On June 1, at a service at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Francis called Mary the “Star of the New Evangelization” (“Candlelight Vigil,” Catholic News Agency, June 1, 2014). He said, “She is the ‘Virgin of readiness,’ the ‘Madonna of readiness,’ immediate and ready to give us help when we pray, when we ask her help, her protection, her favor.” Rome’s New Evangelization program, which was founded by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, has the objective of growing the Catholic Church by every means possible: through the baptism of unbelievers, through the conversion of non-Catholics, and through the “re-evangelizing” of lapsed Catholics. Prophetically speaking, it is a major drive to build the end-time, one-world “church.” It has its roots in the Second Vatican Council as well as in the ecumenical activities of John Paul II. He established the Evangelization 2000 program with the same objectives as Benedict’s New Evangelization and placed it under the direction of Tom Forrest, an American priest based in Rome. Soon after its inception, I saw this program at work at an ecumenical conference called New Orleans ’87 where I heard Forrest speak for the first time. The 35-40,000 attendees represented 40 denominations. Fifty percent were Catholic. Though he presented himself as a charismatic “evangelical Catholic,” in his book Be Holy, which I purchased at the conference, Forrest preached the false gospel of sacramental salvation. “This river [of salvation] began its flow with our Baptism, and then again with the grace of our Confirmation. This was our first ‘renewal’ in the Holy Spirit, these sacraments of initiation making us new creatures, new sons of God” (Be Holy, page 32). I heard Forrest speak again at the charismatic-ecumenical conference Indianapolis 2000, where he said that the goal of Roman Catholic ecumenism is to make everyone Catholic. He said, “Our role in evangelization is not just to make Christians; our job is to make people as richly and as fully Christian as we can make them by bringing them into the Catholic church.” He praised God for the papacy, the sacraments, the saints, the priesthood, Mary, even purgatory. He said, “I’m one of those people that would never get to Paradise without Purgatory.” My friends, anyone who believes in the Catholic doctrine of purgatory doesn't believe the gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ which is the Good News that Jesus “paid it all.” This heretical nonsense is “evangelism” and ecumenism Roman Catholic style. (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143) Psalm 25:5 "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." Researchers in England have, for the first time, identified an example of true human-like teaching in the animal world. Their definition of teaching goes beyond simple "monkey-see, monkey-do." First, the teacher must show the student how to do something, doing it less efficiently than they normally would. Next, the student must learn the task faster than it would without the teacher. Finally, to be true teaching, there must be student-teacher feedback. They found that a small ant on England's southern coast meets these criteria. In their experiments, they placed a sugar solution about six inches from the ants' nest. They videotaped what happened next. After an ant discovered the sugary treat, it returned to the nest to get a friend. The teacher ant would then lead its student to the sugar, going four times more slowly than it normally would. During the lesson, the student would periodically stop and turn around, as if to get its bearings. Feedback between student and teacher took place when the student would tap the teacher with her antennae to keep her moving. God is, of course, the ultimate Teacher Who gives both the ability to teach and to learn wherever it is needed. The greatest truth He teaches is the truth of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. Notes: Science News, 1/14/06, pp. 20-21, S. Milius, "Little Professor." Photo: These fire ants can also teach you a painful lesson if you disturb them. Creation Moments, Inc., P.O. Box 839, Foley, MN 56329 www.creationmoments.com |
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