Is Catholicism the Oldest Christian Faith?
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Well, actually Satan has not been defeated yet. There is still the matter of Satan being bound for a 1000 years so that he cannot deceive the nations anymore. After that he must be released so he can deceive the nations for war in preparation of the battle of Armageddon. This will take place in Israel, in the Valley of Megiddo which is a strategic military location.
Ephesians 4: 4-6. "One Lord, One FAITH, One Baptism". Jesus was not of any denominal "faith", so why are you? The true church is his body, not some name tag assembly, that has errors and membership, to their own ideals. We belong to Christ alone, not to an organization. Denominations exists because of bias interpretations and attempts to "share " in the true church, which is Christ's alone. When we attend a church for fellowship or teaching, beware of what is being taught. Many church members do not even carry their Bibles into church anymore as there are overheads, and versions that cause confusions rather than learning. The Bible is what we are instructed and learn from, and it is under attack in many and various ways.
That part of the world was not their mission field. Also the idols of the Canaanites were wiped out and the idols of the Gentiles were turned to Christ or forgotten.
Acts 16:16
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
Acts 16:16
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
The statues of Mary are not idols, the idol is something about what's in the heart. So they're helpful but not essential
They're also representing what relates to God not another god which is what paganism is.
The words of Luke about Mary are very interesting, Hail Kecharitomene (translated full of grace)
As far as i read this is a unique Greek word not found anywhere else in any Greek writing, or at least very rare/special
I see it means one who has been and continues to remain graced, eg
"κεχαριτωμένη is titular, meaning it is actually used as a title, or 'name' for Mary"
So the angel here is using quite a noble title for her, high enough perhaps to make some people's choice of words about her to feel defensive!
I don't think everything the Catholic church says/does is correct but when it comes to Mary they have, and as for seeing Catholics as some alien religion, that's just seem crazy to me
They're also representing what relates to God not another god which is what paganism is.
The words of Luke about Mary are very interesting, Hail Kecharitomene (translated full of grace)
As far as i read this is a unique Greek word not found anywhere else in any Greek writing, or at least very rare/special
I see it means one who has been and continues to remain graced, eg
"κεχαριτωμένη is titular, meaning it is actually used as a title, or 'name' for Mary"
So the angel here is using quite a noble title for her, high enough perhaps to make some people's choice of words about her to feel defensive!
I don't think everything the Catholic church says/does is correct but when it comes to Mary they have, and as for seeing Catholics as some alien religion, that's just seem crazy to me
No, Satan wasn't defeated in the sense he was vanquished as a factor on earth. Rather, he still is lord of this world. But, his power over death was defeated by Jesus at the cross in that our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life in Salvation through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
John 16, Hebrews 2:14
John 16, Hebrews 2:14
Hello Funkus, in what way(s) do you believe that the practice of kneeling down and praying before statues of Mary is "helpful" 
Thanks
As for using the translation, "full of grace", while I believe that is a literal translation, it's not what the word means in this context .. because the emphasis is not meant to rest of the receiver of God's grace (which deeming Mary "full of grace" does) rather, the translation hail or greetings, "favored one" should be used, so that the emphasis of the passage rests where it needs to rest contextually, upon the Giver of the grace instead.
Here's what one of my commentaries, one that was written by Roman Catholics exclusively, has to say about Luke 1:28.
Just FYI, Ephesians 1:6 uses the very same word to describe all believers .. Ephesians 1:6/Luke 1:28*, and just like Mary, we are said to be the recipients, not the dispensers, of His Divine grace.
The anti-Biblical, cult-like overemphasis of Mary, to the point that the RCC describes their devotion of her as a secondary kind of "worship" (veneration)*, is where a number of their heretical beliefs stem from, flourish and/or escalate (and sadly, what I believe is behind many non-RC's failure to honor her highly enough).
~Deut
p.s. - By addressing her as favored one, Gabriel indicated that Mary had nothing to fear, but was to become the recipient of God’s grace. There was nothing intrinsically worthy about her that set her above other believers, as if she was perfectly holy; like all people, she was a sinner (cf. Job 25:4; Ps. 14:1–3; Eccles. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:12, 23) in need of God’s grace (Acts 15:11; 18:27; Rom. 3:24; 5:15, 17; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:7).
The salutation has been confiscated to form the basis of the familiar Roman Catholic prayer known as the Ave Maria (“Hail Mary”). The erroneous premise of that prayer, based on the Latin Vulgate’s rendering of favored one as gratia plena (“full of grace”), is that Mary has been granted and possesses fullness of grace, which she then bestows on others.
In his encyclical Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, Pope Pius X, in a bizarre distortion of truth, has called Mary not the recipient of grace, but the “Dispensatrix [dispenser] of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood; the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces; the distributor … of the treasures of His merits.” Pope Leo XIII agreed, declaring in his encyclical Octobri Mense that “Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God.” Pope Pius IX’s encyclical Ineffabilis Deus cited the Catholic Church’s belief that Mary is “the seat of all divine graces … adorned with all gifts of the Holy Spirit … an almost infinite treasury, an inexhaustible abyss of these gifts.” Summing up the Catholic view that Mary is the mediator of all graces Ludwig Ott writes, “Since Mary’s Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man without her actual intercessory co-operation” (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma [St. Louis: B. Herder, 1954], 209).
That false, unbiblical view of Mary is an integral part of the Roman Church’s practice of Mariolatry (the veneration and worship of Mary), which blasphemes the Lord Jesus by worshiping another. In reality Mary was a humble, redeemed sinner. ~MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2009). Luke 1–5 (p. 46). Chicago: Moody Publishers.[/indent]
*(Latria is sacrificial in character, and may be offered only to God. Catholic and Orthodox Christians offer other degrees of reverence to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Saints; these non-sacrificial types of reverence are called hyperdulia and dulia, respectively. In English, dulia is also called veneration.[4] Hyperdulia is essentially a heightened degree of dulia provided only to the Blessed Virgin.[5] )
.
Thanks
As for using the translation, "full of grace", while I believe that is a literal translation, it's not what the word means in this context .. because the emphasis is not meant to rest of the receiver of God's grace (which deeming Mary "full of grace" does) rather, the translation hail or greetings, "favored one" should be used, so that the emphasis of the passage rests where it needs to rest contextually, upon the Giver of the grace instead.
Here's what one of my commentaries, one that was written by Roman Catholics exclusively, has to say about Luke 1:28.
Luke 1
28. hail, full of grace: The Greek is melodious, chaire kecharitōmenē. The word “grace” (charis) is associated in Lk with joy (chara) and wisdom (sophia). Greek verbs, ending in oō, as is the case here, do not imply fullness but rather instrumentality. Luke’s word puts the emphasis upon the source of goodness, rather than upon its effects. In regard to Mary, therefore, he points out that she is the object of God’s grace and favor. Because the verb is also a participle, Mary is shown to have been chosen for a long time past; God’s full flow of favor has already been concentrating upon her (cf. M. Cambe, RB 62 [1963] 193-207).
P. Joüon translated the passage: “I salute you, object of [divine] favor” (NRT 66 [1939] 797). The Hebr form of the salutation would be šālôm lāk, “Peace to you” (cf. 24:36; Jn 20:19, 26). ~Brown, R. E., Fitzmyer, J. A., & Murphy, R. E. (1996). The Jerome Biblical commentary (Vol. 2, p. 122). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Just FYI, Ephesians 1:6 uses the very same word to describe all believers .. Ephesians 1:6/Luke 1:28*, and just like Mary, we are said to be the recipients, not the dispensers, of His Divine grace.
*(the Scripture link above includes the NASB translation, two Catholic translations of the Bible, and a Greek-English Interlinear, translation by Dr. Mounce)
The anti-Biblical, cult-like overemphasis of Mary, to the point that the RCC describes their devotion of her as a secondary kind of "worship" (veneration)*, is where a number of their heretical beliefs stem from, flourish and/or escalate (and sadly, what I believe is behind many non-RC's failure to honor her highly enough
).~Deut
p.s. - By addressing her as favored one, Gabriel indicated that Mary had nothing to fear, but was to become the recipient of God’s grace. There was nothing intrinsically worthy about her that set her above other believers, as if she was perfectly holy; like all people, she was a sinner (cf. Job 25:4; Ps. 14:1–3; Eccles. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:12, 23) in need of God’s grace (Acts 15:11; 18:27; Rom. 3:24; 5:15, 17; Eph. 1:7; 2:5, 8; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:7).
The salutation has been confiscated to form the basis of the familiar Roman Catholic prayer known as the Ave Maria (“Hail Mary”). The erroneous premise of that prayer, based on the Latin Vulgate’s rendering of favored one as gratia plena (“full of grace”), is that Mary has been granted and possesses fullness of grace, which she then bestows on others.
In his encyclical Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, Pope Pius X, in a bizarre distortion of truth, has called Mary not the recipient of grace, but the “Dispensatrix [dispenser] of all the gifts that Our Savior purchased for us by His Death and by His Blood; the supreme Minister of the distribution of graces; the distributor … of the treasures of His merits.” Pope Leo XIII agreed, declaring in his encyclical Octobri Mense that “Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God.” Pope Pius IX’s encyclical Ineffabilis Deus cited the Catholic Church’s belief that Mary is “the seat of all divine graces … adorned with all gifts of the Holy Spirit … an almost infinite treasury, an inexhaustible abyss of these gifts.” Summing up the Catholic view that Mary is the mediator of all graces Ludwig Ott writes, “Since Mary’s Assumption into Heaven no grace is conferred on man without her actual intercessory co-operation” (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma [St. Louis: B. Herder, 1954], 209).
That false, unbiblical view of Mary is an integral part of the Roman Church’s practice of Mariolatry (the veneration and worship of Mary), which blasphemes the Lord Jesus by worshiping another. In reality Mary was a humble, redeemed sinner. ~MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2009). Luke 1–5 (p. 46). Chicago: Moody Publishers.[/indent]
*(Latria is sacrificial in character, and may be offered only to God. Catholic and Orthodox Christians offer other degrees of reverence to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Saints; these non-sacrificial types of reverence are called hyperdulia and dulia, respectively. In English, dulia is also called veneration.[4] Hyperdulia is essentially a heightened degree of dulia provided only to the Blessed Virgin.[5] )
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