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CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

Pope shocker: Promotes socialism, likens Jesus to ISIS

May 20, 2016WND.com reports: “Pope Francis, in an interview with the French newspaper La Croix, suggested a likeness between ISIS and Jesus by explaining that while ‘the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam,’ it was quite possible to interpret certain passages of the Gospels, particularly in Matthews, as a call for Christians to go forth with this ‘same idea of conquest’ in their discipleship.

He also faulted the free market for driving poverty, saying economies need ‘a state to monitor and balance them;’ gun manufactures for fueling wars; and the failures of Christians in Europe to properly assimilate with Muslims as causing much of the tensions of recent times – ostensibly, to include acts of terror.

His specific words, according to an English interpretation of his comments: ‘Today, I don’t think that there is a fear of Islam as such but of ISIS and its war of conquest, which is partly drawn from Islam. It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam. However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest.’

He also said ‘co-existence between Christians and Muslims is still possible,’ citing his own growing years in a country ‘where they co-habit on good terms.’…”  (Pope Francis, your statement is blaspheme.  The message of God is not Socialism, but rather the Gospel – “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand… For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” — I Corinthians 15:1, 3, 4. And: “…though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” – Galatians 1:8, 9.)

 

Pope and top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting

May 25, 2016The Times of Israel reports: “Pope Francis embraced the grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican on Monday in a historic encounter both sides hope will lead to greater understanding and dialogue between the two faiths.

The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world’s Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013.

‘Our meeting is the message,’ Francis said in a brief comment at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, shortly after he had hugged and kissed his guest, Vatican officials told a small pool of reporters covering the event.

In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar, an institution that also comprises a prestigious seat of learning, said the two sides had agreed to convene a ‘peace conference.’

A statement quoted Tayeb as telling Francis: ‘We need to take a joint stance, hand in hand, to bring happiness to humanity. Divine religions were revealed to make people happy, not to cause them hardship.’…”  (My studies have convinced me that Pope Francis is definitely the pope who will defect from the faith and unite with Antichrist religions because of recent actions against the teaching of the one and only Savior.  I will prove my statements with the Holy Roman Catholic Bible and not with the nonsensical comments this Pope has made.  Stay tuned to our telecasts as we report what numerous Cardinals are saying.  See the next report.)


 ‘It’s a synagogue, church, and mosque all in one’

May 19, 2016Israel National News reports: “An interfaith group is laying the groundwork for what will likely be the world’s first ever joint house of prayer.

The center of worship, which will be called the ‘House of One,’ will combine simultaneous Jewish, Muslim, and Christian prayer services.

The House of One is planned to be built on the site of Berlin’s first church, the Petrikirche.

One of the organizers of the interfaith group behind the planned church/mosque/synagogue, Rabbi Tovia Ben Chorin, said that the House of One is a reminder that despite the dark history of Berlin in the 20th century it is now a center of tolerance.

‘For me as a Jew, this city is the ‘city of wounds’ and the ‘city of miracles.’ In this place our systematic extermination was planned. And it is from this city that an answer has emerged,’ said Ben Chorin…”


China sees sevenfold increase in persecution against Christians

May 24, 2016ChristianToday.com reports: “Persecution against Christians in China has increased sevenfold since 2008, according to the latest report by China Aid.

The Texas-based charity paints a damning picture of religious freedom in China as it describes the state’s attempt to take control of the nation’s churches.

The Chinese government wants to replace ‘Christ as the head of the church with submission to the Communist Party’, the report read, alleging that more Christians are harassed, beaten and tortured than ever before.

The province of Zheijang has been hit particularly hard by the crackdown, said the report. ‘By the end of 2015, more than 20 churches had been forcibly demolished, 1,300 crosses removed, more than 500 Christians taken into police custody, at least 130 Christians physically injured, more than 60 Christians administratively or criminally detained, and at least 28 pastors and Christians arrested or charged with a crime’ in this one province alone.

Last year the Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a major speech on religion in which he argued the ‘management of religion is in essence the management of the masses’. According to the report, this speech coincided with the most intense year of persecution since the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution…”  (Jesus said in Matthew 24:9 – 13: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”  See the next report.)


Religious ‘nones’ outnumber Christians in England and Wales

May 24, 2016ChristianToday.com reports: “More people in England and Wales say they have no religion than say they are Christians, according to new analysis – and the number is increasing.

Stephen Bullivant, senior lecturer in theology and ethics at St Mary’s Catholic University in Twickenham, analysed data collected through British Social Attitudes surveys over three decades.

He found that the number of people saying they had no religion – or ‘nones’ – was 48.5 per cent in 2014, almost double the figure of 25 per cent in 2011. Christians made up 43.5 per cent of the population.

‘The striking thing is the clear sense of the growth of ‘no religion’ as a proportion of the population,’ Bullivant said.

‘The main driver is people who were brought up with some religion now saying they have no religion. What we’re seeing is an acceleration in the numbers of people not only not practising their faith on a regular basis, but not even ticking the box. The reason for that is the big question in the sociology of religion.’…” (I John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”  This Holy text describes the sad situation of 21st Century Christianity just before Christ’s return.  Our days on earth are now limited.  Get ready for the Rapture as described in I Thessalonians 4:13 – 18: “…I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”)