Walk to
Emmaus and Churches of Christ
For instance, discussing the
Cursillo Movement: "Throughout this
booklet you will find references to concepts that at one time seemed
foreign to Catholics. Evangelization is probably the one that comes to mind first. For
many years Catholics looked upon evangelization as "something the
Protestants did." Today, in Church, we hear a great deal
about
evangelization. Still
for some of us, we automatically think of going out two-by two (with
Bible in hand) and knocking on people's doors. Nothing could be
further from the truth. In the Cursillo
Movement we approach
evangelization as a
very
natural act of
being
Christlike within each
of our daily activities. We realize that while most people would like
to live their lives in a Christ-like manner, the pressures of
the world often make this difficult. The Cursillo Movement provides a method and a technique to provide each of us with the tools,
the
mentality, the
strength, and the
support to make this
natural type of
evangelization possible. We could then interpret the
Cursillo or Walk to
Emmaus movements as a
Doctrinal Inculcation
Movement. That is, you
have volunteered to be
converted to whatever
group is using the mystical (superstitious) eucharistic dogma is sponsoring and shepherding you. Door knocking is honest. It says who
you are and invites you to visit. See how Jubilee 2000 was the
big event for the Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist merging of
evangelistic effort.
One goal was to get churches of Christ into the arms of the MOTHER by
Y2K. In that they have succeeded among some more pagan-like mega
churches. However, most successful shepherding
movements (they are not
evangelistic in teaching the full gospel) are much more subtle. As the Crossroads movment of churches of Christ at the hot bed of
"Shepherding" or International Church of Christ and Promise
Keepers and other
groups as a model, this movement understands that in order to
shepherd, evangelize or convert you to their church, they will have to ply you with lots of
tender love. You will become a very important person. This gushing is not natural and
not a part of being a Christian. The method of Christ was to teach
and support but not to shepherd in the sense of surrounding you with
lots of new friends. Unfortunately, lonely people are quite
susceptible to this perhaps because there is not more genuine love
and attention given by their own groups. After
seventy years the only honest gushy love you can depent on is from
Annie the Beatle. And maybe that is because I feed her three times a
day. If I want country ham, however, I trust my wife who loves but
doesn't gush much any more. "The Cursillo
Movement came to birth in the movements of renewal that preceded the second Vatican Council. Vatican II was such a major event in the history of
the modern Catholic
Church that there is a
certain tendency to date everything from the Council. But Vatican II
was itself born out of an effort of spiritual and pastoral renewal
that had begun years before. The liturgical movement, the scriptural renewal,
Catholic
Action and other
movements of the lay
apostolate had begun
years before the Council. Everywhere in the Church,
people were seeking to find ways of "bringing the Church to life in
the hearts of men" (Romano Guardini). The Cursillo Movement came from
the work of such individuals. "In the introduction, we
referred to the mystery
of God. How else can we explain the events that shape our
world? Like Promise Keepers or any
other mass movement, the "camel" gets his foot in the tent. However,
it is not long until the truth is out and as Promise Keepers switches over to a Discipling
Movement with
international goals. the Cursillo - Walk to Emmaus movement
"In the past, the
Cursillo
Movement was primarily
thought of as a source of individual spiritual growth. Today, we must realize that
this individual
spirituality is just not enough. To the untrained mind that
might sound pretty good. Apostolic to restoration movement thinkers means "first
century Christianity" or "Bible Christianity." However, in the Walk
to Emmaus thinking "Apostolic" means Catholic. And Apostolic does not mean the original twelve
apostles. Rather, the Pope claims the authority of Peter and as the
Vicar he is sole agent
of God on earth today.
Jesus and Mary as Co-redeemer (even has nail prints in her hands)
stand between the priest and God. You, mortal, have no direct contact
with God even though Christ died so that you can "come boldly before
the throne of grace." [See
the warning from a Shepherding Expert about the authority of the
Apostolate.] This article
notes that the first root of the Modern Discipling movement is the
Roman Catholic Spiritual directors Because Catholic freely admits
that its rituals were adopted from Judaism and from Paganism (See Catholic Encyclopedia on Candles)
the Apostolic means
Catholic which Means very Pagan. The Eucharist is not a Biblical
view but a Babylonian
pagan view. The priest
claimed authority over even God as Mary is co-mediatrix with Jesus.
As such, when he ate the little wafer derived from Babylonia and
drank the wine he was literally "eating and drinking the god."
On the other hand, the Biblical
Lord's Supper is a simple memorial and the priest does not have the power to resurrect
and then let Jesus be killed over and over. If it is taken on the
Sabbath it is a testimony to his death state. If taken on the Lord's
Day or Sunday it is our confession to the world that He arose on the
first day of the week. To participate in the Sabbath (Babylonian)
Eucharist is a public denial that God completed the Earth and as
Jesus completed the redemption. Therefore, Sabbath means rest, cease
and desist from any effort to help God. This movement now involves
Episcopalians, Presbyterians. And much like the Shepherding
Movement of Promise Keepers, the Crossroads Movement and the
International Church of Christ, this movement knows that it needs to
keep close tabs on the lambs: "To nurture this process of discipleship (I.e. Shepherding), the Walk to Emmaus movement offers specific
opportunities. First, reunion groups of four to six people meet weekly to reflect on their quest for spiritual growth and encourage one another in their
discipleship.
1. GROUP MEETINGS
(Reunions) that are held frequently when several people gather
together for mutual encouragement and support through PRAYER, STUDY,
and ACTION.
2.A REA MEETINGS (Ultreyas)
that are meetings of larger groups of people who have either
participated in a weekend or who might be interested in doing so. Here they share and witness to others
so that the Church and
their own faith may be built up. The Catholic church nor its
equivalent the Episcopal church has the slightest interest in
building up your church. You should be able to think that one
through. Click Here to see that this is a National Episcopal Cursillo
Movement. At the left is its "cross." Its equivalent, The
Walk
To Emmaus which dispenses "the bread of life" also has a national
headquarters. {The
Walk to Emmaus movement does not exist primarily for the weekend Walks. Its purposes are to deepen
the faith of individuals, to increase the faith of congregations, and
to bring Christianity to
the world. Emmaus gives
pilgrims the skills needed for leadership and invites them to make the commitment needed to
build up the church for the sake of Jesus Christ "Spiritual growth" is a buzz
word. Spiritual really means "mental." It means having Christ in the
heart and is not expressed is estatic (charismatic) feelings.
You cannot grow spiritual "in a
group" without sharing your "spiritual" shortcomings. Because
"spiritual" will be defined in external terms, you might take it as a cult
warning if anyone
begins discussing your spiritual shortcomings (which we will help
fix) or your "financial accountability" or you business
practices. In other groups this
becomes a
confessional. It
becomes a very legalistic effort to "work really hard" at being spiritual and discipled. See Alexander
Hislop on the ancient Babylonian Confessional which feeds this movement. Erasmus, a priest, fills in the details on monks and
priests (Catholic
and Protestant) and specificially warns that any effort to get you to
confess your spiritual problems will lead to discussing other
problems which are no one's business. In time, the "confessions"
which you were told would be private are private as long as you are
friendly. When time for control comes (in the typical movement) then
your darkest secrets are out. In the Bible Study Fellowship people who have been deprogrammed warn ladies not to
say too much. And be especially aware if anyone of your group begins
to try to dig into your spiritual or other thinking. This will be a
sure sign. Second,
there will
be monthly meetings called "Community Gatherings." The word church means
assembly or gathering. Therefore, this defines a church with
"cell groups" which will dovetail with the
Community
Gatherings." This is quite
identical to the Promise Keepers new "Shepherding Movement" which is
similar to all "Cross Roads" or "International Church of Christ"
movements. "All people in a
particular Walk to Emmaus community (I.e
Emmaus Community Church) or area are invited for fellowship, worship, and informal instruction. Third, through a
newsletter, members become aware of support needs for upcoming Walk to Emmaus and there are
opportunities to work
during future weekends in a variety of ways. This then becomes a wing of
whatever church is sponsoring and shepherding the individuals. Of
course, the key to all control groups is to create a warm,
enthusiastic bonding movement. The end-result will be to get involved
in a regional or national effort to. We will add testimony below
to prove that "personally spiritualizing" individuals to go back and
be good soldiers in their own denomination, the goal of
evangelization is to convert you to their Walk to Emmaus Community
Church and have you sneak back into your own churches and convert
them. Saturday Eucharist
Movement While the Catholic church and
the High Church of England and its derivitives who practice the mass
meet on Sunday they are, at heart, a Sabbath system including much of
its belief and worship. The history of the
church is really a system of Saturn (Sabbath) worship. Saturn translates to "Seitan or
Satan." If you are involved with any Catholic-like movement you might
want to scan through this length collection of information.
The Saturday Eucharist is very important. Click to this point and then scan whatever interests you. It might help
guard you against "Sunday worship" but "Sabbath Eucharist." HISTORY OF Walk to
Emmaus Originating in Spain in the
late 1940s, Cursillo moved to America in the late 1950s. It was
primarily a Roman
Catholic movement until
the 1970s. As Catholic
centers started accepting applications from
Protestants, efforts
began among some groups to make the Cursillo experience available to
all Protestants, In the late 1970s,
The Upper
Room (a unit of the
Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church) formed The Upper Room Cursillo Community in
Nashville, Tennessee, in 1981, by mutual agreement (Really a
threat of a lawsuit) between the "National
Secretariat of the Roman
Catholic Cursillo
movement and The
Upper
Room, the name of the
Nashville Protestant community was changed to Emmaus. The
Emmaus movement is ecumenical. Just like Promise Keepers, they
claim to equip people to
work with the local congregations. In time, and in keeping with the Roman Catholic
move on the whole community, it will undoubtedly emplant agents in the local congregation and
become the tail that
wags the dog all of the way from Rome. "As The Upper Room Cunillo developed, it was greatly aided
by ecumenical
Cursillos across the
country. Not only was the Cursillo an effective tool in energizing
disciples for ministry in local congregations, it was a tremendous
experience in sharing the fundamental nature of our common faith in
the Christian community. Of course the faith of the
"High Church" (Catholic and Church of England derivitives) is not
remotely the common faith of the general protestant world.
Hale observed that
Christian denominations
seem to be moving in the same direction for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, which marks both the celebration of
the birth of Jesus and the turn of the millennium." "Those present from other
Christian world communions, according to Hale, noted the pope's call
that the jubilee
be "fittingly reflected by a meeting of all Christians . . . properly
presented and carefully prepared, in an attitude of fraternal cooperation with Christians of other denominations
and traditions." That call came from his Apostolic Letter "Tertio
Millennio at Veniente (As the Third Millennium Draws Near)."
Other Catholics note of this
mystical, superstitious Jubilee so that Walk to Emmaus becomes a
"protestant" version of converting everyone to the Catholic
view: "The Holy Father
asked for a New
Evangelization to usher
in the Great Jubilee
Year 2000, the 2000th
birthday of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Bishops
entrusted the New
Evangelization to Our Lady of Guadalupe. They said, "We entrust our commitment to
giving birth
(Second Incarnation) with new fervor to the life of the gospel in our hemisphere, to Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. She truly was the
first Christ-bearer; by her maternal intercession, may her faithful sons and daughters be renewed and
discover afresh the joy and splendor and promise of bearing bearers of the good news." (Note: some groups
are trying to birth the second incarnation of Christ as the church --
more powerful than Christ) "Our Lady of Guadalupe
told Father Gobbi of the Marian Movement of
Priests, "My great victory
against all the Masonic
and Satanic
forces will begin from here (the Basilica Shrine), for the greatest
triumph of my Son Jesus. I confirm to you that
by the Great Jubilee Year 2000, there will take place the
Triumph of my Immaculate Heart, of which I
foretold you at Fatima, and this will come to pass with the
return of Jesus in
glory, to
establish His
Reign in the
world." "May we walk in
step with the Holy
Father on Our
Lady of
Guadalupe's path toward
the Great Jubilee Year 2000! This Catholic movement finds
ready acceptance in American Restoration Movements preachers who
repudiate the notion of "doing Bible things in Bible ways" or "speak
where the Bible speaks." In general there is a total rejection of
authority. It is strange, therefore, that this Catholic / Methodist
movement claimst to be apostolic and the adoption of ancient themes
such as the Jubile or the "dipping" of the bread in the fruit of the
vine grasps at Pre-Resurrection and legalistic themes. Of the word
Apostolic: "Tertullian, with
his characteristic energy, takes up the same argument in his famous
work "On Prescription Against Heretics". His general process of
reasoning runs thus: Christ chose twelve Apostles to whom he
communicated His doctrine. The Apostles preached this doctrine to the
churches they founded, and thence the same doctrine came to the more
recent churches. Neither did the Apostles corrupt Christ's doctrine, nor have the Apostolic Churches
corrupted the preaching
of the Apostles. Heresy is always posterior, and, therefore,
erroneous. "We have to show,"
he says (c. xxi), "whether our doctrine . . . is derived from Apostolic teaching, and whether, therefore,
other doctrines have their origin in a lie. We are in communion with the Apostolic
Churches, because we
have the same doctrine;
that is the testimony of the truth (Communicamus cum Ecclesiis
apostolicis, quod nulla doctrina diversa; hoc est testimonium
veritatis). In Tertullian's writings against Marcion (IV, v) we find
an application of this
apologetic argument.
Having developed the historical argument founded on the
preservation, as a matter of fact, of the Apostolic doctrine in the chief
Apostolic Churches, we
must add that, besides it, such writers as Irenaeus and others used
often also a dogmatic argument founded on the necessary preservation
of Christian truth in the whole Church and in the Roman Church in
particular. The two arguments are to be carefully distinguished.
Apostolic Churches The Catholic movement claimst
to an end-to-end succession of "apostles" who nevertheless propose
new doctrines which neither Christ nor the apostles taught.
With that background to the
rapidly assimilation of Roman Catholicism into protestant churches in
keeping with the Pope's 1987 call for Jubilee 2000 followed by the
Nashville Jubilee, we post and comments on the Highland Church of
Christ and Abilene
Christian University connection to Walk to Emmaus and therefore to
Roman Catholicism: WHAT "A MESS"
"The above title is a copy of
the Out
Front column of the
front page of the Religion section of the Abilene Reporter News (Saturday, October 2, 1999). One of our
members brought their paper to me on Sunday asking if I had seen the
announcement (I had overlooked it). I went to Abilene (Texas) Tuesday
to see a brother at the hospital and decided to go to this meeting at
the Highland Church of
Christ. "I arrived at the building at
6:15 p.m. and really had no idea what to expect. I have had some
experience with the "Walk to Emmaus" and knew it was an attempt to "connect" with the Spirit (over a weekend retreat). This program
originated in the Methodist church. I feared the Highland
congregation might play taped
instrumental music during the service. I was wrong on this.
They did not play
taped music, they had the real thing. That's right, a full blown
band. Four women singers who sang and
played a variety of instruments for the duration of the service. "I walked into the auditorium
and right into a concert. These women also led the singing (with the instruments) during the "service
part" of the gathering. They showed the Walk to Emmaus instructional
video as advertised. The thrust of the video was consistent with what
I have been told by those who have gone on the "walks" namely, that
on these retreats the Spirit reveals Himself in a variety of ways and guides (directly) those who seek His presence. The video is
basically a collection of "testimonials," geared to convince the
audience that something (the Holy Spirit) is missing and this "walk"
can get you connected. After the video,
the all girl
band played and led the
audience in more songs. All the songs were sung as the audience stood
and swayed with hands in
the air (in true
Pentecostal fashion). Brethren, only the fact that I had not eaten
since breakfast kept me from getting physically ill during all this
vain worship (Matt. 15:7-9). During this segment of song the plate
was also passed to help sponsor more and more Walk to Emmaus events.
"I was sure by this time that I
could not be surprised by anything else that was to happen, but I was
sadly mistaken. Eddie
Sharp (ACU instructor
and the pulpit
minister for the
University congregation
in Abilene) approached
the stage. He read (after stating that the Spirit had been stirred) the "liturgy." I don't know what
other word to use for it. He asked the audience to get out their
"purple book" (some Walk to Emmaus creed book, or some such thing).
He would read
certain sections or passages from the "purple book" (not the Bible,
nor were the passages scriptures) and the audience would repeat
the lines. In others, he would read a certain part and they would
finish by reading the rest and say amen etc... It was just like
watching the Catholics doing their "liturgy." ""He then led them in a
confessional type prayer where the whole crowd confessed to
several sins (collectively) and asked to be forgiven. This segment
was reminiscent of the group
crying and mass repentance of the Promise Keepers. It was a written prayer that was read, very little
feeling, just vain repetitions (Matt. 6). After a few more songs, Eddie
Sharp took the stage again and presented the message of the hour.
He began by running down
the church. In fact,
his introductory comment was that as a church of Christ preacher he
wasn't used to preaching to a crowd where everyone was invited. This is a blatant attempt to paint the
church in a negative light. (I'm sure Jesus was impressed with this
smart-alec man running down and making light of His bride, the body
He heads and died for (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:23-25). Since when have we
not "invited" everyone to come and study God's wordwith us. This is a
lie, and a disgraceful attempt to taint the reputation of members who
have labored for years in evangelistic efforts sacrificing and
working tirelessly to fund and build both the building at Highland as
well as the university were he draws his pay check. "Other snide comments were made
at the expense of the church as well. He then went on to laud the "
Walk to Emmaus Movement" (He clearly holds it in much higher regard
than the Lord's church). He plainly and
specifically taught that it does not matter where you worship or what
"tradition of faith" you're in, just serve Jesus. He said we are to follow the light of Jesus
wherever it leads us. If it leads us to stay in our current church,
fine, if it leads us to change churches then we should do just that.
"The Bible doesn't give us a
smorgasbord of churches to choose from. Ephesians 4:4ff makes it
clear there is only one body. In Matthew 16:13-18, Jesus promised to
build one church. Eddie Sharp needs to put away his "purple book" and
pick up his Bible and read it. "You cannot go to heaven and
not be a member of the Lord's church. Acts 2:47 says that God adds
the saved to the church. Eddie Sharp and his ACU buddies can scream
and holler ecumenicalism and denominationalism as often and loudly as
they like, but it is still a damnable doctrine that will cost them
their souls (John 14:6; Matt. 7:21-23). There is no multiplicity of
churches in the Bible. "Perhaps the saddest phrase of
the entire speech came during Sharp's introduction when he informed
the audience that He had
delivered the material
we were about to hear to his class
at ACU earlier in the day. What a crying
shame. Teaching our youth that they are part of a denomination that
is just like the man-made self-seeking bodies that have no regard for
the Bible at all. Brethren, we send
our children off to a "Christian" school to be prepared to fight
against the doctrines of Satan, yet Satan has infiltrated the very
classrooms we, the church, have built. Our unsuspecting youth is
often-times turned over to these men and women who are bent on
turning the church into a denomination. It is high time many of us
woke up to what is happening around us. Sticking our head in the sand
is not going to help. Refusing to see and listen to warnings will
only allow those who have no love for the church to do more to defile
as many of her children as possible. "After the "Sermon from Hell"
(my title, not his, ML) Sharp announced that we were about to have
communion (the Lord's
Supper) yes, that's right
it was Tuesday
night (I stress again, these people don't care what the Bible says
about the Lord's Supper or anything else. They will, and are, doing
anything and everything they want to). He was kind enough to mention
that he realized many people were not used to this, and if we didn't
feel comfortable doing it then we could abstain (mighty nice of him).
"He then discussed the manner
in which it would be taken (I don't know why it mattered at this
juncture). He said that it would be taken by "inction." That's how he spelled it. "He then stated that he really
thought the "Emmausians" just made it (inction) (See below) up. He said that "inction" was taking
the piece of bread and dipping it into the juice then (after the
bread soaked up the juice) it was to be taken all at once.
This may have
looked Catholic because the Walk to Emmaus is a Catholic-Derived and Methodist-Catholic ecumenical movement to evangelize and sweep everyone into the mother church. Oh, Lordy,
don't these people live off the ignorance they have created. The
Catholic Encyclopedia notes are in red: "Equally certain is it, that
the Body and the Blood of Christ belong to the concept of the
essence, because it is not the mere unsubstantial appearances which
are given for the food of our souls but Christ concealed beneath the
appearances. The twofold number of the Eucharistic elements of bread
and wine does not interfere with the unity of the sacrament; for the
idea of refection embraces both eating and drinking, nor do our meals in consequence double their
number. In the doctrine of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is a question of even higher relation, in
that the separated species of bread and wine also represent the
mystical separation of Christ's Body and Blood or the unbloody
Sacrifice of the Eucharistic Lamb. The Sacrament of the Altar may be regarded under the same aspects
as the other sacraments, provided only it be ever kept in view that
the Eucharist is a permanent sacrament. Every sacrament may be considered either in itself
or with reference to the persons whom it concerns. Catholic Encyclopedia "I know, Jesus and the apostles
partook of them separately (Matt. 26) as did the early church (1 Cor.
11), but our brethren at Highland and Eddie Sharp aren't impressed
with that, they would rather please their denominational harlots, and
do what feels good to them than stay trueto God's way (James 4:4).
The only dipping
was when Jesus "rubbed off" a piece of bread, dipped it into the Charoseth and shoved it into the mouth
of Judas which would be shortly stopped. The Bible uses a unique word
for the inction or refection: it is called SOP.
Did you know that literal, instrumental melody (psallo) is related to
the sop? And did you know that the Judas Bag was "for carryiing the mouthpieces of wind
instruments." It was always lashed to the flute case and it is made
up of two words: "speaking in tongues" and "of the world."
"The very sop which He would so soon hand to him, although a
sign of recognition to John, was a last
appeal to all that was human in Judas. At present, the Supper itself
begins by eating, first, a piece of the unleavened cake, then of the
bitter herbs dipped in Charoseth, and lastly two small pieces of the
unleavened cake, between which a piece of bitter radish has been
placed. But we have direct testimony, that, about the time of
Christ, The statement is in
regard to Hillel, while the Temple stood. 'the sop' [4Mark the definite article, not
'a sop.'] which was handed round
consisted of these things wrapped together: flesh of the Paschal Lamb, a
piece of unleavened bread,
and bitter
herbs. This, we believe, was
'the sop,' which Jesus, having dipped it for him
in the dish, handed first to Judas, as occupying the first and chief
place at Table. But before He did so, probably while He dipped it in
the dish, Judas, who could not but fear that his
purpose might be known, reclining at Christ's left hand, whispered
into the Master's ear, 'Is it I, Rabbi?' Edersheim, Life of
Christ Therefore, the notion of
"dipping" implies the flesh of the True Lamb dipped in the fruit of
the vine which stood for the literal blood of the lamb. This is no
problem for Catholics who believe that they still, literally eat the
"body" and drink the "blood" of Christ the Lamb. In the institution of the
Lord's Supper, the bread is blessed and consumed first, there is no
literal lamb to symbolize the Spiritual Lamb, they the fruit of the
vine is passed and consumed. The adoption of the Catholic
Euchrist is the demand that the "handler" of the bread handles the
literal body of Christ. "The communion itself was also
very Catholic in its order. Brother Sharp took a large piece of
bread (a loaf, I couldn't tell if it was leaven or unleaven, but
again I know it doesn't matter to them one way or the other)
and stood down
front (with his Walk to
Emmaus cross around his neck) and See the Cross as a Pagan Symbol used against
Jesus. (the pope wears
one, too) broke off small pieces and
gave it to the
laity (people) as they
passed by. "Against these errors the
Fourth Lateran
Council (1215)
confirmed the ancient Catholic teaching, that "no one but the priest
[sacerdos], regularly ordained according to the keys of the Church, has the power of consecrating this
sacrament".
Rejecting the hierarchical
distinction between the priesthood and the laity, Luther later on declared, in accord with his idea of a
"universal priesthood" (cf. I Peter, ii, 5), that every layman was
qualified, as the appointed representative of the faithful, to
consecrate the
Sacrament of the
Eucharist.Tthe First Council of Nicæa (325) issued a strict
prohibition to the effect, that "they who offer the Holy Sacrifice
shall not receive the Body of the Lord from the hands of those who have no such power of
offering", because such
a practice is contrary to "rule and custom". (Same Catholic
Encyclopedia Link) If Luther is correct then every
believer is a priest and is totally competent to break the
bread. They were not allowed to touch,
and later drink, the wine (not fruit of the vine) because it was the
literal blood of Christ and the laity might spill some. This is the
object of dipping the bread into the wine to create SOP -- the
ultimate sign of being rejected by the Incarnate God of the
universe. "He said something to them (it
looked just like a Catholic priest blessing the Sacrament)
"In proceeding to
verify the form, which is always made up of words, we may start from
the dubitable fact, that Christ did not consecrate by the mere fiat
of His omnipotence, which found no expression in articulate
utterance, but by
pronouncing the words of
Institution: "This is
my body . . . this is my blood", and that by the addition: "Do this
for a commemoration of me", He commanded the Apostles to follow His
example. We may in fact go a
step farther and assert, that the words of Institution constitute the only and wholly adequate form of the
Eucharist." "and they would pass from him
to another man who held a large goblet of juice. "They would then dip the bread
into the juice and take it. "This fiasco concluded the
service, and the crowd went out to the foyer where the "host"
congregation (Highland) had prepared quite a spread of snacks.
"Over-all it was a sickening
night. I could not help but think of the changes in that congregation
since it's formation in 1948. It should stand as a warning to us all
to "contend for the faith" (Jude 3),for if we don't, the truth will
be lost. (I audio taped the
entire event so as to have documentation of what happened)
-- Michael Light Borrowed from
The Plumbline, Dec. 1999, 705 Hillview , Mt. Juliet, TN 37122
Golf Course Road Church Of
Christ, Midland, Texas In a web-page article by
Ken
Young titled,
"Communion -- Frequency of the
Celebration," the
practice of partaking the Lord's supper any day of the week is
defended and promoted. The article reveals that as the leadership at
the "Golf Course Road Church of
Christ, in Midland,
Texas, planned for "Stream '97", they "decided a very
fitting conclusion to Saturday's schedule of worship, study, and share groups would be the celebration of Communion. Many of our members
had been
on a "Walk To Emmaus," an interdenominational
spiritual renewal weekend, and had been greatly blessed by the
Communion service taken on a Friday or a Saturday. Golf Course Road church of christ had also planned similar weekends, one for men and
another for women. A Saturday morning
Communion service was
one of the high points of the weekend. For most who participated in
these events for the first time, taking Communion on a day other than
Sunday was a new experience, and for some, it was approached with a
sense of uneasiness. However, almost everyone who went through one of
these experiences gave testimony to the significant impact the
Communion had on them." "The article discusses how that
an elder's
wife had been
blessed by taking communion at a renewal
weekend for ladies that was not in
their building. He says, "somehow it
seemed more
uncomfortable for her
to take Communion on Saturday in the same auditorium where we take the Lord's
Supper every Sunday. As time approached for that
evening assembly she commented to her husband that she thought the
crowd would be small. After all, it had been
emphasized to everyone that it was their choice whether or not to
come back after dinner
for Communion. If they
found this offensive in any way, they were encouraged not to come. To her
surprise, as she entered the auditorium, she discovered a very large
crowd already overflowing to the balcony. She told me the Communion
service that evening was one of the most powerful times of worship she had ever experienced." It seems ironic that in the
next paragraph we read, "one of our greatest concerns is to do only
that which pleases and honors our Lord." Yet, they finish their
column by sharing "the results of our studies concerning this issue."
Their conclusion is that they
find no prohibition of
observing the Lord's supper on any day of the week. They say, "the apostles
never once specified a correct day to celebrate Communion in their
writings. Jesus himself instituted this new celebration on a day
other than Sunday, likely Thursday evening." Their further conclusion
is that since the Lord favors "heart" over "structure," it matters not what day the
supper is eaten. Article From: Golf Course Road Church of
Christ isn't likely to
be better informed than others. Therefore, when the "experience"
defined as "worship" on the Sabbath overcomes the uncomfort then we
know that experience has triumphed over knowledge. The Cursillo or Walk to
Emmaus is not just
promoting an alternative day for the Eucharist which is not remotely
the same thing as the Lord's Supper as a memorial. Conscious,
subconscious or unconscious you may be participating in the actual
calling forth of Lord Jesus and having Him crucified all over again
in the "mass." As we noted above, the
Friday night or Saturday
Eucharist was
intimately connected to
Saturn worship where
Saturn means "Seitan or
Satan." The priests of
Babylon were actually identified as Cann a
baals. The Britannica, in History of the church year, notes
that: "Regular Christian
corporate worship on Sundays goes back to the apostolic
age, but New Testament
writings do not explain how the practice began. Jewish Christians
probably kept the
sabbath at the synagogue, then joined their Gentile fellow believers
for Christian worship after the
close of the sabbath at
sundown, either in the
evening or early Sunday morning. In time, the Saturday was
more important for the distorted Supper. "When the church
became predominantly Gentile, Sunday remained as the customary day of
worship. Assemblies for the Eucharist
were common on Saturday, however, as well as on Sunday in the Eastern
churches into the 5th century, and Eastern canons
forbade the practice, customary in the Roman Church, of fasting on the sabbath. While days may be meaningless
to us, the Sabbath was a
holy day of rest for the Jews. It was not a day for worship. Those who did not
obey the command were in lots of trouble. The Catholic Sabbath is the ancient Babylonian Sabbath. In that system, the "gods" rested on
the Sabbath and the people did all of the work. In Judaism, the
lesson to be preach each Sabbath was that God serves mankind and man
cannot pick up, sacrifice and eat God. Therefore, because Christ
has done all of the word
which the Eucharist denies, the Lord's Day is the first day of the week. To change it at least says: "The Word of God is
not important to me." When the Pope authorizes Sabbath Eucharist and
you follow his lead then you become the disciple of the Pope.
To participate in the
Catholic
Eucharist is a weekly
reminder that Christ has
not done all of the
work and the Pope and priest is still your surrogate "savior."
Even to participate to any
extent denies that finished work and "clasps hands" and agrees with
others that Jesus didn't quite pay it all. Christ was still dead and
in His tomb on the Sabbath and to claim that He now needs a Vicar or
priest is to fully confess that He is still dead or not able to
perform His tasks as God without our aid. The term Lord's Day, signifying the triumph of Christ in his
Resurrection and the
beginning of a new creation, was in use by the end of the 1st century
(Revelation 1:10; Didache
14; Ignatius of
Antioch, Magnesians 9:1). Some writers referred to the sabbath as the
rest promised to the people of God at the
end of time and to Sunday
as "the eighth
day," or
beginning of a new
world (Hebrews 4:4-11;
Letter of
Barnabas
15). God began His work on the "first"
day and completed it on the sixth. On the eighth day or first day the work of God's creation resumed its eternal
cycle. Purification for rituals began on the first day and people rested on the seventh day.
That means that to participate in any religious "worship" and
especially the Catholic Eucharist is to try to do the worship work to
and for God when He is symbolicall resting to prove that you cannot
do anything to "feed, clothe, house or entertain" Him. And if you do
it you repudiate God's rest which has been completed in Lord Jesus
Christ and repudiate His again taking up the redemptive work on the
"eighth day" which is the first day of the week. Catholicism owe
more to Saturn
than to the Son or sun and
Saturn fits the pattern of Mithra more so than of the Son of Righteousness and light who has always taken first
place on the first
day. Saturn is the almost-universal
symbol of the evil
worship for which God
gave the Sabbath
to make the Israelites immune "at home" until the events passed. To
make sure that people did not invent new meetings and
rituals, He
circumscribed the Sabbath to keep the anxiety-creating ritualizers out of the face of His people. Jesus
specificially came to give rest and not ritual. The Eucharist is "work" but the
Lord's Supper is a living testimony to the watching world that we
believe that the work has been completed. Therefore, any form of
worship which seeks to "move the worshipers into the presence of God"
or to create feelings which are purely carnal, loses all of the
advantages of Christ completed work. This article (above the blue)
was written by a Musical
Worship Minister who
has already accepted the Catholic
notion of clergy precentors for leading or actually performing the musical worship. This naturally leads to instruments
and other Catholic innovations which even the Catholic Encyclopedia
acknowledges as taken
from paganism and needs to be reformed. Because the influence came from
Emmaus and therefore
from the Catholic
church it is not
surprizing that "mass" can even be held daily. Catholics, like the
"experiences" of the people under mind-control proves that they
believe that the Lord's Supper is a mystical ritual inwhich God
bestows grace or spiritual blessings. That is, the Euchrist is held
to be a sacrament. And consistent with the
emphasis on the description of the Cursillo movement at the
beginning, the mind control of evangelization to the Catholic (or
Catholic-like) religion worked as planned. Because of the feelings in
the flesh the immature felt quite comfortable to do what their
shepherding agents planned all along: move the Emmaus Community
Meeting into the church. Therefore, the "spiritual influence" the
movement hopes to inculcate in the cell groups and monthly meetings
is not just to exert a spiritual infleucne in all of the churches:
the goal is to convert the participating churches to their
religion. After all, when they profess
that it is a system of evangelism which works as opposed to the hard
work of "fishing" for souls, they clearly confess that their intent
is to convert you to their beliefs. Consistent with all error, the
decision is made to do something not covered in the Bible and only
later have to justify it to those who didn't show up for "Saturday
Mass." On the other hand, the Lord's
Supper was a way to remember Jesus and to "show forth" His sacrifice.
He said, do this in memory of me. Now, a tombstone is a memorial of a
person who once lived. However, the tombstone is not, in spite of
Catholicism, the Lord Jesus Christ slain again in the mass to bestow
the grace He purchased "once for all." From our research on music and
all charismatic practices, it is clear that when you experience some
"feeling" like a warm, fuzzy feeling or a spiritual influence on the
back of the neck, you have been injected with a morphine-like drug
(endorphins) and you are experiencing a drug high. That spiritual
feeling will not last out into the marketplace. Because the only evidence from
Scripture and early church history shows that they met on the First
Day of the week (could be Saturday after Sunset but not in history).
It would seem that a "hint" from God would be sufficient to the wise
and more than enough for the spiritual mind. I suppose if I had CDs
for sale, I might go ecumenical. But maybe not. We have discussed the
Catholic Dogma here. And from the Rheims-Douay Version.
