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"As an eternal principle, you do not go to the church to find the truth; you go to the Bible to find the truth.
When you find the truth, you look for a church that teaches the truth."
ON THIS PAGE
What Is a Cult
When trying to decide on the legitimacy of a particular group that claims to be Christian, it is crucially important is that we judge by the right standard, i.e. the Bible, not tradition, creeds, or so-called orthodoxy.
Catholicism - Christian or Cult?
Cultism is any major deviation from orthodox Christianity on many cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. Does Catholicism qualify?
Catholics And Protestants The Crucial Differences
Although there have been widespread efforts at reconciliation, the several CRUCIAL differences between what the Bible teaches and what the Catholic Church teaches are irreconcilable.
The Salvation Requirements of The Catholic Church
The ultimate factor in deciding the legitimacy of the Catholic Church is its presentation of the gospel, its answer to the age-old question of "What must I do to be saved?" The problem is not only are most evangelicals clueless regarding Catholicism, but many practicing Catholics themselves are not aware of the actual extent of the salvation requirements of their Church.
The Catholic Catechism
Which Pope John Paul himself called "a sure norm for teaching the faith" deviates considerably from what Scripture teaches. Roman Catholic dogma based upon tradition often flatly contradicts God's holy, infallible Word, the Bible.
The Council of Trent's Anathemas
The Council of Trent - a Catholic council held from 1545 to 1563 denied every Reformation doctrine, including Scripture alone and grace alone. In fact the Council Trent hurled 125 anathemas (eternal damnation) against Bible-believing Christians.
Sola Scriptura
The Latin "Sola Scriptura" means Scripture Only or Scripture alone. Protestants maintain that Scripture alone is the ultimate authority. Catholics maintain that Scripture, by itself, is insufficient and that the teaching authority of the church and tradition are authorities commensurate with the Scriptures. Both positions cannot be right.
The Papacy
“... the popes have always been the very antithesis of Christ. The Pope is welcomed by presidents, kings, and prime ministers, and hailed by millions wherever he goes; whereas Christ was mocked by a mob crying, "Away with him, crucify him!" Christ had one robe, in which He slept on the ground the night before His crucifixion because He had no house; the Pope has hundreds of the finest silk robes embroidered with gold and lives in more than one palace, two of them with 1,100 rooms each. Christ gives salvation as a free gift which He paid for in full by His sufferings on the cross; the Pope claims partial salvation is dispensed through sacrificing Christ upon RCC altars (thousands of times each day). The contrast between Christ and His professed "Vicar" could not be greater. (A Great Betrayal. Dave Hunt)
Catholicism and The Councils
The first four Ecumenical councils show just how far and how quickly the church deviated from its roots. As the apostles began to die out, the church strayed further and further away from the simplicity of the Gospel established by Christ. It was replaced by pomp and show, rituals and ceremonies run by a huge organization with layer upon layer of rank, each subordinate to the one above.
Apostolic Succession
How Convincing Is The Roman Catholic View That Peter Was The First Pope?
It takes some very elaborate armchair gymnastics to prove from the Bible that the Lord Jesus appointed Peter to be the first pope, thus establishing the papal throne. If anything, the very fact that the Lord appointed twelve apostles is itself good reason to cast doubts upon the whole idea of one, and only one, pope - If the Lord Jesus Christ had intended to establish the supreme authority of Peter, and to have that authority perpetuated in the bishops at Rome, then it is only reasonable to assume that He would have distinctly informed His followers
Papal Infallibility
The Catholic Church demands unquestioning obedience to the Pope at all times, as though every word coming from his mouth is infallible. At the same time its definition of papal infallibility is not only vague but very flexible (In other words there are different opinions as to when the pope is speaking Ex Cathedra (making an infallible pronouncement) and when he isn't.
The New Testament's Denial of The Papacy
Basically, the Catholic apologist reads something between the lines that cannot be proven to be a part of the thinking of the writers of the New Testament. Thus the Catholic Church's claims that the papacy is a "clear doctrine" of scripture that was "ever understood" by the Christian church is not credible at all. Considering that Purgatory, indulgences, the Immaculate Conception, and other speculative doctrines are founded upon the alleged authority of the Pope, the fact that the doctrine of the papacy is so speculative.
Includes Five Historical Realities That are Against an Early Papacy
Five facts of history make this claim of the Catholic Church untenable:
An Overview of The History of The Papacy
From the creation of the Papacy in the sixth century, its heart has been that of law and force. Grace and the Gospel have been superseded by decrees and coercion. A veneer of Christianity has always been upheld, yet this surface ritual religion has always repressed and persecuted true godliness.
The history of the Papacy shows that unequivocally it is a power structure built on forgeries, craft, persecution, a false gospel, church law, civil power, and concordats (formal agreements). Nonetheless, the Papacy for most of its history has succeeded in deluding millions.
The Mass
The Mass
For Catholics the Mass is the cornerstone of catholic worship - it is a sacrifice, performed by a priest and apparently it offers a unique opportunity to encounter God that is not available anywhere else. According to Catholicism not only is Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross re-presented every time the Mass is offered but, by the words of consecration, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus which is received in Catholic communion, and this is how our redemption is accomplished.
The Mass - An Actual Sacrifice?
In spite of the fact that the rite is called the "Sacrifice Of The Mass", I wonder how many Catholics are aware of the fact that the Church teaches that the Mass is an actual sacrifice that takes place on the altar. (the word "host" comes from the Latin word hostia - sacrifice). In other words, every time the mass is celebrated Christ is offered up as a propitiatory sacrifice for sins. And they are participating in this sacrifice.
Transubstantiation
Irrational, Illogical, And Unreasonable - To Say Nothing Of Unbiblical
The 11 primary reasons why Jesus' statement about eating His flesh and drinking His blood are to be understood figuratively. If Jesus was speaking literally then this teaching becomes the most blasphemous and deceptive hoax any religion could impose on its people. To teach that the incorruptible, almighty and holy God is contained in a corruptible wafer that can be handled, eaten, digested and expelled is indeed the most irreverent, desecrating and profane form of idolatry.
Confession and Purgatory
Catholic Confession
When after His resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples, one of the things He told them was "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld" (John 20:23 BSB). The Catholic church takes this verse to mean that the Apostles and their successors (bishops and priests) were given literal authority to absolve the believer's sins on Earth, which are then forgiven in Heaven. This baed on the belief that the pope and bishops represent a direct, uninterrupted line of continuity from the first Apostles of Jesus Christ thus possess certain special powers handed down to them from the Apostles;
Purgatory
The Catholic Church claims that a person can be forgiven of a sin, yet have to suffer to further atone for the "temporal" portion of that sin. With the exception of five verses in I Corinthians (See Article) the story told in Maccabees - a book whose canonicity is in serious question - is virtually the only evidence put forth in support of the doctrine.
The Bible teaches: "Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews 10:18) and Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8, "I prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."
No intermediate stage.
Mary
Mary's appeal is a growing phenomenon which needs to be addressed biblically, having spread far beyond the traditional borders of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Mary, who has at least a thousand times more shrines dedicated to her than even her Son, is rapidly becoming the "queen of ecumenism," someone whom diverse religions can honor, rally around, and even worship without offending their respective theologies. And it's not just Catholics who are interested in Mary and following the apparitions.
Mary Queen of Heaven
The fact that the title 'Queen of Heaven' was given ancient goddesses and subsequently has been bestowed on Mary should make any Christian extremely uncomfortable. However, many Catholics will tell you that this is not a carry over from the worship of an ancient goddess, which begs the question... where did the title come from?
Mary Who?
The Mary of the Orthodox Church was sinless but not conceived immaculately. The Mary of Islam is confused with Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, whose father was Amram. She is not the Mother either of God or of the Son of God ("Allah has no son" Surah IV:171). The Mary of Catholicism was immaculately conceived, the Mother of God, a perpetual virgin, Mediatrix between God and man, and the Queen of Heaven. Then there's the Mary of the Bible.
Mary - A Perpetual Virgin?
The three Biblical texts that support the doctrine of Mary's eternal virginity are
That's right - there are absolutely none and very many that refute it.
Worshipping Mary
Catholics are often accused of worshipping Mary and various saints. The usual response is that they "venerate" not worship, them. However, actions Speak louder than words ie. What a person does is more important than what they say.
In this case what Catholics (from the pope down to the man on the street) do is what is truly indicative of how they view Mary and whether they worship her or not regardless of what they may believe they are doing.
The Pope bows in front of a painting of Mary. Thousands of pilgrims walk in a procession following a statue of Our Lady of Fatima singing songs in her honor. Similarly, an uncountable people take part in the annual Our Lady of Guadalupe procession - a major Catholic tradition that commemorates the 1531 apparitions of the Virgin Mary to the Aztec peasant St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac in Mexico City
In direct violation of Exodus 20:4 -5, wherever you look in the Catholic world you see millions of images, statues and representations of Mary - in churches, cathedrals, homes, offices, wallets, and on small family altars.
The Real Mary of The Bible
In our myopic effort to enthrone Mary as some kind of perfect queen we have forgotten that Mary and her cousin Elizabeth (to a lesser degree) are actually outstanding examples of perfect disciples.
We know the Mary was a woman of great faith willing to risk her life as well as her future marriage and be the topic of slanderous gossip to obey God. She trusted God for the impossible, pointed people away from herself to the teachings and directives of Jesus, and mourned at the foot of the cross as Jesus was dying. She also waited patiently in the upper room with the other 120 disciples for the Holy Spirit.
A life we would all be well advised to emulate. I find it wryly amusing that it is a Protestant that drew my attention to the qualities that the Bible attributes to her, rather than some inane flights of fancy that, for example, Ambrose of Milan, indulged in. (It seemed like all too many of the early church fathers preferred rhetoric to Biblical truths. Elaborate, pretentious ideas trumped accuracy).
The Assumption
Regardless of the fact that Mary is never again mentioned in the New Testament after Pentecost, over half a century ago the Catholic hierarchy decided that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her life. In 1997 Pope John Paul II admitted that "the New Testament does not explicitly affirm Mary's Assumption" which raises the question of where this teaching originated.
The Immaculate Conception
Has nothing to do with Jesus' birth.
Although undoubtedly every true believer has the deepest respect for the mother of our Lord, the Catholic Church takes it many steps further teaching that Jesus' earthly mother of was herself conceived free from the stain of original sin. This is what is known as 'The Immaculate Conception'. And that is not all. The Roman Catechism states that Mary never once sinned while she was alive.
Apparitions of The Virgin Mary
The Bible warns that we will see counterfeit miracles, strange sights in the heavens, false prophets, so much so that "even the very elect might be deceived." When one analyzes many of the alleged miracles that accompany Marian apparitions, they seem to be of a different kind than those found in Scripture. Biblical miracles had a strong practical aspect. Many of the miracles associated with Marian apparitions seem dramatic and sensational.. the kind of miracles that Jesus consistently refused to perform (Matt. 12:38-39). There is little doubt that these are "miracles," but they are performed by the prince of darkness.
Misc
Praying To Saints
Images in Worship
One of the issues that have divided Catholics and Protestants concerns the use of images in worship, termed in Catholic circles as the veneration of images. To Protestants, this is plain and simple idolatry which is condemned by God in Scripture. According to Catholic theology, icons of Christ (as well as of Mary, the angels, and all the Saints) do not violate the intent of the first commandment.
Also See
Original Sin - Fact Or Fable?
Many Christians today including most Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Catholics unblushingly subscribe to the view that the sin of Adam was transferred to all future generations tainting even the unborn. This makes me wonder how many of those that profess to believe in Original Sin have given any thought to the fact that sin is not a substance with physical properties that can be transmitted from person to person like a virus.
Much to the contrary, sin is a conscious, willful act performed by an individual (in thought, word or deed) that transgresses God's law. Think about it - sin can not even exist unless a sinner has an immoral, unrighteous thought then acts on it. Besides which, if sin can be inherited there is absolutely no reason why virtue, goodness, and righteousness cannot also be passed on.
Most Christians who profess to believe in the doctrine of original sin are ignorant of the fact that the doctrine has not always existed, that it evolved, and had its roots in a heathen philosophy
To blame someone or call them a criminal and to punish them for something that was imposed upon them without their knowledge or consent is the actual crime.
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