21 Nov, 2006
And with this cat, I Tom, take thee, Katie
By Peter Popham in Bracciano, Italy
The vigil began early on Saturday morning, with television cameras trained on the road that leads to Bracciano's Odescalchi Castle, paparazzi hanging out of the windows looking down on it and local Tom Cruise fans crammed against the crush barriers, settling in for a long wait.
Towards midday, limousines bearing Roberta Armani, niece of the fashion designer, and the tenor Andrea Bocelli, began arriving. Other guests included Brooke Shields, Richard Gere, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Antony. At about 1.55 pm, as a cloudburst sent the crowd diving for cover, Katie Holmes came up the drive in a limousine with her baby daughter, Suri. Cruise, deposited by helicopter nearby, joined her shortly after 4pm, arriving at the castle in a van and waving to the crowd.
Was it a real wedding? The Roman Catholic church didn't think so. No civil licence had been applied for, so it wasn't a civil marriage either. But amid the euphoria, nobody really cared.
In this version the person officiating, David Miscavige, 45, successor to founder L Ron Hubbard as head of the Church of Scientology, would declare himself confident that "the girl" would "fare full well and staunchly as a wife" and require "the man" to give her "food and tender happiness and frills, a pan, a comb, perhaps a cat".
The wedding services are silent on the core Scientology beliefs, including the one that says an evil galactic warlord called Xenu rounded up 13.5 trillion beings 75 million years ago, flew them to Earth and vaporised them with hydrogen bombs.
The higher wisdom of Scientology is not meant to be cast before "wogs" (as non-Scientologists are known to believers) but is reserved for the highest of the "Operating Thetans" such as Cruise - whose ranks Katie Holmes will no doubt soon join.
photo courtesy AP & story news.independent.co.uk, 11/19/06
Sci-fi wedding!
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding shows the scary truth of a false cult.
What does today's God's Story teach us about hanging out with people who deny Jesus Christ and His resurrection?
This one is tough. Paul is very direct. He says that "bad company ruins good morals" and in the NLT it says, "bad company corrupts good character." How do we apply this because we also know that Jesus wants us to love everyone and reach out to them with His Truth.
This does not mean that we shouldn't share the love of Christ with those who deny Him. Jesus has commanded us (His followers) to bring His Good News to the world around us. But are you in danger of beginning to believe what those who don't follow Christ believe? Are you strong enough in true Biblical faith to recognize what is false?
We must be careful about letting others lead us away from Christ or to start opening up our thinking to false teachings rather than God's Word.
In the past, Katie Holmes claimed to be a Christian. Superstar Tom Cruise, a devout follower of the cult called Scientology, led her away from Christ. Now married, they will teach their baby girl, Suri, the lies of a sci-fi cult, which disses the truth, love and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Plus, Tom Cruise is a "messenger" of this false religious cult that has its origin from Satan himself and he would love every young adoring fan to join Scientology.
Do you have any relationships that are keeping you from following Christ and obeying the Truth in His Word?
How can we connect today's God's Story to our lives?
- Thank God that He has given all the evidence needed to prove His existence and love for you by coming to earth in the form of a human being - Jesus Christ! (Not some evil galactic warlord called Xenu some 75 million years ago!) Praise Him for the fact that the resurrection of Christ is the answer now and forever! Confess any way in which you have been letting others who deny Christ to get you messed up spiritually. Thank Jesus for His forgiveness and ask Him to help you rely on Him minute by minute. Ask Him to give you the daily desire to seek God for who He is and in all that you do, by obeying the Truth of His Word.
- Pray every day for God's Spirit to give you the heart you need to love those who deny Christ without being influenced by their false thinking.
- Every day, for at least one week, write down one bit of evidence you see for the reality of Christ's resurrection in your life. The more you recognize God's Truth, the better you'll become at recognizing the lies of the enemy.
How can we connect today's story, God's Story and our story to others?
- If you're like me, you know that it's not easy to live out God's grace. That's why we must constantly abide in Jesus because then it's His compassion and Truth at work through us! We must take a stand against the flaunting of sinful immorality and false teaching while remembering that Tom and Katie are simply acting out what they believe and in their case - what they don't believe -that God's gift of salvation is in Christ and Christ alone.
- Pray for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes to reject the teachings of Scientology and trust Jesus Christ as Savior. Pray that their baby Suri will have the opportunity to know Jesus some day. Can you imagine the impact on our culture if they became Christians? (But you know what? Even if they don't - you can impact culture right where you live!)
- Because so many young people are interested in movies and celebrities, today's story about Tom and Katie's wedding would be a great way to get into a conversation about spiritual beliefs with your friends. Ask them what they think about TomKat's belief in Scientology? Make sure you listen. You will learn more about their story and have the opportunity to share more of your story and maybe even God's Story.
- May 2012 [11]
- April 2012 [19]
- March 2012 [21]
- February 2012 [19]
- January 2012 [18]
- December 2011 [20]
- November 2011 [15]
- October 2011 [15]
- September 2011 [14]
- August 2011 [22]
- July 2011 [19]
- June 2011 [21]
- May 2011 [20]
- April 2011 [20]
- March 2011 [21]
- February 2011 [20]
- January 2011 [21]
- December 2010 [21]
- November 2010 [21]
- October 2010 [21]
- September 2010 [22]
- August 2010 [21]
- July 2010 [22]
- June 2010 [20]
- May 2010 [18]
- April 2010 [20]
- March 2010 [23]
- February 2010 [19]
- January 2010 [22]
- December 2009 [22]
- November 2009 [21]
- October 2009 [22]
- September 2009 [21]
- August 2009 [20]
- July 2009 [21]
- June 2009 [22]
- May 2009 [18]
- April 2009 [15]
- March 2009 [7]
- February 2009 [17]
- January 2009 [20]
- December 2008 [23]
- November 2008 [19]
- October 2008 [22]
- September 2008 [22]
- August 2008 [19]
- July 2008 [22]
- June 2008 [11]
- May 2008 [19]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [18]
- January 2008 [20]
- December 2007 [18]
- November 2007 [15]
- October 2007 [19]
- September 2007 [18]
- August 2007 [12]
- July 2007 [12]
- June 2007 [9]
- May 2007 [11]
- April 2007 [10]
- March 2007 [11]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [7]
- December 2006 [4]
- November 2006 [13]
- October 2006 [17]
- September 2006 [11]
- August 2006 [16]
- July 2006 [10]
- June 2006 [3]
