[The following material is from O Timothy magazine, Volume 12, Issue 11, 1995. David W. Cloud, Editor. This material cannot be placed on BBS or Internet sites without express permission from the author. Any articles which are redistributed by e-mail or print must be left intact and nothing must be removed or changed, including these informational headers. Copyright 1995 by David W. Cloud. All rights are reserved by the author. O Timothy is a monthly magazine. Annual subscription is US$20 FOR THE UNITED STATES. Send to Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org. FOR CANADA the subscription is $20 Canadian. Send to Bethel Baptist Church, P.O. Box 9075, London, Ontario N6E 1V0. The Way of Life Internet web site is http://www.wayoflife.org/ .]

CATHOLICS, PROTESTANTS JOIN FORCES

"Catholics, Protestants Join Forces" is the title of an article in Charisma for October 1995. It is a review of the charismatic/ecumenical conference called Orlando '95. This was the latest in a series of conferences called The North American Congress on the Holy Spirit & World Evangelization. This editor attended two of the previous congresses with press credentials: New Orleans in 1987 and Indianapolis in 1990. There were 32,000 in attendance in New Orleans and 23,000, in Indianapolis. One- half of the registrants were Roman Catholics, and Catholic masses were held each morning of the meetings.

There were only 8,000 in Orlando for the meeting this year, but that is still a very large conference. Orlando '95 featured speakers from the widest possible theological spectrums. Benny Hinn spoke one evening. The personal preacher of John Paul II, Raneiro Cantalamessa, spoke on another. He claims he was "baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues" in 1977 at the first congress on the Holy Spirit held in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Charisma article said that "people cheered" when this highly placed Vatican insider spoke. The congress chairman, Vinson Synan, said, "The Lord is making us one here in Orlando."

At the Indianapolis congress in 1990 Catholic priest Tom Forrest brought the concluding message. Forrest is based in Rome as head of the Catholic Evangelization 2000 program. In one message in Indianapolis he said, "I praise God for purgatory." He said that one of the ways he "evangelizes" is to walk the streets of Rome and pray the rosary for every person he passes. I heard it with my own ears and I have it on audio cassette. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), does not confirm a man in Roman Catholic error. The Apostle John said that the Spirit of God leads men into truth, not error (1 John 2:19-27).

[From "Digging in the Walls," O Timothy magazine, Volume 12, Issue 11, 1995. Editor, David W. Cloud. O Timothy is a monthly magazine which is available by subscription from Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org. Subscription price is $20.]