In a news article out of Vatican City yesterday, this was printed:
“On Thursday, women theologians, experts and leaders met for a one-day discussion on female leadership, asking the tough questions facing the Catholic Church on the issue. In her presentation, ordained missionary and theologian Maeve Louise Heaney questioned Catholic theology that attempts to ‘essentialize’ women. ‘They speak of complementarity and name the contribution of women as essentially different to that of men,’ she explained, ‘pitching love, spirituality and nurturing against authority, leadership and intellect.’
Heaney challenged Catholics to reconsider their idea of God and the Holy Spirit as neither male nor female, quoting her ‘yoga-loving’ niece who prays to ‘the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the Mother, the Daughter and the Holy Spirit.’”
Clicking on this sentence will take you to the article.
I know I normally focus on the questionable things going on in Protestantism, but this is an example of Catholic theology gone awry. It seems to me that many Protestants and Catholics are getting away from obvious Biblical teachings that have been central to Christianity for two millennia.
There are these verses:
Ephesians 4:4-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
and this verse:
Matthew 3:16,17
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
and this verse among many others:
Matthew 28:19
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . . .”
No where in scripture do we see the Father described as the mother or Jesus described as the daughter.
This type of thing reminds me of 2 Timothy 4:3 which states:
“For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires…”
Many Protestants and Catholics need to get back to the basics found in the scriptures alone. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone that we are saved.
Chris Reimers
Posted by Chris 
Wings of the Wind 
Giving Thanks with Charles Haddon Spurgeon
November 18, 2024For Charles Spurgeon, life was to be lived coram Deo, “in the presence of God.” Indeed, Spurgeon believed that “no joy is like the joy of Christ’s presence with his people.” A presence sweet enough to “[drown] every note of sorrow” and tune every heart “to the loudest notes of thankfulness.”
Spurgeon believed it was “a heavenly thing to be thankful.” After all, it was gratitude which “ought to teach us the divine object of grace.” Accordingly, he longed for his heart to burn with the “sacred flame of thankfulness.”
For the world being happy was a prerequisite to being grateful, but Spurgeon knew that “God’s people are always happy when they are grateful” to Him. In fact, Spurgeon was so certain he said, “We should be ten times more full of bliss if we were proportionately more full of thankfulness.”
For Spurgeon, living with thankfulness was an all-encompassing commitment. Whether for richer or for poorer, even in sickness and in health. Indeed, he would often remind his congregation that “you have received all you have from God the Father through Christ.” This truth made every enjoyment an avenue for God glorifying gratitude.
Thus, in all “our eating, our drinking,” and “social meetings” Spurgeon claimed “we should give thanks unto God the Father.” The same “Father of Lights” from whom all blessings did, and do, indeed flow.
But gracious gratitude was not to be limited by the circumstances of this life. To make his point Spurgeon reminded his congregation of the story of a poor “godly preacher,” who one evening could only offer his children a dinner consisting of “a potato and a herring.” Nonetheless, the preacher “thanked God that he had ransacked sea and land to find food for his children.” Truly, the God who fed the sparrows and the ravens would not forget his people.
Indeed, while God’s temporal provision was a sweet blessing, his eternal provision of salvation through Jesus Christ was beyond comparison. Even after pastoring for many years, Spurgeon still marveled that “God should condescend to make a covenant with man, and ordain faith in Jesus as the great way of obtaining reconciliation.”
Spurgeon believed that the substitutionary, penal, atoning death of Christ on the cross provided Christians cause for “daily adoration and hourly thankfulness.” In Spurgeon’s view, “since Jesus has loved us so well,” it was impossible not to “give to him all that we are, and all that we have.” As a result, Spurgeon challenged his church to “let your gratitude compel you to do everything for Jesus.”
There is much in life for which to be thankful. Family, friends, food, and the changing color of the fall leaves are sweet gifts to be savoured and enjoyed. But, the best gift to be thankful for is Jesus Christ. This Thanksgiving Spurgeon would have us contemplate Christ and let Christ “flood the whole of [our] faculties” with thankfulness.
From all of us at The Spurgeon Library, Blessed Thanksgiving!
Phillip Ort, Director of The Spurgeon Library
Source: https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/blog-entries/giving-thanks-with-charles-haddon-spurgeon/
A Short Biography of Charles Spurgeon: The Life and Times of Charles H. Spurgeon
I know I’m a bit early here but I haven’t posted for quite some time. I do have posts backed up so I hope to be more active in the near future.
May God bless each of you this Thanksgiving as we think of our great God and His amazing love.
Chris Reimers
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