted to you since your Immaculate Conception, the grace of never going astray again. Mother, keep me, a sinner, constantly bathed in the light of your Immaculate Heart. Amen. In the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I Trust Look to the Star Call upon Mary! In danger, in difficulty or in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary, Keep her name on your lips, Never let it pass out of your heart. Following in her footsteps, you will not go astray: praying to her, you will not fall into despair: thinking of her you will not err. While she keeps hold of your hand, you will not fall ... you will not grow weary ... you will have no fear ... Enjoying her protection, you will reach the goal. (Saint Bernard) https://www.marypages.com/prayers-to-the-blessed-virgin-mary.html
Since prehistoric times, healing was seen to be accomplished through water and milk—that is, mother’s milk—both of which continued to be associated with Greco-Roman goddesses. Thus, the images of Isis/Horus and Mary/Jesus connect the elements of the ideal mother who nourishes her child, the healing and health-promoting powers of her milk, and the curative properties of water. Philippi emerged over time as a pilgrimage site for people in need of healing in its cultic waters, which were linked to female deities.[6] All of this evidence sheds important light on the growth of Christianity at Thessaloniki and Philippi. The emergence of a strong attachment to Mary, the mother of Jesus, at these cities and elsewhere suggests that the replacement of a female deity by an all-male godhead—Jesus and his father—was inconceivable to many pagans. When Christianity eventually prevailed, adherents turned to Jesus and his mother Mary who resembled many of their traditional goddesses. What becomes readily apparent from the archaeological evidence is that pagan cults were alive and well not only during the early years of the empire as Christianity spread but also long afterwards, and female deities were often especially popular. Indeed, many within these cities continued to worship traditional deities even as they added Jesus to their religious repertory. At Thessaloniki and Philippi, evidence has been found for the veneration of a wide array of gods and goddesses. Here we will focus on the Egyptian goddess Isis, who, though a relative newcomer to the pantheon, became quite popular throughout the empire. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org...ry-isis-and-the-goddesses-of-the-via-egnatia/
" pastoral perspective we also need to make a distinction between the Roman Catholic people and the the institution that deceives them. I love Roman Catholics I've given my life to reach them but I hate the institution that keeps them on the wide road to destruction with a false and fatal gospel. So please let's make that distinction we love the people but we hate what is false.
It's really quite easy to disprove the Christian Fundamentalist beliefs of judgment. How many wars have Christians been involved in? Let's take WW2 as a case in point. There were both German Christians and British & American Christians on both sides shooting at each other. According to the Christian Fundamentalist beliefs, all of these Christians who were killing each other, are supposed to stand at a great white throne judgment, to be judged for their deeds. At this point, it should not take much thought to realize how each of these Christians in his or her own beliefs, thought that they were doing Gods will. (Of course, all of them will make an excuse for not being a conscientious objector) This would make any form of judgment a mockery.