Mike Curtiss (21
Feb 2014)
"Pope Francis Seeks to Unite With Evangelicals ( I Wonder Why? )"
Hi Sisters and Brothers,
In one of the most surprisingly disturbing addresses Pope
Francis has officially opened the door to influence and absorb the
Evangelical church.
First, it's great that this new RCC leader is hip to new I-phone technology
and has created a selfie video. However, his ploy using Christian unity as
an ultimate goal is an obvious attempt to influence and seduce the witness
of the evangelical church.
Remember, the RCC doctrine says there is no salvation outside the RCC, so
why would Pope Francis seek to enjoy communion with unbelievers? We are
called to have no communion with the RCC, regardless of this attractive offer.
This is entirely disingenuous behavior. It's also entirely at odds with scripture.
You can read the article below, or listen to the video, which begins after the 35:15
mark below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5TwrG8B3ME
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not
come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man
against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
Agape Love,
Michael Curtiss
In unusual video, pope speaks of his longing for Christian unity (with Evangelicals)
cns ^ | February 20, 2014 | Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In an unusual video message, recorded on an iPhone
by a Pentecostal pastor Pope Francis knew in Argentina, the pope says
all Christians share blame for their divisions, speaks of his "longing"
for their unity and insists that God will bring the miracle of Christian
unity to completion.
"Pray to the Lord that he will unite us all," the pope tells a group of
Pentecostals meeting in the United States. "Let's move forward, we are
brothers; let us give each other that spiritual embrace and allow the
Lord to complete the work he has begun. Because this is a miracle; the
miracle of unity has begun."
Screen grab of Pope Francis interview shown to a group of Pentecostals in the United States. (CNS photo)
In the video, posted on YouTube and never released by the Vatican, the
pope quotes a character from a novel by Alessandro Manzoni; the
character says, "'I have never found that the Lord began a miracle
without finishing it well.' He will finish well this miracle of unity,"
the pope added.
The Vatican did not release any details when it announced Jan. 14 that
Pope Francis had met with "Anthony Palmer, bishop and international
ecumenical officer for the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches,"
a group that is not affiliated with the Anglican Communion.
The video, which Palmer said he took with his iPhone, begins in English
with the pope apologizing that he will have to switch to Italian,
although mostly, he said, he would speak from the heart, which is "a
more simple, more authentic language."
Addressing Palmer as "my brother, a bishop-brother" and saying they had
"been friends for years," the pope offered what he said were greetings
"both joyful and full of longing" to participants in a forthcoming
meeting of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries, a Pentecostal group that
sponsors large prayer gatherings around the world.
The joy, the pope said, comes from knowing that "the Lord is working all over the whole world."
But he said he is full of longing because Christians are still separated, "separated because of sin, our sins."
"Who is at fault?" he asked. "All of us are, we are all sinners. There is only one who is just and that is the Lord."
Pope Francis said he longs for the day when "this separation would end and there would be communion."
"Let's allow our longing to increase so that it propels us to find each
other, embrace each other and to praise Jesus Christ as the only Lord of
history," the pope said.
The video begins with Palmer telling a Pentecostal gathering about the
importance of Christian unity for preaching salvation in Christ to the
world.
Palmer said that the Catholic-Protestant divisions have had no reason to
exist since the 1999 Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification. The agreement recognized that "by grace
alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on
our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews
our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works."
"Brothers and sisters, Luther's protest is over," Palmer told his audience. "Is yours?"
"We are not protesting the doctrine of salvation (taught) by the
Catholic Church anymore," he said. "We now preach the same Gospel."
The Catholic Church has celebrated the agreement on justification and
other ecumenical agreements, while insisting that further progress must
be made to resolve other differences before there is full unity and
sacramental sharing. Those differences include how different Christians
view the sacraments and how they see the role of the
papacy.