Tag Archives: catholic

Nov 25 2013

Planned Parenthood Gets Zero Money from Me

So I received a letter from Planned Parenthood (PP) president Cecile Richards asking me for a generous contribution.  Lol.

The largest abortion provider in the US at roughly 300,000 abortions/year is complaining that extremists are getting in their way at the legislative level to decrease access to “affordable reproductive care.” Seems like that is some sort of borrowed terminology from one of their chief supporters, Barrack Obama who earlier this term bestowed god’s blessings (not my God) on this abominable organization.

The letter defines who the “extremists” are. If you oppose “birth control, family planning and medically accurate sex education,” then you are an extremist. You are then placed in the same category as the clinic bombers of the 1990’s. The letter says that the line is crossed when one opposes birth control.

Wow.

Get this: if you are a Catholic or an Evangelical who opposes birth control, you might as well be a bomber.  This is the kind of vitriolic rhetoric that PP is using to raise funds. The funds that the government gives them apparently are not enough.  Just to put things into perspective, they received $360 million (about 1/3 of their income) from the government in 2009.

They collect money in order to kill unborn babies.

They gain from killing the unborn.

As I was sitting in church this weekend listening to a holiness message from pastor Nelu Brie, a passage from Habakkuk 2 really stood out with respect to the blood stained money PP is using as income:

11 The stones of the wall will cry out,
    and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.

12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
    and establishes a town by injustice!

The Bible says “Woe to him” who uses the wages resulting from shedding of blood, in this case by killing innocent life. The house, the car, the items he buys with that money will cry out against him.

Your billion dollar empire is crying out against you Planned Parenthood!  This is the evidence of every one of those 300,000 abortions you perform per year!

Mar 27 2013

Will You Attend an Easter Service?

That was the question that Life Way Research asked 1,060 adults in a recent survey.

The results are perplexing because only about half of professing Christians said yes.

The Resurrection Day celebration is the greatest event in the Christian calendar (no, Christmas is not the biggest Christian holiday), and these results are  a sign of the lukewarm state of the church in this country.

Only 57% of Catholics, 58% of Protestants and 45% of non-denominational Christians said YES, they plan on attending church on Easter.

Where is the joy? Where is the anticipation of celebration? Where is the anticipation of the Second Coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead?

Awaken us Lord, from this terrible slumber!

Survey: One in Five Americans Undecided About Easter Church AttendanceSurvey: One in Five Americans Undecided About Easter Church Attendance

Feb 12 2013

Time for Revival in the Catholic Church

Christianity is undergoing transformation these days, especially the Catholic Church which will soon have a new Pontiff. I would like to propose that we may see a spiritual revival in the Catholic Church with possibly a new guard coming in, as Pope Benedict XVI is stepping down.

The current Pope was the main doctrinarian and theologian of the Catholic Church, and I am inclined to say he was part of an old guard accepting liberal doctrines such as the denying of the physical resurrection, and salvation via the beatitudes. He was elderly to begin with when he was elected, so he was bound to be a transitional figure.

As we are living in the last days, could we be seeing perhaps the last opportunity for a leader in the Catholic Church through whom God will bring in a long overdue revival?

Everyone is talking about revival in the Evangelical Church, but what about revival in the fertile ground of the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide today? Image a spiritual revival in this block of people, and imagine the impact a new leader may have toward this purpose.

Imagine a pontiff who may be bold enough to embrace the Charismatic and Pentecostal type movements going on among Catholics in South America, or one willing to move toward reformed positions… a pontiff who is willing to chastise the liberal wings of catholic priests who deny Jesus as the only way to eternal life.

Even here in the US, I have seen sporadic evidence that Catholicism is changing.  I was playing a worship song in the operating room not too long ago, a song known in our Evangelical churches, and to my surprise one of my nurses who is Catholic recognized the song and the band, and said “we sing this song all the time at mass.”

After my initial shock I got more information, and it turns out that for some time now their church is holding evangelical style services, with worship songs that typically have a Reformed or Pentecostal message… followed by sermons!  She even said “we love to sing music from our evangelical brethren!” Amazing!

Imagine the Catholic Church moving away from empty rituals and toward a real salvation relationship with Jesus.

We must think in these positive revival terms because the opposite is an apocalyptic scenario. At the opposite end of the spectrum we could be seeing a new pope who will usher in the era of the AntiChrist. And let me tell you, the lukewarm (or dead) post-modern Evangelical Church is not ready for such turn of events.

However, the real Body of Christ will be ready for whatever will happen. A revival will be welcomed as the kingdom of God will be extended throughout the earth even more. But also the opposite will be welcomed, the ushering in of the AntiChristic era which will mean that our time is at hand and Jesus is about to return.

Right now though, the world needs revival, and I am hoping for the salvation of many souls.

image credit

Jan 7 2013

The 113th US Congress and Religion

According to the Pew Research Center, the current (113th) Congress includes the first Buddhist to serve in the Senate, the first Hindu to serve in either chamber and the first member of Congress to describe her religion as “none,” continuing a gradual increase in religious diversity that mirrors trends in the country as a whole. While Congress remains majority Protestant, the institution is far less so today than it was 50 years ago, when nearly three-quarters of members belonged to Protestant denominations.

Catholics have seen the biggest gains, adding seven seats, for a total of 163 and raising their share to just over 30%. Protestants and Jews experienced the biggest declines in numerical terms.

There is a large disperity between the percentage of U.S. adults and the percentage of members of Congress who do not identify with any particular religion. About one-in-five U.S. adults describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – a group sometimes collectively called the “nones.” This is a rapidly growing group.

This country was never a “Christian” theocracy, but it was founded by Christians on biblical principles. We are now a far cry from our origins. I believe this trend is set, and we will see a continuing secularization of our society and our institutions to the point of religious persecution against Christians.

Please see the table below for details on the religious breakdown in the current US Congress. Among neo-Protestants there are a 73 Baptists and… one Pentecostal… (one for oneness?)