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Tag: Church

Denominations / Why can’t we all just get along?
It’s a great question isn’t it? And from this street-level philosopher we might extrapolate questions like: “Why can’t all the church just get along?” or “Why can’t churches of ALL denominations just get along?” or “Shouldn’t OUR church teach tolerance of all poor street philosophers and inclusively preach THEIR philosophies from every religion?”

THEIR Two-faced ‘Tolerance‘

“Why can’t all the church just get along?”

Because we are ALL sinners. WE accuse the brethren of OTHER denominations while lacking discernment of our own fledgling flock of philosophers.

And this is NO different for the philosophers who deceivingly call THEMSELVES a ‘church.’

Returning to close examination of the PLANK in OUR own ‘evangelical christian’ eye, let’s review the theological discernment shared in our previous two Saturday Posts:

Christology and Theology may be at odds with prevailing social philosophy which USES a loose interpretation of the Bible to fill the house with non-committal christians.

The shift from ‘accepting the existence of different views’ to ‘acceptance of different views’ .. is subtle in form, but massive in substance. To accept that a different or opposing position exists is one thing; to accept the position itself means that one is no longer opposing it.
D.A. Carson, The Intolerance of Tolerance

Something’s wrong with our church!

(So why not RECALL it & fix it?) QUESTION what OUR church teaches AND build it back to be all-inclusive and tolerant.

In deconstruction everything is a SOCIAL construction, including the church.
Darrell Harrison – Just Thinking podcast

As a watchman on the wall Harrison points to the strategy of deconstructionist everythingologist preachers of the false gospel:

Once WE accept the philosophy that the CHURCH is a SOCIALLY constructed system, NOT a divinely ordained institution that originated in the mind of God..
- THEN the church falls into disbelief.
- CONSEQUENTLY these fledgling lambs of the faith will be led to the slaughter.
Deconstructionists
- ASSUME a HUMAN faith which WE need to fix.
- YET try to follow the illogic of philosophers who preach that:
  - ALL of these DENOMINATIONS ‘can just get along.‘
Denominations / Divide and Conquer

Why the attack on Christians?
- Christians claim the LARGEST RELIGION in the world! [< 2 BILLION souls]
  - Worldwide about three out of every ten people are Christians.
    In the U.S. about three out of four people claim Christianity as their faith (mostly Protestant) &
    In Mexico and Brazil about 9 out of 10 claim Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic)
  - Roman Catholics are the largest denomination with about one billion communicants worldwide.
  - 12% of the world population claim Orthodox Christian denominations with about 40% of the 260 million living in officially atheistic Russia.
  - ~800 MILLION Protestant Christians [37% of the world population] can be divided into < 40,000 denominations
    Source: for more info
Major Monotheistic Religions

Why can’t believers in the One God just get along?
- Islam claims almost 2 billion worshipers of Mohammed
  - Sunni Islam is the largest denomination with about <85% or about 1.6 billion followers
  - Shi’ism or Shia Islam is the second-largest Muslim denomination and divided into additional sub-denominations.
  - SEE THEIR intolerance toward OTHER religions below.
- Judaism, the original Abrahamic faith prior to Jesus Christ (1st c. A.D.) and Muhammed (7th c. A.D.), retains just a remnant of the world’s population with >15 MILLION worshipers, further divided into several religious schools of thought, culture and worship.
Church Divided

Catholic ‘kata-holos’ – universal
- IF Catholic = Universal, how then can ‘christians‘ call BOTH the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox a ‘Christian Church?’
  - Did the fall of Rome or any empire of the world separate Christians from Christ?
- Yet IF Universal = Catholic + EVERYBODY ELSE; the PHILOSOPHER then becomes the Pope with no clothes, as well as a stone ‘thinker’ with failed logic.
  - The religion of the Universal ‘Church’ is NO religion except ALL religions.
- WHY can’t YOU Christians and non-Christians all just get along?
  - The Agnostic acknowledges that GOD IS; but like so many other truths, THEY cannot prove it.
- On the other face of the religion of philosophy, an A-theist by definition professes a religion AGAINST the god of their philosophy.
  - ANY reasonably constructed religion accepted except the intolerance of Christians!
WE will RECONSTRUCT from OUR common ground.

Let’s invite the Pope to confess OUR sins against indigenous Americans of the past. He could wear a chief’s bonnet in place of his Roman MITRE. (Just instruct his holiness NOT to mention Jesus Christ.) He could help save OUR environment.

AND cultural Jews – they’re like us, so we can study their original faith. (Just don’t mention that Jesus called some of them ‘whitewashed tombs‘ or Christian claims that JESUS and the Father are ONE, or many other intolerant things JESUS said.)

Of course we have common ground with our Muslim brothers. (Maybe we can get them to give women some rights if we accept some of their very good examples of regular faith.) WE even know some at work (and they are all hard workers) who have even accepted Christians into THEIR Islamic faith and married into THEIR Muslim family.

Religion is a dirty word in the 21st century public square and an evangelical Christian the most offensive icon of intolerance to be mocked in social media.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

Other Faiths & Many Truths (not to mention ‘gods‘)

Let’s talk about culture. (WE can create it better.)
- The CURRENT WORLD POPULATION includes nearly 8 BILLION human souls.
- There are 18.6 million Asian Americans living in the US, making up 6% of the US population
  - Nearly 400 million Christians live in Asia (5 regions), while just 230 million Christians live in N. America.
- China has a population of 1.4 BILLION souls and although officially the PEOPLE are ATHEISTS, more Christians evangelize their faith in China than in much of the U.S.
  - Unofficially, Chinese folk religions comprise ~22% of the population, Buddhists ~14%, Christians about 5% (~74 MILLION disciples of Christ) PLUS 52% of the Chinese population are “unaffiliated” with ANY religion [probably safest even for many Christians]
    (Could the intolerance of evangelical Christians in America become the official ‘freedom FROM religion’ in the U.S.?)
  - Open Doors USA estimates the number of Christians in China to be 96,700,000
    READ more from this source about Christian Persecution
- #India, a mostly English-speaking country [in addition to Hindi] increasingly embraces Hinduism
  - with 1.25 BILLION believers worldwide.
  - A Pew research study comparing religions shows a growing intolerance of ‘minority monotheistic religions’ such as Islam & Christianity.
  - The persecution of Christians in India is intensifying as Hindu extremists aim to cleanse the country of their presence and influence. Open Doors ranks the level of persecution as comparable to that of Iran and India’s Islamist neighbors of Pakistan & Afghanistan.
Intolerant Karma

Not only do a majority of Hindus in India (77%) believe in karma, but an identical percentage of Muslims do, too.
A third of Christians in India (32%) – together with 81% of Hindus – say they believe in the purifying power of the Ganges River, a central belief in Hinduism.
Source: PEW RESEARCH CENTER

YET note intolerance of many surveyed in 2019-2020 in India:
- ..members of India’s major religious communities often don’t feel they have much in common with one another.
- Many Indians, across a range of religious groups, say it is very important to stop people in their community from marrying into other religious groups.
  - Roughly two-thirds of Hindus in India want to prevent interreligious marriages of Hindu women (67%) or Hindu men (65%).
  - Even larger shares of Muslims feel similarly: 80% say it is very important to stop Muslim women from marrying outside their religion, and 76% say it is very important to stop Muslim men from doing so.
Who is my neighbor?

Denominations of Neighborhoods

It’s NOT just the Church which divides itself, but socially constructed systems of cities, communities, clubs, political parties, schools, work.. and yes, shunned minorities (like Christians) NOT tolerated by the majority.

To further quote the PEW study:

Indians, then, simultaneously express enthusiasm for religious tolerance and a consistent preference for keeping their religious communities in segregated spheres – they live together separately. These two sentiments may seem paradoxical, but for many Indians they are not.

The study goes on to mention the mythical ‘melting pot’ approach of ‘other’ countries. NO forced integration there, just two-faced tolerance of paradoxical convenience.

WHY can’t WE all just get along?

Integration of culture (or religion) risks ruining the unique values of individuals, as well as trespassing upon any inviolable Truth part and parcel of those individuals who cling to our worship of the Lord our God and Jesus Christ.

IF our evangelical Christian denomination is NOT different from the religions of the world, the philosophers of humanism, the teachings of the false prophets or the inclusiveness of all the idols which are NOT God, THEN WHY would any soul from another culture come to the community of faith in CHRIST JESUS or fellowship of love and worship of God by grace?

IF our GOSPEL of eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ promised in Scripture is ONLY available to those who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, WHY would a denomination or church tolerate ANY teaching which might lead many lost sheep into the dark deceptions of death’s doctrines?

so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be slandered.

1 Timothy 6 – Instructions to Those Who Serve
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If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. 
- I Timothy 6:3-6 New King James Version 
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So withdraw yourself from such as cannot tolerate OUR intolerance FOR refusing to once again crucify Christ.
September 10, 2022
Two-faced Tolerance :)(: of the Church Against Christ
“But there are some of you who do not believe.”
“Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
Gospel of John 6:64a, 70b LSB [in context]

Jesus chose Judas as a Disciple of his master’s teaching [doctrine], yet Judas betrayed his lord Jesus with a greeting of love.

How can you call yourself a church?

(YOU who do not believe)?

Are YOU a two-faced Judas?

Like Judas, many christians in the 21st c. ‘church‘ also claim to follow Jesus as THEIR lord and teacher. These zealous lovers of the world want to GROW THEIR church. After all, WE the church could do good for all the world IF ONLY we would embrace all of these humans into OUR community of faith.

There’s ONE problem though for which WE must find a solution:

NOT everyone believes in ONE God.

AND most will not want to follow JESUS even if they accept SOME of Christ’s teaching.

Judas did NOT believe that God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sent Christ into the world to save sinners, but rather that God might make HIS lord a king to rule HIS land and the world.

But what would OUR church look like IF JESUS would have built it on the shifting sand of the faith of Judas?

Many Teachers facing NOT One

In fact, the church of the world would prefer to follow multiple teachers, rather than trust and rely on the doctrine of ANY ONE Master, Lord, King or God.

OR perhaps a great teacher can lead ME to create MY own morality like THEIRS from the best religions of all humanity. (I don’t have to follow THEM, just pick and choose from the best THEY have to offer. After all, THEY seem to be building something NEW that attracts more attention than the worn out worship of christian churches INTOLERANT of NEW teaching. (No one wants to hear preaching from the Bible anymore).

Many of you ‘who do not believe.’

It’s NOT just one in twelve who claim Jesus, yet do NOT believe. And in the 21st c. church it’s more than a few among those who claim His name a ‘christian.’

In fact these are two-faced followers glorify one face for the world under the guise of religion, while masking a shadowed countenance betraying Christ’s sacrifice of glory for the redemption of our souls.

YES, many mask as christians in the flock of your church, while a select few even claim the gospel of some Jesus from the pulpit – a tolerant savior who will help YOU to bring peace to a world which will never accept the Gospel of His exclusive holiness.

Christ Jesus says to such leaders of OUR churches:

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Gospel of John 8:44

“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
John 8:45 LSB – the rebuke of Jesus Christ

Why not preach the Gospel?

IF you are a Christian — IF you are truly a disciple (follower) of Jesus Christ — IF you are a 21st century christian (as you claim), THEN why do you preach some other gospel in place of the words our Lord Jesus Christ said?

Is our gospel Biblical OR cultural?
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Today I will develop the premise of Harrison's first point from my last Saturday Post as we take a look at an all-inclusive church of everythingology through the eyes of another respected theologian.
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Previously, I shared a caution from Harrison's FIVE-POINT PROGRESSION of Evangelical Deconstructionism. WE will start there.

EMBRACE and posit [plant or assume] the idea [philosophy] that the CHURCH is a SOCIALLY constructed system, 
NOT a divinely ordained idea [institution] that originated in the mind of God.
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For IF Scripture, the WRITTEN Word of God in the BIBLE, is NOT divinely ordained; THEN the church, even ‘christian‘ ‘evangelicals‘ who claim some ‘jesus‘ or some of some Jesus can RE-WORD god’s word to include whatever WE would like it to say to the world.

Two-faced Tolerance

Contemporary tolerance is intrinsically intolerant.
D.A. Carson, The Intolerance of Tolerance

Church leaders must examine the theology of christians teaching the Bible with liberal exclusion of refining of Scripture in their local church.

We mustn’t dismiss or include a cultural phenomenon of evangelicalism of the past several decades without examining both traditional and evolved definitions of trends leavening the church.
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READ more of Carson's introductory quote:
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The notion of tolerance is changing, and with the new definitions the shape of tolerance itself has changed…
It is blind to it’s own shortcomings because it erroneously thinks it holds the moral high ground; it cannot be questioned because it has become part of the West’s plausibility structure.
D.A. Carson, The Intolerance of Tolerance, p.2

Carson illumines and points to a subtle (and two-faced) evolution of English definitions of what it means to be tolerant.

Tolerance as a verb
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Continuing to quote Carson:
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Oxford English Dictionary [abridged def.]:
1. To endure, sustain (pain or hardship) [‘That usage is becoming obsolete’ – DAC]
2. To allow to exist.. without authoritative interference.., to allow, permit
3. .. To allow intellectually, .. or principle, to put up with.
Tolerance as a noun
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Quoting the evolved digital definition of the Gates' cultural philosophy and approach in Microsoft Encarta, Carson notes:
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“When we turn from Encarta’s treatment of the corresponding noun “tolerance,” however, a subtle change appears:
- “1. ACCEPTANCE OF DIFFERENT VIEWS the accepting of different views of other people, e.g., in religious or political matters, and fairness toward the people who hold these different views.”
  - Encarta verb for tolerance: ACCEPT EXISTANCE OF DIFFERENT VIEWS.. of other people’s right to have different beliefs and practices.
The shift from ‘accepting the existence of different views’ to ‘acceptance of different views’ .. is subtle in form, but massive in substance. To accept that a different or opposing position exists is one thing; to accept the position itself means that one is no longer opposing it.
D.A. Carson, The Intolerance of Tolerance p.3

OUR social gathering – a jesus WE love 🙂

What about the INTOLERANT exclusive claims of the Lord Jesus Christ?

“Do you think that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division – Luke 12:51

And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, – Matthew 19:4

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. – John 5:46

“Many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. – Matthew 24:11

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. – John 14:6

“For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves…
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Gospel of Matthew 7:14-15, 21 LSB
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WE will have to avoid these socially discriminating teachings of OUR jesus (or else WE will never attract anyone NEW to OUR church. 
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Indiscriminately Tolerant

As you can see once again, Christology and Theology may be at odds with prevailing social philosophy which USES a loose interpretation of the Bible to fill the house with non-committal christians.

Want to see IF your tolerant friends YOU invited to OUR church have ears to hear what OUR jesus has to say about peace and love and OUR world?

TRY putting one of the above sayings of JESUS from ANY good English translation ON THE BIG SCREEN ABOVE THE STAGE OF YOUR WORSHIP gathering on Sunday. See if YOUR increasing audience of worldly friends smiling 🙂 YOUR way can still smile (: when the BIBLE shows THEM an INTOLERANT jesus?

See how they react to the exclusive truth of Scripture!
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We will continue with this challenge of betrayal of Christ by a Judas or two of OUR 21st century dividing denominations of CHRIST's Church in my next Saturday Post on the Church, God-willing.
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September 3, 2022
What happened to Peter?
Jerusalem must have been all abuzz with the questions of yet another unfolding mystery involving the Apostles. What happened to this Apostle of Jesus?

What happened to Simon Peter?

How did this leading Disciple of Jesus escape? Peter could not possibly have come to our gate since Herod has him under the guard of sixteen men?

As we witnessed previously in a scene from Acts of the Apostles 12:13-14 in His Angel at the Gate:

A servant-girl named Rhoda.. ran in and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate.

Impossible, would be their first thought.

“You are out of your mind!”

But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were astounded.
Acts of the Apostles 12:16 LSB

What happened to Jesus’ mission?

It is the year of our Lord [A.D.] 44.

It has been fourteen years since the Holy Spirit first anointed the saints in Jerusalem to Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel.

Peter is not going to remain in Jerusalem.

Peter commands a continued mission

.. they saw him and were astounded.

ἐξίστημι – amazed – out of their wits (in the wonder of seeing Peter)

Luke once again on this day uses this same description as Pentecost when the Church sees Peter alive and in person, even though they had fully expected Herod to execute the Apostle as he had James.

So they were astounded and marveling, saying, “Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? .. And they all continued in astonishment and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Acts of the Apostles 2:7,12 – Pentecost [~A.D.30] when Peter proclaimed Christ crucified and risen from death.

Astonishing that a girl is raised from the dead by Peter in Joppa! Amazing that the Holy Spirit had also filled Samaritans and Roman soldiers in Caesarea as Peter and other disciples of Jesus had reported to the Church in Jerusalem.

And all the circumcised believers who came with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
Acts of the Apostles 10:45 LSB

Today amazingly, Peter has a command for the Church as the Apostle will address them once more in Jerusalem:

But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he recounted to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison.

Meanwhile, back at Herod’s palace..

Herod Agrippa I had seized Peter during the time of the Passover when great crowds always gathered in Jerusalem as they had years before when the Jews crucified Jesus on a Roman cross.

The king’s recent execution of James had so pleased the Jews that now Herod would kill Peter. (It would be great political theatre for this friend of Rome now gaining some cooperation from the religious parties of Jerusalem.) Herod had a high-security guard of sixteen men watch over Peter during every watch of the night. BUT..

Acts 12:18

Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

A report of amazement from these sixteen elite guards, two who were chained to Peter while two others were on guard at the Herod’s prison door.

And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards..

Remember back fourteen years ago, before Herod manipulated his way back into power?

Luke 23:

8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced greatly; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Jesus in many words, but He answered him nothing..

11 And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a bright robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.

Leaving Jerusalem

King Herod Agrippa I

Acts 12:19

.. he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

Caesarea Palaestinae has been the capitol of Roman Judaea since AD 6 & is the residence of Herod Agrippa (and soon Agrippa II),

not Hierosolyma (as the Roman’s call Jerusalem).

And on an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel and sitting on the judgment seat, began delivering an address to them [an audience of representatives from Tyre and Sidon]. And the assembly kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”

And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
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 Marcus Julius Agrippa I - b. 10 B.C. d. A.D. 44
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P.S. Soon, Manaen, who had grown up with Marcus Agrippa in the court of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, will join the Apostle Paul and many disciples of the Way in Antioch, from where they will lead the Church on missions into the all the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Simon Peter

.. he recounted to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said,

“Report these things to James and the brothers.”

Then he left and went to another place.

Of course the James to whom Peter refers is NOT the first martyred Apostle James, but the biological half-brother of Jesus who is now a disciple of the Way after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.

Even though Saul no longer persecutes the Church, King Herod and the Jews of Jerusalem still pursue the Apostles.

We will not see Peter for some time until after A.D. 44

Peter certainly could have returned to Capernaum to be with his wife and family. But the Apostle will return to Jerusalem at times as we will see later in Acts of the Apostles.

And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution.

But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
Acts of the Apostles 12:24, after Peter escaped from Jerusalem
in ~AD 44 after proclaiming the Gospel of the risen Christ Jesus for fourteen years.

25 And Barnabas and Saul [Paul] returned to Jerusalem, fulfilling their ministry, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.

Then what happened to Peter?

For Your Information (Peter’s witness and leadership continues after this astounding event in Jerusalem):
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All dates approximate. Source for most is Rose Guide to the Book of Acts.
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- AD 44-48 – The predicted famine [Acts 11] during the reign of Claudius takes place; Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus will bring a collection from the churches to Jerusalem for distribution.
- AD 49 – A council of Church leaders, including Peter, meet in Jerusalem [Acts 15].
  - This, of course, is five years after Peter has left Jerusalem after being freed by an angel.
- AD 49 – Luke, who has recorded Peter’s Gospel and the acts of the Apostles (so far) departs Jerusalem with Paul on his second missionary journey.
- AD 50 – John Mark, who had accompanied Paul for part of his first missionary journey, writes his Gospel.
- AD 64-65 [twenty years after Peter escapes Herod]- Peter writes two letters to the Church
- Sometime after a Jewish revolt in AD 66, Nero will execute Peter and many others in Rome.
Jesus said to them, ” “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. – Gospel of Mark 16:15
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ACTS of the Apostles will continue on mission, God-willing, for your comments and witness of the 21st c. Church. - RH
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August 30, 2022