Here is another quote from her. I’m just letting you know where she is coming from because I am positive I will be back for more help. As I said, I love this girl. We’ve been friends for a long time and she is a great friend. This has been coming to a head for a long time. This all started as innocent emails between friends.
Hi Tasha!
Jesus spoke about this issue… He said that He did not come to bring peace to the world but fire (war/division); He stated that at the end of times (Judgment) where two would be gathered one would be taken away and the other left behind–ditto for those in a bed… you see, Christ is speaking about the separation that occurs with humanity where some will allign themselves with Christ and others will reject Him…
…Your friend, as many others, want to accept Christ on their own merits and conditions!
At the last email she said, “I have to go to church now. I’m preparing myself for the rapture as a bride prepares herself for the wedding. None of my friends are prepared for this. None.”
When you read the Bible (all of the Bible) you will never find Scriptures commanding us to prepare for a rapture.
Jesus does speak about something that we must prepare for… He insists that we must be ready for the Coming of the Son of Man because He will come unannounced at the least expected date and time… but His concern is not that we prepare for a given day or event but that we Allign ourselves to Him (when the Son of Man returns, will He find Faith on earth?).
…just to break-down your friend’s massege a little… remember hearing Jesus Teaching on the publican and the Pharisee? …well the publican went to Temple and stayed far back away from the altar and did not dare raise his eyes as he pleaded with Yahweh God to forgive him for he was a sinner–in contrast the Pharisse went up to the altar patted himself on the back for not being a sinner as those others… get the hint?
I’ve just stepped into this thread and I’ve noticed how self-involved your friend is: “None of my friends are prepared for this. None.”
Your friend shows almost as much charity as the Pharisee!
Quote: “I have a huge problem with baptism of infants. Dedication to the Lord such as Hannah did with Samuel, yes. But since baptism washes sin away, there is no sin in a child, and no repentance, & not filling of the Holy Ghost in most cases. One has to be able to confess & repent of sins and cease the activity. An infant/child is not capable of doing this. Nor are they doing it of their own free will. If a parent could baptize and child to get them into heaven, wouldnt we all be doing that? But the free will we all have does not come into play then. We are able to choose - and it is that choice of acknowledging and accepting Jesus as our savior that make us (in part) the church. At 15, you barely knew sin. At 21, when you became of age, you knew sin for sure, but had you died, what took place as an infant and at 15 would not have gotten you into heaven. Even today, the sin would keep you out. It’s almost like once saved always saved, and
that is not true either. Again, sin can not enter into heaven. So neither of these scenarios would save the person. Therefore, we must of our own accord, repent (cease the activity), be baptized to be cleansed and after that the Holy Ghost will come upon us with the evidence of speaking in tongues.”
Your friend does not believe, as Scriptures Teach, that there’s original sin (Adam’s sin); she makes a great argument about it–yet, for the most part her words speak against her since there’s no Biblical formula to determine the “perfect/exact” age for “adult” Baptism; she, and her group, have arbitrarily determined that age 21 is the “correct” Baptismal age (not Biblical) and she ignores that various cultures determine various ages for “adulthood,” a serious error on God’s part if the Sacrament of Baptism causes His Truth to be restructured according to man’s social practices… another huge error is that in her statement your friend has condemned every single child that has died prior to reaching that “perfect” Baptismal age–since no sin can enter Heaven and no person can be Baptized before age 21… :banghead:
Her belief system makes everyone a total innocent till age 21–we only know sin when we reason that we have sinned? …could that not make Yahweh God a liar since He has stated that “all have sinned?”
Finally, she seems to be a little confused… the Holy Spirit will give evidence by allowing the Believer to speak in tongues? There are more than a billion Catholics world-wide, I imagine that non-Catholic Christians might be even more (granted, the accumulated fractions of Christian groups) and the world is not going crazy from all the billions speaking in tongues?
St. Paul tells us that God is a God of order not disorder–the signs of the Holy Spirit were granted during the early Church to demonstrate that they were members of Christ’s Body, and it was done as the Holy Spirit determined; the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not “rights” that we can command God to grant us… and they served a purpose at a time that they were necessary… as the Church grew and developed there was less of the need for supernatural signs and a greater need for bringing the Gospel to the world–which the Holy Spirit has continued to do.
Sorry if this is too much. It’s too much for me!! (She was referring to me at 15 because I was explaining my Confirmation to her.) Thanks for listening/reading.
…you are part of the Catholic Church… hone your skills by learning about your Faith and Scriptures even further–your friend is insisting that you do!
Maran atha!
Angel
Oh brother!