The Protestant's Dilemma - How the Reformation's Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism

Source: Protestant Dilemma

What if Protestantism were true? What if the Reformers really were heroes, the Bible the sole rule of faith, and Christ's Church just an invisible collection of loosely united believers?

As an Evangelical, Devin Rose used to believe all of it. Then one day the nagging questions began. He noticed things about Protestant belief and practice that didn't add up. He began following the logic of Protestant claims to places he never expected it to go—leading to conclusions no Christians would ever admit to holding.

In The Protestant's Dilemma, Rose examines over thirty of those conclusions, showing with solid evidence, compelling reason, and gentle humor how the major tenets of Protestantism—if honestly pursued to their furthest extent— wind up in dead ends of absurdity.

The only escape? Catholic truth, which Rose patiently unpacks. In each instance, he shows how Catholicism solves the Protestant's dilemma through the witness of Scripture, Christian history, and the authority with which Christ himself undeniably vested his Church.

The Protestant's Dilemma is the perfect book to give non-Catholics trying to work through their own nagging doubts, or for Catholics looking for a fresh way to deepen their understanding of the Faith.

Praise for The Protestant's Dilemma

When as a Protestant I began to explore Catholicism, I Googled, "Why become Catholic?" What I was really searching for was a book like The Protestant's Dilemma. This book pokes, prods, and wrestles with Protestant beliefs, showing how they come up short and how the Catholic alternatives are true. If you struggle with the claims of Protestantism—or even if you feel satisfied with them!—The Protestant's Dilemma will open your eyes to the rich, logical, biblical claims of the Catholic Church.

—Brandon Vogt, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

As a former Protestant pastor, I wish that I had read The Protestant's Dilemma years ago. Devin Rose serves as a theological tour guide, leading the Protestant from the parlor of Martin Luther to the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica. Along the way, he demonstrates that each and every step toward the Catholic Church conforms to Sacred Scripture and Church history. This is the guidebook to get you from the Reformation to Rome.

—Taylor Marshall, author of The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism & the Origins of Catholicism

The Protestant's Dilemma is different from other books written by Catholic converts. Devin Rose takes his reader on a dialectical journey, showing that the beliefs we share with our Protestant friends are only authoritative on ecclesiastical grounds that our Protestant friends reject. Working within the tradition of Socratic reasoning, Rose provides a compelling case for the Catholic Faith.

—Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies, and Co-Director of the Program in Philosophical Studies of Religion, Baylor University

Muslims Convert to Catholicism despite imminent danger to their lives

A Catholic Church in Syria where a Catholic priest was publicly executed by the "rebels" opposed to President Asad. Photo taken from this story at TREND.AZ

LEBANON, CWN / CWA/EWTN - According to a local bishop, numerous conversions of Muslims to Christianity occur every year in Lebanon but the true number is unknown because of the risk of social stigma and persecution.

“Most of them try to go outside from Lebanon, to Europe or America or Canada or Australia to live there, because it’s not possible to be converted and to stay here,” a Catholic bishop in Lebanon told CNA in a Feb. 10 phone interview.

“It’s very, very hard to know how many are baptized, because everything will be a secret.”

Given the delicacy of conversion in Lebanon – a Middle Eastern country with a slight Muslim majority – the bishop spoke on condition of anonymity. While the region is lauded for its comparative plurality as Muslims generally coexist well with the Christian population, some hostility can be present toward those who convert from Islam.

“I have heard many stories about the conversion of Muslims,” he said, in both the Maronite and Melkite communities – the two largest Catholic groups in the country.

The bishop cited one Melkite priest who baptized 75 Muslims last year. “Most of them left Muslim areas to stay in the Christian area,” he said, and many are trying to emigrate.

One young woman from Baalbek was converted, he recounted, and her family “accused the priest of having used sorcery to make her convert to Christianity.”

Palestinian Catholics praying on Christmas Day.

“The priest was then abducted and kidnapped by the family. A deal was done after that between the diocese and the tribe of the family, that the family would bring the daughter back home, without torturing her.”

Her family has since converted as well, he explained, “but in a secret way.”

If converts from Islam are not able to leave Lebanon, he said, they often move to areas of Lebanon with larger concentrations of Christians: “other people left the Beqaa valley to stay in Beirut, or in Jounieh, in the Christian country.”

Those converting to Christianity in Lebanon are by and large Lebanese themselves, the bishop explained, saying, “I know only one Syrian.”

This Syrian convert is from Aleppo, and was in Beirut studying sharia to become a sheikh.

The man “was baptized in Lebanon and now he’s married, but he cannot register his marriage in Syria. He’s in big trouble now because he cannot go to Syria, and he cannot register his marriage in Lebanon either. We are trying now to see if he can go outside of Lebanon, to Europe or somewhere else, to live there with his family.”

Lebanon, according to the U.S. state department, has no procedures for civil marriage; all marriages performed there are performed by religious officials.

“Everything is a secret,” the bishop said. “It’s not easy to speak publicly about … conversion to Christianity.”

Lebanon, where it is not easy to speak publicly about Christian conversion, “is better than other Arabic countries.”

“But we still have a problem,” he said.

The Lebanese constitution provides for freedom of religion, and members of parliament and cabinet officials are all apportioned among Muslims and Christians.

National identity cards generally include the bearer’s religion, though this is not required by law.

“It’s easy for a convert to register with the state as a Christian,” the bishop said. “In other countries it’s not possible. I know for example in Egypt there are many conversions, but they still are registered as a Muslim, not Christian.”

Even though the Lebanese government provides for religious freedom, societal discrimination against converts is widespread. The bishop reported that families of converts often “never accept” their relative’s Christian faith, and the convert “is persecuted by his family and his tribe, by his village.”

While the country has long been able to live in the tension between its religious groups – an estimated 54 percent Muslim, 41 percent Christian – the large influx of Syrian refugees in the wake of the neighboring country’s civil war has strained the status quo.

The Lebanese government estimates that more than 1 million Syrian refugees are living in the country. In 2011, at the start of Syria’s civil war, Lebanon’s population was estimated at a little over 4 million.

Now that nearly 20 percent of Lebanese residents are Syrian refugees, interreligious relations are stressed. On Feb. 3, a suicide bomber wounded several in a district of Beirut largely home to Christians and Druze.

The bishop said that his diocese is assisting both Christian and Muslim refugees.

“When we receive Muslims, we help them without trying to convert them, because when we give material help, we don’t like to play this game.”

IGLESIA NI CRISTO®-1914 uses DECEPTION to gain more members!!!

[Article taken from the Iglesia ni Cristo 33-A.D. Blog]

Narito na naman ang isang malaking PANLILINLANG ng mga kaanib ng INC^® ni Manalo sa kanilang opisyal na YouTube. Hindi lang nila NILINLANG ang kanilang mga sarili kundi maging ang kanilang mga kaanib at mga tagapanood.

Una po, itong taong sinasabi nilang dating pari ay HINDI PO tunay na pari sa IGLESIA KATOLIKA. Isa po siyang pari ng isang denominasyong nagpapanggap na Katoliko.

Logo ng ACC

Si Mr. Christopher Yu po ay dating kaanib ng "Apostolic Catholic Church of Beloved Ingkong, Inc." isang Protestanteng iglesiang may katunog na pangalan at HINDI po siya affiliated sa Vatican. Maari nating maihalintulad sa "Independente" ang kanilang iglesia. Kaya't malaking PANLILINLANG po sa kanilang mga kaanib at tagapanood na sabihin nilang si Mr. Yu ay isang paring "Katoliko". 

Narito po ang munting sulyap kung ano at sino ba ang mga Apostolic Catholic Church na ito?

Pangalan: Apostolic Catholic Church of Beloved Ingkong
Polity: Episcopal
Leader: John Florentine L. Teruel
Founder: John Florentine L. Teruel and Maria Virginia Peñaflor Leonzon
Origin: July 7, 1992
Place: Philippines Hermosa, Bataan, Philippines
Separated from Roman Catholic Church
Members: unknown
Official website: http://www.acc-ingkong.org/

Ang sambahan ng Apostolic Catholic Church Ina Poon-Bato sa Quezon City

Continue Reading HERE!!!

The Pope addressing a group of Pentecostals as "brothers" and calls for Christian unity

Thanks to Catholic World Report for the link.


Says Robert McCulloch, owner of the video:

"Pope Francis recorded a message of reconciliation and unity between the Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church for Kenneth Copeland Ministries, a group of Pentecostal Christians in the United States. Bishop Tony Palmer, a bishop from a Pentecostal Christian community, did the camera work with an iPhone. The bishop also serves as international ecumenical officer for the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, a group that is not affiliated with the Anglican Communion, and which takes a much simpler view of the path to full Christian unity than the pope and the mainline Christian churches do. The translation used for the English subtitles on the video are not precise, but the pope's sincerity is clear."

Christian girl abducted, converted and forced to marry a Muslim in Lahore

by Jibran Khan

The family of Samariya Nadeem staged a protest this morning in front of the city's press club. For the past three weeks, their 16-year-old daughter has been in the hands of a wealthy landowner. As police and the authorities fail to free her, the Catholic Church calls for justice on the family's behalf. But for Muslim cleric, it is "not illegal to abduct and convert non-Muslims".

Lahore (AsiaNews) - After a Pakistani Christian girl from Lahore (Punjab) was abducted by a Muslim landowner, she was forced to marry him after conversion to Islam. Her family reacted in a public protest, demanding justice from civil authorities.

Police and the courts have failed so far to act and return the girl to her parents. The local Catholic Church has instead backed the family, condemning the "widespread practice" of kidnapping young Christian and Hindu women to marry them forcibly to Muslims and reduce them to a "state of slavery".

The latest episode involves a 16-year-old girl, Samariya Nadeem (Masih), who was abducted and forcibly married to a rich landowner.

The abduction took place 22 days ago in Lahore's 270-TDA Layyah District when the young woman was on her way to school.

The family filed a complaint (First Information Report 14/14, under Section 365 B of the Penal Code) with the police for the abduction reporting that Samariya was taken against her will and forced to marry the man.

So far, police have failed to pursue any legal action against the local wealthy Muslim landowner who abducted the girl because of the influence he wields. Police investigators were also unable to talk to the bruised and terrified victim.

Anonymous police sources confirmed that the girl was "abducted" and forced to marry. However, an Islamic cleric involved in the affair said that it was "not illegal to abduct and convert non-Muslims".

This morning, the family organised a protest rally in front of the Lahore Press Club. Under Pakistani law, no one underage can be married without parental consent.

Civil society groups and human rights activists have appealed to Punjab's chief minister to take action and return Samariya to her parents and bring her abductor to justice.

Kidnapping and forced marriage have become a major issue in Pakistan, especially in southern Punjab and in the interior of Sindh province.

This is "very common in the region," said Fr Haroon James, a priest and activist in Lahore. Young women and girls "are forcefully converted and married to influential landlords who keep them as slaves."

Unfortunately, people seem to be increasingly "hopeless". For this reason, the Church has spoken out in the case, "demanding justice for her and the family." Yet, "Despite the fact that a FIR has been registered, the authorities have failed to act and protect the vulnerable," the priest added.

With a population of more than 180 million people (97 per cent Muslim), Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, the second largest Muslim nation after Indonesia.

About 80 per cent of Muslims are Sunni, whilst Shias are 20 per cent. Hindus are 1.85 per cent, followed by Christians (1.6 per cent) and Sikhs (0.04 per cent).

Violence against ethnic and religious minorities is commonplace across the country, with Shia Muslims and Christians as the main target, with things getting worse.

Dozens incidents of violence have occurred in recent years, against individuals or entire communities, like in Gojra in 2009 or Joseph Colony in Lahore in March 2013, often perpetrated under the pretext of the country's blasphemy laws.

We must stand up for Middle East's persecuted Christians

"Christians in the West should stand up for those in the East out of regard for all they have given us over these thousands of years." from FoxNews

Christianity began in the East, not the West, yet today Christians in the East are enduring an all-out-assault by Islamic terrorists, while Christians in the West live their lives largely oblivious to it all. This has to change.

This is no imaginary persecution; in Syria alone there have been reports of kidnappings, Christian communities intentionally displaced by militants and, worst of all, shootings and beheadings of Christians who refused to convert to Islam.

In Egypt radicals have recently destroyed dozens of churches, and the once vibrant Christian population in Iraq has been decimated.

Christians in the West should stand up for those in the East out of regard for all they have given us over these thousands of years, if for no other reason.

See, what most American Christians don’t realize is that the “Islamic World” was once the Christian world. Some of the most well-known and influential leaders in the early church hailed from North Africa and the Middle East – like the warring theologians Athanasius and Arius, and the apologist Tertullian. It was for the library in Alexandria that the preeminent Greek version of the Torah (the “Septuagint”) was commissioned.

Today, St. Augustine would be called a Tunisian, Origen would be Egyptian and the Apostle Paul – who was on the road to Damascus when he encountered Christ – would have told the story of his conversion while heading to “Syria.”

It was also in the Syrian city of “Antioch” that Christians were first called “Christians,” and to this day there are as many Christian holy sites in that nation as anywhere else in the world.

Isang-daang taon bago nagkaroon ng Official Website ang Iglesia ni Cristo® 1914!

Ang larawan sa itaas ay kuha mula sa opisyal na website ng Iglesia ni Cristo® (http://inc.kabayankokapatidko.org/). Sila po ang may-ari ng Iglesia ni Cristo® sapagkat si Felix Manalo po ang nagtatag nito at nagparehistro ayon sa PASUGO Agosto-Setyembre 1964, p. 5.

“Kailan napatala sa Pamahalaan o narehistro ang INK sa Pilipinas? Noong Hulyo 27, 1914. Tunay nga na sinasabi sa rehistro na si Kapatid na F. Manalo ang nagtatag ng INK."

Ang kanilang Sentenaryo sa July 27, 2014 ang nagpapatunay na ang INC ay kamakailan lamang naitatag. At ayon sa kanilang opisyal na magasing Pasugo, ang sinomang Iglesia ni Cristo na lumitaw kamakailan lamang ay hindi tunay kundi HUWAD!

PASUGO Mayo 1968, p. 7:

“Ang tunay na Iglesia ni Cristo ay iisa lamang, ito ang Iglesiang itinayo ni Cristo. Kung mayroon mang nagsisibangon ngayong mga Iglesia at sasabihing sila man ay INK rin ang mga ito ay hindi tunay kundi huwad lamang!"

Pagkain ng Dugo at Sabath- Aral laban sa Aral! Iyan ang Iglesia ni Cristo!

Bakit nga ba hindi kumakain ng dugo ang mga kaanib ng INC ni Manalo?

Ang sabi ng isang website na nakapangalan sa INC ni Manalo (readmeiglesianicristo.blogspot) ay ganito:

"Ngunit huwag ninyong kakainin ang dugo sapagkat nasa dugo ang buhay; ang sangkap ng buhay ay hindi dapat kainin." Deut. 12:23 BMBB

"Lamang ay pagtibayin mong hindi mo kakanin ang dugo: sapagka't ang dugo ay siyang buhay; at huwag mong kakanin ang buhay na kasama ng laman." Deut. 12:23

Hugot na Bible verse mula sa Lumang Tipan o Old Testament.

Utos po ito ng Batas ni Moises sa mga Israelita (Mosaic Law).

Sa isang banda naman, isang tanong na ibinato sa INC kung bakit di sila nagsasamba sa araw ng Sabat (Sabado) bilang pagsunod sa Batas ni Moises tulad sa hindi pagkain ng dugo ayon sa parehong batas:

Heto ang sabi mula sa inc.kabayankokapatidko.org:

Why Are You Not Observing The Sabbath Day?

Why are you not observing the Sabbath Day, the 4th commandment of God as stated in Exodus 20:8-11?

Answer:

The observance of Sabbath was commanded by God to the Israelites (Exod 20:8-11; Deut 5:12). Why were they commanded to observe the Sabbath Day? So that they could remember that they were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord their God brought them out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm.

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day (Deut 5:12-15).

Since God put an end to the observance of Sabbath, this Mosaic law no longer applies to God’s people in the Christian era. Thus, in Colossians 2:16, it is stated:

Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths . . .

The observance of Sabbath which is a part of the Mosaic law could not make a person justified or righteous before God in the Christian era.

and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39).

Eh yon pala eh, hindi na pala tayo SAKOP ng batas ni Moises eh bakit pagdating sa hindi pagkain ng dugo ay isang karumaldumal pa ring aral ng pekeng sugo?

Ang pagkain ng Dugo ay ipinagbabawal ayon sa Batas ni Moises, ngunit sila (INC ni Manalo) na rin ang nagkompirma na "MOSAIC LAW NO LONGER APPLIES TO GOD'S PEOPLE IN THE CHRISTIAN ERA", eh bakit laking issue pa rin sa kanila ang pagkain ng Dinuguan? Hindi ba 'double-standard" na naman sila tulad ng iba pa nilang mga aral?

Ganyan ang mga inaralaN ng pekeng sugo. Papapalit-palit ang mga aral at natatangay ng panahon. Walang consistency at isa laban sa isa.

[Basahin Ang KATOTOHANAN TUNGKOL SA INK-1914 sa mga hidwaan aral ng INC laban sa INC!]

Ang sabi ng Banal na Kasulatan sa 2 John 1:7 ay ganito:

I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Si Felix Manalo na NAGTATWA ng katotohanang si CRISTO ay DIOS na NAGKATAWANG-TAO ay malinaw na batayan ng pagiging ANTI-CRISTO at MANLILINLANG ng sugo ng Iglesia ni Cristo (INC)-1914!

Salamat na lamang po tayo at di po tayo nabulid ng mga peke at bulaang propeta na hinulaan na libong taon na bago pa man ang pagdating ni Felix Manalo na kabilang sa mga isinusuka ng Banal na Salita-- mga paimbabaw at mga ganid sa laman at nagpapanggap na mga "cristo" o "anghel" ngunit kaaway ng kaliwanagan at kaaway ni Cristo!