What You Really Need Is An Intimate Relationship With Jesus

Redneck Woman hits another one out of the park with a repost today on her blog. It's about the Biblical basis of Mass, but more than that, how you might make a surprising discovery at Mass.

"And I found Jesus everywhere I looked. Every nook and cranny. In the very air I breathed. The Mass that I had heard was empty of Jesus and nothing more than meaningless words and purposeless gestures from beginning to end, was suffused with Jesus."

Long, but worth reading.

Welcome!

I see that we have some new visitors , so it's time to repost the welcome message.

Welcome, new visitors! I hope you will stay and read, though we are lacking in juicy gossip. Here are some past articles which you may find of interest instead.

Wondering why this blog is here? Why not just stop going to Candy's blog? I delve into our motivations here.

Where do we find the time? We get that a lot.

Got questions about Catholicism? We've got answers, and if you don't find what you're looking for, just ask in the comments.

Why did the Catholic Church ADD books to the Bible?

We didn't. Non-Catholics removed books from the Bible. Read more about the Catholic Bible.

Why does the Catholic Church believe in salvation by works when that is contradicted by Scripture. Why do you believe that Mary is a mediatrix when scripture says that Jesus is the ONE Mediator?

We don't, and we don't.

Why do you worship statues? Don't you know that's idolatry?

We might be kneeling in prayer, but we aren't worshiping.

Why do you pray the rosary with its vain repetition?

Because it isn't repetition that is the problem, it's the vain part.

But you have to admit that the word purgatory isn't found anywhere in Scripture!

The word might not be, but the concept is.

Requiring celibacy for priests isn't biblical. Even Peter was married!

Actually, we have married priests within the Catholic Church today. A picture of a priest with his family is the top picture of this post, explaining the tradition (with a small 't') of priestly celibacy.

Why confess to a sinful priest, when you can confess your sins directly to God?

Read the Biblical basis for Confession.

What about the Pope?

Your questions answered.

Plus, the ever-popular Tradition versus Scripture topic. Read here, here, and here for previous posts. Confused about the difference between Tradition and tradition, try here.

Finally, we have no problem with respectful disagreement with Catholic theology. I suppose you could say that we disagree with Candy on what constitutes accurate Catholic theology.

However, we found that Candy's series on the Gospel of John gave a great platform for discussing some differences in theology as we discuss infant baptism, sanctifying grace, and the Lord's Supper/Eucharist.

Let's Study The Bible!
John 2
John 3
John 4
John 6

Elena here - Do us a favor guys! Twitter, bookmark, Del.icio.us, facebook, Stumble us, whatever! Use your favorite social bookmarking to help get the word out about this site! Thanks!

Coming up!

The synod on Scripture is approaching. A synod is a church gathering of for discussion of a topic. It isn't quite as big of a deal as a church council, but with over 250 bishops gathering on October 6th, there is sure to be a lot of interest.

The goals of the Synod:

• reverently contemplate this mystery of the Word, God’s greatest gift, to render thanks for it, to meditate upon it and to proclaim it to all members of the Church and all people of good will.
• spread and strengthen encounters with the Word of God by thoroughly examining its doctrinal underpinnings and allowing them to show the manner in which this is to be done
• help the faithful understand what the Bible is, why it is there, how beneficial it is to the faith and how to use it properly and apply it to everyday life
• renew listening to the Word of God, in the liturgy and catechesis, specifically through lectio divina, duly adapted to various circumstances; and to offer a Word of consolation and hope to the poor of the world.
• set forth the intrinsic connection between the Eucharist and the Word of God, since the Church must receive nourishment from the one “bread of life from the table of both God's word and Christ's body.”

Sounds like the opposite of forbidding the Bible to be read to me!

Lots of resources here.

Born again, again

Candy writes of John 3:1-21:

Notice that you must be born of the water and of the Spirit. Jesus makes it clear that born of the water means physically born - the waters being the amniotic fluid in the womb. One must be physically born, before they can be born again. Born of the Spirit is being Born Again. There is no mention of baptism in the above scripture, for one isn't to get baptised before getting saved, only after, in obedience to Christ, but not for salvation. Since being born again is not baptism, it must be something else.

We discussed this when studying the 3rd chapter of St. John's gospel. Please read the full article, but here is the Cliff Notes version.

I think that if Candy takes such a literal interpretation of this verse, then she must rule out the possibility of salvation for those who are never physically born, i.e., those who are miscarried or aborted. Jesus does put being born of water as one of the two conditions for entering the kingdom of God.

It can also be a danger to put a significance on the order in which something is placed in scripture. One obvious case would be that Peter's name is always listed first in the lists of the apostles. Would Candy say that this is significant?

This verse supports that baptism and being born in Spirit through belief in Jesus is linked. This is found throughout the entire New Testament.

The first thing that Jesus does after speaking with Nicodemus is to begin baptizing in 3:22.

Why would Jesus say in John 3 that we should be born and believe, when He says everywhere else that we should be baptized and believe? Clearly, when unless you take the verse out of context of other verses, you should conclude that by "born of water" Jesus meant baptism.

You really can't get more clear than 1 Peter 3:21, which states "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

All other religions require one to DO something - rituals, works, sacraments, penance, and acts of self-righteousness. Yet, for the Christian, Jesus paid it ALL. Through Christ's spilt blood, anyone can gain entrance into heaven.

While Catholicism remains unnamed, rituals, works, sacraments, and penance are all code words used by Candy to allude to Catholicism. However, Catholicism does not teach that we are saved by any of these aspects.

CCC #161: Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation. "Since "without faith it is impossible to please [God]" and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life 'But he who endures to the end.'"

#169: Salvation comes from God alone

#1741: Liberation and salvation. By his glorious Cross Christ has won salvation for all men. He redeemed them from the sin that held them in bondage. "For freedom Christ has set us free." In him we have communion with the "truth that makes us free." The Holy Spirit has been given to us and, as the Apostle teaches, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Already we glory in the "liberty of the children of God."

#620: Our salvation flows from God's initiative of love for us, because "he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10). "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor 5:19).

#1427 It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.

#2005 Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. However, according to the Lord's words "Thus you will know them by their fruits"- reflection on God's blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.


Accepting, believing, and fully trusting in Christ's free gift of salvation is how one becomes born again - born of the Spirit.

Accepting, believing, and trusting are all verbs, or as they call them in schools now, action words. Candy's religion requires her to DO something, too. It places the burden of salvation on your action of accepting Christ.

I ask again, what role does God's grace play in salvation for Candy?

This That and the Other Thing: Catholic Carnival 191: The Word of God in the Life and Misson of the Church

This That and the Other Thing: Catholic Carnival 191: The Word of God in the Life and Misson of the Church

Free Catholic Homemaking E-Book

Long time readers that we have been following the peaceful protest of boycotting Candy's e-Books on this blog because her Catholic bashing, lies, personal attacks and misinformation about the Catholic Church.

So I was delighted to find this resource for Catholic women- and it's absolutely FREE! It's called "Simplifying Your Domestic Church: A Catholic Family's Workbook On Organizing and Systemizing The Home", written by a young mother named Abby Sasscer.

It has 62 pages, blank forms, guiding questions and bible verses and quotes from the saints! A delightful book to use in part or print out the entire thing! Another wonderful resource for moms and homemakers and a welcome alternative!















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My reply to Ace.

 https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6294305829003010361&postID=7529233989923521261&page=1&isPopup=true


I have never yet met a Catholic who has been well versed in the Bible.

You have now! : )

That included the entire staff of my Highschool, the Church I was required to attend, the students at the school and much of my family. But that isn't the point.

I understand. Catechesis in this country over the past 40 years has been very negligent. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. On this we agree!

The point is that there is a movement of gossip and slander against Candy and no matter what you THINK of her, what you and others are DOING is sick, twisted and creepy.

Just for the record, I have refrained from gossiping about Candy. I simply correct her misinformation about Catholicism.

Speaking of creepy, it was my home that she published the Google shots of on her web site.

To dedicate everyday of your lives to it is sad and frankly it wouldn't matter WHAT religion you were, I would want no part of it because of the behavior of all of you.

Um... all of who? I barely blogged at all last week, let alone about Candy. I know all Candy detractors might look alike to you but I assure you, we come in a lot of different varieties.

Why do you care what one woman thinks of your religion?

I don't. I do however care about the misinformation and lies that she leads other people to believe from the propaganda she puts out on her blog. Candy boasts 2000 visits a day and she has won a HomeSchool Blog Award. I'd say her reach and influence in this part of the blogosphere makes it worth the effort to put out the correct information so that people can read both sides.


There are millions of sites out there bashing Christians, I never give them a thought. Why are you and they so obsessed?

Answered above. And I would hardly say obsessed. We have debunked most of what Candy has written and now when she goes into her 2nd or 3rd set or reruns we can simply point our readers to our previous blog posts.

This thread is done. I have read the "blogs" and the discussions because as a former journalist I always try to hear both sides,

Somehow I don't think you've visited or spent extensive time at our apologetics blog

www.mdcalexatestblog.com

Because if you had I think as a professional you would have to appreciate the effort and research that went into much of our work.

I was revolted that these Women were so debased to spend so much time trashing someone they don't even actually know. You all are no innocents and I want no part of it.

Fine with me. I don't write or comment on the other blogs. My primary interest has been getting out the correct information about what the Catholic church actually teaches.


This discussion is closed and IF any of you read the Bible, how foolish you are. It says we will answer for every deed we have done, every word we have said. Sad and sick is what I read and saw. Get a life!

Why do I have the feeling you are no longer addressing me as an individual but ranting at everyone who has a bone to pick with Candy in general?

I am praying for all of you. Like it or believe it or not.

Many Blessings :)
Ace

That's cool too. I can always use more prayer, particularly during this time of year.

Your sister in Christ,

Elena

Uplifting Words from the Lord

As I read Candy's words today at www.keepingthehome.com: Uplifting Words from the Lord I easily applied them to the work that we have done here at Visits to Candyland.


This post is dedicated to those wonderful bloggers out there that stand for God's Word and for Jesus Christ and the Truth. When you do such, you will be under the attack of the enemy. ("Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" -1 Peter 5:8)

This is very true. In fact I have been personally attacked on this blog with my personal information being revealed by Candy herself on KTH!

But I would also say that blog READERS who stand for God's Word and for Jesus Christ and Truth will also be attacked by the enemy. They will be attacked in com boxes, or they will be silenced and censored.




One of the enemy's attacks is to launch out forces of talebearers (gossipers). Many of us are used to that attack now, and refuse to visit such froward, talebearing websites. However, for those who are new to the attacks, I'd like to share with you some words that the Lord has shared with me.

And some of us are use to the attacks and have continued to stand up to them anyway. This blog is an example of not backing down in the face of persecution from Candy and others who felt that we should never question or challenge the lies that Candy has told about our faith or about us personally. This birth was born from the deliberate lies Candy told about me personally. We have persevered.


Here is what the Bible tells you to think:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." -Philippians 4:8

Don't visit froward gossipping websites. Don't watch froward TV shows. Don't surround yourself with frowardness. Surround yourself with as many things godly as you can, and think upon the things of God.

Candy is clearly not pleased with the other sites that are calling her on some of her misrepresentations. I on the other hand, am happy to see the balance, and especially the support from other Christians for us Catholics. Christendom is not as Candy has presented it, with her theology and views as true and central and the rest of Christianity revolving around it! In fact I think our blog and the others have helped to put the information out there that the Gospel according to Candy is just that - her view. It is not the shared view of the majority of Christians world wide. It is just peculiar to her small part of it.


Here are some scriptures the Lord has shown me. I pray they will be a help and blessing to you:
23 The Lord detests double standards;
he is not pleased by dishonest scales.
"A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter" -Proverbs 11:13

Christians are called to rise above gossip, and not to partake in it.

Other translations refer to keeping a confidence. But I submit that on this blog we did not break any confidences. In fact we mainly focused on trying to correct misinformation and some downright lies. I would also say that the impression given by Candy about me on her blog was that I was a mean spirited evil stalker. She has lied about me and misrepresented things that I have said many times.

Candy might do well to take a look down at verse 16: "A gracious woman gains respect."
23 The Lord detests double standards;
he is not pleased by dishonest scales.
"He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips." -Proverbs 20:19

The proverbs also say:
23 The Lord detests double standards;
he is not pleased by dishonest scales.

Candy is crying the victim here when she has been the perpetrator. It is only just that other blogs have popped up to expose this.



Don't talebear - don't gossip. We know the Golden Rule. We know that we wouldn't want to be lied about, slandered, picked on, or gossipped about, so we should not do so to others.

Bingo Candy! So stop lying about other people's faith and misrepresenting their e-mails or changing their comments or their links!! (It might be nice if you refrained from putting the Google maps of their homes up on your site as well! Getting the screen shots out of your Photobucket might be a good idea too!)Don't be so mean and hurtful.

Here is a Psalm that the Lord gave to me this morning, for all those bloggers who boldly proclaim the Word of God and fall under the attacks of gossipers:

"Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" -Psalm 56

Every line of that I could apply to the bloggers here and the many readers who have solace here and at the other Candyland blogs. In fact, it is appropriate enough for me to put in OUR side bar. We will not let Candy and her lies oppress us.










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www.keepingthehome.com: Pay Attention!

If you read Candy's latest about being in the fog, and then read the suggested article by Spurgeonwhich if course is anti-Catholic, you might be interested in this comment Candy made in her com boxes:

The point here, is that our books are getting to (sic)watered down - when maybe they should be brought back up that of the quality of Spurgeon.

This from the woman who reads Jack Chick tracts which are basically - comic books!

Come out of the fog? You first Candy!

Pantagraph.com | News | Men becoming priests at mid-life

Pantagraph.com | News | Men becoming priests at mid-life







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Another Catholic Study Bible

Well, it isn't exactly a study Bible, but a comparative Bible. Rich Leonardi from Ten Reasons gives a review:

We recently purchased The Catholic Comparative New Testament, a book containing comparative translations from eight Bibles: Douay-Rheims Bible, Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, and New Jerusalem Bible. It's a useful resource, allowing readers to examine the handiwork of translators in a side-by-side format.

I'd like to have a comparative Bible with the King James Version, Revised Standard Version, and New International Version. The RSV is the one I use most often personally, but people I speak with online often use the KJV, and in real life, the NIV. It would be nice to have them all on the same page for reference, instead of dragging them all out.

I listed some Catholic study Bibles in this previous post.

Apologies to anyone hoping to see the yearbook Kelly. My real yearbook pictures are embarrassing enough, I'm not going to get a new collection of embarrassing photos!

The Spanish Armada

I guess if Candy thought she would kill us by overburdening us with constant rebuttals, she has since changed her modus operandi and is attempting to end this blog with boredom. Same old arguments, same lack of research, same ad hominem attacks.

So once in a while to spice things up, I guess it is nice that she refers to her revisionist view of history - because we haven't touched on that as much on this blog. Her latest Catholic slam was on her post regarding Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican VP candidate. I missed it the first time I perused the post, but as a masterful Catholic basher, she wriggled it in there!

When the Roman Catholic Spanish armada was on it's way over to England, to kill the Protestants and take over England, things looked bleak. It was impossible for England to win, but they did win! GOD intervened, and created a wind that led to the destruction of the Spanish ships, and England was saved.

The not so subtle message being that God used a woman, Queen Elizabeth I, to defeat the evil Catholics and send them back to Spain. And undoubtedly many of Candy's readers who look to her as their own magisterium, will believe that was all there was to it.

But wars of that scale aren't usually that simplistic. For the serious history student, here are some more...shall we say, complete histories of the Spanish Armada and the English victory over Spain.

U.S. history.com
Elizabethan Era.
History Buff.com
Catholic Encyclopedia.

More on Jesuits and the KJV

Susan from Sinner Saved By God left a great comment on my Jesuit post. I'm thought everyone should be able to see the info, so I'm pasting it below. Thanks Susan, for sharing your research!

-----
I'd like to know how the Jesuits infiltrated the AV translation team and why they didn't do a better job of "corrupting" it.

Apparently the Jesuits were blamed for the Gunpowder Plot so I don't imagine James would have had much liking for them so would have been unlikely to include them in the team. (Incidentally, I was taught at school that the Catholics were driven to the Gunpowder Plot by terrible persecution.)

According to this anti-Catholic site, "William Tyndale translated Erasmus's Greek Text into English. To counter this version, the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church sponsored the 1582 Rheims-Douay version, based on the Vulgate, in order to push Catholic control of the British Isles. In spite of the Spanish Armada and infiltrating Jesuits, English Protestantism stood firm against the wiles of Rome. A more readable English translation appeared in 1611, at the behest of King James. It has been called the most beautiful piece of literature in any language, and for 300 years served as a bulwark against the papacy."

And according to this rather bizarre site, "From the year 1611 the Catholic Jesuits have changed Gods words so that it does not have the same meaning and they have created hundreds of bibles based on Gods words but they are no longer Gods words when they are changed as they are being created to lead people to the Catholic religion which is not a religion but a synagogue of Satan" and "I read only from the Authorized King James Bible 1611 for this reason I have lived what he talks about I have had Catholic after Catholic put into my life and all were grooming me to take part in this war.

If the King James bible has been replaced in your Church by any other but especially the New International Version you very likely have a Jesuit priest and they come in all shapes and sizes but they will eventually lead all back to their Catholic Church ."

After a lot of searching I also managed to find this which claims the following:
"Catholic plants, stationed in the English court leaked news that King James intended to authorize an English Bible based on the inspired manuscript (Textus Receptus). The news electrified the Vatican. Jesuits, skilled in languages, were immediately ordered to join the Anglican church. Certain advisors trusted by King James were deep catholic agents. Puritans suspected that some of these men chosen to assist them were not of God. They complained to King James, but he overrode their objections. The plot was to secretly switch the text containing God’s Word and replace it with their Roman Catholic (Vaticanus) Alexandrian manuscript. God stopped these undercover Jesuits from destroying the Word by having guards posted at their tables to watch their every move. Then they moved to place the Apocrypha into the Old Testament. Their last mission; which was to place the Apocrypha between the Old and New Testaments was temporarily accomplished, until the plot was discovered. The Jesuits believed that once the apocrypha was between the covers of the Protestant Bible, that the Protestants would finally accept it as holy writ, and then turn back to the Vatican as their final authority.

After the King James Bible was printed, the Jesuits swore to destroy the Protestant translators who opposed them. They systematically eliminated both them and their families. Later, two Jesuits were soundly converted and they informed the puritans of the conspiracy against the Protestant movement and the Word of God."

This also begs the question why don't we have the names of these so-called Jesuit infiltrators?

An interesting poll.

Taking advantage of the lull between Candy's viscous attacks on the faith to look at this item of interest. Over at CIL we are featured prominently in their latest blog post entitled. The evil Catholics.

The blogger makes the interesting point in the post that if you just read Candy and her supporters, everyone "out to get her" is Catholic. However, as of this morning 48% of detractors participating in the poll are Born Again Christian. Things that make you go hmmmm?

The blogger points out that Candy and co. rarely make an attempt to educate themselves on Catholicism but that doesn't stop them from blogging about it and criticizing it, something we at VTC have complained about for a long time.







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Apocrypha--Not a Jesuit plot

From today's comments:

Jesuits infiltrated the translation team of King James. The KJV translators didn't want to include the apocrypha but the infiltration was causing trouble.

Thus, the translators put the apocrypha BETWEEN the Testaments, and labeled every single page as "apocrypha," so that people would see that that was extra stuff, and not part of the Bible.

These days, many Bibles have dictionary and notes in them. These are not parts of the Bible, but are apocryphal - the words of man, not part of the Bible.

Later printings of the KJV rightly had the apocrypha removed.

First, the proper name for these books are the deuterocanonical books, because apocrypha is a larger term. They are placed between the testaments because that is where they occur chronologically. They were written in the time between the close of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus. Jesus actually quoted from the deuterocanonical books.

Candy implies that only the 1611 King James Version included the deuterocanonical books, but they were included in all Bibles until 1826, when one Bible Society decided not to include them, and the practice spread from there.

Candy has a link to the preface to the KJV on her webpage. The translators not only quote from the Fathers of the Church frequently, but defend the Septuagint:

The translation of the Seventy dissenteth from the Original in many places, neither doth it come near it, for perspicuity, gravity, majesty; yet which of the Apostles did condemn it? Condemn it? Nay, they used it, (as it is apparent, and as Saint Jerome and most learned men confess) which they would not have done, nor by their example of using it, so grace and commend it to the Church, if it had been unworthy the appellation and name of the word of God.

I find it difficult to believe that the translators respected the Church Fathers, defended the Septuagint, yet rejected the deuterocanonical books and only included them because they were forced to do so.

She also seems to define apocryphal as "extra" here, where previously, she defines it as "false." Does she feel that the dictionary and notes are false, or has she finally admitted that her prior claim was false?

You can read our previous entry about the deuterocanonical books in The Catholic Bible.

You can also read an article at Envoy magazine called "5 Myths About 7 Books."

Sharing our religious education plans this year.

This year the Catholic church is commemorating the life and ministry of St. Paul!  So I decided that my homeschool students will be concentrating on the life of St. Paul and the early church this year.  This lends itself to so much in the way of history and particularly geography!  St. Paul took three big missionary trips and I think by the end of this year, my children will be very familiar with the area around the Mediterranean Sea.

We will also be studying the early church from Acts of the Apostles. 

We will be using The First Christians: The Acts of the Apostles for Children and Saint Paul the Apostle: The Story of the Apostle to the Gentiles

Of course we will be looking up scriptures in our regular bibles as well as our picture bibles.

By the end of the year, when they hear a letter from St. Paul at mass (to the Corinthians, or to the Romans etc.) I am hoping that they will be able to picture the place in their minds and be able to recall some of St. Paul's adventures and writings from each place.