SUGGESTIONS ON CHANGING PRAYERS
BY JOHN, 3/2/11
This is based on books or sermons that describe the true meanings of Christianity & coming changes in the everyday prayers we speak. The Church keeps telling us they’re going to change the Our Father. Modern language is always changing the meaning of words so we have to keep up with language.
CHANGES
My changes are CAPITALIZED, but I owe the opinions of the Universal Church workers for all these ideas. The italicized comments mean that some of these words are included in the different versions, different centuries, of this prayer or creed. Make your own changes to see where your beliefs are at this time in your life.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic* Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
http://www.bookofconcord.org/creeds.php The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Lutheran Faith.
Other creeds: The Nicene Creed (More detailed than Apostles’ Creed) & the Athanasian Creed (Trinity fully defined).
JOHN’S 2011 APOSTLE’S CREED
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy SPIRIT, born of the Virgin MIRIAM (Maria); suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried. He descended into THE Hell THAT JESUS CALLED: ABRAHAM’S BOSOM , the third day He AROSE from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from THERE He shall come AGAIN to judge the SAINTS AND SINNERS REVIVED FROM THE DEAD. I believe in the Holy SPIRIT. I BELIEVE IN the holy UNIVERSAL BODY OF CHRIST, COMPOSED OF THE GATHERINGS of HIS saints, IRRESPECTIVE OF DENOMINATIONS. WE PRACTICE the forgiveness of sins. WE AWAIT the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
OUR FATHER
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed by thy name, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread & forgive us our trespasses (some use: debts or sins) as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
JOHN’S NEW OUR FATHER
Our Father who DWELLS in heaven MAY YOUR Name BE HONORED IN ALL THE EARTH, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us EACH DAY our daily FOOD & forgive us our trespasses (debts or sins) as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us OUT OF temptation and RESCUE us from evil, For thine is the kingdom, & the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
THE HAIL MARY
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God: Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
PROTESTANT TYPE HAIL MARY
Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee: Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. HOLY JESUS, KING OF KINGS: Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
THE PROPER CATHOLIC TYPE HAIL MARY
Hail MARIA full of grace, the Lord is with YOU: Blessed ARE YOU among women and blessed is the fruit of YOUR VIRGIN womb-Jesus the Anointed One. HONORED MARIA, Mother of God: PRAY TO YOUR SON JESUS, OUR LORD, TO REDEEM US, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
HOLY CATHOLIC [UNIVERSAL] CHURCH
Let’s define some terms from The Apostles’ Creed: catholic means "universal" and is not a reference to the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church believes it created the Christian Church, the New Testament Bible, the Creeds, Liturgy, preserved the earliest Christian truths & that it is the head of the Universal Church. Even if it is so, they are not the Universal Church, but they are only a part of it, whether they is the head or the butt or the eye or the nose of the body they are not the whole body, but only a part of it, as the individual also is only a part of the whole sacred body of Jesus Christ..
I belong to the Holy Universal Christian Church which includes Orthodox, Eastern Rite Catholics, with life sized icons (idols?) & other non-Roman Catholics, etc. I also belong to the Roman Catholic Church which really means: The Universal Roman Catholic Christian Church that is based in Rome, Italy & led by a Pope who was & is a former: Cardinal & or Bishop, Priest & Man. He & his organization are the true, but unrecognized, head of all the other lesser Catholics & the deluded or uniformed brother Protestants, of all stripes. Queen Mary is a mini savior (small “s”) who is venerated, not worshipped, but the Popes only gave the people what they wanted. The gentile, non-Jewish Christians of the early church came from pagan back rounds & they were accustomed to worshipping a female goddess, they developed her cult which spread & grew over the centuries. Saint praying, and statue-of-saints-praying (idols?), is derived from former pagan holidays, sun god Sunday as a remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus all these marketing techniques helped to stabilize the growing population of former pagans.
Of course nothing is so simple & obvious in Christianity. The first attack on the divinity & miraculous birth of Jesus was in the 2nd century (the first hundred years of Christianity), by Celsus. He said that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier named Panthera. The Church Father Origen, alive at that time, said it was a fabricated story to attempt to discredit Christianity. There is at least one other accusation from modern writers as to whom her real husband or sperm donor was. The doctrine of the virgin birth of the savior was predicted in the Old Testament (Jewish/Christian Bible) Isaiah 7:14 {Luke, 1:27 2:11}. Even if Saint Maria or St. Mariam or St. Miriam (Mary) was not a virgin, Jesus still proved he was divine by his super miracles, amazing teachings & the resurrection appearances to so many. But, proof is not as important as faith in this religion.
“Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing…But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 20:27, 31, KJV
Many Mary-loving Catholics don’t care what the Pope says about Mary, as long as she is elevated, by him, to slightly below or almost equal to Jesus Christ. Let’s face it most orthodox Jews, Jehovah Witnesses & others say that Catholics & Protestants follow of pagan customs & pagan holidays. How can we defend against so many concessions to pagan holidays & venerating & worshipping Mary & Jesus who are not God or the God who is Spirit as God is? They have a point, but truth happens in spite of accusations, coincidences or religious inconsistencies. Jesus said he was God coming to earth to bring us back to God the Father & I believe it. I hope my faith isn’t misplaced, but I’ve made my choice and I think it is the correct one. Jesus was fully God & fully Man & part of the Trinity. It’s by faith & hope that I long for a better resurrection into Jesus’ Bosom.
I also belong to the Protestant Holy Universal Christian Church which for them means: no Roman Catholics, idol worshippers, saint worshippers, no prayers to angels, the Virgin Mary or even St. Peter or St. Paul. Jesus Christ & the Trinity is the only one to honor, pray to & worship. They worship the Bible as God, but they pretend they don’t by carrying it like a math book, high-lighting it, & making notes in it. Protestants whether liberal, legalistic, self-deluded, cruel, literal prophecy, confused (like me), inerrant Bible or love & faith/working believing little Christ’s criticize other Protestants & many don’t consider Catholics eligible for Heaven . I wouldn’t be surprised if some cults that believe(d) in the saving power of Jesus, in the past & present are part of that Universal Church & the Catholics & Protestants hounded, tortured & killed some of them.
I apologize for some of my attitudes & words that will hurt Heaven-bound Christians, even if they didn’t know God accepts many people they reject.
PROTESTANT/CATHOLIC
What’s a Protestant/Catholic? Me. I made the word
up. It means a sometimes Roman
Catholic who also sometimes believes
the Protestant teachings. I sometimes
find the extra-Biblical prayers to the Virgin Mary & Papal statements false
or misleading. Sometimes I think the Protestants should either say the
Apostle’s Creed or something that honors, but doesn’t worship, the Virgin Mary. I don’t think anyone is reading my free web
site, so I might as well do what I want, while still attempting to honor God. I
like Protestants who are part of the Universal
Church. I like: Billy Graham & his son. I also like Creflo Dollar; he’s
really preaching true doctrines lately. I love to get self-help advice
from: Joyce Meyers & Joel Osteen.
And I treasure Dr. Laura’s advice & she’s an Orthodox Jew!
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN TRUTH TODAY?
I was born & raised into a beer/wine drinking, smoking, cursing, screaming, gambling, priest/nun bashing, threatening home. We didn’t tithe, or give more than one or two dollars, when we did have to go to church, except on Christmas, where my parents might give $5.00. That was pretty good money for the 1960’s & 70’s, considering what most people drop in the collection basket today, in 2011. We were all happily ignorant of teachings of Vatican I or II. It was a hell-raising Roman Catholic family…well my father was the hell-raiser, we just went along for the scary ride. My parents believed in the Church, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, reading the Bible & prayer before eating. My parents didn’t accept the authority that the church tries to impose on our family. They would use their common sense first, have their fun & religion was third or fourth or less.
I’m not fluent in koine Greek, Aramaic or Hebrew but, if you are look up the words, read what theologians want to change in our prayers & come up with your own prayers that feel right to you & your understanding of the Bible. Some people can pray in free form, but some of us like a rote prayer, when we can’t think of anything to pray about. Silent Prayer is also very necessary or a listening for God’s answer or a waiting for Him to speak. Mother Teresa was famous for this. The Churches tell us that the Our Father isn’t accurate & for years they’ve been working on changing it. The Apostle’s Creed is accurate, even though there are several versions going back to about 600 A.D. there are very few major differences. Maybe our current theology is much more in-depth & accurate then the Church Fathers’ was, but probably some is also less accurate.
Christianity is not for the person that gets nervous with paradoxes, ambiguity or anarchic freedom to think for themselves. But we must realize that Jesus our Christ said,
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…Whomever committeth sin is the servant of sin…the son abideth for ever…If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:32-36, KJV
That is confusing. What does Jesus mean? It seems like he doesn’t want to spell it out, so they can make fun of him or his saying. Only those who meditate & practice his words will find the true meaning-hence-the confusion!! You have to think about it. You might spend years meditating, thinking & putting into practice what you’ve discovered about the Bible or you might forget it. If you don’t use a mnemonic device, memorize, write a song or poem or prayer about it, if you’re like me you’ll forget vast sections of dogma. It seems like every seven years I’ve forgotten all the details about theology & stories in the Bible. I have to try to do better than that. The Creeds tell the story of what we believe.
Here’s another bombshell from the Bible, about how wise we would become, after the Messiah’s (Christ’s) arrival. Jesus has arrived, why do we need so many Catechisms & Bible teachers?
“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters over the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14, KJV
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34, KJV
“And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” Hebrews 8:8-13, KJV
”And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32, KJV
IN CONCLUSION
Being wise in Jesus Christ through the Scriptures & the Holy Spirit gives us Christians some authority. Though we are limited, to create our own lives, prayers we can & must discuss our doubts & ask for help in understanding or even interpreting Christian doctrines…for ourselves. Teaching & evangelizing others should be with approved words, that the Church or Gathering of Universal Saints can all agree upon. Someone’s eternal salvation may depend upon it. Amen? Now go I tell someone about how God has improved your life & saved your eternal life, through Jesus!
