In regard to all the threats and filing of law suits presented by atheist groups who do not want crosses representing faith displayed openly, I have a couple suggested solutions that will quickly relieve you’re suffering from cross exposure that you may not have considered.
Being it is well known that this country was founded upon the beliefs and unalienable rights of man as gifted to each person by and in recognition of God our Creator, one solution you may consider is leaving this country so predisposed to the existance of God and Christian citizenship rather than attempt to take away the rights of Christians who most logically express the principles of an existing God under which it was founded;
Further, recognizing the fact that since the founding of America the great majority of this country has consisted of Christians who display the cross not only as a remembrance of Christ’s passion for us and our calling to live and love one another to the best of our human abilities but also to remind us of those elements of faith we raise each cross in prayer, whether it be for the deceased or those suffering or whatever expression of faith it may be raised, give credit to the cross for your right to express your displeasures without harm.
As an additional solution to your suffering cross exposure while wishing to remain a resident of this country, exercise your free will to walk away from those places where the cross is raised just as others exercise their free will to visit before those crosses.
Whether you realize it or not, your resentment toward those who believe in God is not justifiable grounds for a law suit nor is it justifiable to take away the rights of the majority of citizens who choose to express their recognition of God of which America was founded upon. Your filing suits seeking to have crosses removed from places you never knew they stood and/or where you have no legitimate purpose to visit only because you heard about there existence has proven your filing of such suits to be malicious and contrived serving not to protect yourself from any infringement of rights but only to restrict the rights of the vast majority.
Enjoy the freedoms this country has provided you and walk away from those places you find displeasure… go to those places you enjoy in God’s peace. This we pray for you
Hi TW,I am glad of this site and all you have to help others learn the truth and ask what questions are necessary to learn and get the right answers. Can't thank you enough. NOW my question can you explain if James was the first bishop of Jerusalem at what point was the name Pope included.One told me it was added on later because of Peters authority in the church to loose and bind, but many are under the impression all had that gift given to them? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great question, thanks for asking.
ReplyDeleteThe reference “Pope” comes from the Ecclesiastical Latin papa or papas as is written in Greek which is a variant of Pappas in the old classic Latin and is a child’s word for father.
In the old East the word “pope” was commonly used referring to simple priests. In the Western Church, however, it was a term Christians used in addressing their bishops in general but not adopted as a formal title reserved for anyone until later.
By the fourth century it became a distinctive title of the Roman Pontiff. Pope Siricius (d. 398) referred to it (Ep. vi in P.L., XIII, 1164), The apostles were all bishops possessing equal but subordinate authority to the Chair of Peter in Rome. Only Peter established and served as the bishop of Rome and held the supreme authority of the keys commissioned to him by Christ as the visible head of the Church.
As Christianity grew so did the need for more servants of Christ to perform various functions to help teach and guide the faithful. As different levels of authority or responsibilities were assigned with individual job positions it was necessary to refer to actual titles such as “bishop”, Cardinal, “priest” or “deacon” to make clear a person’s level of authority in the hierarchy of the Church itself. The initial establishment of this hierarchy is first shown in scripture.
As the Church continued and the levels of the servants within the Church grew and Latin became the more common language, it was the community of bishops themselves who determined it most appropriate to reserve the Latin title “Pope” in recognition and honor of the “Chief Pastor” over all the Church faithful including over the bishops themselves.
Peter, as the “chief pastor” or vicar by the commission of the High Priest, Jesus Christ, established the Bishopric of Rome after he had completed most of his traveling ministry preaching the gospel as Jesus directed him to do. In the mean time, James, because he was well known and highly respected among the Jews was assigned as the Bishop of Jerusalem because it was determined his stature there would be a great help in teaching the word of Christ to those Jews who had not yet been converted.
Peter also recognized the need and established the rite of succession of the apostles. He commenced the first action of assigning a successor to Judas’ ministry position which is in scripture and subsequently to vacant or soon to be vacant bishoprics for the continued life of the Church which would have been necessary considering Jesus declared the Church would continue to the consummation of the world. The supreme authority of the “chair of Peter” was always recognized and it is verified in the texts of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church since the first century. Reserving the title and the reference “Pope” to the elected successor to the chair of Peter became common acknowledgment during the first four centuries. In fact, the authority of the papacy is clearly confirmed before the existence of the Holy Bible. Pope Damasus commissioned St. Jerome to perform the compilation and translation of the texts that became the first Holy Bible known as the Latin Vulgate.
Protestants think we are all equal in the church but I know we are not all equal because God does not intrust his word to just anyone and we are told not to cast our pearls amongst swine. If they were all equal then they all would have been bishops right? Please explain this is important to the Protestant beliefs:)They are all leaders of how many churches???? But they close in time or are found liers and frauds,sorry but i have found this to be true of many. Blessings and Peace!
ReplyDeleteFirst allow me to thank you for your comments. This is a subject that requires more attention than can be given in this response so I will post an article today titled "One Church - One Faith" which will consist of a quote from my soon to be release book addressing this issue in detail more directly.
DeletePlease read the article posted by that name, and thank you again, Peace in Christ
TW I don't know how to do this help!! I never had to pick a profile before what's happening???
ReplyDelete