Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 24

Just 100 Years Ago – How thing have changed!

I did not fact check each of these items, but my mom died at 100 years old two years ago and I heard things like this from her and my dad (died at 94) all the time.

The year is 1910, over one hundred years ago.  What a difference a century makes!

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Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,

And a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as ‘substandard.’

Sugar cost four cents a pound — Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen — Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

There was no such thing as under arm deodorant or tooth paste.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death were:

1.  Pneumonia and influenza

2.  Tuberculosis

3.  Diarrhea

4.  Heart disease

5.  Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas Nevada was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.

There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!  (yes, people have changed)

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years?

The post Just 100 Years Ago – How thing have changed! appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

If You Know a Filipino . . . My Open Letter to Catholic Filipinos

. . . please send them a copy of my Open Letter to Filipinos. You can send them the text or simply the link.

I wrote this letter while in Manila a number of years ago for a local parish bulletin. It has circled the globe many times and has appeared repeatedly in all the Philippine newspapers.

It was one of those blessed moments. If you are Filipino or know a Filipino, please make sure they read this letter.

The post If You Know a Filipino . . . My Open Letter to Catholic Filipinos appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

My New Catholic Answers Magazine Article: “6 Biblical Myths Debunked”

There are six “truths” I’ve been asked about many times. People think I’ve never heard these “truths” before and attempt to explain them to me—though I know them all to be myths.

In each case, there is no historical, biblical or actual basis to substantiate any of them. Someone started teaching them by finding an assertion on the internet or in a book or magazine. The pious speculation gets picked up by teachers or bloggers with good intentions, and as the old saying goes, “if something is said often enough, it becomes true.”

So we will address each of these myths briefly and set the record straight.

Click here for the whole article.Click here for the whole article.

The post My New Catholic Answers Magazine Article: “6 Biblical Myths Debunked” appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Sean Smiddy’s Story: From Pentecostal “Catholics are all going to hell!” to “The One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic Church”

Dear Mr Steve Ray:

First, I would like to thank you SO much for your YouTube video about Peter, The keys, seat, etc., that led me to the catholicconvert.com site!!  I learned a TON of cool stuff just from your video, and by participating on the message boards, I am learning more, and gathering many online resources for readings that are extremely interesting to me as a guy who is 46, and who will be a Catholic but one year this coming Saturday vigil!

I LOVE your apologetics stuff.  I may be tooooo into apologetics for my own good, but since the rest of my side of the family are almost all Pentecostal, with a few Baptists mixed in, I want to be able to at least explain, or if necessary, defend my faith, just because mine is more correct!

I used to think that crucifixes were almost sacrilegious because Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore, that all Catholics were going to hell, and many other erroneous things.  I totally feel like someone took a spiritual blindfold off of me and I am finally seeing the TRUE light of God.  So awesome, and so very exciting.  I can’t seem to learn enough, fast enough to suit myself.

Anyway, my own conversion story is attached.  I wanted to just cover the main points.  If you think more information in it would be helpful to others who are still locked into the Pentecostal realm, I’d be happy to put in illustrations and explanations of how damaged I was because of those people, who, when I was in RCIA, told me if I was going to be Catholic to just stay away.  Thankfully we’re “cool” now.

I pray that you are blessed in all of your endeavors and that you and your family are well and stay that way until the Second Coming (not the 3rd and 4th ones I thought would happen).

Enjoy Sean Smiddy’s Story.

The post Sean Smiddy’s Story: From Pentecostal “Catholics are all going to hell!” to “The One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic Church” appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Who Started your Church, and When?

The post Who Started your Church, and When? appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Scientists Make Breakthrough Discovery After Analyzing Cloth ‘Jesus Was Buried In’

Scientists Make Breakthrough Discovery After Analyzing Cloth ‘Jesus Was Buried In’Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesDYLAN GWINN 

20 Aug 2024

4:46

A team of scientists analyzing the Shroud of Turin, a large piece of cloth believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ Himself, have determined that the shroud does indeed date back to the time of Jesus’ life.

Using a new technique involving wide-angle X-rays, the Italian researchers at the Institute of Crystallography of the National Research Council concluded that the material used to make the cloth was manufactured around the time Jesus walked the Earth – about 2,000 years ago.

For the whole article, CLICK HERE

The post Scientists Make Breakthrough Discovery After Analyzing Cloth ‘Jesus Was Buried In’ appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Tracking down St. Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh” – my new article in Catholic Answers Magazine

“Tracking Down Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh” by Steve Ray

St. Paul writes that God afflicted him with a ‘thorn in the flesh.’ What exactly was it? Let’s do a little biblical detective work.

Read or listen to the article in Catholic Answers Magazine, below…

LISTEN

https://catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/amazon_polly_142416-1.mp3

READ

The post Tracking down St. Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh” – my new article in Catholic Answers Magazine appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Ultimate Biblical Run through Jerusalem! Take a Virtual Pilgrimage even though Israel is Closed

Want to go on a pilgrimage all around Jerusalem on foot? Back in 2011 when my knees were still strong I took off through all the holy biblical sites and documented them with videos and pictures.

The iPhone technology was not as good in 2011 as it is today, but it was an exciting 3-hour, 6.5 miles run through Jerusalem and surroundings to introduce you to the holy sites.

Join me in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, including Calvary, the Tomb, the place Judas hanged himself, Gethsemane, the place St. Stephen was stoned, top of Mount of Olives, Pool of Siloam, Western Wall, Upper Room, the tomb where Mary was buried, and a whole lot more.

This is a fun and informative, biblical and spiritual adventure running through Jerusalem. Due to limitations with YouTube, it is divided into three 8 minute videos. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Part 1 of 3: From Notre Dame Center to Mount Zion, Western Wall and Pool of Siloam…

Part 2 of 3: From Pool of Siloam to Mary’s birthplace at St. Ann’s Church…

Part 3 of 3: From Via Dolorosa, through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, other sites and finally back to Notre Dame Center.

The post Ultimate Biblical Run through Jerusalem! Take a Virtual Pilgrimage even though Israel is Closed appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

Cardinal Cupich gives invocation at DNC

Cardinal Cupich gave the invocation at the Democratic National Convention as medical vans arrive for free abortions and vasectomies as the DNC pushes the most anti-Catholic, anti-life agenda in history. It says a lot about this guy, the Pope’s Cardinal in America.

The post Cardinal Cupich gives invocation at DNC appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.

For Filipinos and All: Steve Ray Live Discussion of Mary, Saints & Statues

Here is the video on “Mary, the Saints & Statues.”

Many sects and cults, denominations and heretical groups are enticing Catholics in the Philippines to leave the Catholic Church due to misleading and seductive accusations about Marian veneration, the Communion of Saints and statues.

I will address these issues on a live Facebook event Sunday, July 11 at 8 AM Eastern time, 8 PM Manila time. The event is hosted by Empower Philippines on their Coffee Conversations which reaches Filipinos around the world.

Do Catholics worship Mary? Why do Catholics “break” the 1st Commandment by making and bowing down to statues? Where does the Bible teach that we should pray to dead saints? Why do Catholics keep Jesus on the cross when we know he is living in heaven?

Join us on Saturday and we can discuss these things together and understand what the Catholic Church REALLY teaches and why we should be proud of our 2,000-year theological history and help bring others back into the Church.

The post For Filipinos and All: Steve Ray Live Discussion of Mary, Saints & Statues appeared first on Defenders of the Catholic Faith.