I logged on to the forum to send good wishes to any forum members in the path of Hurricane Irma and to tell them that they are in my prayers. The people in Heuston are also in my prayers as they deal with the aftermath of last week's flooding. Then I read the posts about the Talmud which is a topic I'm interested in although very ignorant of other than a fews bits and pieces I've read about it from time to time. Yes, the Talmud was around in Christ's time although not in a single canonical text because it was the oral law handed down from the time of Moses. According to this online encyclopaedia, the Babylonian Talmud wasn't finalised in written form until about 500 AD, with the Jerusalem Talmud having been finalised about a century earlier: http://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/judaism/judaism/talmud. This document is also worth reading because it gives a better explanation of the background and importance of the Talmud to the Jews: http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/talmud.htm Written by a Catholic priest in St. Petersburg in 1892, be warned that it will be tough reading in our time because it picks and chooses anti-Christian (actually most are anti-Gentile) passages from the Talmud. It also points out that there were additions to the Talmud after 500 AD, as late as the 11th century. If you can get over what appears to be a very anti-Semitic document which doesn't reflect well on the Church when looking back at how the Jews were treated (see Papal quotes at the end of the document), it gives some perspective on why the Jews were regarded with suspicion although nothing can excuse the way they were treated. Bear in mind, also, that we don't know whether the translation on the website is complete or accurate, although it appears so. I have read at least one Jewish source claiming that Jesus is never mentioned in the Talmud which is ridiculous considering the timeframe but it's a convenient excuse for some Jewish and Atheist claims that Jesus wasn't a real person. Note the reference in the document to the Jews in Europe distributing copies of the Talmud during the Luteran revolt. It might explain Protestant claims that the Pope is the AC or that Rome will be the seat of the AC. Context matters although, sadly, I think the document can be meat and drink to both Anti-Semitic and Anti-Catholic groups. That Popes John Paul and Benedict mended relations with the Jews is good. We are indebted to their ancestors for preserving the faith, paving the way for the Lord. I believe that DeGaulle is correct when he says that the ultra Orthodox Jews are the modern day version of the Pharisees in that they have a very legalistic approach to the Talmud. Very devout, they can also be very anti-Christian. Secular/apostate Jews across the world are the other side of that coin - equally anti-Christian but far more powerful but I doubt very much that the vast majority of Jews share their hatred. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to have an open discussion about their influence for fear of being accused of being an anti-Semite or holocaust denier. This article from Steve Rey of Catholic Answers summarises how the Protestants justified pruning the Bible of inconvenient books: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-council-that-wasnt As to the real Israel, the Church is Israel, beginning with the first Jewish disciples of Jesus and now including all of us who were grafted onto the vine. That the Jewish elders and their followers rejected Jesus as the fulfilment of God's side of the covenant doesn't change the fact that they are God's first chosen. Our Promised Land is everlasting happiness in Heaven and a renewed Earth after the General Judgement. The modern secular State of Israel doesn't really matter to us other than its being the place where Jesus walked the earth. Their temple sacrifice was merely a precursor to the perfect and everlasting sacrifice of the Mass offered from the rising of the sun to its setting. The fact that we have Jesus, body, blood, soul and divinity in every tabernacle throughout the world is what matters. That's His covenant with us, and the Church teaches that some day at least a remnant of Jews will realise that He came first for them and they will join with whatever remains of the Church prior to His return. I suspect that Israel will have no peace until the Jews accept Jesus as the Messiah but that's a matter between them and God. Perhaps Israel will never be at peace with its neighbours because the conversion of the Jews will likely herald the reign of the AC.
Dolours, Hello. I wonder if someone should start a thread on the Talmud. It is a very interesting discussion and I think it is worthy of it's own thread. I am also beginning to wonder if I or someone should start a thread on North Korea, the DPRK. I have yet another article on North Korea.... North Korea threatens US with 'greatest pain' after UN sanctions September 12, 2017 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41242992 and another on the same subject only discussing the most recent statements/events, North Korea lashes out over ‘vicious’ U.N. sanctions September 12, 2017 http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...-sanctions/ar-AArOL4F?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=UE07DHP
It is about time that other nations began to provide their own blood and treasure instead of pusillanimously hiding behind the United States. It is also a morally just action to stand up to these threatening bullies. I have always thought the US had no business in the Middle East, but has every right to intervene in a situation where her own territory is vulnerable and has indeed been threatened and she is also being welcomed by her own allies in the region. One proviso does disturb me. We have all heard of Mutually Assured Destruction. This worked for the US/USSR conflict as both sides had similar populations. What of a China, whose bunker-protected elites might, in the event of a violent escalation, gamble on a war of human attrition in the hope that a few hundred million Chinese out of a population of a billion might survive. In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King. I still can't forget those approved Catholic prophesies that do not mention the United States. Thread carefully, and pray. But you must take a stand. Death is preferable to slavery.
That's a great post, Dolours. In my haste to emphasise the despicable nature of much of the Babylonian Talmud, I neglected to make clear that it has to be the case that most Jews would not have an earthly notion of what's in the document. It is almost unreadable, with its convoluted, esoteric legalism, and it is of enormous size. We may hope and pray that the all Jews of good will shall come home to the true Israel, as many continue to do every year. Still, there is a minority who seem to take their direction from either the Talmud itself or a derivative ideology. I think the derivative types, generally atheistic, secularist and formerly communist, are far more dangerous than the Orthodox Jews, who are at least straight about their antipathy to Christianity.
Honestly, I have had quite the opposite happening. It has been a non stop mental assault of the evil one, especially when I am at mass or adoration. I find my self praying for the gift of fortitude.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world...r-Sagrada-Familia-Catalonia-police-evacuation BREAKING: Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia on lockdown - police carry out anti-terror operation CATALAN police say they have cordoned off an iconic temple in Barcelona as part of an anti-terrorism operation. By Ross Logan PUBLISHED: 19:50, Tue, Sep 12, 2017 | UPDATED: 20:26, Tue, Sep 12, 2017 The Sagrada Familia, a large and unfinished Roman Catholic church designed by renowned architect Anton Guadi, has been shut off as part of a counter-terrorism operation, police said. The area around the building has been evacuated. The nearest tube station has been closed and locals and holidaymakers ordered away from cafe and bar terraces and told to take refuge inside premises. Specialist bomb disposal experts have been sent to the area, reportedly to investigate a suspicious package inside a van parked close to the church. Spanish media is reporting that two people have been arrested in connection with the operation. Several roads have also been closed. Regional Mossos d’Esquadra police tweeted in a message partly directed at those immediately affected: “We are making checks around the Sagrada Familia as part of an anti-terror operation and have cordoned off the area. "Follow the instructions of police.” Twitter user @davealenn was in the metro station next to the Sagrada Familia when he and his fellow passengers were moved out by police. "We were evicted from the Sagrada Familia metro station and the police cordoned off the entire area," he tweeted. The counter-terror operation comes less than a month after Barcelona was hit by a terror attack that killed 13 people and injured 130 others. The Sagrada Familia, one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist attractions, was the intended target of the terrorists who carried out last month’s atrocity in the city’s famous Ramblas and the seaside resort of Cambrils.
I don't know which is most shocking, the contents of the report or its crass ignorance-'temple', 'unfinished...church'. God help us, civilisation is taking its last breaths.
DeGaulle, I think there may be a valid reason for both of those references, I know very little about this church but I found the following. In Catalan, it's name is Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família and it may be unfinished, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Família . It is very interesting and I pray that they disarm the potential bomb.
Will Gaudi be made a saint? ..... The extraordinary basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has been under construction for more than 130 years - and there are those who hope that by the time of its completion, some 20 years from now, architect Antoni Gaudi will already be on the path to sainthood. .... A campaign to make Antoni Gaudi a saint was launched more than 20 years ago, when a priest suggested to the Catalan architect, Jose Manuel Almuzara, that Gaudi would be a good candidate for beatification - often a stepping stone on the way to sainthood. Almuzara formed the Association for the Beatification of Antoni Gaudi, and began work on the papers required to put his name forward to the Vatican for consideration. More: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32665526
Soldier of Christ, I'm also finding the very same thing. In fact, immediately after I came out of Confession, I was struck by how immediate the mental assaults were. Left me feeling so discouraged, like I needed to run right back into Confession.
I just read that it was a false alarm. Thank God. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...al-area-closed-off-by-police-reports-say.html But, I read so many other sad stories today. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...r-was-revenge-attack-belgian-media/ar-AArNUjN http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...ear-naples/ar-AArP306?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=UE07DHP http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...lian-tribe/ar-AArJeAo?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=UE07DHP There's more but there always is I suppose.
Now this.....think maybe they'll get the message sometime soon out there?? Updated on September 12 at 7:20 a.m.: The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning that 1,200 cloud-to-ground strikes and 5,800 in-cloud strikes hit the Bay Area Monday night. "You can see both," says Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Monterey. "Both are just as dangerous." It started with strong wind gusts between 35 and 50 mph that roared through Monterey County and parts of the South Bay in the early morning hours. Later in the day, temperatures climbed to the 90s in San Jose and the high 80s in San Francisco. Then came the rain, thunder, and lightning. The National Weather Service tweeted out that the Bay Area saw more than 800 lightning strikes and cloud flashes between noon and 5 p.m. http://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Bay-Area-thunder-lightning-rain-storm-weather-SF-12189916.php By the time thunderstorms bubbled up over parts of the Bay Area Monday afternoon, some people had had enough.
I think this an astute analysis. But as you say who knows. I was talking to a gentleman after Mass this morning, a friend and a very powerful prayer warrior. He is retired Navy and spent a lot of time in Asia. I asked him what he thought about NK. He says a lot of the news headlines are hype. That we have the equipment right there in the pacific to shoot their missiles down and plenty of "ammo" to stop them in their tracks. I hope he is right.
Very articulate examination of this controversial subject done with charity and detachment and common sense. I know more about the Talmud now. Prior to this what I knew came from reading Leon Uris novels and Isaac Bashevis Singer's stories. (Not entirely scholarly!!)
The risk is of drawing China out of hiding. Then the stakes would be far higher and cloaked with uncertainty.
