RESTORED: 8/14/22
It really is important to view this series in order. The information revealed builds on itself, so that you cannot fully appreciate the posts individually. Please view the entire Series from beginning to end. The links are listed in order at the end of each post. Thank you and God bless you.
In the early 1990’s the Lord had me leading March for Jesus in my local area. It was a major undertaking and difficult to organize because pastors were not willing to co-operate for fear of losing their members.
Anyway, I was struggling with what to do to present Jesus on the Street in a way that would be most meaningful and hopefully touch people’s hearts and change their lives.
I had a banner minstry at that time and so we had lots of banners to carry. We were looking for some ideas for smaller flag type banners with brief messages. I saw the Oikoumene Logo and knew that the Catholic Church was trying to bring churches together. In my mind, I thought that was a good idea. I started to work up the boat image for the flag when GOD said to me “DO NOT PUT THAT IN MY MARCH, IT IS EVIL!” Whoa. He did not say why, and I was not asking. When GOD tells me to do or not do something… I just do it.
Since then I have learned more and more that what that logo represents is in deed, without question, EVIL! Don’t walk away. Stay with me and you will see for yourself.
We will start with some of the logos for the Ecumenical movement and the Oikoumene movement. They started out saying they just wanted to unite all bible believing Christian Faiths. Then they declared that they wanted all the denominations to come back under the Catholic Church. Then they wanted Jews and Christians to bridge the gap between them. Then they wanted JEWS, MUSLIMS and CHRISTIANS to come together and accept that they are all worshiping the same GOD just under a different name. Then they wanted us to accept that JESUS is not GOD, just a prophet. Now, they want us to all fellowship with ALL FAITHS and LEARN from each other, accepting that ALL FAITHS are equal paths to GOD. SOON, they will introduce you to the GOD they are referencing.
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Oikoumene is a Greek Maritime word meaning: oikoumene (Latin: oecumene, mundus; FR: monde habité; GB: inhabited world): initially described as a circular island in the middle of an external ocean.
Strong’s Hebrew: 3427. יָשַׁב (yashab) — to sit, remain, dwell
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Strong’s Concordance
yashab: to sit, remain, dwell
Original Word: יָשַׁב |
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Strong’s Concordance
tebel: world
Original Word: תֵּבֵל |
| This is the Word God chose to use when speaking of the inhabited land/earth. | This is the word God chose to use when speaking of the Whole World/Earth. |
Proverbs 8
22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: 29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: 30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; 31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. 32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
The Christian Oikoumene – יָשַׁב
The Christian idea of the oikoumene27 in the New Testament probably derived from the Stoic view of the world as a space inhabited by people of the same nature. According to Matthew 24.13, “the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the inhabited world (oikoumene).” The evangelization and establishment of a (Roman) “Catholic” church was aimed at the whole world (Martyr. Polycarp. 8, 1). Lactantius (c. 250–325 BCE) could already talk about “our” orbis/oikoumene (inst. 3.23.15), a compound which was probably coined as a parallel to “our sea” (mare nostrum). The first (Roman) Council of Nicaea (325 CE) was called an “oikoumenical synodos,” since it aimed at uniting all of Christendom (under Roman Control) (Euseb. vit. Const. 3.6). In the year 444, Dioscourus of Alexandria was addressed for the first time as oikoumenikos patriarches. Despite the objection of Pope Gregory the Great, the title remained with the Patriarchate of Constantinople.28
oikumenes – English definition, grammar, pronunciation, synonyms sp
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Framing The World – By Margaret Small
The key intellectual tools which allowed the oikoumene (the habitable world) to be redefined as a globally-connected world.
Margaret Small: Verlagsort: Woodbridge ; Rochester: Verlag: The Boydell Press: Jahr: 2020: Umfang: x, 251 Seiten: Illustrationen: … expansionism and ultimately globalization were sown. Framing the Early Modern World is a timely work, contributing to a growing discourse on the origins of globalization and the roots of modernity.” –ISBN: 978-1 …
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church (n.)
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Circe (/ ˈ s ɜːr s iː /; Ancient Greek: Κίρκη, pronounced ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the god Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes.Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs. Source |
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Circe, in Greek legend, a sorceress, the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and of the ocean nymph Perse. She was able by means of drugs and incantations to change humans into wolves, lions, and swine. The Greek hero Odysseus visited her island, Aeaea, with his companions, whom she changed into swine. Source |
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Circe was a goddess of Greek mythology. Her father was the sun god Helios and her mother was, depending on the source, either a naiad or the goddess of magic Hecate. She is rarely described as a goddess though. Most people think of Circe as a sorceress, a witch, or even a temptress. She is most famous for her role in the epic story of Odysseus. Source |
This is probably [see extensive note in OED] borrowed via an unrecorded Gothic word from Greek kyriake (oikia), kyriakon doma “the Lord’s (house),” from kyrios “ruler, lord,” from PIE root *keue- “to swell” (“swollen,” hence “strong, powerful”).
Greek kyriakon (adj.) “of the Lord” was used of houses of Christian worship since c. 300, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike. An example of the direct Greek-to-Germanic transmission of many Christian words, via the Goths; probably it was used by West Germanic people in their pre-Christian period.
The word also was picked up by the Slavic tongues, probably via Germanic (Old Church Slavonic criky, Russian cerkov). Finnish kirkko, Estonian kirrik are from Scandinavian. Romance and Celtic languages use variants of Latin ecclesia (such as French église, 11c.).
Phonetic spelling from c. 1200, established by 16c. For vowel evolution, see bury. After the Reformation, church was used for any particular Christian denomination agreeing on doctrine and forms of worship.
As an adjective, “pertaining to a church,” from 1570s. Church-bell was in late Old English. Church-goer is from 1680s. Church-key “key of a church door” is from early 14c.; slang use for “can or bottle opener” is by 1954, probably originally U.S. college student slang. Church-mouse (1731) “a mouse supposed to live in a church” (where there is nothing for it to eat) is proverbial in many languages for poverty.
St. Peter’s is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via St. Peter’s Square, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades.
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1: an oblong building ending in a semicircular apse used in ancient Rome especially for a court of justice and place of public assembly
2: an early Christian church building consisting of nave and aisles with clerestory and a large high transept from which an apse projects
3: a Roman Catholic church given ceremonial privileges (privileges given by ROME)
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A Basilisk (or cockatrice) is a chimeric monster, born from a toad or serpent ‘s egg incubated under a cockerel. The terrible offspring that hatches from this egg is half-bird, half-snake, and all evil. It is one of the deadliest creatures to menace the mythological world, and it is extremely hostile towards mankind.
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basilisk: [noun] a legendary reptile with fatal breath and glance.
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Noun[edit]
nāvis f (genitive nāvis); third declension, i-stem
Etymology 1
nāvis birēmis (bireme ship)
From Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us, cognate with Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), Persian ناو (nâv), and Sanskrit नौ (nau, “ship”).spacer
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The term ‘church’ can have different meanings. In religion, it could refer to a local congregation of a Christian denomination. It can also pertain to a community of Christians taken as a whole. But for most people, the church simply means a building for the religious activities of Christians. It is usually run or managed by a priest or pastor.
In Europe, most churches are built on land considered to be holy or where a miracle or martyrdom was said to have taken place. For example, St. Peter’s Basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, the first Pope and one of Jesus Christ’s apostles. (This is a bold faced LIE!) see below:
Were Pagan Temples All Smashed Or Just Converted Into Christian Ones?
How and why were pagan temples converted into Christian churches in the later Roman empire? New research focused on the city of Rome suggests a more peaceful transition from paganism to Christianity, rather than the clash, bash and “fall” championed for hundreds of years.
![Depiction of Cornelius the Centurion, a gentile who converted to Christianity as related in the Acts... [+] of the Apostles. When forced to sacrifice to idols, he caused an earthquake that brought down the temple and its statues (Menologion of Basil II, 11th c. CE, in Vat.gr.1613 of the Vatican Library).](https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/drsarahbond/files/2017/10/Cornelius-the-Centurion.jpg?format=jpg&width=960)
Depiction of Cornelius the Centurion, a gentile who converted to Christianity as related in the Acts… WIKIMEDIA
In a new article in the Journal of Late Antiquity, ancient historian Feyo Schuddeboom argues that while the conversion of pagan temples into churches “has traditionally been explained as a symbol of Christian triumph over pagan religions”, we should perhaps begin to see these changes to temples as more pragmatic. Put simply: Why smash when you can renovate?
The image of incensed early Christian mobs destroying Greco-Roman temples comes in part from the early modern period. Back in the late 18th century, armchair historian Edward Gibbon provided a view of temple destruction that had lasting repercussions. In his epic work, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire he described the tearing down of the Serapeum in Alexandria as illustrative of the empire as a whole. He also described it as a direct assault on Roman idolatry: “The compositions of ancient genius, so many of which have irretrievably perished, might surely have been excepted from the wreck of idolatry for the amusement and instruction of succeeding ages.” As Schuddeboom points out, it was not until much later that historians began to more systematically look at the archaeological remains of pagan temples and to present a reasoning for their destructions.
Portrait frontispiece of Edward Gibbon (1737-1794): History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman… [+] PUBLIC DOMAIN
Chief among these was archaeologist and art historian Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann, who in 1939 cast temple destruction as aimed at showing the “triumphing” of Christianity over Greco-Roman paganism. However, archaeologists in Rome and elsewhere have now begun to adopt a more pragmatic view of Christian treatment of pagan temples; demonstrating that many were renovated, consecrated and then reused as churches rather than smashed to bits.
![Nicola Denzey Lewis, Margo L. Goldsmith Chair in Women’s Studies in Religion at Claremont Graduate... [+] University, discusses the Pantheon with students from Brown University this past summer.](https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/drsarahbond/files/2017/10/IMG_6031.jpg?format=jpg&width=960)
Nicola Denzey Lewis, Margo L. Goldsmith Chair in Women’s Studies in Religion at Claremont Graduate… SARAH E. BOND
Schuddeboom looks at the evidence from Rome, which experienced the most temple conversions of any known city in western Europe. Conversion is often not widely known. Those visiting the Pantheon today are often surprised to discover that it was converted into a church called Santa Maria ad Martyres (or Santa Maria dei Martiri) at the beginning of the 7th century. Schuddeboom lists the known churches within Rome that used to be pagan temples: “There are altogether eleven known temple conversion sites in Rome, at the churches of San Bartolomeo all’Isola, San Basilio, San Lorenzo in Miranda, Santa Maria dei Martiri, Santa Maria de Secundicerio, San Nicola in Carcere, San Nicola dei Cesarini, San Sebastiano al Palatino, Santo Stefano delle Carrozze, Sant’Urbano alla Caffarella, and the oratory of Saints Peter and Paul (now Santa Francesca Romana).”
![Polychrome relief of Mithras killing a bull from the mithraeum previously in the Castra Peregrinorum... [+] of Rome's foreign soldiers, over which was built the Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round (Santo Stefano Rotondo) on Rome's Caelian Hill. This relief is from the 3rd c. CE and is in the Baths of Diocletian in Rome.](https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/drsarahbond/files/2017/10/Relief-of-Mithras.jpg?format=jpg&width=960)
Polychrome relief of Mithras killing a bull from the mithraeum previously in the Castra Peregrinorum… SARAH E. BOND
In addition to these, there are three Roman sanctuaries to the god Mithras, called Mithraea, that Christian authorities built over with new churches. One of the most famous of these can still be visited today under the church of San Clemente, near the Roman Colosseum.
When Christianity first began to spread within the city of Rome and elsewhere in the empire, particularly following Constantine’s triumph at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on October 28th of the year 312, the city underwent a period of new building. Schuddeboom remarks that there was a craze to build new structures rather than convert temples: “In the fourth and fifth century, there were no conversions of temples in Rome at all. Instead, all the evidence that we have points to the new construction of churches on a monumental scale.” Major basilica building was the focus of the emperor and bishops within the city, but that didn’t mean they forgot about the old Roman temples.
In the fourth century, Roman emperors actually took steps to protect key pagan temples: “That Christian emperors continued to protect the temple buildings of Rome is evident from their legislation. A law by Constantius and Constans, issued to the urban prefect of Rome, already prescribed that ‘although all superstitions must be completely eradicated, nevertheless, it is Our will that the buildings of thetemples situated outside the walls shall remain untouched and uninjured'” (Theodosian Code, 16.10.3).
The building boom went hand-in-hand with policy. The emperor Theodosius outlawed paganism and all connected rituals in 392 CE. Yet, into the fifth century, temples in Rome were not destroyed it seems. Only various sanctuaries of Mithras were smashed and filled in with rubble at this time, before ultimately being used as the foundation for new churches.
![The early medieval frescoes within the church of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome were recently restored.... [+] The guard house of the Palatine Hill was converted into the church between 565–578 CE.](https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/drsarahbond/files/2017/10/Santa-Maria-Antiqua.jpg?format=jpg&width=960)
In the sixth and seventh centuries was when a new policy began to take root concerning Christian temples. The earlier Gothic War and sacks of the city meant that new building within the city was limited. New construction focused on smaller churches and places called diaconiae, where the poor could be given charity. Into the sixth and seventh centuries, however, a number of buildings and then pagan temples were converted in and around the Roman Forum: Vespasian’s Forum of Peace was converted into a church dedicated to the physician saints Cosmas and Damian, a Roman guardhouse was revamped into Santa Maria Antiqua and the Roman Senate House (the Curia Senatus) was made into a church called Sant’Adriano.
Into the eighth and ninth centuries of the early medieval period, a number of churches were built essentially upon the podium ruins of earlier Roman temples. Rather than having many building smashed to bits by angry Christians because they were pagan, many temples were quarried for materials that could be reused (e.g. for expensive marble, bronze and valuable wood) and then churches were built upon them.
While pragmatic temple conversion is a far less “fire and brimstone” narrative than Gibbon may have liked, it is one much more in line with the archaeological evidence. It also supports the idea of transformation rather than a “fall”; an approach championed by scholars such as Peter Brown. While some pagan temples were indeed destroyed completely for their idolatry, Rome’s remains would suggest that far more were simply converted, restored and reused in a new, more Christian context.
If only HG-TV had been around in the early middle ages for this type of house-flipping. We’d probably have a pretty great show on our hands.
![The Church of S. Adriano (previously the Roman Senate House) interior before archeological... [+] destruction in 1935 after being bought by Mussolini and deconsecrated to be turned back into the Roman Senate (as imagined by the Fascist regime).](https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/drsarahbond/files/2017/10/Curia-Senatus.jpg?format=jpg&width=960)
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Catholic Church
Traditionally, Catholic churches are built in the shape of a cross, the principal symbol of Christianity. You may not realize this until you view the church from the sky.
Upon entering the church, you’ll usually encounter the vestibule. This is a spacious area where bulletin announcements, literature, pamphlets, and other church information are found. It is also a place where holy water can be accessed by the worshippers.
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Turning to the definition of “wilderness” in this Glossary, we read: “Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.” Science and Health, p. 597;
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| The first entry vestibules were used during antiquity, specifically during the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Ancient Greek and Roman houses were often regarded as sacred places because they were watched over by family deities. Therefore, the need to differentiate and separate private spaces from public spaces existed mostly for religious or spiritual purposes. Source |
  Chronos and Kairos The architecture of a church, a properly designed church, recognizes this distinction between Chronos and Kairos, secular time and sacred time. When we enter a church we enter into a sacred space, governed by sacred time. (What? This the teach in Theology? We have no spirits governing our time but the Holy Spirit.)There is at least one priest that I know of that will not allow a clock within the sanctuary and refuses to wear a watch. Sacred time should not be intruded upon by the mechanisms of the secular. To help us transition from Chronos to Kairos, a properly designed church has a vestibule. Vestibules are not really understood these days. They usually take on the role of a quasi-auditorium. They are filled with people chatting and drinking coffee while they look over the plethora of books, pamphlets, and flyers that litter the space. But all this activity obscures the true meaning of the vestibule. It is meant as an area of transition, a boundary or border that marks the passage from one world to the other. As we enter the vestibule we leave behind us the everyday world with all its cares and concerns and prepare to enter into the sacred. In the vestibule we take a moment to let go of all the worries, frustrations and anxieties that plague us “out there.” We take a deep breath as we cross that border, the doors to the church proper, and enter into a space governed by sacred time. (It is true that when we worship God we cross into the spirit realm, if we worship Him in spirit and in truth. If we are worshiping ANYTHING ELSE we move into the realm of spritual darkness. BEWARE. Do not give what is rightfully God’s to any other entity. We do not worship TIME.) |
Next to the vestibule is the narthex or the gathering area where the worshippers greet each other before and after the Mass. The narthex is the space between the outside doors and inner doors of the church. It is also here where the faithful form lines for processions.
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The term narthex, Greek for “scourge,”refers to a porch or gathering space outside the main worship space (or nave ). Early Christians used this term to refer to the outer portico where penitents (those who had committed serious sins) and catechumens (converts preparing for baptism) gathered for worship.
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The term narthex comes from the narthus. The rod used to fagelliate oneself for repentances. The purpose of the narthex was to allow those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation (particularly catechumens and penitents) to hear and partake of the service Alex Sabu
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At the eastend of the Church is the sanctuary, which is considered the holiest part of the church. Catholics believe that this is the part of the church where God’s physical presence can be felt. The word sanctuary comes from the Latin word sanctuarium, which means a place for keeping something in.
The altar is at the center of the sanctuary. It is a table where bread and wine are blessed by the priestduring the Eucharistic celebration. It also serves as the focus of attention in the church.
The word altar comes from a Hebrew word which means a place of sacrifice.’ The truth is that altars have been used in religious activities even before the Catholic church was built. During the early years of the Catholic church, the altars were built on the sites of graves of martyrs. As more churches were eventually built, the relics of holy men and martyrs were buried under the altars.
Meanwhile, the lectern is another part of the sanctuary. It is a stand where the Bible is read from. It is usually a movable reading desk made of metal and wood. It is also called the cantor’s stand.
The raised stand or spot where the priest delivers his sermon is called the pulpit. It comes from the Latin word pulpitum, which means platform or staging. The traditional pulpit is raised high above the ground for enhanced audibility and visibility. (also to demonstarte that the priest is above the common folk) It can be accessed by steps. During the medieval period, pulpits featured a sounding board or tester. It is not only for decorative purposes but also to improve the projection of the priest to the rest of the congregation. Pulpits also have book-stands where the priest can rest his bible or notes.
The last part of the sanctuary is the crucifix or the cross with the image or figure of a crucified Jesus is placed on. The crucifix is usually located or affixed on the wall and above the altar.
Aside from the sanctuary, there are also other parts of a Catholic church that you may be familiar with.
The tabernacle is a fixed and locked box that’s a familiar fixture not only in Catholic churches but also in Anglican churches. It is often made from stone or precious metals. It is used as a resting place for consecrated hosts. The word tabernacle is derived from the Old Testament and references the position of God’s presence among His people. It is also a tradition for the tabernacle to have a veil or curtains across its doors whenever there is a Eucharist within it. (But, CHRIST RENT THE VEIL between God and MAN.)
The nave is the rail that serves to separate the sanctuary from the area where the worshippers sit. It is derived from the Latin word navis, which means ship. It includes the central and open spaces of the church, including the west side where the choir is usually located. It may also include the central and side aisles.
It is in the nave that the rows of pews are found.A pew is simply a long bench seat for seating members of a congregation. Interestingly, the pew is a recent addition to the Catholic church as it was first introduced in Protestant churches, where the sermon of the pastor was usually long. This brought the need for worshippers to sit down.
Around the nave are 14 framed pictures or the Stations of the Cross.These images depict the events of Jesus’ crucifixion. These are usually small plaques with paintings, although more modern churches have simple crosses with a numeral in the center.
There are other features or parts of a Catholic church, such as the font or the large stone bowl that contains holy water for baptizing babies. The stoup is the small basin containing holy water and placed in strategic parts of the church. Catholics dip their hand in the stoup to make the sign of the cross. Also, most Catholic churches have a confessional or small enclosed space or cabinet where worshippers can confess their sins to a priest. (The bible says to confess your sins one to another. Not in hiding to a priest.)
Updated: Aug 5, 2021
At my mid term review I was advised to look deeper into my subject matter and to the cultural significance of ships and boats as well as the metaphorical meaning behind them. I also looked at how other artists have portrayed the subject matter and how it has informed their work. Here are my findings.
Spiritual Journey:
The boat immediately evokes a passage,carrying you over the watery depths. The boat can symbolise a spiritual journey on the sea of life; one cannot get anywhere by remaining on an island. The boat is also an important symbol in Greek Mythology, for example, Homer’s Odyssey is a spiritual journey by boat.Worldwide, boats are often used symbolically to carry the souls of the dead to heaven, for example its found in Egyptian mythology, Greek and Roman myths, in Hindu stories, Buddhism and all over Melanesia. King Arthur was symbolically transported on death by boat.Boats were also used by Norse races as the means of transport of the souls on death, symbolically mimicking the souls journey to ‘heaven’, the final resting place of the soul– the journey across the water.Boats represent the idea of a soul ‘moving’– progressing along a path and as death is a form of progress, it is used for both birth and deathand is as a consequence a symbol of reincarnation– the death of the body, the movement of the soul to another place by boat and then the rebirth in a new place– a new body again – by boat.
Security & Refuge:
If you imagine life as an often-perilous journey,then the boat can represent a symbol of security.The boat carries us through life’s shifting currents. We are moored, and we lose our moorings. We sail with and against the tides. The boat holds us secure above the chaos of life.
Human Endeavour:
Just as the image of billowing sails against a backdrop of clear sky can evoke ideals of liberty and human ingenuity, the life at sea, at the mercy of nature, is one very much grounded in age-old tradition and deep-seated superstition. As in both Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and Byron’s “Darkness”, the austere images of stranded and wrecked ships serve as grim reminders of the essential frailty of the human endeavour.
The Human Body:
In the most general sense, a “vehicle”. Perhaps more than any other kind of vehicle, we like to think of boats as individuals within a family. This might come from the concept of a tug boat perhaps. The small boat has might and pulls the larger boat, which seems like a reversal of the typical parent/child dependency. The correspondence between the two girls and the boats is clear in Anders Zorn’s painting “Carrera en barco”, 1886. There are a great many references in literature testifying that the boat is the cradle rediscovered (and the mother’s womb). Related to this was the idea that ships are feats of human workmanship, proof of our superiority and conquering the world.
Symbol Of Riches:
The boat can represent those things that appear on our horizons, representing the fruits of our labour “my ship has come in”. In feng shui, placing a sailing boat in your house brings a message that everything will go smoothly. Many Chinese traders selected the image of a sailing boat for their trading logo since it stands for the wind helping to bring in more trade and earn good profits. It is said to be the most preferable symbol after the dragon.
English Terms:
Many expressions derived from sailing remain embedded in the English language. When we talk about being ‘all at sea’, we do not literally mean that we are out in the ocean, but rather that we are unsure about what to do, as though we were drifting on the water without the reassurance of firm ground beneath our feet. A flagship, for example, was the most important ship in a fleet,which carried the fleet’s admiral and flew his flag. In modern English, however, the word is more likely to be used as a metaphor, so a company’s flagship store is the one that has the most importance and prestige.A mainstay was originally a rope that supported the main mast of a ship, but now is a metaphor referring to any person or thing that provides crucial support, as in tourism is a mainstay of the economy. The influence of sailing can also be seen in some idiomatic phrases. To sail close to the wind refers to the risky practice of attempting to fill a ship’s sails with wind without losing control of it. This phrase is now used as an idiom: if you tell someone that they are sailing close to the wind you are warning them that they are doing something that is dangerous or possibly illegal. To batten down the hatches literally refers to closing the entrances to the lower part of a ship when a storm is expected, but metaphorically refers to any preparation to withstand a period of difficulty. If a ship has run aground and is unable to return to the water, it is said to be high and dry, an expression we also use to refer to a person who is left in a difficult situation without any assistance. Some similar phrases have now lost all their original associations with sailing. It may come as a surprise to learn that under way, meaning ‘in progress’, was originally a nautical phrase meaning ‘in motion’. Another example is by and large: to the old sailors, this meant ‘in all conditions’, whether sailing into the wind (sailing by) or with the wind (sailing large), but it is doubtful whether many current English speakers are aware of this when they use the phrase to mean ‘in general’.Three sheets to the wind = drunk, a sheet is not a sail but a rope attached to the lower ends of a sail, so having three sheets to the wind meant the sail was not capturing any wind and thus not making any headway. To the bitter end = a bitts were large oak posts to which the anchor cable was fastened. When the cable was paid out the bitter end was reached. Let the cat out of the bag = refers to the cat-of-nine-tails that nasty instrument of punishment used to flog seamen and when the cat was out of the bag something bad was about to happen. The devil to pay: to pay meant to tar the seams between deck planks. The devil was the hardest bit to pay because it is the part between the straight planks and the curved parts at the sides. The devil and the deep blue sea: the side of the ship and the water. Anybody falling over would find himself between the devil and the sea.
Spiritual Meaning of Ship – Bible Meanings
The signification ships is doctrinal things from the Word. That ships have this signification is because they pass through seas and rivers, and carry things useful for life; for by seas and rivers are signified knowledges and memory-knowledges; the useful things of life which they carry, are the doctrinal things and also the very truths from the Word which are signified by ships, as is plain from the following passages:–
The isles shall trust in Me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them (Isa. 60:9);
ships of Tarshish denote doctrinal things and truths from the Word, wherefore it is said that they should bring their sons, their silver and gold; for by sons are signified those who are in truths; by silver, the truth itself; and by gold, good. Everyone can see that ships of Tarshish are not here meant, nor sons, silver, and gold.
[2] In Ezekiel:–
Thy borders are in the heart of the sea, thy architects have perfected thy beauty. They have built all thy planks of fir-trees from Senir; they have taken the cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy beam of ivory; the daughter of a step from the Isles of Kittim. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and crimson from the isles of Elishah was thy covering. The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy rowers: thy wise men, O Tyre, who were in thee, were thy pilots. The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers; all the ships of the sea and their sailors were in thee, to trade thy trading (Ezek. 27:4-9);
this is said of Tyre, by which are signified the knowledges of good and truth (AC 1201), which are described by what belongs to a ship, as planks, mast, oars, beam, sail, a covering, rowers, pilots, and sailors. That all these are not to be understood according to the letter must be plain to everyone; but when the knowledges of truth and good, which are Tyre, together with doctrinal things from the Word, are understood by ships, then all things fit together beautifully.
[3] In David:–
O Jehovah, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all. This sea great and wide in spaces; there go the ships; the whale which Thou hast formed to play therein (Ps. 104:24-26).
Again:–
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of confession; and declare the works of Jehovah with rejoicing. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do work in many waters, these see the works of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep (Ps. 107:22-24);
here also ships denote knowledges and doctrinal things; the whale denotes the generals of memory-knowledges (AC 42); and as ships are knowledges and doctrinal things, therefore it is said, they that go down to the sea in ships see the works of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep; for those see these things who are in the knowledges and doctrinal things from the Word.
[4] In John:–
The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood, whence the third part of the creatures that were in the sea, and had souls, died; and the third part of the ships was destroyed (Rev. 8:8, 9);
the great mountain burning with fire denotes the love of self (AC 1691); the sea, the natural where memory-knowledges are (AC 28); blood, violence done to charity (AC 374, 1005); creatures in the sea having souls, truths of memory-knowledge with goods; a third part, something not yet complete (AC 2788); their dying, that they had no spiritual life (AC 6119); hence the third part of the ships being destroyed denotes that the truths and goods of doctrinal things from the Word were falsified. From all this may be known what is signified by this prophecy.
[5] But in the opposite sense ships signify the knowledges and doctrinal things of what is false and evil, as in Daniel:–
At the time of the end shall the king of the south strive with him; therefore the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariot and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come into the lads, and shall overflow and penetrate (Daniel 11:40);
the king of the south denotes truth from good; the king of the north, falsities from evil; chariots with horsemen and with ships, doctrinal things of falsity; the lands, churches, of which it is predicted that falsities from evils in the time of the end should overflow and penetrate them.
[6] In John:–
Every pilot, and everyone employed upon ships, and sailors, and all they who trade upon the sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of the burning of Babylon, saying, What city is like the great city? Woe, woe, the great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! (Rev. 18:17-19);
it is evident that ships here denote the knowledges and doctrinal things of falsity and evil, because Babylon denotes war ship which outwardly appears holy, and inwardly is profane. Moreover no one can fail to see that by ships something else than ships is here meant. In Isaiah:–
Thus saith Jehovah your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel, For your sake I have sent to Babylon, that I may throw down all her bars, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships (Isa. 43:14);
where the meaning is similar. Moreover falsities from evil are signified by ships in (Isa. 2:11, 16; 23:1, 14; Ps. 48:7).
from AC 6385
Back to Words index, Back to Artifact words index
| Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772). | Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002 |
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10/29/13 They incorporate the World Council of Churches logo of a ship at sea under a cruciform mast and the world “Oikoumene” while setting it in the context of Canada’s west coast. The worship tent was erected on what was then a large open space at UBC. It is now occupied by a Presbyterian student residence and apartments.
remembering the 6th assembly
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It was August 1983 – yes, thirty years ago – when the 6th Assembly of the World Council of Churches met here in Vancouver. Tomorrow – October 30 (which is already today in Korea) the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches begins its gathering in Busan, Korea. We are marking the thirtieth anniversary of the 6th Assembly and praying for the 10th assembly throughout its meeting (Oct 30 – Nov 8). Our memories and our prayers will be focused by the worship banners from the 6th Assembly which we have placed in the Chapel of the Epiphany, worship home of the Vancouver School of Theology and of University Hill Congregation for the duration of the 10th Assembly. This coming Sunday, November 3 at 10:30 am we at University Hill Congregation will mark All Saints Day with a celebration of the Eucharist and a Rite of Healing. We hope that the congregation on this occasion will include guests who were active in providing leadership for the 6th Assembly in 1983. There is an interesting story behind the banners …
The 6th Assembly not only met in Vancouver but did so on the campus of the University of British Columbia which is where University Hill Congregation gathers to worship and has its offices. The lone picture of the 6th Assembly that I can find on the World Council of Churches’ website shows a banner for the assembly in front of one of the Gage Towers – a student residence that I look at from my office window. The plenary sessions for that Assembly were held in the UBC gymnasium. But the planners were faced with a challenge when trying to locate a suitable worship space for a gathering of such size. There was an opening day celebration in the Pacific Coliseum – Vancouver’s large hockey arena, with over fifteen thousand in attendance. However, the regular daily worship of the assembly required a large venue closer to the university campus. There are no large churches or cathedrals in the vicinity. A suggestion was made that perhaps a very large tent could be erected on campus so that the assembly could walk from its plenary sessions and residence rooms to worship daily. Initially this idea was met with some resistance as a tent seemed a rather humble location for such an important occasion. However, on second thought, the memory of Israel traveling through the wilderness with a tent/tabernacle as its worship home reminded the church of the portability of worship. It also helped the assembly experience the journey out of Christendom and into a new time of wilderness wandering that is an identifying feature of the church in our time.
In 1983I was entering my fourth year as a pastor and was serving a congregation that was a forty-five minute drive from UBC. My memories the Assembly are rich. I recall Coretta Scott King’s moving address as she was getting ready to mark the 20th anniversary of Martin’s “I have a dream” speech/sermon in Washington. There was the dramatic arrival of Desmond Tutu from South Africa after the South African government had initially denied him a visa to travel. There was the great procession of religious dignitaries at the opening day celebration in the Pacific Coliseumin their regalia … and then the preacher stepping forward into the midst of the huge crowd – it was Jean Vanier plainly dressed in a plaid shirt, speaking so powerfully, simply, beautifully … a Catholic lay person who was truly our priest. And there was the worship in the tent. It was powerful, moving, rich. Praying the Lord’s Prayer aloud and hearing so many languages all at once – a pentecostal experience. And singing … oh, the singing. The 6th Assembly is mostly remembered, I think, for the music. It was a break-through moment when we heard the song of the church beyond western European rhythms and melodies and languages. The music was African, Asian, Latin American, Eastern European and more.On Sunday here at UHill we will remember the Assembly especially through the music we sing. The 6th Assembly may have departed in 1983 but it left the music behind. And we are grateful!
Oceanus (Greek: Ὠκεανός, lit. “ocean”) was believed to be the world-ocean in classical antiquity, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be an enormous river encircling the world. Strictly speaking, Okeanos was the ocean-stream at the Equator in which floated the habitable hemisphere (oikoumene οἰκουμένη).[1] In Greek mythology, this world-ocean was personified as a Titan, a son of Uranus and Gaia. In Hellenistic and Roman mosaics, this Titan was often depicted as having the upper body of a muscular man with a long beard and horns (often represented as the claws of a crab), and the lower torso of a serpent (cf. Typhon). On a fragmentary archaic vessel (British Museum 1971.11-1.1) of ca 580 BC, among the gods arriving at the wedding of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, is a fish-tailed Oceanus, with a fish in one hand and a serpent in the other, gifts of bounty and prophecy. In Roman mosaics he might carry a steering-oar and cradle a ship.
OKEANOS (or Oceanus) was the Titan god or Protogenos (primeval deity) of the great earth–encircling river Okeanos, the font of all the earth’s fresh-water: including rivers, wells, springs and rain-clouds. Okeanos was also the god who regulated the rising and setting of the heavenly bodieswhich were believed to emerge and descend into his watery realm at the ends of the earth. Okeanos’ wife was Tethys, the nurse, who was probably thought to distribute his water to the earth via subterranean caverns. Their children were the Potamoi or River-Gods and Okeanides, nymphs of springs and fountains. Unlike his brother Titanes, Okeanos neither participated in the castration of Ouranos nor joined the battle against the younger Olympian gods. He was probably identical to Ophion, an elder Titan in the Orphic myths who ruled heaven briefly before being wrestled and cast into the Ocean stream by Kronos.
Okeanos was depicted in ancient Greek vase painting as a bull-horned god with the tail of a serpentine fish in place of legs, similar to his river-god sons. His usual attributes were a fish and serpent. In the Hellenistic era, Okeanos was redefined as the god of the newly accessible Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the old cosmological idea of a great, earth-encircling, fresh-water stream was discarded. In mosaic art he therefore appears simply as a sea-god or the sea personified, with crab-claw horns, and for attributes, a serpent, oar and school of fish. His wife Tethys, shown seated beside him, had wings on her brow, in the role of mother of rain-clouds.
Ecumenical council – From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters[1] in which those entitled to vote are convoked from the whole world (oikoumene) and which secures the approbation of the whole Church.[2]
The word “ecumenical” derives from the Late Latin oecumenicus “general, universal”, from Greek oikoumenikos “from the whole world”, from he oikoumene ge“the inhabited world” (as known to the ancient Greeks); the Greeks and their neighbors, considered as developed human society (as opposed to barbarian lands); in later use “the Roman world” The first seven ecumenical councils, recognised by both the eastern and western denominations comprising Chalcedonian Christianity, were convoked by Roman Emperors, who also enforced the decisions of those councils within the state church of the Roman Empire.
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chalcedony (n.) |
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Chalcedony in the Bible – Bible Study |
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Chalcedony is a nurturing stone that promotes brotherhood and good will. It absorbs negative energy. It brings the mind, body, emotions and spirit into harmony. Chalcedony instills feelings of benevolence and generosity. One may also ask, what is the natural color of chalcedony?
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Chalcedony ( /kælˈsɛdəni/) is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, composed of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and moganite.[2] These are both silica minerals, but they differ in that quartz has a trigonal crystal structure, while moganite is monoclinic. Chalcedony’s standard chemical structure (based on the chemical structure of quartz) is SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide).
Chalcedony has a waxy luster, and may be semitransparent or translucent. It can assume a wide range of colors, but those most commonly seen are white to gray, grayish-blue or a shade of brown ranging from pale to nearly black. At least three varieties of chalcedony were used in the Jewish High Priest’s Breastplate. (Moses’ brother Aaron wore the Breastplate, with inscribed gems representing the twelve tribes of Israel). The Breastplate included jasper, chrysoprase and sardonyx, and there is some debate as to whether other agates were also used. |
| I found this particulare stone they chose as a sample to be very interesting. I appears to me to resemble an eye. The One Eye of the Illuminati? |
Starting with the third ecumenical council, noteworthy schisms led to non-participation by some members of what had previously been considered a single Christian Church. Thus, some parts of Christianity did not attend later councils, or attended but did not accept the results. Bishops belonging to what became known as the Eastern OrthodoxChurchaccept seven ecumenical councils, as described below. Bishops belonging to what became known as the Church of the Eastparticipated in the first two councils. Bishops belonging to what became known as Oriental Orthodoxy participated in the first four councils, but rejected the decisions of the fourth and did not attend any subsequent ecumenical councils.
Acceptance of councils as ecumenical and authoritative varies between different Christian denominations. Disputes over Christologicaland other questions have led certain branches to reject some councils that others accept.
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World Council of Churches – Wikipedia |
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History – World Council of Churches |
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international ecumenical union of roughly 340 denominations in 120 countries representing more than 500 million professing Christians(including the millions whose only Christian testimony is that they were baptized as infants). It was officially formed in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1948 with 147 denominations.
The goal of the World Council was plainly stated at its convening Assembly in August 1948. Former General Secretary of the WCC, W.A. Visser ‘t Hooft, verbalized the sentiments of the ecumenists gathered for that historic occasion: “Our name indicates our weakness and our shame before God, for there can be and there is finally only one Church of Christ on earth. Our plurality is a deep anomaly. But our name indicates also that we are aware of that situation, that we do not accept it passively,THAT WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS THE MANIFESTATION OF THE ONE HOLY CHURCH” (The Genesis and Formation of the World Council of Churches, p. 66).This supposed “one holy church,” this longed for world church, is a figment of a heretical imagination. The Bible does not tell us that there should be a world church. Quite the opposite. The Bible repeatedly warns that “Christendom” will become increasingly apostate as the time of Christ’s return draws near, and true Bible churches are commanded to remain separate from this wickedness. God is not fulfilling the Great Commission through a church, singular, but through churches, plural.“ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Tim. 3:5).“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:14-17).“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Rom. 16:17).The World Council of Churches uses John 17:21 to justify its mission of pursuing “the visible unity of Christ’s church in one faith and in one eucharistic fellowship.”“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”The modern ecumenical movement claims that the unity for which Christ prayed is an ecumenical unity of professing Christians that disregards biblical doctrine, but the context of John 17 destroys this myth. In John 17 the Lord plainly emphasizes that the unity He desires and the unity for which He is praying is one based on salvation and Truth and separation from the world.“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and THEY HAVE KEPT THY WORD. … For I HAVE GIVEN UNTO THEM THE WORDS WHICH THOU GAVEST ME; AND THEY HAVE RECEIVED THEM, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. … I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATED THEM, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. … Sanctify them through THY TRUTH: thy word is TRUTH. … And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified THROUGH THE TRUTH” (Jn. 17:6, 8, 14, 17, 19)This is not a unity of true Christians with the false. It is not a unity that ignores doctrinal differences for the sake of an enlarged fellowship. In fact, there is nothing in Christ’s prayer to indicate that man is to do anything whatsoever in an attempt to create the unity described herein. John 17 is not a commandment addressed to men; it is a prayer addressed to God the Father, and the prayer was answered. It describes a spiritual reality that was created by God among genuine believers who are committed to the Scriptures, not a possibility that must be organized by man. Though the Roman Catholic Church is not officially a member of the World Council, it has worked closely with the WCC since the 1960s. Many Catholics serve in leadership positions within the WCC. Edward Panosian notes, “Rome’s conception of the ecumenical movement is the joining of all churches–eventually all religions–to Rome. Rome does not join the WCC; she invites the WCC to join her. The whole ecumenical program has been called ‘the reversal of the Reformation’” (The World Council of Churches, p. 40).For a Bible believer, the World Council is a strange Alice in Wonderland, filled with weird nonsensical things, a place where biblical words are given different meanings. When the World Council speaks of “mission,” it does not mean the mission of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved; it means, rather, striving for world peace, economic justice, and such. Further, the World Council can present different faces, depending on the situation. In some places it tries to appear more “evangelical” in theological outlook when the majority of local pastors are of that persuasion, but in other instances its true liberal face is unveiled. There is probably no heresy that has not been broached within the context of the WCC.We could describe the error of the WCC under a wide number of categories. We could speak of its theological Modernism, its Marxism, its secular Humanism, its Feminism, its Sacramentalism, its Syncretism, and its Universalism. The simple fact is that the WCC fails every biblical test that could be applied. It is patently and grossly unscriptural. The following examination of events sponsored by the World Council and of some of its published material gives irrefutable evidence that the WCC is a major part of the apostasy prophesied in New Testament Scripture. WCC CONFERENCE HONORS SOPHIA GODDESS, GIVES OVATION TO LESBIANS In November 1993, the World Council of Churches sponsored a Re-imaging conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some 2,000 women “seeking to change Christianity” attended, and the most radical women in apostate Christianity pontificated on every sort of weird and unscriptural subject imaginable. Speakers included Chung Hyun Kyung, Korean “theologian” who equates the Holy Spirit with ancient Asian deities; Virginia Mollenkott, an avowed pro-abortion lesbian; Elizabeth Bettenhausen, professor at Harvard Divinity School; Lois Wilson, a United Church of Canada “minister”; Jose Hobday, a Roman Catholic nun. Sponsoring and participating denominations included the United Methodist Church, United Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ, United Church of Canada, Church of the Brethren, American Baptist Convention, Episcopalian, and Mennonite. There were also 234 Roman Catholic participants. When challenged by certain members who were protesting their denomination’s involvement in this meeting, the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly Council issued a “fact sheet” which claimed, “Participants were challenged to expand their horizons, to be enriched and nurtured spiritually, and to engage in dialogue with women and men from around the world.” Apostates always have clever explanations of their rebellion.
Don’t need atonement. During a panel on Jesus, Delores Williams of Union Theological Seminary, said: “I don’t think we need a theory of atonement at all. I think Jesus came for life and to show us something about life. I don’t think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff … we just need to listen to the God within. ”God is an “abusive parent.” Virginia Mollenkott, who participated in the translation of the New International Version, said, “[Jesus] is our elder brother, the trailblazer and constant companion for us—ultimately is among many brothers and sisters in an eternal, equally worthy sibling-hood. First born only in the sense that he was the first to show us that it is possible to live in oneness with the divine source while we are here on this planet. … As an incest survivor, I CAN NO LONGER WORSHIP IN A THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT THAT DEPICTS GOD AS AN ABUSIVE PARENT [REFERRING TO CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS] AND JESUS AS THE OBEDIENT, TRUSTING CHILD.”Praying to the trees. Korea’s Chung Hyung Kyung told the crowd, “My bowel is Buddhist bowel, my heart is Buddhist heart, my right brain is Confucian brain, and my left brain is Christian brain.” This is ecumenical schizophrenia of the most radical sort! Chung is a professor at Korea’s Ewha Women’s University, the world’s largest university for women, with 20,000 students. Chung instructed the crowd of women to seek help from the trees if they are in need of energy: “When we do pranic healing, we believe that this life-giving energy came from god and it is everywhere, it is in the sun, in the ocean, from the ground and it is from the trees. We ask god’s permission to use this life-giving energy for our sisters and brothers in need. If you feel very tired and you don’t have any energy to give, what you do is … go to a big tree and ask it to ‘give me some of your life energy’” (AFA Journal, Feb. 1994).Chung has published a rewrite of the Gospel narratives from an Asian feminist perspective. She told the Minneapolis conference, “The Bible is basically an open book, and I want to add the next chapter. ”Standing ovation for lesbians. During the conference, a group of roughly 100 “lesbian, bi-sexual, and transsexual women” gathered on the platform and were given a standing ovation by many in the crowd. They were “celebrating the miracle of being lesbian, out, and Christian.” “The lesbian theme was heard repeatedly from major speakers. In a workshop called ‘Prophetic Voices of Lesbians in the Church,’ Nadean Bishop, the first ‘out’ lesbian minister called to an American Baptist church, claimed that Mary and Martha in the Bible were lesbian ‘fore-sisters.’ She said they were not sisters, but lesbian lovers. Janie Spahr, a self-avowed lesbian clergywoman in the Presbyterian Church USA … claimed that her theology is first of all informed by ‘making love with Coni,’ her lesbian partner. Judy Westerdorf, a United Methodist clergywoman from Minnesota, told the workshop that the church ‘has always been blessed by gays and lesbians … witches … shamans.’ In a seminar on ‘Re-Imagining Sexuality-Family,’ lesbian theologian Mary Hunt said, ‘Imagine sex among friends as the norm. … Imagine valuing sexual interaction in terms of whether and how it fosters friendship and pleasure. … Pleasure is our birthright of which we have been robbed in religious patriarchy” (AFA Journal, Feb. 1994).Worshiping Sophia. The Nov. 3, 1993, Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that “throughout the conference worship experiences will celebrate Sophia, the biblical goddess of creation.” Sue Seid-Martin of the University of St. Thomas School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minn., claimed that this Sophia is “the suppressed part of the biblical tradition, and clearly the female face of the human psyche.” Seid-Martin believes Sophia is found in Proverbs 1-9, Matt. 11; Lk. 3:35; 11:49; and 1 Cor. 1-2, and she identifies Jesus Christ with this Sophia. These feminists are not reading the same Bible I have read for over 30 years. I have never found a Sophia goddess in my Bible! The Greek word “Sophia” is translated “wisdom” in the KJV and “denotes mental excellence in the highest and fullest sense … comprehends knowledge and implies goodness” (George Berry, A Greek-English Lexicon and New Testament Synonyms). This word is often applied to Jesus Christ but never in any sense whatsoever having to do with “the female face of the human psyche.” The word “sophia” is not found in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word most commonly translated wisdom is “chokmah.” This is the word translated wisdom in Proverbs 8 and 9. It refers to understanding, skill, revelation, godly reason, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with a supposed feminine side of God. Naked Sophia goddess. A painting displayed at the Re-imagining conference supposedly depicted this Sophia. The painting contained the picture of a bald, frowning woman with large naked breasts. The middle of her forehead is adorned with a mark that appears to be a Hindu “tika” or tilaka, the same mark women in Nepal and India receive from their priests when they do “puja” (worship) at pagan shrines. (It is interesting that one of the speakers at this conference encouraged the wearing of the tika. Aruna Gnanadason, South Asian feminist, “lashed out against alleged oppression by Christian missionary teachings in India,” and she invited participants to put red dots on their foreheads to “represent the divine” in them.) The cover of The Presbyterian Layman for January-February 1994 featured this painting. In a frame surrounding the painting were some of the words from the prayer to Sophia.On Sunday morning the conferees joined together in repeating a prayer to Sophia, including these words:“Our maker Sophia, we are women in your image. … Sophia, creator God… shower us with your love … we invite a lover, we birth a child; with our warm body fluids we remind the world of its pleasures and sensations. … Our guide, Sophia, we are women in your image. … With the honey of wisdom in our mouths, we prophesy a full humanity to all the peoples.”
Honey of wisdom, my foot! This is the sour mash of new age feminism, a movement foreseen almost 2,000 years ago by the prophet Jude: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion…” (Jude 7-8).WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES BAPTIZES HEATHENISM
The Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), held February 7-20, 1991, in Canberra, Australia, gave plain evidence of the Council’s hideous apostasy.
We do not feel it is necessary to report on all that went on the WCC Seventh Assembly. We believe it is enough to report on the abominable ideas of syncretism and universalism which were supported there—the heresy that there is some light and salvation in heathen religions. This has been a trademark of the World Council for decades, but its syncretistic emphasis grows bolder with time.
The Canberra meeting was opened by Australian aboriginals who worship nature. Consider the following Religious News Service report:
“Aboriginal men girded in loincloths and feathers, their bodies painted in tribal decoration, danced around an altar and beat drums in a traditional purification ceremony that opened the Seventh Assembly of the World Council of Churches here February 7. Standing near them at the altar were aboriginal women clothed in traditional black and red dresses and colorful aboriginal clergymen garbed in western vestments.”(Christian News, Feb. 18, 1991, p. 1).
An Ecumenical Press Service report gives more details of the heathen purification ceremony which opened the WCC Assembly. “The congregation entered the tent by passing through smoke made by burning leaves–-a traditional cleansing process for Aborigines in Australia. … Before worship began, a traditional Aboriginal ‘message stick’ was carried to the worship tent by an Aboriginal runner. In that action, WCC General Secretary Emilio Castro asked permission for the council to enter the land. Gathered in the tent were Aboriginal elders, who ritually granted permission, whereupon the WCC worship leaders walked in procession into the tent.”
The Aborigines involved in this rite were almost naked, and the entire thing was an abomination to God. The supposed spirituality of the Aboriginals was applauded by the WCC Assembly, but the Bible condemns it as heathen idolatry. The WCC leadership has no understanding of Bible salvation and spirituality. Therefore they find “spirituality” in this fallen, wicked world even among the unsaved.
Prayer to a female god. Further evidence of the World Council’s syncretistic spirit occurred the second day of the Assembly, when South Korean Presbyterian feminist, Chung Hyun-Kyung, (left) evoked a female pagan god.
“Combining verbal fireworks with a performance by Korean and aboriginal dancers, Chung rendered a dramatic evocation of a female Holy Spirit. She linked that spirit to that of Hagar, the Egyptian slave woman in Genesis who Chung said was ‘exploited and abandoned’ by Abraham and Sarah. Chung then burned bits of paper bearing the names of other exploited spirits—which she said were full of ‘han,’ the Korean word for ‘anger’-–and identified them as Holocaust victims, freedom fighters, murdered advocates of non-violence, struggling Korean women, the poor, and women in Japan’s ‘prostitution army’ during World War II” (Religious News Service, March 5, 1991).
Eighteen times Chung summoned the spirits of the dead and claimed that “without hearing the cries of these spirits, we cannot hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.” Chung said, “I hope the presence of all our ancestors’ spirits here with us shall not make you uncomfortable.” She also summoned “the spirit of Earth, Air, and Water.” Chung said, “I also know that I no longer believe in an omnipotent, Macho, warrior God who rescues all good guys and punishes all bad guys.” Chung concluded her message by likening the “spirit” to the idolatrous image of Kwan, “a goddess of compassion and wisdom [worshipped in] East Asian women’s popular religiosity.” Chung went even further in her blasphemy when she said, “Perhaps this might also be a feminine image of the Christ who is the first born among us, one who goes before and brings others with her.”
The RNS report stated that though some WCC delegates were offended by this blasphemy, most warmly received it. In fact, the audience gave Chung’s blasphemous presentation a standing ovation!
All Scripture not life-giving. In a follow-up report by the Religious News Service in February of 1992, further evidence of Chung’s apostasy was given. In an interview with Carl McIntire, Chung said she was not certain that Jesus spoke the words of John 14:6—“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Chung also said that many women do not find all of Scripture “life-giving” and pointed especially to Paul’s admonition that women be quiet in the church and be subject to their husbands at home.
She said she agreed with a Catholic priest who recently told her the greatest harm to the promotion of unity is claiming the truth. The struggle between who’s right and who’s wrong divides people, she said.
All faiths are one with God. The Director of the WCC’s Inter-Faith dialogue is a Sri Lankan, Wesley Ariarajah. His apostate ideas about salvation were voiced at the Canberra meeting and were reported in local newspapers. Consider this report from the The Australian:
“The World Council of Churches took ecumenism to its farthest limits at the weekend, suggesting Muslims, Hindus and others achieve salvation in the same way as Christians and warning the latter against ‘narrow thinking.’
“The council’s Director of Inter-Faith dialogue, Dr. Wesley Ariarajah, said it was inconceivable to him that God listened to Christian prayers but ignored those praying to their particular versions of God.
“‘As a Sri Lankan Christian who has read the Hindu writings and the scriptures of the Hindu saints I simply cannot believe that there have not been other people [than Christians] who are familiar with God,’ he said. ‘It is beyond belief that other people have no access to God or that God has no access to other people. Who are listening to the prayers of the Hindu? Are there many Gods? If we are thinking about a God who is the creator and sustainer of the whole universe, as in Psalm 24, then there are not two Gods. Therefore it is inconceivable to me that a Hindu or a Buddhist, or anybody, is outside God. My understanding of God’s love is too broad for me to believe that only this narrow segment called the Christian church will be saved. If you are a Christian you must be open and broad, not narrow and exclusive.’
“Dr. Ariarajah said being a good Christian did not include going around telling people of other faiths they had got it all wrong” (The Australian, Feb. 11, 1991).
Ariarajah is dead wrong about the condition of those outside of Christ. Consider the following truths from the Word of God, truths which are utterly ignored by Ariarajah and his WCC friends:
THE CONDITION OF THE HEATHEN. The following verses from Ephesians show us plainly the condition of the unsaved heathen.
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. … That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:1-3,12-13).
Before the Ephesians came to Christ, they were religious idolaters. What was their spiritual condition at that time? The Bible says they were dead in trespasses and sins. They were under the power of the devil. They were by nature the children of wrath. They had no hope and were without God in the world. That is the “spirituality” of every person outside of Jesus Christ. The Bible says it was the blood of Christ that changed the spiritual condition of the Christians at Ephesus.
SALVATION ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. The following plain Bible statements make it clear that there is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. All men are sinners and are condemned under the righteous judgment of God. The only way of escape from sin’s condemnation is through personal faith in Jesus Christ and in His blood which was shed at Calvary. The Bible says salvation comes through one name only: Jesus Christ. Any other name–whether it be Buddha, Mohammed, Sophia, the Great Thumb, or Krishna–is unable to bring eternal salvation.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6).
“And [the jailer] brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31).
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
The Bible says God loves all men and is no respecter of persons. But He offers only one way of salvation, and men must repent and come on God’s terms through the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem with the World Council of Churches is simple: They have rejected the Word of God.
The rainbow serpent that created the world. WCC blasphemy reached equally perverse heights in an advance publication which called for “a rediscovery of Aborigine spirituality and for a new creation spirituality.” Consider a quotation from this amazing ecumenical document. In this quote, the WCC is giving an example of the supposed “spirituality” of Aboriginal thought:
“The creation of the world began in Dreaming. Before the Dreaming, there was a pre-existent formless substance, in which spirit beings lived. In some of the stories of the creation event, the Rainbow Serpent emerged from her long sleep under ground when she realized her time to give birth had come. She set free in the spirit beings to create hills and valleys, light and shade, water and trees, and flowers, and all living things. … The serpent also set free the spirit beings to create the animals and the human beings in a particular relationship with each other, forever related through story, song, and ceremony” (Wanderer, March 14, 1991).
The World Council publication in question called “for recasting the theological understanding of creation. Much of Christianity, especially the major strains of Western theology, has given support to human dominance over creation. The Assembly discussions want to challenge theology and Christian thinking that have seen humanity’s task as subduing the earth.”
This is foolishness. The Bible plainly states that man was made in the image of God and was given the commandment: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28). Man is not an animal. Man is not a product of evolution. It is not wrong for man to subjugate the forests and rivers of this world. It is not wrong for man to subjugate animals.
The fact is that the World Council is the home of every sort of radical philosophy: universalists, environmentalists, communists, New Agers, One Worlders, feminists, syncretists.
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES DANCING WITH IDOLATRY: 6TH ASSEMBLY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, JULY 1983
The Sixth Assembly of the World Council was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, in July 1983, attended by more than 4,000 people.
In the opening ceremony, North American pagan Indians were invited to build an altar and a “sacred flame.” They tossed offerings of fish and tobacco into a fire for their nature gods and danced around the altar. Candles that were used in the worship services of this conference were lit from that pagan fire which was kept burning throughout the Assembly.
A Native Indian Sweat Lodge, used in their heathen ‘purification’ rites, was also featured; and one of the evening worship services consisted of Native Indian dancing, chanting, singing and drum beating. (Foundation, Vol. IV, Issue III, 1983).
Three Hindus, four Buddhists, two Jews, four Muslims, and a Sikh were official guests of the Assembly. There were readings from Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim scriptures.
In the General Secretary’s report to the Assembly, Philip Potter said that it is God’s will “to unite all nations in their diversity into one house.”
Pauline Webb, who serves on the WCC executive committee, welcomed the visitors from “other faiths” and said, “Let us meet as those who have nothing to defend and everything to share.” The World Council has nothing to defend because it has no truth.
Dirk Mulder, moderator of the WCC interfaith dialogue program, said that he “does not believe people are lost forever if they are not evangelized.” Dr. M.H. Reynolds, editor of Foundation magazine, attended the Assembly with press credentials. In an interview with Mulder, he asked, “Would you feel that a Buddhist or Hindu could be saved without believing in Christ?” His answer was, “Sure, sure!”(Foundation, Vol. IV, Issue III, 1983).
The 1983 WCC Assembly also featured a pagan dance by a Hindu woman from South India. It was a “classical Bharathanatyam dance” that is performed for the Hindu “earth mother goddess.”
CHILDREN ARE THEIR OPPRESSORS, AND WOMEN RULE OVER THEM
The prophet Isaiah, in describing the apostate condition of Israel, said, “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths” (Is. 3:12).
The apostate ecumenical movement is enjoying the fulfillment of this prophecy today. At the World Council of Churches Seventh General Assembly in Canberra, Australia, many who stood to preach and to lead the business meetings were women. Angry women! One of the two keynote addresses was delivered by radical Korean feminist Chung Hyun-Kyung. “Reverend” Violet Sampa-Bredt of Zambia told the ecumenical gang that Junia in Romans 16 was an apostle and that anyone who is involved in the work of the church is an apostle. She spoke of “the lie that only men can be ministers.” Aruna Gnanadasan of India, director of the WCC’s Sub-unit on Women, spoke disparagingly of the “male-dominated structures of the churches” and said, “It is urgent for the whole church to be in solidarity with women.” Andrea Carmen spoke on “that most important women,” Mother Earth, and longed for the return to the days of the strong “matriarchy which saw clans being passed on through women.” After describing the supposed exalted status of women in ancient North American Indian culture, she complained that “Western education and Christianity placed women on the bottom and not as a source of leadership.”
Margot Kaessman came up with a unique interpretation of Genesis 3, asking, “Is it really sin to long for knowledge?” She claimed that Eve “was filled with the spirit of freedom,” and said, “Eve’s sin had nothing to do with sexuality, and yet the common interpretation is filled with hints at sexuality.” She was denying the traditional apostolic interpretation which says that Eve was deceived because she was the weaker vessel and that she was not supposed to make such decisions on her own. Or course “Ms.” Kaessman is from Germany, which has been on the cutting edge of theological weirdness for almost two centuries.
“Reverend” Constance Parvey of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America claimed that the issue of the ordination of women was a unity issue. Men and women are one in the “body of Christ” and therefore should be allowed the same functions. “In the early life of the Church women were at the center but a patriarchal reading of the scriptures had marginalized them. Now a separate ecclesiology for women and men existed in the church.” Of course, this “patriarchal reading” could not possibly have anything to do with the fact that the Apostles plainly limited the women’s role in the church in regard to leadership, could it? She urged women to enter the theological arena and equip themselves as theologians.
The children have their say at the WCC as well. Roughly 200 youth delegates and stewards “expressed concern at the failure of member churches to send the recommended proportion of youth delegates” (CCA News, Jan-Mar. 1991, Christian Conference of Asia, pp. 12,13). The Assembly repented and agreed to appoint a youth as one of the seven WCC presidents. Priyanka Mendis, 25, executive secretary of the Committee for Justice and Peace of the NCC in Sri Lanka, was later elected. (A youth is defined by the WCC as someone under 27 years old.) This didn’t satisfy the clamoring youth, though. They held up a banner warning the Assembly that it was committing “ecumenical suicide” by ignoring the youth. They were angry because only eight percent of those elected to the WCC Central Committee were youth.
WORLD COUNCIL FINDS SPIRITUALITY IN PAGAN PRACTICES
The following are some quotes from a World Council of Churches dialogue held Dec. 1-5, 1987, in Kyoto, Japan. The theme was “Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue,” and the amazing testimonies by those involved show a gross ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and true Bible Christianity. The following quotes are from the WCC publication Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue edited by Tosh Ari and Wesley Ariarajah:
“Listening to the Silence: Through Zen and Taize” – by Michael Como–I realized that just as the monks at Hosshinji [a monastery of Zen Buddhism where Como was staying] insisted that EACH OF US WAS SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA IN OUR OWN BODIES, SO TOO COULD I FIND MARY IN THE WOMAN BESIDE ME... (p. 6).
Upon arriving here [Hiraizumi] I first stayed with the family of a Buddhist priest for six months. EVERY MORNING WE CHANTED SUTRAS BEFORE THE BUDDHA Dainichi, every evening I prayed before my Franciscan cross and an icon of Mary (p. 6).
I now live in my own house, I CONTINUE TO PRAY DAILY BEFORE MY JAPANESE-STYLE ALTAR. UPON IT, ALONG WITH THE IMAGES OF JESUS AND MARY, IS AN ICON OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA... (p. 7).
“Discovering the Incarnation” – by Diana Eck–My own capacity to “see” the incarnation has been extended greatly by the faith of Hindus (p. 10).
In Shiva’s city I began to see that it is precisely in this place, in the full presence of suffering and death, that HINDUS AFFIRM THE FULL AND ETERNAL PRESENCE OF SHIVA and the faith of safe-crossing to the far shore (p. 11).
“Enlightenment through Zen” by Thomas G. Hand, SJ–For almost twenty years now I have been engaged in interfaith dialogue, especially in the field of practical spirituality. I am an American Jesuit priest, and I have lived in Japan for 29 years. FOR SIX YEARS I FORMALLY PRACTICED ZEN under Yasutani Hakuum Roshi and Yamada Koun Roshi, Kamakura. I am still doing Zazen. For the past three-and-a-half years I have been on the staff of Mercy Center, Burlingame, Calif., USA, especially engaged in the programme of our Institute of Contemporary Spirituality (pp. 49-50).
Beginning with the external and bodily, the main place of most of our meditations here at Mercy Center is the Rose Room (so called because the unfolding rose is the symbol of enlightenment in the West just as the lotus is in the East). (Remember we saw that RHODE the daughter of Pontus was identified with the ROSE) On the walls are Japanese shikishi (fine paper squares) with Zen sayings in Sino-Japanese ideographs, two Taoist paintings and a picture of the Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva) from Koryuji, Kyoto. These are well received by people and set a good tone to the room.However, the main shrine or centerpiece has, of course, the cross as central. IT IS HOPED THAT BEFORE TOO LONG THIS CROSS WILL GIVE WAY TO A STATUE OF CHRIST SEATED IN MEDITATION, a statue which will include clear influence from Buddhist statuary in its simplicity and feeling...
Another area in which other faith influence is apparent is in our chanting. We chant briefly at the beginning of meditation periods, in order to bring our energies together and to create that special silence that arises after chanting. WE USE THE SACRED SYLLABLE OM IN ITSELF AND ALSO JOIN IT TO THE HEBREW NAMES OF MARY AND JESUS (Om Miriam, Om Jeshua). At first glance this may seem like a hybrid, but actually it turns out to be an excellent chant (pp. 50, 51).
To find supposed spirituality in heathen religions is folly. There is no spiritual life whatsoever in paganism.
Consider the testimony of Isaiah 8:20—“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Consider the testimony of John 14:6—“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Consider the testimony of Acts 4:12—“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
We see, then, the utter folly of these statements by so-called Christian leaders who attended the WCC “Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue.” They are the blind leading the blind.
WORLD COUNCIL PROMOTES “BAKERWOMAN GOD”
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World Council of Churches (WCC)
The WCC describes itself as “a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service.”[4] It is based at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.[5] The organization’s members include denominations which claim to collectively represent some 590 million people (interesting that 500 million people is all the NWO wants to maintain.) across the world in about 150 countries, including 520,000 local congregations served by 493,000 pastors and priests, in addition to elders, teachers, members of parish councils and others.[6]
Ecumenical church leaders are seeking to replace capitalism with some form of socialism or communism under the false label of the Kingdom of God. It should be further noted that, while the original goal of the ecumenical movement and the WCC was “the unity of the churches”,the new vision of the WCC is for the unity of all religions – and, in fact, all mankind. It should be clear to all who have been watching the WCC that it has become a modern Tower of Babel. Source: Wikipedia
THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IS FULLY COMMITTED TO THE CREATION OF A NEW SOCIETYbased on socialistic principles and deceitfully called “7ne Kingdom of God” THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES SUBSTITUTES DIALOGUE FOR WITNESSING. Having substituted the building of a new society in place of the preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, it is not surprising that the WCC should forsake “witness” for “dialogue” even while claiming that dialogue is a form of witness, In recent years, theWCC has been engaged in official dialogues with almost everyone. Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Humanists, Traditional African Religions and Communists. As previously noted, the original goal of “Christian unity” has been superseded with the goal of the “unity of all mankind”. They say, “opportunities and occasions for dialogue cannot and must not be confined to men of religious faithsbut also must involve men of secular ideologies.” This dialogue program is attractively presented as the WCC claims: “Dialogue offers the promise of discovering new dimensions of understanding our faith.” One repeatedly is told of how dialogue “enriches dimensions of understanding our faith” but strangely, nothing is ever said about proclaiming the truth of the gospel in such a way that men “turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”
THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES stands for DISARMAMENT and against U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY. The WCC is geared for a massive propaganda effort against our historic concept of national security. They want complete and unilateral disarmament – and they want it now. Source: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES; By M. H Reynolds, Editor, FEA News & Views
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HEBREWS 10
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
(Jesus Christ was sacrificed ONCE, to put an end to the need for ongoing sacrifice. It is finished. Salvation has been provided for any and all who will recieve HIM.)
They are trying to bring all people together under one umbrella. For now, they don’t really care what entity you worship as long as you agree to accept ALL entities as equally valid. Which of course eliminates Bible Believers.
But eventually, they will introduce the god they want you to worship, and EVERYONE will bow down to that god as GOD. Or die!
“It is often referred to as Christ-Consciousness. The blaspheme that the New Age promotes is that Jesus was not the Son of God, and just a prophet that had a message. They claim He was able to do all of His miracles because he reached the top-level of consciousness.
The point is that this is what self-help and New Age doctrine leads to. When you hear it, it does not sound like a religion, just a way of thought. How to change your thinking in order to obtain success and have better relationships.
New Age is not just a thought that people subscribe to. It is the sum of the thoughts that people subscribe to. It is a religion for the New Age which is prophesied, but yet to come. These same general beliefs are practiced by witches, freemasons, pagans, Satanists, Yoruba Priestess, Bahai’, Christian Science, Unity Churches and many more. There are degrees into how dark they are. Or how much actualization of their worship of Satan they have, but it is the same general belief of reaching a higher consciousness.
Whenever you hear someone refer to Spirituality, if they are not speaking of the Holy Spirit, they are referring to New Age beliefs and you must be mindful and wary of this. This thought is like a cancer that will grow in your mind that will guide your path and take God out of the driver seat. Beware.” Source
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What they have been trying to accomplish is to get everyone to accept that JESUS was either a Great Prophet or a Good teacher and no more valid than any other Religious Person. To get us to all rally around “UNITY” and see Christs so called divinity as an obstacle that has to be overcome.
1 Peter 2
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
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Gigantyczna figura Chrystusa ze Świebodzina skrywa w koronie coś, co pozwala na niej zarabiać: anteny 👑💰💰 Z dołu ich nie widać, ale zobaczcie nagranie z drona oraz to, co udało się ustalić reporterom @FAKT24PL #Onet100 pic.twitter.com/l2VtvTZ8a4
— Onet100 (@Onet_100) April 24, 2018
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The brainchild of a now-deceased local priest named Sylwester Zawadzki, Christ the King was crowdfunded with $1.45 million in donations from residents of the town and elsewhere. According to Polish outlet Fakt 24, numerous local controversies have erupted since it was built and the latest could be walking a line between the sacred and the profane.
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Fakt 24 confirmed with an expert that the equipment does indeed appear to be intended for broadcasting an internet signal and the location would be a prime spot to maximize the signal’s range.
The reporters proceeded to contact the Divine Mercy Parish that oversees the statue to ask if the space on top of Jesus’s head is available for rent. A spokesperson said that wasn’t an option, prompting the reporters to ask what is going on with the antennas. The spokesperson said they knew nothing about it.
He refused to disclose the details of the contract, but said that the local church needed the network for a video surveillance system, adding that the agreement is completely legal.
The source also said that the signal is relayed to other clients. The article seems to imply that the parish might be involved in some sort of effort to monetize the space within the crown of Jesus, but it’s all uncertain. And honestly, isn’t it better that this appearance of divine wireless internet remains a mystery? Maybe it’s a miracle.
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In this next video you will see the TOP 10 Statues of Jesus across the earth. I know that these people were not inspired by the Holy Ghost to create statues of Jesus Christ/Yeshuah HaMashiach. We are commanded not to make ANY GRAVEN IMAGES!! So, what or who is the spirit behind these abominations? What kind of JESUS are they promoting? Do they plan to use these statues for some particular purpose? Will they all become 5G Towers? Will the AI make the statues speak?
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