Medjugorje 8/25/2006

"Dear children! Also today I call you to pray, pray, pray. Only in prayer will you be near to me and my Son and you will see how short this life is. In your heart a desire for Heaven will be born. Joy will begin to rule in your heart and prayer will begin to flow like a river. In your words there will only be thanksgiving to God for having created you and the desire for holiness will become a reality for you. Thank you for having responded to my call."

http://www.spiritdaily.com/MEDJSEPT11.htm

proskyne´ō - worship, adore

The same word, proskyne´ō that the Jehovah Witnesses say the translators of the King James Bible mis-translated as worship or adore for Jesus is also used in John 4:20-25, where Jesus speaks to the woman at the well, and speaks of worshipping the Father. So the JW claim is that the same word is used for both Worship of God, and honor of men, therfore in the Gospels it means honor, not worship, for Jesus.

This using the same word for honor and worship is a Hebaism, which stills showed up in The Septuagint, the first Hebrew into Greek translation of the Old Testament (and the actual Canon for the Orthodox Church]. The Septuagint was written 200-350 years before the Gospels. The situation where the same word proskyne´ō is used for both worship and obeisance (honor) arose because they were translating from the Hebrew, and Hebrew tended to rely on context for much of its meaning. A Jew would know that the same word when applied to Boaz meant obeisance but that word applied to God meant worship. But by the time of Apostles, the Gospel writers made the distinction. It appears proskyne´ō was not used to refer simply to honor for a creature.

do´xa is the Greek word reserved to mean honor of creatures. The Gospel writers, who wrote between 40-96 AD, make the distinction between proskyne´ō worship of God and do´xa honor for men. When the Greek writers of the New Testament time period used proskyne´ō, they apparently only referred to God, or to Jesus, and not to a non-divine person or creature.

John4:21 proskunhsete proskyne´ō = worship/adore
legei auth o ihsouV gunai pisteuson moi oti ercetai wra ote oute en tw orei toutw oute en ierosolumoiV proskunhsete tw patri
4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

John 9:38 prosekunhsen proskyne´ō = worship/adore
odeefhpisteuwkuriekaiprosekunhsenautw
9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him [Jesus].

Matthew 2:2 proskunhsai proskyne´ō = worship/adore
legonteVpouestinotecqeiVbasileuVtwnioudaiwneidomengarautoutonasteraenthanatolhkaihlqomenproskunhsaiautw
2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we [the Magi] have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him [infant Jesus].

Matthew 4:9 proskunhshV proskyne´ō = worship/adore
kailegeiautwtautapantasoidwsweanpeswnproskunhshVmoi
4:9 And [Satan] saith unto him [Jesus], All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Matthew 14:33 prosekunhsan proskyne´ō = worship/adore
oideentwploiwelqonteVprosekunhsanautwlegonteValhqwVqeouuioVei
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

St. Theophilus of Antioch 181AD

If John 1:1 translates into the Word was a god, as the Jehovah Witnesses assert, then why did the early Church Fathers not indicate that in their writings? Instead we see examples, like those written in 107 AD by Ignatius of Antioch previously cited, and this one, from St. Theophilus of Antioch, who wrote ca. 181 AD in Book 2 of his writings 'To Autolycus'
CHAP. XXII.--WHY GOD IS SAID TO HAVE WALKED.
You will say, then, to me: "You said that God ought not to be contained in a place, and how do you now say that He walked in Paradise?" Hear what I say. The God and Father, indeed, of all cannot be contained, and is not found in a place, for there is no place of His rest; but His Word, through whom He made all things, being His power and His wisdom, assuming the person of the Father and Lord of all, went to the garden in the person of God, and conversed with Adam. For the divine writing itself teaches us that Adam said that he had heard the voice. But what else is this voice but the Word of God, who is also His Son? Not as the poets and writers of myths talk of the sons of gods begotten from intercourse [with women], but as truth expounds, the Word, that always exists, residing within the heart of God. For before anything came into being He had Him as a counsellor, being His own mind and thought. But when God wished to make all that He determined on, He begot this Word, uttered, the first-born of all creation, not Himself being emptied of the Word [Reason], but having begotten Reason, and always conversing with His Reason. And hence the holy writings teach us, and all the spirit-bearing [inspired] men, one of whom, John, says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God," showing that at first God was alone, and the Word in Him. Then he says, "The Word was God; all things came into existence through Him; and apart from Him not one thing came into existence." The Word, then, being God, and being naturally produced from God, whenever the Father of the universe wills, He sends Him to any place; and He, coming, is both heard and seen, being sent by Him, and is found in a place.

Embracing Tolerance vice grip

“Tolerance” is a one-way street with those who support Gay-Lesbian and Trans-Gendered lifestyles. NY’s Batavia School district students were recently surprised to find that one of their male teachers returned this Fall dressed as a woman, and the school reported that this man would undergo a sex change operation. All students were required to address this teacher as she, her and Ms. The Superintendent would not allow any students to change out of this man’s class. Parents were warned not to protest, as Gender Identity Disorder is a disability under NY law, and it is a crime to discriminate based on disability. Send an email to the Superintendent to protest this anti-choice and intolerant stand against parent's rights.

Meanwhile in Massachusetts, Democrat Deval Patrick was actually criticized by a Trans-Gendered student for not being respectful enough of Gender Identity. Patrick is so closely aligned with the Abortion/Gay Rights movement, that this should shock Catholic voters. Patrick made amends immediately, promising to expand the state’s laws to protect transgender people, adding “… I’m all for extending the laws, but how to get at the issue, what to tell my prosecutors to do, what to tell my bureaucrats to do, you need to educate me on that, that’s all.” This type of thought should frighten all Catholic parents in Massachusetts, especially those with children in public schools.

http://massresistance.blogspot.com/

Frederick J. Moriarity, RIP

Frederick J. Moriarty, 82, of 148 Holden St., died Sunday, September 17, 2006 in UMass Memorial Hospital from injuries he sustained from a fall.

His wife, B. Carolyn (Paul) Moriarty, died in 1992. He leaves his son, Frederick P. Moriarty of Worcester; two daughters, Marolyn L. Moriarty of Boston and Maureen, wife of Michael P. Halloran of Worcester; two grandchildren, Meghan and Sean Halloran; and a niece and nephew. He was born in Worcester, son of Thomas F. and Mary E. (Riley) Moriarty, and had lived here all of his life. He was a graduate of the former Commerce High School and Worcester Junior College. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II serving with the 110th AAA Gun Bn. He received the Croix de Guerre avec Etoile de Bronze for his meritorious service in Normandy, France on June 7, 1944.

Mr. Moriarty was a Design Engineer for Wright Line, Inc. for over 30 years. He was a founder and member of St. George's Church. He sang in the choir, was a longtime member of the Men's Club recently appointed as club secretary, served as a Eucharistic Minister and was very active in the church. He was an avid fly fisherman and was a member of the New England Fly Tyers.

The funeral for Mr. Moriarty will be held on Thursday, Sept. 21, from the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden, with a Mass at 10 a.m. in St. George's Church, 40 Brattle St., Worcester. Burial will follow in Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton. Calling hours are from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mr. Moriarty's memory may be made to the St. George's Church Sanctuary Fund, 40 Brattle St., Worcester, MA 01606.

Primary Election Tues. 9/19

Primary Elections Tuesday, so check out the Mass. Family voter Guide: http://www.mafamily.org/voterguides2006.htm

There are very few good choices: 1^st Worcester Representative – Lou Evangelidis (R) is hands down best ProLife and Pro Marriage, while Democrats Kaplan and Markles are stealth candidates that did not respond. Marie Parente and Mark Dowgiewicz look good.

In 16^th Worcester Representative both John Fresolo and Melissa Murgo support Embryonic Stem Cell killing, but Fresolo would allow citizens to vote on Marriage, allow school choice, and allow opt out of High School Sex Ed. classes, while Melissa Murgo wants to corrupt kids and families by opposing all of those ideas.

Senate Race – Harriet Chandler (D) is against everything the Church is for, and Deidre Healy (D) is Non Responsive, but loves this planet, and is described by Dianne Williamson as ‘a Vulcan.’ What a choice that is!

Last chance to register to Vote in November is Wed. October 18, 2006.

Begat, Created, or Possessed?

If God is a Trinity, then there have to be distinctions between the three equal persons on the Trinity, and therefore, when the article you sent speaks of these distinctions, I have to ask exactly what those distinctions are. I especially have to ask exactly what do you think Ignatius of Antioch (martyred 110AD) meant, when he wrote:

“There is one God, the Almighty, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son.”¹¹

Specifically how does God “manifest” or make obvious Himself, through His Son? I think the only way to do that is not to repeat sending another Angel, as God did in the Old Testament, but to send God, in the person of His eternally begotten Son. Of course this ties back to my earlier argument, how does one Beget in Eternity? Since there is no time in Eternity, you cannot conceive of begetting as a process like it is on Earth. We know God spoke, and things happened instantaneously, indeed, Time started, but before He spoke, he begat his Son, eternally before Time started.

Which brings me to the part of your articles which says that

“Ignatius shows that the Son was not eternal as a person but was created, for he has the Son saying: “The Lord [Almighty God] created Me, the beginning of His ways.”¹²

This quote actually helps make the Trinitarian case, because Jesus is quoting Proverbs 8:22-27. Jerome translated this passage as possessed instead of created:

8:22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning.
Dominus possedit me initium viarum suarum antequam quicquam faceret a principio

8:23. I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made.
Ab aeterno ordita sum et ex antiquis antequam terra fieret

8:24. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived, neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out.
Necdum erant abyssi et ego iam concepta eram necdum fontes aquarum eruperant

8:25. The mountains, with their huge bulk, had not as yet been established: before the hills, I was brought forth:
Necdum montes gravi mole constiterant ante colles ego parturiebar

8:26. He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world.
Adhuc terram non fecerat et flumina et cardines orbis terrae

8:27. When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law, and compass, he enclosed the depths:
Quando praeparabat caelos aderam quando certa lege et gyro vallabat abyssos

The translation of ‘possessed’ instead of ‘created’ is consistent with the Hebrew: In Genesis when God created the Earth, and created man, the Hebrew word is ‘bara’, but in Proverbs, the word is ‘qanah’. So I have to conclude that this quote does not make the Jehovah Witness case that Jesus is not Divine. The weight of evidence keeps me grounded to the Church’s teachings on the Trinity.

more Jehovah Witness witnessing

Good morning Paul,
In the article you sent on the Church Fathers and the very early catechism known as the Didache (c.80AD), it says

"In its 7th chapter [of the Didache], it prescribes baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” the same words Jesus used at Matthew 28:19.3 But it says nothing about the three being equal in eternity, power, position, and wisdom."

This is the point though: this is the Trinitarian name of God, and the Trinitarian form of Baptism. The singular Name of God is the three; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Also notice, that the second time the Trinity is referenced in Chap. 7, it says to pour water three times.

"But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit."


To me, that indicates equality among the three persons named in the Trinitarian God, pouring water once for each of the three persons of the Trinity.

When the article states that this says nothing about the three being equal in power, position, eternity and wisdom, it is basically asking for a complete detailed doctrinal statement from beginning catechism, which I think is asking too much as well as ignoring what is obviously there - the Name of the Trinity; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, their equality symbolized by the pouring of the Water, three times.

Son of God

Jn 19:7 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”

In light of this Scripture, a Jehovah Witness would need to explain that if the Son of God is not God, then why did the Jews in 33AD consider what Jesus said to be blasphemous?

Since Ignatius of Antioch was the third Bishop of Antioch, martyred by Emperor Trajan in 110AD, and who learned the faith from St. John the Evangelist, it is fair to say his writings would reflect what he learned and understood from John. I quote only from the short version of his 7 letters, as these have been verified as authentic by Adolph von Harnack, Theodore Zahn, F.X. Funk and J.B. Lightfoot. I don’t personally know these guys, but I hear they are good. And they’re Protestant, no less!

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

[Address] Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fulness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning [485] of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory, being united [486] and elected through the true passion by the will of the Father, and Jesus Christ, our God: Abundant happiness through Jesus Christ, and His undefiled grace.

[Chap.7]

There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible,— [534] even Jesus Christ our Lord.

[Chap.18]

For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment [609] of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the Holy Ghost. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.txt

American Life League

Planned Parenthood gets something like a 1/4 Billion dollars in government grants and fees every year to help run their business. To help keep their abortionists busy, they have developed sex-ed programs designed to reach increasingly younger and younger kids, promoting the idea a condom is all you need and only fools delay sex until they are older, or find their real spouse, or heaven-forbid, until marriage.

Perhaps you know the old complaint against Marketing - that it creates demand instead of merely meets it, well I think that Planned Parenthood is creating demand for all of their services while leading children down a path of promiscuity that will never make them happy - only occasionally amused and diverted, and scarred (with either an inability to form real loving long lasting relationships, or with the HPV virus, often both!).

Sadly, most parents have no idea how entrenched Planned Parenthood is with the Public School system, and how their tax funded sex-ed programs not only ridicule chastity, but are actually miserable failures in their claimed goal of preventing teen pregnancy and delaying teen sexual activity.

American Life League, ALL, has put together a best practices guide for concerned parents and Pro-Life groups. http://www.all.org/

ALL programs show you how to organize parents, how to work with reasonable school principals and administrators, and how to thwart Planned Parenthood from wrapping their tentacles around young kids.

Lou Evangelidis

Lou Evangelidis is Pro-Life and a strong supporter of letting us vote on the
definition of marriage as between 1 man and 1 woman.
He’s a good State Rep.
too!  As is Robert Hargraves.

Central MA Election Rundown

Just about every candidate for MA governor is Pro-Choice and Pro-Embryonic Stem Cell research (Green Party Candidate did not respond). Kerry Healy is against Chris Gabrielli’s idea of funding $1Billion Tax dollars to Embryonic Stem Cell research saying that is way too much, and she was originally against Embryonic Stem Cell research. Mihos (Independent), Gabrielli, Deval Patrick, Grace Ross (Green) and now Tom Reilly (formerly against) all support Same Sex Marriage, Kerry Healy (Republican) is opposed but does not want to put this in the Republican Platform.

The following voted to prevent us the people (we the peoples?) from voting on the Constitutional definition of Marriage; Chandler Antonioni, Augustus, Pedone, Kujawski, Resor, Eldridge, Walrath, Brewer, Lees, Rice, while Spellane abstained.

Lanza Speak

Corporate Welfare cheats at Advanced Cell Technology, ACT were recently credited with developing a new language called Lanza Speak. Named after Vice President Dr. Robert Lanza, the new language should help usher in a wealth of Corporate Welfare monies to the research company, which seeks government funding for the embryonic stem cell research that Venture Capitalists have declined to invest in.

A sample translation of Lanza Speak was in evidence in a recent report in the Journal Nature, where Dr. Lanza told Nature there was a breakthrough in how embryonic stem cells are harvested, saying "some of the embryos survived and were returned to frozen storage." In English, this is translated as "in other experiments some of the embryos survived and were returned to frozen storage, but the embryos that were used for these experiments did not remain intact [they died]."

Lanza Speak has been credited with stemming the recent plummeting value of ACT stock, which though “down to about 78 cents a share, …is [still] about twice as high as the 40 cents a share it traded at before the announcement [in Lanza Speak]”.

http://www.lifenews.com/bio1744.html