Monday, August 20, 2012

Mormons taught that the Catholic Church is the Great Whore of Babylon

Here's a blog entry from a former Mormon.  You can find his whole entry HERE.  Very interesting.

"When I was LDS, I was taught that the Catholic Church was the Great Whore of Babylon, which led the world into the Great Apostasy, which made the LDS Church necessary—without the apostasy and loss of the “truth,” no restoration would have been necessary, which would have eliminated the need for Joseph Smith and all that followed. But, according to what I was taught, the Catholic Church lost its authority and power and corrupted religion. So, Romney, a devout Mormon, picking a Catholic is interesting from this view point."e Great 

http://petriesan.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/paul-ryan-ayn-rand/ (accessed 8/20/12).Apostasy, which made the LDS Church necessary—without the apostasy and loss of the “truth,” no restoration would have been necessary, which would have eliminated the need for Joseph Smith and all that followed. But, according to what I was taught, the Catholic Church lost its authority and power and corrupted religion. So, Romney, a devout Mormon, picking a Catholic is interesting from this view point.

Monday, August 13, 2012

A Catholic and a Mormon walk into an election and where do the Evangelicals turn?

Mitt Romney has selected Paul Ryan, a devout Catholic, as his running mate in the presidential election.  What will Evangelicals do?  Certainly some, like Roger Magnuson who considers the Roman Catholic church to be "the great whore of Babylon," will pick a different option.  Magnuson, a lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis has preached sermons lamenting the "Scarlet Harlot's" history of taking over the "State".  So Evangelicals like Roger will certainly not help their effort by electing a Roman Catholic to a position that is a heartbeat from the President.  (And frankly, I can't believe he feels any better about the Mormons.  It's funny, though, that Roger seems perfectly happy to work closely with devotees of the "Scarlet Harlot" on social issues that are important to him.  For example, he is part of the "Minnesotans for Marriage," an organization promoting the anti-gay marriage amendment, with Catholic Kevin Conneely of Leondard Street and Dienard, and Teresa Collett of the University of St. Thomas.)

See Roger Magnuson's teachings here:  http://www.straitgate.org/ministries/magdalen-college-lecture-series/lecture-3-21-notes-test/

Just in case the website can't be accessed when you try, here is the text (apparently lecture notes) that accompanied Roger's video message:




Title: Antidisestablishmentarianism
Teacher: Chancellor Roger J. Magnuson
Date: April 12, 2002
Topic: Martyrs have been described as the seed bed of the Church; is that true, and if so, how does it stand as a witness against false gospels that have elements of truth but deny its power? As historical material, review three prominent Christian martyrdoms of the 16th century with special attention to the reign of Bloody Mary.
Antidisestablishmentarianism:
  • It’s a word. It’s a favorite of lexicographers. It is a storied test word in spelling bees. It was once reported to be the longest word in the English language: Antidisestablishmentarianism—we need to understand the incredible vehemence that is the product of the antidisestablishmentarian. What’s an establishment? An establishmentarian? An antidisestablishmentarian?
Enmity
  • Commonplace—Hoi polloi throughout the world: all religions are fundamentally alike. They seek in their own way to answer “first questions,” like why we’re here, where we’re going, and how we relate to the cosmos. They want to open doors to understanding and then to heaven. There is an equivalent among all religious systems. Most people are willing to concede that there are many ways of looking at reality, and among those ways, a variety of religions do the best they can to find their way to God. There’s a certain congeniality between and among religion.
  • Common Expectation—Why not doff the hat to all religions, and save all scorn for the irreligious? Good moral people and the heathen who don’t applaud our initiatives are separate. It seems we should fight heathens, not religious people. One would expect that the irreligious would approach the religious with apathy (“sitting down, they watched him there”——spectatorism, no particular emotion or feeling engaged). We would expect religious people to have sympathy for religious people, even if they disagreed with one another. You would not expect there to be any antipathy against people who believe in freedom of choice, freedom of religion, and freedom of religious affairs. What could be controversial in those groups who don’t seek to enforce their views on everyone, but just say, ‘let everyone have his own way’?
  • Curious Antipathy—There is strong controversy between establishment and non-establishment religion. Establishment religion seeks a monopoly on religious activity, and seeks to root out and destroy exceptions of their monopoly. When they come face to face with someone who wants to disestablish the religious establishment and open it up to truth, they hate the disestablishmentarian.
  • Critical Identification—A fictitious person in Revelation (will be a real person at the end of the age); the great whore of Babylon; the Scarlet Harlot, who is clothed in scarlet and purpose. Rome is an establishmentarian; she “rides the beast” of coercion.
Entity—Every apostate, establishmentarian church has these 3 things:
  • Corruption—The Scarlet Harlot is morally and spiritually corrupt; that’s why she’s referred to as a harlot. There is a thorough-going corruption is establishmentarian religion; always has been, and always will be. Homosexual domination of the Roman Catholic clergy is a significant majority of Catholic priests. St. Paul Seminary produces priests for this area—it’s so controlled by homosexual, that any heterosexual getting in there felt very excluded. This is not curious, but expected; the corruption was so great in Zwingli’s Zurich and in Lucerne, that the Roman Catholic Church decided to give some modest penalties to its clergy; they couldn’t punish acts of fornication and adultery, but they earned 1500 guilders in one year by demanding the priests of one province to pay 5 guilders per illegitimate child that they had fathered. This corruption has been in all establishmentarian religions, not just Catholicism, but also in the Pharisees (all the Pharisees condemning the harlot had done the same thing, and acknowledged it by walking away).
  • Compromise—This kind of church becomes involved with State, tries to influence the State. By the 15th century, the incestuous relationship between Church and State reflected this; one Pope had sensual relations with his children and sister, another sodomizing both men and boys regularly. Wherever the Roman Church has gone, it has not been long before they have used the arm of the State to enforce their dogmas. In Spain, in France, in Germany, in England… they’ve controlled the State.
  • Coercion—Not by illumination, preaching, inspiration, or persuasion, but by coercing pressure. That’s why the scarlet harlot is seen in Revelation as “drunk with the blood of the saints.” Why are you drunk with the blood of the saints? That scarlet harlot, emblem of establishmentarian religion, is a whore, compromises by being aligned with State, and uses coercive persecution of true religion.
  • Conundrum—False religion has always been the main persecutor of true religion.
    • It goes back to Cain and Abel; Cain offers his vegetables to God; Abel, a symbol of true religion, offers a sacrifice of the firstfruits of his lambs. Cain’s reaction to Abel isn’t, “Good for you!” or, “You have your way, I have mine.” No! It was a fierce violent reaction, a threat, a murder.
    • Ahab and Jezebel persecuted the prophets. Obadiah is afraid to go to Ahab on behalf of Elijah; Elijah’s view is, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If God’s God serve Him; if Baal’s God, choose him.” This emphasis of freedom of choice is so threatening that Ahab and Jezebel seek to kill Him.
    • Jesus’ ferocious enmity did not come from the crafty, corrupt Zacchaeus or sinners. The common people heard Him gladly, but when the Pharisees and Sadducees saw Jesus offering the truth and the choice of repentance, they conspired together to kill Him. Once they killed Him, they did not want the truth He had taught to escape. They sealed His tomb as if to seal off His teaching.
    • Wycliffe, who wanted people to read the Bible themselves and make their own choice, was such a threat to the established religion that he was killed.
    • Hus, escorted to Rome, represented the voice of freedom and disestablishment. Therefore, he had to be killed.
    • Torquemada, the chief inquisitor under the Inquisition of Rome, laughingly described the torture and burning of 7,000 Christians that he disposed of in one year with every kind of painful, excruciating infliction of his enmity against them, followed by death.
Explanation—for persecution:
  • Fear—The reason the establishmentarianist church lashes out is not because of their strength, or their understanding and faith in their dogma. The reason is fear: their conscience is defiled, and they don’t believe themselves that they are doing right; they are dissipated by their lifestyle, accused by their conscience, they do not dare to open up the windows to let the winds of freedom blow and have an honest, open fight. They sealed up the tomb, because they feared that Jesus might be right. They seized Bibles because they were afraid that if people read those Scriptures, they would disestablish their priestcraft. The Greek Orthodox refused the Bible Society’s offer to make the Bible In common Greek, because they were afraid of what would happen if people read God’s word for themselves. Torquemada had to destroy so many people because of fear. When a Roman Catholic in the darkness of superstition starts realizing that falling down before a relic is a stupid thing, they still run from those who offer liberating truth. Roger Williams contemplated the idea of a free society where people can choose their own religion, and not “establish” a Christian church for the nation.
  • Force—If, in fact, you don’t believe that your ideas and the truth will conquer, you have to help out by engaging in pure force and persecution, extortion, and banishment, and an attempt to exercise coercive power over other people’s conscience, and ultimately to subject them to public, horrific consequences. This all makes perfect sense to the Scarlet Harlot, who can’t get enough of other people’s blood. When you are afraid and can’t persuade, you torture, you kill. The fear and force factors will have their final coming together in the end times. All these themes will have their perfect fruition: the world will have their king, the son of perdition, the antitype of Christ, establishing a kingship over this earth. But helping him succeed will be the Scarlet Harlot, “back in the saddle again.” The final hurrah for the apostate religion!
  • Futility—God has so designed His universe that the persecuting pressures of the world and apostate church, the great establishmentarian church, is always futile, and not only futile, but also counterproductive. For every wave of persecution has led to fresh power for the Church of Jesus Christ. When this corrupt force engages in the persecution of the truth, they lose. They sought to seal up the truth in the tomb: that was the worst thing they could possibly do. The stone was blown away, and the resurrection became the very cornerstone of the Gospel, an eruption of the truth that would not have been possible but for their persecution. The persecution of the 16th century caused a Reformation throughout the world.
The Christians were eager for martyrdom, understood that it was glorious, and, as one of the great English martyrs Said, “They don’t understand that we are going to light a candle that will never be burned out.”

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The NCAA is morally superior to the Catholic Church

Yesterday, the NCAA took meaningful action regarding Penn State and the Sandusky child sex abuse case.  I wish the NCAA had jurisdiction over the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church deserves severe punishment over its decades of sexual abuse of children, and its cover-up of the same.  Will the Catholic Church ever take responsibility for it's actions, and take meaningful steps to pay for what it has done (other than when forced to do so by a court of law)?  Or will it continue to try to create diversions (such as by shouting about the evils of gay marriage, or refusing communion for politicians who don't oppose abortion (but not those who don't oppose the death penalty!)?  10-1 says the latter.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Christians Believe Romney in a Cult - So will they instead vote for the Christian (Obama)?

Conservative Christians believe that Mormonism is a cult.  (See, e.g.,  http://www.truthandgrace.com/Assemblyonmormon.htm; http://www.edstetzer.com/2011/10/mormonism-cults-and-christiani.html)  Therefore, in their eyes, Romney is a cult follower.  That makes him practically a Satanist.  So will they instead vote for the Christian candidate, President Obama?  What a quandary they're in.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Catholic Church's Amendment to Ban All Non-Catholic Marriages . . .

If the Catholic Church is going to be consistent, why the focus on gay marriage?  Shouldn't it be fighting, preaching and lobbying just as strongly against all forms of marriage that do not meet its definition of "sacramental marriage"?  Why isn't the church pushing for a constitutional amendment banning all weddings that are not performed by a Catholic priest, and all marriages that are not between Catholic, non-divorced couples (or whatever else the church laws require)?  In the Catholic Church's eyes, aren't all non-sacramental marriages (i.e., all non-Catholic marriages) just as much a threat as gay marriage?

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Kids Are Alright

Below are comments from the StarTribune website in response to an article about the Minneapolis-St. Paul Archdiocese's "presentation" to a local Catholic high school about the evils of gay marriage (see http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/146031865.html).
  • Good for these youngsters for questioning the authoritarian feed from the Church. Maybe the Archdiocese should ask God why homosexuality exists amongst humans and animals. Maybe the Church could focus on the true teachings of the word by loving and accepting others regardless of what or how they are.
  • I am a practicing Catholic who is totally fed up with the awful leadership of the church. Now they are trying to brainwash young people. Little do they know that they are pushing people away from the church. Anyone with a mind can see what they are doing. The leaders of the church are so far away from the teachings of Jesus. I'm wondering how long I will be a practicing Catholic.
  • I have been a Catholic my entire life (66 years). I am so ashamed of the leadership in the church. I am horrified that they are trying to influence our young people with garbage such as this; bestiality? Are you kidding me? I am so proud of the students at DeLaSalle. I hope the seniors in the other Catholic high schools react in the same way. For the first time in my life, I am questioning my Catholic faith. I have to remember there are still leaders out there that follow their conscience and NOT the Archbishop's faulty philosophy.
  • Good way to alienate the next generation, neanderthal priests. Hopefully the government intrusive amendment will be defeated. Unfortunately, society will have to wait for the older generation to die out for their bigotry to finally fade.
  • The DeLaSalle students were clearly more knowledgeable and respectful than the presenters. Homosexuality equated with bestiality and "sociologically unstable" adopted kids are offensive to all right-minded people. The Catholic leaders (and I am one) are becoming pathological in their obsession.

Monday, March 5, 2012

High Price of Gas and Record Profits for Oil Companies

It's funny to see the Republican efforts to tie high gas prices to some failure by President Obama.  How were the oil companies' profits last year?  (Hint: recordbreaking!)   (Oops, that wasn't a hint, it was the answer.))

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/02/08/421061/big-oil-higher-prices-record-profits-less-oil/?mobile=nc


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A Catholic, a Mormon and a Protestant Walk Into a Presidential Race . . . .

So, in high school and college when I was flirting with the Evangelical and fundie wing of the Protestant Christian religion, I was told by many many many fellow Christians - including peers, preachers, parents and professors - that Catholics were not "real Christians."  They told me that Catholics were deceived, unsaved people worshiping a false god in an evil church.  Some of my Christian-music heros at the time went so far as to publish lengthy anti-Catholic essays (see, e.g., Keith Green's writings that (as of 2/22/12) can be found at http://www.fmh-child.org/KeithGreen.html).  And Mormons, I was told, are even worse -- a laughable cult.

So who do the Evangelical Christians support now for President?  The Republican Catholic, or the Republican Mormon? They might want to consider the Democrat from the United Church of Christ!

Pretty funny stuff.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Owners of Bobby and Steve's Auto World oppose Gay Marriage

Here are the people behind the "Minnesota Faith and Freedom Coalition", which is one of the activist organizations behind the anti-gay marriage amendment.  See http://www.mnffcoalition.com/?page_id=11.   Guess I won't be sending anymore business to Bobby and Steve's Auto World.  That's ok, I stopped using them a few years ago anyway when they did an oil change and transmission flush and I ended up with over a thousand dollars in damages to my car.


MN Faith & Freedom Coalition (501C4)
Board of Directors
Carol Schulstad
 Carol.mnffcoalition@gmail.com
 President/Board of Directors
Tom Emmer
 Tom.mnffcoalition@gmail.com
 State Chairman
Bobby Williams 
bobby@bobbyandstevesautoworld.com
Melissa Williams
 Melissa@bobbyandstevesautoworld.com

Field Communications Director

Mary Ramirez
 Maryr.mnffcoalition@gmail.com

MN Faith & Freedom Project (501C3)
Brad Brandon
 Brad.mnffcoalition@gmail.com
 President/Board of Directors
Dorothy Penate
 Dorothy.mnffcoalition@gmail.com
 State Chairwoman
Steve Williams 
stevew@bobbyandstevesautoworld.com

Advisory Board

Minnesota Senator Warren Limmer

Teresa Collette, J.D.
Minnesota Faith & Freedom Coalition
P.O. Box 44593
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Saturday, February 11, 2012

This way to the door . . .


I was born and raised Catholic.  I was an altar boy.  I worked for a Catholic organization that helps the homeless.  I know the Catholic Church has had issues over the years, but I had always remained fond of and connected with the Church.  And now I'm ashamed of the Catholic Church.  Catholic Archbishop John Nienstedt is relentlessly pushing a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state Constitution that would define marriage as a union only between a man and woman.  He and the church are spending (i.e. wasting) a lot of money and devoting a lot of resources to this issue, and he has taken actions such as producing and sending DVDs out to all Catholics advocating for his position, sending people into schools to advocate for the same, and warning Catholic clergy across Minnesota that there should be no "open dissension" on this issue.  Here are some selected comments submitted online or in writing to the StarTribune regarding some of these efforts.  I'm not saying that I couldn't have said it better, but I'm too lazy to try.  But I will say this -- the Catholic Church should be free to decide who is allowed to get married in the Catholic Church, but should have no say over, and no concern regarding, the government's definition of marriage.  The Church's sacraments  should stand on their own under Church law, and the Church should not concern itself with imposing its rules for its sacraments on society at large.

"As a catholic I'm pretty upset that THIS is what Nienstedt is putting his effort into. Religious institutions should teach tolerance and love...not political propaganda and how to alienate others. As a married man if 2 people of the same sex want to get married it has NO effect on my marriage whatsoever. This kind of stuff makes me wonder why I'm still catholic."

""The stakes could not be higher". Really, Mr. Nieinstedt, really?? This is the highest calling for the church!? As a catholic you offend me. And you offend every sense of being a christian that I learned in parochial schools. Some men get ordained and think they've become god. When their day is done they're still just ordinary men."

"We have been married Catholics for 45 years, but the desire of gays and lesbians to marry does not threaten us.  What threatens us is the archbishop's alliance with a political movement bent on amending the state Constitution to restrict the right of other Minnesotans to seek the same legal recognition we have.  We are also outraged at the archbishop's dictator-like orders to silence dissent among priests and force parishes to organize committees to promote a divisive political agenda.  There is little enthusiasm for turning parishes into precinct caucuses -- and even less enthusiasm for turning Roman Catholics into Roman soldiers."

"I am a Catholic and I've been married for 27 years. I want to assure Archbishop Nienstedt that I intend to vote against this discriminatory amendment in November. I will not be silenced by you or by anyone else. Whether or not gays get married will not affect my marriage at all. No one is requiring that the Church perform sacramental marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. If they get married it will be in civil ceremonies. You are seriously out of line with you attempts to silence the priests of the Archdiocese on this political issue. You are in serious error on this political issue. I encourage you to step back, to show some compassion to homosexual people and their desire to live in marriage like the rest of the community, and to see that your campaign is not only divisive, but in the course of human history will be viewed in the same way that we now look upon laws banning inter-racial marriage. Please stop this before you tear this diocese asunder."

"Homophobia is dying, and it is angry that it is dying. But here is a fact: Your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be much more tolerant than you, and will look upon a "marriage amendment" as a relic of a more ignorant past."

"As a lifelong catholic I am appalled by the archbishop in more ways than one. I have loved being a catholic following catholic traditions. This is the first time in my life I have considered looking into other religions. The archbishop is going to be left with very few followers because of his stances and political views."

"You are intentionally confusing the church's sacrament of marriage with the state's civil partnership of marriage. Monitor your sacrament."

"Really?? This coming from the church that brought us the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, unmarried popes with children, indulgences, ignored the Nazis and the holocaust and pedophile priests?!?!? They threaten to withhold communion from pro-choice politicians but ignore those that support the death penalty (something the church is supposed to be against). The catholic church is nothing more than the Sunday arm of the Republican National Committee."

"I am a lifelong Catholic (66+ years) with 4 straight children but I am appalled by our Archbishop. Years ago when some Catholic churches stepped forward to protest war they were told to back off and leave politics alone. Why the change? Is this our most pressing social problem? I think not. To those Catholics who embrace the strict adherence to antiquated dogma - how many of you are practicing birth control? If so...you are NOT following Catholic teaching. Do you have a right to cast aspersions on gay Catholics?"

"That this archbishop so openly and blatantly support protecting priests accused of pedophilia and yet turns his back on equality for all is all the sign I need that the modern catholic church is no place for me."

"I am Catholic, and will be getting married in a Catholic church this summer. I've tried to look at this issue from all angles, but in no way can I figure out how legalized same-sex marriages would in any way affect my wedding or my marriage. I'm very much looking forward to my marriage, and it's truly sad that old-fashioned, ignorant, bigoted (yes, I said it) church leaders want to deny others this opportunity to other couples who love one another."

"I have been a life-long Catholic and attended mass regularly (even weekday mass) until last year. Why the change? The catholic church is out of touch with it's flock - especially in America. The church has yet to truly repent for covering up the sexual abuse of many children. Even the recent changes in the mass have left me frustrated. On too many issues the church is teaching fear, intolerance and hatred. They do not walk in the footsteps of Jesus - who loved ALL OF US. I never thought I'd say it, but I think I'm an ex catholic. There are a growing number of us ex Catholics and I would think that might scare the Pope and all the Bishops. AND I won't be raising my daughter Catholic. Another lost sheep Benedict."

"I am a practicing Catholic. The church should not be working to further marginalize an already persecuted group. Ultimately, it will be demonstrated that the church is on the wrong side of history and morality in this issue. During its history, the church has condoned slavery, torture, racial segregation; has turned a blind eye on the abuse of children; debated whether women have souls; refused to bury victims of suicide; denied that the earth revolves around the sun and punished those who believed it. The history of the papacy is a history of abuse of political power saturated with sex scandals."

"Just last week, a priest in our archdiocese was convicted of criminal sexual misconduct. Despite having the same information as the jury that convicted him, the archbishop assigned him to a parish 40 miles away from his supervision.  In an effort to promote passage of the marriage amendment to the state's Constitution, Archbishop John Nienstedt wants area Catholics to recite a special prayer during mass.  In addition, the archbishop responded to the courageous victim's concerns over the placement, according to the trial testimony, with the hurtful words, "trust your shepherds." Mass always begins with a penitential rite.  I would propose a prayer at the start of archdiocesan masses asking forgiveness for these failings."

"It's interesting that Catholics who believe in gay rights and abortion rights are denied communion (apparently because their beliefs are not consistent with church doctrine).  I wonder how many times a death penalty (also contrary to church doctrine) advocate has been denied communion. Zero?"

"I don’t like that Archbishop John Nienstedt is threatening to punish priests who openly disagree with him over a constitutional amendment to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.  In a few weeks, I'll be 85. I'm a charter member of my church. I raised four children, all of whom attended Catholic schools. I've been active and engaged in my church all of my adult life.  That the archbishop would threaten the careers of priests who have devoted their lives to social justice is unconscionable.  If a fraction of this effort was put into weeding out the priests who had abused young children, we wouldn't have had the huge scandals and cover-ups or so many lives ruined by abuse.  I know that in speaking out about the archbishop's heavy-handed behavior, I risk alienating friends and family. But I must speak out. This issue isn't a gay-rights issue -- it's a human-rights issue."

Thursday, February 9, 2012

"Pro-Life" Cartoon

So, this cartoon keeps showing up on Facebook, typically posted by "pro-lifers." The cartoon, included below, shows a guy yelling at God, saying "If you are a loving and merciful god, why didn't you send someone to cure cancer, or true leaders to govern us?  What's your problem God?"  God replies "I did.  You aborted them!"  I think God's answer more likely would be: "I did, and you let them starve in famines, they died in your wars, you let them die because they didn't have adequate health insurance, you took away funding for their schools so they never had the opportunity to learn, you kicked them out of the house for being gay and they ended up living on the streets, you deported them from your country, you killed them in the electric chair, you locked them in prison instead of trying to help them overcome their issues (and on and on and on) . . . ."




Santorum Country. Not!

One of the local papers' headline yesterday (after Rick Santorum won the Republican caucus in my state) was "Santorum Country."  Let's be clear: this is NOT Santorum Country.  It may be that the right-wing activist types that show up at the Republican caucuses in this state are fans of Santorum, but that does NOT make this state "Santorum Country."