| Your eternity is dependent upon what you believe! |
| "But there were false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them... Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them and their destruction has not been sleeping." The Holy Bible 2 Peter 2:1-3 |
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Claims and false beliefs: To impersonate someone is a crime. In fact if you were to impersonate a police officer or other official that could be grounds for legal or criminal proceedings to be brought against you. That is what is happening with the establishment of popes, cardinals and priests. It is not that the catholic church has an organizational structure necessarily, it is what they claim about themselves, what rules and beliefs they teach their people, and the practices that they put in place that lead people away from the truth and away from a right relationship with God. It is important to know what the leadership of the catholic church believes and what their false and deadly practices are. If something is not truth, it is therefore a lie. Let's look at these lies and how they attempt to replace Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life and rob you of your salvation. 1.) The Pope claims to be the mediator between man and God; a role that belongs to Jesus. (Jesus said He was the mediator, 1 Tim. 2:5) 2.) The Pope claims power greater than Jesus by being able to deliver a sole from purgatory. (Jesus said no one will be delivered from Hades). 3.) Roman Catholicism teaches evolution, thereby eliminating the original sin and Jesus as Creator and Redeemer. (Jesus said he created everything. Col. 1:16) 4.) The Cardinals claims the keys to heaven and hell; (Jesus said, "I have the keys." Rev 1:18). 5.) Jesus has been replaced as our priest. (Violation of Hebrews 9 where Jesus states He is our priest). 6.) Confession of sins is made to a priest and the priest has the power to forgive sins. (Replaces Jesus as the one who forgives sins in violation of 1 John 1:9). 7.) Forgiveness and faith is obtained through the sacraments (there is no need for Jesus to forgive sins). 8.) Mary is the central figure of worship and prayers, especially when the rosary prayers are offered to her. (violates the command to "pray the name of Jesus"). 9.) Grace comes from Mary instead of Jesus: Hail Mary, full of Grace. (From Jesus we receive grace, John 1:16). 10.) In 1965 Mary has been made head of the church giving her the title "Mother of the Church." (In essence Jesus has been fired since He is the head of the church (Col 1:18). 11.) The Bible, which is God's inspired word for our lives and direction has been replaced by catechisms, tradition, and creeds, all according to man's beliefs. (Truth is from Jesus, John 1:17, Heb 1:1, therefore, the church has replaced his direction). 12.) The Bible is not necessary to run the church. Traditions and experience are equal to the Bible. In fact, the Bible was placed on their list of forbidden books in 1229 and that restriction has never been rescinded. (The Bible says "Handle accurately the word of truth. 2 Tim. 2: 15). 13.) The intercessory ministry of Jesus has been replaced by prayers to a cadre of dead saints to be prayed to for safe travel, etc. (who you pray to, you also worship). Popes, cardinals and priests. The pope has two titles; that of pope and pontiff. Let's look at the meaning to see if these are Christian. POPE From the Latin word "papa" meaning father. The evil Emperor Phocas in 604AD first gave it to Gregory I. He did this to spite the bishop of Constantinople who had excommunicated him. Gregory refused the title, but his successor Boniface III (607) assumed the title. Jesus forbade his followers to call any man the spiritual father (Matt 23:9) "And do not call anyone on earth your spiritual father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader that is, Christ..." PONTIFF This word comes from a combination of two words "pons", (bridge) and "facto" (make); meaning "Bridge builder". It professes to be the bridge between this life and the next, and was one of the titles claimed by Julius Ceaser as Pontifex Maximus. The Pope claims to be the mediator between God and man with the power to over the souls in purgatory so that he can release them from further suffering and admit them to heaven, or prolong their suffering indefinitely. However, 1 Timothy 2:5 repudiated this claim by Rome by proclaiming Christ alone as the one mediator. Pope John XXIII, the second, in his coronation address in November 1958, speaking of the fold of Jesus Christ said: "Into this fold of Jesus Christ no one can enter if not under the guidance of the Sovereign Pontiff; and men can securely reach salvation only when they are united with him, since the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and represents His person on this earth". Thomas Aquinas said there is such a thing as "cultivated ignorance" that is so useful that one protects it, keeps it from the light, in order to keep using it. Catholicism could be called "willed ignorance". CARDINALS How did the title Cardinal come about? The Roman Emperor, as Pontifex Maximus, was the representative of Janus on earth. They believed Janus has "Jus vertendi cardinis" which in Latin means "the power of turning the hinge." Janus is pictured as a man with a face front and back, a reference to Noah who saw both worlds. This meant to open the doors to heaven or hell and thus the office of Cardinal was created. During the reign of Theodosius, the title of Cardinal was created. During the reign of Theodosius, the title of Cardinal was borne by his Prime Minister. Today, the term "Cardinal" in the Catholic system are "priests of the hinge," or Keepers of the gates to heaven and hell. BIBLICAL RESPONSE
Purgatory and Indulgences The doctrine of purgatory was established by Pope Gregory in 593 AD. It is straight out of Babylon as most of the Catholic doctrines. Let me give you the history of this doctrine. It came out of Egypt with the worship of thousands of gods. One of the gods of hell was "Pluto" and it was no accident that dear old Walt Disney named his character after demons such as this and the demon god "Pan". The name they gave this demon god was Tammuz. Breaking this name down into two parts, we have Tam which means "to perfect", and Muz which means "fire". In other words, to make perfect through fire. This is what the Catholic church teaches; that you must make partial atonement for your sins. This demon god is mentioned once in the Bible. Another name for this god is Bacchus. To see how this god is still honored just watch the Mardi Gras parades -- the last float is to honor Bacchus. Mardi Gras is prevalent in Catholic countries and sections like New Orleans. The doctrine of purgatory rests on the assumption that while God forgives sin, His justice nevertheless demands that the sinner must suffer the full punishment due him for his sin before he will be allowed to enter heaven. The Roman Catholics people are taught that the souls of their relatives and friends in purgatory suffer great torment in the flames, that they are unable to help themselves -- that not even God can help them until His justice has been satisfied, and that only their friends on earth can shorten or alleviate that suffering. Purgatory is supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the pope, and it is his prerogative as the representative of Christ on earth to grant indulgences (relief from suffering) as he sees fit. It is held that the period of suffering in purgatory can be shortened by gifts of money, prayers by the priest, and masses. These can be provided by the person before death and after death. Every pope proclaims that he has control over purgatory and for a price he can shorten anyone's stay. If there is doubt over this, in November 1998 Pope John Paul stated that "if anyone gave up cigarettes or alcohol for a day he would grant them an "indulgence" to shorten their stay in purgatory." Indulgences are granted by the pope, who the Catholic church teaches, has personal jurisdiction over purgatory; and they are usually granted through priests in return for gifts or services to the church or as a reward for good deeds. In the year 1096 Pope Urban II promised a plenary indulgence for all those who took part in the crusades. This was the official beginning and need for money to finance the war. In 1477 Pope Sixtus IV declared that indulgences were available for souls in purgatory thereby creating a vast market for escaping hell. When Pope Leo X (1513-1521) needed money to complete St. Peter's Cathedral he sold plenary indulgences to the people and royalty in Europe. Was this a practice that only existed ages ago? Is this still taking place in modern times? As recently as 1998 Pope John Paul II was recorded by the New York Times as offering indulgences. For a copy of the article click here: NYT Article on Indulgences BIBLICAL RESPONSE
What is the will of God? For all to be saved and have eternal life. Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:9-11 This does not imply that there is a payment of sin or suffering to make atonement. Jesus did that so we won't have to. The Bible says that there is no condemnation for a believer in Jesus -- "Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:18. What did the apostle Peter say when someone in the Bible tried to buy the gift of God with money -- "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! Acts 8:18-20 Furthermore, the made up concept of purgatory implies that we are still separated from God and need something more than Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. This concept is also contradictory to the Bible as it states: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . .No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord". Romans 8:35-39 The eternal gift of salvation is a gift from God to all those that accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. It can't be earned or purchased by anyone. The only work that Jesus considered acceptable is to believe -- "Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29. Rituals, Rosaries, and Idols Rituals and rosaries are idol worship. What is an idol? Idols are false gods. (Psalm 96:5). Idols are creations of men and devils. The worship of idols consists of depravity, ritual activity. Idols are physically represented and sensually worshiped. Idol worship that is aroused by imagery is based upon imagination rather than the teachings of scripture. The rosary is a mechanical praying with beads, invented by Peter the Hermit in 1090 AD. It came into general use in the 14th century, and given official sanction in the 16th century. BIBLICAL RESPONSE God has this to say about idols - "When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you." (Psalm 57:13). And about repetitive praying such as rosaries the Bible states: "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:7-8) It is also against the 2nd commandment of God -- "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them..." Exodus 20:4-5 Mass and Sacrament The Mass is the central point of Roman worship. According to the Catholics it is the sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, believed to be present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine. The Roman priest becomes "Alter Christus" that is "Another Christ", in that he sacrifices the real Christ upon the altar and presents Him for the salvation of the faithful and for the deliverance of souls from purgatory. The communion is referred to as Eucharist (transubstantiation) which is a Catholic term for communion when the bread and wine are said to be transformed into the very body and blood of Jesus Christ. Biblical Response.. It is a mistake to think that one can receive grace and forgiveness of sins through sacraments or mass. When Martin Luther was being ex- communicated from the Catholic Church, the presiding cardinal told him "with sacraments one doesn't need faith." It is clear in the Bible that our eternal salvation is a gift of God that can't be earned. I am glad to know that for how would we know if we ever did enough to earn it. No. it is a gift as stated in the Bible -- "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 |