The Idols Of Catholicism

Many people do not realize (myself included at one time) that when we give divine attributes to things or people, we are making idols of those things or those persons. A divine attribute is a characteristic that belongs to God alone. Some of God’s divine attributes include:

His omnipresence (being everywhere at once)
His omnipotence (being all powerful)
His omniscience (being all knowing)
His unique role as Saviour and Mediator through the Lord Jesus Christ
His ability to forgive sins
His holiness and sinlessness

In this paper we will look at many of the idols of Roman Catholicism, things or people to whom the Catholic church has given divine attributes. To those who are still in the Catholic Church, it is my hope and prayer that you will see that the church you have been trusting in, is leading you down the path to destruction since they are teaching you to sin when they should be teaching you to worship God in Spirit and in truth according to what God commands in the Bible.

The idol of the eucharist

It is idolatry and it is a sin to worship the “host”. In the Catholic communion service, a piece of bread has been elevated to the position of God. We know that the eucharist cannot be the incarnate Christ because the Bible says that no god was ever made with human hands:

Acts 19:26 – “Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands”

According to the Bible, we are to celebrate communion – the eating of bread and the fruit of the vine – to remember Christ’s sacrifice for those He came to save and to be reminded that, if we are truly saved, we will one day be in the presence of the Lord at the wedding supper of the Lamb:

1Corinthians 11:24-25 – “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Matthew 26:29 – “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Revelation 19:9 – “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

There is absolutely no need for Jesus to turn into bread so that he can be re-sacrificed, re-presented or so that we can participate in His sacrifice, since the Bible says:

Hebrews 10:10 – “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.“

The idea of a system of priests who turn cakes of bread into the flesh of the gods is not a new idea. Neither is the idea of worshipping a queen of heaven. The pagans were doing these things in the days of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 7:18 – “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.”

God condemned the people in Jeremiah’s day and He condemns you too if you are worshipping the eucharist as the literal body, blood and divinity of Christ.

The idol of Mary

It is idolatry and it is a sin to pray to Mary and to call her “immaculate” or the Queen of heaven and to seek intercession with God from her. According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary was a woman who needed a Saviour like everyone else:

Luke 1:47 – “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

The Catholic church teaches that Mary is the Queen of Heaven and a Mediatrix between man and God, in clear violation of this Bible verse:

1Timothy 2:5 – “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

The Bible has many references to Jesus as King and Lord of heaven and earth but it has no references to Mary having any similar role or authority.

See “Imaginary Mary” for more information.

The idol of the Catholic priest

It is idolatry and it is a sin to call any man your spiritual father:

Matthew 23:5-9 – “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi [or Father so-and-so]. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

It is pretty clear here that Jesus was commanding us not to elevate our position over someone else by the use of special titles such as “Father” or “Reverend”. (See my study “Reverend Who?” for more information on this issue). Certainly Paul was like a spiritual father to Timothy, however, we see no evidence in scripture that Timothy or anyone else used the word “Father” as a title for Paul so we cannot use Paul’s relationship to Timothy to condone the practice of using religious titles to address people. In fact, we see scriptures to the contrary such as

Matthew 23:10-12 mentioned later on in this study and the statement of John the Baptist quoted here:

John 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

It is idolatry and it is a sin to go to a man to have your sins forgiven:

1Timothy 2:5 – “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;“

Luke 5:21 – “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?“

The Catholic priests have no special powers or position of authority in God’s eyes. In fact, their role as priests is an abomination to God. It is an insult to the finished work of Christ on the cross:

Hebrews 10:11-12 – “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;“

Christ abolished the mosaic priesthood when the veil of the temple was torn in two. At that point, the Jewish system of animal sacrifices came to an end in God’s plan of salvation. Today, all true Christians are considered priests by God, because they offer up sacrifices of praise to God and they offer up their bodies as living sacrifices (by living lives of obedience to God’s word):

Hebrews 13:15 – “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”

Romans 12:1 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.“

The idol of the dead saints

It is idolatry and it is a sin to pray to the dead. The Bible calls it, “consulting with familiar spirits”:

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 – “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

Only God can hear everyone’s prayers so besides being a sin, it is a waste of time to pray to dead saints. In fact, you may be praying to people who are not even in heaven – they may have died lost and are waiting to be cast into the lake of fire on Judgment Day.

The idol of the pope

It is idolatry and it is a sin to elevate and exalt any man on earth the way the pope has been exalted:

Matthew 23:10-12 – “Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted”

John the Baptist said: “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” [John 3:30]

It is idolatry and it is a sin to look towards anyone but Jesus Christ as the head of the true Church. There is only one head of the true Church on heaven and on earth, and that head is Christ:

Colossians 1:17-18 – “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

Since the Catholic church refers to the pope as the head of the Church, then we know that the Catholic church must NOT be the TRUE Church of Jesus Christ.

The Catholic church teaches that the pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals. This is yet another case where divinity is being attributed to someone other than God.

The Bible makes it clear that no one is infallible except God:

Romans 3:10 – “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one”

Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

Ecclesiates 7:20 – “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Romans 3:4 – “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar”

True Christians have Christ living in them through the person of the Holy Spirit:

Colossians 1:26-27 – “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”

Romans 5:5 – “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

2Corinthians 1:22 – “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

This is how Christ is able to rule His Church, the collective body of all born-again believers. He lives in them. So they don’t need the pope to rule over them or to interpret the Bible for them. The Holy Spirit is quite capable of revealing the true meaning of scripture to someone who is a genuine child of God:

John 16:13 – “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

See “Christ And The Pope Compared” for more information.

The idol of works

It is idolatry and it is a sin to place your own works and good deeds on the altar of your salvation. Christ’s work (his sacrifice) at Calvary was complete and sufficient to save the souls of those whom God will save. No human effort on your part or that of some mere mortal can contribute anything at all to your salvation. That includes any of these human works:

being baptized or christened
participating in the sacrament of communion
participating in the sacrament of confirmation
receiving the sacrament of last rites
going on pilgrimages to Lourdes, Rome, etc.
fasting
wearing ashes
lighting candles
praying to the ‘virgin’ Mary, praying to dead ‘saints’ or anyone
using holy water
performing the stations of the cross
making the sign of the cross
going to mass on Sundays, holy days or any day
doing good works or good deeds
being involved in church societies and activities
spending time in a non-existent place called purgatory
displaying, wearing, and bowing down to crucifixes, medallions, sacred heart pictures and other kinds of statues and images.

The Bible is quite clear that our works have no value in obtaining salvation:

Isaiah 64:6 – “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “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.”

Galatians 2:21 – “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

Galatians 3:11 – “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”

James 2:10 – “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

We are in the same group as Cain, who killed his brother Able, when we seek to earn God’s favor our own way, with our own works. This is totally unacceptable to God. Cain’s offering of his own works (his crops) were not acceptable to God:

Genesis 4:3-5 – “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.”

Neither will God accept your works as payment for your lifetime of sins:

Romans 4:2 – “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.”

If Abraham could not boast before God about his works, then neither can you. There is not a single good deed you can do that will erase any of your sins from your record. Until and unless God saves you, your sins will drag you into hell for all eternity. God doesn’t care how good a Catholic you are. Your righteousness is not what He requires:

Romans 10:3 – “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

You must seek mercy from God, that the sacrifice of Christ might be applied to your account, so that all of your sins will be blotted out, in order that you might be delivered from the eternal wrath of God. You must repent – forsake your sins. This is not a matter of going to confession. It is a matter of crying out to God to deliver you from a sinful life, a life without Christ as the King of all that you do. You must receive Christ as your only remedy, your only hope, your only deliverer, your only mediator, and your only sin-bearer. There is salvation in none other, not in the pope, not in Mary, not in a religious institution, not in sacraments, and certainly not in YOU or any of your sin-tainted efforts to atone for your sins yourself:

Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

When the prophet Isaiah stood in the presence of God, it became painfully evident to him of the wretched spiritual condition he was in, as a sinner in desperate need of salvation from the wrath of a thrice-holy God:

Isaiah 6:5 – “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

If the prophet Isaiah was spiritually unclean in the eyes of God, just think of how God must see YOU and just think of what He will do with you on Judgment Day if you die in your sins:

Revelation 20:15 – “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 14:11 – “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night”

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve” [Joshua 24:15]

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” [Matthew 6:24]

My friend, whom will YOU serve… The God of the Bible or the idols established by the Catholic church? As a former Catholic, and as a believer in the Jesus Christ of the Holy Bible, I urge you to examine the Bible for yourself. — RM Kane

See “How Do YOU Determine Who Is Pro-Catholic Or Anti-Catholic” For more information.