Pope Francis' Message “You cannot hate in the name of God”

In light of all the horrific and terrible things happening in our world, I wanted to close out the month of August with a video message from Pope Francis. Pope Francis is not the leader of all Christians around the world. He is the leader of Roman Catholics (Western Church) which is the largest denomination in Christianity, but regardless I believe that this message should be the focus of all Christians around the world at this moment in time with any and all support possible, especially our prayers. Consequently, I am sharing this post on both Arango’s Apologetics Page and on Unifying the Faith.

ROMEREPORTS.COM wrote as follows:

"Pope Francis expressed his concern for the situation in Iraq during the Angelus prayer. He firmly assured that these crimes gravely offend God (http://en.romereports.com)."

Pope Francis said the following in his message:

"Children dead from thirst and hunger during the escape; women who are abducted; people slaughtered; violence of every kind; destruction everywhere, destruction of homes, destruction of religious, historical and cultural patrimonies. All this greatly offends God and greatly offends humanity. You cannot bring hatred in the name of God! You cannot make war in the name of God (http://en.romereports.com)!"

The link to the video is below.

Pope Francis: “You cannot hate in the name of God”

Demand Religious Freedom

Christians and Jews are indeed being persecuted around the world. It is time to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves as Proverbs 31:8 states. The religious right is starting to raise awareness which is strange since they are usually busy politicizing issues that normally should not be politicized.
My problem with people like Ralph Reed is that they will most likely make millions in income politicizing things like this issue of persecution as a "God business." Credits to Frank Schaffer on the "God business" phrase I just used. I am just surprised that they are showing concern for Assyrian Christians in Iraq and Coptic Christians in Egypt because honestly many of on the religious right did not consider that these brothers and sisters where actually Christian based on the limited worldview on that same religious right. Unless, this is just some new scheme to help the Republican party. I personally do not think that our Faith needs to be supporting any one political party, but instead leave that up to the individual as a choice. Our job is to follow Christ. But, I do think the religious right is right on this one or at least on the right track for now. So, the link below is one way of communicating the injustices and human rights abuses being experienced by our brothers and sisters around the world. If anyone comes up with a better idea, please share, and I will try to promote it.


Demand Religious Freedom

Is Christ Divided?

St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (epistle) was most likely written from Ephesus during his stay there around 53 to 57 AD. About 1, 959 years ago, St. Paul was already confronting the issue of ecumenism in the church. Sadly enough, at the very start of Christianity there was already “quarreling among” brothers and sisters on matters of our common Faith. Moreover, St. Paul appealed “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” that they would “be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”In the latest post in my other blog, Arango’s Apologetics Page, which I consider the older sibling to this one I used several Scripture references; however in this post I plan on using only eight verses from the New Testament. This blog seeks unity among all those that call themselves Christian, as well as all of humanity. One of the questions we must ask ourselves is what can we do to make unity in Christ a possibility, if we truly believe that this was the desire of Jesus? The question St. Paul asked about two millenniums ago in the First Letter to the Corinthians was “Is Christ divided?” The answer to this question is that He is absolutely “Not “divided. I simply wish to share First Corinthians 1:10-17 with you the reader and allow you to ponder on this idea of ecumenism, and why it is so important, and also that you ask yourself why we are so divided as denominations and groups of the same Faith? I Corinthians 1:10-17 reads as follows:

"BRETHREN, I appeal to you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispos and Gaius; lest any one should say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power (RSV Bible)."

Reference:

The Revised Standard Version of the Bible

A Brief Thought I Had Today on Ecumenism

Reflecting today on the subject of ecumenism at breakfast in conversation with one of my oldest best friends who is also a theology buff just like me, I decided to write this post. I have to say that the church, perhaps, has never really been one or united one hundred percent because we are all different, and God created us as such. Moreover, it was evident that from the beginning there was division in the Church, as St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1: 11-13: “For it has been reported to me by Chlo'e's people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apol'los," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." Is Christ divided (RSV Bible)?” Obliviously, this type of division was not what Jesus intended or else he would not have prayed in John 17: 21, "I pray that they may all be one…."

Indeed, Jesus prayed that we would be one. But, today we have many types of Protestants, other Christian groups, and Evangelicals, and so on. We have Eastern Orthodox, we have Anglicans, and we have the Western Church (Roman Catholic) which is the largest Christian denomination. If one thinks about it, all of these make up the two billion plus humans that call themselves Christian or followers of Christ. Why so many different types? Well, this is a complex answer, but obviously everyone individually thinks that they are right or have the correct understanding of the truth. How right does each think that they are? Is it to the extreme that some think they are right, and all others are wrong? The answer to this is really that it doesn't matter what you are or what denomination you are if you think your right and others are completely wrong then you're probably a fundamentalist. Honestly, the highest probability is that perhaps all of us have a little bit of the truth, but no one has all of the truth, and we can learn from anybody on understanding God’s will. Moreover, there is a not so cute story that sounds cute found in the Book of Numbers 22: 21-34, it is the story of Balaam and his Donkey. In this story God uses a donkey to talk to Balaam to make him understand that he is wrong, although I don’t want to give you too much detail about the story, so you can read it for yourself. But, the bottom line is that we can be as hard headed as Balaam thinking we are right, even in the way we understand Scripture or history, and unknowingly we may be on a collision course with what Christ was and was really saying to us.

I hate taking Scriptures out of context, but a favorite Evangelical verse is found in Romans 3:23, and in it St. Paul said: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….” We are all sinners, so deal with it! Also, in 1 Corinthians 10:12, St. Paul said: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Personally, no matter what denomination you may be, I suggest that if you think that you are standing upright, be careful because if you are promoting division it does not sound like you understand the prayer of Jesus in John 17: 21, "I pray that they may all be one…."Furthermore, I would recommend that you read the story I mentioned about Balaam, and ask yourself if you are on a collision course against the will of Christ?

One of the most ecumenical experiences I have happens to me almost weekly at the church I attend during communion or the Eucharist. I am not an official parishioner, per se, but I do attend regularly to Trinity Cathedral in Miami. One of the things I love to hear regularly is when Dean Douglas McCaleb says before the Lord’s Supper: “what follows is not a Protestant table or a Catholic table, this is God’s table and in God's table all are welcome.” Thinking about it, this is how we should all treat each other always, just like a family that shares a table thanks to Jesus Christ. In John 14: 34-35, Jesus said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (RSV Bible)." I think this blog post is over now, and I will leave it up to you to ponder, as the popular phrase says, “enough said!” Blessings!

Reference:

RSV Bible

American Religious Town Hall

 It reads in what may be the mission statement of Unifying the Faith: "This blog seeks to promote and establish ecumenism among all groups and denominations of the Christian Faith via expressions in written language, and through any means of communication. We seek the promotion of others that are working towards the same common goal, as well." Well, here is another organization that is working for an ecumenical cause just as Unifying the Faith. It is American Religious Town Hall Meeting. American Religious Town Hall Meeting is a non-profit organization dedicated to the following, as it reads on their website:

"- The preservation of basic American civil and religious liberties including freedom of speech and freedom to worship God as one chooses.

- Fostering a spirit of unity among all religions and encouraging interfaith understanding in an atmosphere of cooperation without compromise.

- Educating the American public regarding varying viewpoints through weekly worldwide television broadcast (http://www.americanreligious.org/)."

If you wish to learn more about this organization, please visit their link below. Blessings!

American Religious Town Hall

Ecumenism Was Happening Today

I simply wanted to share this article by Nicole Winfield for AP that is titled: Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew Pray In Holy Sepulcher Church. The article reads as follows:

"Pope Francis and the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians prayed together Sunday inside the Jerusalem church that symbolizes their divisions, calling their historic meeting a step toward healing the centuries-old Catholic-Orthodox schism."

The link for the entire article is found below. Hope you enjoy reading it...blessings!



Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew Pray In Holy Sepulcher Church

Pilgrimage of Pope Francis to the Holy Land

On this site one will be able to view live CVT video transmission from Vatican Television Center, as well as the Popes agenda by date. The Vatican's link to the Pilgrimage of Pope Francis to the Holy Land from May 24-26 is below.


Pilgrimage of Pope Francis to the Holy Land (24-26 May 2014)