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campeador
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“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” ― William Shakespeare,* The Merchant of Venice *
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Jeanne1184
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Long before I found documentaion relating a different view of Judas, I had felt there was something wrong with the Bible account. Jesus was tight with Judas. Unlike Peter who seemed to be torn between two masters - Judas was solid. So, for my vote, I pick Judas was part of making sure the crucifixion went off without a hitch. He left the area and preached the Gospel in far away places for many years.The same Judas that betrayed Jesus and gave into the devil!
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Jeanne1184
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The Holy Spirit is the Internal Reference for all things of Truth. Find the Holy Spirit and then you can do the ‘testing’, amongst other things like convicting of sin (always with Love, not condemnation).
John 16:13 - But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
John 14:26 - But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
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berk60
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Your exactly correct. There are good spirits and evil spirits and they are Angels.
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pablope
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These verses were addressed to the Apostles…and speaks of the guidance of the HS to them in their ministry.
But for us ordinary laymen…are we to test the spirit? How? How does one go about testing the Spirit?
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berk60
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You have to be a Berean and search the scripture. The verse that got us on this topic is referring to the spirit that is driving a human being. When we look at the verse it says,
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
These false prophets were people bringing a incorrect Gosple into the church. So the verse addresses that issue and says to test the message to see if it’s of God or a false prophet.
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berk60
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In the verse that we are talking about the spirit influencing the person is either from God or Satan.Where does it say that in the Bible?
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1john4:1
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Nicea325
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Okay,but if I am correct, St.Paul was telling the Bereans to search the scriptures to confirm Christ as the Messiah. And why? Because many people were doubting Jesus as being the Messiah,hence the above scriptural verse is in reference to the Bereans confirming ST.Paul’s message.
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Jeanne1184
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Mary’s soul purpose is to bring us closer to her son. The Rosary is straight from Scripture as I stated with verses in an above post.
She is “our life” because Eve brought death into the world and by Mary saying yes and giving birth to our WONDERFUL LORD JESUS (I wanted it big lol) she brought life back into the world via CHRIST.
I do not see how non Catholics can believe that Catholics place the Blessed Mother on a “goddess-like” platform. Her only mission is to bring us closer to Christ. Nothing more and nothing less. If any Catholic places her above Christ, then I will pray and pray and pray and pray for them.
That job is already taken by the Holy Spirit - the only one who can take us to Christ - after we agree to a major clean-up.
I know there are factions who advocate for a Quarternity instead of a Trinity but ‘adding one to the Trinity’ can’t be the plan. Or perhaps Mary plans to replace the Holy Spirit?
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Jeanne1184
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Most assuredly, yes. The Holy Spirit and wherever She leads me for the answers to the questions I ask. The Truth is all around us and I’m led to countless resources others have ‘left behind’. It is the Holy Spirit who leads me to Understanding in new ways - and is the Light by which I see the wickedness of my own heart that requires Healing.
The Logic of Truth and the logic of the rational mind are two very different things. “You can find Truth with logic only if you have already found Truth without it.” - GK Chesterton
Regardless of how “official” a church document is, one is to test the validity by the Holy Spirit. The ‘power’ that the Catholic Church seeks to elevate - doesn’t belong to the Trinity. ‘Mary’, to me, is a front/mask/cloak of a power of a very different sort.
If ‘Mary’ answers your prayers, so be it. Thank ‘Mary’. Christ knows who you are praying to, even if you don’t. There’s an ignorance that the Holy Spirit will apply Grace to, such as children taught to pray to ‘Mary’. However, in willful, defiant ignorance, I’m on my own.
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. (Alexander the Great) On EWTN there is one program with a speaker only. The only stage prop in the center of an otherwise non-descript scene is a large, framed picture of the head of a lion. Not a dove or a lamb, a lion.
‘Christian’ song lyrics: My God is not dead / He’s surely alive / He’s living on the inside /
Roaring like a lion. The lion will lie down with the Lamb - the Lamb doesn’t morph into a lion. Doves and eagles don’t hang out together.
Which brings us to the crux of the dilemma in all religions: Absence of the Holy Spirit in the majority of members (and the world at large). Without the Holy Spirit, we lean on our own understanding (read: are manipulated by powers and principalities) in determining ‘truth’.
1Cor12:3: “…no one says Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” Believing Christ is Lord is not the same as Knowing. The means by which we Know is the Gift of the Holy Spirit. To not seek after the Gift is miss the only path to the Kingdom of Christ/Salvation. Matt. 7:21-27 “I never knew you!”
Some may think that I share ‘contentious’ material in order to undermine Christ’s Church. It isn’t so - Christ’s Church has been hijacked. It was easy to walk away from the Catholic Church before I found the Holy Spirit, even though I never found any other church that could fill that hollow place within me elsewhere (became agnostic). Today, I see the Catholic Church as the one which Christ desires to enfold under His wings again - the one to be the beacon that calls to all others.
“Let the dead bury the dead.” Anyone who doesn’t know the Holy Spirit, for themselves, beyond doubt, is spiritually dead to Christ. It is never too late, unless physical death comes first. Desire to Know. Right Desire is very powerful. I know, from experience.
A test of ‘spiritual condition’: Count the number of times in a day you are disturbed. Disturbed as in: impatient, angry, resentful, anxious, frustrated, sarcastic, demanding, depressed …(to name but a few). Desire to become aware and ‘watch’. “Know Thyself” requires willingness to see.
Within each of us is a ball of rage/negative animal energy that leaks out in a myriad of ways. Energy must go somewhere - inward or outward.
“Whenever I’m disturbed, the problem is within me. Always.”
“I’m never angry about what I think I’m angry about cuz if I truly know what I’m angry about - I’m not angry anymore.”
“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed. In the second, it is opposed. In the third, it is regarded as self-evident.” Arthur Schopenauer
The object is not to confront the lion/lioness within us anymore than the object is to confront the infiltration of the Church head-on (“never say ‘No’ to the Pharaoh”). We need only discover the Lamp within ourselves.
Don’t believe anything I say. Desire to know for yourself the experience of the Holy Spirit. It’s quite Biblical. I don’t claim to have Fullness of Truth but I am Awake. Company would be lovely.
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Isaiah45_9
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My goodness… this is a clear example of post-modern-christianity. I saw a clear “coexist” bumper sticker.
Is there one truth or many? And are these many truths able to contradict each other? And all from the Holy Spirit?
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Isaiah45_9
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Source please.
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campeador
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But that doesn’t answer my question. Again, I’ll highlight the part that I can’t find in my Bible:
There are several instances in the Bible of spirits interacting with men. One good example:
Luke 2:13-14
And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth, peace to men of good will.
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peace2u2
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Would the “gospel of judas” be an example of this?
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peace2u2
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This is outrageous! The Catholic Church DOES NOT teach this crazy idea. This is exactly where the gift of discernment comes in…
and then walk away and shake the dust from your shoes.
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peace2u2
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Mary is Jesus’ obedient, humble handmaid. She is your Heavenly mother and she loves you. Try and think of the Blessed Virgin Mary in this light…treat her the way God asks you to treat your “earthly” mother. The Fourth Commandment: Honor your father and mother.
Mary always points to Jesus. All of the prayers if you take a look at them are Jesus centered and Scriptural. Mary does not compete with Jesus or try to outdo him, she is a reflection of Him, like a beam of light. Jesus is the light.
Mary always points to Jesus. All of the prayers if you take a look at them are Jesus centered and Scriptural. Mary does not compete with Jesus or try to outdo him, she is a reflection of Him, like a beam of light. Jesus is the light.
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pablope
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You have to be a Berean and search the scripture.
So what about the bereans? So everyone has to be a berean to search the scripture?
Maybe you are forgetting…they were first taught by St. Paul…and read the scripture with Paul’s instructions and oral tradition that he handed down to them.
And besides…maybe you are forgetting too…St. Paul had to undergo this before he went to them:
Galatians 2:2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.
Acts 13:
1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
If someone who claims to teach the gospel does not follow the example of St. Paul…is that a basis for rejection of his teaching?
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Isaiah45_9
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It’s a spiritual hermeneutical principle… apparently we were left out… they have a direct -]spiritual/-] angelical succession.
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joe371
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Mike_SoCal
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Prayers to the dead are a pagan practice or ancestor worship.
Prayers are for the Lord who is a jealous God.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The Bible defines a Saint as a believer both on earth and in Heaven.
Ephesians 1:1 (Pauls first letter to the Ephesians living in his day)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus:
Philippians 1:1
Salutation ] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Colossians 1:2
To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colos′sae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Jude 1:14
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
Prayers are for the Lord who is a jealous God.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The Bible defines a Saint as a believer both on earth and in Heaven.
Ephesians 1:1 (Pauls first letter to the Ephesians living in his day)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus:
Philippians 1:1
Salutation ] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Colossians 1:2
To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colos′sae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Jude 1:14
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
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