Featured When was the RCC founded?

Constantine made Christianity the official religion and banned paganism, so many pagans came into the church and were baptised, but not converted, so there were many baptised unbelievers or pagans, if you will. Just as in churches where there is infant baptism, many of those are baptised unbelievers.

 

That is in interesting account.

I had a friend whose mother was a Roman Catholic in Dublin, Ireland. She was deaf and dumb. When she was 16, a friend asked her if she would like to go with her to gospel preaching. She replied that she wouldn't be able to understand.
The friend said that she would sign for her. The young lady went back home and said "I have been to gospel preaching and even converted. " Her father pointed to the door and said "Out." She went to her friend and said "My dad has thrown me out! " The friend said she would find somewhere for her to stay and found a friend who put her up.
Eventually she ended up in Sheffield, England and started a deaf and dumb club where she also taught the gospel till one day a Christian man joined, and she said "Now there is a man here I can't teach anymore, you will have to take over. "
When my friend spoke about his mother he always used sign language as well. He was the only one in his family who was not deaf and dumb.
His son is still a friend of mine.

 

Great story! The Word will supersede any attempt to suppress it and will get through. praise God from all blessings flow

 

Your assuming the early church adopted paganistic Understanding, they were following the Apostolic and scriptural Understanding established by Christ.

 

No, Constantine didn’t force conversion.

 

No, it’s once for all. All mankind down the ages, the same sacrifice.

 

Check your history, Augustine brought pagan philosophy into the church and it flowered in the RCC.

 

Yes it is a Buddhist thing.

 

Did you not ask yourself why they didn’t follow Christs passive non-violent character? I don’t have to remind you that the RCC executed a lot of people, they have much blood on their hands.

 

As a teacher of church history, I say that the Catholic religion as it presently exists goes back to the reign of Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century. Why? He instituted many of the practices that distinguish Catholicism today: forgiveness through baptism, penance, emphasis on the intercession of the saints, the holy relics, the Eucharist as the actual body and blood of Jesus, atonement in Purgatory, etc. (cf. Ch. 17, "God's Consul," in Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, 4th ed.).

Another church history source points out that Gregory: "Promoted the doctrines and practices of good works and penance, or purgatory, mass, and transubstantiation, of celibacy of the clergy, of liturgy in worship, of the traditional historic episcopacy" (Who Was Who in Church History, rev., by Elgin Moyer, p. 172). Of these the celibacy of the clergy was particularly heinous, leading to the immorality of so many Catholic priests nowadays.

 

True, but it is also a Muslim thing. But as you say, I saw many Buddhists use a rosary in my 33 years as a missionary to Japan. The typical Buddhist priest carries one with him.

Simply put, it is a heathen way of repetitious praying, something Jesus forbade: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matthew 6:7).

 

Jesus did NOT forbid repetitious prayer. He forbade VAIN repetitious prayer. There is a difference. I think of the repetitious singing that goes on in Baptist churches all over the country like: 'Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above', over and over and over. Is that vain repetitious prayer/worship???

 

Actually, the word "vain" is not in the original Greek. The verse should simply say not to use repetitious prayer. (I teach Greek, so you can trust me. )

In the first place, my Baptist church is traditional, avoiding CCM. So we don't use the "7-11" pop music type of singing: 7 words 11 times. We certainly don't sing that CCM song. We sing traditional hymns which are not repetitious.

Secondly, the verse does not say "worship" but "pray." So you are off target. Singing is not the same as praying, though sometimes a hymn can have a prayer in it.

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly in regards to traditional hymns and I know that the verse does not include the worship aspect of prayer. I do not believe that repetitious prayer was the target of Jesus directive but rather the type of prayers that were being repeated. IMHO. BTW, I have sat through countless prayer sessions in the Baptist church I grew up in where the words 'guide and direct' were applied to practically every petition and intercession over and over. I believe those prayers to be valid and not what Jesus meant in the verse either.

 

Who is the Queen of Heaven?

jeremiah 7:18