I found a "liturgical" aspect of Adventist services rather amusing - they don't realise that it's Catholic. I've pointed out quasi-liturgical rituals in Adventist services before, but people have denied them. This "Responsive Reading" seems fairly common, and it's not just Adventists that use it. In Catholic churches it's sometimes spoken and sometimes sung.
To complete the collection of posts I have on the virginity of Mary, I'll address the brothers of Jesus named in the Bible.
In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant contained the glory of God. In the New Testament, the Ark of the New Covenant contained God himself in the flesh. Important parallels regarding the content of the Ark: Manna – Eucharist (Jesus’ body and blood) Rod of Aaron – Rod of Jesse (Jesus) 10 Commandments – Gospel One of the most striking parallels in Scripture is 2 Samuel 6 and Luke 1, which have so many parallel phrases one has to be blind or stubborn…
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, on the centenary of Ellen White's death, we pray for Adventism, that its members may share the faith of the Saints of the Church, and share in their glory in heaven with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, the Apostles, the Patriarchs, and all the Saints of God. We pray, on the eve of Ellen White's birthday, that her teachings diminish and the teachings of Christ through his Church increase. We ask Ellen, along with all the angels and saints, to pray with us…
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.
When Christians study the Bible and reach different conclusions, how can they figure out which conclusion is the correct one? Is there a way to know that one is right, apart from the conviction that the Holy Spirit has led one in one's study of the Bible? When someone has a different interpretation of the Bible to ours, how do we know the Holy Spirit has led us, and not them? How can we be sure that we are right? Or is there a possibility…
As the symbol of the Church, and as the first Christian, Mary is now what we will become. She birthed God into the world; we are called to bring God to others. She was sinless; we will be made spotless. She was taken body and soul into heaven; we will ultimately be resurrected and our bodies reunited with our souls in heaven.
"Cathoolic - New Evangelization and Apologetics. Countering "sheep-stealing" from the Catholic Church" Cathoolic is run by Godwin Delali Adadzie from Ghana, and he also runs two other sites on Catholicism - About the Rosary and Are Catholics Christian? He's got a short book on the Rosary - visit his Rosary site to get it for your Kindle / PC / other reader.
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."
This is a series of e-mails I got from a lady who converted from Anglican to Adventist, spent 20 years as an Adventist, realised how wrong it was, went back to the Anglican church for a while, and then finally converted to the Catholic faith. ... "I have only recently discovered your Catholic help webpage on the net and wish to thank you for your courage in sharing your faith, plus the extensive biblical/Early Church Fathers debunking of SDA teachings re Catholic Christianity, salvation, the…
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,…
In his new book, Waking Up Catholic, Chad Torgerson describes his journey into the Catholic Church. He discusses how his faith in Christ developed over the years, from Lutheran, to agnostic/atheist, to born-again Protestant, and finally Catholic. Specifically, he brings in how his relationship with Christ was influenced by his study of Catholic teachings and practices, and shows how they can bring one closer to Christ. The book is easy to read, but gets to the point of complex issues remarkably well without becoming too…
These comments were originally posted in the comments section of Dr Francis Beckwith comes home. They have been moved here. This is an example of a futile debate with an Adventist who only wishes to preach at Catholics. This is one of the reasons Adventists have little credibility with other Christians.
Sometimes Catholic English and Protestant English use different definitions for the same words. If people want to understand each other, that is am important factor to take into account. You can't judge a statement unless you know what was intended by it.
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 its members may share the faith of the Saints of the Church, and share in their glory in heaven with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, the Apostles, the Patriarchs, and all the Saints of God. We pray, on the eve of Ellen White's birthday, that her teachings diminish and the teachings of Christ through his Church increase. We ask Ellen, along with all the angels and saints, to pray with us for this blessing.
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.
Adventists are true Protestants in the sense that they protest whatever is Catholic. Catholics believe that the mother of Jesus, Mary, had no other children apart from Jesus. Some Adventists, therefore, make it an article of faith, a doctrine, that Mary did indeed have other children.
Yes, he does, at times, "commend the pope for addressing the socio-political issues of our time in a responsible way" ... but he says that on such issues, Adventists and Catholics should not be united in their work towards that goal.
Jesus was God in Mary's uterus. Mary was his mother. She was not the mother of the Godhead. She did not pre-exist Jesus. But her son was God, and she was his mother - the mother of God incarnate.
The following debate on alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic shows how people often misunderstand the concept of Mary being the Mother of God.
The idea that Jesus was not a biological child of Mary is a novelty not supported by the Bible, and merely a reactionary stance.
In summary, this seems to be a denomination on the very fringe of Christianity, even further out than the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, who also have a peculiar set of beliefs. They appear to be Oneness Pentecostals ... who, in my experience, are not good at honesty when it comes to Catholicism and others they disagree with.
In his latest Endtime Issues (#141,) Samuele Bacchiocchi again criticises the papal stand on moral issues, and the commitment of Catholics to the support of Catholic moral teaching. It looks like moral strength is a sign of the end-time evil power. Or so many Adventists would have us believe.
People like Andrew spend their time so grossly and dishonestly misrepresenting Catholicism, that the end result is that they misrepresent their own denomination by giving the false impression that Adventists are unscrupulous, and will stoop to incredible depths to attack other faiths. Ultimately, this only serves to benefit Catholicism - the only people who remain to take his side are equally unscrupulous characters, leaving the rest disgusted, and with a better understanding of what Catholicism really believes and practices.
William Johnsson here confuses the priesthood of Christ with the pastoral role of the clergy, who act as Christ's representatives. That is a completely biblical concept. The human clergy do not replace Christ in any way - and both types of priesthood are identified in the New Testament, as well as a third - the universal priesthood of the individual believer.
@CatholicAndSDA
Recent comments