Hagee says that we are not "The Great Whores Anymore"

[estesbob]

I live about 5 miles from Rev. Hagee’s Cornerstone MegaChurch. He has a huge following not only in San Antonio, but across the country. His church has over 20,000 family members. I have long been intrigued by his “ministry” and his preaching. I often watch him on Trinity Broadcast Network when I am chanel surfing and come across him, or on one of the local radio stations that broadcast his services. I have a VERY hard time believing that he has had this abrupt change of heart. While he never comes out and mentions the Catholic Church by name, his commentary leaves little doubt that he is referring to her. Using terms such as the whore of Babylon, or the woman worshiping pagan church, or the apostasy and then tying it all together by calling it the church of the city of seven hills and referencing Rome. His attacks are sharp, angry and divisive. Just this past weekend he had the backdrop on his stage for his sermon (at least what was aired on TV) that he used to attack the Church. Maybe his wealthy conservative church members were telling him to cool it, and out of fear of financial fallout he decided to back off. I could go on and on…sorry I went this long.

Or maybe the Spirit has moved him to see the truth. I think when a man aplogizes we should accept it.

 

[nsper7]

Way down in the article is a very interesting little tidbit which I think is pretty significant.

Hagee has often made references to “the apostate church” and the “great whore,” terms that Catholics say are slurs aimed at the Roman Catholic Church. In his letter, Hagee said he now better understood that the Book of Revelation’s reference to the Catholic Church as “the apostate church” and the “great whore” are “a rhetorical device long employed in anti-Catholic literature and commentary.” He stressed that in his use, “neither of these phrases can be synonymous with the Catholic Church.”

Coming from a long-time, hardcore anti-Catholic? This is big. He’s publicly admitting that his former understanding of Scripture was wrong. I think Pastor Hagee deserves our respect for this, big time, because with this he has gone well beyond making a wishy-washy statement to get a presidential candidate off his back. He didn’t have to do this.

Here is a quote from March 2008 by Hagee: “I’ve learned that some have accused me of referring to the Catholic Church as the ‘great whore,’ of Revelations. This is a serious misinterpretation of my words. When I refer to the ‘great whore,’ I am referring to the apostate church, namely those Christians who embrace the false cult system of Jew-hatred and antisemitism.” (catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=27068)

Also, not all millenial-minded Protestants view the Catholic Church as the ‘great whore’. For example, Hal Lindsey (author of “Late Great Planet Earth” and a big name in Prophecy interpretation), in one of his books (I forget which one), claims that the ‘whore of Babylon’ is not Roman Catholicism (partially because the RCC is not powerful enough to be a ‘one world religion’ anymore), but is New Agism, which is creeping in, even within the Church. Others, such as Walid Shoebat (a former Palestinean Muslim terrorist who eventually converted to Christianity and has studied prophecy as well) believes the ‘great whore’ is probably Islam). Personally, I do not think the Roman Catholic Church is the ‘whore of Babylon’, especially as I have read more Catholic theology.

 

[djkio]

Or maybe the Spirit has moved him to see the truth. I think when a man aplogizes we should accept it.

I accept his apology if he is sincere. Time will tell. I hope for eveyone’s sake he is sincere.

 

[nsper7]

I accept his apology if he is sincere. Time will tell. I hope for eveyone’s sake he is sincere.

I have a lot of respect for Hagee. He was one of the people who helped bring me to Salvation. Although I may not always agree with him, I do think he is a sincere man who is trying to follow God (although, obviously, only God knows the man’s heart).

 

[ralphinal]

Now, it seems to me that if Mr. Donohue is gracious and accepts the apology of Mr. Hagee without becoming cynical, then I would think that y’all could do the same.

To answer the question on influence, I would not have known who Mr. Hagee was outside of this forum.

I will gladly accept his apology once I see how the ball bounces. Usually, I forgive no latter than as the apology is spoken. IN this case, I see him like the Apostles saw Saul: yea, I know what his mouth says, but i need to see what his behind does to back it up.

 

[kickinbeat]

I just hope that Hagee is being straight, and not just another two-faced public figure.

 

[Jimsdun]

I know that I can sleep better tonight. Hagee is off our case for a bit.

msnbc.msn.com/id/24599419/

He is backing up on some of his rhetoric.

How much pull does he have? Does anyone, even if you disagree, see it as bad that he would back off just because he might hurt a presidential candidate? I mean if he does hate Catholics, just stay honest. I would rather see the knife coming then try to get it out of my back

Could it be because he does not want to alienate Catholics following his endorsemt of John McCain? I am sure that Hagee would want Catholics to vote for McCain. I wonder if he would have reacted the same way towards Mormons if Mitt Romney had been nominated?

 

[Camron]

Or maybe the Spirit has moved him to see the truth. I think when a man aplogizes we should accept it.

I agree. Hagee doesn’t seem to be just making a political endorsement for McCain. If I’ve understood some of his statements before, he seems to be making a serious revision to some of his anti-Semitic warnings in order to make the statements that he is making. He has spoken positively before about Mother Teresa too IIRC.

I find it odd that we Catholics hope and long for any form of true reconciliation with other denominations. And then we seem to slam them when they actually take some steps in the Catholic direction.

Let us not forget that there is indeed a “Whore of Babylon” out there. Perhaps we Catholics have heard it used so much against our Church that we are over-sensitive to the words and simply assume these people are speaking about us when these phrases are used (when in fact they may not be talking about us at all).

It is possible.

 

[ralphinal]

I agree. Hagee doesn’t seem to be just making a political endorsement for McCain. If I’ve understood some of his statements before, he seems to be making a serious revision to some of his anti-Semitic warnings in order to make the statements that he is making. He has spoken positively before about Mother Teresa too IIRC.

I find it odd that we Catholics hope and long for any form of true reconciliation with other denominations. And then we seem to slam them when they actually take some steps in the Catholic direction.

Let us not forget that there is indeed a “Whore of Babylon” out there. Perhaps we Catholics have heard it used so much against our Church that we are over-sensitive to the words and simply assume these people are speaking about us when these phrases are used (when in fact they may not be talking about us at all).

It is possible.

The only issue is that he suddenly reconsidered his position AFTER he endorsed John McCain. In other words, it LOOKS like he was afraid to alienate us. IN a year or two, will it be business as usual?

I hope he is sincere. I really do. I just have trouble because of the background.