The Vatican II document Nostre Aetate states neither what recent Popes nor today’s Jews often claim it does.

by Doug Lawrence

Reading this, try to keep in mind that the Tribe of Judah (a.k.a. “The Jews”) comes from the stock of Abraham – the Father of Our Faith – and not the other way around!

The segment of the Vatican II document Nostre Aetate specifically dealing with the relationship of the Catholic Church to the Jews: 

4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.

Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham’s sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch’s call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people’s exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)

The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: “theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:4-5)*, the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church’s main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ’s Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people. *(This passage was badly misinterpreted in the original 1994 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and was, after some controversy, later corrected by the U.S. Catholic bishops, in a secret ballot.)

As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and “serve him shoulder to shoulder” (Soph. 3:9).(12)

Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.

True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.

Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.

Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church’s preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God’s all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.

5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man’s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: “He who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8).

No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.

The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to “maintain good fellowship among the nations” (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15)

Read the entire document

A Few Scriptural highlights:

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren… (Matthew 1:1-2)

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living… (Matthew 22:32)

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever… (Luke 1:55)

Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy [promised] to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham… (Luke 1:68-73)

Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am… (John 8:53-58)

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let [him] go… (Acts 3:13)

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed… (Acts 3:25)

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so [Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac [begat] Jacob; and Jacob [begat] the twelve patriarchs… (Acts 7:8)

Men [and] brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent… (Acts 13:26)

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness… (Romans 4:1-5)

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law [be] heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, [there is] no transgression. Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all… (Romans 4:13-16)

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to [the image of] Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace… (Romans 11:1-5)

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though [it be] but a man’s covenant, yet [if it be] confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance [be] of the law, [it is] no more of promise: but God gave [it] to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not [a mediator] of one, but God is one. [Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye [be] Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise… (Galatians 3:6-29)

Editor’s note: Despite all the flowery prose, along with certain modernist errors and omissions contained in the Nostre Aetate document, there exists a world of difference (as well as the practical hope of eternal salvation) between a Jewish person who is merely a naturally born child of God, still steeped in Original Sin, not yet redeemed from eternal slavery to Satan, sin and death – and a faithful, baptized Catholic Christian who is a living Temple of the Holy Spirit, a member of the Church, an adopted child of God, a Citizen of Heaven and co-heir with Jesus Christ to all the promises of God.

The purpose of genuine Evangelization is to reach out in love to all the unbaptized, without exception, and to freely offer them God’s wonderful gift of salvation and grace, according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to falsely patronize and mislead them!

The rational logic of Nostre Aetate must also work both ways: Just as  what happened at Christ’s passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor (exclusively) against the Jews of today – neither can the horrors of the Holocaust be charged against all non-Jews, without  distinction, then alive, nor against non-Jews (especially Catholics) of today.

The simple fact remains that there is no basis for unjust discrimination against the Jewish people, or against any individual Jewish person. Our Christian faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbor, with very few exceptions.

There is however, a tremendous distinction between the beliefs and practices of various forms of modern Judaism, loosely defined as Jewish Naturalism, and the authentic beliefs and practices of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ – differences so great as to be irreconcilable by anyone other than God, himself. 

Due largely in part to their continued denial and rejection of Jesus Christ as God, Messiah and Savior and their emphasis instead, on justification under the Law (attempting to keep the Ten Commandments and all the other ordinances and statutes of the old, Mosaic Law) today’s Jews have much in common with the Muslims, as Muslim Sharia Law is essentially nothing more than a regional/national variation of the old, Mosaic Law – which never has been capable of saving a soul.

For, if that were the case, there would have been no need for Jesus Christ, our Holy Redeemer, to take on flesh, live, suffer, die and rise again, as our propitiation for sin, according to the will of God the Father.

Contrary to the novelties of the last fifty-sixty years, these very substantial differences in beliefs are  not something we Catholics would want to gloss over, condone, or celebrate – although friends may be able to agree to disagree on such matters.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

The Vatican II document Nostre Aetate states neither what recent Popes nor today’s Jews often claim it does.

by Doug Lawrence

Reading this, try to keep in mind that the Tribe of Judah (a.k.a. “The Jews”) comes from the stock of Abraham – the Father of Our Faith – and not the other way around!

The segment of the Vatican II document Nostre Aetate specifically dealing with the relationship of the Catholic Church to the Jews: 

4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.

Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham’s sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch’s call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people’s exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)

The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: “theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:4-5)*, the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church’s main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ’s Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people. *(This passage was badly misinterpreted in the original 1994 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and was, after some controversy, later corrected by the U.S. Catholic bishops, in a secret ballot.)

As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and “serve him shoulder to shoulder” (Soph. 3:9).(12)

Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.

True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.

Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.

Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church’s preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God’s all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.

5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man’s relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: “He who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8).

No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.

The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to “maintain good fellowship among the nations” (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15)

Read the entire document

A Few Scriptural highlights:

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren… (Matthew 1:1-2)

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living… (Matthew 22:32)

As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever… (Luke 1:55)

Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy [promised] to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham… (Luke 1:68-73)

Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am… (John 8:53-58)

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let [him] go… (Acts 3:13)

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed… (Acts 3:25)

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so [Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac [begat] Jacob; and Jacob [begat] the twelve patriarchs… (Acts 7:8)

Men [and] brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent… (Acts 13:26)

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness… (Romans 4:1-5)

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law [be] heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, [there is] no transgression. Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all… (Romans 4:13-16)

I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to [the image of] Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace… (Romans 11:1-5)

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though [it be] but a man’s covenant, yet [if it be] confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance [be] of the law, [it is] no more of promise: but God gave [it] to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not [a mediator] of one, but God is one. [Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye [be] Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise… (Galatians 3:6-29)

Editor’s note: Despite all the flowery prose, along with certain modernist errors and omissions contained in the Nostre Aetate document, there exists a world of difference (as well as the practical hope of eternal salvation) between a Jewish person who is merely a naturally born child of God, still steeped in Original Sin, not yet redeemed from eternal slavery to Satan, sin and death – and a faithful, baptized Catholic Christian who is a living Temple of the Holy Spirit, a member of the Church, an adopted child of God, a Citizen of Heaven and co-heir with Jesus Christ to all the gratuitous promises of God.

The purpose of genuine Evangelization is to reach out in love to all the unbaptized, without exception, and to freely offer them God’s wonderful gift of salvation and grace, according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to falsely patronize and mislead them!

The rational logic of Nostre Aetate must also work both ways: Just as  what happened at Christ’s passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor (exclusively) against the Jews of today – neither can the horrors of the Holocaust be charged against all non-Jews, without  distinction, then alive, nor against non-Jews (especially Catholics) of today.

The simple fact remains that there is no basis for unjust discrimination against the Jewish people, or against any individual Jewish person. Our Christian faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbor, with very few exceptions.

There is however, a tremendous distinction between the beliefs and practices of various forms of modern Judaism, loosely defined as Jewish Naturalism, and the authentic beliefs and practices of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ – differences so great as to be irreconcilable by anyone other than God, himself. 

Due largely in part to their continued denial and rejection of Jesus Christ as God, Messiah and Savior and their emphasis instead, on justification under the Law (attempting to keep the Ten Commandments and all the other ordinances and statutes of the old, Mosaic Law) today’s Jews have much in common with the Muslims, as Muslim Sharia Law is essentially nothing more than a regional/national variation of the old, Mosaic Law – which never has been capable of saving a soul. For if that were the case, there would have been no need for Jesus Christ, our Holy Redeemer, to take on flesh, live, suffer, die and rise again, as our propitiation for sin, according to the will of God the Father.

Contrary to the novelties of the last fifty years, these very substantial differences in beliefs are  not something we Catholics would want to gloss over, condone, or celebrate – although friends may be able to agree to disagree on such matters.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

Rabbi wants to build understanding between Catholics and Jews based solely on his own flawed interpretation of Vatican II document.

2nd Vatican Council

by Doug Lawrence

Rabbi Howard Hirsch cited several accomplishments of the Vatican II Council, including the recognition that Jews are bound by an unbreakable covenant with God, a powerful deference to the Jewish religion and repudiation of any past Christian efforts to convert them.

Link

Editor’s note: Read the linked article and make careful note of the rabbi’s claims. Then, read the actual text of Nostra Aetate … the official Vatican II Catholic Church document to which he refers (pertinent sections of which are included below.)

In Nostra Aetate, you will NOT find any specific language making Judaism salvifically equivalent to Catholicism. Nor will you find any justification or rationale for what the Rabbi calls “powerful deference”… other than the dignity and respect due to peaceful people, everywhere.

You will NOT find any language that repeals the “Great Commission” of Jesus Christ, which calls on Christians to teach and baptize ALL NATIONS (including Jews) in the name of Jesus Christ … and you will NOT find any language claiming that any of the old covenants are equivalent to the New and Saving Covenant in Christ’s blood, which holds out the ONLY hope of salvation … primarily to faithfully baptized Christians.

As for “exonerating the Jews” … to the contrary … Nostra Aetate properly implicated ALL of sinful mankind, including Christians, Jews, Muslims and Pagans in the death of Jesus Christ, since it was the collective sins of all mankind that made Christ’s sacrifice necessary.

Rabbi Hirsch is a scholar. He knows the truth. Yet through his deliberate misinterpretation of an important, official document of the Catholic Church, he acts much more like crooked politician! Many liberal Catholic bishops have been complicit in this great falsehood, as well.

Read the pertinent sections of Nostra Aetate below. Then look up and study the various biblical citations, comparing them with the official text:

*****

4. Sounding the depths of the mystery which is the church, this sacred council remembers the spiritual ties which link the people of the new covenant to the stock of Abraham.

The church of Christ acknowledges that in God’s plan of salvation the beginnings of its faith and election are to be found in the patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. It professes that all Christ’s faithful, who as people of faith are daughters and sons of Abraham (see Gal 3:7), are included in the same patriarch’s call and that the salvation of the church is mystically prefigured in the exodus of God’s chosen people from the land of bondage. On this account the church cannot forget that it received the revelation of the Old Testament by way of that people with whom God in his inexpressible mercy established the ancient covenant. Nor can it forget that it draws nourishment from that good olive tree onto which the wild olive branches of the Gentiles have been grafted (see Rom 11:17-24). The church believes that Christ who is our peace has through his cross reconciled Jews and Gentiles and made them one in himself (see Eph 2:14,16).

Likewise, the church keeps ever before its mind the words of the apostle Paul about his kin: “they are Israelites and it is for them to be sons and daughters, to them belong the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race according to the flesh, is the Christ” (Rom 9:4,5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. It is mindful, moreover, that the apostles, the pillars on which the church stands, are of Jewish descent, as are many of those early disciples who proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to the world.

As holy scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize God’s moment when it came (see Lk19:42). Jews for the most part did not accept the Gospel; on the contrary, many opposed its spread (see Rom 11:28). Even so, the apostle Paul maintains that the Jews remain very dear to God, for the sake of the patriarchs, since God does not take back the gifts he bestowed or the choice he made. *(Not exactly! See note below.)

Together with the prophets and that same apostle, the church awaits the day, known to God alone, when all peoples will call on God with one voice and serve him shoulder to shoulder (Soph 3:9; see Is 66:23; Ps 65:4; Rom 11:11-32).

Since Christians and Jews have such a common spiritual heritage, this sacred council wishes to encourage and further mutual understanding and appreciation. This can be achieved, especially, by way of biblical and theological enquiry and through friendly discussions.

Even though the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ (see Jn 19:6), neither all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his passion. It is true that the church is the new people of God, yet the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy scripture. Consequently, all must take care, lest in catechizing or in preaching the word of God, they teach anything which is not in accord with the truth of the Gospel message or the spirit of Christ.

Indeed, the church reproves every form of persecution against whomsoever it may be directed. Remembering, then, it’s common heritage with the Jews and moved not by any political consideration, but solely by the religious motivation of Christian charity, it deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti-semitism directed against the Jews at any time or from any source. The church always held and continues to hold that Christ out of infinite love freely underwent suffering and death because of the sins of all, so that all might attain salvation. It is the duty of the church, therefore, in it’s preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God’s universal love and the source of all grace.

5. We cannot truly pray to God the Father of all if we treat any people as other than sisters and brothers, for all are created in God’s image. People’s relation to God the Father and their relation to other women and men are so dependent on each other that the Scripture says “they who do not love, do not know God” (1 Jn 4:8). There is no basis therefore, either in theory or in practice for any discrimination between individual and individual, or between people and people arising either from human dignity or from the rights which flow from it.

Therefore, the church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against people or any harassment of them on the basis of their race, color, condition in life or religion.

Accordingly, following the footsteps of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, the sacred council earnestly begs the Christian faithful to “conduct themselves well among the Gentiles” (1 Pet2:12} and if possible, as far as depends on them, to be at peace with all people (see Rom12:18) and in that way to be true daughters and sons of the Father who is in heaven (see Mt5:45).

*****

*Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them. (Matthew 21:43-45)

In the above passage, it’s absolutely clear that Jesus was speaking to the Jewish hierarchy. In the passage below, it’s equally clear that St. Peter is explaining precisely who that holy and fruitful successor nation would be … the Catholic Church!

But you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Who in times past were not a people: but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy: but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

It’s high time Catholics wised up … and it’s also high time our Jewish brethren quit “spinning” Church documents to suit their own ends!

Shame on you, Rabbi Hirsch!

Popular Jewish Misconception: Vatican II affirmed the validity of God’s ongoing covenant with the Jewish people. (Nope!)

From a recent Jewish News Service (JTA) op-ed piece:

While in New York, Cardinal Koch will meet with, among others, the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, or IJCIC. This coalition of Jewish organizations, recognized by the Vatican as the official consultative Jewish body for the advancement of Catholic-Jewish relations, was created in the aftermath of Nostra Aetate.

That document of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II, 1962-1965) changed the course of Catholic-Jewish history with its revolutionary statements rejecting the deicide charge against the Jews, decrying anti-Semitism and affirming the validity of God’s ongoing covenant with the Jewish people. In the post-Shoah era, the Church had begun to come to terms with its role in facilitating anti-Jewish animus that created a climate receptive to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Link

Jesus saith to them: Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? By the Lord this has been done; and it is wonderful in our eyes. Therefore I say to you that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation yielding the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they knew that he spoke of them.
(Matthew 21:42-45)

Wherefore it is said in the scripture: Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious. And he that shall believe in him shall not be confounded. To you therefore that believe, he is honour: but to them that believe not, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner: And a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal, to them who stumble at the word, neither do believe, whereunto also they are set. But you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Who in times past were not a people: but are now the people of God. Who had not obtained mercy: but now have obtained mercy.
(1 Peter 2:6-10)

Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee.
(Revelation 3:9)

Council of Trent, Canon 1: “If anyone shall say that man can be justified before God by his own works which are done through his own natural powers, or through the teaching of the Law…let him be anathema.”

Council of Florence, DS 695: “There are seven sacraments of the new Law: namely, baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony, which differ a great deal from the sacraments of the Old Law. For those of the Old Law did not effect grace, but only pronounced that it should be given through the passion of Christ; these sacraments of ours contain grace, and confer it upon those who receive them worthily.”

Council of Florence, DS 712: “It firmly believes, professes, and teaches that the matter pertaining to the law of the Old Testament, of the Mosiac law, which are divided into ceremonies, sacred rites, sacrifices, and sacraments, because they were established to signify something in the future, although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after our Lord’s coming had been signified by them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began; and that whoever, even after the passion, placed hope in these matters of the law and submitted himself to them as necessary for salvation, as if faith in Christ could not save without them, sinned mortally.”

“All, therefore, who after that time observe circumcision and the Sabbath and the other requirements of the law, it declares alien to the Christian faith and not in the least fit to participate in eternal salvation, unless someday they recover from these errors. Therefore, it commands all who glory in the name of Christian, at whatever time, before or after baptism’ to cease entirely from circumcision, since, whether or not one places hope in it, it cannot be observed at all without the loss of eternal salvation.”

Pope Benedict XIV, Ex Quo Primum, #59: “However they are not attempting to observe the precepts of the old Law, which as everyone knows have been revoked by the coming of Christ.”

Pope Benedict XIV, Ex Quo Primum, #61: “The first consideration is that the ceremonies of the Mosaic law were abrogated by the coming of Christ and they can no longer be observed without sin after the promulgation of the Gospel.”

Pius VI, DS 1519-1520 (condemned the following): “Likewise, the doctrine which adds that under the Law man ‘became a prevaricator, since he was powerless to observe it, not indeed by the fault of the Law, which was most sacred, but by the guilt of man, who, under the Law, without grace, became more and more a prevaricator’; and it further adds, ‘that the Law, if it did not heal the heart of man, brought it about that he would recognize his evil, and, being convinced of his weakness, would desire the grace of a mediator’; in this part it generally intimates that man became a prevaricator through the nonobservance of the Law which he was powerless to observe, as if ‘He who is just could command something impossible, or He who is pious would be likely to condemn man for that which he could not avoid’ (from St. Caesarius Serm. 73, in append., St. Augustine, Serm. 273, edit. Maurin; from St. August., De nat, et “rat., e. 43; De “rat. et lib. arb., e. 16, Enarr. in psalm. 56, n. I),– false scandalous, impious, condemned in Baius (see n. 1504).

1520 20. “In that part in which it is to be understood that man, while under the Law and without grace, could conceive a desire for the grace of a Mediator related to the salvation promised through Christ, as if ‘grace itself does not effect that He be invoked by us’ (from Conc. Araus. II, can. 3 [v.n. 176]),– the proposition as it stands, deceitful, suspect, favorable to the Semipelagian heresy.

More…

And more…

Sungenis to USCCB: The God of Judaism is not the God of Christianity.

The USCCB is trying to give the impression that since Jesus obeyed the Torah and was circumcised, then those Jewish beliefs can be practiced by Jews after Jesus, and especially because Jesus did not abrogate the Torah. This is a clever argument, but it won’t work.

Jesus lived the prescriptions of the Torah and did not abrogate them because Jesus lived on the Old Testament side of the Cross, and as such, he was required to obey all its precepts and not do away with them (unless, of course, Jesus reminded the Jews of a higher law of God that came before the Mosaic law, such as Jesus’ treatment of the Mosaic divorce law in Matthew 19:1‐9).

But after Jesus died and rose again, the Old Covenant he lived under was indeed abrogated and replaced by the New Covenant.

That fact is precisely why the veil of the Temple was miraculously torn in two the moment Jesus died. It signified the legal end of the Jewish religion. Jews may have continued to practice their religion after the Cross, but it had no legal or covenantal standing with God.

Read the article (PDF)

USCCB Original Text

Pro-Israel writers almost get it right … but leave mistaken impression about Judaism that isn’t quite Kosher.

…the relationship between the Jewish people and God is one that commonly elicits strong (and divergent) reactions. But what does the Church have to say about this relationship? In particular, are the Jewish people still “chosen,” maintaining a special relationship with God? And, if so, does this therefore mean that they are already in a salvific covenant with him such that they have no need of Christ and his Church?

Read the article

Editor’s note:

First of all, today’s Jews (and Judaism) have no central governing authority, and no comprehensive, systematic, universal  theology, doctrine, or creed. Most cannot even agree on which portions of sacred scripture they choose to affirm … or deny.

This means that, Chosen People or not … many, many Jews are on the wrong side of things when it comes to routine matters of natural law and the Christian faith in general, and that means they are almost totally at odds with the authentic teachings and principles of Catholicism.

It also means that Jews no longer fit the conventional (and erroneous) stereotype that many Christians have in mind … and they haven’t, for almost 2000 years.

In short, Catholics must be very careful when it comes to routinely supporting those who they perceive to be “the Jews” … and/or Israel … since proper identification of the “Chosen People” is (and always has been) very problematic.

Revelation 2:9  I know thy tribulation and thy poverty: but thou art rich. And thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

The key point is that today’s authentic People of God … those “marked for salvation” and presently living under a truly salvific covenant, thanks to Jesus Christ … are Christians. Not the “Chosen People” of Israel.

The most sensitive and practical thing a Christian can do for any non-Christian is to try to clearly make that point, in a respectful, loving, and non-discriminating way.

Unfortunately, many liberal, “Jews don’t need to be evangelized” post-Vatican II Catholic church hierarchs have failed to properly preach and teach this essential truth, to the continuing detriment of Jew and Gentile, alike.

Click here for a more detailed and scholarly response (PDF file)

Southern Baptists issue document on holy matrimony and divorce that comes very close to being Catholic.

On The Scandal Of Southern Baptist Divorce
June 2010

WHEREAS, The Bible reveals that marriage is a gospel mystery, pointing to Christ’s union with His church (Ephesians 5:22-32); and

WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that marriage was established by God “in the beginning” to be a permanent one-flesh union (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:1-9); and

WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus commands us that what “God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9); and

WHEREAS, The biblical story shows us that one of the lamentable aspects of sin is the destruction of marriages and families, a destruction seen from the Fall until this present darkness; and

WHEREAS, The rampant divorce rate in our culture has come with great social and economic cost, with women and children suffering disproportionately in ways that are incalculable; and

WHEREAS, We have affirmed in our confession of faith our belief in the sanctity and permanence of marriage; and

WHEREAS, Some studies have indicated that conservative Protestants in the United States of America are divorcing at the same rate, if not at higher rates, than the general population; and

WHEREAS, Some studies also indicate that areas where Southern Baptist churches predominate in number often have higher divorce rates than areas we would define as “unchurched” and in need of evangelical witness; and

WHEREAS, Even the most expansive view of the biblical exceptions allowing for divorce and remarriage would rule out many, if not most, of the divorces in our churches; and

WHEREAS, The acceleration in rates of divorce in Southern Baptist churches has not come through a shift in theological conviction about scriptural teaching on divorce but rather through cultural accommodation; and

WHEREAS, We have been prophetic in confronting assaults in the outside culture on God’s design for marriage while rarely speaking with the same alarm and force to a scandal that has become all too commonplace in our own churches; and

WHEREAS, We do not serve those who are hurting from divorce by speaking to them only in therapeutic terms rather than in terms of both repentance and forgiveness; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 15-16, 2010, acknowledge the complicity of many among us for too often failing to show the world the meaning of the gospel through marital fidelity; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we express our conviction that a denomination defined theologically by our belief in the authority and inerrancy of Holy Scripture ought to proclaim the whole counsel of God, especially when the Bible confronts our own patterns of sin; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we express our further conviction that a denomination defined missiologically ought to recognize how damaging Southern Baptist accommodation to the divorce culture is to our global witness for Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we express our further conviction that a denomination seeking God’s blessing in revival and reformation ought to address the spiritual wreckage left in our Southern Baptist churches by our own divorce rates and our silence about the same; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to proclaim the Word of God on the permanence of marriage, and to provide ongoing marriage enrichment opportunities, in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s abhorrence of divorce; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to unite in marriage only those who are biblically qualified to be married to one another and who demonstrate an understanding of the meaning of lifelong love and fidelity; and be it further

Editor’s note: (This is indirect language that would seem to prohibit homosexual unions, and other, similar types of abominations.)

RESOLVED, That we call on our churches in our wedding services to maintain the gravity of the vows being undertaken, not simply as a token of a couple’s romance but as a covenant before God, until death do them part; and be it further

Editor’s note: (Baptists do not accept holy matrimony as a sacrament. They see it only as a covenant. As a result, the Baptist view of matrimony is fundamentally weakened by a lack of sanctifying grace, and by primary reliance on human means to preserve the “mystery” of the marital union.

Good Catholics know that holy matrimony is one of the seven sacraments, instituted by Jesus Christ, to give grace … and that grace is often sorely needed in most marriages … especially when things get tough!)

RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to minister to couples and families in crisis through counseling, mentorship, and, where necessary, through biblical church discipline; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to proclaim God’s mercy and grace to all people—including those who have been divorced without biblical grounds—due to the truth that the blood of Jesus can atone for any sin and can cleanse any conscience; and be it further

Editor’s note: (Baptists appear to believe that the sin of adultery can somehow be totally forgiven, even as it continues over time, simply by a one-time invocation of the “blood of Jesus”.

Catholics understand that a valid marriage may never be annulled or denied for any reason, and that remarriage after a divorce … absent a valid annulment … leaves the remarried couple in a continuing state of permanent adultery, which is a grave sin … a situation which cannot be properly remedied without fully addressing the underlying behavior.

In all cases, the application of “the blood of Jesus” requires the sinner to be truly sorry for the sin, to repent, to “go and sin no more” …  just as Jesus said to the adulterous woman.

On this point in particular, The Catholic position is certainly more severe, yet much more Biblically accurate and correct, than the exceptionally weak, watered-down, liberal and modernist, Baptist position, stated above.)

RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to have special compassion for and energetic ministry to those who have been left in the wake of family brokenness; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge all Southern Baptists in troubled or faltering marriages to seek godly assistance and, where possible, reconciliation; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we pray that the true peace of our Lord Jesus Christ will reign in us such that the next generation will see the gospel not only in the counter-cultural nature of our verbal witness but also in the counter-cultural love and fidelity of our marriages.

Link

About Catholic Marriage Annulments

“Sanctifying grace makes a couple’s souls beautiful in the eyes of God. Sacramental grace helps a couple to live their vows. A Catholic marriage is not just a legal contract. It is a covenant, between you, your spouse and God.”

How to Have a Grace-Filled Marriage

Catholic scholar corrects errors of alleged “Jewish Catholic” group using authentic Catholic teachings

There’s enough misinformation and heresy going around about Israel and the Jews to fill an entire encyclopedia (or two).

There’s no shortage of evangelical Christian groups who support the the nation of Israel, even over other Christians (and especially, Catholics).

There’s a seemingly huge number of prominent Catholics and other Christians who erroneously think that the Jews enjoy a separate, saving covenant with God. (They don’t.)

There are many, many people of various faiths who think that the modern day state of Israel (purely due to a divine mandate) still holds title to the Holy Land, and that the Catholic Church supports that claim. (Neither is true.)

Perhaps you think that all of this has gone on for way too long, and is no longer of any interest to you. If so, skip it.

If not, take some time to read the following document by theologian and scholar, Robert Sungenis. It’s in an easy to follow Q&A format … it covers a number of very important topics … and it just may open up your eyes to the (authentically Catholic) truth.

Read the document (PDF file)

Editor’s note: A “rebuttal” to Robert Sungenis, published by Catholics for Israel is available on-line, but it merely serves to restate their original erroneous position on these things, shedding little or no “new light” on the matter. In this, Sungenis clearly has the truth on his side, along with almost 2000 years of authentic Catholic teachings and tradition.

In short, Catholics for Israel (along with some of their more ardent contributors) appear to be more loyal and supportive of Israel and the Jews than they are of the Catholic Church and other Christians. In their misguided zeal, about the only thing they can do is try to discredit Sungenis.  But that tactic simply doesn’t work, since it’s clear that Robert Sungenis had it right, all along.

Milwaukee bishop appears to subscribe to heresy about Jews … and publicly proclaims it

If the quote is correct, Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba is on record as saying that Catholic Church documents developed during the reign of Pope Paul VI, “… affirmed that the Jewish people were not responsible for the death of Jesus, that their covenant with God was never abolished, that they are still God’s chosen people …”

The bishop evidently failed to get the memo about the CORRECTION issued to the USCCB Catholic Catechism for Adults which states that it’s the Abrahamic Covenant, applied to Jews and Gentiles alike, through the fulfilled work of Jesus Christ and his Catholic Church which ALONE provides the hope of salvation to ALL persons of faith.

The Mosaic Covenant, along with all the associated laws, statutes and ordinances, is NOT and NEVER WAS capable of saving a soul … so ANYONE who would choose to mistakenly cling to the OLD Mosaic Covenant, which was perfectly fulfilled (by Christ), respectfully set aside (by Christ), made obsolete (by Christ) finally and totally REPLACED with the NEW, BETTER, and SAVING covenant (by Christ, in HIS BLOOD, at the Last Supper and subsequently, on the cross, at Calvary) … is just plain confused.

The last time I checked, the enduring words of Jesus Christ to the apostles went something like this:

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

There was certainly no exception included in the above, for Jews. To the contrary, Christ’s words were given to men who were themselves Jews, and his words were first preached in Jerusalem, on the first Pentecost, specifically to the Jews … and only later to ALL nations.

It’s time that all the old stereotypes about the Jews were put to rest. There is no longer ANY standardized system of Jewish beliefs and practices extant in today’s world. Judaism as a religion and a culture means many different things to many different people, all around the world.

About the only thing that remains relatively consistent in terms of Judaic teaching and practice is liberal politics and continued opposition to a host of long established traditional Catholic beliefs and principles.

The facts: Jews are people, just like everyone else, and they are in need of salvation in Jesus Christ, just like everyone else. To treat Jews differently than ANY other group would constitute DISCRIMINATION, and it would also (quite probably) be a sin.

Why a Catholic bishop (and there are evidently many like-minded Catholic bishops out there) finds this so difficult to understand remains a mystery. But it probably stems from a basic flaw in the Catholic seminary system … repeated over the last 45 years, with “cookie-cutter” regularity.

One would think that a genuine successor of the original apostles would know better!

Here’s hoping the above quote is wrong … but I doubt it.

Read the whole story

A treatise on Judaism

Israel already has that of which the Obama administration can only dream: no constitution to worry about!

The modern state of Israel has NO constitution

To propose a constitution, in other words, is to ask the question: What form of sovereignty is higher than that of the present voters? America’s Founders appealed to “nature and nature’s God.” Judaism has an answer to this question, elaborated in the oral and written Torah—however remote they appear, at first consideration, from the practical requirements of the state of Israel.

Judaism is founded on a covenant between God and Israel. Instead of unilaterally imposing his will on Israel, God enters into a relation of mutual obligations with a people. This relation is, in content, not only religious but political and legal, and it is understood in this fashion in the Bible and rabbinic literature, where God is called “the King of all Kings” perhaps more often than by any other appellation.

God, moreover, exercises his kingship through proxies. There are three religious institutions and persons in the biblical polity who are divinely sanctioned: the king, the prophet, and the high priest. But of these three offices, only the term king is routinely applied to human beings as well as to God. This is noteworthy because, of the three, the prophet and high priest hold religious functions while the office of king is largely secular. In the presence of a human king, the following blessing is recited: “Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the Universe, Who has given of His glory to flesh and blood.” A human king thus participates in the glory of God. To see a human king is, in a sense, to see a proxy for God.

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Even after official USCCB revision, controversy remains over Catholic Catechism, status of the Jews

“…the Catholic faith is rooted…in the irrevocable covenant made with Abraham…for it is the teaching of both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that the Jews are beloved of God, who has called them with an irrevocable calling.” This is the covenant that saves Jews and Gentiles, but neither the Jews nor the Gentiles can be a part of it unless they believe as Abraham believed, and today, that means accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as Scripture says of Abraham and Moses (cf. John 8:56; Heb 11:26; Rom 4:1-4). This was the covenant that divided Jew from Jew, because only those Jews who had a genuine faith-relationship with God and confessed their sins could ever reap the benefits of that covenant (Romans 3:28-4:12). That is why Paul says in Romans 9:6: “For they are not all Israel who are from Israel.” When Christ came, the spiritual side of the Abrahamic covenant became the New Covenant, and Jews and Gentiles are presently being saved in that very covenant (cf. Romans 4:1-24; Gal 3:6-29; Hebrews 10:16-18; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18).

The difference between Abraham’s physical covenant of circumcision and the spiritual covenant of salvation is that all the Jews were part of the former, but only those who believed as God required them to believe were part of the latter.

In the same way, all Jews today who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are part of Abraham’s spiritual covenant, and, of course, those who disbelieve are not members of that covenant, but of the synagogue of Satan, as it were.

The crucial point is: the covenant that is “not revoked” does not apply to ALL Jews. It only applies to believing Jews, Jews who believe in Jesus Christ, the God of Abraham (Galatians 3:29: “And if you belong to Christ then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”).

Practically speaking, most Jews (since they do not believe in Jesus Christ) are not members of Abraham’s spiritual covenant, and they have no other covenant that can bring them to God, for there is only one name under heaven by which men can be saved, namely, Jesus Christ.

So, it would behoove Fr. Massa to stop teaching that the Jews, en masse or at large, have “a” covenant with God, and that because of this unidentified covenant they possess some “real relationship with God” or that they possess some lofty spiritual status with God that Gentiles don’t have. There is no such covenant, for in the only covenant that exists today there is no Jew or Gentile in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:28).

Read the article

Practical insights: The Israel/Palestinian conflict, the New Covenant, and the Church

The Jews are no longer “God’s covenant people” because they have no exclusive covenant with God. Their exclusive covenant with God was established with Moses, but that has been superseded by the New Covenant in Christ (Heb 7:18; 10:9).

The New Covenant is for both Jew and Gentile, and therefore it is not an exclusive covenant for Jews and it has nothing to do with fulfilling land promises to the Jews in Israel today. All the land promises to the Jews have been fulfilled (Neh 9:7-8); and any future promises to “David” or “Israel” have been fulfilled by the Church (Acts 15:16-18; Heb 10:16-18); and those that have not been completely fulfilled will be fulfilled in the New Heaven and New Earth (Heb 10:39-40; 2Peter 3:10-13), not in a piece of real estate in the Middle East.

Click here to read the entire article (PDF format)

Why do Catholics Idolize religious figurines when is clearly stated in The Ten Commandments not to?

Q: Why do Catholics Idolize religious figurines when is clearly stated in The Ten Commandments not to?

4 ‘You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth.

5 ‘You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God and I punish a parent’s fault in the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren among those who hate me;

For those who don’t mind explaining facts to me, the 4th commandment states:
” ‘You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. ”

So why have it in your church or home?

A: Jesus perfectly fulfilled and set aside the entirety of the old law. Then on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit presided at the birth of the Church, which replaced it.

No more Old Covenant. No more Old Law.

The Beatitudes are to the New Covenant what the Ten Commandments were to the Old Covenant.

New Covenant Christians are now under grace … not law. And that’s a good thing, too … because the law was never capable of saving a soul.

Old Law – Fulfilled and Set Aside By Jesus Christ

Thanks to Jesus, New Covenant Christians know precisely what God looks like,  so there’s no danger of our worshiping anyone or anything else.

Also, please note that in Old Testament times, God commanded many types of graven images to be made and used, for his own sacred purposes.

Since Jesus remains the head of the Church, and he personally gave the Church the power to bind and loose, on earth and in heaven, it was long ago officially decided that sacred art and statuary pose no obstacle to the authentic Christian faith.

In fact, sacred art and statuary have been used for practical catechesis, since long before the average citizen was even able to read.

Thanks to the Catholic Church, every Christian now has a very good idea what Jesus really looks like … while Jesus himself remains the flesh image of a heavenly thing … something which apparently breaks God’s very own commandment.

Go figure!

Are We Christians Still Under the Law, Or Are We Not?

Q: Are We Christians Still Under the Law, Or Are We Not?

Some claim we are still bound by the original 10 Commandments, while others claim they have been set aside. Where in the new testament does it say that you can just dismiss and forget about all the rules in the old testament?
What’s a person to believe, and why?

A: It’s best to approach these things logically and carefully.

The first question to ask is this: Why would we have even needed a Holy Redeemer, along with a whole New Covenant, if the old one was intended to be permanent (lasting until the end of time) and salvific (capable of getting one into Heaven)?

Then there’s the famous “jot or tittle” passage, beginning with Matthew Chapter 5, verse 17:

Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matthew 5:18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled. 

Please note that everything in the above verse is CONDITIONED on Jesus’ statement “TILL ALL BE FULFILLED.”

To say it another way, Jesus didn’t come to destroy anything. He came to fulfill. And once something has been fulfilled, it is typically set aside, while we progress to bigger and hopefully, better things.

But so there would be no mistake as to who Jesus is, and why he was sent, he explained that IF he did not fulfill all things, then we would CERTAINLY be stuck with the curse of the law, until the end of time.

In fact, Jesus confirmed that he had fulfilled all things on several different occasions.

Early in his public ministry: 

Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other: or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Luk 16:14 Now the Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
Luk 16:15 And he said to them: you are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is high to men is an abomination before God.
Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the kingdom of God is preached:and every one useth violence towards it.
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fall.

From the Cross, at Calvary: 

Joh 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.
Joh 19:26 When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son.
Joh 19:27 After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
Joh 19:28 Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst.

After he rose again from the dead:

Luk 24:44 And he said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
Luk 24:46 And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead, the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 And you are witnesses of these things.

There’s an interesting correlation with Moses and the Promised Land here, too.

The stated reason for Moses not being able to enter the Promised Land was his impertinence in striking the Rock (from which water flowed) more than once.

In keeping with the spirit of prophecy, and engaging in a little conservative biblical exegesis, it’s quite likely that another reason Moses wasn’t allowed to enter the Promised Land (the Promised Land being a metaphor for Heaven) is because Moses, the Law Giver, couldn’t get anyone into the Promised Land of Heaven, since the Law was never intended to be salvific, in the first place.

It was faithful Joshua, who got to lead the Israelites across the Jordan, which was “stopped up” for that purpose, by the power of God.

Grace, plus faith did it. Not any law.

Same thing today … as typically obtained through baptism into the only Church that Jesus ever founded, for the purpose of our salvation … the Catholic Church. 

Click this link for a complete list of Catholic Church teachings on the matter. 

Christians, why are the chosen people (Israelites) not blessed as the Bible claim them to be?

Q: Christians, why are the chosen people (Israelites) not blessed as the Bible claim them to be?

God said that the Israelites are so blessed and blah blah blah… but what we see today is somewhat different isn’t it? With all the war and stuff going on there.

A: God repeatedly saved the Israelites from destruction, and God uniquely blessed the Israelites by first sending his only begotten son Jesus, to them.

You can’t do any better than that.

They blew it. That’s all. But it doesn’t have to be that way forever.

Today, the spiritual dynamics are different, and the universal sacrament of salvation is the Holy Catholic Church.

Of course, everyone (Jew and Gentile alike) is welcome to freely partake of all God’s blessings, through that same universal, New Covenant Church that Jesus paid for with his own blood, and that he personally founded, authorized, empowered, and eternally guaranteed, for the purpose of our salvation.

Why Is the Old Testament So Different Than the New? Did God change?

Keeping the Law was the unattainable “key to heaven” in the Old Testament, while the grace and peace of Christ, facilitated by the authentic Church, is the “key” in the New Testament.

Grace was not available in Old Testament times … simply because Satan, sin, and death ruled the earth throughout those difficult days, and Jesus (Messiah) had not yet come.

Under the rules of the New Covenant, God’s abundant grace, obtained for us by Jesus Christ, freely and charitably dispensed by his authentic Church, makes heaven (at least theoretically) attainable for all.

The moral principles that God outlined for his “Chosen People” in the Old Testament, via the Ten Commandments, are everlasting, while the Commandments themselves, along with all the related statutes and ordinances, legally expired with the advent of the New Covenant.

Knowing this, the authentic New Covenant Christian Church … the Catholic Church … shortly readopted and readapted the old Commandments to the grace-filled realities of the New Covenant.

The Church was given the power by God, for the benefit of all, to make moral laws … according to the natural law, according to the “spirit” of the old commandments, and according to the authentic teachings of Jesus Christ, his apostles, and their duly ordained successors.

So while the state of the world, and the world’s relationship with God, has been radically and permanently improved by the abundant grace of the New Covenant, God has never changed, the purpose for which he created mankind has never changed, and the basic rules that God laid down for the benefit of mankind have never changed.

The Church knows this, the Church teaches this, and the Church has been given the difficult and awesome responsibility of somehow reconciling with God … those who do not or will not accept all that the Church authoratatively teaches in God’s name … for the purpose of their salvation (to “save” their souls) … because the Church knows that “nothing sinful can enter heaven”.