It's a common belief that Easter is pagan. One claim is that the name is derived from Ostare or Eostre, a pagan goddess. I tweeted in response to various tweets claiming such nonsense. I had an interesting discussion with a very opinionated lady. I want to post a few notes here on how seemingly educated people are drawn into this nonsense, and how bizarre their arguments can be.
The interesting thing is that Ellen White referred to William Miller, the founder of the Millerite movement that started Adventism, as "Father Miller", and gives one of the Catholic reasons for doing so (cf 1 Cor 4:15).
I've decided to write up an interpretation of the prophecies of Daniel, which I've read up on recently. Previously, I debunked the common Adventist claim about the little horn being the papacy, which supposedly uprooted the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Heruli by 538 AD.
Adventists and others accuse Catholics of disobeying Jesus by calling our priests "Father". But the interesting thing is that Ellen White referred to William Miller, the founder of the Millerite movement that started Adventism, as "Father Miller".
The wolves (or donkeys, depicted on the right) cannot read, or don't want to read. They see the words "failure of the cross" and abandon context and honesty in order to promote their nasty agenda. I don't see how any honest person can read the entire paragraph, notice the words "humanly speaking", and misunderstand. The wolves bear false witness. It's what they do.
Novena ConclusionToday, 16 July 2015, is the centenary of the death of Ellen White, Adventist prophetess. This Novena has asked her and all the angels and saints to pray with us for the return of the Adventist faith to the original teachings of Christianity.
Today, leading up to the centenary of Ellen White's death, we pray for Adventism, that it might see the light and truth it rejects in the Catholic faith it despises. Many within their fold fear the Catholic faith, despise it, and speak against it, not fully comprehending its beauty and faithfulness to the truth contained in the Bible. May God soften their hearts so that they may see the love we share, and the glory we give God in our lives and in our worship.
In the Nine Days leading up to the 100th anniversary of the death of Adventist prophetess Ellen White (16 July 2015), we will say a novena - a prayer continued for nine days - for those who follow her teachings today.
Adventists have a reputation for their dishonesty, and not just among Catholics. Out there in real life and on the internet there is a huge collection of anti-Catholic propaganda waiting for gullible Catholics, and others, to ensnare them. When a Catholic meets a certain type of Adventist, this sort of propaganda abounds.
Here are some examples from recent Facebook conversations. Discussions are trimmed to include the relevant bits. Disgusting to read, and disgusting to have to deal with regularly. Not all the "Catholic" discussion is mine; where more than one person was involved in the discussion, they are numbered 1 and 2.
No, Pope Francis is not making people get microchipped. I've seen this nonsense in two places now.
The short answer, no, but that won't satisfy Adventists and other anti-Catholics. Over at Almost Not Catholic, Brent has a good article debunking Adventist claims - Myth Buster: Constantine Founded the Catholic Church.
No, Halloween is NOT a pagan holiday adopted by Catholics and passed on to Protestants. That's a myth perpetuated by anti-Catholics and those who, contrary to the Bible, fear what has been offered to pagan gods. So, in reality, Halloween is a safe and fun secular practice with Christian origins. If you don't believe that, or dislike the type of Christian faith it originated in, follow Paul's advice. If you don't feel you can go that far yet, don't complain about those who have a…
Continuing my posts on young Catholic apologists/evangelists, this is part 2 of 3. A young guy called Joseph has a YouTube channel with (currently) 38 videos defending various Catholic teachings. "To all Catholics in good standing with the Church, I hope that you learn something from these videos that will help you in your life later on. To all non-Catholics and cafeteria Catholics, please be opened to the truth and let God show you the correct path."
I have been planning to write a series of posts over the next year or so that will cover some of the major points on which Catholics get hassled by non-Catholics, and in particular by Adventists and other Sabbath-keeping groups. Finally I have managed to get round to it. My intention is to present or explain what the Catholic Church believes, what the biblical evidence is, and why the commonly heard objections are faulty. I will not be writing a complete thesis on each topic,…
When one group of Christians needs to lie about another group of Christians in order to look good and promote their cause, what does that say about them? The commandment not to lie is part of the same set of 10 that contains the commandment to keep the Sabbath. Yet some Sabbath keepers are more than willing to tell lies about the Catholic Church to promote their agenda.
Adventism is well know for those members and clergy who misrepresent the Catholic faith. Not all Adventists are dishonest, and I've had apologies from Adventists who acknowledge and regret their church's dishonesty. Unfortunately, via Tesa Beem at "It's Okay NOT to be a Seventh-day Adventist", I've seen another example of gross misrepresentation of Catholicism by Adventists.
I have been invited to be a contributor on one of the progressive Adventist blogs out there in the Adventist blogosphere - Re-inventing the Adventist Wheel. God's visible grace is the title of my first post there. Quite a debate ensued here and there.
Adventism seems to like sticking up anti-Catholic billboards. This time it was an Adventist spin-off denomination, Eternal Gospel Church. This was around the beginning of February, and commented on at Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
I should note that requesting the prayers of deceased non-Catholics is not the norm, and that non-Catholics are not canonised as saints in the Catholic Church. If Ellen White is in heaven, we do not know, but we can hope and pray that she is. If she is, she will be praying with us. If not, God hears our prayers - cf Romans 8:26. This is therefore a private devotion, not one officially sanctioned by the Church, which I have shared with you.
Today we pray for Adventism, that it might see the light and truth it rejects in the Catholic faith it despises. Many within their fold fear the Catholic faith, despise it, and speak against it, not fully comprehending its beauty and faithfulness to the truth contained in the Bible. May God soften their hearts so that they may see the love we share, and the glory we give God in our lives and in our worship.
In the Nine Days leading up to the 179th anniversary of the birth of Adventist prophetess Ellen White, we will say a novena - a prayer continued for nine days - for those who follow her teachings today.
There seems to be silence now from the Pastor X front ... no further groans from his flock. No further defence of his attitude. I think they are ashamed ... either that, or too busy finding other people to call devils.
My message to anti-Catholics: Leave aside your objections to Catholic theology for a moment, and try to understand what Catholics actually believe. Otherwise you're just arguing against something we don't believe, and we remain unconvinced. That is what happens with 99% of the fundamentalist attempts to "witness" to Catholics. SermonAudio is a prime example.
Pastor X's church is NOT representative of Christianity. In fact, this type of church is very much in the minority. Unfortunately, their hatred of anything different to them leads them to be more vocal than most. And, equally unfortunately, all denominations have this type.
WorldNetDaily.com has given James Rutz, chairman of Megashift Ministries, a free hand to proclaim his version of the truth, which appears to be very similar to that of Jack Chick. His article is filled with the usual anti-Catholic propaganda, and doesn't seem to deal much in facts or accurate statistics; nor does he seem interested in substantiating his claims.
By Bob Stanley ... Laughable answers I have received to my legitimate email questions ... with a few laughable remarks thrown in...
@CatholicAndSDA
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