Catholic Church Observation

When one hears of a cult, one thinks of organizations such as the Church of Scientology, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and small fanatical groups such as the Assembly of God. According to Robert J. Lofton, author of Letters to an Elder, there are two kinds of cults; those that use mind-control, and those that do not. Lofton describes eight characteristics of destructive mind-control cults, saying, “If any group exercises all eight of these control elements, they are, in fact a destructive mind control cult”. Lofton’s characteristics are ‘Environmental Control’, ‘Mystical Manipulation’, ‘Demand for Purity’, ‘Cult of Confession’, ‘Sacred Science’, ‘Loading the Language’, ‘Doctrine over Person’, and ‘Dispensing of Existence’. These eight

The process by which Scripture has been preserved and compiled is one whose history is worth noting. The early church had many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ via word of mouth, but from the time of Christ’s resurrection until the mid-second century, there had not been a single culmination of writings considered to be essential for the purposes of

Church of the Holy Sepulchre is also known as the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Resurrection (Orthodox Christians). Originally identified as being outside the settlement of Calvary, it is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel and is considered one of the holiest sites in the world, as well as being a central destination for Christian pilgrims. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was originally built by the Roman Emperor Constantine (272-337) in 330 CE upon the site of a Roman temple. It has since been controlled by Arab rulers, reclaimed by Christian crusaders, repeatedly ruined by fires and conquests, and long been subject to regional religious and political tensions. The Holy Sepulchre is a central Church in

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

On Monday, I went to the local Crossroads Baptist Church, located at 850 Edwards Ferry Rd NE, Leesburg, VA. This was my first time experience as I am Hindu and my parents never exposed me to any churches. Dr. Kenneth K. Baldwin was the pastor at the time I went. Luckily, I got the chance to speak with him after the service. After our brief conclusion, I realized that he had a great vision for his church and is leading it to success through his passion. I sensed his passion for preaching and religious beliefs as they were evident during the service. Despite this being my first visit to a church, I learned a lot of valuable things about churches and Christianity.

The people there were very welcoming and kind. The shook every single person hand and greeted them genially when they walked in. As I sat down, there was a countdown till when it begins. There were seats all around and in the center they had a stage, where there were people preparing to sing. They began their ceremony exactly at 8:30 with singing 3 songs. When we sang, everyone stood up for respect. Followed by that, the pastor recited a prayer with everyone to make this week better than the last. He welcomed everyone, including the people who are new, and told them more about what they do at Kennedy Road Tabernacle Church. The priest then talked about the Provision of Vision from the bible. There was a sheet that was handed out so as you listen you fill in the blanks. ( I attached the sheet I completed) I thought this was very convenient because it makes you pay attention and have something to do other than sitting down. He was reading about the Provision of the Vision and relating it to financial difficulties and how God is always there for you. After, I talked to one priest to get a better background of Christianity. I related what he said to the reading of ‘Christianity’ we did earlier in September. When he spoke to me, he said that they believe in one god, but that includes the father, son, holy spirit, He said Jesus died for us on a cross for the sins of the

Furthermore, The Protestant Reformation saw a major European movement that challenged the religious practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. With the rise of religion attracting many individuals, intellectuals began to challenge religious teachings and expose the corruption of the Church. Rather than offering salvation, the Church became corrupt and stingy for control, power, and money, in which German theologian Martin Luther, highlighted. Luther argued that people only achieve salvation by God through faith alone and criticized the use of indulgences, wealth, corruption, and other religious practices within the Catholic Church in his 95 Theses. For example, one of Luther’s theses says, “Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.” Luther believed papal authorities utilized the people to their own advantage in gaining wealth by fostering beliefs that indulgences relinquished sins. The immorality surrounding the Church made it unfair to people of all social groups who “devoted an enormous amount of their time and income to religious causes and foundations” – only finding themselves fooled into bribery (A History of Western Society 402). Luther’s arguments served a pivotal role in influencing others to fight for their own beliefs and redefine the meaning of religion. The common good of the people and their opinions mattered as Protestant thought grew. In the “big picture” of European

churches that came together for the service in Buka. Praise God for the denominations that are coming

The Service in which I attended was at the Holy Cross Perish in San Jose off Jackson street and North 12th Street at 6:00pm. It was still day time so I was able to get a good glimpse of the area in which the church was in. We parked across the street from a park that was called Backesto Park where it seemed that some people from the church would wait there until the service would start, because when I was waiting outside the church I was able to look over at the park and noticed a good amount of people coming toward the church. The experience was pretty interesting. I am a Latino and it was still a bit hard to understand what the priest was saying. The church seemed to look like a regular one with rows of benches

On December 5, 2017 at approximately 0223 hours, I was dispatched to 288 Church Lane for a report of First aid Call for a 43 years old unresponsive male possibly overdose. The dispatch advised that CPR was in progress.

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

The first picture shows a church that is full of paintings and sculptures, this is a photo of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church they worshiped relics and used many statues and other pieces of art. Along with the use of relics, the Catholic Church used the bible to teach and preach about God, whereas the protestant Church did not. The second picture is of a church that is mostly empty, this shows the protestant church, because they did not use relics and they focused on their relations with god.

The Catholic Church is one of the oldest religions and has played a prevailing role through history. Even though there had been up and downs in the growth rate of Catholic population, Catholics are still one of the largest groups in the world. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, by the end of 2013, the population exceed the 1.25 billion of Catholics.

The history of Congregational churches started in sixteenth-seventeenth-centuries in England. According to the book “history of the east congregational church.” The church was founded by a man named Robert Browne. Robert Browne, was considered a crazy person but most of the Congregational ideas came from him. Then the Separatists advanced Browne’s ideas and his beliefs. The Congregationalist church was part of a large and diverse group that tried to reform the Church of England. After King Henry VIII left with the Roman Catholic Church. The roman Catholic Church, kept the forms of Catholicism like the celebration of the Mass, but under the authority of the English king rather than the Pope. The “Congregational way” which the

We Catholics are good at a lot of things. Helping arre neighbors and the needy. Repenting and dressing up on Sunday. Catholic guilt, wedding and funerals. All these thing Catholic are good at but what they really excel at is misinterpreting the Bible and spreading hate. For generation we have used the Bible to justice pretty un- catholic things: slavery and segregation and even war. The strange things is that if you ask any theologians young or old what the most important message of the bible they will say “love.” If you asked them to pick a second most important message of the bible they would say “ forgiveness.” So the complete opposite of hatred, oppression and Judgment. Which Catholic Church and fallow have committed against the LGBT community.