What happens immediately after death?

[cyberjedi75]

When you say that you see the Holy Spirit working in other churches, what exactly do you mean? Physical signs, emotional experiences, miracles, what exactly?

Remember, that Satan can imitate the workings of the Holy Spirit to a great degree and demons, being fallen angels, still maintain a corrupted version of their angelic functions, whatever they were. They can and do make things appear to be what they are not. I would be very very careful about assuming things that I see in other Churches to be the handiwork of God. They may very well be, but there is also the very good chance that they are not.

As to other issues that you have raised and avoided answering, I think your non response proves a lot. You say that you are seeking the truth. Great, we all are, at least most of us on this forum are. I can tell you honestly that you will not find it in the web sites that you are getting this anti-Catholic propaganda from. They have a specific agenda and you need to be aware of that. That agenda has nothing to do with the truth or understanding things. It seeks only to poison the minds of people against Catholicism and pull people into false and heretical beliefs.

DON’T FALL FOR IT

Well for one thing we know that Satan cannot cast out Satan right? We’ve seen this from Scripture. So how about the transformations of peoples lives in finding Christ? I’ve seen people give up Alcoholism, drugs and all sorts of other “demons” in their lives. Those things don’t take place from Satan himself because then he’d be fighting against himself. I for one had life changing experiences when I found God in my life and I wasn’t Catholic at the time. No one can tell me it isn’t real. I changed totally…I became a lover of truth, hater of evil and perverted things, I could not lie or if I did great guilt would overcome me. The Holy Spirit directed my thoughts and actions everyday. I was also saved from certain death several times and know for a fact it was only because of heavenly intercession. These experiences take place within true believers all over the world in every circle and in every denomination. People who do not literally drink blood and body every day but do so spiritually though their simple faith in Christ. Isn’t it just possible that God is in everyone and for everyone and denominations arn’t an issue? Catholic or otherwise true faith is where salvation is. After all isn’t that what saved Abraham? He had no religion but was saved through faith alone. It seems these days even the church is seeing things this way, as more and more you hear Catholics calling others brothers and sisters. How could we be brothers and sisters if I’m a goat and you are a sheep? There is no light in darkness right? If I don’t believe that the bread and wine are blood and body but believe instead it is spiritual how then can we be truely united? What about the time the pope prayed with other faiths? These people wern’t even Christian!!! What did he hope to accomplish by assembling a group of people with different Gods/goddesses and praying together as if they were united? In these actions I think he caused more confusion then anything. That is anyways the way a person like me, who is still a searching infant in Christ sees it. It didn’t help me to have faith in the Catholic faith, it just confused me and made me question the faith. thoughts?

 

[nmercier1]

welcome to the boards cyberjedi! If your searching for truth in the specifics of the tiny detail, the Church really has a answer for everything, its quite amazing what 2000 years of questions will do to a institution. But anyways, I finall realized one day, after questioning such things as you are questioning now, that the church has been super consistent on things for a very long time. Did you know that take for instance the year 300, do you now how many non-canonical books were circulating during this time. My philosophy teacher showed us a small example. He held up a book with non-canonical books which was humungous and about 3-4 inches think, and then the new testament, which was about a inch or so. You think divisions are bad now, back then things were insane amongst christians. But what ultimately prevailed? The Apostolic Tradition of the Apostles. Do not believe me, well check out this website.

www.earlychurchfathers.org

Its quick and to the point, and shows what 1st 2nd and 3rd century fathers were taught, and much is what we divide over today.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

Response to post #40 - The books of the Catholic bible for the Old Testament come from the Alexandrian Canon (called the Greek Canon) This is where we get the term Septuagint. Those books written in Greek were by the Jews in exile. This council of Alexandria ran from 250 to 125 BC, During the Old Testament. It included the books not included in the Protestant Bible as they follow the Council of Jamnia of 95 AD. It was done by a group of Rabbis who discarded the books written in Greek and recognized only the ones written in Hebrew., thus the term Hebrew Canon. The point here is that the Old Testament was over and the New Testament was in existence. Jesus promised his apostles that they and their successors would be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The council of Jamnia was under no such guidance.
Deacon Ed B

 

[philippaul]

My 2 cents. None of this is scriptural or follows Tradition but I like to think we are given some time to think when we die. Please take this only as my imagination. It has no authority. It is almost no different than a thought like, “I wonder what God looks like?”

Heaven may be too much to take for a passed soul in this still earth-bound state. I imagine Satan being the liar that he is, will show you that the place of Hell looks many more times greater than the state of Purgatory. He may admit yes, Hell is a miserable place but it’s not nearly as bad as Purgatory as it may look to be so impossible there to get to the point where you’re allowed to live with God.

Hopefully though, you’ll have enough grace when you pass, that your eyes will be opened even more and you’ll know Satan and his hordes for what they are: liars and lions “prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour.” Woe to the person who accepts Hell and rejects God in finality. That unfortunate soul will know at that point that he has been taken for a fool. I can’t imagine anyone with a clear mind making this choice.