Catholicism Versus God’s Word Regarding Idolatry

Especially Regarding Mary

 
It is not difficult to discern idolatry, if you’re not blind to it. Catholicism has errored by adopting church fathers idolatrous teachings, and passing them off as true doctrine to their faithful when they are actually against God.
 
Look at The Glories of Mary” written by one of the most esteemed Doctors of the Catholic Church, and you will see the very roots of mariology in all its idolatrous glory, in the QUOTES of many of your CHURCH FATHERS, and Popes, and how they escalated in IDOLATRY towards a false image of Mary (not the true beloved Mary of scripture), placing her where only GOD should be; making her their ONLY hope, and salvation and even their savior. Worse than idolatry … it is heresy! It will open your eyes to the great Catholic lie, “We don’t worship Mary, we only venerate her.” Look how they twist and rewrite even the passages of scripture, replacing God with Mary. I’ve given you their version, and God’s. Here is just a small taste:

CATHOLICISM – “God has determined to give grace only through Mary’s hands.” – St Ildephonsus
 
GOD’S WORD – “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

CATHOLICISM – “O Mary, you do so much for me .. because you have saved me from eternal death. All I have, I owe to you.” – Author
 
GOD’S WORD – “The name of Jesus Christ .. for there is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

CATHOLICISM – “Jesus says No one comes to me unless my MOTHER draws him by her prayers.” – Richard of St. Lawrence
 
GOD’S WORD – “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44)

CATHOLICISM – “God says to Mary “The world is in your hands.” He says to us, “Go to Mary”, “God has desired that He will grant no graces without her intercession.” – St. Bernard
 
GOD’S WORD – “This is the WILL of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and BELIEVES in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
“Therefore Jesus is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb 7:25)

CATHOLICISM – “Mary, our salvation is in your hands.” “Everyone’s salvation depends on their being favored and protected by Mary.” – Cassian
 
GOD’S WORD – “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (1 Thess 5:9-10)

CATHOLICISM – “Mary is the WHOLE FOUNDATION of my hope.” -St. Bernard
 
GOD’S WORD – “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:11)

CATHOLICISM – “O Lady, in you I place ALL MY HOPE and I expect my salvation.” – St. John Damascene
 
GOD’S WORD – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)

CATHOLICISM – “Mary is the WHOLE HOPE of our SALVATION.” – St. Thomas Aquinas
“O Mary, we have NO HOPE of salvation except through YOUR means.” – St. Ephrem
“For these reasons, the Church calls her “our hope” – Author
 
No .. Only Christ is our Hope and our salvation. This heretical, apostate, Catholic teaching will not save you. Please please read your bibles!
 
GOD’S WORD – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord JESUS CHRIST, OUR HOPE!” – (1 Tim 1:1)
 
Paul says, “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” – (2 Tim 2:10). Only HE is our hope, and our salvation, our Lord of Glory.
— Jan Kapple Klein
 

Memorized Catholic Talking Points And Favorite Claims

Here we go folks… a list of all the standard talking points and “come backs” that Catholics are trained to use in reply to anyone trying to point out false Catholic doctrine to them.

1. We’re the one true Church.
2. We gave you the Bible.
3. Martin Luther removed books from the Bible.
4. Jesus founded the Catholic Church.
5. Which of the 40,000, Protestant denominations is correct?
6. Martin Luther started your religion.
7. I am saved, I am being saved, and I hope to be saved.
8. Luther invented “faith alone”.
9. Non-Catholics hate Mary.
10. Mary is our spiritual mother.
11. Mary is the ark of the New Covenant.
12. Mary is our co-redeemer and co-mediator.
13. We don’t pray to Mary, we ask her to pray for us.
14. Mary brings our requests to Jesus.
15. We don’t worship Mary. We venerate and honor her.
16. Our statues are sacred objects, not idols.
17. Why are you judging me?
18. Are you sinless?
19. Take the beam out of your eye before your try to take the speck out of my eye.
20. Tell me who held your faith in the first century?
21. Are you infallible? If not, why are you interpreting Scripture?
22. Sola Scriptura is not in the Bible.
23. We get many of our teachings from oral traditions. They don’t have to be in the Bible.
24. Mary of our sacred traditions from the the Church fathers, not the Bible.
25. We only listen to Church fathers who we have not labeled as heretics.
26. Jesus started a Church, not a Bible.
27. Peter was the first pope.
28. The pope is Peter’s successor.
29. We have the bones of the apostles in our cathedrals.
30. More protestant pastors abuse children than Catholic priests abuse.
31. The Catholic Church is 2,000 years old and started in 33 AD.
32. Your religion is only 500 years old at most.
33. You’re just a heretic.
34. You’re an anti-Catholic bigot.
35. You worship your pastor.
36. The Bible is your idol.
37. You were poorly catechized.
38. You were not a properly evangelized Catholic.
39. Protestants are woefully ignorant of history.
40. The Apostles were Catholics.

This list will be updated as I glean more one-liners from Catholics trying to defend their false religion by repeating the church of Rome’s many false claims about themselves and their false accusations about anyone who would dare to challenge their man-made dogma. — RM Kane
 

Catholicism Contrasted With The Bible

Introduction:

 
Many Catholics don’t realize how different their church teachings are compared to the teachings found in the New Testament. This article identifies some of those differences. They are very significant differences that reveal how Catholicism differs from true biblical Christianity.
 

Kinds of Christians according to the Bible:
– elders/bishops (1 Timothy 3:2)
– deacons (1 Timothy 3:8)
– ordinary brothers & sisters in Christ (referred to as saints – Romans 12:13, Romans 15:26, Romans 16:15, etc.)
 
Kinds of Catholics:
– popes
– cardinals
– archbishops
– bishops
– priests
– monks
– nuns
– deacons
– eucharistic ministers
– altar boys
– Jesuits
– Blue Army nuns
– Sisters of Charity
– Carmelites
– Knights of Columbus
– dead Catholic-designated saints
– laity

Ordinances mentioned in the New Testament:
– Baptism (for those who are already saved, symbolic of the cleansing of sin the Holy Spirit does when God saves a person – Eph 5:26 & Ezek 36:25-27)
– Communion (for true saved Christians only, symbolic only, NOT a sacrifice – Cor 11:25, Heb 10:10-12)
 
Ordinances taught by the Catholic Church:
– Baptism (primarily for infants, the ordinance itself is supposed to contribute to one’s salvation)
– The Mass (the communion wafer supposedly literally turns into Jesus’ body and blood)
– Confirmation (for virtually all Catholic children at about age 12 or 13)
– Last Rites, a.k.a. Extreme Unction (some things a priest does before you die that supposedly gets you ready for heaven)

The Bible’s 10 commandments:
(according to Exodus 20:3-17)
1. thou shalt have no other gods before me 2. thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image nor bow down to them
3. thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4. keep the sabbath day holy
5. honor thy father and mother
6. thou shalt not kill
7. thou shalt not commit adultery
8. thou shalt not steal
9. thou shalt not bear false witness
10. thou shalt not covet (Rome split this commandment into 2 after they threw out the 2nd commandment so they could get their followers to buy their statues)
 
Catholicism’s 10 commandments:
(according to the Catholic Catechism)
1. thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
3. keep the sabbath day holy
4. honor thy father and mother
5. thou shalt not kill
6. thou shalt not commit adultery
7. thou shalt not steal
8. thou shalt not bear false witness
9. thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife
10. thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods

The head of the true Christian Church in heaven AND on earth according to the Bible:
– Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18)
 
The head of the Roman Church on earth according to them:
– The pope

Final authority for doctrine and practice for a Christian according to the Bible:
– The Bible alone (Psalms 138:2, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20)
 
Final authority for doctrine and practice for a Catholic according to the Vatican:
– Council of Trent
– Vatican I & II Councils and other councils
– Decrees of Popes
– The Baltimore Catechism, The Catechism Of The Catholic Church – 1994, and other Catechisms

Classes of sins according to the Bible:
God has no classifications. He hates all sins – no matter how trivial men may think them to be (Psalms 119:104). And yet, through Christ, God has forgiven all kinds of sins of those He came to save.
 
Classes of sins according to the Catholic Church:
– mortal: you go to hell if you commit one of these and die without feeling truly sorry about it.
– venial: not considered a serious sin
(The Catholic Church decides which sins fall into the 2 categories)

God’s biblical requirements for salvation:
1. Come under the hearing of the word of God (Romans 10:17), especially the law of God (Romans 3:20).
2. Be convicted and converted by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This conversion is an act of God called “regeneration” – a spiritual birth by impartation of the Holy Spirit as a supernatural work of God’s grace – His unearned and undeserved favor (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 8:15, John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23, Ephesians 2:8-9).
4. Regeneration will enable you to have true faith in the complete and all sufficient sacrifice of Christ at Calvary, and that one-time sacrifice alone, to pay for all a person’s sins, past, present, and future (John 19:30, Romans 5:1, Hebrews 10:10-12, Romans 8:1, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 5:13).
5. Regeneration will bring about TRUE Repentance: recognition that without Christ, you are a hopelessly lost, hell-deserving sinner who needs to be rescued from God’s wrath, yet realizing that you could never pay for or even contribute to your own salvation (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10&23). True repentance will include the ability and desire to recognize and avoid sin like never before, showing that you truly are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), i.e. “born again” (John 3:3-8).
6. Evidence of true salvation is a changed attitude about sin as described by the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-24 and a desire to warn the lost to flee the wrath of God (1 Corinthians 9:16, 2 Corinthians 5:20) accompanied by a love for Biblical truth (Psalms 1:2).
 
Catholicism’s unbiblical requirements for salvation:
1. allegiance to the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church (even if they contradict the Bible)
2. prayers of others for your departed soul
3. participating in the sacrament of baptism (a.k.a. christenings)
4. participating in the sacrament of confirmation
5. confessing sins to a man called a Catholic priest
6. participation in the sacrament of communion
7. receiving the sacrament of last rites
8. praying repetitious prayers (the Rosary, etc.)
9. praying to dead Catholic-designated saints
10. use of so-called “holy water”
11. wearing medallions called miraculous medals
12. wearing religious cloth bands called scapulars
13. owning, displaying and bowing down to religious statues
14. performing the “stations of the cross”
15. owning, wearing and bowing down to crucifixes
16. owning, displaying and praying to holy pictures called “sacred heart” pictures
17. making the sign of the cross
18. going to mass on Sundays and holy days
19. being a good person (trying to keep the Catholic version of the 10 commandments)
20. believing in Jesus the way that the Catholic Church prescribes
21. devotion to Mary as mediator and co-redeemer
22. belief in immaculate conception of Mary
23. belief in the bodily assumption of Mary to heaven
24. spending time in a non-existent place called purgatory
25. going on pilgrimages to Lourdes, Rome, and elsewhere
26. fasting on certain holy days
27. wearing ashes on Ash Wednesday
28. lighting candles

Summary:

 
Now that you have examined the differences between Catholicism and biblical Christianity, what are you going to do with this knowledge? — RM Kane
 

Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:104

Is The Roman Catholic Church The Great Whore Of Revelation Chapter 17?

Is there any doubt, based on history and based on their religious practices and based upon this passage in Revelation 17, that the Great Whore spoken of here is the Vatican and the Catholic religion? Well, let’s take a quick look…
 
17:1 “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the GREAT WHORE that sitteth upon many waters [i.e. the many nations and peoples worldwide under the influence of the Church of Rome]:”
 
17:2 “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication [like the many civil authorities that have done the bidding of many popes over the centuries], and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
 
17:3 “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy [one such name of blasphemy is the title of “holy father” for popes], having seven heads and ten horns.”
 
17:4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour [just like the colors of Catholic clergy robes], and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls [just like the pope’s triple crown], having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:”
 
17:5 “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The MOTHER OF HARLOTS [giving birth to other cults] And Abominations Of The Earth.”
 
17:6 “And I saw the woman DRUNKEN WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS [i.e. true Christians murdered by the Church of Rome during the Inquisitions] , and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”
 
17:7 “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”
 
17:18 “And the woman which thou sawest is that GREAT CITY [think Vatican City], which reigneth over the kings of the earth [with their Vatican ambassadors and Catholic embassies worldwide]”
 
So is there ANY other religious institution in the entire world that meets the description of Revelation chapter 17? What other religious institution could possibly be the kind of religious prostitute that the Catholic church has been throughout the centuries, committing all sorts of physical and spiritual prostitution with the leaders of the world? What other religion is BOTH a religious AND a political institution? What other religion has had such massive amounts of interaction with the leaders of the world (i.e. the kings of the earth)? What other false version of Christianity (with its false plan of salvation) qualifies as a such a great spiritual harlot, while claiming to be the Bride of Christ and the one true Church?

A Conversation Between A True Bible-Believing Christian And A Heavily Indoctrinated Roman Catholic

This dialog is a composite of many actual conversations that I, as a bible-believing Christian, have had with Catholics in Facebook discussion forums. Very often, Catholics will reply with some very harsh statements and crude language. What I have included here omits the truly nasty comments I have received. I must admit that not every professing Christian in these forums is kind-hearted in their comments to Catholics.
 
True Christian: Did you know that your Church is deceiving their members on many religious teachings and practices?
 
Roman Catholic: That’s just your opinion. The Catholic Church is the one true Church started by Jesus in 33 AD.
 
True Christian: Actually, the true Church was started by Jesus but it was not the Catholic Church. It was the Church described in the New Testament which was very different in their teachings and practices from the Catholic Church.
 
Roman Catholic: No. We have a line of 266 popes going back to the first pope, the apostle Peter.
 
True Christian: Actually, Peter was never a pope. He never had that title nor did he have a role as leader over the entire Church. There were other leaders, referred to as bishops, who oversaw local churches in other regions. And contrary to Catholic claims, the Catholic Church did not exist during the first century. It evolved over the course of several centuries, as a mixture of Christianity and pagan religions.
 
Roman Catholic: I don’t believe that. You’re just a heretic like Luther. Your religion didn’t exist until 500 years ago. We’re the one true holy and apostolic Catholic Church!
 
True Christian: Actually, if you take the time to study the Bible, especially the New Testament, you will see that most of Catholicism’s teachings cannot be found in the Bible.
 
Roman Catholic: Don’t tell me that our teachings are not in the Bible. We have the Magisterium and other spirit filled leaders and theologians who are much more qualified than you or your sect leader to interpret the Bible. Plus we have the writings of the Church Fathers and “sacred traditions” to refer to.
 
True Christian: But much of the Catholic Church teachings are based upon Scriptures taken in isolation or out of context or derived from unverifiable outside sources like those “sacred traditions” you mentioned.
 
Roman Catholic: You’re just a heretic, one of 40,000 Protestant denominations. We’re the one true holy and apostolic Catholic Church!
 
True Christian: Actually, I am going by what the Bible teaches and in there, there is no mention of many Catholic Church inventions such as scapulars, miraculous medals, votive candles, indulgences, purgatory, rosary beads, mass cards, statues of saints, sacrifice of the mass, eucharists, sacred heart pictures, Marian shrines, stations of the cross, the immaculate conception, the assumption of Mary, popes, cardinals, monks, Catholic priests, nuns, eucharistic ministers, last rites, masses for the dead, veneration of relics or any of the Catholic holy days of obligation.
 
Roman Catholic: You’re just a heretic. All non-Catholic churches are man-made. We’re the one true holy and apostolic Catholic Church!
 
True Christian: Actually, if you examine the New Testament, and look at the ordinances and practices of the early Church as described in there, you will see that what is being described is most definitely NOT the Catholic Church.
 
Roman Catholic: I disagree. We gave you the Bible. Only our clergy can properly interpret the Bible. They tell us what the Bible means. We need to trust them otherwise we will end up like the Protestants with 40,000 different sects.
 
True Christian: Actually, GOD gave HIS CHURCH the Bible, through Moses, the prophets and the apostles. And it is cults that tell their followers to rely on the cult leaders to interpret the Bible for the cult members.
 
Roman Catholic: But you didn’t have a Bible until we compiled it.
 
True Christian: Actually, the early Church had the Old Testament Scriptures and the letters to the churches and the 4 gospels before the first century ended. They were not waiting around for the Catholic Church to print a Bible centuries later.
 
Roman Catholic: But we have Christ in the Eucharist. Your sect does not.
 
True Christian: Actually, Jesus is ruling and reigning over the TRUE Church from heaven and He does that through the Holy Spirit indwelling true twice-born believers, those who have received Christ by the “new birth” referred to by Jesus in John chapter 3.
 
Roman Catholic: As Catholics, we receive Jesus every time we receive the host during the sacrifice of the mass.
 
True Christian: Believing in transubstantiation – the idea that each Catholic eucharist contains the entire body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ doesn’t mean it’s true. Your Church has taken the words of Christ in John chapter 6 literally, when they were meant figuratively as Jesus pointed out in John 6:63.
 
Roman Catholic: That’s just your opinion. You’re just like the people who walked away from Jesus when He said we must eat His body and drink His blood.
 
True Christian: Actually Catholics are like those people who walked away from Jesus because, like the people who walked away, Catholics believe that Jesus was speaking literally. But Catholics think they are better than the ones who walked away from Jesus because Catholics accept the idea that Jesus was promoting cannibalism, though they will never call it cannibalism.
 
Roman Catholic: Like I said before, your just another Protestant heretic who abandoned the one true Church.
 
True Christian: It is an honor to be called a heretic when sharing biblical truth with lost, hell-bound Catholics.
 
Roman Catholic: I am NOT hell-bound! I may have to spend some time in Purgatory but as long as I don’t die in a state of mortal sin, my church says I don’t have to worry about Hell.
 
True Christian: Sadly for you, there is no such place as Purgatory, regardless of how your church tries to find evidence for it in 2 Maccabees or elsewhere. Those who die in their sins, any sins, without having been truly born-again, will spend eternity in Hell.
 
Roman Catholic: Well that’s good to hear, since I was born again at baptism as an infant when the priest baptized me.
 
True Christian: Sorry, but that is not true. Being born again involves a supernatural act of God apart from any Catholic priest and apart from any water baptism ceremony. It is the event that turns a lost sinner into a new creature in Christ, when they repent and believe the Gospel of Christ… salvation by faith alone in the merits of Christ alone.
 
Roman Catholic: But salvation is not by faith alone. Works are necessary as the Bible says in James chapter 2 that faith without works is dead.
 
True Christian: If you read James chapter 2 carefully, you will see that works are the FRUIT of salvation, not the cause of it, when James says “I will shew thee my faith by my works” in verse 18.
 
Roman Catholic: I refuse to believe that. The Catholic Church has the Treasury Of Merit, intercession of Mary, intercession of the saints and masses for the dead that can help us get into heaven, so salvation by faith alone cannot be right.
 
True Christian: The Bible makes no mention of any soul-saving power in those things you just listed. On the other hand, the Bible clearly states that salvation is by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and by His sacrificial blood alone!
 
Roman Catholic: We Catholics don’t believe that. We believe that Christ’s death only makes it possible for people to be saved. They still have to be baptized, participate in the sacraments and cooperate with God.
 
True Christian: Your false beliefs won’t change truth. They won’t change reality. Christ’s atoning death at Calvary was sufficient payment for sin and the ONLY acceptable payment – to God – for sin, for all those sinners who will ever believe in Christ and His merits ALONE for their salvation.
 
Roman Catholic: That’s just Protestant heresy. You’re nothing more than a child of the devil!
 
True Christian: Well then, I am in good company. Jesus Himself said: “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” Matthew 10:25
 
— RM Kane