All Catholics Will Go To Hell - Chris Okotie

 
Pastor Okotie of HouseHold of God Church openly condemned catholics during his sermon last week

''All Catholics in the world will go to hell because they worship Satan and are led by an Anti-Christ 
Pope who is a friend to the devil.They are not Christians and have never been. They don’t know Jesus.They believe thatwhen they eat bread on Sundays, they are eating the body of Jesus. It’s ritual. The pope is an Anti-Christ and the Catholic church will soon declare for Satan. This is the end of times..“They don’t believe in heaven. They believe in purgatory, the purgatory that they invented,” Okotie said.

“That church, the Catholic church has been there for Satan and at the right time, they will declare for Satan,” Okotie said. He said Pope Francis is an Anti-Christ who does the job of the devil and that time is fast approaching when the Catholic church will pledge allegiance to Satan. He advised members of his church to come to the rescue of Catholics and evangelise them. This, he said, was not out of disrespect but out of respect for the word of God. He said those who know the truth should bring it to those who do not know it in the Catholic Church. He said Catholics are not Christians and do not worship the same Christ that he preaches in his church, at least the one spoken about in the Bible.

Okotie said he did not write the Bible but it was clear to him that those in the Catholic church were lost and were heading to hell fire. Okotie who has been married twice and divorced also twice said a beauty pageant will take place in his church next Sunday to select the most beautiful woman in his church.

Unbelievable! North Koreans Must Worship, Give Thanks to ‘Deceased Eternal President’ Every Day

By Abby Carr
Kim Jong Il statues Every North Korean must have photos of Kim Il Sung (left) and Kim Jong Il on the best wall of their home. (José Fernandes Jr./Flickr/Creative Commons)
Thanksgiving is fast approaching—a day every year when Americans stop to give thanks. But in the country of North Korea, thanksgiving to the nation’s “eternal president” Kim Il Sung must be given at every meal.
“The best wall on every house in North Korea must have well-cared-for photos of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il,” explains Seoul USA CEO Eric Foley. “At every meal, families look up at the picture and pray, ‘Thank you, Father Kim Il Sung, for this food.’”
While most Americans view the hermit kingdom as an atheist nation, Foley says in reality it is perhaps the most religious nation on earth because 100 percent of its citizens are required to worship Kim Il Sung. North Korea is the world’s only “necrocacy”—ruled forever by its deceased eternal president.
“This is challenging to Christians, who refuse to worship anyone other than God,” Foley says. “Those seen bowing their heads in prayer are considered seditious citizens and are persecuted.”
Overcoming this idolatry is the most pressing issue for the North Korean church. The way they’ve done this is to rely on four pillars: the 10 Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and the Apostles’ Creed. Each of these is a protection against idolatry and helps them navigate through North Korea’s state religion known as Juche.
“As Americans thank God for our blessings and prosperity this Thanksgiving, let’s also consider our need to combat idolatry in our own lives,” Foley says. “We can grow stronger in this overcoming faith by learning from the example of our North Korean brothers and sisters in Christ. Reliance on the four pillars of worship is the key.”
The four pillars are integral to Christian life. That’s why they’re featured in Seoul USA’s 100 Days of Worship campaign running through Dec. 31.



source:vine

Why did Pope Benedict XVI resign?

Benedict XVI shocked the world in February when he became the first pope to resign in almost 600 years. But attention shifted quickly to the succession, and the election of the new Pope, Francis. Amid the drama, one question was never fully answered - why did Benedict quit?

Pope Benedict's official resignation statement offered his waning physical and mental powers as the explanation, but it's long been suspected there was more to it. And my inquiries have confirmed that.
I went to visit the Nigerian Cardinal, Francis Arinze at his apartment overlooking St Peter's. He's one of the most senior figures in the church and knows the Vatican like the back of his hand. He was even, for a short time in March of this year, mooted as a possible successor to Pope Benedict. And he was one of the select handful of senior church officials who were in the Pope's Apostolic Palace when he broke the news to them personally.
I raised the subject of the scandals that had preceded the Pope's bombshell decision and, in particular the Vatileaks affair in which the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, had leaked confidential documents exposing Vatican power struggles. Could that have been a factor in his resignation? His answer was unexpected.

'I have had to recognise my incapacity'

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry... In today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.

"It is legitimate for a person to speculate and say 'Maybe,' because some of his documents were taken secretly. It could be one of the reasons," he told me.

"Maybe he was so pained that his own butler leaked out so many letters that a journalist was able to write a book. It can be one of the reasons. I don't expect him to be enjoying that event."
In the Vatican, young ambitious members of the church are advised to "hear a lot, see everything and say nothing". That such a senior figure should essentially countenance a departure from the official line is significant.
Essentially, Pope Benedict was a teaching Pope, a theologian and intellectual. "His idea of hell would be to be sent on a one-week management training seminar," one insider told me. His misfortune was to accede to the papacy at a time that there was a power vacuum, in which a number of middle-ranking members of the

Don't take my word for it, this assessment comes from the highest source - the current leader of the Church. And Pope Francis does not mince his words. "The court is the leprosy of the papacy," he has said. He has described the curia as "narcissistic" and "self-referential". This is what Joseph Ratzinger had to deal with.

Over a period of time dating back to final years of Pope John Paul II, the heart of the HQ of the Roman Church had become dominated by infighting cliques. This was what the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele said he wanted to expose by photocopying and leaking all those documents.

Benedict XVI pardoned his former butler Paolo Gabriele (centre)

But Gabriele said his relationship with Pope Benedict was like "father and son". So why did he act in a way that was sure to embarrass a man he was clearly close to?

"He said he had seen many ugly things inside the Vatican. At a certain point he couldn't take it any more," says his lawyer Cristiana Arru, clutching her rosary beads, in only her second ever public interview. "And so he looked for a way out. He says he saw lies being told. He thought that the Pope was being kept in the dark regarding key events."

Gabriele was found guilty of "aggravated theft" and spent three months in custody before being pardoned by the Pope. But that was not the end of it. The Church's leader set up an inquiry into the whole affair.
Three Cardinals produced a 300-page report. It was meant to be kept under lock and key, but a leading Italian daily claimed it had been briefed on its contents. The result? More embarrassing leaks, this time with claims of a network of gay priests exerting "inappropriate influence" inside the Vatican.
The headaches continued to mount for the German Pope. In many journalistic endeavours, "follow the money" is good advice for getting to grips with what is really going on, and it applies to the Vatican too. One of the most eyebrow-raising stories we encountered involved an annual Nativity scene in St Peter's Square.

Benedict XVI in front of the nativity scene in St Peter's Square in 2009

For years, deals were struck in which the Vatican paid several times the market rate. When a whistleblower tried to reform the system, officials in the papal court persuaded a hapless Pope Benedict to promote him to a role 4,000 miles from Rome.

Similar antics occurred at the Vatican Bank, for years a source of unwelcome headlines for the Catholic Church. It was set up to help religious orders and foundations transfer much-needed money to far-flung parts of the world. But when a sizeable proportion of the transactions are in cash and are being sent to politically unstable parts of the planet, it does not take a genius to see what might go wrong.

It appears that bank officials took key decisions without always informing the Pope. When the board ousted its reforming president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi (conveniently, on the day that the news of the Gabriele's arrest was getting saturation news coverage), the Pope did not find out until it was too late. He was "very surprised" in the later words of his private secretary. Gotti Tedeschi was an Opus Dei member and thought to be close to the Pope, but in the end this did not protect him.
Did all this prove too much for the ageing Pope Benedict?

Examine the precise words of the papal press spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi: "The Church needed someone with more physical and spiritual energy who would be able to overcome the problems and challenges of governing the church in this ever-changing modern world." Maybe that is as near as you are ever going to get from a senior official that the church had become ungovernable and needed someone else at the helm to stop the rot.

This is a church that now has a huge opportunity to move on and face up to the challenges of the 21st Century. Often seen as remote, its leadership is now canvassing the views of ordinary Catholics on hot-button issues such as contraception and gay marriage. Reform has come on the back of scandal. This is a development that has not gone unnoticed by Cardinal Arinze.
"What you have to remember," he says, "is that God often writes straight on crooked lines."




source:bbcnews

Pope Francis: ‘I Believe in God, Not In A Catholic God

Pope Francis has once again had a sly dig at the Roman Catholic Church, condemning its narcissistic “Vatican-centric view” of religion.
The new Pope, who was elected earlier this year after Pope Benedict’s resignation, has been praised for his comments since taking the position.
During a discussion with the atheist editor of La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper, Pope Francis once again made it clear that he is looking to reform the church.

The Pontiff commented, “This Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us. I don not share this view and I’ll do everything I can to change to it.”
He then went on to lay out his plan, stating, “The Church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people, and priests, pastors and bishops who have the care of souls, are at the service of the people of God.”
Pope Francis continued, “And I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God, there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being. Do you think we are very far apart?”
Since becoming the leader of the Catholic Church, Francis has proven that he is a more liberal kind of Pope. He has proven this by being more lenient on various subjects which have included homosexuality and atheism.
Recently, he even criticized the church for being too obsessed with certain issues. Back in September, he was quoted as saying, “We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and the fragrance of the Gospel.”
He then added, “The church has sometimes locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules,” before asking his clergy to not act like government officials or bureaucrats.

source:inquisitr

Church of England votes in favor of female bishops

The Church of England's governing body voted overwhelmingly in favor of female bishops on Wednesday, ending a 20-year impasse that could see women ordained as senior clergy by the end of 2014.
A vote on a package of measures to endorse women bishops was supported by 378 members of the General Synod while eight voted against and 25 abstained after months of behind-the-scenes talks to unite reformers and traditionalists.
A year ago, a blocking minority succeeded in rejecting draft legislation on women bishops, leaving the church in crisis. That vote, lost by just six votes, was criticized by parliament and one senior church official called it a “train crash.”
After that, church leaders set up a committee to find common ground. Its proposals won widespread acceptance in the Synod on Wednesday, even among groups previously opposed.
"The train is on the tracks, the train is moving forwards, and we now have some stations to pass along the way but we can begin to see the end of this particular journey," the Bishop of Rochester James Langstaff told a news conference.
The legislation will be discussed again at a meeting in February and a vote on final approval is likely in 2014.
The issue of female clergy has divided global Anglicanism. Women serve as bishops in the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand but Anglican churches in many developing countries do not even ordain them as priests.
Critics of female clergy say Jesus chose only men as his apostles, while supporters say it is a matter of equality.
The spiritual head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, supports women bishops but has struggled to unite the mother church for the world's 80 million Anglicans on the issue.

Archbishop of Canterbury? 
Last year's draft legislation failed mainly due to concerns that a code of practice to cater for parishes that objected to women bishops did not go far enough.
The new recommendations would create an independent official who can intervene when traditionalist parishes complain about women bishops' authority and guidelines for parishes whose congregations reject women's ministry.
Those in favor of the plans were warned not to "open the champagne bottles" just yet as there were still major issues to be resolved.
Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament: "I strongly support women bishops and hope the Church of England takes this key step to ensure its place as a modern Church in touch with our society."
Even many traditionalists acknowledged it was time for change and to end the deadlock. Paul Benfield, of the Synod's Anglo-Catholic group, said it was "a workable way forward.”
The Church approved the ordination of women priests in 1992, but delayed making them bishops because of opposition within its previously all-male clergy. Bishops play a key role in many Christian churches because only they can ordain new clergy.
Amanda Fairclough, a priest from Liverpool, said she had "no doubt one day a woman will be called by God to be the Archbishop of Canterbury.”




source:nbcnews

JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST JESUS

ROMANS 8:16–17The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ... As long as you are born again, you are no longer a “slave”, but a son of the Most High God. And God does not just call you His son. He also calls you “an heir” through Christ. (Galatians 4:7) In fact, Romans 8:17 says that you are “joint heirs” with Christ. As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, you inherit everything that He is. How precious Jesus is to the Father, is how precious you are to the Father. The way the Father loves Jesus, is the way the Father loves you! How accepted are you by God today? Look at Jesus. That is how accepted you are! Christ is the measure of your acceptance. How favored are you by God? Look at Jesus, who is seated at the Father’s right hand. You enjoy that same favor today because whatever Christ enjoys, you enjoy! As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, you also inherit all that He has obtained from the Father. How much Jesus has, is how much you have. How prosperous is the one who made all things, and who put the gold, silver and diamonds in the earth? So are you in this world! (1 John 4:17) I used to read the Bible to find out how to be a successful and victorious Christian. But now, I read it to find out more about Jesus because I know that when I find Him, I find my every blessing in Him. (Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3) My friend, all that Jesus is in heaven today, you are in this world. All that belongs to Him belongs to you. That is why it is in your interest to know Him more, to see Him in all His glory and beauty. And because Jesus is so glorious, it will take you a lifetime to discover everything that He has done for you and has for you. Beloved, you are an heir of the Most High God. You are a joint heir with Christ Jesus. So find out all the blessings that your rich inheritance includes and start walking in them today!

Pastor Charged For Conducting Same-Sex Marriage for Son Goes on Trial.

A Pennsylvania pastor charged under United Methodist law with officiating his son's same-sex marriage is scheduled to go on trial. The Rev. Frank Schaefer could be defrocked if a jury comprised of fellow Methodist clergy convicts him of breaking his pastoral vows by officiating the 2007 ceremony in Massachusetts.
The nation's largest mainline Protestant denomination accepts gay and lesbian members, but rejects the practice of homosexuality as "incompatible with Christian teaching."
The issue has split the church. Hundreds of Methodist ministers have publicly rejected church doctrine on homosexuality, and some of them face discipline for presiding over same-sex unions.
Schaefer's trial will take place Monday at a Methodist retreat in Spring City, Pa.

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