The Bible and the French Revolution - Great Controversy (1911) Ellen G. White

 

The German Theologian Bringing Protestants and Catholics Together

Jayson Casper

Evangelicals have critiqued the ecumenism of former World Evangelical Alliance head Thomas Schirrmacher.

Christianity Today

June 25, 2026

Image courtesy of Thomas Schirrmacher

Eleven American Pentecostal pastors sat nervously with Pope Francis at the Vatican in June 2016. The meeting, arranged by Thomas Schirrmacher, then chair of the theological commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), was an opportunity for the guests to ask the pontiff anything they wanted. Two years earlier, Francis had publicly apologized for past Catholic persecution of the charismatic movement.

At the time, the Italian Evangelical Alliance had cautioned against growing ecumenical openness where “insurmountable” doctrinal obstacles exist. The American delegation was similarly opposed to Schirrmacher’s engagement but had agreed to the meeting. No one wanted to ask the first question. Amid the awkwardness, Francis took the initiative.

He asked the delegation to pray for him.

Schirrmacher said what followed was a life-changing experience for the Pentecostals. They prayed for the pope. He prayed for them. By the end, he said, their theological concerns didn’t matter much anymore as they agreed with Schirrmacher that Francis was a genuine believer and had no intention to convert them to Catholicism.

Matters of theology and doctrine have always mattered to Schirrmacher, who turns 66 today. The German theologian has four doctoral degrees and authored more than 100 books, including a six-volume treatise on ethics. Committed to Christian unity, he served as general secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance from 2021 to 2024. Yet his life has been a lightning rod of controversy—particularly when he neared the halls of power.

Even seemingly straightforward truths, he finds, have prompted critical reaction.

“If I say, ‘God is love,’” said Schirrmacher, “it could start a global discussion.”

Born in 1960, Schirrmacher traces his family history to 18th-century Huguenots exiled from Austria to Prussia. His father served on the board of the missions agency World Evangelization for Christ, and Schirrmacher interacted with many visiting missionaries. He met Billy Graham as a child, and again in 1983. By then, Schirrmacher was a young pastor who had planted seven churches. Graham advised him to continue pursuing advanced theological studies.

Keith Green's Thoughts on the Church of Rome: The Catholic Church Is Not A Cult It's An Empire!!

 

The Jesuit Agenda of Control | Chris Pinto

 

 The Jesuit Agenda of Control | Chris Pinto

Prophecy Watchers 

Jan 28, 2025 

By exposing the dark side of a secret Jesuit organization you do create some controversy and make some enemies along the way. But as Christians, should we be silent and allow evil and wickedness to prosper? After watching the film, you'll understand that much of the material may be too hot for network television. I think you’ll be shocked to hear about many of America’s leaders, specifically politicians, who are deeply embedded in this Jesuit agenda.

Secret societies the Jesuits, satan’s minions on earth! (8)

The Agents of Rome | Episode #3 | Truth Prevaileth: Season 1

The Vatican's Secret Society That Seeks to Destroy Christianity | Who Ar...

The Jesuit Order Exposed with Brannon Howse and Chris Pinto (Part 1)

The History of the Counter-Reformation in a Nutshell

January 9, 2024 James Arendt

A friend asked me to write about the Counter-Reformation as succinctly as possible because he wanted to add pictures to the text. Most of the materials in this article have been compiled from other articles on this website.

Let’s start off with definitions:

The Protestant Reformation

The 16th-century movement that was started by Martin Luther. Entire European nations protested against the abuses of the Roman Catholic church, endeavored to reform it, refused to continue to submit to the Pope, and sought to base their Christian beliefs and worship of God solely on what the Bible teaches, and not on Roman church traditions.

The Counter-Reformation

The Roman Catholic Church’s reaction to the Protestant Reformation and its efforts to undo it.

A brief history behind the two movements
Martin Luther

Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymn writer, professor, and Augustinian friar. He was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation.

Luther turned to the prophecies of the “little horn” of Daniel 7:8, the “man of sin” of II Thessalonians 2:3, and “the beast” of Revelation 13. He saw the truth and said to himself, “Why, these prophecies apply to the Roman Catholic Church!”

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, a statement of 95 points called the Ninety-five Theses, which protested against the sale of indulgences by the Church. According to Catholic doctrine, an “indulgence” is a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for forgiven sins. Luther wrote the sale of indulgences is an unbiblical practice that only enriches the Vatican and does nothing for the soul. Because of the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in the previous century, the Ninety-five Theses was reprinted and distributed to all the nations of Europe. The kings and princes of the nations who agreed with Luther subsequently left the Roman Catholic Church, and this resulted in a substantial loss of income for the Vatican! Catholic nations are usually poorer than Protestant ones because of the sale of indulgences and paying the Church money for other fruitless unbiblical practices such as masses for the dead.

Besides identifying the prophecies of the Antichrist as the office of the papacy, Luther also discovered that salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ and not through works or the Catholic sacraments as the Church of Rome insists. He discovered the truth of Romans 1:17 that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Warning! This Is Inside the Vatican Church (R$E)

SDAs Must Counter Jesuit Counter-Reformation. Sunday Law Is To Destroy T...

Pope holds mass marking start of Reformation anniversary year

A leap across the great divide

by Mgr Mark Langham

posted Thursday, 27 Oct 2016

Pope Francis prays during a visit to the Lutheran church in Rome last November (AP)




Thanks to astonishing ecumenical advances, Catholics can recognise – and even give thanks for – the witness of Martin Luther

In October 2012, the Catholic bishops of Germany received an invitation that left them stumped. German Protestants had asked them to join in the jubilee celebrations of the Reformation in 2017, specifically in the events leading up to the 500th anniversary of Luther’s posting of 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg, the act considered to have launched the Reformation.

Not surprisingly, the bishops were cautious. “It depends on the character of the events planned,” said their spokesman, Bishop Gerhard Feige. “Catholic Christians consider the division of the Western Church as a tragedy – and do not think they can celebrate this merrily.”

Clearly, a great deal of discussion about the character of those events has taken place in the meantime. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the German bishops’ conference, and Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chairman of the German Protestant churches, have marked the anniversary by leading an ecumenical pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and will hold a Lent service dedicated to healing memories. Moreover, Pope Francis is travelling to Sweden to take part in a service marking the beginning of preparations for the jubilee.

For many Catholics, the anniversary of the Reformation will be a matter of great sorrow. It is hard to see how any Catholic could celebrate an event which ruptured Western Christendom and rejected many teachings of the Church, and indeed this magazine has termed any prospect of a joint celebration a “naïve initiative”.

Yet this anniversary takes place in a new era in relations between Catholics and Lutherans, an ecumenical engagement inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council which allows each side to see the Reformation in a way that does not deny, but rather transcends, old polemics. This new encounter culminated in the 1999 “Common Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification”, officially received by both the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation, which expressed a common understanding of one of the hotly contested causes of the Reformation.

Certainly, the involvement of Catholics in the anniversary presents a challenge for both sides, and calls for a fresh approach to our Reformation legacy. “From Conflict to Communion” is the aptly titled document issued in 2013 by the official Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, outlining a common approach to the forthcoming anniversary of Luther. There are, traditionally, strongly partisan interpretations of the movement Luther started. For Catholics, “Reformation” means “division”, whereas for Protestants it means “rediscovery of the Scriptures”. Both points of view need to be taken seriously by each side.

It was Pope St John Paul II who spoke of an “exchange of gifts” as the fruit of ecumenical dialogue, and Pope Francis has identified the rediscovery of Scripture in the life of the Church as one of the gifts received from our Protestant colleagues. In an atmosphere where caricatures have been demolished and neuralgic terms revisited, the Catholic bishops of Germany have felt able to acknowledge some element of celebration to these events: not in any sense of the division of Christendom and rejection of the Catholic Church, but recognising in Martin Luther a “Gospel witness and teacher of the faith”.

For their part, Lutherans, according to the official prayer for commemoration of the Reformation, have agreed that in recalling “the events that led to the foundation of their churches, [they] do not wish to do so without their Catholic fellow Christians”.

Yet we would be wrong to ignore the disunity of past centuries, and our relations can only be honest if we acknowledge the pain and hurt that we have caused each other. Rightly, Pope Francis and his Lutheran hosts in Sweden will express repentance for the divisions and hostilities caused by the Reformation and reaction to it.

But as Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has pointed out, such collaboration can only be successful if it is grounded in a deeper relationship, one that places Christ firmly at the centre of our lives as Christians.

Modern ecumenism understands that it is when we are closest to Christ that we are closest to each other, so this anniversary is a call to Catholics and Lutherans alike to be more attentive to the Gospel. In this way the anniversary can be a stepping stone to future unity, rather than a rehearsing of past hurts. Another aspect of the service that Pope Francis will attend in Sweden will be thanksgiving for 50 years of ecumenical dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics.

There is no doubt that this anniversary presents a challenge to Catholics. Catholics cannot celebrate the Reformation, but our commemoration can be more than a bland acknowledgment of a historical anniversary. In the larger horizon of life in Christ and the unity for which he prayed, we may recognise – and even give thanks for – the contribution and witness of Martin Luther.

This article first appeared in the October 28 2016 issue of The Catholic Herald. To read the magazine in full, from anywhere in the world, go here

Source

Martin Scorsese's new film will be a major 2017 Oscar contender

By ANI

Published: 06th August 2016 04:42 PM

Last Updated: 06th August 2016 04:42 PM

US film director Martin Scorsese | File Photo- AFP


LONDON: Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese’s upcoming movie ‘Silence’ starring Liam Neeson is going to be major 2017 Oscar contender, as director revealed that the film would be ready for release this year.

In a recent interview with Showbiz411, Scorsese, 73, said, “Silence will be golden for an end of year release. “It depends on Paramount,” and revealed that the studio have decided for November or December release, reports the Independent.

‘Silence’, based on the novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusaku Endo, would revolve around two Jesuit Portuguese Catholic priests who face violent persecution when they travel to Japan to seek out their mentor and spread the teachings of Christianity.

The movie which also stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, and Ciarán Hinds, is expected to release at the end of this year.

Source

Papal envoy to be present at commemoration of death of Jan Hus

Papal envoy to be present at commemoration of death of Jan Hus


Catholic World News - May 04, 2015


Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the retired archbishop of Prague, as his special envoy for the commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the death of Jan Hus.

The Bohemian priest was burned at the stake for heresy, and in 1999 Pope St . John Paul II expressed regret for his death.

“On the eve of the Great Jubilee, I feel obliged to express deep regret for the cruel death inflicted on Jan Hus and the resulting wound, a source of conflict and division which was thus opened in the minds and hearts of the Bohemian people,” he said.

The commemoration will take place in Prague on July 5 and 6.

Source

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Catholic-Evangelical Alliance on 500th Anniversary of Luther's 95 Theses?

MYSOULREFUGE

Published on Dec 11, 2014


Here is another "False Unity Alert" for those who might be interested.

The Boston Globe newspaper reported that there is a possibility that some Christian leaders will seek to propose a "joint declaration of faith" between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals on the 500th anniversary of the day, (October 31, 2017) when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door at Wittenberg, Germany!

Here is an excerpt from that Boston Globe article: " . . . In June, a month before he was tragically killed in a road accident, Palmer took a number of the leaders — together, they represented possibly 800 million Christians — to meet Francis, where they proposed signing, on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, in 2017, a “joint declaration of faith in unity for mission.” The declaration will open a new era for Christians, encouraging them to act and pray together across the world, in spite of their differences. [Can Pope Francis heal the deep divisions in Christianity? Boston Globe By Austen Ivereigh NOVEMBER 21, 2014] The WEBSITE History.com declares the following regarding Martin Luther and his 95 Theses:

"His “95 Theses,” which propounded two central beliefs—that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds—was to spark the Protestant Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West."

This short video is another wake up call for all people who know that here can NEVER be a true UNITY between the apostate Roman Catholic church, and the TRUE biblically born again CHRISTIAN church, because ROME preaches a FALSE gospel.


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Black History and The Great Controversy - Marlowe Parks

AdventExodus777

Published on Oct 7, 2013


This video shows the relationship with the Bible and black history. I learned a lot watching it. Even though the graphics are not that good, you will be surprise(d) in what you find out from this video. This might blow your mind.
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Resident Evil: The Jesuit Threat to Humanity

Resident Evil: The Jesuit Threat to Humanity

by Mike Bellinger 

The New Resistance

Real History

There is an invisible power which secretly rules. 

When Martin Luther sparked the spiritual and social revolution in Europe we now know as the Reformation, he sent an arrow deep into the heart of the Vatican power base. As the Reformation spread and enlightenment became commonplace, the Dark Ages ended, didn't they? Apparently they did not. The Vatican, in its lust for power over all human life, soon spawned an advocate who was worthy of the devil himself. He went by the name of Ignatius Loyola. Loyola was a self-made man. He suffered many trials and defeats in his life, but persevered to become the head of what he named the "Society of Jesus" whose members later became better known under their assigned nickname: the Jesuits.

Ignatius Loyola formed the Jesuits as a military order with the stated purpose of overthrowing the reformation started by Martin Luther and restoring the temporal (political) and religious domination of the Vatican in all walks of life. In other words, he wanted to bring back the Dark Ages. The domination of the Vatican and the Pope as Monarch over all Kings, Queens, secular leaders and the rest of humanity was (and still is) the avowed mission of the Society of Jesus.

Loyola's mandate was that the end justified the means, and any means of restoring Vatican domination was acceptable. The mission of the Jesuits was the extermination of all heresy and all heretics. Protestants and all other non-Catholics must be converted or eliminated - either sooner or later. The saying among the Jesuits was that "It is no sin to kill a heretic". This murderous justification apparently became their creed.

They demanded absolute, unquestioning obedience from their members. To achieve the fourth and highest vow of initiation, and thereby be initiated into the actively evil pyramidal top level, a Jesuit must be a loyal member for 35 years. This requirement ensured the smallest possibility of dissent or original thinking ever surviving in anyone reaching leadership role, or from ever altering their stated purpose or mission as set out by founder Ignatius Loyola.

As a military order, they fought many open political wars with European Kings, Queens and statesmen. Their favored tool against such power was assassination. Because of their small numbers, they became experts on poisoning and all known methods of assassination. They were even connected to the Borgias, as in Lucretia Borgia.

In those days most everyone had a confessor. The Jesuits deliberately sought these roles and came to dominate the confessor positions in European society. In that role they were able to use the intelligence they gathered from their political, social and business victims to gain advantage in politics, business and education. The confessor spies then used that information and position coupled with blackmail, bribery and intimidation to seek advantage for the Vatican in every endeavor. The Jesuit intelligence apparatus is unequaled on this planet. They were in place before we ever even dreamed of such an enterprise. Their missionaries carried this intelligence gathering on throughout the world when Columbus opened up the frontier, and no one has ever outdone them. This is one of the secrets of the Jesuit-Vatican control of much of the world.

The other very successful and crucial tactic they employed was to infiltrate all of their enemies. Opposing religions, enemy political structures, business, media and education, both domestic and foreign, were infiltrated by Jesuit missionaries and the many unidentifiable junior Jesuits: those secular followers who were all too willing to accept Jesuit favors and position in exchange for selling their countries and their souls to the Vatican.

What happened in Europe was that after 250 hundred years of bloody Jesuit-instigated massacres of Protestants, the bloody Jesuit Inquisitions (some estimates put the total Vatican and Jesuit death toll at 60 million human beings, making Hitler seem like an amateur) and resulting wars with European monarchs and statesmen, the Jesuits had been taking quite a beating themselves. Many had been executed outright, and as a group they were thrown out of almost every country in Europe at one time or another. Even several popes turned against them due to public outcries from some still loyal Catholic countries. But they always somehow managed to regroup and return. When they did, they always extracted bloody revenge on whatever country or ruler had expelled them. They killed the popes who banished them and took over the Vatican completely in the 1700's. This would prevent any further rear-guard actions against them in the future as they had suffered previously. This consolidation of Jesuit control over the Vatican itself marked a new phase in the ongoing battle against Protestantism and all the other non-Catholic "heretics" of the world at large.

The lessons learned from open conflicts with the European powers led to the next and most sinister phase of the Jesuit takeover of world society. They realized that the most effective and efficient method of seizing control of a society was by their already useful tactic of infiltration, but this time in secret. The instruments of that infiltration would be the many secret societies which they targeted and assumed control of. The international nature of the Masonic brotherhood made them an ideal tool for using its membership to advance Jesuit goals. Publicly, the Vatican and the Masons were enemies; but F. Tupper Saussy found evidence linking them, and Jon Eric Phelps notes that Adam Wieshaupt, the founder of modern Bavarian Freemasonry was a Jesuit agent.

The Knights of Malta (formerly Knights Templar) are the premiere secret society of the Vatican these days, but they are subservient to the Jesuit General. Many of America and the Western World's power elite are Knights of Malta.

Once they spread their influence through the secret societies worldwide and coordinated with the English Roundtables to impose a worldwide network of control, the whole phenomena evolved into what we know of today as the New World Order (or what the elite-controlled press so disingenuously refers to as Globalism, as if that is something to be desired). The Globalists have many nicknames, but their agenda is one and the same. It is total control of this planet. They have many factions who compete with one another for position and advantage like a group of churlish relatives, but the ultimate goal is always unchanged. And the Jesuit overlords lurk in the background, pulling all the important strings.

If you know anything about the history of the elite Brotherhood, then you will know that the Rothschild’s banking faction developed the art of financing wars from both sides of a conflict by utilizing the secrets of Central Banking with their ability to create enormous debt loads in the resident populations resulting from the issuance of government authorized fiat money. The incredible profits generated by war, reaped from both the winners and losers, led to a syndrome where induced wars became a way of life for the overlords because of the vast financial profits and additional benefits derived from it.

In addition to massive financial profits, war results in many other '"benefits" for the overlords. Some of the most important to them are increased centralized control of the population by government, increased militarization, and the public fear of conflicts to come, leading them to let their "peace-loving" statesmen do all their thinking for them.

But the Jesuits have a much darker rationale behind all the world conflicts they have overseen in the last 600 years. They have used all of these various wars as cover-ups for their mass exterminations of Protestants and all other non-Catholic peoples worldwide. This is the real horror of the Jesuits and the Vatican. They are the most prolific mass murders in all of human history. No one and nothing else in known human history compares to their record of calculated genocide. Now you know why we must stop this evil. The Vatican, as it is now, is the incarnation of hell itself. There can be no doubt of that.

Here are some Jesuit/Vatican atrocities to mull over.

The Crusades: Who knows how many died? And then the children’s crusades ... Good God.

The Inquisitions: In “Vatican Assassins,” Eric Jon Phelps cites a source that estimates roughly 60 million people were murdered in the various stages of the Inquisitions. Think about that number for a minute. Most of these people were tortured to death.

Catherine De Medici instigated the butchering of 75,000 French Protestant Huguenots on August 24, 1572. In 1598 Henry IV issued the Edict of Nates to protect them. By manipulating the rescinding of the protective Edict of Nantes in 1685 by the Jesuit confessor to King Louis XIV (using religious blackmail), another HALF MILLION FRENCH HUGUENOTS were butchered by the vile French Catholic Dragonades. In 1655 again, British Protestant hero Oliver Cromwell threatened to invade France and crush the French Crown for a new massacre being waged upon the French Vadois Protestants of valley of Piedmont by six Catholic Regiments by the Duke of Savoy.

The massacre of the poor Irish protestants on October 23rd 1641 - the "Feast" of Ignatius Loyola. How fitting a day for a massacre by these bloodthirsty swine. It is estimated that 150,000 Irish Protestants were butchered in the streets and in their homes. This slaughter took place over an eight-year period. Finally, once again it was Oliver Cromwell who finally invaded Ireland and attacked the Jesuit base at Drogheda and in a rage exterminated the entire Catholic village of 2000. Only this invasion finally ended the massacre of the Protestants. The present day Irish Protestants are still at war with the fanatical Irish Catholic Jesuits, and this is why they need the continued protection of the British Army.

End of Part 1

Source

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The Jesuits

Facts Of Faith

By

Christian Edwardson

Chapter 27

The Jesuits

THE "Society of Jesus," commonly called "the Jesuits," is a secret order of the Roman Catholic Church, founded August 15, 1534, by the Spaniard, Ignatius Loyola, and sanctioned by Pope Paul III, September 27, 1540. Loyola had received a military training, and when he later became an extreme religious enthusiast, he conceived the idea of forming a spiritual militia, to be placed at the service of the pope. The Jesuit T. J. Campbell says:

"They are called the Society or Company of Jesus, the latter designation expressing more correctly the military idea of the founder, which was to establish, as it were, a new battalion in the spiritual army of the Catholic Church."–The Encyclopedia Americana, art. "Jesuits."

Organization And Rules Of The Society

Loyola organized his Company on the strictest military basis. Its General was always to reside at Rome, supervising from his headquarters every branch scattered over the world. Theodor Griesinger says:

"Its General ruled as absolute monarch in all parts of the world, and the different kingdoms of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America lay at his feet divided into provinces. Over each province was placed a provincial, as lieutenant of the general, and every month it was the duty of this provincial to send in his report to his General .... From these thousands of reports the General was in possession of the most accurate information regarding all that was going on in the world. Moreover, by means of the Father Confessors at the various Courts, he was initiated into all the secrets of these latter. [The officials] had to be careful to report nothing but the exact truth, [for] each one of them was provided with an assistant who was also in direct coramunication with the General, [who checked the reports of the one against the other.]"–"History of the Jesuits," p. 280. London:1892.

The Abbate Leone, after personal investigation, writes:

"Every day the general receives a number of reports which severally check each other. There are in the central house, at Rome, huge registers, wherein are inscribed the names of all the Jesuits and of all the important persons, friends, or enemies, with whom they have any connection. In those registers are recorded . . . facts relating to the lives of each individual. It is the most gigantic biographical collection that has ever been formed. The conduct of a light woman, the hidden failings of a statesman, are recounted in these books with cold impartiality. . . When it is required to act in any way upon an individual, they open the book and become immediately acquainted with his life, his character, his qualities, his defects, his projects, his family, his friends, his most secret acquaintances."–"The Secret Plan of the Order," with preface by M. Victor Considerant, p. 33. London:1848.

Similar registers are also found in the offices of the provincials, and in the "novitiate houses," so that when one Jesuit follows another in office, he has at his finger tips the fullest knowledge of the most secret lives of those for whom he is to labor, whether they are friends or foes. The Abbate Leone says of his secret investigation of this fact:

"The first thing that struck me was some great books in the form of registers, with alphabeted edges.
"I found that they contained numerous observations relative to the character of distinguished individuals, arranged by towns or families. 'Each page was evidently written by several different hands."–Id., p. 31.

Those who enter the Jesuit society spend two years of "noviceship," and then take the "simple vows." After several more years of intensive training, they take the fourth vow, by which they pledge themselves under oath to look to their General and their Superiors as holding "the place of Christ our Lord," and to obey them unconditionally without the least hesitation. The Jesuits being a secret order, they did not publish their rules. How then can we be absolutely sure about these regulations? Dr. William Robertson says:

"It was a fundamental maxim with the Jesuits, from their first institution, not to publish the rules of their order. *25 These they kept concealed as an impenetrable mystery. They never communicated them to strangers, nor even to the greater part of their own members. They refused to produce them when required by courts of justice." But during a lawsuit at Paris, in 1760, Father Montigny committed the blunder of placing the two volumes of their "Constitutions" (the Prague edition of 1757) in the hands of the French court. "By the aid of these authentic records the principles of their government may be delineated"–"History of Charles the Fifth," Vol. II, p. 332. (See also "History of the Jesuits," Theodor Griesinger, pp. 435-439, 474-476.)

The author was so fortunate as to have the privilege of carefully reading "The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus." He saw a Latin edition of 1558, and an English translation of it printed in 1838, together with the three Papal Bulls: 1. The Bull of Pope Paul III, given September 27, 1540, sanctioning "The Society of Jesus." 2. The Bull of Clement XIV, abolishing the "Society," July 21, 1773.3. The Bull of Pins VII, restoring it, August 7, 1814. We shall now quote from "The Constitutions," thus presenting firsthand evidence of their Rules:

"It is to be observed that the intention of the Vow wherewith the Society has bound itself in obedience to the supreme Vicar of Christ without any excuse, is that we must go to whatever part of the world he shall determine to send us, among believers or unbelievers"–"Constitutions," pp. 64, 65.

"Displaying this virtue of obedience, first to the Pope, then to the Superiors of the Society . . . we . . . attend to his voice, just as if it proceeded from Christ Our Lord; . . . doing whatever is enjoined us with all celerity, with spiritual joy and perseverance; persuading ourselves that everything is just; suppressing every repugnant thought and judgment of our own in a certain obedience .... Every one.., should permit themselves to be moved and directed under divine Providence by their Superiors just as if they were a corpse, which allows itself to be moved and handled in any way .... Thus obedient he should execute anything on which the Superior chooses to employ him "–Id., pp. 55, 56.

It is this corpse-like obedience, required of all its members, that has made the Jesuits such a power in the world. Rene Fulop-Miller in his book: "The Power and Secret of the Jesuits," commended by Father Friedrich Muckermann, leading Jesuit writer of Germany, and Father Alfonso Kleinser, S. J., and the Deutsche Zeitung, Berlin's leading Catholic organ, says:

"The Society of Jesus represented a company of soldiers. Where 'duty' in the military sense is concerned, as it is in the Society of Jesus, obedience becomes the highest virtue, as it is in the army. The Jesuit renders his obedience primarily to his superior . . . and he submits to him as if he were Christ Himself"–"The Power and Secret of the Jesuits," pp. 18, 19.

"So the Jesuits seek to attain to God through 'blind obedience.' "Ignatius requires nothing less than the complete sacrifice of the man's own understanding, 'unlimited obedience even to the very sacrifice of conviction."–Id., pp. 19, 20.

He taught his Jesuit members by a complete "corpse-like obedience" to be governed by the following principle:

"'I must let myself be led and moved as a lump of wax lets itself be kneaded, must order myself as a dead man without will or judgment."–Id, p. 21.

"It was the obedience of the Jesuits that made it possible to oppose to the enemies of the Church a really trained and formidable army"–Id., p. 23.

"For, within a short time after the foundation of the order, the Jesuits were acting as spiritual directors at the courts of Europe, as preachers in the most remote primeval forests, as political conspirators, disguised and in constant danger of death; thus they had a thousand opportunities to employ their talents, their cleverness, their knowledge of the world, and even their cunning"–Id., p. 26.

Jesuits Decide On Their Mission

Loyola first planned to convert the Mohammedans of Palestine, but finding himself entirely unprepared for that work, and the road blocked by war, and finding, after his return to Paris, that the Protestant Reformation was turning the minds of men from the Roman church to the Bible, he resolved to undertake a propaganda of no less magnitude than the restoration of the Papacy to world dominion, and the destruction of all the enemies of the pope. The Jesuit T. J. Campbell says:

"As the establishment of the Society of Jesus coincided with the Protestant Reformation the efforts of the first Jesuits were naturally directed to combat that movement. Under the guidance of Canisius so much success attended their work in Germany and other northern nations, that, according to Macaulay, Protestantism was effectually checked. In England . . . the Jesuits stopped at no danger, . . . and what they did there was repeated in other parts of the world .... The Jesuits were to be found under every disguise, in every country.

"Their history is marked by ceaseless activity in launching new schemes for the spread of the Catholic faith.

"They have been expelled over and over again from almost every Catholic country in Europe, always, however, coming back again to renew their work when the storm had subsided; and this fact has been adduced as a proof that there is something iniquitous in the very nature of the organization"–The Encyclopedia Americana, sixteen-volume edition, Vol. IX, art. "Jesuits." 1904.

Loyola's plan of operation was to have his emissaries enter new fields in a humble way as workers of charity, and then begin to educate the children and youth. After gaining the good will of the higher classes of society, they would, through their influence, secure positions as confessors to the royal families, and advisers of civil rulers. These Jesuit Fathers had been skilfully trained to take every advantage of such positions to influence civil rulers and direct them in the interest of the Roman church, and to instill in them, that it was their sacred duty to act as worthy sons of the Church by purging their country from heresy. And when war against "heretics" commenced, the Jesuits would not consent to any truce till Protestantism was completely wiped out.

At the time Loyola and his "knights" took the field, the Protestant Reformation had swept over the greater part of Europe, and one country after another was lost to the Papacy. But in a short time the Jesuits had turned the tide. The Netherlands, France, and Germany were swept by fire and sword till the very strongholds of Protestantism were threatened. The Protestant countries were finally forced to combine in the Thirty Years' War to save themselves from being brought back by force under the papal yoke. (See "History of the Jesuits," T. Griesinger, Book II, chap. 2.)

The Abolition Of The Jesuit Order

As long as this war of extermination was waged against Protestantism, the assistance of these daring "knights" was accepted, but when they continued to meddle in politics, and to gather the civil reins in their own hands, the Catholic princes at length became aroused to their danger, and complaints began to pour into the Vatican from various heads of Catholic states. Finally, Pope Clement XIV, after four years of investigation, felt compelled to abolish the Jesuit Order. In his "Bull of Suppression," issued July 21, 1773, he wrote, that repeated warnings had been given to the Society of "the most imminent dangers, if it concerned itself with temporal matters, and which relate to political affairs, and the administration of government." It was "strictly forbidden to all the members of the society, to interfere in any manner whatever in public affairs." Clement then cites eleven popes who "employed without effect all their efforts · . . to restore peace to the Church" by keeping the Jesuits out of "secular affairs, with which the company ought not to have interfered," as they had done "in Europe, Africa, and America."

The Pope continues:

"We have seen, in the grief of our heart, that neither these remedies, nor an infinity of others, since employed, have produced their due effect, or silenced the accusations and complaints against the said society .... In vain [were all efforts.]" –"Bull of Clement XIV," in "Constitutions of the Society of Jesus," pp. 116, 117. London:1838.

"After so many storms, troubles, and divisions . . . the times became more difficult and tempestuous; complaints and quarrels were multiplied on every side; in some places dangerous seditions arose, tumults, discords, dissensions, scandals, which weakening or entirely breaking the bonds of Christian charity, excited the faithful to all the rage of party hatreds and enmities. Desolation and danger grew to such a height, that . . . the kings of France, Spain, Portugal, and Sicily,–found themselves reduced to the necessity of expelling and driving from their states, kingdoms, and provinces, these very companions of Jesus; persuaded that there remained no other remedy to so great evils; and that this step was necessary in order to prevent the Christians from rising one against another, and from massacring each other in the very bosom of our common mother the Holy Church. The said our dear sons in Jesus Christ having since considered that even this remedy would not be sufficient towards reconciling the whole Christian world, unless the said society was absolutely abolished and suppressed, made known –their demands and wills in this matter to our said predecessor Clement XIII"–Id., p. 118.

"After a mature deliberation, we do, out of our certain knowledge, and the fulness of our apostolical power, suppress and abolish the said company .... We abrogate and annul its statutes, rules, customs, decrees, and constitutions, even though confirmed by oath, and approved by the Holy See .... We declare . . . the said society to be for ever annulled and extinguished"–Id., pp. 119, 120.

"Our will and meaning is, that the suppression and destruction of the said society, and of all its parts, shall have an immediate and instantaneous effect"–Id., p. 124.

"Our will and pleasure is, that these our letters should for ever and to all eternity be valid, permanent, and efficacious, have and obtain their full force and effect .... Given at Rome, at St. Mary the Greater, under the seal of the Fisherman, the 21st day of July, 1773, in the fifth year of our Pontificate"–"Bull for the Effectual Suppression of the Order of Jesuits." Quoted in "Constitutions of the Society of Jesus," p. 126.

We now respectfully ask: Can any Roman Catholic doubt that the pope is telling the truth about the Jesuits? If he is telling the truth, can we be blamed for feeling that there is a Jesuit danger, after that society has been reinstated and has labored incessantly for more than a century, and is unchanged in principle?

When we reflect upon their past history, and remember that the Jesuits have been expelled from fifty different countries, seven times from England, and nine times from France, and from the Papal States themselves, there must be a reason why civil governments, Catholic as well as Protestant, have found it necessary to take such steps. Only in countries such as the United States, where they are allowed to carry on their work peaceably, we hear little of them. But some day Americans may wake up to find our present generation completely Romanized, and our boasted "liberty" a thing of the past. The prophet declares: "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; . . . and by peace shall destroy many." Daniel 8:25..

Any one desiring to know the historical facts should read the "History of the Jesuits," by T. Griesinger, and "The Roman Catholic Church," by F. T. Morton, pp. 167, 168.

"The end justifies the means." This maxim is generally attributed to the Jesuits, and while it might not be found in just that many words in their authorized books, yet the identical sentiment is found over and over again in their Latin works. Dr. Otto Henne an Rhyn quotes many such sentiments from authorized Jesuit sources. We quote from him the following:

"Herman Busembaum, in his 'Medulla Theologiae Moralis' (first published at Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1650) gives this as a theorem (p. 320). Cum finis est licitus, etiam media sunt licita (when the end is lawful, the means also are lawful); and p. 504:Cui licitus est finis, etiam licent media (for whom the end is lawful, the means are lawful also). The Jesuit Paul Layman, in his 'Theologia Moralis,' lib. III., p. 20 (Munich, 1625), quoting Sanchez, states the proposition in these words. Cui concessus est finis, concessa etiam sunt media ad finem ordinata (to whom the end is permitted, to him also are permitted the means ordered to the end). Louis Wagemann, Jesuit professor of moral theology, in his 'Synopsis Theologiae Moralis' (Innsbruck and Augsburg, 1762) has. Finis determinat moralitatem actus (the end decides the morality of the act)."–"The Jesuits," pp. 47, 48. New York:1895.

"But the mischief is that the whole moral teaching of the Jesuits from their early days till now is but a further extension of this proposition, so redoubtable in its application."–ld., pp. 49, 50. *26

Rene Fulop-Miller says of the Jesuits:

"In actual fact, the Jesuit casuists deal with two forms of permissible deception, that of 'amphibology' and that of reservatio mentalis. 'Amphibology' is nothing else than the employment of ambiguous terms calculated to mislead the questioner; 'mental reservation' consists in answering a question, not with a direct lie, but in such a way that the truth is partly suppressed, certain words being formulated mentally but not expressed orally.

"The Jesuits hold that neither intentional ambiguity nor the fact of making a mental reservation can be regarded as lying, since, in both cases, all that happens is that one's neighbor is not actually deceived, but rather his deception is permitted only for a justifiable cause.'''–'' The Power and Secret of the Jesuits," pp. 154, 155.

The Jesuit Gury gives examples of this; among others he says:

"Amand promised, under oath, to Marinus, that he would never reveal a theft committed by the latter .... But . . . Amand was called as a witness before the judge, and revealed the secret, after interrogation.

"He ought not to have revealed the theft, . . . but he ought to have answered: 'I do not know anything,' understanding, 'nothing that I am obligated to reveal,' by using a mental restriction .... So Amand has committed a grave sin against religion and justice, by revealing publicly, before the court, a confided secret."–"The Doctrine of the Jesuits," translated by Paul Bert, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Professor at the Faculty of Sciences (in Paris), pp. 168, 169, American edition. Boston:1880.

Alphonsus de Liguori, the sainted Catholic doctor, says in "Tractatus de Secundo Decalogi Praecepto," on the second [third] precept of the decalogue:

"One who is asked concerning something which it is expedient to conceal, can say, 'I say not,' that is, 'I say the word "not" since the word 'I say' has a double sense; for it signifies 'to pronounce' and 'to affirm':now in our sense 'I say' is the same as 'I pronounce.'

"A prisoner, when lawfully questioned, can deny a crime even with an oath (at least without grievous sin), if as the result of his confession he is threatened with punishment of death, or imprisonment, or perpetual exile, or the loss of all his property, or the galleys, and similar punishments, by secretly understanding that he has not committed any crime of such a degree that he is bound to confess.

"It is permissible to swear to anything which is false by adding in an undertone a true condition, if that low utterance can in any way be perceived by the other party, though its sense is not understood."–The Latin text, and an English translation of the above statements are found in "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome," by Father Chiniquy, chap. XIII, and in "Protestant Magazine," April, 1913, p. 163.

Violations of the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments are justified by many leading Jesuit writers, according to many quotations from their books, cited in "The History of the Jesuits," by Theodor Griesinger, pp. 285-304, 478-488, 508-616, 670, 740; and in Gury's "Doctrines of the Jesuits," translated by Paul Bert; and in "The Jesuits," by Dr. Otto Henne an Rhyn, chap. V.

Theodor Griesinger quotes from eight prominent Jesuit authorities, who advocate that it is permissible to kill a prince or ruler who has been deposed by the pope. Here are a few samples:


"In the 'Opuscula Theologica' of Martin Becan, at page 130, the following passage occurs:

"'Every subject may kill his prince when the latter has taken possession of the throne as a usurper, and history teaches, in fact, that in all nations those who kill such tyrants are treated with the greatest honor. But even when the ruler is not a usurper, but a prince who has by right come to the throne, he may be killed as soon as he oppresses his subjects with improper taxation, sells the judicial offices, and issues ordinances in a tyrannical manner for his own peculiar benefit'"

"With such principles Father Hermann Buchenbaum entirely agreed, and,in the Medulla Theologia Moralis,' permission to murder all offenders of mankind and the true faith, as well as enemies of the Society of Jesus, is distinctly laid down. This 'Moral Theology' of Father Buchenbaum is held by all the Society as an unsurpassed and unsurpassable pattern-book, and was on that account introduced, with the approval of their General, into all their colleges.

"Imanuel Sa says, in his aphorisms, under the word ' Clericus', the rebellion of an ecclesiastic against a king of the country in which he lives, is no high treason, because an ecclesiastic is not the subject of any king.' 'Equally right,' he adds further, 'is the principle that anyone among the people may kill an illegitimate prince; to murder a tyrant, however, is considered, indeed, to be a duty.'

"Adam Tanner, a very well known and highly esteemed Jesuit professor in Germany, uses almost the identical words, and the not less distinguished Father Johannes Mariana, who taught in Rome, Palermo, and Paris, advances this doctrine in his book 'De Rege' (lib. i., p. 54), published with the approbation of the General Aquaviva and of the whole Society, when he says: 'It is a wholesome thought, brought home to all princes, that as soon as they begin to oppress their subjects, and, by their excessive vices, and, more especially, by the unworthiness of their conduct, make themselves unbearable to the latter, in such a case they should be convinced that one has not only a perfect right to kill them, but that to accomplish such a deed is glorious and heroic.' . . .

"But most precise are the words of the work, so highly prized above all others by the Roman Curie, :Defensio Fidei Catholicce et Apostolicae [Defence of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith]' of the Jesuit Suarez, which appeared in Lisbon in the year 1614, as therein it is stated (lib. vi, cap. iv, Nos. 13 and 14): 'It is an article of faith that the Pope has the right to depose heretical and rebellious kings, and a monarch dethroned by the Pope is no longer a king or legitimate prince. When such an one hesitates to obey the Pope after he is deposed, he then becomes a tyrant, and may be killed by the first comer. Especially when the public weal is assured by the death of the tyrant, it is allowable for anyone to kill the latter.'

"Truly regicide could not be taught by clearer words .... The sons of Loyola . . . declared that a more learned, or God-fearing book, had never appeared .... Indeed, from this time forth no Jesuit professor whatever wrote on moral theology, or any similar subject, without adopting the teaching of Suarez."– "History of the Jesuits," pp. 508-511.

Can any one doubt that the Jesuits have faithfully carried out this "Article of Faith," wherever they thought it advisable, when he reads of the many attempts upon the life of Queen Elizabeth of England; of the "Gunpowder Plot" to murder James I, and to destroy the "Houses of Parliament" in one blast; of the assassination of William, Prince of Orange; of the attempts upon his son, Maurice, Prince of Orange, and upon Leopold I of Germany, by agents of that Society? We could refer to the "Holy League" of 1576, sponsored by the Jesuits, for the purpose of uniting Catholic Europe to crush Protestantism and the assassination of Henry III and Henry IV of France in the interest of that scheme.


"The Jesuits were, indeed, the heart and soul of the Leaguist conspiracy."–Id., p. 210. See also pp. 508-608.

If the political activities of the Jesuits, of which Pope Clement XIV complained so pathetically, are not a serious problem to civil governments, then why were the Jesuits expelled from so many states, Catholic as well as Protestant, as the following table shows? Francis T. Morton, Member of the Massachusetts Bar, gives the following:

Jesuits Expelled From. . .

Saragossa	1555	Canton Grisons	1804
La Palinterre	1558	Naples again	1810
Vienna	1566	France again	1816
Avignon	1570	Moscow, St. Petersburg, Canton Soleure	1816
Antwerp, Portugal, etc	1578	Belgium	1818
England	1579	Brest (by the people)	1819
England again	1581	Russia again	1820
England again	1584	Spain again	1820
England again	1586	Rouen Cathedral (by the people)	1825
Japan	1587	Belgium, schools	1826
Hungary & Transylvania	1585	France, 8 colleges closed	1828
Bordeaux	1589	Britain and Ireland	1829
Holland	1596	France again	1831
Touron and Berne	1597	From entering Saxony	1831
England again	1602	Portugal	1834
England again	1604	Spain again	1835
Denmark, Venice, etc	1606	Rheims (by the people)	1838
Venice again	1612	From entering Lucerne	1842
Amura, Japan	1613	Lucerne again	1845
Bohemia	1618	France again	1845
Moravia	1619	Switzerland	1847
Naples and Netherlands	1622	Bavaria and Genoa	1848
China and India	1623	Papal States, by Pius IX, Sardinia, Vienna, Austria	1848
Turkey	1628	Several Italian states	1859
Abyssinia	1632	Sicily again	1860
Malta	1634	Spain again	1868
Russia	1723	Guatemala	1871
Savoy	1724	Switzerland	1871
Paraguay	1733	German Empire	1872
Portugal	1759	Mexico (by the viceroy)	1853
Prohibited in France	1762	Mexico (by Comonfort)	1856
France again	1764	Mexico (by Congress)	1873
Spain, colonies, Sicilies, Naples	1767	New Granada since	1879
Parma and Malta	1768	Venezuela	1879
All Christendom, by bull of Clement XIV	1773	Argentine Republic	1879
Russia	1776	Hungary	1879
France again	1804	Brazil	1879
		France again	1880

–" The Roman Catholic Church and Its Relation to the Federal Government," pp. 167, 168. Boston:1909.

Those who feel that the foregoing facts constitute no danger to American civil and religious liberty, would do well to remember that the Jesuits carry on an extensive educational program in this country, and that, according to their textbooks, their principles of civil government are diametrically opposed to the American ideas of separation of church and state. See their "Manual of Christian Doctrine, by a Seminary Professor," pp. 131-133. Philadelphia:1915.

The author has stated the foregoing facts, not because of any enmity towards Jesuits as individuals, nor to Catholics in general, but only from a feeling of responsibility to enlighten the American people regarding a public danger. We can truly love the persons, while we warn people against their dangerous tendencies. If we did not sincerely love everybody, we would not be true Christians. (Matthew 5:43-48.) Jesus loves the sinner, while He hates his sins; and we must have the mind of Christ. (Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16.)

To those who wish to study this subject further we recommend the careful reading of the following books, besides those referred to in this chapter: "History of the Jesuits," by Andrew Steinmetz, London, 1848; "History of the Jesuits," by G. B. Nicolini, London, 1854; "Secret Instructions of the Jesuits," translated from the Latin by W. C. Brownlee, D. D., New York, 1841; "The Footprints of the Jesuits," by R. W. Thompson; "The Jesuit Enigma," by E. Boyd Barrett; "The Programme of the Jesuits," by W. Blair Nearby, London, 1903; "Provincial Letters," by Blaise Pascal, New York, 1853; "History and Fall of the Jesuits," by Count Alexis de Saint-Priest, London, 1861; "Political Life of an Italian," by Francesco Urgos, Battle Creek, Mich., 1876; and "The Jesuit Morals, collected by a Doctor of the College of Sorbonne in Paris," translated into English, London, 1670.

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The Thirty Years' War (1618--1648)

BirkaViking

Published on Jul 23, 2012

The Thirty Years' War (1618--1648) was a series of wars principally fought in Central Europe, involving most of the countries of Europe.
It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, and one of the longest continuous wars in modern history.

The origins of the conflict and goals of the participants were complex, and no single cause can accurately be described as the main reason for the fighting. Initially, it was fought largely as a religious war between Protestantism and Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire, although disputes over internal politics and the balance of power within the Empire played a significant part. Gradually, it developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers of the time.

In this general phase the war became less specifically religious and more a continuation of the Bourbon--Habsburg rivalry for European political pre-eminence, leading in turn to further warfare between France and the Habsburg powers.

A major impact of the Thirty Years' War was the devastation of entire regions, denuded by the foraging armies (bellum se ipsum alet) (English: The war will feed itself).
Famine and disease significantly decreased the population of the German states and Bohemia, the Low Countries, and Italy, and most of the combatant powers were bankrupted. While the regiments within each army were not strictly mercenary, in that they were not guns for hire that changed sides from battle to battle, the individual soldiers that made up the regiments often were.

The problem of discipline was made more difficult by the ad hoc nature of 17th-century military financing; armies were expected to be largely self-funding, by means of loot taken or tribute extorted from the settlements where they operated. This encouraged a form of lawlessness that imposed severe hardship on inhabitants of the occupied territory.

The Thirty Years' War was ended with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, part of the wider Peace of Westphalia. Some of the quarrels that provoked the war went unresolved for a much longer time.

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden

Gustav II Adolf (9 December 1594 -- 6 November 1632 AD) has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great (Swedish: Gustav Adolf den store, a formal distinction passed by the Swedish Parliament in 1634).

He was King of Sweden (1611--1632) and founder of the Swedish Empire (or Stormaktstiden -- "the era of great power") at the beginning of the Golden Age of Sweden.
He led his nation to military supremacy during the Thirty Years War, helping to determine the political as well as the religious balance of power in Europe. He is thereby regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time. His most notable military victory was the battle of Breitenfeld. With a superb military machine with good weapons, excellent training, and effective field artillery, backed by an efficient government which could provide necessary funds, Gustavus Adolphus was poised to make himself a major European leader, but he was killed at the battle of Lützen in 1632. He was assisted by Axel Oxenstierna (1583--1654), leader of the nobles who also acted as regent after his death.

He was known by the epithets "The Golden King" and "The Lion of the North" by neighboring sovereigns. Gustavus Adolphus is commemorated today with city squares in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Helsingborg. Gustavus Adolphus College, a Lutheran college in St. Peter, Minnesota is also named for the Swedish king.

Documentary: Die Deutschen - Wallenstein und der Krieg 1618-1648

Music: Killer Tracks- Titan Warfare, Killer Tracks- Nation Rises, Killer Tracks- Brodd, Two Steps From Hell- The last stand, Killer Tracks- Final Atonement.


Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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