Pastor John,
Brother Tom testified this evening to what a miracle it is that he is now able to serve the Lord in Spirit and in Truth, instead of in ceremony – as was required of him during most of his young life, as he labored to serve the Lord in the Christian institution – Catholicism. He said that the ceremonies regularly observed in Catholicism were esteemed as highly as Jesus himself; that Catholic ceremonies were gods, inspiring the same fear and reverence, and manner of servitude from men, that only truly belongs to the Father and His sinless Son.
Tom was rescued by Jesus.
You then added that Tom had described the situation accurately, citing that the Catholic ceremony of communion, in which Catholics claim their priests turn ordinary wine and bread into the very blood and flesh of the living Christ, and therefore becomes God.
All of this made me consider the gods/demons of ancient Rome. Where did they go when Rome underwent its transformation into Christianity? Knowing what we do about Rome, that the spirit of Rome remains alive and well to this day, effectively translated into the thriving institution of Christianity, I had to wonder, what happened to all of those Roman demons when Rome was transformed into Christianity?
When Rome underwent its changing-of-hats and started masquerading as the bride of Christ in the form of the Roman Catholic Church/Christianity, did those demons that embodied Roman religion, then change hats as well? Did they begin occupying places within Christianity that also struck fear and reverence in the hearts of men, and likewise commanded obedience? Did the demons that ruled in the hearts of Roman men, under titles such as: Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, dig around in God’s trash can and find new identities in the form of something that would also strike fear and command obedience from the hearts of men, in their new home within Christianity? Something that might have once had such awe-inspiring value, such as the now-worthless ceremonies, (or some semblance of them) that used to reign supreme under the law of Moses?
Did those demons who once ruled Rome under the dread titles Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus change their methods and begin ruling hearts within Christianity under such new awe-inspiring titles as water baptism, foot washing ceremonies and communion?
Titles that, according to brother Tom’s account, occupy the place in the hearts of many men that belongs to no one but Christ himself?
Jerry
===========
Hi Jerry.
The demons of Rome did “change hats”, as you say, but they did not become Christian ceremonies. They became the “patron saints” of Catholicism.
Pastor John