Deeper Truth Blog: The Catholic Defender lasso's a Druid, Witchcraft

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Catholic Defender lasso's a Druid, Witchcraft

(Editors note) February is my last month in the United States Army as I will retire after 26 years. The Month of February I am posting some of my earlier articles that have a Military background.

This particular story is in honor of our guest next Friday. Please keep watch for the time of next Friday's show. You will not want to miss it. Our guest next week has her story following this article "An Amazing Conversion Story".

We are just a couple of days from Halloween and I really wanted to write something for this time of year.

So much of our effort at this time concerns Halloween, yet "All Saint's Day" and "All Soul's Day" becomes more of an after thought.

Strangely, this year Halloween falls on a Sunday and I expect the Catholic Church will celebrate All Saints Day this Sunday as well. Since I am lectoring this Sunday at Mass I better find out!

The following took place in Iraq in August 2007.

The Coven of Witches would meet on Fridays at the very Chapel we had Mass? I was invited to go to a meeting by an acquaintance (a former Catholic) I met from the Wiccan service. I reported this on Steve Ray's Web site "Defender's of the Catholic Faith" (DCL) message board. The thread is "The Catholic Defender in Kuwait/Iraq).

(10 August 2007)

Tonight I sat in on a Wiccan meeting. I was invited to come by members last week. I sat in as one of them spoke on the gods of Babylon and their world of creation. They were very hospitable towards me. There were 18 people involved tonight and they ranged from several different groups. I did ask them at the end of their gathering, 4 basic questions:

1. Do you feel that you were born a witch?

The response was mixed, but most of them believe they were born a witch. In the discussion that followed the consensus was that most of them were raised Christians but they felt when they became witches, this was what they were suppose to be. They had to discover who they were.

Some felt that it was a process of discovery due to their former life, reincarnation, that each life develops and has issues with problems associated in the past life. The better the life, the better the next life and the better understanding in that next life.

2. Do you believe you will become gods like the ones you serve.?

The response was general, they believed they would achieve divine status and have their own world. They all felt that way.

3. Do you have spells specific to Latin?

The response was a huge yes, one of them went to college and majored in Latin. He said that Latin was important to him in his spells. They believe that spells have power, they can do allot with spells. They all claimed to work spells.

4. What part did Harry Potter play in your becoming a witch?

The response was that Harry Potter and other outlets opened the door to them to help them realize their full potential in learning who they were. Discovering that they were witches was a learned event and so HP plays a part so as to help a person find who they are. HP might lead some to investigate witchcraft so they would call or check out Wiccan web-sites.
One person openly stated he hated Harry Potter.

As I listened to them, not only would HP and other outlets might play a part, but I wondered about those who might be abused by their parents. Maybe their parents faced a divorce, broken families. Maybe they were outcasts growing up, not getting involved with school activities, a loner. There might be a number of supporting issues that play a part.

I told them that I was a Catholic and that as an ambassador for Christ. I recognize that Christ is true God and true man. That He truly rose from the dead. That as a Christian, we are called to show our Lord through the lives we live. If anyone called a christian condemned you, persecuted you, I asked for their forgiveness. I think they were really shocked by that. They all opened up to me and shook my hand. I was even given a military coin by them. It was positive in that I was not there to condemn or judge them, but to love them. I hope to develop relationships there so I can show them Christ is the one true God.

The coin I recieved from the group was clearly one of witchcraft. It had several Occult images on this and so I felt odd taking it. After I posted this on the messageboard, one of my friends on the board encouraged me to take it and have it blessed with holy water. I told him that was a good point. The next time I was back down to the Division Chapel, I took the coin with me to have it blessed by Father in holy water. When Father poured out holy water in his font, I placed the coin in the font. That's when it vanished from our sight, it was nowhere to be found. That freaked us both out. To this day, it is gone! I guess it got mad at me? The next part of this story takes place two days later:

(12 August 2007)
Tonight as I sat down to dinner, I noticed one of the Wiccan's that was in the Friday night circle. I continued to eat when I noticed he recognized me. He quickly grabbed his things and sat in front of me as to be able to talk across the table. I was glad that he did so. He was the former Catholic and so I particularly looked for the opportunity to talk with him. I could be more open with him in an open environment. He was very happy to see me. We talked for about 25 minutes until we took it outside and talked more at a picnic table.

He explained that he was a Druid, not a Wiccan, but in their inner circle there were Wiccans and other groups, even Satanists. He identified himself as a Classical Pagan, he said Wiccans were neo-pagans. He told me that many he knew were enlightened by Harry Potter to become witches, others had other influences. I asked him why Harry Potter was so influential to the witchcraft lodge. He said it is because in fantasy, it supports many of their basic beliefs. I told him that there are some who are trying to Christianize Harry Potter. With that he laughed and thought it was funny to think so.

I had to head toward the Troop Medical Clinic (TMC) to give Anthrax Vaccinations so I had to go, but tomorrow night, I'm meeting with him to talk about the Catholic Faith with him. He was willing to do so for the knowledge he can receive. I will show him the Conversion story of Father Calloway. I am really hopeful. Please pray for our success regardless how you feel about Harry Potter.

We spent about three hours this night discussing the truths of the Catholic Faith. I went all the way back to Adam and Eve, the Old Testament Covenants, the prophecies that relate to the Messiah. What was important to me was to show that Christ is not just another god, but that He is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. That we believe in One God in three Divine Persons. That can be a tough sell for someone who is struggling to understand their faith. He invited me to come back and talk with him the following night. This would be the last time because he was preparing to redeploy back to the United States later that night.

(13 August 2007)
I had my meeting with the Wiccan tonight, we talked for about 1 1/2 hours discussing witchcraft and the Church. By nights end, he was lead to recognize the Resurrection. I explained to him the fact that the Old Testament is really a period of Covenants God makes with man kind. Adam is a Covenant of marriage, Noah is a Covenant of family, Abraham is a tribal Covenant, and Moses is a kingdom Covenant uniting all the tribes in a single nation. Jesus establishes a world wide Covenant, a Catholic Covenant. I also shared that Jesus fulfils in one human lifetime, the prophecies that concerns Him.

There were several prophets in the span of centuries that are fulfilled in one human life. He was deeply impressed with this knowledge. I also showed him that in the New Testament, we have a New and everlasting Covenant in the Blood of Christ. We renew the Covenant with Him when we go to Communion. I shared with him the Miracle of Lanciano and the Shroud of Turin. He gave me his AKO account so we can keep in contact as he leaves Iraq to go back home tomorrow. I hope I was able to plant seeds that will help him come home.

May God bring home the prodigals no matter how far they drift!

Jesus told St. Faustina that the greater the sinner the more deserving of His Divine Mercy.

I gave a talk to a group in Canyon Texas just outside of Amarillo at St. Anne's Catholic Church.

I asked the group, "how many of you know someone or have family members who have left the Church"?

Just about everyone raised their hand. If we were handling this as a disease, this would be an epidemic.

Let is pray for those who have gone the way of the prodical. God is in control!!!

HOME PAGE
Blogtalkradio Show
You Tube Channel
Twitter Page
E-MAIL US

No comments:

The Pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15)

The purpose of Deeper Truth is to provide a defense for the one fully true church of Christ. It is not designed to attack or hurt others.

We will speak boldly. We will not whitewash the truth.

Yes, we do believe that there is only 1 truth and the only place on earth where it can be found whole, complete, and uncorrupted is the Roman Catholic Church. Yes, we do feel that we can prove that case.

We can prove it historically, supernaturally, logically, practically and Biblically. And we will, make no mistake about that.

We believe that science and observation and reason are sufficient proofs of the existence of God. We also believe that reason and logic alone are sufficient causes for any human being to suspect that that God would have revealed Himself to us in some fashion. Further, we believe that He has and the historical, practical and supernatural proofs are beyond overwhelming that God has revealed, and continues to reveal, His will to us exclusively through the Roman Catholic Church, which He founded when He lived among us in the historical person of Jesus Christ.

We believe that anyone who has totally given Himself to the whole and objective search for truth cannot help but be drawn towards the light of what the Apostle Paul called the Pillar and Foundation of all truth, that is the Catholic Church.
A mere 77 years after the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, when some of the young witnesses would still have been alive, St. Ignatius of Antioch said; “Where Christ is, there is His Catholic Church”.

Truer words were never spoken.

For those of you chomping at the bit to discuss (or dare you dream, refute) Catholic teaching, don’t worry, you will get your chance.

Here is what constitutes debate to me. You do not ignore my questions or evidences and simply move on to more questions and or accusations. You do not make accusations, purported as factual, without sufficient original evidence.

That means that you do not make an accusation about what Catholics believe, do or have done or will do without providing an original, verifiable source that can be instantly accessed by any listener of the program.

If you characterize debate as an endless stream of unsupported accusations, you have come to the wrong place.

Here are some examples of what would constitute proof;

If you charge, as fact, that Catholics believe a particular thing, I will expect you to provide a link to an official Catholic source, citing it as a defined doctrine. Sources could include the Catechism of the Catholic Church or a document from a council. Links to anti- Catholic or non-Catholic sources that quote teachings out of context are insufficient.

I will gladly debate you on anything the Catholic Church actually has defined and teaches but I won’t waste my time arguing about what Dave Hunt or Jack Chick falsely claims that we teach.

If you charge, as purported fact, that a belief the church actually does have violates scripture or Christian teaching in some way, be prepared to not only support your arguments but to contest mine. I will debate via Scripture, history, tradition, practicality and logic. If you insist that the debate can only be on Scripture alone because you allege that Scripture is the only authority, I will insist that you provide scripture explicitly establishing that only the written word of God, as contained in a specific canon of books, can be accepted to the exclusion of all else.

Good luck.

If you charge, for example, that Catholic sexual abuse proves that the Catholic church cannot be the true church of God, I will expect you to provide empirical evidence that the rate of sexual abuse among Catholic priests is higher than ministers of other faiths or of the public at large.

The purpose of this show is to show you the truth. I will do so by basis of empirical evidence. If you truly want to see the truth, I can provide it. If you are simply unwilling to see the truth, I cannot help you.

That being said, we know that there are good people in all faiths and that many people of good will are genuinely confused about what Catholics believe and why they believe it.

I will start by giving you 30 basic precepts of what Catholics believe, as a foundation for us to build on. I will then explain exactly how this show will work.

1. We believe that by nature, science and reason alone, God has put sufficient light in every man to realize that the formation and expansion of life cannot possibly be by chance or random action. We believe that science, observation and simple human reason makes it impossible for anyone to truly doubt the existence of an intelligent designer. We believe that anyone who denies such a basic and undeniable fact, does so by force of pride or rebellion, not by force of intellect.

2. We believe that, hard-wired, by the creator, into every human being is a basic knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil. Man can choose to suppress this knowledge but he that will cause an intrinsic rebellion within him. Among this basic knowledge is the truth that murder, stealing, lying, violence, rape and homosexuality are disordered and objectively evil. Again, we believe anyone denying this knowledge isn’t doing so out of an intellectually arrived at position but out of rebellion or pain or pride. This knowledge is as basic as the knowledge that we need to breath, eat, drink, sleep, avoid pain and fight or flee danger. It is instinctive.

3. We believe that each person has in him an irresistible longing for God that battles against an unruly and unreasonable concupiscence. Concupiscence is man’s innate selfish desire. We Catholics define this concupiscence as original sin. Fully giving oneself over to the longing for God will lead to salvation. The most perfect completion of this being in the Catholic Church. A lifetime spent resisting this urge for God, in exchange for the longings of the flesh will lead to a lifetime of misery and-eventually- to an eternity of unimaginable suffering.

4. We believe this God has revealed Himself to us in very specific ways and through very specific people. These people include Prophets, Saints, Apostles and Old Testament Kings. The ways include Miracles and Signs, Sacred Scripture, public and private revelation, sacred tradition and the teachers He has appointed throughout the ages from Abraham to the current Magisterium of today’s Roman Catholic Church.

5. Because of #4, We believe anyone who claims to speak for God has an obligation to demonstrate credentials. We can do so in ways that no other church or religious entity on earth could even dare to claim.

6. We believe this God has been revealed as a singular God who exists in 3 persons, the second of which also took on humanity. We believe this one triune God and only this one triune God is worthy of worship. Anyone who tells you that Catholics worship anyone but the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is lying to you. It’s just that simple.

7. We believe that this God gave us a moral law that will never pass away and that every single person will face the judgment of God based on the moral law.

8. We believe that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Mosaic law.

9. We believe that Jesus Christ, by His life, suffering, death and Resurrection redeemed the world.

10. We believe the graces secured at Calvary are sufficient for the removal of all sin.

11. We believe that salvation is by Christ alone.

12. We believe that salvation is by grace alone.

13. We believe that man must participate in his own salvation and that no man or woman has ever been saved, or ever will be saved by faith alone. That the Bible clearly refutes the doctrine of Salvation by Faith alone is clear almost to the point of excess. Anybody who tells you that man is saved by faith alone is simply repeating a man-made lie, whether or not they may actually believe it.

14. We believe that Jesus Christ created a church that is the Pillar and Foundation of all truth, just as the Bible states. That we have an infallible Bible (and we do) is only because an infallible church gave it to us. That church-and only that Church- is fully and completely entrusted by God with the Scriptures and the Truths of Religion. Everyone else is guessing, to greater or less success, all falling short of the fullness of the truth of Catholicism. In fact…..

15. We believe that, in truth, there is only one true church. Catholic means Universal and we affirm that every single baptized Christian is a member-knowing or unknowing, willing or unwilling- of the Catholic Church and accountable, to the extent of the light of faith within them, to her teachings.

16. We affirm the infallibility and inspiration of Scripture and that all Scripture is useful for reproof, teaching and training in holiness. Nevertheless, we reject the notion of Sola Scriptura and hold the notion of practical sufficiency and the SELF interpretation of Scripture to be self-refuting, untenable nonsense.

17. We hold the teaching authority of the Church, the Sacred tradition of the fathers, and Holy Scripture to all be necessary parts of the Church.

18. We do not believe that any of the members of the Catholic Church are Impeccable, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Divine, Eternal or, in any way, shape, manner or form equal with God. This includes past, present and future members of the Catholic Church. We believe that all members of the Church had to be saved from the stain of original sin by God’s Sanctifying Grace.

19. We believe that Mary was saved by Sanctifying grace from her Mother’s womb, as was John the Baptist. We believe we can prove this scripturally.

20. We do not believe that Mary is God. Anyone who tells you that Catholics worship Mary is a liar. We do believe that She is the MOTHER of God and to deny this is to deny the Incarnation. We also believe that She fulfills the Biblical roles of the Queen Mother, The Ark of the Covenant, the Mother of Christians, the Woman clothed with the Sun and a co-mediatrix, co-redemtrix and advocate that in no manner contradicts 1 Timothy 2:5.

21. We believe that Jesus gave the Catholic clergy the power to anoint, to bind and loose, to preach and interpret Scripture and to forgive sins.

22. We believe that not one soul is saved by any other name than Jesus, even those saved who never heard His name.

23. We believe that not one soul that is saved is not saved by the merits Jesus gives through His Catholic Church, even those who don’t come to fully understand and accept it.

24. We believe that Jesus meant what He said in the 6th chapter of John’s Gospel and that each consecrated host contains the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.

25. We believe that only the full canon of Scripture as defined by the Catholic Church, 73 books, constitutes a complete Bible and only one carrying an Imprimatur is free from doctrinal error.

26. We reject the doctrine of the Rapture and believe that Christians will have to endure the great tribulation.

27. We reject a strictly futurist view of books like John’s Revelation.
The prophecies concerning the great harlot in Revelation 17-18, for instance, refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

28. We reject the assertion that the Israel of today’s world is the Israel of Scripture and find the assertion absurd and untenable. The Church is the new Israel. The Jewish Israel of Scripture is gone, dead, kaput…no more. There is no more temple and will never be. There are no more prophets nor will ever be, no more sacrifice, no more kings, no more Jerusalem. The city is Babylon and a Spiritual Sodom. Revelation 11:8.

29. We reject the doctrine that only Catholics can be saved. God will save who He will. That someone cannot reach the fullness of truth, through their honest efforts, will not be held against him. Those who knowingly reject the truth will perish in their sin and be damned. God will judge all by their works- PERIOD.

30. We do not believe that lying in defense of one’s beliefs, as anti-catholics do, is a virtue but a violation of the commandments of God.

We trust that these subjects and more will make for lively, spirited and- we hope- civil debate.

Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
~ John 15:20

See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution(17) of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper(18) Eucharist, which is[administered] either
See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Christ Jesus does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles. Do ye also reverence the deacons, as those that carry out[through their office] the appointment of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper(18) Eucharist, which is[administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be;

90

by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.(2) even as where Christ is, there does all the heavenly host stand by, waiting upon Him as the Chief Captain of the Lord's might, and the Governor of every intelligent nature. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize, or to offer, or to present sacrifice, or to celebrate a love-feast.(1) But that which seems good to him, is also well-pleasing to God, that everything ye do may be secure and valid.

~Saint Ignatius of Antioch, letter to the Smyrnaeans, chapter VIII (AD 110)

.	About Me SonlitKnight View my complete profile

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Catholic Defender lasso's a Druid, Witchcraft

No comments:

Post a Comment