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05/25/11 Dear Mr. Shin: You and I spoke before about religion. I asked if you were a Christian. I believe you said yes, a Catholic. I believe some Catholics are born-again Christians, but sadly, some are not. In Houston, my wife and I met and broke bread with Charles and Elizabeth Melton. They said, "When we were in the Catholic church, we were not told what Jesus said in John chapter 3, 'You must be born again.' (John 3:7) We were taught that you'll go to heaven if you're a good Catholic. But Jesus said, "You must be born again." So then, just being a Catholic doesn't get you to heaven, if one is not born again. But if one is born again, then he wouldn't need to be a Catholic. Jesus said, Mt 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. But Catholics call their priests father. No, my father is in heaven. No priest is my father, not even spiritually. And some of the Catholic priests are child molesters. There have been many lawsuits against the Catholic church about this, and they've paid out a lot of money in damages. The Catholic church has a prayer called "The Rosary." It starts out, "Hail Mary, mother of God..." God doesn't have a mother. God the Father has always existed, and never had father nor mother. Jesus had a beginning, for it is written, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..." (John 3:16). So Jesus was begotten. How did God beget a Son? With a woman? No. Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; So then, Jesus was present at the creation of the worlds. Adam was before Eve, the first woman, and Jesus was before Adam. God begot Jesus with no woman involved. We know that God speaks things into existence. But then, when it was time for God the Father to send his son Jesus to earth, he used Mary to give birth to Jesus' earthly body some thousands of years after the begetting of Jesus by God. So, it's not correct to say the Mary is the mother of God. The Rosary also says Mary is "full of grace." Those words "full of grace" are in the Bible, but it's talking about Jesus, not Mary. There is no scripture in the Bible authorizing anyone to pray to Mary. Peter didn't pray to her, nor Paul, nor John the Beloved. To pray to Mary is, I believe, to commit the sin of idolatry, to pray to something other than God. The Catholic church has taught that there's a place called Purgatory, a place to go after death beside heaven and hell. There is no such place. Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Everyone gets one life on earth. During your life on earth, if you get born-again and keep yourself straight with God, you go to heaven. Otherwise, one goes to hell. And Jesus said most people go to hell. Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. God wants his people to come out of "her." Who is her? The great whore that sits on the waters. The waters here are people. The Great Whore is a city that sits on seven hills. Probably Rome. Rome is where the headquarters of the Catholic church is. I believe the Great Whore that God wants his people to come out of is either the Catholic church, or a combined Catholic/Protestant church predicted by David Wilkerson. I believe God doesn't want his people to be part of the Catholic church. Does a person go to hell for being a Catholic? No, if you're born-again, you can go to heaven. But born-again Christians should be trying to please the Lord Jesus Christ. To please Jesus, I believe his people should not be Catholics. Fred Hoehn
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