Ever heard of this guy? Richard Bennett

[Jeanette_L]

I must admit I have never heard of this man before, and after listening to him talk, and reading the information on the link I had a whole new take on this type of thing I never had before.

How did you feel after hearing and reading the things you did on the link?

Did you feel that he was filled with the Holy Spirit? Did you get the impression he was at peace in his heart? Did he make you for even a minute scared that you were making the biggest mistake of your life all these years and he finally light the way to expose your deepest concerns or doubts? Or did he give you an uneasy queasy kinda feeling?

I have to agree with you myself, Damascus, in that a lot can be determined by the spirit in which someone is presenting themselves and their teachings. I have to admit that when I was an Evangelical, I had heard an awful lot of hateful things said about the Catholic Church and Catholics in general, and I didn’t think anything about it, and I thought I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet these hateful things didn’t even prick my conscience.

Now, when I started really getting serious about my faith, and started a genuine search for the True Christianity, I started noticing the difference between the way the Evangelicals/Fundamentalists talked about others of different Christian beliefs, and the way Catholics presented their beliefs in comparison to other Christian groups, and the spirit in which they behaved was completely different. That was an important eye opener for me, and I started feeling convicted in my soul when I heard things presented in a hateful manner. I knew that it was not Christ speaking these things, but it was coming from a different place altogether.

Test the spirits. That’s what the Bible tells us to do. Richard Bennett doesn’t pass the test.

 

[apophasis]

I have to agree with you myself, Damascus, in that a lot can be determined by the spirit in which someone is presenting themselves and their teachings. I have to admit that when I was an Evangelical, I had heard an awful lot of hateful things said about the Catholic Church and Catholics in general, and I didn’t think anything about it, and I thought I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet these hateful things didn’t even prick my conscience.

Now, when I started really getting serious about my faith, and started a genuine search for the True Christianity, I started noticing the difference between the way the Evangelicals/Fundamentalists talked about others of different Christian beliefs, and the way Catholics presented their beliefs in comparison to other Christian groups, and the spirit in which they behaved was completely different.

I’d say you’re painting with a rather broad brush. And you seem to be doing to “Evangelicals/Fundamentalists” what you claim they ALL do to Catholics.

Test the spirits. That’s what the Bible tells us to do. Richard Bennett doesn’t pass the test.

Testing the spirits has nothing to do with how you “feel” about someone, or how they make you “feel,” but the accuracy of what they teach:1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."Christ Himself didn’t always make people “feel” good. Remember what He said to the Pharisees? How about the money changers in the Temple? Or what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians? If your “test” is how people make you “feel,” then you’re prone to deception, for even Satan disquises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

 

[apophasis]

I have to agree with you myself, Damascus, in that a lot can be determined by the spirit in which someone is presenting themselves and their teachings. I have to admit that when I was an Evangelical, I had heard an awful lot of hateful things said about the Catholic Church and Catholics in general, and I didn’t think anything about it, and I thought I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet these hateful things didn’t even prick my conscience.

Now, when I started really getting serious about my faith, and started a genuine search for the True Christianity, I started noticing the difference between the way the Evangelicals/Fundamentalists talked about others of different Christian beliefs, and the way Catholics presented their beliefs in comparison to other Christian groups, and the spirit in which they behaved was completely different.

I’d say you’re painting with a rather broad brush. And you seem to be doing to “Evangelicals/Fundamentalists” what you claim they ALL do to Catholics.

Test the spirits. That’s what the Bible tells us to do. Richard Bennett doesn’t pass the test.

Testing the spirits has nothing to do with how you “feel” about someone, or how they make you “feel,” but the accuracy of what they teach:1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."Christ Himself didn’t always make people “feel” good. Remember what He said to the Pharisees? How about the money changers in the Temple? Or what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians? If your “test” is how people make you “feel,” then you’re prone to deception, for even Satan disquises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

 

[mikeledes]

Michael, I presented MANY posts on that thread of which the contents were ignored. That’s the way it usually happens. And I couldn’t keep up with all you guys ganging up on me. It becomes exhausting. Remember, I’m just one against many here.

As for “eternal life,” it’s a GIFT from God. There is only one life which God GIFTS the one who turns from unbelief to belief in His Son, and that’s “eternal.” It’s “eternal” because that life originates in the resurrected Son of God, and all who truly believe in Him, according to the Scriptures, are now "in Christ."John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."To obey Him is to believe in Him.John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am {He,} you will die in your sins.”

Rom. 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."You can rationalize all you want, Michael, but the Scriptures are VERY clear. The life that is freely given by God to those who receive His Son by faith is nothing less than “eternal” (everlasting). His life is given to them because they have been redeemed and purified by His blood, and their sins forever forgiven, having been, once for all, buried with Christ who died unto them, and rose again to new life (Rom. 6). It’s the wonder of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice.

This is what the the gospel message is all about, Michael. The word “gospel” means "good news."1 John 2:25 “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”

1 John 5:11 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."It’s not that the Scriptures are ambiguous, but that you refuse to believe “the testimony.” I can’t help you there. But from this day forward I can certainly pray that you might believe “the testimony,” and you too might come to “know” what John, the beloved Apostle, has written.

Then explain how Romans 2:6-7 square with your interpretation, particularly since eternal life is being given to those who patiently continue in doing good? Please point to me what arguments I have overlooked so that I can answer them. While you do that, you can answer James 2:24:

“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone (NASB).”

Why didn’t he just say “Man is justfied by faith alone,” the exact opposite of what his words are saying? Why bring up works if they play absolutely no role in our salvation?

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mikeledes]

Since this is beyond the purvue of this thread, any further response or comment I will make in the Romans 4 thread.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mrs_abbott]

Since this is beyond the purvue of this thread, any further response or comment I will make in the Romans 4 thread.

God Bless,
Michael

Thanks!

 

[mom2three]

Does Catholicism contradict the Bible, though, like he says?

Absolutely not…

You have to keep in mind that sites like this do not actually argue against Catholicism, but what they THINK Catholicism is. They argue against a straw man.

Straw man: Present a misrepresentation of the opponent’s position, refute it, and pretend that the opponent’s actual position has been refuted.

I looked at his website before I considered Catholicism and found that, even as a non-Catholic Christian, I thought his ideas about Christianity were a bit off.

The website claims a “love for Catholics” while bashing us, and lying about our beliefs and then saying, “I know, because I was a Catholic myself” as if this gives them some added authority. But it is obvious that this guy did not know his own faith to begin with. The attacks against Catholic apologists are vicious, full of sarcasm and demeaning to the work of Christ in the lifes of Catholics…

I tend to stay away from this stuff because it’s so upsetting that after we’ve proven time and time again that they are not accurately representing Catholicism, the persist. It’s frustrating to always be arguing against a straw man. I spend more time defending straw man attacks than I do defending actual Catholic teaching.

Do not let the lies in these kinds of websites cast doubt in your mind. They may mean well, but they are seriously misled.

 

[mom2three]

Excuse my grammatical errors. I was unable to correct them since the site went down at that time and I lost the 20 minute “edit” window!

“lifes”?

Geez…

 

[Catherine_S]

He didn’t reply, but his wife did. She consigned me to hell for “Catholic” practices such as lighting candles, worshipping statues & so on. Not a nice person.

That was very charitable considering the reply she sent to you!
.

 

[Catherine_S]

The website claims a “love for Catholics” while bashing us.

A lot of boloney!
.
Do not let the lies in these kinds of websites cast doubt in your mind. They may mean well, but they are seriously misled.

They **were **misled now they are insane and dark forces are having a field day with them because they can no longer see anything but themselves. Their own thoughts and their own beliefs. They attack like their in a frenzy. If they did not have the Catholic Church to hate they would fall apart.
.
God have mercy on them.

.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

I’d say you’re painting with a rather broad brush. And you seem to be doing to “Evangelicals/Fundamentalists” what you claim they ALL do to Catholics.Testing the spirits has nothing to do with how you “feel” about someone, or how they make you “feel,” but the accuracy of what they teach:1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."Christ Himself didn’t always make people “feel” good. Remember what He said to the Pharisees? How about the money changers in the Temple? Or what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians? If your “test” is how people make you “feel,” then you’re prone to deception, for even Satan disquises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

Hi,
Good point about feelings. We want to feel good and when biblical truth is taught and it doesnt make us feel good we get our backs up and think it cant possibly be true. I use to feel that way until I was filled with the Holy Spirit. Trust me, there are biblical truths I do not like simply because they interfere with my pride and I dont want to obey. The fact is I didnt make the rules but whether I like it or not I have to obey them.

 

[mrs_abbott]

Hi,
Good point about feelings. We want to feel good and when biblical truth is taught and it doesnt make us feel good we get our backs up and think it cant possibly be true. I use to feel that way until I was filled with the Holy Spirit. Trust me, there are biblical truths I do not like simply because they interfere with my pride and I dont want to obey. The fact is I didnt make the rules but whether I like it or not I have to obey them.

I think that can be said for many things, like even civil laws. I guess church and state aren’t as separate as they think.
The Bible is a tough book to follow but I think one can see the Truth through the Holy Spirit. Granted, an informed conscience helps.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

I think that can be said for many things, like even civil laws. I guess church and state aren’t as separate as they think.
The Bible is a tough book to follow but I think one can see the Truth through the Holy Spirit. Granted, an informed conscience helps.

 

[Damascus]

I think Apophasis and All for Him have misunderstood my words and Jeanette’s words. It can be safely said that neither of us are talking about needing to hear Jesus’ teachings to be pleasant to our ears for us to accept it.

I am speaking of Richard Bennetts take on the teachings of Jesus, not the teachings of Jesus lets make that clear.

And if anyone who bothered to view his video on that link and explore it could say he is filled with the Holy Spirit, I must disagree. Please view the entire link before commenting.

 

[Jeanette_L]

I’d say you’re painting with a rather broad brush. And you seem to be doing to “Evangelicals/Fundamentalists” what you claim they ALL do to Catholics.Testing the spirits has nothing to do with how you “feel” about someone, or how they make you “feel,” but the accuracy of what they teach:1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."Christ Himself didn’t always make people “feel” good. Remember what He said to the Pharisees? How about the money changers in the Temple? Or what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians? If your “test” is how people make you “feel,” then you’re prone to deception, for even Satan disquises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

First of all, I didn’t say that all Evangelicals/Fundamentalists were hateful towards Catholics and Catholic Teaching, I said that I heard a lot of it. That’s not too broad a brush stroke at all, so I’m sorry if you misunderstood what I was trying to convey. And pretty much the opposite was true when I started studying what the Catholics had to say about Catholicism and the other Christian brothers and sisters who were separated from it. The spirit was noticably different, much more charitable, which is an attribute of the Holy Spirit.

And I am well aware that testing the spirits has nothing to do with “feelings”, but it has everything to do with the spirit in which something is spoken. I don’t think these are the same things at all. We all know the difference between something that is spoken in love and something that is spoken in hatred. The spirit behind these is almost always discernable.

And you mention that part of *testing the spirits *is the accuracy of what is taught. I believe this is why we are all here on this particular thread and why I originally stated above concerning the things I had heard taught about Catholicism and in the manner in which they were taught. Most of what I had always been told/taught about Catholicism from otherwise reputable teachers/preachers was absolutely false or grotesquely distorted and lacking any type of genuine understanding. Richard Bennett, who is supposed to have come from a learned position within the Catholic Church, is not speaking wholly or accurately as to what the Church teaches and practices. So these spirits are not ones of charity or honesty, thus are not a spirits coming from the Holy Spirit.

So, I stand by my post, not your interpretation of it.

All in the spirit of love, of course!!!

 

[Damascus]

Lets take another look at it. He might be filled with the spirit, but its the 80 proof variety.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Just about every Priest I’ve ever heard of leaving the Church, funny enough seems to end up married. Just a coincidence I am sure…

 

[Damascus]

Just about every Priest I’ve ever heard of leaving the Church, funny enough seems to end up married. Just a coincidence I am sure…

NO! Is it true? Martin Luther was…was… oh my I think you are on to something here!

That one always slips my mind. Could it be a coincidence? Or is it simply stated: Cant follow the rules, dont want to follow the rules, so I will deny the rules should be followed and retaliate and spend every waking moment of my life bitter about how denied I was of (fill in the blank) and now I will make them rue the day they denied me all this pleasure I was missing out on!

I hope I am wrong, but it appears to be very convincing…

One cant judge of course.

 

[mom2three]

NO! Is it true? Martin Luther was…was… oh my I think you are on to something here!

That one always slips my mind. Could it be a coincidence? Or is it simply stated: Cant follow the rules, dont want to follow the rules, so I will deny the rules should be followed and retaliate and spend every waking moment of my life bitter about how denied I was of (fill in the blank) and now I will make them rue the day they denied me all this pleasure I was missing out on!

I hope I am wrong, but it appears to be very convincing…

One cant judge of course.

In reality, were they really denied? Becoming a priest is a choice… and they know what they’re doing when they get into it…

But I believe we are on to something here… It seems that they may have lost site of their original calling. I find that many do not understand the true teachings of the church… and many of these “former nuns and priests” were never really nuns or priests at all!

 

[Unfinished]

In reality, were they really denied? Becoming a priest is a choice… and they know what they’re doing when they get into it…

I have always been of that line of thought. Priest and religious give up marriage freeling and willingly.

I recall a writing by Luther where he said “No one should be denied the beauty of sexual intercourse.” (Paraphrase)

Denied? DENIED? No one is denying you anything. No one demands celibacy. These things are a choice.

I also just find it amazingly “ironic” that every former Catholic priest ends up married within a few years.