Diocese of Camden’s Post

Church Authority? Click here: www.paulmorris.org I do not hate or otherwise despise the organized church. In fact, I love it. What I despise is the patina of authority by which it is characterized. I despise the hypocrisy of “church discipline.” I despise its constant insistence on obedience to its rules and doctrines. I despise its politics.  These things are the Achilles heel of the visible, organized church. Authority cannot be authority without sanction. We understand sanction by the gun the policeman wears on his belt, or the incarceration that occurs when we run afoul of him. The church has no such sanction. The notion of “excommunication,” is bankrupt of meaning and relevance. If one is ejected by a church, it is a small matter to find another more to his liking.  We confuse, and this is especially true of our “High Church” brethren, the organized church with the universal, or invisible church. The latter includes all people of Christian faith, regardless of church affiliation.  God will not eject a believer he loves. No human being or human institution has the power or authority to determine the eternal welfare of another. To claim otherwise is an empty, psychotic fantasy. The church should perform the same function as the Bible, the Holy Scriptures. It is a guide and support. It is not a ring in the snout by which its sheep are jerked about by popes, bishops, pastors, elders and deacons. All of this said, the organized church does wondrous good. That shouldn’t be too surprising since it is, in most cases, filled with the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God, you see, is not particular about where he dwells. Of necessity, he cannot be too particular, owing to the fact that he fills the lives, hearts and bodies of believers who continue, on a regular basis, to sin daily. Is there one among us who is not aware of this? In addition to the wondrous good the church does, is the experience of group worship; the gathering of believers to worship together. The choirs, the singing of spiritual songs and hymns, the fellowship and friendship, the mutual encouragement, the caring engagement in each other’s lives, and yes, and gifted preaching and teaching. Even a church building with inspirational architecture has its place in worship. I love all of this. There is every reason to love this, and no reason not to. But the church sins mightily when it attempts to control, manipulate and coerce its people. Jesus strenuously forbade this (Luke 22:24-26 – stated in all three synoptics), see also Mt. 18:1-4; 23:8-11.. Keep in mind here that Jesus was addressing his apostles, the same men who would form his church and take his word to the ends of the earth. And since Jesus is the Object of our worship, it would seem in the interest of the church to listen, and in listening, to hear, understand and embrace.  -- PDM Click here: www.paulmorris.org

This blog ought to go over well. 😃 https://lnkd.in/gZujXBgG #pastors #church #churches #Jesus #JesusChrist #endtimes #raptureready #repent #faith #blessed #blessings #salvation

Great post and great article deeply examining the technical language and the difficulty with using that language to clearly communicate what we mean by honoring the saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary! Keep it up Jennifer Arnold, M.A. Theology and Catechetics!

CAN ANYONE BE SAVED WITHOUT GOING TO CHURCH? Question: Father Andrew, is it possible for a Christian person who always prays at home to be saved even if he seldom goes to church for some reason? Archpriest Andrey Lemeshonok’s answer: Of course, he can be saved. The Lord came to this world to save the sinners, and I’m the worst of them all. The fact that an individual rarely goes to church for some reason, although he continues to pray at home and does his best to avoid sin, doesn’t mean that he won’t be saved. However, that person possibly needs to realise that church services, the Sacraments of Confession and Communion are essential for our salvation as Christians. If he doesn’t go to church at all, it’s problematic but if he does, albeit rarely, it’s okay. Hopefully, he will attend church more frequently thanks to your help. If there are justifiable excuses which preclude that person from attending church, it’s a completely different story. People fall ill and aren’t always capable of doing everything that healthy people can do. Most importantly, you should pray for your loved one. Don’t lose hope for their salvation. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. _____________ Follow the link to ask Father Andrey Lemeshonok a question: https://lnkd.in/d83KsgrD #StElisabethConvent #obitelminsk #orthodoxwisdom #spiritualadvice #archpriestandreylemeshonok #conventlife #askapriest #spirituality #spirituallife #faith #orthodoxfaith #christian #church #convent #monastery #god #godbless

CAN ANYONE BE SAVED WITHOUT GOING TO CHURCH? Question: Father Andrew, is it possible for a Christian person who always prays at home to be saved even if he seldom goes to church for some reason? Archpriest Andrey Lemeshonok’s answer: Of course, he can be saved. The Lord came to this world to save the sinners, and I’m the worst of them all. The fact that an individual rarely goes to church for some reason, although he continues to pray at home and does his best to avoid sin, doesn’t mean that he won’t be saved. However, that person possibly needs to realise that church services, the Sacraments of Confession and Communion are essential for our salvation as Christians. If he doesn’t go to church at all, it’s problematic but if he does, albeit rarely, it’s okay. Hopefully, he will attend church more frequently thanks to your help. If there are justifiable excuses which preclude that person from attending church, it’s a completely different story. People fall ill and aren’t always capable of doing everything that healthy people can do. Most importantly, you should pray for your loved one. Don’t lose hope for their salvation. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. _ Follow the link to ask Father Andrey Lemeshonok a question: https://lnkd.in/d83KsgrD #StElisabethConvent #obitelminsk #orthodoxwisdom #spiritualadvice #archpriestandreylemeshonok #conventlife #askapriest #spirituality #spirituallife #faith #orthodoxfaith #christian #church #convent #monastery #god #godbless

Discover the deeper meaning behind church worship! 🙏 Dive into James Brockway's latest piece and explore how worship can transform your spiritual journey. 🌟 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eNtcZhgq #church #worship

Slide 47 – in Founders PPT – Blessed Arnobius (died c. 330) whom I think did not saint for some of his own opinion/errors (please see Slide 46) – but even the Roman Catholics have ONLY Blessed Arnobius’ quote for PRAYER for the DEAD part apart from CHILIASM Church Father Blessed Tertullian & unknown position of Chiliasm or not Church Father Blessed St. Cyprian during that timeline as you can see in this link: https://lnkd.in/eYiS-X8h (the rest being later fathers or non-Church Fathers or anonymous authours etc.). What’s my point? We saw in Slide 46 that Blessed Arnobius believed that Christians are “immediately at once saved” upon death (Against the Heathen, Book 2 (II), Point 34) but also wrote below in this same book of his that CHRISTIANS can PRAY for SOME of the DEAD WHO COULD be NON ELECT SALVATION? as this same Catholic source earlier quotes as follows “… Arnobius speaks of the Christian churches as "conventicles in which...peace and pardon is asked for all men...for those still living and for those already freed from the bondage of the body" (Adv. Gent., IV, xxxvi, P.L., V, 1076) …”. Now Catholics use this quote to prove prayers for purgatory but I seem to see NON ELECT SALVATION POSSIBILITY stronger because his quote in Slide 46 says Christians are immediately saved and his ONLY QUOTE for POSSIBLY SOMEONE SAVED in the SPIRIT WORLD INTERMEDIATE STATE (also showed in Slide 46) seems to point to those SENT to HADES ANALOGY for PUNISHMENT as per PLATO but Arnobius says Plato errs thinking that’s final judgment in “soul state” stating there is future FINAL Judgment for such in Resurrected Body state which can lead to ETERNAL FIRE which eventually leads to annihilation BUT at the SAME TIME for those in INTERMEDIATE STATE Blessed Arnobius seems to see SOME of them SAVED or DELIVERED from DEATH so NON ELECT SALVATION? If he did NOT see it as possible, WHY did he teach to PRAY for SOME of the DEAD since in his own words ELECT SALVATION CHRISTIANS are already IMMEDIATELY SAVED upon DEATH? Again this seems to be HONEST EVIDENCE and whether Arnobius is right or not let GOD Decide & so we take it as a NON ELECT SALVATION POSSIBILITY too, right?. Here’s those quotes combined: compare with SLIDES 9, 10, 18, 22, 30, 33, 44 earlier in Founders PPT for similar thoughts? 2) "Christian Founders Ministry Powerpoint" (Founders PPT – Done as of 2 June 2024) https://lnkd.in/gJ6S9fGU 3) “Redemption PPT” – 290 Slides Free Powerpoint Link discussing variety of topics (Done as of April 2024): https://lnkd.in/eXmfyKPC Source Post: https://lnkd.in/gPD-aU6P TQ

In my observation, having regard to the speed and light- heartedness with which it is repeated, I have serious doubts as to whether the real significance of the Lord's prayer is fully appreciated by both clergy and laity. It is, I think, therefore, appropriate to make a brief exposition of it here. It is certainly no longer realised that the Lord's prayer is a model of how to pray. Jesus preface it with the following injunction: "This is how you should pray". But what the Church has done now is to regard this model as an appendage to our own "babbling like the heathen", which blabbing sometimes go on for the best part one hour, and invariably covers all manner and character of personal grievances, complaints, fears, worries, and desires. The very thing Jesus warns us against. The Lord's prayer itself begins with a solemn declaration of absolute reference of our father in heaven. This is followed by an invocation for the advent of His Kingdom which Jesus enjoins us to seek before "other things can come to us as well." This invocation is followed by an undertaking on our part to do God's will on earth as it is done in heaven; heaven being a spiritual condition or state in which there are no earthly cares, worries and wants. In other words, we undertake, in all our daily pursuits, to do the will of the Father always. It is after all these, after the declaration of our absolute reverence for God's fatherhood, after the invocation for the advent of His Kingdom, and after the solemn undertaking to do His will on earth as in heaven; it is after all these that we are entitled to ask for anything to be done for us for our personal benefits. It is then that we are permitted to ask for our daily bread- that is, all our needs - which will be given to us for asking. As for forgiveness for the wrong we have done, we can get it only on one condition, namely: that we forgive others the wrongs they have done us. Forgiveness for us is not possible otherwise. The rest of the prayer is well-known. and it speaks for itself. I would, however, like to emphasise that all who profess Christianity should not just thoughtlessly rap out the Lord's prayer either on Sundays or on other occasions of worship. We should now and again recite the prayer slowly and ponder over every line of it. Happy Sunday ☺️

How does your parish practice intercessory prayer? Do you publish intentions in your bulletin or online? Do you have a prayer chain group that receives and sends text messages? This article offers three more suggestions you could share with parishioners to encourage more (powerful) intercessory prayer! #catholicprayer #catholicism #acstcatholic https://bit.ly/3QlBWXF

You have Been Given Grace You have heard this term many times in your Christian life, but what does it mean? In my newest column on Patheos.com, "Embracing Grace: Living as a Child of God in Everyday Life", I talk about Grace. I invite you to read it and offer feedback. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/g4wKw5Ks #gracefulawakening #faith #grace #gratitude