CBCP News: Black Nazarene is Bible-based—lay preacher

CBCP News, MANILA, Jan. 11, 2015—Non-Catholics might not buy it, but a lay evangelist asserts that no less than the Bible itself has inspired the popular depiction of the revered Black Nazarene.

Devotees attempt to touch the statue of the
Black Nazarene during last year's procession. (Photo: CBCPNews)

“The iconography of the Black Nazarene is thoroughly Biblical. No matter what the cause for the dark color of the Nazareno, it is here to stay. There are nevertheless Biblical and theological reasons for the black iconographic depiction of the Nazareno,” notes Dominican lawyer-preacher Marwil N. Llasos in a recent post on the top-rating blog site Know The Truth where he reflects on the phenomenal Filipino Catholic devotion.

Black and beautiful

He shares Scripture considers black beautiful, citing a verse from the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) which reads: “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon” (Song of Songs 1:5, KJV).

According to him, Christ is the final Davidic King spoken of in prophecy as the “fairest of the sons of men” (Ps. 45:2).

‘Suffering Servant’

Llasos stresses the Nazareno’s dark color aptly portrays Christ’s Passion, underscoring the pain the Lord had to bear for the sins of men, embodying as well His prophetic role as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).

“Even in our modern idiomatic expression, one who suffers much from being severely beaten is said to be ‘black and blue … He was black and blue all over His body because of the torture and unbearable sufferings He endured during His most sorrowful passion. He was one whole wound, from the crown of His head to the soles of His feet,” he says, adding that Syriac only has one word for black and suffering or sorrow.

‘Man of Sorrows’

Related to Isaiah’s description of Christ as Suffering Servant is of Him as a “Man of Sorrows,” Llasos states.

“Black is the color for mourning. It is also the color for sorrow. Black Madonnas are actually depictions of Mary as the Sorrowful Mother. The black images of Christ, like the Black Nazarene, points to Him as the Man of Sorrows

Isaiah 53:3-4 reads: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

Christ saves all

“The Black Nazarene reminds us that Jesus Christ is the savior of all – not just of those with fair complexion. He is also the Savior of people with dark complexion, those who have been traditionally exploited and treated as mere slaves. God in Jesus Christ loves them – and the salvation offered by God in Christ is also for them. The image of the Black Nazarene resonates with the theology of the Incarnation – that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14),” he explains.

According to the apologist, in Jesus, God “is one of us”, but no single race or culture can exclusively appropriate Him.

“We all can relate to Him. He belongs to us all… The Black Nazarene is a symbol of faith in the Incarnation and Redemption, but one that is an inculturated faith,” he adds.

‘Became sin for us’

While no longer politically correct, Llasos recalls that black used to be associated with sin as suggested by the expression “sin of the blackest hue.”

In the image of the Black Nazarene, a black Jesus carries His cross, driving home the point that “in carrying the cross of our salvation, the Savior bore our own sins”.

1 Peter 2:24 reads: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pt. 2:24). It was the sinless Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29).

“Jesus Christ took our place on the cross to save us. He who had no sin became sin for us so that we can be saved. The Pauline teaching is clear: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him’ (2 Cor. 5:21),” Llasos explains. (Raymond A. Sebastián/CBCP News)

The Court Sheriff’s Official Report on Occular Inspection of Angel Manalo's Residence Proves there is a Violation of their Human Rights

Source: INC Silent No More

The Court Sheriff’s Official Report is PROOF!

The INC Leadership thru its INC Legal Department tried to cover up the truth… But one thing about the TRUTH, it will find its way out into the glaring light of day. And once it does, the only people who will not be able to see it… ARE THE BLIND.

Introducing the Court Sheriff and his first-hand account manifested in his official report of the events that happened during the hostile take over of the INC Maintenance workers and the illegal erection of the fences at No. 36 Tandang Sora, the Ancestral Residence of Bro. Eraño G. Manalo.

UNDENIABLE FACTS BY THE COURT OFFICIAL

I heard many brethren were wondering what the Court Sheriff’s Official Report contains…

INC Lawyer’s humiliating denial:

And because the INC lawyers know well enough that they will FAIL MISERABLY IN COURT because they will only be PROVEN GUILTY with all the evidences against them, that’s why they immaturely resorted to this as a clear sign of pathetic desperation:

The INC Lawyers have made the Iglesia Ni Cristo the laughing stock of the whole world with their ill-conceived acts. Even the whole justice community is laughing at these two “unaware” lawyers with their DEMANDING TONE, YET TIME AND TIME AGAIN, THEY DELIBERATELY FAIL TO RESPECT AND FOLLOW THE LAW. SUCH HYPOCRITES!

Nothing much more to say but… Liars will be liars, and Truth will be Truth, no matter what! Now we all know who lying and who’s telling the truth based on the facts presented.

So the now question is… are YOU still UNAWARE?

~ Antonio Ebangelista

Evading dialogue with Catholic Church is wrong – Patriarch Kirill

Source: Pravmir.com through InterFax

Cooperation with “the largest Christian Church,” the Catholic one, could help protect Christians and prompt the revival of Christianity “on global scale,” the church leader said.

Moscow, December 14, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia sees dialogue with the Catholic Church as an opportunity to reduce persecutions of Christians across the world.

“Evading dialogue with the Catholic Church now would be wrong: we defend the same values both in public and in private life. We need to establish such cooperation in the face of the non-Christian world as would enable us to multiply our own forces. Including what, I think, deserves positive treatment – our shared position on the situation in the Middle East,” the Russian Orthodox Church leader said at a meeting with representatives of the Youth Public Chamber and the Chamber of Young Legislators.

The ousting of Christians from the region where their “whole villages are being either slaughtered or chased out” will lead to imminent radicalization of the Muslim population.

“The presence of Christians in Islamic states forced their leaders to try to strike balances and provide rights for minorities; but if there are no Christians, there will no such concern either,” Patriarch Kirill said.

Christians are becoming a minority in the world: as a result of serious conflicts in Pakistan, in Asia and Africa, with one Christian dying in this world every hour for his convictions, while in the West “church and religion are being ousted from public life” under the influence of “ruling liberal doctrines,” Patriarch Kirill said.

Cooperation with “the largest Christian Church,” the Catholic one, could help protect Christians and prompt the revival of Christianity “on global scale,” the church leader said.

Nevertheless, cooperation cannot abolish the theological differences between the two churches, he said. Even assuming that such differences suddenly disappear and “theologians will sign everything,” even that is unlikely to change anything, because such agreements will have to be accepted by everyone who considers themselves an Orthodox Christian, and that is highly unlikely, Patriarch Kirill said.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman

"Praying for the Virgin Mary’s intercession and being devoted to her are a global phenomenon. The notion of Mary as intercessor with Jesus begins with the miracle of the wine at the wedding at Cana..."

Source: National Geographic

Mary barely speaks in the New Testament, but her image and legacy are found and celebrated around the world.

By Maureen Orth

Photographs by Diana Markosian

Published November 8, 2015

As the sun sets in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina—a hot spot for Virgin Mary sightings—devotees of diverse faiths and nationalities gather to pray.

It’s apparition time: 5:40 p.m. In a small Roman Catholic chapel in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the village of Medjugorje, Ivan Dragicevic walks down the aisle, kneels in front of the altar, bows his head for a moment, and then, smiling, lifts his gaze heavenward. He begins to whisper, listens intently, whispers again, and doesn’t blink for ten minutes. His daily conversation with the Virgin Mary has begun.

Dragicevic was one of six poor shepherd children who first reported visions of the Virgin Mary in 1981. She identified herself to the four girls and two boys as the “Queen of Peace” and handed down the first of thousands of messages admonishing the faithful to pray more often and asking sinners to repent. Dragicevic was 16 years old, and Medjugorje, then in communist-controlled Yugoslavia, had yet to emerge as a hub of miracle cures and spiritual conversions, attracting 30 million pilgrims during the past three decades.

I’m in Medjugorje with a group of Americans, mostly hockey dads from the Boston area, plus two men and two women with stage 4 cancer. We’re led by 59-year-old Arthur Boyle, a father of 13, who first came here on Labor Day weekend in 2000, riddled with cancer and given months to live. He felt broken and dejected and wouldn’t have made the trip had not two friends forced him into it. But that first night, after he went to confession at St. James the Apostle church, psychological relief came rapidly.

“The anxiety and depression were gone,” he told me. “You know when you’re carrying someone on your shoulders in a swimming pool water fight—they come off, and you feel light and free? I was like, Wait a minute, what just happened to me? Why is that?”

5 Things to Know Marian Apparitions Researcher Michael O’Neill relays some fascinating facts about Virgin Mary apparitions.

The next morning, with his friends Rob and Kevin, he met another of the “visionaries,” Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic, in a jewelry shop and asked for her help. Gripping his head with one hand, she appealed to the Virgin Mary to ask God to cure him. Boyle said he experienced an unusual sensation right there in the store. “She starts to pray over me. Rob and Kevin put their hands on me, and the heat that went through my body from her praying was causing them to sweat.”

Back in Boston a week later, a CT scan at Massachusetts General Hospital revealed that his tumors had shrunk to almost nothing.

Since then, Boyle has been back to Medjugorje 13 times. “I’m a regular guy,” he said. “I like to play hockey and drink beer. I play golf.” But, he continued, “I had to change things in my life.” Today, Boyle said, he’s become “a sort of mouthpiece for Jesus Christ’s healing power and of course the Mother and the power of her intercession.”

Mary is a magnet for young and old. On August 12, during a Mass celebrating her assumption into heaven, Roman Catholic youths guard a life-size figure in Kalwaria Pacławska, Poland. The Feast of the Assumption is a weeklong festival here.

PRAYING FOR THE VIRGIN MARY'S intercession and being devoted to her are a global phenomenon. The notion of Mary as intercessor with Jesus begins with the miracle of the wine at the wedding at Cana, when, according to the Gospel of John, she tells him, “They have no wine,” thus prompting his first miracle. It was in A.D. 431, at the Third Ecumenical Council, in Ephesus, that she was officially named Theotokos, Bearer of God. Since then no other woman has been as exalted as Mary. As a universal symbol of maternal love, as well as of suffering and sacrifice, Mary is often the touchstone of our longing for meaning, a more accessible link to the supernatural than formal church teachings. Her mantle offers both security and protection. Pope Francis, when once asked what Mary meant to him, answered, “She is my mamá.”

Her reported appearances, visions experienced often by very poor children living in remote or conflict-wracked areas, have intensified her mystery and aura. And when the children can’t be shaken from their stories—especially if the accounts are accompanied by inexplicable “signs” such as spinning suns or gushing springs—her wonder grows.

Michael O’Neill is the Virgin Mary’s big data numbers cruncher. On Miraclehunter.com, he has codified every known apparition of Mary back to A.D. 40.

Mary is everywhere: Marigolds are named for her. Hail Mary passes save football games. The image in Mexico of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most reproduced female likenesses ever. Mary draws millions each year to shrines such as Fátima, in Portugal, and Knock, in Ireland, sustaining religious tourism estimated to be worth billions of dollars a year and providing thousands of jobs. She inspired the creation of many great works of art and architecture (Michelangelo’s “Pietà,” Notre Dame Cathedral), as well as poetry, liturgy, and music (Monteverdi’s Vespers for the Blessed Virgin). And she is the spiritual confidante of billions of people, no matter how isolated or forgotten.

Muslims as well as Christians consider her to be holy above all women, and her name “Maryam” appears more often in the Koran than “Mary” does in the Bible. In the New Testament Mary speaks only four times, beginning with the Annunciation, when, according to Luke’s Gospel, the angel Gabriel appears to her and says she will bear “the Son of the Most High.” Mary answers, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord.” Her only extended speech, also in Luke, is the lyrical Magnificat, uttered in early pregnancy: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.”

Indeed they have.

Yet clues about her life are elusive. Scholars of Mary must take what they can from Hebrew Scriptures, first-century Mediterranean texts, the New Testament, and archaeological digs.

Anna Pidlisna, 32, of Ukraine, says she came to Medjugorje—where plaster statues can fetch about 30 euros apiece—after receiving a vision of Mary. Apparitions aren’t the only Marian sign; many say they’ve seen a “spinning sun.” Physicist Artur Wirowski has an earthly explanation: It can occur when sunlight reflects and refracts charged ice crystals vibrating in sync within the clouds.

The Bible says she lived in Nazareth when Romans had control over the Jewish territory. After Mary became pregnant, her betrothed, Joseph, a carpenter, considered quietly leaving her until an angel came to him in a dream and told him not to. The birth of Jesus is mentioned in just two Gospels, Luke and Matthew. Mark and John refer to Jesus’ mother several times.

North Korea agrees 'regular' visits by South's Catholic priests

Source: Yahoo!News

Priests from the Seoul archdiocese will visit the cathedral in Pyongyang on key holy days each year (AFP Photo/Ed Jones)

South Korea's Catholic Church said Monday it had reached agreement with North Korea to send priests there on "a regular basis," seeking an opening in a country with a long history of tight religious control.

The agreement, which should see priests leading services in Pyongyang on major holy days from next year, followed a visit to the North Korean capital by South Korean bishops last week.

Pyongyang's state-run Korean Catholic Association (KCA) has no ties with the Vatican and is often referred to as the "Church of Silence" by Catholics in the South.

Although religious freedom is enshrined in the North's constitution, all religious activity is subject to extremely tight restrictions and completely banned outside of state-sanctioned institutions.

There is no resident Catholic priest anywhere in the country and just one Catholic church building in Pyongyang, Changchung Cathedral. But experts say it holds no confessions, baptisms or sacraments.

The South's Catholic Bishop's Conference of Korea (CBCK) said in a statement that priests from the Seoul archdiocese would visit the cathedral "on major Holy Days each year and hold a mass on a regular basis".

CBCK spokesman Lee Young-Sik told AFP the first visit was scheduled for Easter in March 2016.

"And then we will iron out details on how frequently they would visit and lead a mass there," Lee said.

The KCA claims there are 3,000 Catholics in the country, while the UN estimates around 800.

In the early 20th century, Pyongyang was a regional missionary hub with scores of churches and a thriving Christian community that earned it the title of "Jerusalem of the East".

For North Korea's founder leader Kim Il-Sung, Christianity threatened his monopoly on ideology and had to be effectively eradicated, a goal he reportedly achieved with executions and labour camps.

The current regime allows Catholic organisations to run aid projects in North Korea, but direct relations with the Vatican are non-existent.

When Pope Francis visited South Korea last year, he held a special mass in Seoul dedicated to reunification of the two Koreas.

"All Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people," the pope said in an address that was cloaked in a religious context and avoided any overt political statement or mention of religious oppression in the North.

Pope advances sainthood causes of Lutheran convert, U.S. missionary in Vietnam -Catholic Courier

By Junno Arocho Esteves (Catholic Courier)
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of a Lutheran convert who established a branch of the Bridgettine order in her country and a U.S. missionary who died while ministering to the wounded in Vietnam.

During a Dec. 14 meeting with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the pope signed a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad, who refounded the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget, better known as the Bridgettines.

Born in Sweden in 1870 and baptized into the Reform Church, she immigrated to the United States in 1886 to earn money for her family back home.

After working as a nurse, she converted to Catholicism in 1902. Moving to Rome, she dedicated her life and her religious order to prayer and work for the attainment of Christian unity. St. John Paul II beatified her in Rome in 2000.

The pope also signed decrees recognizing the miracles needed for the beatifications of:

-- Father Ladislao Bukowinski, a Ukrainian priest who died in Kazakhstan in 1974.

-- Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa, an Italian nun who founded the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer in the 18th century.

-- Sister Mary of Jesus Santocanale, an Italian nun born in 1852, who founded the Congregation of the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculate of Lourdes.

-- Itala Mela, an Italian laywoman and Benedictine Oblate who died in 1957.

The pope also recognized the heroic virtues of four women and eight men, including New Hampshire native Brother William Gagnon -- a member of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God. Brother Gagnon tended to the sick and wounded during the Vietnam War, before falling ill and dying in Ho Chi Minh City in 1972.

The pope also recognized the heroic virtues of Teresio Olivelli, an Italian layman who spoke out against fascism and Nazism before being arrested and imprisoned. Olivelli died trying to protect a fellow prisoner in a German concentration camp in 1945.

Iglesia Ni Cristo® habol ay Kapurihan ng Sanlibutan!

"Around 100,000 attended the event, mostly INC members, but organizers said the program - which would last until 3 a.m. of January 1 - was open to the public." -Press Telegraph

Sa kabilang dako, ang TUNAY na IGLESIANG KAY CRISTO-- ang IGLESIA KATOLIKA ay HINDI naghahabol ng kapurihan ng sanlibutan. Ang kanyang mga natanggap ng GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ay PAGKAKATAON lamang at hindi po ito PINASINAYANAN o NOT ACTUALLY INITIATED TO GAIN THE RECORDS ika nga.

Sabi nga ng Banal na Kasulatan sa Matthew 16:20 "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" (NIV)

Source: The Splendor of the Church blog

Pope Francis the Greatest Modern Pope?

Summarizing Muhammad (محمد) Islam's Prophet!

Source: Answering Muslims

Muhammad in Arabic (Source: Answering Muslim)

Muhammad was born around 570 AD in an Arabian city called Mecca. His father Abdullah died before he was born, and his mother Amina died when he was six years old. After the death of his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib, leader of the Banu Hashim clan. We may divide Muhammad’s life into three main periods.

• Pre-Prophetic Period (570-610 AD). While still young, Muhammad began work in the Meccan caravan trade, which put him in contact with diverse religious traditions. At 25 years old, he married a wealthy widow, Khadijah, who was 15 years his senior. With more leisure time, Muhammad developed the habit of retreating to a cave on Mount Hira for prayer and reflection, as was common for the polytheists of the Meccan Quraysh tribe.

• Meccan Prophetic Period (610-622). During one of his yearly retreats, Muhammad became convinced that a demonic spirit had ordered him to recite verses (now found in Qur’an 96:1-5). However, his wife Khadijah and her cousin Waraqah persuaded him that he was a prophet of Allah. Muhammad soon began preaching Islam to friends and family members, and later to the public. Due to his increasingly inflammatory condemnation of the religious beliefs of the polytheists of Mecca, Muhammad and his followers were persecuted. After his wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died, Muhammad decided to flee Mecca.

• Medinan Prophetic Period (622-632). Having formed alliances with various non-Muslim groups, Muhammad began robbing the Meccan caravans. These attacks eventually led to a series of battles with Mecca. As war booty poured in, so did new converts. The growing Muslim army allowed Muhammad to subdue not only Mecca, but the rest of Arabia as well. Muhammad suffered an agonizing death in 632 after being poisoned by a Jewish woman whose family had been slaughtered by Muslims.

Muslims believe that Muhammad is their highest moral example (Qur’an 33:21) and the final authority (along with Allah) in all decisions (Qur’an 33:36). According to the Qur’an (4:65), a person can have no faith without unquestioningly accepting Muhammad’s judgments.

QUESTIONS ABOUT MUHAMMAD

• "Why Did Muhammad Wear Women's Clothing?"

• "Why Did Muhammad Attempt Suicide?"

• "Was Muhammad a Pedophile?"

• "Who Killed Muhammad?"

MORE ON MUHAMMAD

• "50 Reasons Muhammad Was Not a Prophet"

• "Don't Make Fun of Muhammad" (VIDEO)

• "Eastwooding Muhammad" (VIDEO)

• "Jesus Owns Muhammad" (VIDEO)

The Qur'an: A Book Full of Conjecture and Doubt

Source: Answering Muslims

Posted by Anthony Rogers

"Jesus ressurecting [sic] and dying on the cross is a mere legend. The people who 'saw' him THOUGHT they saw him, but it was someone who looked similar to him, . There;s [sic] no evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus (as), and the Quran refutes that, and the Quran has plenty of evidence on its side." - Muslim Kangaroo (See here [the link is dead])

No doubt Kangaroo has the following passage of the Qur’an in mind here:

And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the messenger of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure. S. 4:157 Shakir

As will be shown, only in a kangaroo court would the verdict come down against the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in favor of the Qur’anic account of what happened. (For a good example of just such a court, see here.)

What Muslims "see" in the Quran and THINK is a refutation is actually just a bad argument substituted for and made to appear like a good one. Actually, it doesn't really bear much of a resemblance to a good argument; at best all we can say about it is that it is an apparently good enough counterfeit for many people to be convinced (read: deceived) by it. In fact, this passage doesn’t even represent an argument at all; it is simply a claim that contradicts what the Bible and history say about these matters. So calling it a refutation isn’t even accurate.

It has been said on this blog before (see here), but it bears repeating, especially in the context of a discussion of Surah 4:157, every time that we think of the "refutation" supposedly given in the Qur'an the one thing we should be struck with above all else is how many errors the author(s) of the Qur'an were able to make in such a short space, and Muslims really should be encouraged to add this to the list of evidences of the supernatural authorship of the Qur’an, for surely no one person could make so many mistakes AND yet still manage to dupe so many people. A supernatural being is clearly involved with both the composition and reception of the Qur’an; unfortunately, that being is most certainly not God, but is merely a being that masquerades like Him or an angel that pretends to have been sent by Him. This being made it appear to the author(s) of the Qur’an (and those who follow him/her/them) that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ are mere legends, but they are really only following a satanically inspired conjecture. This point will be made in a myriad of ways over the course of several posts, beginning with the following:

1. This verse represents the Jews as boasting: "We killed the Messiah…."

Contrariwise, the speech attributed to the Jews here is a clear error. The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus crucified precisely because they rejected His claim to be the Messiah, for no Jew would boast of killing the Messiah.

All the author(s) of the Qur'an would have had to do here to accurately reflect what the Jews would or could have said along these lines given their actual beliefs is either drop the word “Messiah”, as the following (mis)translations of the Qur’an, likely out of a recognition of the problem that exists in the Arabic text, do:

and their statement that they murdered Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God, when, in fact, they could not have murdered him or crucified him. They, in fact, murdered someone else by mistake. Even those who disputed (the question of whether or not Jesus was murdered) did not have a shred of evidence. All that they knew about it was mere conjecture. They certainly could not have murdered Jesus. S. 4:157 Muhammad Sarwar

They [proudly] spread a rumor that: “We killed Jesus, son of Mary.” For sure they did neither kill Jesus nor crucify him. Their wishful thinking has created so much confusion in account of the lack of [historical] proof for their saying. Know for sure that they did not kill him. S. 4:157 Bijan Moeinian

Or, add words to the effect that they killed Jesus for His CLAIM to be the Messiah. Indeed, this is exactly the sort of thing the Jews did do in opposition to the sign made by the Romans which called Jesus "the King of the Jews". In protest, the Jews clamored for the sign to be changed so it would read that He SAID He was/is the King of the Jews.

Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your King!" So they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews'; but that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." (John 19:13-22)

Catholics worldwide increased by 15 million in a single year

HAPPY FEAST DAY, THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD!
January 1, 2016 (New Year according to the Gregorian (Catholic) Calendar).

To God be the glory!

As Jesus commanded us to "PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL TO ALL NATIONS" and "BAPTIZING THEM" in the name of the TRINITARIAN GOD, making EVERYONE HIS DISCIPLE (Matt. 28:19-20), the CATHOLIC CHURCH is reaping another fruitful 15,000,000 souls to HIS BODY-the CHURCH making her still the largest single Christian Church in the world that has 1.2 billion people (1/6 of the total world population) adherents and is the only Christian Church that enjoys the privilege of being called JESUS' BRIDE- One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. #ProudCatholic -CD2000

Source: Catholic Herald

Church gained 15 million Catholics in a year, say researchers

Children at Regina Mundi Catholic church in Soweto. The Church continues to grow in Africa (CNS)

Study reports that there were 1.23 billion faithful worldwide at the end of 2012

Membership of the Catholic Church grew by 15 million in a single year, according to new statistics.

The Fides news agency published the figures, which are based on the latest edition of the Church’s Book of Statistics, which covers the period up to December 31 2012.

Fides said the number of Catholics worldwide increased in 2012 to 1,228,621,000, a rise of 15 million on the year before.

The greatest increases were in the Americas and Africa, but the Church also grew in Asia, Europe and Oceania, Vatican Radio reported.

Catholics comprised 17.49 per cent of the world population in 2012, Fides said, a decrease of 0.01 per cent on 2011.

The number of priests in the world increased by 895 to 414,313, but the number in Europe declined by 1,375. Meanwhile, the number of women religious worldwide fell by 10,677 to 702,529.

According to the study, the Church runs 71,188 preschool centres, 95,246 primary schools and 43,783 secondary schools around the world, as well as 115,352 charity and healthcare centres.

Kazakhstan: Convert from Islam to Christianity gets 2 years prison for inciting religious hatred

Source: JihadWatch

By Robert Spencer, Director of Jihad Watch

“Inciting religious hatred” is what the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has for years been pressuring the West to criminalize. It is clear from this case that the term is a catchall for anything Muslims don’t like and don’t want spoken.

“Christian convert from Islam gets two years in prison for stirring religious hatred,” Asia News, December 30, 2015:

Astana (AsiaNews) – A Kazakh court yesterday sentenced Seventh-day Adventist Yklas Kabduakasov to two years’ imprisonment in a labour camp on specious charges of inciting religious hatred. In November, a lower court had given the 54-year-old father of eight a seven-year sentence of restricted freedom at home.

Forum 18 reported that Mr Kabduakasov was prosecuted on allegations of inciting religious hatred. This was done by talking to others about his faith. He and his fellow Church members reject the charges as baseless.

Local sources said that Kazakhstan’s secret police, the National Security Committee (KNB), tracked Kabduakasov’s movements and taped his discussions, especially on matters of faith. After a year, he was arrested on 14 August, and convicted on 9 November.

The KNB apparently rented a flat where four university students invited the accused for religious discussions, secretly taped the meetings and then used the evidence in the prosecution case.

A lower court sentenced him to seven years’ restricted freedom, and ordered the destruction of nine Christian books that had been confiscated at his house. The Prosecutor had sought seven years’ imprisonment in place of the restricted freedom sentence.

A court heard the appeal on 22 and 25 December, before imposing two years in a labour camp on 28 December.

According to some Kazakh Christians, who withheld their names, he was tried because he had left Islam for Christianity. In addition, he had spoken with Muslims about the Gospel, raising the possibility of proselytising.

Kabduakasov’s case is thus seen as a warning to anyone tempted to leave Islam for Christianity….

Why Thomas Aquinas Distrusted Islam by Dr. Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

By THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.
Source: BREITBART

The 13th-century scholar Thomas Aquinas, regarded as one of the most eminent medieval philosophers and theologians, offered a biting critique of Islam based in large part on the questionable character and methods of its founder, Mohammed.

According to Aquinas, Islam appealed to ignorant, brutish, carnal men and spread not by the power of its arguments or divine grace but by the power of the sword.

Aquinas, a keen observer of the human condition, was familiar with the chief works of the Muslim philosophers of his day–including Avicenna, Algazel, and Averroes–and engaged them in his writings.

Since Islam was founded and spread in the seventh century, Aquinas—considered by Catholics as a saint and doctor of the Church—lived in a period closer to that of Mohammed than to our own day.

In one of his most significant works, the voluminous Summa contra gentiles, which Aquinas wrote between 1258 and 1264 AD, the scholar argued for the truth of Christianity against other belief systems, including Islam.

Aquinas contrasts the spread of Christianity with that of Islam, arguing that much of Christianity’s early success stemmed from widespread belief in the miracles of Jesus, whereas the spread of Islam was worked through the promise of sensual pleasures and the violence of the sword.

Mohammad, Aquinas wrote, “seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure.”

Such an offer, Aquinas contended, appealed to a certain type of person of limited virtue and wisdom.

“In all this, as is not unexpected, he was obeyed by carnal men,” he wrote. “As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with a very modest wisdom. Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity.”

Because of the weakness of Islam’s contentions, Aquinas argued, “no wise men, men trained in things divine and human, believed in him from the beginning.” Instead, those who believed in him “were brutal men and desert wanderers, utterly ignorant of all divine teaching, through whose numbers Muhammad forced others to become his followers by the violence of his arms.”

Islam’s violent methods of propagation were especially unconvincing to Aquinas, since he found that the use of such force does not prove the truth of one’s claims, and are the means typically used by evil men.

“Mohammad said that he was sent in the power of his arms,” Aquinas wrote, “which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants.”

At the time Aquinas was writing, Islam was generally considered a Christian heresy, since it drew so heavily on Christian texts and beliefs. Aquinas wrote that Mohammed “perverts almost all the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments by making them into fabrications of his own, as can be seen by anyone who examines his law.”

According to the noted historian Hilaire Belloc, Islam “began as a heresy, not as a new religion. It was not a pagan contrast with the Church; it was not an alien enemy. It was a perversion of Christian doctrine. Its vitality and endurance soon gave it the appearance of a new religion, but those who were contemporary with its rise saw it for what it was—not a denial, but an adaptation and a misuse, of the Christian thing.”

In his Summa contra gentiles, Aquinas ends his argument against Islam by offering a backhanded compliment to Mohammed, noting that he had to keep his followers ignorant in order for them to remain faithful.

It was, Aquinas wrote, “a shrewd decision on his part to forbid his followers to read the Old and New Testaments, lest these books convict him of falsity.”

“It is thus clear that those who place any faith in his words believe foolishly,” he wrote.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome

Why I Left Iglesia Ni Cristo and Became Secular

Source: The Philippine Pride

This article is contributed by Allan Michael Pedraja. Contact author for comments and questions.

I was born a “handog” in a big clan of Iglesia Ni Cristo here in Makati. I even sent my younger brother to New Era University to study BEM (Bachelor of Evangelical Ministry). It’s been four years since my brother got ordained as a full-pledged minister.

I am from the family of “true believers”. My father who passed away last year at the age of 91 served as a head deacon ever since I was a child (now I’m 37). My sister is a head secretary, another sister is a head choir, and another sister is a deaconess. My oldest brother-in-law [sic] assumed my father’s position as a head deacon after he passed away. All three of my brother-in-laws are head deacons, while our youngest brother holds a high position in INC Engineering.

My knowledge about this religion is not a joke after all, but I stopped attending worship services even before this current scandal broke-out. The more knowledge I have, the more I became convinced that this group is not with the biblical god.

As a man of integrity, my family respected my decision. Not even my brother – who is a minister, can answer my questions.

The reason why I left INC is simple yet too personal. I don’t want other people to control myself. I don’t want to live in isolation. I don’t want to be told to do this and do that – not from the people who weren’t even feeding me – the leadership of INC. I don’t want to live like a robot and do only things in their favor.

Yes, members of INC are deprived of freedom – freedom that a normal person should have. Members are blind to realize this because their minds are clouded by the term “pasakop sa pamamahala” (follow the head).

INC is all about psychology. They planted fear (of dagat-dagatang apoy) to members so they follow whatever the leaders (ministers) told them to do so because if they won’t, they will be expelled. Expulsion is scarier than death according to them.

I wasted a lot of time and money in this religion for almost three decades. I went to the church twice a week and attended in different church-related activities, but lately I asked myself “What for? What all of these sacrifices all about when leaders are spending INC’s money in luxury?”.

Any religion is business and the best selling product is “fear”. INC is champion in teaching “fear” to its members.

With the current situation, the normal worship services are totally different than before. The church is losing a lot of respect from the general public, and in order to control the damage, it is strictly pushing the members to follow whatever Eduardo Manalo has to say.

I won’t join in any other business of religion. I will remain secular – a simple person who follow the rules of law.

The current scandal inside the Iglesia ni Cristo will only worsen. I already told my minister brother to prepare for the worst to come. I asked him once, “What are we going to do if what happened to Lowell Menorca and Isaias Samson happened to you?”. My brother was speechless.

The Iglesia Ni Cristo council will do everything and spend all the members’ money to protect themselves, but I don’t see the law on their side. Truth will prevail and this time, they will be the biggest losers. The public – unlike the INC members, are not dumb. Eduardo Manalo has just destroyed the 100-year legacy. The damage is beyond repair.

Christmas Midnight Mass from Bethlehem 2015

Iglesia defying order to stop construction in Tandang Sora compound? -Rappler

Photos taken on Wednesday morning, December 23, show construction continues in the compound despite an order to 'temporarily stop' during the holidays

MANILA, Philippines – Despite a court order, construction activities are still ongoing in No. 36 Tandang Sora, where estranged siblings of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) head Eduardo Manalo currently reside even after their expulsion from the powerful church.

Photos taken at past 8 am Wednesday, December 23, show not a few construction workers still assembling scaffolding tubes in the compound, even after a Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC RTC) ordered the INC to "temporarily stop" any construction during the holiday season.

This was the agreement of the church and the camp of Lottie Manalo-Hemedez during a hearing on Tuesday, December 22.

It was a compromise, after the court gave the INC until December 28 to comment on Hemedez' manifestation and very urgent motion for immediate implementation of the December 16 court order.

The previous court order directed the INC to clear the entrance to the compound by removing the guardhouse and portalet currently blocking the driveway of the Manalos' residence, and to restore their electricity.

However, Hemedez' counsel Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Tuesday said not one of the court's orders have been complied with, except the scheduled court inspection on December 16. (READ: INC's Angel Manalo to brother Eduardo: Don't fence us in)

INC lawyer Serafin Cuevas Jr, meanwhile, said Hemedez's camp is "imputing bad faith already" when they claimed the INC started putting up fences when the court sheriff already left the compound after the inspection.

The December 22 order also asked the INC to allow the unhampered access of Angeles and another lawyer, Ahmed Paglinawan, to their clients' houses. (READ: What's happening inside the Iglesia's 36 Tandang Sora?)

In September, the INC asked the court to ban visitors from the compound. But Hemedez is challenging the church's right to do this based on assertions of ownership.

She claims she and her late husband, Eduard Hemedez, own the land title to the 36 Tandang Sora residence – not the INC. The INC has been pointing to a deed of sale supposedly drawn up in April this year allegedly transferring the property from the Hemedez couple to the church.

But expelled INC minister Isaias Samson Jr had said it could not have been possible for Lottie's husband to sign the deed of sale dated April 21, 2015 since he died in April 2013 or two years before.

Lottie and his brother Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo were expelled by their elder brother and INC head Eduardo Manalo. Their mother Tenny was also expelled, after she and Angel claimed their lives were in danger. (INFOGRAPHIC: The Manalos of the Iglesia ni Cristo)

This prompted Iglesia's worst crisis in years, with former ministers alleging abductions and corruption within the church. – Rappler.com

FELIX MANALO et. al. FOUNDED THE IGLESIA NI CRISTO according to SEC archives

"That the FOUNDER of this association (IGLESIA NI CRISTO®) are: FELIX MANALO, residing in Tagig, Rizal, P.I., ..." (all emphasis mine).

Where is Purgatory in the Bible?

Source: About Catholics

By Andres Ortiz

The Bible does not mention the exact word “purgatory,” but instead it makes reference to a place which can be understood as what is referred to as purgatory. To claim that purgatory does not exist because the exact word does not appear in Scripture is a failure to understand Scripture.

What exactly is Purgatory?

The Bible contains references to many Christian doctrines, but fails to call them out by name. One might as well even deny that there is something called the Bible because no such name is found in the Bible. Furthermore, one might as well deny the Trinity, Incarnation, and so forth because these exact words are not found in the Bible.

The name does not make the place; the place must exist first, then we give it a name. We call this place “purgatory” because it means “a cleansing place.” Therein souls are purged from the small stains of sin, which prevent their immediate entrance into Heaven.

In the Old Testament

The first mention of Purgatory in the Bible is in 2 Maccabees 12:46: “Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from sin.”

Some people do not accept Maccabees as book of the Bible. This is unfortunate since it is that their Bibles have been edited and are missing books. (Find out Why Catholic Bibles Are Different) Even if a person does not accept the book of Maccabees, it at least has historical value for we can learn what the pre-Christian community believed.

In Chapter 12 of Second Maccabees we read Scriptural proof for Purgatory and evidence that the Jews had sacrifices offered for those of their brothers who had lost their lives in battle. That the Jews prayed for the dead shows that they believed in a place where they could be helped (which we now call purgatory) and that the prayers of their living brothers and sisters could help them in that place. This is closely related to the Catholic doctrine of the communion of saints.

During the Reformation in the 15th century, when Martin Luther was deciding to remove books from the Bible, these words in the book of Maccabees had so clearly favored Catholic teaching, that the whole book was removed from the Protestant Bible. Unfortunately for Protestants, even if they feel that the book was not inspired, it still tells us of the practice of God’s chosen people.

In the New Testament

In Matthew 5:26 and Luke 12:59 Christ is condemning sin and speaks of liberation only after expiation. “Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Now we know that no last penny needs to be paid in Heaven and from Hell there is no liberation at all; hence the reference must apply to a third place.

Matthew 12:32 says, “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” Here Jesus speaks of sin against the Holy Spirit. The implication is that some sins can be forgiven in the world to come. We know that in Hell there is no liberation and in Heaven nothing imperfect can enter it as we see in the next part. Sin is not forgiven when a soul reaches its final destination because in heaven there is no need for forgiveness of sin and in hell the choice to go there is already made.

Revelation 21:27: “…but nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who does abominable things or tells lies.” The place that is to be entered (the place to which this passage refers) is heaven (read the text around it for context).

The Bible clearly implies a place for an intermediate state of purification after we die in the many passages which tell that God will reward or punish according to a person’s life.

What if purgatory really doesn’t exist?

Ponder the following example. Imagine a Christian man, justified by the Lord, loses his temper and yells at his next door neighbors for letting their dog dig a hole in his yard. We can see that the man treated his neighbors rudely, albeit the neighbor’s behavior was also reprehensible. His actions would be considered a light sin (called venial sins by the Catholic Church). It’s not of the same moral weight as theft or murder, but it’s still a sin.

After shouting at the neighbors, with all the anger and stress in his body the man walks into his house, has a heart attack, and dies having just committed a small sin in the final moments of his life. Remember, this man is Christian and justified by the Lord, yet has committed a sin. Does he go to heaven or does he go to hell? Are all sins created equal? No, all sins are not equal and even justified men of the Lord can make mistakes and sin.

If purgatory didn’t exist, the man would go to hell for his small sin. God’s mercy is so great and our God is a just God that it seems unfathomable that he would condemn a justified man to hell for a small, yet unrepented sin. The man’s soul is dirty. His actions have defiled his soul, but not the point where he has cut himself off from God. Only mortal sins cut off a person from God’s grace. So, the man, having been justified by the Lord, is destined for heaven, yet his soul is defiled by his sin (Matthew 12:36, 15:18). His soul is in need of cleansing because nothing defiled can enter heaven. This is the purpose of purgatory. Out of mercy and love God sends the man through purgatory on his way to heaven so that his soul can be purified to be able to join God in heaven.

Remember, purgatory is not a second chance for conversion; the man is already justified. If there is no place of intermediate state of purification, the man would be damned to hell! Who would be saved? Those who teach against purgatory teach an unreasonable doctrine. Will Catholics go to heaven?

So, why do non-Catholics reject a teaching so full of consolation? My guess is that they want to believe that the merits of Christ applied to the sinner who trusts in Him, will remove all sin past, present, and future abdicating all responsibility for sin after justification. Yet this is also unreasonable. Only Jesus’ death on the cross makes us worthy before God the Father. We cannot stand before him on our own merits. We need Jesus Christ. Yet we also have personal responsibility in our justification before the Lord.

Luke 12:48:

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

If we accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, confess him as Lord, yet commit bad actions, God judges accordingly.

Matthew 12:37:

By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Our acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross does not abdicate our responsibility live the Gospel. Salvation is not assured. Salvation is not by faith alone for the Bible says that we will be held accountable by our words and that much will be entrusted to us! Nowhere in the Bible does it say salvation is by faith alone. This teaching is un-Scriptural. Rather the Scriptures say that faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

While Jesus can be the only acceptable sacrifice to God for our sins, it doesn’t give us a license to sin. Nor does justification by the Lord preserve us from sin. Even a justified man can commit a sin. Therefore, even though Christ’s blood on the cross makes us right before God, God still requires much from us in return. He requires us to die to ourselves each day and to choose him in everything we do. It simply doesn’t fit with God’s justice for a person to be off the hook simply because at some point in the past they became justified. We have a duty to God to obey him for if we do not obey God we will be punished according to his justice. Purgatory is part of God’s justice.

READ: The Truth about FAITH ALONE, WORKS and SALVATION.