Catholicism And the Word Of God

Chris

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Catholicism And the Word Of God
By Geri Ungurean

After I was born-again from above, I was approached by a Catholic woman who had heard about my conversion. Actually, I don’t call it a conversion. I am Jewish, and when the Lord saved me, I became a completed Jew. Anyway, to this Catholic woman–I was a convert.

The mission of the woman was to help me see the light–in other words; she wanted me to become a Catholic. We went round and round, mostly about “Mary.” It became so obvious that this woman was worshiping Mary!

She called Mary Queen of Heaven, Mother of God, Blessed Mother, Immaculate Mary and Virgin Mary. Everything the woman was saying to me came straight from the Roman Catholic Church. Everything that I said to her came from the Bible. She did not feel that the Bible was a good source of information about Mary or Jesus. I was STUNNED!

I used Scripture whenever the woman made false statements. When I would say the name of Jesus, she would go right back to talking about Mary. She told me that this is what Jesus wanted; for people to go through His mother to get to Him. I told her that Mary had other children. I could hear her breathe in, as if she had been slapped.

“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus” (Matthew 1:24-25). (emphasis mine)

Before I became a Christian, I had always thought that the holiest people in the world were Catholics. God opened my eyes to see that this was a facade in the Roman Catholic Church, which Satan used to his advantage. Everything was so beautiful with stained glass windows, statues of their saints, purple velvet, golden chalices; I could go on and on.

How could this NOT be the true church of the Lord?
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

As I thought about the birth of our Lord Jesus in a lowly stable, something about all of the obvious riches in the Roman Catholic Church did not seem genuine to me. Would Jesus want millions of dollars spent on huge, ornate buildings? It became apparent to me that this church had little to do with Jesus Christ, and everything to do with Mary and worshiping her. The more I learned about the Roman Catholic Church, the more it reminded me of the synagogue; traditions of men being taught as the truth–replacing the Word of God.

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

The devil takes a little bit of truth (Word of God) and twists it to deceive us. He did this to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He even tried doing it to our Lord Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus simply corrected and rebuked the evil one, using the written Word of God.

After the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, Satan did not waste any time building his own institution (the Roman Catholic Church), to make sure that people would remain lost in their sins. Before Lucifer was cast out of heaven by God, he was exalting himself to be like the Lord Most High. He wants worship!

He demands worship.

Graven Images
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4).

The Roman Catholic Church is filled with statues of people who they claim did at least two or more miracles. These canonized people are called saints.

From gotquestions.org

“How does the Roman Catholic understanding of “saints” compare with the biblical teaching? Not very well. In Roman Catholic theology, the saints are in heaven. In the Bible, the saints are on earth. In Roman Catholic teaching, a person does not become a saint unless he/she is “beatified” or “canonized” by the Pope or prominent bishop. In the Bible, everyone who has received Jesus Christ by faith is a saint. In Roman Catholic practice, the saints are revered, prayed to, and in some instances, worshipped. In the Bible, saints are called to revere, worship, and pray to God alone: source

Salvation
In Catholicism, Mary is the co-redeemer along with Jesus. The people are taught that Mary participated with Jesus in His painful act of redemption. We know Who redeemed us–Jesus the Christ and no one else:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

No mention of Mary in that passage of Scripture. Not once.

In Catholicism, Mary is the co-mediator, whom we can trust with all of our cares. The Bible says this about our mediator:

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

Extremely clear, wouldn’t you say?

In Catholicism, salvation is sought after by good works and participation in the sacraments. I’ve never met a Catholic who has said that they are sure they going to heaven.

The Bible says this:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We are saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. It is a gift of God. It has nothing to do with our works. Good works should come naturally to a redeemed soul, but being redeemed is the work of God. We must believe Him.

The Bible
The priests in the Roman Catholic Church do not encourage the reading of the Word of God to its members. Well, I can see why! If the people begin to read God’s Word, they will see that the Roman Catholic Church is teaching doctrines contrary to the Bible. Then a Catholic person would need to make a choice: To adhere to Catholic doctrine and tradition or believe what they read in the Holy Word of God.

After my last article, I received an email from a woman who seemed frantic. She told me that she was a Catholic Christian. She said that her priest told the congregation that Allah is the same as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I assured her that is NOT the truth. I sent her two articles addressing this lie that is being perpetuated by false teachers.

In the 2nd Council of the Vatican in 1962-1965, this was added to the Book of Catechism:

Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate 3, October 28, 1965
“The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. Yet she proclaims and is in duty bound to proclaim without fail, Christ who is ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (Jn 1:6). In him, in whom God reconciled all things to himself (cf. 2Co 5:18-19), men find the fullness of their religious life. (emphasis mine).

“The Church, therefore, urges her sons to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other religions. Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture. (Emphasis mine).

“The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth (Cf. St. Gregory VII, Letter III, 21 to Anazir [Al-Nasir], King of Mauretania PL, 148.451A.), who has spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his Virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devoutly invoke. Further, they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms-deeds and fasting. (emphasis mine)

“Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all men, let them together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values.”

“Therefore, the Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against people or any harassment of them on the basis of their race, color, condition in life or religion. Accordingly, following the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the sacred Council earnestly begs the Christian faithful to ‘conduct themselves well among the Gentiles’ (1P 2:12) and if possible, as far as depends on them, to be at peace with all men (cf. Rm 12:18), and in that way to be true sons of the Father who is in heaven (cf. Mt 5:45).”

Bringing Muslim Cleric to Pray in Vatican
In June of this year, the Vatican invited a Muslim cleric and a rabbi to pray together with the Pope. This smacks prophetically of a one world religion, and should alarm Christians everywhere. But God is in control, and all that happens is because He allows the events to fulfill His Prophetic Word.

I have to think that the priest telling his congregation the lie about Allah, is not a fluke. Perhaps the Vatican is telling Catholic priests to preach that Allah and the Lord God Almighty are one and the same.

Satan knows that the end is near.

Corruption in the Vatican
Anyone can search the history of the Vatican and find appalling corruption with each new pope. But nothing can compare with the Vatican during the reign of Hitler in Nazi Germany:

Why, it has been asked repeatedly, did the Pope not utter a solemn denunciation of this crime against the Jews and against humanity?…Why, it has been demanded, did he not give a clear moral and spiritual lead to Catholic priests throughout Europe? In June 1941, when the Vichy French government introduced “Jewish laws” closely modeled upon the Nuremberg Laws, the Pope responded to appeals from French bishops by stating that such laws were not in conflict with Catholic teaching. Later efforts by the British, Americans and Poles to persuade the Vatican to publish a specific condemnation of Nazi extermination of the Jews fell on deaf ears. The Pope, came the reply, could only issue a general condemnation of wartime atrocities. “A strong and openly voiced papal line might have silenced those Catholic bishops throughout Europe who actively and fervently collaborated with their Nazi masters.” –Ronnie S. Landou, The Nazi Holocaust, pp. 216-217

I cannot understand how a person who has been saved by our Lord Jesus, and begins to read the Holy Word of God, could remain in the Roman Catholic Church. The only reason I could see a person remaining there, would be if they felt the leading from God that they were to share the message of salvation with other Catholics. I still think that a person such as this should seek out a place of worship where God’s Word is preached boldly.

Brethren, we are to obey God. He has given us all that we need in His Word. We are to be as the Bereans were–searching the Scriptures to see if what we were told is so.

The evil one is always standing by to confuse and lie to us!

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

MARANATHA!

Blessings in Yeshua.

https://www.raptureforums.com/roman-catholicism/catholicism-word-god/
 

InsuranceGuy

Well-Known Member
One of my closest friends just converted to Catholicism at the request of his wife. We have traveled together many times and always been close. He now does the confessions and attends Mass on Saturday evenings. His wife converted, for whatever reason, at 63 years old. I thought 63 was a bit mature to be believing in fairy tales. She is a Mary person as well. I have explained many things wrong about that "religion", but he doesn't care as it's something he only did for her. They are both Liberals, both are pro-abortion (isn't that against some Catholic rule???) and both hate Trump with a passion. My ex-wife is a Liberal, also pro-abortion and hates Trump. She converted to Catholicism a couple years ago. She doesn't believe ANY of the Bible, so I can see why she converted. I didn't realize the Catholic "church" was still growing, but I guess it is.
 

Milly_Light

Member
This article makes a good read. I was once a Catholic and I couldn't believe my classmates who kept saying that Catholics worship statues. I couldn't see what they were seeing back then. But I finally left Catholic. I'm now going to Anglican Church. I don't know if there is any articles about Anglican Church in this forum. I would like to know if I am in the right place.
 

lenraff

Well-Known Member
BTW, evangelicals are joining the RCC in record numbers. No surprise here, that was the plan of the charismatics from the beginning. Methodist to Pentecostal to Charismatic to Kenneth Copeland to THE POPE! And if you think your denomination is exempt just look up the ECT contract signed by leading RCC and Protestants back in the seventies. ( ECT-Evangelicals and Catholics Together) Oh yeah, and look up the former presidents of the Southern Baptists Convention and the former President of the Assemblies of God meeting and kissing the ring of the POPE at the Vatican. And Sadly even Billy Graham being honored by the Jesuits at one of their colleges. The Satanic rabbit hole is deep and wide, Come Lord Jesus.
 

Shonsu

Borg # 8675309
This article makes a good read. I was once a Catholic and I couldn't believe my classmates who kept saying that Catholics worship statues. I couldn't see what they were seeing back then. But I finally left Catholic. I'm now going to Anglican Church. I don't know if there is any articles about Anglican Church in this forum. I would like to know if I am in the right place.

You can read the Extended Anglican Catechism online here: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=...lican_Catechism_Extended_Edition.pdf&pdf=true

It is nothing more than Catholicism lite (emphasis mine):

What are the sacraments of the Gospel?
The two sacraments ordained by Christ, which are generally necessary for our salvation, are
Baptism and Holy Communion, which is also known as the Lord’s Supper or the Holy
Eucharist. (Articles of Religion, 25)

Why did Christ institute the sacrament of Holy Communion?
He instituted it for the continued remembrance of the sacrifice of his atoning death, and to
convey the benefits the faithful receive through that sacrifice. (Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians
10:16-17)

What is the inward and spiritual thing signified?
The spiritual thing signified is the body and blood of Christ, which are truly taken and
received
in the Lord’s Supper by faith. (1 Corinthians 10:16-18; 11:27; John 6:52-56)

A false gospel which leads to a false Christ.
 

Milly_Light

Member
You can read the Extended Anglican Catechism online here: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/acna/Anglican_Catechism_Extended_Edition.pdf&pdf=true

It is nothing more than Catholicism lite (emphasis mine):

What are the sacraments of the Gospel?
The two sacraments ordained by Christ, which are generally necessary for our salvation, are
Baptism and Holy Communion, which is also known as the Lord’s Supper or the Holy
Eucharist. (Articles of Religion, 25)

Why did Christ institute the sacrament of Holy Communion?
He instituted it for the continued remembrance of the sacrifice of his atoning death, and to
convey the benefits the faithful receive through that sacrifice. (Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians
10:16-17)

What is the inward and spiritual thing signified?
The spiritual thing signified is the body and blood of Christ, which are truly taken and
received
in the Lord’s Supper by faith. (1 Corinthians 10:16-18; 11:27; John 6:52-56)

A false gospel which leads to a false Christ.


Thanks for sharing. I'm very enlightened.
 

crossnote

fully dependent upon His grace
BTW, evangelicals are joining the RCC in record numbers. No surprise here, that was the plan of the charismatics from the beginning. Methodist to Pentecostal to Charismatic to Kenneth Copeland to THE POPE! And if you think your denomination is exempt just look up the ECT contract signed by leading RCC and Protestants back in the seventies. ( ECT-Evangelicals and Catholics Together) Oh yeah, and look up the former presidents of the Southern Baptists Convention and the former President of the Assemblies of God meeting and kissing the ring of the POPE at the Vatican. And Sadly even Billy Graham being honored by the Jesuits at one of their colleges. The Satanic rabbit hole is deep and wide, Come Lord Jesus.
That's what happens when Truth is sacrificed on the Altar of Unity.
 

Rocky R.

Well-Known Member
I was raised a Roman Catholic. My guardians made me attend a Catholic private school during my elementary years. It was part of the local diocese, which included its own Catholic church, nun convent, and entertainment hall. For extra credit (and to get out from regular school), I also served as an altar boy whenever my turn came during the week. I became a devout Catholic, and even aspired to be a priest during my formative years in that school. But God had other plans.

By the time I turned twelve years old, I was already an atheist. I could not reconcile the existence of God with a God that would not answer my prayers for anything. And why should He? I was an idolater, because in the truest essence that is what a faithful Roman Catholic is. It wasn't so much that God said "NO" to all my requests -- "NO" would at least be an answer. It was total, dead silence from Heaven. I'm an avid science buff, and I was seduced by the evolutionary science I learned from textbooks. Also, much adversity I suffered at the hands of others, compounded with the dead silence from Heaven, turned me away from "religion".

Let me say though that any false faith is dangerous because if any of us die while trusting in the false faith, Heaven will not be there to welcome us. It is imperative that we lose the false faith so that true faith may be built upon its ruins. The sooner you lose the false faith, the better. It wasn't until years later that I became a believer, and everything suddenly made sense -- why Christ died, why He rose, and that salvation is a gift of God, not of works. It has been over twenty-two years since I first gave my life and heart to Christ.
 

Rocky R.

Well-Known Member
One of my closest friends just converted to Catholicism at the request of his wife. We have traveled together many times and always been close. He now does the confessions and attends Mass on Saturday evenings. His wife converted, for whatever reason, at 63 years old. I thought 63 was a bit mature to be believing in fairy tales. She is a Mary person as well. I have explained many things wrong about that "religion", but he doesn't care as it's something he only did for her. They are both Liberals, both are pro-abortion (isn't that against some Catholic rule???) and both hate Trump with a passion. My ex-wife is a Liberal, also pro-abortion and hates Trump. She converted to Catholicism a couple years ago. She doesn't believe ANY of the Bible, so I can see why she converted. I didn't realize the Catholic "church" was still growing, but I guess it is.

If I may ask, did your close friend subscribe to any religion before their Catholic conversion?
 

Rocky R.

Well-Known Member
This article makes a good read. I was once a Catholic and I couldn't believe my classmates who kept saying that Catholics worship statues. I couldn't see what they were seeing back then. But I finally left Catholic. I'm now going to Anglican Church. I don't know if there is any articles about Anglican Church in this forum. I would like to know if I am in the right place.

I was an altar boy during my elementary school days, so I know what I'm talking about here when I say Catholics worship a cookie. When the priest, garbed in his elaborate, cheaply-made costume raises the Catholic communion wafer above his head, he recites a ritual which Catholics believe commands the Son of God to enter into the cookie. First they bow down to it, and then they eat this cookie, saying they "received Jesus". This was practiced before in ancient Egypt where the adherents believe their priests were able to call Osiris into their "sun-wafers", and yes then they would eat this bland confection.

It's blasphemy through and through. No one, not man or angel, has the power to make the Almighty do anything. Also, the Catholic church treats the LORD Jesus Christ like dirt. Imaginary genies in fictional tales dwell in lamps made of gold and encrusted jewels. But Catholics want to put the King of the Universe in a cookie! It's not even chocolate chip or peanut butter, but rather an extremely bland mix of cheap flour, low-quality preservatives, and cancer-causing chemicals.
 

JDP

Member
I was an altar boy during my elementary school days, so I know what I'm talking about here when I say Catholics worship a cookie. When the priest, garbed in his elaborate, cheaply-made costume raises the Catholic communion wafer above his head, he recites a ritual which Catholics believe commands the Son of God to enter into the cookie. First they bow down to it, and then they eat this cookie, saying they "received Jesus". This was practiced before in ancient Egypt where the adherents believe their priests were able to call Osiris into their "sun-wafers", and yes then they would eat this bland confection.

It's blasphemy through and through. No one, not man or angel, has the power to make the Almighty do anything. Also, the Catholic church treats the LORD Jesus Christ like dirt. Imaginary genies in fictional tales dwell in lamps made of gold and encrusted jewels. But Catholics want to put the King of the Universe in a cookie! It's not even chocolate chip or peanut butter, but rather an extremely bland mix of cheap flour, low-quality preservatives, and cancer-causing chemicals.

My story is very similar, Rocky. Was an altar boy for years, and as a young adult in the RCC I even participated as a presenter at an even where our parish invited folks of other faiths to tour our church. Each of us described something to the folks - mine was in the sacristy, where I showed the visitors the communion wafers, wine, and the chalices used during communion. I remember explaining then (this was probably in the mid-1980s) in accordance with RCC belief, that the communion wafer BECAME JESUS HIMSELF during the Mass, and that the wine literally became his blood. Catholics do NOT believe that the bread and wine REPRESENT Christ during communion - but that it actually BECOMES Jesus in the literal sense of the word. I also remember telling the visitors something I had seen on TV during that era that showed a Catholic church in Europe that apparently has a piece of what has apparently been determined to be human heart muscle preserved for hundreds of years in a reliquary. As the story goes, one day a Catholic priest was saying Mass but he apparently had doubts about whether the communion wafer really "became" Jesus. At some point, the story continues, before his eyes that priest watched as the wafer "magically" turned in human heart muscle, and that church still displays it today. You can probably look the story up on Google. So I related that story to the visitors to reinforce at the time that the communions wafer "really does" turn into Jesus' flesh just like Catholics believe.

This is just one of many stories in which I unknowingly and naively at the time perpetuated the Catholic beliefs. So glad to be born again and away from all that mysticism and idolatry.
 
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