Before getting into this article, I’d like to tell you all that my background is Roman Catholic. Before I got saved I spent over 50 years sitting in the pew. I never considered myself a “good Catholic”. I went to parochial grade school for my first eight years of my education, and every morning would be at Mass. I never did believe in most of the doctrine the nuns and priests tried to teach us kids. I absolutely never believed in the dogma of “transubstantiation”. I quote from “Revelation Expounded” by Finis Dake. “The dogma of transubstantiation was decreed by Pope Innocent III in the year 1215 A.D. By this doctrine the priest pretends to perform a daily miracle by changing a wafer into the body of Christ, and then he pretends to eat Him alive in the presence of his people during Mass. The gospel condemns such absurdities; for the Holy Communion is simply a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ, Lk. 22:19, 20; Jn. 6:35; 1 Cor. 11:26.”(1) ( End of quote). When I got married, I made a promise to the priest I’d raise my children Catholic. That I did do, one boy is now a Pentecostal, and my oldest son I think is still Catholic. My brothers and sisters all still claim to be Catholic.
I got the following information from the Vatican’s web site. (2) The following points from the Catholic Catechism conclude that the Bible is definitely the true written Word of God. But that’s about where it ends, because much of the doctrines of the Roman church, and their Canon Law, and traditions of men are diametrically opposed to what is written in the bible. One priest up in North Idaho where my family attended Mass for a long time, taught the bible was just allegorical stories, his sister who was a nun in a discussion thought that the anti-christ in the Book of Revelation was Nero, and all this end-time stuff already happened with the early Christians. I didn’t know the Bible at all back then (I was Catholic) to let her know that the Revelation of Jesus didn’t happen until Nero was dead some 40 years.
- Article 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE
- II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture
§ 105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture. "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit."69
§ "For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself."70
§ 106 God inspired the human authors of the sacred books. "To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more."71
§ 107 The inspired books teach the truth. "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures."72
Article 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE
- IN BRIEF
§ 135 "The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God" (DV 24).
§ 136 God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth (cf DV 11).
§ 137 Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully "understood except by the Spirit's action' (cf. Origen, Hom. in Ex. 4, 5: PG 12, 320).
We just read quotes from the Catechism that confirms basically that the Bible is the true written Word of God. But if we continue reading in the Catechism, in Section 2, Chapter 1, we read:
§ 1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua),4 and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."5
We just read that we must have water baptism for salvation. I don’t remember reading in the Bible that Jesus got down off the cross to water baptize the criminal on the cross next to him. He assured him that “today he would be with him in paradise”. Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. The Bible teaches that we are saved thru faith in what Christ did at the cross, and not thru works.
§ 78 This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes."37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer."38
Traditions of religion was condemned by Jesus Himself: Matthew 15:1-9 (KJV) Mark 7:7-9 (KJV) 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
The Council of Trent held in the year 1545 declared that tradition is of equal authority with the Bible. (3) In the Book of Revelation, Jesus warns of changing scripture : Revelation 22:18-19 (KJV) 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Some teach that this only means the Book of Revelation, well no, it means the whole Bible. The Roman church has done nothing but change scripture to accommodate their own teachings. Case in point, the Roman Church has changed the 10 Commandments as written in the Bible. They have removed the 2nd commandment as written in the Book of Deut 5:8 (KJV)
8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: and replaced it with a redundant commandment about not coveting your neighbors wife. This allowed the church to continue with worshipping all the statues of the saints, especially images of Mary.
8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: and replaced it with a redundant commandment about not coveting your neighbors wife. This allowed the church to continue with worshipping all the statues of the saints, especially images of Mary.
II. The Precepts of the Church
2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. the obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
2042 The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.") requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.82
The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year.") ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.83
The third precept (“You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.") guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.84
2043 The fourth precept (“You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.") completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.85
The fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.86
Let’s consider the 4th precept, most of these “Days of Obligation” has to do with honoring, or worshipping Mary, which the 1st Commandment condemns. Deuteronomy 5:7 (KJV) 7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Mary herself, in her own words was in need of salvation.Luke 1:46-49 (KJV) 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
"The Council of Trent pronounced the anathema (curse) more than 100 times upon those who accepted the beliefs of the Reformers; Vatican II reconfirmed those anathemas and added one of its own; and thus Roman Catholicism damns to eternal hell all evangelical Christians today.” (4) Yet what is so incredible when reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the parts I wrote earlier about the bible being the true Word justify what Protestant reformers such as Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley and others tried to establish. Because of their beliefs, which are now similar to parts of the Catechism, they were anathematized, or cursed by several Councils of the Catholic Church.
As incredible as that all sounds, just wait, there’s more. This will knock your socks off. It sounds to me in Canon 30 of the Council of Trent, that they curse none other than St. Paul himself, or possibly even blaspheme the Holy Spirit, which is the one unforgiveable sin. “If anyone says that after the reception of the grace of justification the guilt is so remitted and the debt of eternal punishment so blotted out to every repentant sinner, that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be opened, let him be anathema.” (5) Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit writes in his letter to the Romans 5:8-10 (KJV) 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
What I have given here is just a small portion of what the Roman Church teaches that does not line up with the Bible, that they themselves say is the “inspired Word of God”. Doctrines of man, and traditions of man, never do. In the notes at the end I have provided a direct computer link to the Vatican web site, one for the Catechism and one link to the Canon. All you Catholics and people considering Catholicism as your denomination need to read the Canon just to see what you’ll be judged on at the “judgment of the nations”. St. Paul points out in the 2nd Chapter of Romans you’ll be judged according to the light you received. Romans 2:11-16 (KJV) 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
I recommend reading the Book of Galatians, where it goes into detail that the “Law” (Mosaic Law) has been done away with. So why would anyone want to go back into “law” whether it be Mosaic Law, or Canon Law? We have all received our salvation thru the Cross and the work Jesus did at the Cross. Salvation can never come thru religion.
At first I wasn’t going to add the following, but here are a list of 40 heresies adopted by the Roman Church over the centuries. These are assembled by Finis Dake, and appear in his book “Revelation Expounded” which he wrote in 1926 and was updated in 1948. So any possible changes resulting from Vatican II are not listed.
LIST OF HERESIES
Adopted and perpetuated by the Roman Catholic Church in the course of 1,600 years
These dates are in many cases approximate. Many of these heresies had been current in the church years before, but only when they were officially adopted by a Church Council and proclaimed by the pope as dogma of faith did they become binding on Catholics.
At the Reformation in the sixteenth century these heresies were repudiated as having no part in the religion of Jesus as taught in the New Testament.
(1) Of all the human inventions taught and practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, which are contrary to the Bible, the most ancient are the prayers for the dead and the sign of the cross. Both of these began 300 years after Christ.
(2) Wax candles were introduced in churches about 320 A.D.
(3) Veneration of angels and dead saints began about 375 A.D.
(4) The Mass as a daily celebration was adopted in 394 A.D.
(5) The worship of Mary the mother of Jesus and the use of the term “Mother of God” as applied to her originated about 381 A.D., but was first decreed in the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
(6) Priests began to dress differently from the laity in 500 A.D.
(7) The doctrine of purgatory was first established by Gregory the Great about the year 593 A.D.
(8) The Latin language as the language of prayer and worship in churches was also imposed by pope Gregory I in the year 600 A.D.
(9) The Bible teaches that we pray to God alone. In the primitive church never were prayers directed to Mary or to dead saints. This practice began in the Roman Church about 600 years after Christ.
(10) The papacy is of pagan origin. The title of pope, or universal bishop, was first given to the bishop of Rome about 600 A.D. Jesus did not appoint Peter to the headship of the apostles and expressly forbade any such notion, Lk. 22:24-26; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 3:11.
(11) The kissing of the pope's feet began in the year 709 A.D. It had been a pagan custom to kiss the feet of emperors. The Word of God forbids such practices, Acts 10:25, 26; Rev. 19:10; 22:9.
(12) The temporal power of the popes began in the year 750 A.D. Jesus expressly forbade such a thing and He Himself refused worldly kingship, Mt. 4:8, 9; 20:25, 26; Jn. 18:36.
(13) Worship of the cross, images, and relics was authorized in 787 A.D. Such practice is called idolatry in the Bible, and is severely condemned, Ex. 20:2-6; Dt. 27:15; Ps. 115.
(14) Holy water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by the priest, was authorized in the year 850 A.D.
(15) The veneration of St. Joseph began in the year 890 A.D.
(16) The baptism of bells was instituted by pope John XIV in 965 A.D.
(17) Canonization of dead saints, first by pope John XV in 995 A.D. Every believer and follower of Christ is called “saint” in the Bible, Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2, etc.
(18) Fasting on Fridays and during Lent was imposed in the year 998 A.D. by popes said to be interested in the commerce of fish. See Mt. 15:11; 1 Cor. 10:25; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; Col. 2:14-17; Rom. 14:1-23.
(19) The Mass was developed gradually as a sacrifice and attendance made obligatory in the eleventh century. The gospel teaches that the sacrifice of Christ was offered once and for all, and is not to be repeated, but only commemorated in the Lord's Supper, Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28; 10:10-14.
(20) The celibacy of the priesthood was decreed by pope Hildebrand and Boniface VII in the year 1079 A.D. Jesus imposed no such rule, nor did any of the apostles. On the contrary, Peter was a married man, and Paul says that bishops were to have a wife and children, 1 Tim. 3:2-5, 12; Mt. 8:14, 15.
(21) The rosary, or prayer beads, was introduced by Peter the Hermit in the year 1090 A.D. This was copied from Hindus and Mohammedans. The counting of prayers is a pagan practice and is expressly condemned by Christ, Mt. 6:5-13.
(22) The inquisition of heretics was instituted by the Council of Verona in the year 1184 A.D. Jesus never taught the use of force to spread his religion.
(23) The sale of indulgences, commonly regarded as a purchase of forgiveness and a permit to indulge in sin, began in the year 1190 A.D. The Christian religion, as taught in the gospel, condemns such a traffic, and it was the protest against this traffic that brought on the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.
(24) The dogma of transubstantiation was decreed by pope Innocent III in the year 1215 A.D. By this doctrine the priest pretends to perform a daily miracle by changing a wafer into the body of Christ, and then he pretends to eat Him alive in the presence of his people during Mass. The gospel condemns such absurdities; for the Holy Communion is simply a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ, Lk. 22:19, 20; Jn. 6:35; 1 Cor. 11:26.
(25) Confession of sins to the priest at least once a year was instituted by pope Innocent III in the Lateran Council, in the year 1215 A.D. The gospel commands us to confess our sins direct to God, Ps. 51; Isa. 1:18; Lk. 7:48; 15:21; 1 Jn. 1:8, 9.
(26) The adoration of the wafer (host) was invented by pope Honorius in 1220 A.D. So the Roman Church worships a god made by hands. This is plain idolatry and absolutely contrary to the spirit of the gospel, Jn. 4:24.
(27) The Bible was forbidden to laymen and placed in the index of forbidden books by the Council of Toledo in 1229 A.D. Jesus and Paul commanded that the Scriptures should be read by all, Jn. 5:39; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Tim. 2:15.
(28) The scapular was invented by Simon Stock, an English monk, in 1287 A.D. It is a piece of brown cloth, with the picture of the virgin and supposed to contain supernatural virtue to protect from all dangers those who wear it on naked skin. This is fetishism.
(29) The Roman Church forbade the cup to the laity, by instituting the communion of one kind in the Council of Constance in 1414 A.D. The gospel commands us to celebrate Holy Communion with bread and wine, Mt. 26:27; 1 Cor. 11:26-29.
(30) The doctrine of purgatory was proclaimed as a dogma of faith by the Council of Florence in 1439 A.D. There is not one word in the Bible that would teach the purgatory of priests. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins, 1 Jn. 1:7-9; 2:1, 2; Jn. 5:24; Rom. 8:1.
(31) The doctrine of Seven Sacraments was affirmed in 1439 A.D. The gospel says that Christ instituted only two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, Mt. 28:19, 20; 26:26-28.
(32) The Ave Maria, addition of part of the last half, in 1508 A.D. It was completed fifty years afterward and finally approved by pope Sixtus V, at the end of the sixteenth century.
(33) The Council of Trent held in the year 1545 declared that tradition is of equal authority with the Bible. By tradition is meant human teachings. The Pharisees believed the same way, and Jesus bitterly condemned them, for by human tradition they nullified the commandments of God, Mk. 7:7-13; Col. 2:8; Rev. 22:18.
(34) The apocryphal books were added to the Bible also by the Council of Trent in 1545. See Rev. 22:18-19.
(35) The creed of pope Pius IV, was imposed as the official creed in 1560. True Christians will retain the Holy Scriptures as their creed. Hence, their creed is 1,500 years older than the creed of Roman Catholics. See Gal. 1:8; Rev. 22:18, 19.
(36) The immaculate conception of the virgin Mary was proclaimed by pope Pius IX in the year 1854 A.D. The gospel states that all men, with the sole exception of Christ, are sinners. Mary herself had need of a Savior, Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Ps. 51:5; Lk. 1:30,46,47.
(37) In the year 1870 pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility.
(38) Pope Pius X, in the year 1907, condemned, together with “modernism,” all the discoveries of modern science which are not approved by the church. Pius IX had done the same thing in the syllabus of 1864.
(39) In the year 1930 Pius XI condemned the public schools.
(40) In the year 1931 the same pope Pius XI reaffirmed the doctrine that Mary is “the Mother of God.”
This doctrine was first decreed by the Council of Ephesus in the year 431. This is a heresy contrary to Mary's own words, Lk. 1:46-49.
What will be the next invention? The Roman Church says it never changes; yet it has done nothing but invent new doctrines which are contrary to the Bible, and has practiced rites and ceremonies taken wholly from paganism. At least 95 per cent of the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church are of pagan origin.
Cardinal Newman, in his book The Development of the Christian Religion admits that . . . “Temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water, holidays and seasons of devotions, processions, blessing of fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests and monks and nuns) and images are all of pagan origin,” page 359.
The above chronological list of human inventions and “abominations” disproves the claim of the priests of the Roman Church that their religion was taught by Christ and that the popes have been the faithful custodians of that religion. (6)
David J Theisen
Endnotes:
[1]” Revelation Expounded”, Finis Dake, P252 #24
[3] “Revelation Expounded” pg 253 #33
[4] Dave Hunt “A Woman Rides the Beast,” Harvest House Pub. 1994 pg 521
[5] Richard A Noll “When Catholics Die,” Olive Press, 1999, pg 73
[6] “Revelation Expounded” Pgs 250-254
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