 |
|
|
Catholicism, the Vatican and the Roman Empire that the hatred is reciprocated. We would not lay a hand upon her priests; we would not touch a hair of their heads. Let them be free: but their doctrine we would destroy from the face of the earth as the doctrine of devils. So let it perish, O God, and let that evil thing become as the fat of lambs. Into smoke let it consume: yea, into smoke let it consume away. We must fight the Lord's battles against this giant error, whichever shape it takes; and so must we do with every error that pollutes the church. Slay it utterly; let none escape. "Fight the Lord's battles." Even though it be an error that is in the Evangelical Church, yet must we smite it. I love all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ; but, nevertheless, I cannot have any truce, any treaty with divers errors that have crept into the church, nor would I have you regard them with complacency. We are one in Christ; let us be friends with one another; but let us never be friends with one another's error. If I be wrong, rebuke me sternly; I can bear it, and bear it cheerfully; and if ye be wrong, expect the like measure from me, and neither peace nor parley with your mistakes. Let us all be true to one another, and true to Christ; and as soon as we perceive an error, though it be but as the shadow of one, let us root it out and drive it from us, lest it plague the whole body, and put leprosy into the entire fabric of the church. No peace with sin, no peace with falsehood. War, war, war without deliberation: war for ever with error and deceit! C.H. Spurgeon |
|
|
Origins of Catholicism
Many modern Evangelical theologians exalt the fifth century Augustine, but for our part we reject him as a heretic. Many historians have wisely observed that Augustine (354-430) rejected the New Testament faith to such a degree and wielded such vast influence that he laid the foundation for the formation of the Roman Catholic Church. Benjamin Warfield said that "in a true sense" Augustine is "the founder of Roman Catholicism" (Warfield, Calvin and Augustine, p. 22). The Roman Catholic Church itself acknowledges Augustine as one of its "major Church Doctors," and has canonized him as a saint.
Augustine was a persecutor, and the father of generations of persecutors. "Augustine of Hippo did not shrink from giving a dogmatic basis to what had come to be the practice of the church, and even professed to find warrant for it in Scripture. �It is, indeed, better that men should be brought to serve God by instruction than by fear of punishment, or by pain. But because the former means are better, the latter must not therefore be neglected. Many must often be brought back to their Lord, like wicked servants, by the rod of temporal suffering, before they attain the highest grade of religious development. . . . The Lord himself orders that guests be first invited, then compelled, to his great supper.� And Augustine argues that if the State has not the power to punish religious error, neither should it punish a crime like murder. Rightly did Neander say of Augustine�s teaching, that it �contains the germ of the whole system of spiritual despotism, intolerance, and persecution, even to the court of the Inquisition.� Nor was it long before the final step was taken in the church doctrine of persecution. Leo the Great, the first of the popes, in a strict sense of that term, drew the logical inference from the premises already provided for him by the Fathers of the church, when he declared that death is the appropriate penalty for heresy" (Vedder, Our New Testament, pp. 97,98).
The bitter persecutions poured out upon the Bible-believing Donatists were largely at the instigation of Augustine. The Donatists contended for pure New Testament churches comprised only of those who evidenced repentance and faith. They practiced a congregational form of church government. They baptized those who came to them from churches they considered to be heretical, arguing that baptisms at the hands of men and churches which did not follow the New Testament Faith are invalid. Thus they were labeled "rebaptizers," but their leaders argued that they believed in only one baptism--one true baptism. Donatist Pastor Petilian stated: "He who accuses me of baptizing twice, does not himself truly baptize once. ... The apostle Paul says there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; this one baptism we openly profess, and it is certain that they who think there are two, are insane" (David Benedict, History of the Donatists, 1875, p. 49). Augustine opposed these people, arguing for a lax church discipline which allowed for unregenerate pagans and immoral ecclesiastical leaders, and demanding that the Donatists submit themselves to a centralized Catholic church system. Because the Donatists refused to submit to these heresies, the Catholic authorities joined hands with the secular powers to persecute them. Many of their church leaders were put to death and great numbers of them were forced into exile. David Benedict, who labored for 10 years on his history of the Donatists, working largely from ancient Latin texts, gave this summary:
"The Novatians and Donatists were called Puritans because they held that the visible church of Jesus Christ does not, and ought not to, consist of any but those who are free from spots and falls, and that all others should be cast out. When the Catholic church was notoriously full of bad members, it was said by Augustine, the Donatist discipline would split it into a thousand schisms. The reforms of North Africa, unlike the reformers of later times, did not leave their work half done. Having repudiated the head of the church which they left, they also disowned its members, its baptisms, its ordinations, and all its official unctions; and all who came to them from the old body, whether bishops, elders, deacons or lay members, were required to be rebaptized, reordained and reappointed in their new connection, in their different stations" (Benedict, History of the Donatists, pp. 186,187).
Though we would not agree with the Donatists on every point of doctrine or practice, we have included this testimony because these ancient Christians have been either ignored or slandered in many church histories.
Augustine, akin to the other "doctors" and "fathers" of the Catholic Church, was polluted with many heresies. Like Jerome, he was baptized in Rome, the very seat of apostasy. He adopted some of the allegorical methods of biblical interpretation which were championed by Origen, and he redefined the church and the kingdom of God as an ecclesiastical-political alliance in this present world. He was the father of a-millennialism. "Augustine was the first who ventured to teach that the Catholic Church, in its empirical form, was the kingdom of Christ, that the millennial kingdom had commenced with the appearing of Christ, and was therefore an accomplished fact" (Encyclopedia Britannica).
Augustine taught that salvation was by grace alone, but he confused the issue by claiming that the sacraments were actual means of grace, therefore perverting the Gospel of the grace of Christ and intermingling works with grace (Berkhof, The History of Christian Doctrines, pp. 206,207). Schaff says that the center of Augustine�s doctrinal system was "the free redeeming grace of God in Christ, OPERATING THROUGH THE ACTUAL, HISTORICAL CHURCH" (Schaff, III, p. 998). This is to confuse grace with church sacramentalism. The true grace of Jesus Christ is not channeled through a church; it is offered directly to the sinner through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no mediator between Christ and man. Augustine�s error pertaining to grace is one of the chief errors of Romanism.
Augustine also taught that Mary is sinless, blasphemously claiming for her that which belongs exclusively to the immaculate Lord Jesus Christ. He also taught a form of purgatory.
Augustine is one of the fathers of the heresy of infant baptism and he further taught that man is regenerated through baptism. He claimed that unbaptized babies are lost. "Originally, only adults were baptized; but at the end of the second century in Africa, and in the third, generally, infant baptism was introduced; and in the fourth century it was theologically maintained by Augustine" (Armitage, A History of the Baptists, I, pp. 216,17). Of infant baptism Augustine pompously declared, "He that does not believe it, and thinks it cannot be done, is indeed an infidel" (Orchard, Concise History of the Baptists, p. 96). Augustine provided leadership for the Council of Mela, in 416, which made the wicked proclamation "that whosoever denieth that infants newly born of their mothers are to be baptized, let him be accursed" (David Benedict, A General History of the Baptist Denomination, I, p. 59).
Augustine exalted the authority of the "church" over that of the Bible, saying, "I would not believe the gospel, if I were not compelled by the authority of the universal church."
The noted Baptist historian Thomas Armitage observes that Augustine "became the champion of ecclesiasticism, sacerdotalism and sacramentarianism, all distorted into monstrous proportions" (Armitage, I, p. 217).
[This report on Augustine is excerpted from the book Rome and the Bible: Tracing the History of the Roman Catholic Church and of Its Persecution of the Bible and of Bible Believers, copyright 1996 by David W. Cloud.]
VIRGIN MARY AND PAGAN GODDESS WORSHIP
NEWS BRIEF: "Among all the women who have ever lived, the mother of Jesus Christ is the most celebrated, the most venerated...Among Roman Catholics, the Madonna is recognized not only as the Mother of God, but also, according to modern Popes, as the Queen of the Universe, Queen of Heaven, Seat of Wisdom, and even the Spouse of the Holy Spirit." (Time Magazine, "Handmaid or Feminist?", December 30, 1991, p. 62-66).
BIBLE BRIEF: Jeremiah 7:18, "... the women knead the dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger!"
Could the Roman Catholic Madonna (Mary, physical Mother of Jesus), who is described in the above Time Magazine article as the "Queen of Heaven", be the same as the "Queen of Heaven" which was helping provoke God to anger and judgment in Jeremiah 7:18?
First, let us examine the ancient Queen of Heaven. Most of this information is taken from Alexander Hislop's book, "The Two Babylons", 1917. Hislop traces the Babylon-ian worship of the Queen of Heaven back to the days follow-ing the death of Nimrod. The dating of this event is not known exactly, but seems to date 400+ years after the flood. After Nimrod's death, his wife, Semiramis, was determined to retain her power and wealth. She concocted the story that Nimrod's death was for the salvation of mankind. Nimrod was touted as "the woman's promised seed, Zero-ashta, who was destined to bruise the serpent's head, and in so doing, was to have his own heel bruised." (p. 58-59)
We can easily see that this story is a counterfeit to the true prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. To enable the Babylonian people to better worship this child, a woodcut portrait was created, depicting him in his mother's arms. The mother obviously drew her glory from her deified son. However, "the mother, in the long-run, practically eclipsed the son" in worship. The original picture obviously was meant to merely be a "pedestal for the upholding of the divine son...But, while this...was the design, it is a plain principle in all idolatries that that which most appeals to the senses must make the most powerful impression." (p, 74) The mother obviously created the most powerful visual impression, both because she was an adult and because she was so magnificently arrayed.
Once people began to worship the mother more than the child, Babylonian priests felt forced to issue an edict deifying the mother also. After the passage of still more time, "her son's birth was boldly declared to be miraculous, and therefore she was called ...the Virgin Mother." (p.76) "The highest titles were then bestowed upon her. She was called the Queen of Heaven. In Egypt, she was styled Athor, i.e., the Habitation of God to signify that in her dwelt all the 'fulness of the Godhead'". (p.77) From this pagan beginning, the story of the Virgin Mother (Queen of Heaven) spread throughout the world. In:
Egypt, she was called Athor (p77)
Tibet and China, she was called Virgo Deipara (p77)
Greece, she was called Hestia (Ibid)
Rome, she was called Juno, or Dove. (p79). From this designation, the Dove became the symbol of the "deified queen..commonly represented with an olive branch in her mouth." It is startling to listen to the Jesuit author, Malachi Martin, asserting in his book, The Keys Of This Blood, that now "the Dove is loose, the Dove is loose". The entire theme of this book is that the drive to the New World Order is a competition between the world-wide forces of Communism, Western Capitalism, and Roman Catholicism. Martin clearly believes that Catholicism will prevail in this struggle because of the intervention of the Virgin Mary. Incredibly, this Time magazine article states, "The world will recognize in due time that the defeat of Communism came at the hand of the intercession of the Mother of Jesus" (Time, p. 62). When Gorbachev announced his resignation on Jesus' birthday, Christmas Day, this year, this concept was dramatically reinforced in the minds of millions of Catholics world-wide.
Martin did not specify what he meant by this phrase, "the Dove is loose"; clearly, however, he might have been referring to this common Roman depiction of the Virgin Mother. What Martin is saying, then, is that the ancient worship of the Pagan Virgin Mother is now loosed in the world.
Still later in Ancient Babylon, both the worship of the Virgin Mother and her symbol, the Dove, "identified her with the Spirit of all grace ...the Holy Ghost." (p. 79). Thus, the Pagan Trinity is God the Father, the Son, and the Virgin Mother. Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church has made this same claim, as Hislop noted, in the nineteenth century (p. 83). Hislop concludes, "The Madonna of Rome...is just the Madonna of Babylon. The Queen of Heaven in the one system is the same as the Queen of Heaven in the other." (Ibid)
Notice the dramatic spread of this false Virgin Mother doctrine throughout the known world. She was worshipped in Rome, Greece, Egypt, Babylon, China, Japan, and Tibet under different names. We assert that the revival of Mary worship today will result in the world's religions coming together into one religion, in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy that the establishment of the kingdom of Anti-Christ will be aided by the One-World Religion. Let us review these Biblical prophecies.
Revelation 13:11-18 and Chapter 17 reveal that a False Religious Prophet will arise to assist the Anti-Christ in attaining full control of the world. The False Religious Prophet will control a world-wide False Religious System. Verse 18 of Revelation 17 asserts that this Religious System "is herself the great city which dominates and controls the rulers and the leaders of the earth". To possess this much power, this False Religious System must command the fervent worship of most of the peoples of the world. How can it be that the great non-Christian peoples, throughout the world, could unite with Roman Catholics in worshipping the same deity? The common worship of the divine goddess, the Virgin Mary, plays a large part.
But, the rest of the story rests in the common worship of the Black Madonna. What Black Madonna, you ask? The Mary of Jesus is white, or olive, but certainly not black. Right? Wrong!! Roman Catholicism has reverted to the worship of the Black Madonna in most countries throughout the world. This Time Magazine article states that one of most-heavily visited shrines in the world is the shrine of the Black Madonna, in Czestochowa, Poland. Of course, this Pope, John Paul II, is from Poland. Kathleen O'Hayes, of National Christian Research, states in her tape of the coming global Marion Apparition, that Pope John Paul II considers himself "the slave" of the Black Madonna. Kathleen further states that the Catholic Church placed Poland under the protection of this Black Madonna early in the 1950's. This development is of huge significance in our study of how the major religions of the world could be drawn into a One-World Religion in the very near future.
The first place in which to look is in antiquity. Hislop, in his book, The Two Babylons, notes the prevalence of the worship of a negro god or goddess, throughout the known world.
"...the great god Buddha is generally represented in China as a Negro..." (p. 57).
"In Egypt, the fair Horus, the son of the black Osiris, who was the favorite object of worship." (p. 69)
"It is [incredible] to find in what widely-severed countries, and amongst what millions of the human race at this day...a negro god is worshipped." (Ibid)
"...the Virgin in Algiers Cathedral is a Negress..." (Introduction by Donald Grey Barnhouse, D.D.).
Now that we have established that the worship of black deities has long been an integral part of Paganism, and that this practice has extended to the Virgin Mary, let us now examine how the worship of the Black Female Goddess in Roman Catholicism is building a common bridge to the entire Pagan world. We will turn to New Age writings for this portion of our study.
In his most blasphemous book, The Armageddon Script, Peter Lemesurier writes enthusiastically about the worship of the Great Mother Earth. He writes as though he is an astronaut in a spaceship in orbit around our planet. "As they rounded the barren lunar globe for the...last time, and the resplendent half-earth once again rose from behind that now familiar curved and rocky horizon, what they saw coming up to meet them was strangely familiar. An image straight out of the racial memory. A god out of the world of the archetypes. It was none other than the rounded form of the Great Mother, Earth herself, clad in the same flowering robes of shimmering blue and white that had been those of mother-goddesses of earth and sky throughout man's history - and not least his most recent mother-goddess, the Virgin Mary herself..." (p. 245-6).
Peter Lemesurier, as a Pagan worshipper, has no difficulty recognizing the truth that the worship of the Virgin Mary is ancient Pagan idolatry. Therefore, non-Christian Pagans the world over will have little difficulty accepting the worship of the Roman Catholic Virgin Mother.
Another New Age writer, China Galland, a practicing American Buddhist, has written a very revealing book entitled Longing For Darkness. Galland enthusiastically establishes the commonality between the Virgin Mary and other Pagan goddesses.
"Durga, the warrior queen...was the only one who could restore harmony and set the world at peace...the gods sang her praises, called her the Queen of the Universe..." Remember the Time Magazine, quoted above, which reports that one of the names by which the Virgin Mary is known is the Queen of the Universe? Galland continues:
"I had come to find the Buddha Tara, but instead I found the goddesses Durgan and Kali...Kali, the death-dealer and life-giver, the end and beginning of time. She was a deity of such proportions as I had heard only God the Father in Christianity described. The fact that Kali is dark and female turned my Catholic upbringing inside out...Some say she is black because black is the color in which all dist-inctions are dissolved, others say she is black because she is eternal night." (p. 27) These two goddesses are Hindu.
The Buddhist goddess, Tara, was the object of Galland's search as she travelled the Far East. However, she was startled when she discovered that there are Hindu texts that describe Kali as Tara." (p. 30) This discovery links Hinduism with Buddhism.
Later, back in the United States, Galland discovered another New Age book entitled Mother Worship, by author Tara Doyle. This book reported the phenomenon of the Black Madonna in Switzerland. Galland records, "I didn't recall that there were any dark female divinities in Christianity. I thought they were unique to religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. I could remember virtually nothing about a dark or black Madonna despite my years of Catholic upbringing... A brief entry in Newsweek magazine caught my eye. The Virgin Mary was reported to be appearing in the barks of trees in...Poland. I was intrigued...It seemed to be such a similar phenomenon to what had been reported about the Tara ..I wondered what was going on in the spritus mundi, the spirit of the world, that reports of female deities literally emerging out of rocks and trees were surfacing in both East and West. The simultaneity was symbolically important..."(p. 49-50).
Later, Galland asks a Buddhist Master Teacher about the connection between these appearances, "I showed him the magazine clipping on the reported appearance of the Madonna in the bark of trees in Poland...[he replied] it is very similar to what we are talking about here. We have many occurrences like this in Tibetan Buddhism. We call it rangjung, it means self-arising ...These things appear because of the power and blessings of enlightened beings. Such beings work through the power of mental substance and the power of concentration..." (p. 65-66) Galland recounts her later meeting with the Dalai Lama. When she asks him about the Blessed Mother appearing in the bark of trees in Poland, he agrees that this phenomenon is Buddhist rangjung. (p. 95)
We should not be surprised that Satan is now causing female deities to appear all over the world at this moment in history. If this is indeed the end of the age, then it is time for Satan to draw together his prophesied church.
Galland continues her study of Black Goddess worship by attending a Black Madonna seminar given by another New Age author, Gilles Quispel, who is the Historian Of Religion at Utrecht University. Galland reports, "For Quispel, the Black Madonna plays a crucial psychic role which he described in Jungian terms as symbolizing the earth, matter, the feminine in man, and the self in woman...Unless men and women alike become conscious of this primeval image of the Black Madonna, and integrate it within themselves, humankind will be unable to resolve the problems of materialism, racism, [and] women's liberation..." (p51)
This statement is incredible because it is so New Age Pagan. What Quispel is saying is that the Black Madonna is such a basic, foundational element in the deepest recesses in the minds of all men, that she is the only answer to man's most critical needs. Only when people the world over recognize and worship the Black Madonna can there be true peace and unity in this world. The Black Madonna is the one common denominator among the religions of the world.
But there is more. We have studied that the drive to the New World Order was officially started on May 1, 1776, as Jesuit priest, Adam Weishaupt, founded the Masters of the Illuminati. Listen to Galland continue. "...St. Ignatius gave his sword to the Black Madonna of Montserrat in Spain, became a priest, and founded the Jesuit Order..." (p.52). This unbelievable information ties the worship of the Black Madonna to the Jesuit-based Masters of the Illuminati. Both the worship of the Black Madonna and the Jesuit Order are completely Roman Catholicism.
But, there is yet more incredible revelation from Galland in her book, Longing For Darkness. Some time after she had received her revelations from her Buddhist Master Teacher about the Black Madonna, she was practicing Buddhist meditation. "...As I continued to sit, Christ began to appear in my meditation, then Mary...I began to let myself see Christ, to visualize him behind me. I accepted him into my practice. As I continued the daily meditations, Mary gradually took a place on my left, the Buddha on my right... Mary and Jesus were my witnesses at first; then, over time, beloved friends. The Buddha Tara was always in front of me." (p. 67-68).
These meditations clearly show how Satan is moving the various false religions together in this end of the age. China Galland was visited in her occultic Buddhist meditations by three demons who represented themselves as
Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholic Virgin Mary, and the Buddhist Tara. Millions of other people practicing similar New Age meditations are being similarly deceived. Make no mistake about it: Satan is drawing all the world's religions into one. The single most important common denominator in this evolving One-World Religion is the world-wide worship of the Virgin Mary/Black Madonna.
This goddess worship ties together approximately 75% of the world's population. (Information taken from "Alamac 1991".)
Roman Catholicism 971 million
Eastern Orthodox 164 million
Buddhism/Various Sects 1 billion 100 mill
Hinduism 690 million
Japanese Religions 230 million
Tribal Religions 100 million approx
Mohammedism 924 million
While Mohammedism does not venerate the Virgin Mother, the Time Magazine article quoted above states, "Even the Koran praises [the Virgin Mary's] chastity and faith." (p. 62)
* Protestants 351 million
Even liberal Protestants are changing aspects of their view of Mary. This Time Magazine article states, "Church of England theologian John Macquarrie has proposed revisions of such dogmas as the Assumption of Mary into heaven...Theologian Donald Bloesch of the University of Dubuque says fellow conservative Protestants 'need to see Mary as the pre-eminent saint' and 'the mother of the church'. Similar convergences will receive a thorough airing in February [1992], when U.S. Catholic and Lutheran negotiators issue an accord, years in the making, on Mary's role." (p. 66).
At this point, we have a potential membership of these false religions of 4 billion 500 million people.
* Finally, the cult of the worship of the Virgin Mother is drawing the many Feminists of the New Age Movement into her grasp. This Time Magazine article states this very graphically. "When he was made a bishop in 1958, John Paul...chose as his Latin motto Totus Tuus (All Yours)_ -- referring to Mary, not Christ...John Paul made Mary's unifying power a centerpiece of his papal arsenal...Although the Pope lauds Mary for her submissiveness, it is in relation to God, not to male-dominated society..." (p. 64-65). The impact of this stance has been dramatic in Feminist circles. "Jane Schaberg, who chairs the religion department at the University of Detroit... contends...that the unwed Mary was impregnated by a man other than fiance Joseph, and that she was a liberated woman who was not identified or destroyed by her relationship with men." This article continues, "...that notion of super-natural feminine power is alluring...There has been a stupendous upsurge in goddess research and the feminine divinity as an antecedent to the male god...Judeo-Christianity has been exclusively male, leaving a gap that cries out for feminine divinity." (p. 65-66)
Thus, you can see the tremendous drawing power which the Virgin Mary, especially the Black Madonna, is having between the various religions of the world. Satan has wisely implanted similar goddess worship in the many false religions of the world. Incredibly, he has even success-fully corrupted Christianity through the Roman Catholic teaching of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The time has now come to draw all the world's religions together into the False Religious System in the book of Revelation.
The stakes are enormously high. Turn to Revelation 17:18, "And the woman that you saw is herself the great city which dominates and controls the rulers and the leaders of the earth." What are the implications of the leadership of the False Prophet of this world-wide False Religious System? Turn to Revelation 13:11-18, to see the activities of this False Prophet.
He looks like a lamb (true servant of Jesus Christ) but he speaks like a dragon (identifying him as Satan's man (verse 11).
He possesses and uses all the power and authority of the Anti-Christ. (verse 12)
He leads the world into the worship of Anti-Christ (verse 12)
He performs great signs and startling miracles by which he causes the world's peoples to be deceived into worshipping Anti-Christ. (verse 13)
He commands a statue of Anti-Christ to be erected. He then imparts the breath of life to enter this statue so it can actually talk. Anyone who does not bow down to wor-ship Anti-Christ's statue will be put to death. (verse 14-15).
False Prophet forces all men of the earth to accept a mark in their right hand or foreheads, without which no one can buy or sell anything in the economy of Anti-Christ. Anyone who refuses to accept this mark will be martyred (Rev 20:4).
Thus you can see that the False Prophet will be directly responsible for the killing of many saints of God during the Great Tribulation. This is why God refers to this False Religious System as a great harlot seated on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. This woman represents the False Religious System of the Great Tribulation. She is pictured as being "drunk with the blood of the martyrs who witnessed for Jesus". (Rev 17:6).
Now is the time for all people to discern the signs of the times accurately. We are living in the period of time immediately preceding the Great Tribulation. The planned appearance of the Anti-Christ by the New World Order is very close. This resurgence of the cult of the Virgin Mary, especially the Black Madonna, is only one of many, many signs that the Great Tribulation is upon us.
www.cuttingedge.org
THE INQUISITION
A Study in Absolute Catholic Power
Arthur Maricle
"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." {Revelation 17:6}
Those who classify themselves as Christians can be divided into 2 broad groups: those who have chosen to allow the Bible to be their final authority and those who have chosen to allow men to be their final authority. For sake of simplicity, I shall refer to the first group as "Bible believing Christians." The latter group has always been best represented by Roman Catholicism, by far its largest, most powerful, and most influential component. The Roman Catholic hierarchy has always boldly stated that it is not dependent upon Scripture alone, but also accepts tradition as another pillar of truth -- and where a conflict exists, tradition receives the greater acceptance. Being its own arbiter of what is to be accepted as truth, it accepts no authority as being higher than itself. This explains why the Catholic belief system has been constantly evolving over the centuries.
This also explains why a fierce antagonism has always existed between Bible believing Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Rome's frequent spiritual innovations excites the passions of Bible believers, who react adversely to religious modifications that are at odds with the eternal, changeless Word of God. Harboring a supreme confidence in the Book, a trust which reflects their trust in the Holy Spirit who authored the Scriptures, the Bible believers boldly challenge the suppositions of the Catholic hierarchy. In the course of this spiritual warfare, Catholic people are frequently converted from trust in Rome's complex religious system to a childlike faith in the Saviour and a simple reliance on His Word. Many such converts ultimately leave the Church of Rome to join local, New Testament churches. Frequently in history, the trickle of individuals who were making this remarkable transformation turned into a flood. Such ruptures cannot go unchecked by the Catholic hierarchy. As with any bureaucracy, its primary interest is its own protection and propagation.
The nature of its response to the inroads made by spiritual challengers is dictated by its cultural surroundings. The more Catholic the culture, the more severe the response. In past centuries, when Rome's ecclesiastical power was virtually absolute throughout Europe, the intensity of the attacks by the papists upon their spiritual enemies could be equally absolute. Ignoring the injunction of II Corinthians 10:4 ("For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal..."), Catholicism built its own philosophical system to justify the use of carnal (fleshly, human, physical) means to achieve spiritual ends.
Having divorced herself from Biblical absolutes, Catholicism adopted a theology in which she sees herself as the church founded upon the Apostle Peter by Jesus Christ, and alone empowered to bring salvation to the world. Further, she believes herself assigned the daunting task of bringing Christ's kingdom to fruition on earth. With those dogmas forming her philosophical foundation, she seeks her power in the political sphere as well as the religious realm. To whatever degree she achieves political power, to that degree she feels compelled to use her secular influence as a weapon against her spiritual adversaries. Thus, down through the centuries, we see that in those countries in which Catholicism had achieved absolute power, the pope's followers have not hesitated to brutally subdue the enemies of "the Church". Although Jews, Moslems, pagans, and others have felt the wrath of Rome, her special fury has always been reserved for her bitterest and most effective challengers -- Bible believing Christians. Only as the political climate changed in recent centuries did the Catholic hierarchy see it expedient to change tactics and appear to be more tolerant. Yet, to this day we see persecution continuing in those places on the globe dominated by Catholicism. The degree of the persecution is determined by the degree of control.
To what lengths is the Catholic hierarchy prepared to go in its drive to repress opposition and achieve its goal of instituting the kingdom of Christ on earth? To find the answer, one must look to the pages of history.
When the Roman Catholic Church was founded by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., it immediately achieved expansive influence at all levels of the imperial government. As Bible believing Christians separated themselves from the Church of Rome, which they saw as apostate, they represented a formidable potential threat to the official new imperial religion. Persecution in varying degrees of severity was instituted over the centuries following.
By the 11th century, in their zeal to establish Christ's kingdom, the Roman popes ("pope" is an ecclesiastical office that is the very antithesis of the New Testament ideal of a local church pastor) began utilizing a new tool -- the Crusades. At first, the Crusades had as their object the conquering of Jerusalem and the "Holy Land". Along the crusaders' paths, thousands of innocent civilians (especially Jews) were raped, robbed, and slaughtered. In time, however, the crusade concept was altered to crush spiritual opposition within Europe itself. In other words, armies were raised with the intent of massacring whole communities of Bible believing Christians. One such group of Bible believing Christians were known as the Albigenses.
[Pope] Innocent III believed that Bible believing dissidents were worse than infidels (Saracens, Moslems, and Turks), for they threatened the unity of ... Europe. So Innocent III sponsored 4 "crusades" to exterminate the Albigenses. Innocent (what a name!) called upon Louis VII to do his killing for him, and he also enjoined Raymond VI to assist him.
The Cistercian order of Catholic monks were then commissioned to preach all over France, Flanders, and Germany for the purpose of raising an army sufficient to kill the Bible believers. All who volunteered to take part in these mass murders were promised that they would receive the same reward as those who had sallied forth against the Moslems (i.e., forgiveness of sins and eternal life).
The Albigenses were referred to in Pope Innocent's Sunday morning messages as "servants of the old serpent". Innocent promised the killers a heavenly kingdom if they took up their swords against unarmed populaces.
In July of 1209 A.D. an army of orthodox Catholics attacked Beziers and murdered 60,000 unarmed civilians, killing men, women, and children. The whole city was sacked, and when someone complained that Catholics were being killed as well as "heretics", the papal legates told them to go on killing and not to worry about it for "the Lord knows His own."
At Minerve, 14,000 Christians were put to death in the flames, and ears, noses, and lips of the "heretics" were cut off by the "faithful."A
This is but one example from the long and sordid history of Catholic atrocities committed against their bitter enemies, the Bible believing Christians. Much worse treatment of Bible believers was forthcoming during that stage of bloody Catholic history known as the Inquisition.
It is vital, though, that we here define what is meant by the term "heretic". According to Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, this is a heretic: "One who holds or advocates controversial opinions, esp. one who publicly opposes the officially accepted dogma of the Roman Catholic, Church." Or, as one author has put it, "Heresy, to a Catholic, is anti-Catholic truth found in the Bible."B Another summarized the official stance as this: "Every citizen in the empire was required to be a Roman Catholic. Failure to give wholehearted allegiance to the pope was considered treason against the state punishable by death."C
From 1200 to 1500 the long series of Papal ordinances on the Inquisition, ever increasing in severity and cruelty, and their whole policy towards heresy, runs on without a break. It is a rigidly consistent system of legislation: every Pope confirms and improves upon the devices of his predecessor. All is directed to the one end, of completely uprooting every difference of belief... The Inquisition ... contradicted the simplest principles of Christian justice and love to our neighbor, and would have been rejected with universal horror in the ancient Church.D
Pope Alexander IV established the Office of the Inquisition within Italy in 1254. The first inquisitor was Dominic, a Spaniard who was the founder of the Dominican order of monks.
The Inquisition was purely and uniquely a Catholic institution; it was founded far the express purpose of exterminating every human being in Europe who differed from Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. It spread out from France, Milan, Geneva, Aragon, and Sardinia to Poland (14th century) and then to Bohemia and Rome (1543). It was not abolished in Spain until 1820.E
The Inquisition was a terrifying fact of life to those who lived in areas where it was in force. That domain would eventually include not only much of Europe, but also the far-flung colonies of Europe's Catholic powers.
The Inquisition, led by the Dominicans and the Jesuits, was usually early on the scene following each territorial acquisition of the Spanish and Portuguese empires in the 16th and 17th centuries. The methods used, which all too often were similar to those used by Serra in California or the Nazi-backed Ustashis in Croatia, sowed the seeds of reaction and aversion that have proved to be a barrier for true missionaries ever since.
Albert Close writes of the Jesuit mission to Indonesia in 1559 that "conversion was wonderfully shortened by the cooperation of the colonial governors whose militia offered' the natives the choice of the musket ball or of baptism."
Everywhere it existed, the "Holy Office" of the Inquisition spread its tentacles of fear.
When an inquisitor arrived in an area he called for reports of anyone suspected of heresy, sometimes offering rewards to spies who would report suspected heretics. Those suspected were imprisoned to await trials. The trials were held in secret and the inquisitor acted as judge, prosecutor, and jury. The accused had no lawyer. It was often simpler to confess to heresy than to defend oneself, especially since torture was often employed until the accused was ready to confess.
Because church and state had not been kept separate, the church powers could call upon the government to use its power against the convicted heretics. Anyone who fell back into heresy after repentance was turned over by the Inquisition to the regular government to be put to death. Most of those condemned to death were burned at the stake, but some were beaten to death or drowned.
The Inquisition was called the sanctum officium (Holy Office) because the church considered its work so praiseworthy.F
Even after the death of a victim, his punishment was not ended. The property of condemned heretics was confiscated, leaving his family in poverty.
It is important here to emphasize Rome's role in the brutality of the Inquisition. Roman Catholic apologists are quick to point out that it was the state that put heretics to death. This is an alibi meant to excuse the Vatican's role in the atrocities. However, Dollinger, the leading 19th century Catholic historian, stated: "The binding force of the laws against heretics lay not in the authority of secular princes, but in the sovereign dominion of life and death over all Christians claimed by the Popes as God's representatives on earth, as [Pope] Innocent III expressly states it."G
In other words, the secular arm of the state acted only as it was pressured to do so by the popes. Even kings who hesitated to commit genocide on their own populaces were spurred into action by their fear of papal excommunication or subversive Catholic activities within their kingdoms.
Dollinger continues: "It was the Popes who compelled bishops and priests to condemn the heterodox to torture, confiscation of their goods, imprisonment, and death, and to enforce the execution of this sentence on the civil authorities, under pain of excommunication,"H
Will Durant informs us that in 1521 Leo X issued the bull Honestis which "ordered the excommunication of any officials, and the suspension of religious services in any community, that refused to execute, without examination or revision, the sentences of the inquisitors." Consider Clement V's rebuke of King Edward II: "We hear that you forbid torture as contrary to the laws of your land. But no state law can override canon law, our law. Therefore I command you at once to submit those men to torture.I
The methods used by the Inquisition ranged from the barbaric to the bizarre.
When the inquisitors swept into a town an "Edict of Faith" was issued requiring everyone to reveal any heresy of which they had knowledge. Those who concealed a heretic came under the curse of the Church and the inquisitors' wrath. Informants would approach the inquisitors' lodgings under cover of night and were rewarded for information. No one arrested was ever acquitted.
Torture was considered to be essential because the church felt duty-bound to identify from the lips of the victims themselves any deviance from sound doctrine. Presumably, the more excruciating the torture, the more likely that the truth could be wrung from reluctant lips. The inquisitors were determined that it was "better for a hundred innocent people to die than for one heretic to go free".
"Heretics" were committed to the flames because the popes believed the Bible forbade Christians to shed blood. The victims of the Inquisition exceeded by hundreds of thousands the number of Christians and Jews who had suffered under pagan Roman emperors.J
This wanton slaughter of innocent people was justified by Catholic theologians such as "Saint". Thomas Aquinas, who said, "If forgers and other malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for putting to death one convicted of heresy." In 1815, Comte Le Maistre defended the Inquisition by advocating: "The Inquisition is, in its very nature, good, mild, and preservative. It is the universal, indelible character of every ecclesiastical institution; you see it in Rome, and you can see it wherever the true Church has power."K Such a viewpoint could only be expressed by one so brainwashed as to think that the cruel, torturous deaths of dissidents to Catholicism is preferable to the survival and propagation of those who would challenge the Vatican's authority.
Yet, not all Romanists have been comfortable with the totalitarian nature of their "church". Even Jean Antoine Llorente, secretary to the Spanish Inquisition from 1790-92, was to admit: "The horrid conduct of this Holy Office weakened the power and diminished the population of Spain by arresting the progress of arts, sciences, industry, and commerce, and by compelling multitudes of families to abandon the kingdom; by instigating the expulsion of the Jews and the Moors, and by immolating on its flaming shambles more than 300,000 victims."L Historian Will Durant stated, "Compared with the persecution of heresy in Europe from 1227 to 1492, the persecution of Christians by Romans in the first 3 centuries after Christ was a mild and humane procedure. Making every allowance required by an historian and permitted to a Christian, we must rank the Inquisition, along with the wars and persecutions of our time, as among the darkest blots on the record of mankind, revealing a ferocity unknown in any beast."M
Catholic apologists attempt to downplay the significance of the Inquisition, saying that relatively few people were ever directly affected. While controversy rages around the number of victims that can be claimed by the Inquisition, conservative estimates easily place the count in the millions. This does not include the equally vast numbers of human beings slaughtered in the various wars and other conflicts instigated over the centuries by Vatican political intrigues. Nor does it take it account the Holocaust wrought upon the Jews by the Nazis, led by Roman Catholics who used their own religious history to justify their modern excesses. As one secular history explains, "As the Germans instituted a bureaucracy of organized murder, so too did Torquemada, the first Grand Inquisitor, a worthy of predecessor of Heydrich and Eichmann."N
Because her basic doctrinal premises remain in place, Rome can yet again rise up against her spiritual enemies at some future date when she again wields exclusive ecclesiastical control of a region. In fact, the "Holy Office" of the Inquisition still exists within the Vatican (known today as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), awaiting the day in which it can stamp out "heresy". As recently as 1938, a popular Catholic weekly declared:
Heresy is an awful crime against God, and those who start a heresy are more guilty than they who are traitors to the civil government. If the state has a right to punish treason with death, the principle is the same that concedes to the spiritual authority the power of life and death over the archtraitor.O
The Inquisition proved how Catholicism will react when it has possession of absolute power. Is it any wonder that in the 1880s, Dr. H. Grattan Guinness preached the following:
I see the great Apostasy, I see the desolation of Christendom, I see the smoking ruins, I see the reign of monsters; I see those vice-gods, that Gregory VII, that Innocent III, that Boniface Vlll, that Alexander Vl, that Gregory XIII, that Pius IX; I see their long succession, I hear their insufferable blasphemies, I see their abominable lives; I see them worshipped by blinded generations, bestowing hollow benedictions, bartering away worthless promises of heaven; I see their liveried slaves, their shaven priests, their celibate confessors; I see the infamous confessional, the ruined women, the murdered innocents; I hear the lying absolutions, the dying groans; I hear the cries of the victims; I hear the anathemas, the curses, the thunders of the interdicts; I see the racks, the dungeons, the stakes; I see that inhuman Inquisition, those fires of Smithfield, those butcheries of St. Bartholomew, that Spanish Armada, those unspeakable dragonnades, that endless train of wars, that dreadful multitude of massacres. I see it all, and in the name of the ruin it has brought in the Church and in the world, in the name of the truth it has denied, the temple it has defiled, the God it has blasphemed, the souls it has destroyed; in the name of the millions it has deluded, the millions it has slaughtered, the millions it has damned; with holy confessors, with noble reformers, with innumerable martyrs, with the saints of ages, I denounce it as the masterpiece of Satan, as the body and soul and essence of antichrist."P
The challenge I give to Bible believing Christians is to respect the heritage we have been given by those who suffered for Biblical truth, that we may be prepared to suffer ourselves. Ours is the generation that may yet again be afflicted for the faith once delivered to the saints. If such is to be our privilege, let us face our trials with this promise of our Lord fresh upon our hearts: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." {Matthew 5:10}
The challenge I give to Roman Catholics is to take up the New Testament of the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit of God to speak to your hearts. If a Catholic remains skeptical about this brief treatise on the Inquisition, he is certainly welcome to examine for himself the record of history. If he remains unmoved by my conclusions, he is welcome to draw his own. But of far greater import is his need to examine the teachings of his church in the light of God's Word. Jesus leaves you with this warning: "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." {John 12:48} You to whom the Bible was so accessible will not be able to plead ignorance in that terrible day of judgment.
Footnotes:
A Peter S. Ruckman, Ph.D.; The History of the New Testament Church (Bible Believers Bookstore; Pensacola, Florida; 1989)
B Ibid.
C Dave Hunt; A Woman Rides the Beast (Harvest House Publishers; Eugene, Oregon; 1994)
D J.H. Ignaz von Dollinger; The Pope and the Council (London, 1869); as cited in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast
E Peter S. Ruckman, Ph.D.; op cit.
F Laura l-licks, editor; The Modern Age: The History of the World in Christian Perspective, Vol. 11 (A Beka Books Publications; Pensacola, Florida; 1981)
G J.H. Ignaz von Dollinger; op cit.
H Ibid.
I Dave Hunt; op cit.; quotations from Will Durant; The Story of Civilization, Vol. V (Simon and Schuster, 1950); and ibid., Vol. 4
J Dave Hunt; op cit.
K Comte Le Maistre, letters on the Spanish Inquisition, as cited in R.W. Thompson, The Papacy and the Civil Power (New York, 1876); as cited in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast
L Jean Antoine Llorentine, History of the Inquistion; as cited in R.W. Thompson, The Papacy and the Civil Power (New York, 1876); as cited in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast
M Will Durant; The Story of Civilization, Vol. IV (Simon and Schuster, 1950); as cited in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast
N Ward Rutherford; Genocide: The Jews in Europe 1939-45 (Ballantyne Books, Inc.; New York, New York; 1973)
O The Tablet, November 5, 1938; as cited in Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast
P H. Grattan Guinness, D.D., Romanism and the Reformation; Focus Christian Ministries; Lewes, Sussex; as cited in Michael de Semlyen, All Roads Lead to Rome?
ROME'S FRAUDULENT HISTORY
By Dave Hunt
[The following is chapter 7 of A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days, copyright 1994 by Dave Hunt, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97402; used by permission of the author; order from The Berean Call, P.O. Box 7019, Bend, OR 97708. $10 + $2 S/H.]
"Every cleric must obey the Pope, even if he commands what is evil; for no one may judge the Pope." --Pope Innocent III (1198-1216)
"The First See [Rome/papacy] is judged by no one. It is the right of the Roman Pontiff himself alone to judge...those who hold the highest civil office in a state. ... There is neither appeal nor recourse against a decision or decree of the Roman Pontiff." --From today's Code of Canon Law
The Roman Catholic pope has often been the most powerful religious and political figure on earth. This is true today, even though the pope no longer has at his disposal the armies and navies of past Roman pontiffs. The papacy is crucial to Roman Catholicism, which is destined to play a vital role in the last days prior to Christ's second coming. Therefore we must take time to understand the papacy in relation to both the Church and the world. How did the papal office arise? What is its significance today?
The Vatican's constituency of 980 million followers is at least three times the number of citizens in any Western democracy and is exceeded only by the population of China. Even more important, these 980 million people are scattered throughout the world, many of them holding high political, military, and commercial positions in non-Catholic countries. Moreover, the pope has thousands of secret agents worldwide. They include Jesuits, the Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, Opus Dei, and others. The Vatican's Intelligence Service and its field resources are second to none.
Politically the pope's power is exercised mostly behind the scenes, at times in cooperation with and at other times in opposition to the CIA, British Intelligence, Israeli Mossad, and other intelligence services. Remember, the pope's 980 million subjects are bound to him by religious ties, which are far stronger than any political loyalties could ever be. No secular government can compete with the motivational power of religious belief.
The typical Roman Catholic, though he may disagree with his church on such issues as homosexuality, abortion, extramarital sex, contraceptives, and the necessity for confession, nevertheless believes that, when it comes time for him to die, Rome holds his only hope. The pope as Christ's Vicar gives a visible reality and practical expression to that hope. The extraordinary position of the pope in relation to members of the Church was expressed succinctly in Rome's La Civilta Cattolica, which a papal brief described in the mid-nineteenth century as "the purest journalistic organ of true Church doctrine" (J.H. Ignaz von Dollinger, The Pope and the Council, London, 1869, p. 3).
"It is not enough for the people only to know that the Pope is the head of the Church ... they must also understand that their own faith and religious life flow from him; that in him is the bond which unites Catholics to one another, and the power which strengthens and the light which guides them; that he is the dispenser of spiritual graces, the giver of the benefits of religion, the upholder of justice, and the protector of the oppressed" (La Civilta Cattolica, 1867, Vol. xii, p. 86).
Similar words have been spoken by the followers of Joseph Smith, Sun Myung Moon, and other cult leaders. The pope is "another Christ" and "God on earth" to his followers, and, as Vatican II says, he can be judged by neither man nor tribunal (Austin Flannery, O.P., gen. ed., Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Cinciliar Documents, rev. ed., Costello Publishing, 1988, p. 380).
CHECK YOUR MIND AT THE DOOR
The pope, and therefore the Church through him as its head, both claim to be in infallible. Ordinary Catholics must not question anything the pope or Church have to say concerning faith and morals. The councils and catechisms have for centuries declared the need for such total submission and still insist upon it today. The Catholic World reminded all Roman Catholics in the United States at the time of the First Vatican Council:
"Each individual must receive the faith and law from the Church with unquestioning submission and obedience of the intellect and the will. ... We have no right to ask reasons of the Church, any more than of Almighty God. ... We are to take with unquestioning docility whatever instruction the Church gives us" (The Catholic World, August 1871, vol. xiii, pp. 58089).
Here we have as clear a denial of individual moral responsibility as can be found in any cult. The same requirement of unthinking submission is demanded in Vatican II. The Code of Canon Law likewise reasserts the same rule:
"The Christian faithful, conscious of their own responsibility, are bound by Christian obedience to follow what the sacred pastors, as representatives of Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or determine as leaders of the Church" (James A. Coriden, Thomas J. Green, Donald E. Heintschel, eds., The Code of Canon Law, Paulist Press, 1985, Canon 212, Section 1).
When it comes to faith and morals and the way of salvation, Catholics must check their minds at the door and accept whatever Church says. They can't even study the Bible for themselves because only the Magisterium can interpret it. Obviously, this prohibition against freedom of conscience is related to the total suppression of basic human rights for all mankind everywhere, which is the unchanging goal of Roman Catholicism.
To understand Roman Catholicism one must ignore the public posturing and public-relations-motivated profile offered by the Catholic Church. The face that Rome shows to the world varies from country to country depending upon the control it has and what it can effect. Instead, we must look to Catholicism's official doctrines, which never change.
Vatican II is thought by most Catholics and non-Catholics to have liberalized Catholicism. In fact, it reaffirmed the canons and decrees of previous key councils: "The sacred council accepts loyally the venerable faith of our ancestors ... and it proposes again the decrees of the Second Council of Nicea, of the Council of Florence, and of the Council of Trent" (Corden, et al., op. cit., Canon 212, Section 1). The Council of Trent denounced the Reformation and damned evangelicals' beliefs with more than 100 anathemas. All of these condemnations of the gospel of God's grace are endorsed and reaffirmed by Vatican II. As for the pope, Vatican II clearly states:
"The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office [not the holiness of his life], when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful ... he proclaims in an absolute decision a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. For that reason his definitions are rightly said to be irreformable ... in no way in need of the approval of others, and do not admit of appeal to any other tribunal.
"... the faithful, for their part, are obliged to submit to their bishops' decision, made in the name of Christ, in matters of faith and morals, and to adhere to it with a ready and respectful allegiance of mind. This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra in such wise, indeed, that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and the one sincerely adhere to decision made by him, conformably with his manifest mind and intention..." (Ibid., pp. 379-80).
Obliged to submit to their bishop's decision ... submission of the will and intellect must be given ...! That gives Rome incredible power over devout Catholics. That every Catholic does not obey is not the point; the point is that such wording is the unchangeable teaching and intent of the Church, not only for its members but for all mankind.
While many Catholics rebel against certain Church doctrines, they remain nominally attached to the Church, though they may only attend on Christmas or Easter. When it comes, however, to their hope of someday being released from purgatory and getting to heaven, no Catholic can question the Church or he would cease to be under its protection and thus be damned. Vatican II clearly says:
"This holy Council teaches ... that the Church ... is necessary for salvation. ... Hence, they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it" (Ibid., pp. 365-66).
Remember that Hitler and Mussolini remained Catholics to the end and were never excommunicated from the Church. So did thousands of the worst Nazi war criminals, whom the Vatican smuggled out of Europe into safe havens in South America. Such archcriminals are honored with Catholic funerals and, like Mafia members, die with the assurance that their Church will continue to say Masses in order to get them out of purgatory and eventually into heaven. It is an insurance policy that very few allow to lapse completely.
"IMPECCABILITY" VERSUS "INFALLIBILITY"
The required blind faith in the pronouncements of the pope and the clergy seems to make sense because the Roman Church is the largest and oldest. Surely so many billions of religious people couldn't be wrong for the past 1500 years! Faith is also bolstered by the assurance that the Roman Catholic Church is the now true church, the one which alone can be traced back to the original apostles, and that its papal authority comes directly from Christ through Peter by a long and unbroken line of apostolic succession.
As proof, the Church provides a list of its popes (thus far 263) all the way back to Peter. Few Catholics know that popes quarreled and fought with one another, excommunicated one another, and sometimes even killed each other. It is difficult to find even a few among the popes after the fifth century who exhibited the basic Christian virtues. Their lives as recorded in the Catholic Encyclopedia read like an unbelievable soap opera of lust, madness, mayhem, and murder. Nevertheless, all of these master criminals, prisoners, adulterers, and mass murderers are considered to have been infallible when they spoke ex cathedra--that is, made dogmatic pronouncements upon faith and morals to the whole church.
Catholic apologists argue that there is a difference between impeccability in character and conduct, which the popes certainly did not have, and infallibility in faith and morals, which every Catholic must believe they had (Karl Keating, Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians," Ignatius Press, 1988, pp. 215-18). What folly to believe that a man who in his life denies the faith and is habitually immoral is nevertheless infallible when he speaks of faith and morals!
Knowledgeable Catholics readily admit that many popes were incredibly evil. But that fact, it is argued, simply proves they were human and allows one to disagree with them in good conscience. To the Catholic it makes good sense that, in spite of the undeniable wickedness of her clergy, the Roman Catholic Church must be mankind's only hope. After all, it was established by Christ Himself, who made Peter the first pope. That is supposedly proved by the Scripture "Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18), which we will deal with in detail later.
THE UNKNOWN DOGMA
Contrary to what Roman Catholics are taught, the papal office did not originate with Peter. It was centuries before the Bishop of Rome attempted to dominate the rest of the Church, and many centuries more before this primacy was generally accepted. Leo the Great's letter to Flavian in 449 was not accepted until the Council of Chalcedon had approved it.
"[Pope] Leo [I] himself acknowledged that his treatise could not become a rule of faith till it was confirmed by the bishops" (Dollinger, op. cit., p. 59).
There were eight councils of the Church before the schism in 1054 split into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, when the Bishop of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other. None of these eight councils was called by the Bishop of Rome, but by the emperor, who also put his stamp of approval upon their decrees. As for papal authority, one Catholic historian reminds us:
"Pope Pelaguis (556-60) talks of heretics separating themselves from the Apostolic See, that is, Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria plus Constantinople. In all the early writings of the hierarchy there is no mention of a special role for the Bishop of Rome, nor yet the special name of 'Pope' ... Of the eighty or so heresies in the first six centuries, not one refers to the authority of the Bishop of Rome, not one is settled by the Bishop or Rome ... No one attacks the [supreme] authority of the Roman pontiff, because no one has heard of it" (Peter de Rosa, Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy, Crown Publishers, 1988, pp. 205-06).
The Easter Synod of 680 called by Pope Agatho was the first ecclesiastical body that asserted the primacy of Rome over the rest of the Church, but this was not an ecumenical council of the entire Church, so its decision was not generally accepted. As Catholic historian Peter de Rosa points out:
"...not one of the early Fathers of the church say in the Bible any reference to papal jurisdiction over the church. On the contrary, they take it for granted that bishops, especially metropolitans, have the full right to govern and administer their own territory without interference from anyone. The Eastern church never accepted papal supremacy; Rome's attempt to impose it led to the schism.
"...one looks in vain in the first millennium for a single doctrine or piece of legislation imposed by Rome alone on the rest of the church. The only general laws came out of Councils such as Nicaea. In any case, how could the Bishop of Rome have exercised universal jurisdiction in those early centuries when there was no [Roman] Curia, when other bishops brooked no interference in their dioceses from anyone, when Rome issued no dispensations and demanded no tribute or taxation, when all bishops, not just the Bishop of Rome, had the power to bind and loose, when no bishop or church or individual was censured by Rome? Further, for centuries, the Bishop of Rome was chosen by the local citizens--clergy and laity. If he had jurisdiction over the universal church, would not the rest of the world want a say in his appointment? When he was believed to have [universal] supremacy the rest of the church did demand a say in his election. This came about only in the Middle Ages" (Ibid., pp. 248-49).
FROM CALVARY TO REGAL PONTIFF
It requires ingenious interpolation to derive from the simple statement "On this rock I will build my church" a Petrine office, apostolic succession, papal infallibility, and all the pomp, ceremony, and power surrounding the pope today. As one Catholic writer rather sarcastically points out:
"... it required [great] skill to take statements made by a poor Carpenter to an equally poor fisherman and apply them to a regal pontiff who was soon to be called Lord of the World" (Ibid., p. 25).
Yet such is the only biblical foundation upon which the entire superstructure of the Roman Catholic Church has been built. It includes an infallible papacy, apostolic succession, an intricate hierarchy of priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, et al, the magisterium of bishops which alone can interpret the Bible, the requirement that for his alleged infallibility the pope must speak ex cathedra to the entire Church on matters of faith or morals, etc., etc. That none of these concepts is even remotely suggested, must less specifically stated, either in Matthew 16:18 or elsewhere in Scripture is dismissed by Catholic apologists, who then look to "tradition" for support. There they enter a maze of deceit and actual fraud.
It took centuries of developing ingenious arguments to finally arrive at the theory that the Christ who had "nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20), who lived in poverty and was crucified naked, was to be represented by a regal pontiff who possessed more than one palace containing in excess of 1100 rooms each, was waited upon day and night by scores of servants, and wore the finest gold-embroidered silk robes! That Christ passed on to Peter such pomp and luxuries, which neither of them knew, is both ludicrous and blasphemous.
The glories and powers enjoyed by popes are not even remotely related to Peter's life of purity and poverty. This fisherman apostle said, "Silver and gold have I none" (Acts 3:6). Nor were papal luxuries and pompous claims of authority over kings and kingdoms known in the Church until centuries later as ambitious popes gradually extended and solidified their authority and control over earthly rulers. Popes began to call themselves by such titles as "supreme ruler of the worlds" and "king of kings." Others claiming to be "God on earth," even the "redeemer" who "hung on the cross as Christ did," asserted that "Jesus put the popes on the same level as God" (August Bernhard Hasler, How the Pope Became Infallible, Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1981, p. 48). Peter would have denounced such pretentious fraud as blasphemy.
Rome had been the capital of the empire before Constantine moved his palace to the East, and it continues to be regarded as the capital of the western half of the empire. With the Emperor Constantine installed in the city of Constantinople (Istanbul today), the pope developed near absolute power, not only as the head of the Church but as the emperor of the West. When the empire later fell, it was the papacy which gave the fragmented remains its continuity. Thomas Hobbes would say, "The papacy is none other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof."
W.H.C. Frend, Emeritus Professor of Ecclesisatical History, in his classic, The Rise of Christianity, points out that by the middle of the fifth century the Church "had become the most powerful single factor in the lives of the peoples of the empire. The Virgin and the saints had replaced the [pagan] gods as patrons of cities" (W.H.C. Frend, The Rise of Christianity, Philadelphia, 1984, p. 773). Pope Leo I (440-461) boasted that St. Peter and St. Paul had "replaced Romulus and Remus as the city's [Rome's] protecting patrons" (H. Chadwick, The Early Church, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1976, p. 243). Frend writes that "Christian Rome was the legitimate successor of pagan Rome ... Christ had triumphed [and] Rome was ready to extend its sway to the heavens themselves" (Frend, op. cit., p. 707).
SHAMELESS REVISION OF HISTORY
Such was the ambition of most of those who were scrambling onto the alleged throne of Peter and at times warring with one another to gain it. Using the name of Christ and piously making the sign of the cross, they labored mightily to satisfy their lust for power and pleasure and wealth. No justification for making themselves the absolute and infallible rulers over the Church, much less the world, could be found in the writings of the early Fathers and certainly not in Scripture. Therefore the popes had to find other support. The means they chose was to rewrite history by manufacturing allegedly historical documents. The first of these bold forgeries was The Donation of Constantine, which we have already mentioned. It was followed by pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, which were early papal decrees allegedly compiled by Archbishop Isidore (560-636) but actually fabricated in the ninth century. These frauds became the foundation for much "tradition" still relied upon today.
Catholic historian J.H. Ignaz von Dollinger writes that prior "to the Isidorian Decretals no serious attempt was made anywhere to introduce the neo-Roman theory of infallibility. The popes did not dream of laying claim to such a privilege" (Dollinger, op. cit., p. 62). He goes on to explain that these fraudulent Decretals would--
"gradually, but surely, change the whole constitution and government of the Church. It would be difficult to find in all history a second instance of so successful and yet so clumsy a forgery.
For three centuries past [he wrote in 1869] it [the fabrication] has been exposed, yet the principles it introduced and brought into practice have taken such deep root in the soil of the Church, and have so grown into her life, that the exposure of the fraud has produced no result in shaking the dominant system" (Ibid., pp. 76-77).
The Isidorian Decretals involved about a hundred concocted decrees allegedly promulgated by the early popes, along with counterfeit writings of supposed Church authorities and synods. These fabrications were just what Nicholas I (585-67) needed to justify his claims that the popes "held the place of God on earth" with absolute authority over kings, including even the eight to "command massacres" of those who opposed them--all in the name of Christ.
The popes who followed Nicholas were only too happy to emulate his ways, and each of them used his predecessors' actions to justify his own, thus building an ever-larger case for infallibility, but upon a fraudulent foundation. Writing in the nineteenth century, Church historian R.W. Thompson, himself a Catholic, comments:
"Such times as these were adapted to the practice of any kind of imposture and fraud which the popes and clergy considered necessary to strengthen the authority of the papacy. ... the personal interest [and] ambition of Innocent III led him to preserve all these forgeries with care, so that. ... the �pious fraud� might become sanctified by time ... The result he hoped and sought for has been accomplished. ... �[These] false Decretals, which are now universally considered to have been bold and unblushing forgeries ... constitute the cornerstone of that enormous system of wrong and usurpation which has since been built up by the papacy, to revive which Pope Pius IX has now put forth his Encyclical and Syllabus [of Errors]. ..." (R.W. Thompson, The Papacy and the Civil Power, New York, 1876, p. 372).
Devout Catholics would be shocked to learn that much of the "apostolic tradition" they have been told supports Roman Catholicism (and is to be regarded upon the same level as Scripture) was actually a deliberately manufactured fraud. The doctrines built upon these forgeries became so interwoven into Catholicism that even after the hoax was exposed the popes were reluctant to make the necessary correction. Pope after infallible pope endorsed the counterfeit. To make a clean break from centuries of accumulated lies would tear apart the very fabric of Roman Catholicism.
Pope Pius IX relied upon the fraud, though it had already been exposed for three centuries, to build his case for pressuring the bishops to make papal infallibility an official dogma at Vatican I. But the testimony of history conclusively refutes both apostolic succession and papal infallibility.
CATHOLICISM-NEVER CHANGES?
http://www.tcsn.net/fbchurch/fbctruth.htm
"...the long-held claim that the Roman Catholic Church was the only church which never changed is not supported by church history - not even Roman Catholic history. How sad to realize that this false claim influenced so many to join or to stay in this false church which actually is the product of centuries of changes. Most of these changes came as a result of yielding to heathen customs and practices which were subsequently incorporated into Roman Catholic teachings and worship. The following is a partial list of heathen, unscriptural practices which became a part of Roman Catholic dogma over a period of seventeen centuries. Some of the dates given are approximate. In many cases, these heresies were even debated for years before being given the status of required beliefs:"
1. Prayers for the dead .....300 A.D.
2. Making the sign of the cross .....300 A.D.
3. Veneration of angels & dead saints .....375 A.D
4. Use of images in worship .....375 A D.
5. The Mass as a daily celebration .....394 A.D.
6. Beginning of the exaltation of Mary; the term, "Mother of God" applied at Council of
Ephesus .....431 AD.
7. Extreme Unction (Last Rites) .....526 A.D.
8. Doctrine of Purgatory-Gregory I .....593 A.D.
9. Prayers to Mary & dead saints .....600 A.D.
10. Worship of cross, images & relics .....786 A.D.
11. Canonization of dead saints .....995 A.D.
12. Celibacy of priesthood .....1079 A.D.
13. The Rosary .....1090 A.D.
14. Indulgences .....1190 A.D.
15. Transubstantiation-Innocent III .....1215 A.D.
16. Auricular Confession of sins to a priest .....1215 A.D.
17. Adoration of the wafer (Host) .....1220 A.D.
18. Cup forbidden to the people at communion .....1414 A.D.
19. Purgatory proclaimed as a dogma .....1439 A.D.
20. The doctrine of the Seven Sacraments confirmed .....1439 A.D.
21. Tradition declared of equal authority with Bible by Council of Trent .....1545 A.D.
22. Apocryphal books added to Bible .....1546 A.D.
23. Immaculate Conception of Mary .....1854 A.D.
24. Infallibility of the pope in matters of faith and morals, proclaimed by the Vatican Council
.....1870 A.D.
25. Assumption of the Virgin Mary (bodily ascension into heaven shortly after her death)
.....1950 A.D.
26. Mary proclaimed Mother of the Church .....1965 A.D."
Catholic Teachings
Confirmation
The danger to our Protestantism is increasing every hour, and it behoves those that desire to preserve what remains, to drive the enemy from the gate, and to rid themselves without a moment's loss of time of the Popish Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
CONFIRMATION is a sacrament of Popery, which, it is stated, "confers grace," and without which there can be no salvation, and this is to be received under pain of anathema! While Baptism gives spiritual life, Confirmation imparts strength, and of a spiritual child makes a spiritual man.
The administration of the rite is gone about much in the same way as that of baptism. The Bishop anoints the forehead with chrism, saying, "I sign thee with the sign of the Cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of Salvation," at the same time gently slapping him on the cheek, "to remind him that as a courageous champion he must be prepared to brave with unconquered resolution all adversities for the name of Christ."
It might be supposed that confirmation was a less safe matter than baptism, as an experiment on public credulity, on account of the more advanced years of the subjects of it; but from the pains Popery takes to withhold the Sacred Scriptures, and to keep its youth in a state of spiritual ignorance, it has little to fear from years. Accordingly the matter is not minced in the "Instructions and Devotions for Confirmation," used at this moment among the English Papists, as the following will show:
"Confirmation is a sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to make us perfect Christians, and it is so called because it gives to them that receive it, if duly disposed, a great inward strength, a holy vigour of spirit, and firm constancy of mind for the exact discharging every duty that belongs to the Christian life, and happily finishes in them, that which baptism had begun, making them of infants in Christianity, to become perfect men."(Instruction for Confirmation, p. 4.)
Now, this language is, at any rate, intelligible; and whether it be correct or not, may also easily be determined. The making a person a perfect Christian is a great work, which is not to be effected when he is asleep, or without his cognizance; he who receives "inward strength, a holy vigour of spirits, and firm constancy of mind," must be conscious of the wonderful work, the mighty change that has been effected in him; nor will he alone be aware of the fact, since it will never fail to make itself externally manifest to all beholders.
But is it really so in respect to Popish Confirmation? We refer the inquirer, for an answer, full and unerring, to Popish society in Great Britain and Ireland, on the Continent of Europe, and all over the world. The allegation is equally at variance with reason, with Scripture, with experience, and with observation.
Who ever met a sensible Papist, who professed to have been the subject of this wonderful change, bringing light, strength, and vigour to his soul, through the imposition of the Bishop's hands? It is altogether a deadly delusion, a lying fable, eminently calculated to further the destruction of mankind! The "strength" it imparts, if any, is that of blind confidence; the "vigour of spirit" is suicidal presumption!
This sacrament of Confirmation, so- called, is a thing wholly unknown to the Word of God. In the New Testament there is not a tittle on which it can be based; it is a pure creation of Popish craft. The word confirmation is not unknown to the Scriptures; there was such a thing as confirmation in the days of the Apostles; but no two things on earth can be more unlike each other than Apostolic and, Popish Confirmation.
The one was a reality, the other is a fiction. The one was effected by the truth of the gospel, the other through an exhibition of unmeaning mummery. Nothing can be more simple than Apostolic Confirmation; it was effected by the Holy Spirit, solely and uniformly through the truth. Paul, 1 Cor. i. 6., says, "Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you;" "the testimony of Christ," meaning the gospel, the thing believed concerning Christ, the Divine Head. It was "confirmed," that is, proved to be of God, by the miraculous powers conferred upon believers; "so that ye come behind in no gifts, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the end."
Here, then, we have a two-fold confirmation; first, of God's testimony to man; and secondly, of man's faith in that testimony, and both by the same means. Again, "they," the Apostles, "went forth to preach everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming the Word by signs following."
"Confirming the Word." What does this mean? It can only mean one thing-proving the Divine origin of the Word by the signs, wonders, and mighty deeds, done by the Spirit of God. Thus the Apostles confirmed Christ's mission from God, and their own mission from Christ. Again, the Apostles came to Antioch confirming the souls of the disciples," and exhorting them to continue in the faith. To "confirm the souls," and "strengthen the faith" of the disciples, by which it is realized, meant the same thing. No ceremony whatever was connected with the deed.
We hold Popish Confirmation, then, and Popish Baptism, to be a great and dangerous delusion; and it will be seen from the definitions given that they are simply two stages of the same process; the first giving spiritual life in all its parts, and the second developing those parts into maturities.
We consider these errors as most deadly and would earnestly warn the people of England against them, and beseech them not to be dazzled with dignities, cardinals, princes, and popes, but to rise superior to the idolatry of -wealth, splendour, and great names, and to do homage to nothing but the truth of God set forth in the Holy Scriptures.
The time is come, when the people of England must take their stand on Revelation, and with the sword of the Spirit be "valiant for the truth," fighting the battles of Gospel verity and Christian freedom, as did their fathers. The danger to our Protestantism is increasing every hour, and it behoves those that desire to preserve what remains, to drive the enemy from the gate, and to rid themselves without a moment's loss of time of the Popish Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Baptism
"If any one denies that the guilt of original sin is remitted by the grace of Christ, which is conferred in baptism . . . . let him be accursed."
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
BAPTISM is the first of the Seven Sacraments of Popery, and the manner in which it is dealt with, is a fair specimen of the manner in which Popery deals with everything, whether based on the Scriptures or on the authority of the Church. It is first to be noted then, that it is declared to be "absolutely necessary to salvation." It is broadly laid down, that "without Baptism the Atonement of the Cross cannot be applied to us; that Christ will not redeem us unless we are washed in the waters of baptism, and that no man can be justified by faith only without Baptism." (Maguire Dis. p. 151.)
These absurd pretences are stamped, as usual, with artifice and mystery. The nonsense of them need not be pointed out to the well-instructed reader, who will see that the redemption of souls by Christ, whose work it seems is still to be performed, is to depend upon their being baptized, and, consequently, through that baptism brought into a state which renders such redemption unnecessary! But it were absurd to argue against such folly.
The simple institution of Christ is not to the taste of the ignorant multitude that form the subjects of the Popedom; they think "it is not done well, nor orderly, unless they see conjuration, unless they hallow the water, unless there be oil, salt, spittle, tapers, and such other dumb ceremonies serving no use." (Homily for Whitsunday)
Here, again, the great object is clearly to exalt the priest, and to dazzle the people. An ordinance on which the salvation of a soul is made to depend, must be a very important thing; without pomp, and ceremony, and mystery, somewhat corresponding with the magnitude of the effect to be produced, even the vulgar might be led to question whether any such effect could flow from means so simple, and thus reach conclusions that might prove inconvenient to the priesthood.
The Council of Trent has a vast, even more than a usual amount of cursing, upon this subject. No fewer than fourteen anathemas are poured forth upon the heads of those who shall dare to manifest a little common sense, and venture even to hint a doubt on any of the dogmas of the Church concerning it.
From the importance which attaches to this subject, it is proper to set forth in full the doctrine as it is propounded in the Canons and the Catechisms of the Council of Trent, and the "Poor Man's Catechism," a great authority. Speaking of infant baptism, the last publication says: " If any one denies that the merit of Jesus Christ is applied to little ones by the sacrament of. baptism, let him be accursed."-Canones, Sess. v., "Decretum de Peccato."
"If any one denies that infants are to be baptized, let him be accursed. "-.Ib.
The Catholic form of baptism is as follows: -
"At the church-door the infant is stopped, to signify that being yet a slave to the devil, he cannot enter' the church, and that baptism gives him entrance."-Poor Man's Catechism.
"The priest then says" to the infant "What do you demand from the church of God?" -Ib.
"Then he breathes in his face three times, and commands the devil to depart, and give place to the Holy Ghost."-Ib.
"He then makes the sign of the cross."-Ib. The forehead, eyes, breast, shoulders, ears, are signed with the sign of the cross.
"The priest now blesses salt, and puts some of it into his mouth."-Ib.
"The priest proceeds to read the exorcism, commanding the wicked spirit to depart." - Ib. "Exorcism follows, which is accomplished to expel the devil and to break his strength." ("Sequitur exorcismus, qui ad expellendum diabolum ejusque vires frangendas . . . . conficitur."-Cat. II. ii. 64.)
"Laying the stole upon the child, he leads him into the church."-Ib.
"The priest repeats the exorcism."-Ib.
"He touches the ears and nostrils with spittle." -Ib.
The priest asks the infant these three things "Do you renounce Satan. and all his works? and all his pomps?" -lb.
"Then he" (the infant) "is anointed with the holy oils, blessed by the bishop, on the breast and between the shoulders."-Ib.
"Next he " (the infant) "is examined as to his faith: -Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?" etc.-Ib.
"Then the priest asks the infant, Will you be baptized; and the reason assigned is: -the Lord has willed that no one should be enlisted in the number of his followers, except as a volunteer. Then he pours water on the head three times in the form of a cross. Then he anoints the top of the head with chrism."-Ib.
"Then he puts white linen on the infant's head. A lighted candle is afterwards put into his hand; and, lastly, the infant receives usually the name of some Saint, ` to whom he may pray, and of whom he may hope that he will come to defend both his soul and his body."' ("Quem imitari studeat, eum quoque precetur et speret sibi advocatum ad salutem tum animi, tum corporis defendendam venturum esse."-Cat. II. ii. 73.)
The effects of baptism are thus set forth:
"By baptism, putting on Christ, we are made a new creature in him, obtaining the full and perfect remission of all sins."- Canones, Sess. xiv., cap. 2. "Even little ones are baptized unto the remission of sins that in them the evil which they contracted by generation may be cleansed by regeneration." Canones, Sess. v., "De Peccato."
"If any one denies that the guilt of original sin is remitted by the grace of Christ, which is conferred in baptism . . . . let him be accursed."-Ib.
"In baptism not only are sins remitted, but all the punishments of sin are also done away."-Cat. II. ii. 44.
"The causes of justification are, the final (cause), the glory of God; the instrumental (cause), the sacrament of baptism."-Canones, Sess. vi. cap. 7.
"If any one shall say that little ones, after they have been baptized, are not to be reckoned amongst believers . . .. let him be accursed."-Ib. Sess. vii. can. 13.
"By baptism we are joined to Christ, the head, as his members."-Cat. II. ii. 51. "By the virtue of this sacrament, our mind is filled with grace, through which being rendered just and the children of God, we are constituted heirs of eternal salvation."-Ib. 49.
"Lastly, baptism opens to each of us the way to heaven."-Ib. 57.
In short, baptism is a sacrament by which infants are "cleansed from original sin," "made Christians," "born again," "born of God," "adopted children of God," and "heirs of the kingdom of heaven."
"Is baptism necessary to salvation? Yes; without it we cannot enter into the kingdom of God." "It is the first and most necessary of all the sacraments. For Christ has said, Unless a man be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And the church has defined that no one can be saved, unless he be baptized, either actually or in desire." Which law (John iii. 5.) is to be understood not of adults alone, but also of infants." ("Quam legem non solum de its qui adulta Ttate sunt, sed etiam de pueris infantibus intelligendum esse, communis Patrum sententiaconfirmat."-Cat. II. H. 31.)
Such is the Romish doctrine of Baptism, which constitutes one of the most egregious errors of the Papal Church. The ingenuity of man seems to have been taxed to the uttermost to invest the ordinance with an artificial importance and a meretricious glare in the eyes of the multitude.
The marvel is, that both great and small did not, from the first, rise against the outrage on delicacy, decency, Scripture, and common sense. The mother of King James shows that there were those, in a later day, whose eyes were partially opened to the abomination.
The King tells us a curious story about his own baptism, in the Premonition, before his apology for the Oath of Allegiance, he says: "The Queen, my mother, of worthy memory, though she continued in the religion in which she was nourished, yet was she so far from being superstitious therein, that at my baptism, although I was baptized by a Popish Archbishop, she sent him word to forbear the use of the spittle, being indeed, a filthy, apish trick, rather in scorn than imitation of Christ; and her own very words were, that she `would not have a debauched priest to spit in her child's mouth."'
Every well-taught Protestant knows that baptism by whomsoever administered, has no power in any way to affect immortal mind. It cannot regenerate -that is, quicken from a death of trespasses and of sins-enlighten, convince, and convert the human soul. Regeneration is effected solely by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Christ, and justification, is solely by faith, and not by baptism. Adoption proceeds from the mercy of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus; and has no connection whatever with Baptism.
It is worthy of notice that the Eastern Church largely participates with the Western, in heaping abuses on the ordinance of Baptism. The author of "Egypt's Princes," makes the following extraordinary statement:
"I have never, before or since, witnessed the rite administered as it then was. It was reduplicated. The first time it was mostly in Arabic. The mother, taking the child and facing the west, renounced in the name of the child, the devil, and his works and service, and then turning to the east, embraced the Saviour, and his righteousness and service. Three times the priest asked her, ` Do you embrace Christ for this child ?' and three times she emphatically answered, ` I do.' The priest then sprinkled water on the child, and I thought the ceremony was completed. But the two children were then taken to another part of the church, where was a font large enough for their immersion, and another priest completed the ceremony, this time all in Coptic. The children were stripped naked, and with long repetitions of prayers, they were three times immersed in the font, and then the priest commenced the process of anointing them with holy oil, which he did by dipping his thumb into the oil, and then commencing at the wrist of the child, tracing it along all its members and joints. The church was so cold that we needed our heavy shawls around us to keep warm, and the priest was an old trembling man, awkward in his manipulations; and as the poor things lay there on a garment on the ground, blue and screaming, until, utterly exhausted, they could cry no longer, I became so indignant that I could hardly restrain myself from interfering. I could no longer wonder that (as the Copts say is the case) the children are often killed by the process."
If these doctrines be true, assuredly the Papists throughout all the world ought to be shining patterns of every virtue. Every Catholic is taught to say that "the end for which Baptism was instituted, was to make us Christians; to free us from the slavery of Satan, under which we come into the world; to unite us with Christ as members of his body, to give us a heart to receive all the other sacraments; and a title to an eternal and happy inheritance in heaven." (Keenan, p. 157.)
It would be very difficult to put a larger amount of deadly error and impious falsehood into so small a space; every form of the sentence is a gross and fatal misrepresentation. The work of Christ, the truth of the Gospel and the offices of the Spirit in applying it to the souls of men, and the grace of God in the glorious dispensations of mercy, all are merged in Popish Baptism. The doctrine would be utterly contemptible, were it not for the awful consequences, which are said to flow from it.
It is throughout, altogether false, and is such a perversion, such a caricature of the institution of Christ, as to forfeit on behalf of those who teach it, all confidence among mankind. The fabrication of such a lesson of delusion must have been most deliberate, and its authors must have been fully conscious of their own guilt in the act; in speaking so glaring a lie, they spoke it of themselves. There is not in the Word of God, the slightest foundation for the representation, which they have given, and not only given but enforced on the faith of men, under the penalty of damnation! No created mind can tell the amount of eternal ruin to souls, which has arisen from this pestilent doctrine, which merits all the anathemas that can be heaped upon it, by both earth and heaven!
It is matter of regret, that a portion of the Popish leaven upon this subject has crept into divers portions of the Protestant Church, from which it cannot be too speedily purged out, since it lies at the foundation of the Romish system, the very essence of which is the doctrine of salvation, not through the Gospel but through the sacraments dispensed by men in so-called Apostolic succession.
Indulgences
"Let no man deceive you with vain words."
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
The subject of Indulgences is one which occupies a conspicuous place in European history, from the relation in which it stands to the Reformation. That the doctrine may be rightly understood, it must be examined through the medium of Luther's life and labours. In this way, and in no other, can the real truth be got at.
Tetzel bent the bow of priestly imposture too far, and thus unwittingly brought upon his church all the calamities of the Lutheran revolt. This great fact has led to a vast amount of shuffling, equivocation, misrepresentation, and downright falsehood from the Papal writers who have treated of it. It is a thing-and almost the only thing of which it would seem the priesthood are rather ashamed.
As it was carried on in the days of Tetzel, human nature could hardly bear it, and hence the revolt to which the excesses gave birth, and there has since been a. disposition to moderate and restrain the doctrine, and wherever the violation of truth has been wanted to serve the purpose, as usual, the father of lies has been present to give his aid.
The first and just plan, however, and that against which it is in vain for the priests to object, is at once to repair to the literature of Luther's day, which will most incontrovertibly demonstrate that the Protestant view was the true one -viz., that it is a virtual licence to commit sin.
Next to this, we may have recourse to the Council of Trent, and to various authorized catechisms of the Papacy. By this, the matter must be tested, and from this there is no appeal. We set very light by the representations of Bossuet, Gother, and others, and the whole of the Irish priesthood at the present hour.
The great French Jesuit, as he was wont when pressed by truth, deliberately falsified; and it is a fact worthy of notice that the Irish bishops, in 185, in their examination before Parliament, in connection with their demand for what is called Emancipation, acted a part but too much resembling that of Bossuet. Kelly, Doyle, and Murray, all varied from each other. Even the last, by far the most candid, was highly culpable in his representations.
This is one of the few things in which the Council of Trent showed a spice of moderation: they appear to have been deeply impressed with the memory of the disgrace which attended the sale of Indulgences by Tetzel, and hence, while still assuming that "Christ had given to the Church the power of granting Indulgences, and that the use of them was very beneficial to the Christian people," they took care, as usual, to pour a curse on the head of all that deny it; they were careful, however, to abstain from defining what Indulgences really mean, simply designating them the "heavenly treasures of the Church."
In the Papal standards, the doctrine of Indulgences is defined as that which secures not only the remission of canonical penance imposed by the Church, but a remission of the temporal punishment, with which the sins of men are visited after their guilt and liability to eternal punishment has been removed by the Sacrament of Penance; and this temporary punishment maybe endured either in this life or in purgatory, so that a man may take his choice: if he will do penance here, he may leave the world with his guilt discharged; but if not he must suffer the punishment in purgatory! They are shut up to one or the other-penance here, or penal fires there!
The principle, on which Indulgences proceed, is very simple, more simple, generally, than is compatible with so much falsehood. It is assumed that fasts, alms, penance, pilgrimages, the hair shirt and the hard living, to which we have elsewhere referred, possess a power to satisfy.
Should they, however, in any case fail, they are then to go for supplemental merit to the great storehouse of merit laid up in the Church, the management of which is committed to the Pope. It lies with him, therefore, to grant remission of temporal punishment on such terms as he may think proper to impose. This is called an Indulgence. It may be limited to a fixed period, or it may extend through the whole life.
Neither is the benefit confined to men on earth, but maybe extended to souls in Purgatory; so that a powerful hold is gained on the benevolent and affectionate feelings of survivors, who are blind enough to believe the monstrous imposture.
The conditions on which the Indulgence is granted, are very varied; sometimes one penance is prescribed, and sometimes another, but the thing is never so thoroughly Popish, and to the priestly taste, as when it is-money! Pope Leo, who understood the matter thoroughly, condescended to enlighten the world on the mystery of this merciful provision. He tells them that it was permitted to him, by his apostolic authority, to grant Indulgences out of the superabundant merit of Christ, to the saints and to the faithful who are united to Christ as well for the living as for the dead.
It was a master-stroke to extend the bounty to boil worlds, since it greatly enlarged the sphere of blessing. The same Pope Leo says, "Wherefore all persons, whether living or dead, who really obtain any Indulgences of this kind are delivered from so much temporal punishment, due, according to Divine justice, for their actual sins, as is equivalent to the value of the Indulgence bestowed and received."
The intelligent author of "Rome in the Nineteenth Century," described things as they came before his eyes in a residence in the Eternal City. He says, "Plenary Indulgences and remission of sins are offered here on very easy terms. I was first rather startled with the prodigal manner in which that full pardon of all transgressions which the gospel promises only as the reward of sincere repentance and amendment-language which shows our author knew but little of the gospel-was bestowed at Rome in consideration of repeating certain prayers before the shrine of certain saints, or paying a certain sum of money to certain priests, you may buy as many masses as will free your souls from purgatory for twenty-nine thousand years at the Church of Saint Lateran, on the festal of that saint, and at another on the Quirinal Hill for ten thousand, and for three thousand years, and at a very reasonable rate. But it is in vain to particularize; for the greater part of the churches of Rome and the neighbourhood are spiritual shops for the sale of the same commodity."
This iniquitous system is not confined to the Continent and foreign countries: to say nothing of Ireland, it abounds in England. It is but a few years back since one was unblushingly proclaimed in the address to the British people. In 1845, the last Jubilee was called "the year of expiation and pardon, of redemption and grace, of redemption and indulgence."
Papal cupidity conjured the people to turn it to account. The Vicar-apostolic of the London District exhorted his charge to make the most of it. "Only sin," said he, "can exclude you from that kingdom; only the debt of temporal punishments incurred by sin can retard your entrance into glory . . . . . Avail yourselves of every means of displaying the debt to Divine justice. Spare no pains to prepare yourselves for the remission of your sins, and for the benefits of this plenary indulgence-the happy effects will be felt by you in that peace of soul and spiritual joy which the world could never give, and in a well-grounded hope of eternal happiness."
These are sentiments concerning which there can be no mistake. They form a distinction which has no foundation in the Word of God between punishment temporal and eternal-representing the eternal to be remitted, while the temporal are retained; professing to look sometimes to Christ for the remission of the eternal; and to the sinner's own works or sufferings, for the remission of the temporal; ever and anon confounding the temporal with the eternal, and thus, teaching him to view himself as his own sole and only saviour.
There is no point in which the Papal system is more vulnerable, and none through which it has received more deadly stabs from the sword of the Spirit. In spite of all that has been said, the thing, in plain expression, amounts simply to a licence of iniquity, and permission with impunity to perpetrate crimes!
It is to no purpose to say that the Indulgence is only-granted after the sin has been committed, and that it has, not, a prospective, but a retrospective bearing. What child sees not that this leaves the matter precisely as we have put it? A man is going to commit a sin, and beforehand he knows the price it will cost him. The price lie stands prepared to pay. He perpetrates the enormity, and pays accordingly, and there is an end of the matter!
But this is not all. Indulgences have been sold in abundance for sins to be committed! Nay, reader, start not. Tetzel himself, the Caliban of the Papacy in matters of Indulgence, did so. Hear him as, addressing the multitude, he exclaims:
"Come, and I will give you letters furnished with the seal by which the sins, even those you may have a mind to commit hereafter, shall be all forgiven you. I would not exchange my privileges for those of St. Peter in heaven; for I have saved more souls by my indulgences, than the Apostle by his discourses. Indulgences not only save the living, but they save the dead too. Priest, noble, merchant, woman, young girl, young man, hearken to your parents and your friends who are dead, and who cry to you from the bottom of the abyss, ` We are enduring tortures! A small alms would deliver us; you can give it, and you will not!' The very instant the piece of money chinks at the bottom of the strong box, the soul is delivered out of purgatory, and flies up to heaven."
We might very copiously illustrate this point, but we abstain. Since it to say, that the result has been both from its prospective and its retrospective bearings, to embolden sinners in their career of transgression; and hence, it is testified by all competent witnesses who have sojourned in Popish countries, that the system of Indulgences most fearfully contributes to laxity of morals.
Mr. Eustace in his "Classical Tour," thus explains the state of things in Italy when he was there, and ascribed it to the sale of Indulgences. Mr. Graham, too, tells us of an individual pointed out to him, who had stabbed his brother so that he had expired immediately after the deed.
What was the result? Was the murderer apprehended and dealt with according to his wickedness? Not so! Ho repaired to Rome, purchased his freedom from the Church, and received a written protection from a Cardinal, in consequence of which he was walking about without concern-a second Cain!
Reader, we have done. "Let no man deceive you with vain words." Take not the account of the matter, as you will find it in Romish books, since nothing can be more contrary to facts than the representations of the Jesuits. We appeal to history, the history of the Church of Rome, and refer you to the recent work. of D'Aubigne on the Reformation, which will supply you with facts illustrative of the basis we have laid down, and demonstrative of our entire argument.
Indulgence, although one of the weaker points of the Romish system, is, nevertheless, a part in admirable harmony with the whole. It is essentially anti-Christian; no part of the mighty scheme of error and falsehood is more skilfully levelled against the grace of God and the work of Christ. None better deserves to be stamped with the image and superscription of Antichrist. It is one of the master strokes of the Prince of Darkness!
Image Worship
"To those who diligently teach not the whole Christ-loving people to adore and salute the venerable, and holy, and precious images of all the saints; let them be anathema."
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
MAN must have religion of some sort; should he cease to worship the God who made him, he will worship the god whom he himself made-an idol graven or molten-or it may be a stock, a stone, a creeping thing, the sun, the moon, the stars, or even the devil!
Men, by degrees, lost the knowledge of God a result which was the punishment of their previous misconduct, since, "when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;" and "because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, He gave them up to a reprobate mind."
This state of things gives a fearful significance to the second commandment, and shows how wisely, and with what decision Moses met the reigning evil of his times through the earth when he thus enacted, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or 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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."
This law not only cut down the tree of idolatry, but also extirpated its root among the Jews. This is a point on which there can be no dispute; the only question then, is, was there any loophole left for its introduction to the Christian dispensation? This question, too, we presume, can only be answered in one way.
The point, therefore, to be determined, is, has idolatry found its way into any portion of the Christian Church, so called? and if so, is it the Church of Rome? The reply of the Protestants, is "Yes, she is guilty!" Such, and so grave is the charge we have to bring against the Popedom.
The priest will of course deny it; and even affect to resent the charge as a calumny, and a slander. No matter. Protestants are quite familiar with this mode of proceeding. It is very convenient for the advocates of a bad cause; they will try to make the use of images among them, a very harmless and even an edifying thing; they will tell you they use images only as one does a portrait, or a bust of a deceased friend-to excite the memory of by-gone days, and to rekindle reverential affection, and that images of the Godhead are highly serviceable in helping the worshipper to stay his mind, and to keep alive the affections.
This is all that can be said for the practice, but might not every word of this have been said by the Jews in the days of Moses? Did not men then require such aids at least, as much as now? But was it not found then, that the sure tendency was to stop short at the image, instead of looking through and beyond it, to the object it was used to represent? Was not this the case universally, and did not Idolatry fill the land and bring captivity and destruction upon the Jews? In this way, was not the Most High shut out from his own universe through all the world, and actually forgotten by his own creatures? Again, is not God a spirit, immortal and invisible, "dwelling in light that no man can approach unto, that no man hath seen, or can see?" How, then, is it possible to make an image, carved or molten, that shall represent the Godhead?
But there is something serious in the history of this image worship, and which must not be overlooked. How came it that the Papists have taken such liberties with the second commandment, if it does not in some way militate against their system? It is an adage that wicked men never oppose the Bible till they find that the Bible opposes them.
We are not without a suspicion that such is the case in the present instance. Else how comes it that in many editions of the Sacred Scriptures, which, from various causes, the Church of Rome has been induced to issue, she has actually expunged the second commandment altogether? And how is it that, as if to conceal the fraud, by still keeping up the number to ten, she has divided the last commandment into two? Does such conduct as this comport with honesty? Is there not something very suspicious about it?
Such conduct is all the more suspicious when it is remembered that so strongly did the Primitive Church feel upon this subject, that many of their most distinguished ministers entertain serious scruples as to the moral character of the arts of painting and sculpture. During the first 300 years the Christian Church stood at the furthest remove from all approach to the use of images for any purpose whatever. There is no subject, -the true history of which is better known, and the unanimous testimony is to this effect.
Images were first introduced as mere ornaments, by some Christians in Spain, early in the fourth century, and were promptly condemned by the Council of Eliberis, as fraught with danger; and the event has showed that the objectors were men of penetration. Images were preceded by the introduction of pictures of saints and martyrs into the churches, so called, which prepared the way for them a fact, which shows the tendency of the human mind, and the necessity of making a stand at the outset.
The evil increased apace; but only still in the way of ornament, and that in the midst of opposition from many of the wise and good. By the sixth century, however, they became universal throughout Christendom; step by step they were allowed to be used as an aid to devotion by the weak and the superstitious; till at length they began to be worshipped.
By this time, too, the zeal of the Councils began to relax; and, as aids, images were allowed by them, but as objects, denounced. Gregory the Great vehemently condemned them in the latter capacity; and with such effect as to give a powerful check to this incipient idolatry; and for a time, the worship ceased. The Councils gave image worship no encouragement; but in the eighth century it found zealous patrons in the lazy monks and the stupid populace. Thus much for its history; we must now bring the charge home to the Church of Rome at the present hour.
As this is far from a light matter, it must be gravely dealt with, we shall, therefore, at once appeal to the standard of Popish doctrine the Council of Trent. By that Assembly it was determined, "That the images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and of the saints, are to be had and retained, especially in churches, and due honour and veneration to be paid to them; because the honour which is exhibited to them, is referred to the prototypes which they represent; so that through the images which we kiss, and before which we cover our heads and lie prostrate, we adore Christ; and pay veneration to the saints whose likenesses the images bear; as is ordained by the Decrees of Councils, particular the second Nicene."
This Nicene Council speaks with still more decision on the subject of the images and saints in the following words: "To those who diligently teach not the whole Christ-loving people to adore and salute the venerable, and holy, and precious images of all the saints; let them be anathema."
Image worship is not less certain throughout the Papal world than Virgin worship; the image of St. Dominic may, perhaps, in the intermediate roll, be entitled to precedence. This famous block has often rejoiced in 100,000 pilgrims paying devotions and making offerings at his shrine during a single anniversary! We might traverse the entire kingdom of Antichrist, and adduce from every part of it proof of a desperate addition to image worship; but it is useless. It is better to assume the fact, and reason upon the folly as is admirably done in the Homily on Idolatry by the Church of England. The following are extracts:
"What meaneth it that Christian men, after the use of the Gentiles' idolaters, cap and kneel before images? which, if they had any sense and gratitude would kneel before men carpenters, masons, plasterers, founders, and goldsmiths, their makers and framers; by whose means they have attained this honour, which else would have been ill. favoured, and rude lumps of clay or plaster, pieces of timber, stone, or metal, without shape or fashion, and so without all estimation and honour; as that idol in the Pagan poet confesseth, saying, `I was once a vile block, but now I am become a god,' etc. What a fond thing is it for a man, who hath life and reason, to bow himself to a dead and insensible image, the work of his own hands! Is not this, stooping and kneeling before them, adoration of them, which is forbidden so earnestly by God's Word? Let such as so fall down before images and saints, know and confess that they exhibit that honour to dead stocks and stones, which the saints themselves, Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, would not to be given them, being alive; which the angel of God forbiddeth to be given to him. What meaneth it that they, after the example of the Gentiles' idolaters, burn incense, offer up gold to images, hang up crutches, chains, and ships, legs, arms, and whole men and women of war, before images, as though by them, or saints as they say, they were delivered from lameness, sickness, captivity, or shipwreck? Is not this colere imagines, to worship images so earnestly forbidden in God's Word?"
Reader! We have done! The facts are before you. Have you duly weighed them? If so, to what conclusion have you come? Is not this matter a most important addition to the fearful indictment, which the Prophets and Apostles of God have to deliver against the Church of Rome? Does not the mutilation of the second commandment alone suffice to determine the question of Papal guilt? Must there not be an intolerable consciousness that there is something in the system which cannot bear the application of that enactment? Is not the deed that of a forger, destroying the only document that can prove his guilt? How would the subject be viewed by a British judge, and a British jury? Would not the court denounce it as guilt of the deepest dye, and would not the jury, without a moment's hesitation, and with perfect unanimity. Bring in a verdict of guilty, without recommendation to mercy?
Communion In One Kind
"Whosoever shall affirm that all and everyone of Christ's faithful are bound by Divine command to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist in both kind, as necessary to salvation, let him be accursed."
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
THERE is no error of the Church of Rome more easy of detection, or less defensible than that which withholds the cup from the people; language cannot make it more certain than that the Lord Jesus Christ gave both the bread and the wine to his disciples, and that they in their turn, did the same to the Churches formed under their immediate auspices. The Gospels in which the subject is mentioned, and the first Epistle to the Corinthians, have only to be looked at to render this clear beyond dispute; yet in the teeth of this fivefold demonstration, the Council of Trent issued the following dictum, fortifying, as usual, by anathema maranatha:
"Whosoever shall affirm that all and everyone of Christ's faithful are bound by Divine command to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist in both kind, as necessary to salvation, let him be accursed."
This is one of a multitude of reasons for withholding the Scriptures from the people, since they would at once discover the imposture. The priesthood, as if aware that a fact so clear and simple cannot be concealed, have resorted to a fetch. They maintain that the Scriptures left it indifferent to receive it in one kind or both. The proper method of meeting this assertion is just to deny it, and to call upon the priests for proof.
To answer their own ends, they have mutilated the second commandment, and thence they mutilate the institution of the Lord's Supper�in consequence of which it now ceases to be the Lord's Supper at all, and becomes a something utterly unlike it, and unknown to the Apostles; but granting what we deny, that the wafer was a sufficient representation of the body of Christ, where is the representation of his blood that blood to which so much importance attaches in the Divine economy?
So far as the people are concerned, it is wholly without representation. It is stated, indeed, that in virtue of Transubstantiation, "Christ's whole and entire body and soul and divinity is received under one kind only"�that is, one memorial or the other, either the bread or the wine. Absurdity so revolting merits no reply other than indignant remonstrance or sharp rebuke, since it is an impious trifling of the highest subject about which the mind of man can be exercised.
It is no marvel if men who have dealt so freely with the Sacred Scriptures as a whole, and who withhold from the people, should take away half the ordinance of the Supper, and so modify that which remains as to render it no longer cognisable by those whose judgments of the thing have been found upon inspired records. No two things are less like each other than the Christian Supper and the Popish Mass; that the latter might be harmonized with the former, Christ should have stood in the upper room, and having performed a variety of mysterious acts, have stood up and told his disciples that Transubstantiation was completed. They should then have knelt around Him while He placed a particle of the bread, with his own hand, successively on their tongues, protruded for that purpose, wholly withholding the wine from them, and taking it Himself.
This mutilation of the original institution, more than most other deeds of Popery, bears the character of impious wantonness; it is a deed largely without a reason beyond the very obvious and serious one of carrying out the governing principle of opposition to Christ, and a determination in everything to set aside his arrangements, and to subvert his authority. This is conduct, which most richly merits, in all matters and in all respects, the designation assigned it in prophecy�"Antichrist." This is a point at which, at the outset, the Protestants yielded a very vigorous opposition, which had the effect of leading the Papal party, in the celebrated catechism of the Council of Trent, to attempt reasons which are of a character so contemptible that it would have been far more politic to have withheld them.
These reasons are in substance as follows:�"It is done lest the cup, being put into the hands of the people, any of the blood of the Lord should be spilt; lest the wine should become sour when kept for the sick. Many cannot bear the taste or the smell of wine, and find it injurious to health; in many countries it is difficult, if not impossible, to procure wine; lastly, withholding it serves to overthrow the heresy of those who deny that a whole Christ cannot be received in one kind."
It is difficult to deal gravely with such reasons for the act, since it is felt that to do so would be to offer an indignity to common sense. Still, argumentation on these childish and contemptible reasons has most needlessly cumbered the pages of controversy. The thing is beneath our notice. The proper way is at once to appeal to the Scriptures. It is a pure question of language in the hands of common sense.
It was felt, however, that the withdrawal of the cup was a great experiment upon mankind; but they had been already so blinded and so prostrated that there was very little danger in the attempt. It was, moreover, done by degrees, and it was not until the Council of Constance, in 1415, that the decree was proposed for the universal interdict of the cup to the people�an interdict against which reason and piety so revolted that obedience was by no means general for a considerable time. There was great opposition at the Council of Trent, and many noble spirits were found loudly and indignantly denouncing the violation of Scripture and of Divine appointments.
Bavaria was signalised in this way by its envoy, who, in uttering his protest, vehemently denounced the clergy, on the ground of their corruptions and profligacy. He boldly affirmed that there were not more than three or four who did not keep concubines, or who had not contracted clandestine marriages. The Bohemians occupied a position of equal honour; but opposition was to no purpose. The evil work went on till it was completed.
The Council of Trent might be viewed as the mightiest muster the Prince of Darkness ever made for the overthrow of Scripture truth and its representatives. Three Patriarchs, nineteen Archbishops, one hundred and forty-eight Bishops, three Abbots, six Generals of Orders, three Doctors of Rolls, and ninety-four Divines united to decree that the believing, teaching, and preaching of the priesthood should be according to the decree. That decree was to the effect that although Christ gave to the Apostles both bread and wine, yet it was not necessary to give both to the people, but that the Church�meaning themselves�had the power to alter, or modify, or institute any ordinance.
On this occasion it was further decreed that the Sacramental Communion of the Eucharist is not necessarily obligatory on children who have not attained the use of reason, for being regenerated in the laved of Baptism, and incorporated into Christ, they cannot lose the gracious state of children of God, which is acquired at that time. Raving completed the decree to this effect, as was their custom, they fortified the whole by a fourfold anathema against those who dispute it.
Thus was completed one of those acts of rebellion against the Head of the Church, and subversions of his Divine authority, which so signally characterizes the entire fabric of the Church of Rome�the great, the universal, the malignant opponent of the Church of Christ. By this, as in all other acts, under pretence of magnifying Him, she pours contempt on his wisdom, and overrules his enactments, thus fulfilling the predictions that had gone before concerning herself and her Head, that he should "oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God and that is worshipped, so that he, as God, should sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God," 2 Thess, ii. 4.
It adds, moreover, to the system of lying wonders; one fabrication reposes on another; the mighty structure is reared by adding impiety to impiety, lie to lie, one deception to another deception. This act clearly could not have been done but for Transubstantiation. It did not necessarily arise out of that, but was sustained by it. But for this the thing could not have been for a moment defended. Its deviation from the ancient practice, and from the Sacred Scriptures, was not to be denied even by the Popish priesthood, but the authority of the Church to "alter times and laws," and the withdrawal of the Word of God from the people, set all right, suppressed every jar, and stifled all discord.
Reader, the case is now complete. We will add no more. It lies with you, therefore, to form a judgment for yourself, and to declare it. Taking the Sacred Scriptures for your rule, you cannot err; and with confidence we leave the matter in your hands, willing to abide by your decision. It shall be yours to describe the character of the conduct with which the Church of Rome is chargeable in
Which has yet been set before you in these pages more impressively illustrates her impiety and her malignant opposition to everything that bears the name of Christ, and presents the impress of his authority.
Auricular Confession
Popery ancient and modern by John Campbell D.D. compiled by Dr. Paisley
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
No portion of the Papal system presents more originality than the Confessional. The glory and the infamy of this institution is all its own. The idea never entered into the heads of the men of the ancient world. The patriarchs of mankind knew nothing of it, and the wisest seer of those days never contemplated the rise of such a scheme of deluding and imposing on mankind. As to the great legislator of the Jews, nothing was further from his imagination, nor is a single fact to be found in connection with the customs, rites, or literature of any portion of the Pagan world, from which the existence of the idea would be inferred. It was reserved for " The Man of Sin " to devise and execute this dreadful engine of tyranny and crime in furtherance of his own infernal reign! It is pre-eminently a deed of darkness, having on its forehead the stamp of Lucifer! This, like the other great elements of the Papacy, is founded on a single fragment of the Word of God. There is only one expression, which is available for the operation of the plastic power of the priesthood -James v. 16. " Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availed much." What can be more natural and proper than such an act? If you have committed a fault against a neighbour or a brother in the Lord, you have wounded him, and you have, speaking figuratively, wounded the friendship between you, and this is the only sure way to " heal the breach," which is actually the phrase current among mankind for the re-establishment of friendship. But, that friendship may be restored, there must be forgiveness, and that there may be forgiveness, there must be confession. The injunction is, " If he confess, forgive him," and what more comely and proper than that the restored friendship between two men that fear God, should be cemented by prayer? The same point is referred to by the Lord Himself in his form, " Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." Paul speaks to the same effect, " Forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, bath forgiven you." It is curious to observe how cunning overmatches itself. The passage in James, on which the doctrine of Extreme Unction is founded, speaks of anointing with a view to recovery; but the extreme unction of Popery is with a view to death, and is never administered till all hope is gone, and the party is expected speedily to die, and with a distinct understanding that he is to die, and that no more shall be done to save him! Hence the practice, after administering extreme unction, is to withhold food and medicine. The administration of this so-called " Sacrament" constitutes an interdict to all further recourse to either food or medicine; die he must, and there is no help for him! The doctrine of Transubstantiation also rests on a single passage in John vi. which refers solely to the doctrine of the Atonement, and not at all to that of the Lord's Supper; and yet the whole fabric of Transubstantiation and the Mass is founded on a perversion of this single Scripture. Such exactly is the case in the matter of confession. There is but one passage in the whole Word of God that at all admits of being twisted to that purpose; but in the plastic hand of the priesthood this is enough. The word is spoken, and forthwith the fabric of falsehood arises. Now let it be specially noted that, in the words of James the. confession has nothing whatever to do with the priest. The injunction to confess is directed not to the priest but to the people, who are commanded- to confess, not to him, but to each other! Let the reader specially mark the difference.
This is one of those things, which remarkably illustrate Popish progress, showing the necessity of contending with evil in the bud. in harmony with the Scriptures at the outset, the confession was promiscuous. Men. might confess to each other, to laymen or to priests, but it was at length rendered incumbent to do either the one or the other. These strainings of the Word of God paved the way for more. By degrees confession was elevated into a sacrament, which none but a priest might administer, and to that priest every member of the Papal Church roust confess at a fixed period. The next step was to lay down the doctrine, that without this confession there could be no forgiveness, and that the priest, as God's representative, could bestow such forgiveness, and the priest only. This brought matters to a crisis; but even there the climax was not reached, nor even approached. Shame had not wholly fled the brow of the confessor, who had not yet ventured to absolve; he only prayed as follows: - "The Lord grant thee absolution and remission." In process of time, however, as the spirit of impiety waged stronger, and mankind, through increasing darkness, became prepared for further bondage, the demands increased, and prayer gave place to an authoritative act of absolution. The priest attained to the dreadful height of impiety which enabled him to utter the following language:" I absolve thee from thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost "-no mean contribution surely to the fulfilment of the prediction, that " The Man of Sin should exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped." The institution might now be said to be complete, and only one thing was wanted to give it an authoritative stamp, and secure universal compliance with its dictum; and this was reserved for that impious convention known as the Council of Trent, which had the audacity thus to speak concerning it: -" The Universal Church has always understood that a full confession of sins was instituted by the Lord as a part of the Sacrament of Penance, and that it is necessary by the Divine appointment for all who sin after baptism, because our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was about to ascend from the earth to heaven, left his priests in his place as presidents and judges, to whom all mortal offences, into which the faithful might fall, should be honestly and fully submitted, that they might pronounce sentence of remission, or retention of sins, by the power of the keys:' Thus, then, by a falsehood the most daring, these men give the stamp of their authority to the so-called Sacrament of Confession. But this baleful confederacy against God and man did not leave the matter here. Delighting to pour out curses on the Protestants, they thus decided: " If any one shall deny that sacramental confession was instituted, or is necessary, by Divine right to salvation, or shall say that the practice of private confession, to a priest is foreign from the institution and command of Christ, and is only a human invention; let him be accursed."
What says the reader to this? The choice is given to men that know the Scriptures and fear God, of either conniving at falsehood, or being subjected to an anathema! Thus the whole institution is clothed in falsehood and steeped in impiety! A curse is here fulminated against the whole Protestant world, which the fierce spirit of Antichrist, were his power equal to his malice, would convert into a hell of torture to every soul who is prepared to stand by the Scripture law, " Let God be true, and every man a liar!" Before mankind can receive the doctrine of Auricular Confession, the light which is in them must first be darkened, till reason be utterly blinded, and conscience either seared as with a hot iron, or surrendered to the keeping of the priest, it is impossible for this institution to obtain general currency. It is the perfection of iniquity; its history, after its complete establishment, is one of unmingled infamy. It cannot be read without ineffable disgust and horror! It has been fraught with a double curse - a curse to the priest, and a curse to the people! In wickedly debasing them, he has sorely debased himself. The vampire and his victim have descended together into the depths of sin and wretchedness! Nothing ever happened among men so illustrative of the Scripture that "the wicked shall be filled with their own devices." Had the spirits of Pandemonium consulted together by what means they might best create on earth, a preparatory school for the great work of turning men into devils, they could have hit upon nothing so adapted as Auricular Confession, in the hands of a godless priesthood, the priest himself being intended to occupy the highest place, and to become the chief fiend! His crime, in part, was his punishment. In addition to his own share of inbred depravity, the corruption of a whole parish is constantly being poured into his bosom! His breath is the reservoir into which all their hearts, as so many fetid streams of depravity and impurity. discharge themselves. All those evils set forth in Scripture - " evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false-witness, blasphemies "keep rushing on in a torrent from day to day into the dark and foul abyss of his soul! A dozen or a score years of a life so spent, would serve to convert an angel into a demon! Thus the soul of the priest becomes the dread depository of the collective iniquity of multitudes. Simply to sit, as a silent auditor of the endless recitals of all sorts of iniquity, might suffice to assimilate a man to Satan, rendering a creature, whose days are but a handbreadth, as much an adept in iniquity as a being who has lived and transgressed a thousand years! But the priest is not a mere passive receiver of this aggregate wickedness; were such the fact, it would be innocence itself compared with the part, which, by the laws of his order, he is obliged to play in this tragedy of death. He is bound, in effect, to tutor the souls of his people in the science and practice of transgression. Himself a professional teacher of evil, the great subject of his study is, not the Ward of God, but the heart of man; it is his duty to sound the depth of the depravity of the human soul, -to familiarize himself with all the springs of sin, to search out the sources of temptation, with the peculiar, as well as the common methods of warring against the Lord: in a word, he is bound to perfect himself in the science of turpitude -a course but too congenial to human nature, and which becomes the more sweet, the more its depravity is developed, and the more it has grown up in all things into Apollyon the Destroyer
Such is the daily and nightly study of a Popish priest; nor is this study prosecuted abstractedly and in solitude with his own soul for its subject; the hearts around him are laid open to his gaze, and are ever exposed to his experiments. The young and the old, the rich and the poor, the vulgar and the refined, male and female, the virtuous and the profligate-humanity in all its modifications of state, condition, and circumstance, is the subject on which he conducts his fearful experiments. His system of interrogation is an instrument of a thousand screws fixed on all parts of the human heart, by which, in the mass, they are dragged forth into view. Perfected himself in the knowledge of all wickedness, he diffuses that knowledge on every side, and thus multiplies his own moral likeness among his people. His questions descend, as the plunge of a poignard into the soul, and penetrate it in its deepest recesses; by the operation of the Confessional, iniquity in all its ramifications is taught upon system, and a community of knowledge is established in the congregation or the parish. All souls are rendered familiar with all sins, with all occasions of sin, with all accompaniments of sin, with all consequences of sin, with all the modifications of sin! Thus the whole world of iniquity is laid bare, both to the eye of the priest, and to sinners themselves. Under the pretence that as the priest is both judge and physician, he must know all sin in thought, word, or deed, that he may determine the conditions of absolution, and prescribe the method proper for cure. The priest, sitting as God, must know, and demands to know, all that can be known by God
In dealing with this subject, we feel ourselves laid under the most enfeebling restraints-restraints utterly incompatible with even an approach to a full and adequate discussion. The moral feelings of British society would be altogether outraged even by such an approach. It would fill the virtuous and devout with intolerable loathing, and, among very many, it would fail to obtain belief. The system has reared, from age to age, an army of men for its own service, such as could not have been supplied even by heathen idolatry in the darkest ages of Paganism. As an Order, they have stood alone, peerless in their impiety, and in their profligacy. Unrestrained by any regard to either God or man, they give the rein to their worst passions, and make havoc of the human race! One feature of this system is so remarkable as to call for special consideration; as if to give full effect to the Satanic principle of the confessional, it was ordained that the priest must be severed from society and all its sympathies, and pass his days in a state of celibacy. This provision alone was wanted to perfect the machinery of moral destruction. The Father Confessor, uninfluenced by the grace of God, is at the mercy of his passions, combined with the temptations which surround him; from the nature of his office, he is placed in circumstances of the strongest temptation, with every inward incentive, and every outward facility, for the perpetration of iniquity. Is it then, to be wondered at, if men so situated fall, where they do not desire to stand? Is it to be wondered at, if such men in every land, and in every succeeding age, have become the despoilers of virtue? Is it to be wondered at, if woman was ruined, and man dishonoured? On this subject, were we to suffer history to step forth and deliver her full testimony, years would be required to recite the dreadful chronicle, which would be written within and without, with lamentation and mourning and woe! Who shall enumerate the millions that have cursed the day they first appeared at the Confessional, and thus came under the influence of the foul spirit that presided in it? Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, France, and every other country where the Pope has borne sway, is strewed with the wrecks arising from priestly profligacy! They have been the patrons and promoters of vice the most hateful. and the most destructive. Their mission has been, not to bless, but to curse the people-not to bring health and happiness, but to diffuse pestilence and death! Mankind have groaned in hopeless anguish under the dreadful burden-! It rested, and in spite of the light of' the Reformation and the mitigated circumstances of modern times, it still continues to rest on them, with the weight of a mountain, repressing their energies whether of body or of mind, converting nations into one vast prison-house of intellectual and moral bondage. All mental freedom is overthrown, and the mind of the people is merely the mind of the priesthood. The thick darkness which broods on those lands hides from the world their true moral condition, which is got at under great difficulties, and at best but imperfectly developed.
We cannot take leave of the subject, without solemnly pressing it upon our readers, that the magnitude and the enormity of the evil, which the language we have employed may suggest, comes far short of the true state of the case. Let them not for a moment suppose there must be exaggeration, for to exaggerate in this matter were utterly impossible! The difficulty is, to attain to expression adequate in any measure, to set forth the truth.
The question then, we have now to put to every reader, is-Do you wish to see the system of Auricular Confession, restored to its ancient sway in the British Isles 2 By all that is sacred in relation to the purity of woman, the peace of families and the welfare of society, we implore you to ponder the question! It is pregnant with meaning of unutterable moment! It is one of wide range, comprising everything affecting human institutions, and the progress of .the race in wisdom, virtue, liberty and, happiness. Auricular Confession is a huge imposture, laden with every evil; not only is it without foundation in the Word of God, but at utter variance with right reason. The priest is thereby raised into a demon, in his own person uniting the professed pardon of the highest crimes, with the fresh perpetration of them! The Confessional has, to an extent incalculable, -been but another name for seduction, and seduction has oft been but the prelude of murder! What tales might be told by the lime-pits, the subterranean passages, and the spirits of murdered infants
But just in proportion as Auricular Confession exalts the priesthood, it degrades the people. The! presence of the priest invariably divests the disciple of his manhood, and turns him into a crawling reptile of the dust! He cannot stand erect in the presence of the person who knows all his weakness, and all his sins in thought, word, and deed! The eye of his tyrant looks him through and through; and its glance falls upon him as the withering blight of heaven! He quakes, as a spaniel, before his ghostly oppressor! His soul is bound in fetters, and none can deliver him.
Let every man then, as he values his personal liberty, the moral purity of his country, set his face as a flint against the system, of which Auricular Confession is an integral part, and let him unite with all good men in every wise and well directed scheme, to work its overthrow in these realms. As a plant, which God hath not planted, let all godly and patriotic Englishmen combine to uproot it from the land!
Clerical Celibacy
Fornication, concubinage, adultery, if decently gone about, were safe; but it became all to beware of marriage!
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
THERE is a peculiarity about the subject of Celibacy. The chief complaint against the other dogmas of Catholicism is, that they have no support in the Sacred Scriptures, properly interpreted. Several of them, indeed, have not even the shadow of it; while the rest are founded on the most obvious and culpable perversions. In the case of Celibacy, however, it is altogether otherwise.
Not only is there no Scripture which admits of being so perverted on its behalf, but there is most explicit and emphatic Scripture against it. It is expressly foretold, that among the other evil deeds of the Man of Sin, would be the prohibition of marriage. There is no point on which the Church of Rome is in such a fix. Her sin is here written on her forehead, as if by an angel's hand, in letters of fire!
The Council of Trent, in its Twenty-fourth Session, 1563, dealt largely with the question of marriage, pouring its fiercest anathema upon the heads of all who should dare to deny that marriage was one of the Seven Sacraments of the Church, and that, as such, it conferred grace! Those who maintained that persons in holy orders might "contract marriage, and that the contract is valid," were the subjects of the heaviest maledictions.
Such, from that hour, has been the law of the Romish Church respecting the marriage of the clergy. All ecclesiastics, of whatever order or degree, are bound to celibacy, and the penalty of marriage is instant excommunication. They might form unhallowed connections, and live in the grossest iniquity, from the Pope downward to the humblest mendicant-that was connived at. Something, to be sure, might at times be done for the sake of appearances; but the grossest licentiousness was winked at, even when it could not be concealed. But the penalties were trifling- apparent rather than real.
Fornication, concubinage, adultery, if decently gone about, were safe; but it became all to beware of marriage! Nature and reason had long rebelled against the monstrous interdict; and it was not till after a considerable time, and much conflict, that the point was ultimately carried.
At last the enemies of truth and virtue triumphed, and thus was established one of the most immoral and pernicious institutions of the Popedom. It deserves remark, that the laity in general-strangely, and to their own grievous hurt-sided with the Vatican, and took part against the married priests, whom they persecuted in all possible ways, covering them with odium, and even reducing them to the sad alternative of starvation, or separation from their families!
While the married ministers, in many places, were thus driven out, and no others came forth to take their places, religious services, extensively throughout Germany, were unperformed. This was only a portion, and the lightest, of the penalties the people were to pay for their folly and wickedness; and in due season, they were visited with the terrible remainder, which they suffered in the shape of a deep wound on the morals of society, and on the peace, order, and purity of their own families.
It is a pleasing fact, and one which is peculiarly gratifying to Englishmen, that in no other country did the new doctrine of the celibate find so little favour with either the people or the prince as in England. The bulk of the British clergy were married, and Henry I., nobly standing between them and the fury of Rome, permitted them to continue with their families.
The celibacy of the clergy is a matter of fact, which, with its effects, has come within the province of the civil, who has dealt with it as freely as the ecclesiastical, historian; and both have united in testifying that, while Popery was rampant, it was the curse of the world. The circumstances of the case are such as to demand notice. The conjunction was of a character to show that it was a deep-laid scheme of the Prince of Darkness for the destruction of the Christian religion. Let it be remembered that the mass of the clergy, the subjects of a forced celibate, were men idle and luxurious, wholly destitute of true religion, and unrestrained by the fear of God. Human nature in the hearts of such men took terrible vengeance on the abettors of the injustice done them.
The very restraints put upon them only tended the more fearfully to develop the full force of their depravity. A mere digest of the history of their misdeeds would require whole volumes; but we cannot stain our pages with any attempt even at an analysis. Celibacy was enjoined upon the clergy under the pretext that it would eminently contribute to holiness; but while this was the avowed, it was very far from being the true, cause.
It was a lie spoken in hypocrisy; it is, therefore, proper to say, that if superior holiness was not found, it was not sought. The object aimed at was of a wholly different nature; it was not to produce an eminently spiritual priesthood, but to fortify the Papal throne, and augment, throughout all the earth, the Papal power.
As if to increase the danger, these were the men that were to keep the conscience of the female, as well as the male portion of the human race, and for that end to preside in the Confessional. These men were in the highest possible degree prepared for being themselves tempted; and, then, they were placed in circumstances of the strongest possible temptation. That the bulk of them should not have fallen, was all but impossible; that any stood, is a matter for wonder. Infernal ingenuity was never so exercised in devising means to destroy the morality of mankind. It may be doubted whether this may not be considered as the master-stroke of the Prince of Darkness.
Before the rise of the Lutheran Reformation, the world was strewed, through the priesthood, with the wrecks of virtue; and no wonder if, up to the present hour, in the darkest places of the earth, the abomination remains with little abatement. The state of things was such that the bulk of modern readers have no conception of it; and it will not be without difficulty, they will bring themselves to credit the most veritable history. It may, therefore, be proper, in support of the heavy charges we have made in the foregoing paragraphs, to cite from the best authorities, chiefly Popish, a few facts confirmatory of our representations.
The writings of Elizabeth of Germany, abound with charges. She says, addressing the Bishops: " The iniquity of the land, which ye have hidden for the sake of silver and gold, ascends up like the smoke of a furnace." Maimburg, a celebrated Popish writer, says, "The lives of the clergy themselves are so horribly debauched, that I cannot, without trembling, relate the hideous description."
The sphere of their abominations was extended to the monasteries and nunneries-those pretended paradises of pristine purity. Cardinal Baronius, himself the last man to bring a false charge, confesses that "They were deformed with the foulest practices, and that there was no crime of which their inmates were not guilty."
Mapes, the Archdeacon of Oxford, an indisputable witness, who was intimately conversant with the state of the Continent, has recorded the results of his experience thus: -There is no demon worse than a monk! All the abbots I have ever seen, by their manner and conduct, lead men to hell." The renowned William of Paris, a monkish historian of the first distinction, moreover a lover of truth and virtue, has borne similar testimony. "The clergy, according to him, "have neither piety nor learning, but rather the foul vices of devils, and the most monstrous uncleanness and crimes! Their sins are not mere sins, but rather the most prodigious and dreadful crimes! They are not the Church, but rather Babylon, Egypt, and Sodom! The prelates, instead of building the Church, destroy it and make a mock of God!" Passing on to a later time, Alvarus Palagius, a Papist, in his "Lament of the Church," makes a similar charge against the clergy. According to him, "They are addicted to feasting, drunkenness, and whoredom, which is a common vice with them; and most of them also, are guilty of the sin which is against nature. They are not examples of good to the laity, as they ought to be, but rather the contrary; for in the present day, commonly the clergy are more wicked than the laity."
As bearing upon the subject of this chapter, he says, "Against that holy chastity which they have vowed to God, they offend constantly, even in public; besides those most horrid crimes, which they practice in secret, and which neither my paper will receive nor my pen will write." Let us hear another devout and faithful witness, Catherine of Sienna, who thus testifies: - "In former times, the clergy were moral and faithful, but in the present day they are wicked. Wherever you turn you behold all the clergy, both secular and religious, prelates, and those subject to them, small and great, old and young, infected with crime, pursuing riches and delights, neglecting the support of the poor and the care of souls, simonaically selling the grace of the Holy Spirit, and mismanaging the affairs of the Holy Church. That which Christ purchased with his sufferings on the cross, they waste on harlots; they corrupt souls redeemed with the blood of Christ."
This bold and fearless writer, aroused by her zeal, thus apostrophized the clergy in the person of Christ, "Oh! diabolical tabernacle! I chose you to be the angels of the earth, but ye are incarnate devils, whose works ye do. Oh! wretched animal of uncleanness; thou showest thy flesh, anointed with sacred oil and consecrated to me, unto harlots; yea, thou doest still fouler iniquity."
But let us hear Giesler, author of the "Text Book of History." That most competent witness, speaking of the clergy, says: "Their chief offence, their incontinence, seemed to grow worse, the more there was done to restrain it. In no century had there been so many decrees passed against the concubinage of the clergy, as in the fifteenth, yet in none were complaints so common of their incontinence (which in Italy degenerated into unnatural vices), as well as derision and lamentation over the inefficiency of all the means used to restrain them. The number of the offenders made it difficult or impossible to carry into effect the more severe punishments, whilst the avarice of the Bishops substituted a pecuniary mulct, afterwards changed into an annual tax. The commonness of the offence made it seem to the clergy a light thing; of course the laity could not be expected to view it in any other light, and in consequence the vice increased to a fearful degree."
But enough! The recital of similar facts would be needless and endless, and we think more is unnecessary. This may surely suffice to show the people of England what may be the effect should Popery once more gain ascendency in the British Isles. The one great object of Pope Gregory VII was to separate the clergy as much as possible from all other interests, that they might be completely reduced to depend on the Pontiff.
The policy of the measure was precisely that which regulates earthly governments, in regard to fleets and armies, a desire to build around them a wall of separation from the people, and to divest them of all social interests, rendering them of no country, and without descent, cutting off at a stroke their name among mankind, and extinguishing all their interests in the affairs which domestic relations imply, and so creating an order of spiritual soldiers, to whom all men and all countries are alike, and constituting each an impersonation of heartlessness and selfishness, growing up into misanthropists, their bosoms the grave of every charity that sweetens life and blesses society. In trying to unmake men he succeeded in making devils.
Viewing the matter simply as a means to an end, the cunning of the project was equal to its wickedness. The success was complete. It greatly added to the power of the colossal engine of mischief of which it was so important a part. It was a meet step in the march of moral conquest-an additional trophy to the genius of iniquity. A body of agents were thus prepared for the doing of deeds which could not have been performed by men whose bosoms warmed with the sympathies of humanity while their hearts glowed with the charities of life.
Reader! such is the Roman celibate-that celibate which is still visible and active in your midst. Of the present character of that celibate, we shall say nothing; in England it is surrounded by antagonistic forces, in such strength as to control it in its more public manifestations. It is not to be judged by present appearance. Suffice it to say, that the principle is unchangeable, and that placed in its ancient circumstances, it would be attended with exactly its ancient effects.
It is essentially evil, and while it is in existence, it will continue to be a curse both to the individual and to society. It is assuredly not a plant of the Lord's right hand planting, and a thorough Scriptural reformation of the Christian Church will root it up throughout all the earth.
Merit of Good Works
The error here is deep and deadly.
Dr. Ian R.K. Paisley
The question of Good Works is one of infinite moment. On this subject, Popery and the Gospel teach a very different doctrine: the Pope teaches that "our good works do merit eternal life, as worthy not only by reason of God's covenant and acceptation, but also by reason of the work itself." Such is the view of Bellarmine a Popish author of great distinction; and another of equal eminence, puts the point still more tersely. Vasquez has laid it down that "the good works of just persons are, of themselves, without any covenant or acceptation, acceptation, worlity of the reward of eternal life." The error here is deep and deadly.
Where are the just men to be found to do these works while in a state of condemnation just, and yet the subjects of perdition. Besides, it is here assumed that a man may by some means become just without having eternal life, and, consequently, while in a state of spiritual death; and that, on attaining to that just state, it becomes the ground of his claim to that eternal life. The idea is as confused as it is fatal; it is at utter variance with all correct views, both of the law and of the Gospel. The sane writer has very fairly, clearly, and at length stated the Popish doctrine as follows:
"Seeing the works of just men do merit eternal life, as an equal recompense and reward, there is no need that any other condign merit, such as that of Christ, should interpose, to the end that eternal life might be rendered to them. Wherefore we never pray to God that, by the merits of Christ, the reward of eternal life may be given to our worthy and meritorious works; but that Christ's grace may be given to us, whereby we may be enabled worthily to merit this reward."
Let us hear the Decrees of the Council of Trent on this subject:
"If any one shall say, that the good works of a man that is justified are in such wise the gifts of God, as that they are not also the good merits of him that is justified; or, that the said justified, by the good works which are performed by him through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ, whose living member he is, does not truly merit increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life, if so be, however, that he depart in grace, and, moreover, an increase of glory; let him be anathema." (Sese. vi. Can. 32)
This is the true doctrine of Rome on this great question. To use commercial language, the whole world is bankrupt, Christ comes to it as the possessor of boundless wealth, and gives to everyone who will receive, that he may go and trade there with to realize capital with which to clear off his obligations.
Now this doctrine is untrue; this gospel is a gospel of death! It dishonors Christ and destroys men. The true gospel comes to man, not only as not just, but as dead in trespasses and sins, and provides forgiveness of all their transgressions; it confers upon them a free and full salvation, comprising both a change of state and a change of character, justification, and sanctification, a title to leaven, and a meetness for it, without money and without price.
Thus, while it thoroughly clears away all past grounds of condemnation, it provides for the future by bestowing upon the penitent believer the perfect righteousness of Christ; that is, he is accounted as righteous for the sake of Christ. Up to this point the Scriptures know nothing of any good works but those of Christ; but none such appear: the mercy the believer has received fills him with love, prompts him to do whatever his Lord has commanded.
The tree is now made good, and good fruits follow, and in their absence there is no proof that the tree has been medicated. Such works, however, are not his title to eternal life. He who does such works, works not for life, but from it. Such works will be, nevertheless, rewarded; but eternal life is the free gift of God, through Christ, and wholly independent of any works of merit whatever. For the ungodly, Christ died, and through his death Scripture everywhere testifies the ungodly are justified.
THESE CATHOLIC TEACHING WERE TAKEN FROM IAN PAISLEY`S WEBSITE "EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF PROTESTANT STUDIES". FOR MORE ARTICLES VISIT BROTHER IAN`S SITE AT http://www.ianpaisley.org (England)
ROMAN CATHOLIC POPE DECLARED TO BE TOP RELIGIOUS LEADER IN KINGDOM OF ANTICHRIST!
Title: ROMAN CATHOLIC POPE DECLARED TO BE TOP RELIGIOUS LEADER IN KINGDOM OF ANTICHRIST!
Subtitle: Since the New World Order Plan designates the Pope to be the future False Religious Prophet of Revelation 13, all people everywhere would do well to reexamine Catholic doctrine to see that the Church is already full of Satanism disguised as Christianity.
The New World Order is coming! Are you ready? Once you understand what this New World Order really is, and how it is being gradually implemented, you will be able to see it progressing in your daily news!!
Learn how to protect yourself, your loved ones!
Stand by for insights so startling you will never look at the news the same way again.
YOU ARE NOW ON
THE CUTTING EDGE
(The following letter was sent to me by David Bay of Cutting Edge Ministries. I have italicized everything David said. My answers are written under "Former Catholics For Christ".)
Dear Becky,
I have finished reading a book by a Christian who works in delivering Satanists from their bondage, Dr. Rebecca Brown. In her chapter entitled, "The Holy Spirit Versus Spirit Guides", I was shocked as to the seeming applicability of the attributes of the Demons to the Roman Catholic Church. [Becoming A Vessel of Honor In The Master's Service, by Rebecca Brown, MD, pages 115-121] I have listed these points for you. Please read them and then get back to me. Since you are a former Catholic, I was wondering if these points really apply to the Roman Catholic Church as I think they do? And, if they do, does this material make for a good article?
Becky Sexton, Former Catholics For Christ, not only agreed, but wrote this most wonderfully revealing article. For each point, there are four (4) sections: 1) Dr. Brown's observation about the true work of the Holy Spirit; 2) Dr. Brown's observation as to how opposite demonic activity is to that of the Holy Spirit; 3) My question to Becky of Former Catholics For Christ as to whether this point about demonic activity applies to the Roman Catholic Church; 4) Becky' reply from Former Catholics For Christ. Sections 1-3 will be printed in italics, while section 4 will be regular print. Any further comments by David Bay of Cutting Edge will be in red print, and will be enclosed within brackets.
While I am aware that Rebecca Brown has great problems with her theology, she does describe Satanism very well; I have verified her description of Satanism with former Satanist, Doc Marquis. Therefore, when I quote her material, I am doing so only on the basis of her detailed knowledge of Satanism and its practices, without supporting her theology.
SEIZING AUTHORITY FOR THE CHURCH
TRAMPLING THE INDIVIDUAL
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit values our individuality. He does not try to usurp [seize] our individual personality in any way."
DEMONS: "Demons HATE human beings! They try to usurp the individual's personality and replace it with their own."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: In all matters pertaining to religion, the R/C Church seeks to usurp the mind and reason of the Catholic, replacing it with their own pagan doctrine. In fact, doesn't the R/C Church teach that no one can understand the Bible and other matters of doctrine, so they must TOTALLY rely upon the Church?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Yes David, the Roman Catholic church does indeed teach that only they can interpret the word of God. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #85:
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone."
Pope Pius' letter, states:
"...God has given to His Church a living Teaching Authority to elucidate and explain what is contained in the deposit of faith only obscurely and implicitly. This deposit of faith our Divine Redeemer has given for authentic interpretation NOT TO EACH OF THE FAITHFUL, NOT EVEN TO THEOLOGIANS, BUT ONLY TO THE TEACHING AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH" (Emphasis mine).
"The Scripture indeed is a divine book but it is a dead letter, which has to be explained, and cannot exercise the action which the preacher can obtain" (Our Priesthood, 155). And again, "A dead and speechless book" (Question Box, 67). [I find it absolutely incredible that the Roman Catholic Church, supposedly established to exalt Jesus Christ, could consider the Bible a "dead and speechless book". By doing so, they call Jesus Christ a liar, because He said, 'My words shall never pass away {Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31} David Bay, Cutting Edge]
In the book, Biblical Demonology by Merrill Unger, a very true and interesting observation was made:
"The Church of Rome has sought to establish a man-made unity instead of a Spirit-inspired one, and in the place of the infallible Word of God, substituted an infallible so-called 'church'. In thus attempting to escape the inevitable ravages of 'doctrines of demons' from without, in dethroning the Word of God, it laid the foundation for a whole new brood of 'doctrines of demons' from within, and became a well-knit and brilliantly organized system of incredible error, a very citadel for the doctrines of demons'" (178).
TOTAL CONTROL
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit wants us to be in control and responsible for our own actions. He works in us "to will and to do of his good pleasure." [Phil 2:13]
DEMONS: "Demons want total control. They will frequently knock the person unconscious and then use them in any way they want."
ROMAN CATHOLIC: Again, ditto above. The R/C Church demands total spiritual control, do they not? Their pagan teachings have the effect of putting the adherent into a living sleep, so they are under the total control of the Church.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Again David, you are correct. Rome wants total control even over our thoughts. I feel it best to let Rome speak for herself:
"Once he does so (joins the Catholic Church), he has no further use for his reason. He enters the Church, an edifice illumined by the superior light of revelation and faith. He can leave reason like a lantern at the door " (Explanation of Catholic Morals, Stapleton, 76; Emphasis added).
"Obey blindly , that is, without asking reasons. Be careful, then, never to examine the directions of your confessor...In a word, keep before your eyes this great rule, that in obeying your confessor you obey God. Force yourself, then, to obey him in spite of all fears. And be persuaded that if you are not obedient to him it will be impossible for you to go on well; but if you obey him you are secure. But you say, if I am damned in consequence of obeying my confessor, who will rescue me from hell? What you say is impossible" (Spouse of Christ, 554; Emphasis added).
"There is only one remedy for this evil (over scrupulous conscience), and that remedy is absolute and blind obedience to a prudent director. Choose one, consult him as often as you desire, but do not leave him for another. Then submit punctiliously [exactly] to his direction. His conscience must be yours for the time being. And if you should err in following him, God will hold him, and not you responsible"(Explanation of Catholic Morals, 24; Emphasis added).
Rome, of course, did not bother to mention Matt.15:14:
"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." [Bible scholars believe the 'ditch' of whom Jesus spoke here is Hell. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
Humorist, Florence King, wisely noted:
"Now, a word to Catholics who follow the dictates of their consciences instead of the dictates of the Vatican. Congratulations, you're Protestant' " (National Review, 11/27/95).
ROMAN CATHOLIC PRACTICES ARE HARSH, NOT GENTLE
HOLY SPIRIT: --"The Holy Spirit is gentle. When He comes into a person, He is so gentle that when you look inside yourself, you can't tell what is the Holy Spirit and what is you."
DEMONS: "Demons are harsh. Because of their desire to take over, a person can always sense a difference between the demon spirit and themselves. This is true even if they think the demon is a 'counselor' of part of their own subconscious mind."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Isn't the Church harsh in their exercise of control over a person?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: The Spanish Inquisition is a good example of Rome's harsh control, as "inquisitors NEVER lost a single case. There is no record of an acquittal". You either believed everything they said, without question, or you died at their hands. Rome no longer has the political power to kill all those who will not comply, but she still controls them by claiming to hold the power over their souls. The Council of Trent announced over 100 anathemas to anyone who did not comply with Rome. s doctrines.,
Rome's history is filled with harsh treatment and inquisitions as admitted by her own writers:
"Armed with this elastic notion of what contradicted the faith, inquisitors arrested people for eating meat on Friday, omitting their Easter duties, reading the Bible, saying it is a sin to persecute for conscience. s sake, speaking ill of a cleric . priest or bishop. Any jibe against his Holiness was an indictable offence, even when uttered by a man in his cups. Any departure from the life of the community was proof of heresy meriting death. It is clear from this that the aim of the Inquisition was to defend not the faith but the papal system. As one victim of the inquisition concluded: . It is safer to discuss the power of God than the power of the pope. ...The ultimate injustice was being accused of thinking heresy. For the Inquisition, orthodoxy was not only speaking and acting in an unorthodox (that is, papal) manner; it was also thinking as the pontiff would have a person think. If under torture a prisoner proved he had never said or done anything heretical, he could still be punished for his inmost thoughts, his doubts, his temptations" (Vicars of Christ, Peter De Rosa, 158). [Emphasis added]
"The burning of heretics was first decreed in the eleventh century. The synod of Verona ( 1184 ) imposed on bishops the duty to search out heretics in their dioceses and to hand them over to the secular power. Other synods and the fourth Lateran Council (1215), under Pope Innocent III, repeated and enforced this decree, especially the synod of Tolouse (1229) which established inquisitors in every parish (one priest and two laymen-O.C.L.). Every one was bound to denounce heretics, the names of witnesses were kept secret; after 1243, when Innocent IV sanctioned the laws of Emperor Frederick II and of Louis IX against heretics, torture was applied in trials; the guilty persons were delivered up to the civil authorities and actually burnt at the stake . . . The present pope, Pius X (1909), has decreed the establishment in every diocese of a board of censors and of a vigilance committee whose functions are to find out and report on writings and persons tainted with the heresy of Modernism" (Catholic Encyclopedia, VII, 260 ).
Innocent III, admiringly pointed out by Rome as the greatest of all the popes, was more ruthless than any pope before or since. By his armies, crusades and inquisitions, he killed so many men that, through fear, he brought into subservience the kings of the earth. Rome's response:
"We ought not to blame Innocent III for taking severe measures because one hundred years of preaching and persuasion had utterly failed, and those disturbers were becoming stronger every year" (Question Box, 232).
"Given the ideas then, and long after, universally prevalent in regard to heresy and the measures of repression necessary to prevent infection from spreading, there is nothing exceptionally cruel or intolerant about the statute . De Haeretico Comburendo. of 1401, which provided that heretics convicted before a spiritual court, and refusing to recant, were to be handed over to the secular arm and burnt" (Catholic Encyclopedia, V, 441).
"They should have recourse to penal measures only when persuasion or reproaches have failed" (Penal Legislation in the New Code of Canon Law, 54. This is a comment on canon 2214 of the present code).
"It is the innate and proper right independently of any human authority, to chastise her delinquent subjects with penalties both spiritual and temporal" (Penal Legislation in the New Code of Canon Law, 53).
"To restrain and bring back her rebellious sons the Church uses both her spiritual power and the secular power at her command" (Catholic Encyclopedia, VII, 261).
Of course, Rome no longer enjoys those "happier times" when she ruled!
"And although in the extraordinary conditions of these times the Church usually acquiesces in certain modern liberties, not because she prefers them in themselves, but because she judges it expedient to permit them, she would in happier times exercise her own liberty" (Great Encyclical Letters of Leo X III, 158).
CORRUPTION OF THE PURITY OF CHRIST'S DOCTRINE
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit is holy and pure. He brings purity into our lives. He gives us POWER to overcome sin."
DEMONS:"Demons are totally corrupt. They will ALWAYS lead a person deeper and deeper into sin. Even the demons in the New Age Movement who try to present themselves as being 'good', quickly lead the person into sin. Within the New Age Movement, the areas of sin to show quickly are sexual immorality and a desire to delve into the occult and increase contact with the spirit world."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Certainly, the R/C Church is morally corrupt beyond belief. Sexual sin is so prevalent within the priesthood. Finally, because of unrelenting exposure to occult teachings within Catholic doctrine, the R/C person has an increased desire to contact the spirit world, as the overwhelming response to the many apparitions throughout the world demonstrate.
FORMER CATHOLIC: Once Rome sanctioned the apparitions of "Mary", demonic activity increased immensely, leading millions of Catholics to flock to places such as Fatima, Lourdes, Guatalupe and every other possible "sighting of Mary" looking for some sign of hope. The doctrines coming from these apparitions clearly are the doctrines of devils, teaching such things as:
"We must make sacrifice for sins. Many souls are in hell because there is no one to make sacrifice for them".
This is an open attack on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. One apparition of Mary to "Sister" Agnus Sasagawa, of Akita, Japan, said:
"I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved."
Rome has also led her people into seeking after "saints" that did not exist, such as "St." Christopher and "St." Bridgit.
David, you also mention the sexual sin that is so prevalent in the Roman Catholic priesthood. 1Tim.4:1 tells us that it is a Doctrine of Devils to forbid marriage. When Roman Catholicism accepted this as doctrine for themselves, they opened the door for all kinds of sexual abuse. In more than one incident throughout its vile history, the priest has used the confessional to seduce and destroy young and old women, married and single. Some have used the confessional to seek out the weakest child who then finds himself controlled and/or molested by his confessor.
"Former Archbishop Robert Sanchez said child sex-abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe [over 140 lawsuits were filed against the archdiocese] were kept secret because he didn. t know it was a crime" (Proclaiming The Gospel, Oct./Dec.1996, 6).
I highly recommend Chiniquy's book, The Woman, The Priest and the Confessional. He exposes the atrocities done in the confessional, and their true historical roots.
"Let those who want more information on that subject read the poems of Juvenal, Propertius, and Tibellus. Let them peruse all the historians of old Rome, and they will see the perfect resemblance which exists between the priests of the Pope and those of Bacchus, in reference to the vows of celibacy, the secrets of auricular confession, celebration of the so-called . sacred mysteries. and the unmentionable moral corruption of the two systems of religion. In fact, when one reads the poems of Juvenal, he thinks he has before him the [Catholic] books of Den, Liguori, Lebreyne, Kenric" (The Priest, The Woman and The Confessional, Chiniquy, 140). [Chick Publications has republished one of the key books by former Catholic Priest, Chiniquy, written in the 1880's. This book is entitled, "50 Years In The Church of Rome", and contains much of the same information as the book quoted above. You can access the Chick Publications' page to order this book by clicking on: http://www.chick.com/catalog/books/0180.asp ]
When speaking of the immorality of the popes, Peter De Rosa, in his book, Vicars of Christ: the Dark Side of the Papacy, paints a not-so-pretty picture of their true face:
"...among the popes were a large number of married men, some of whom gave up their wives and children in exchange for the papal office. Many were sons of priests, bishops and popes; some were bastards; one was a widower, another an ex-slave; several were murderers, some unbelievers; some were hermits, some heretics, sadists and sodomites; many became popes by buying the papacy (simony), and continued their days selling holy things to rake in the money; one at least was a Satan-worshipper; some fathered illegitimate children, some were fornicators and adulterers on a grand scale; some were astonishingly old, some even more astonishingly young; some were strangled; worst of all were those who worshipped a granite God" (30).
Rome's boast that she is "holy" evaporates in the face of history. Her impure and abominable acts cannot be rivaled even by the most corrupt pagan societies.
GLORIFYING SELF IN THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD -- AT THE EXPENSE OF GLORIFYING
JESUS CHRIST
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit always uplifts and glorifies Jesus, thereby bringing humility into the life of the person He indwells."
DEMONS: "Demons hate Jesus! They glorify the person in whom they dwell, always drawing attention to the person himself instead of toward Jesus. PRIDE is the hallmark of demons and the people they inhabit."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: They certainly have downgraded Jesus Christ in their doctrine of Mary and worship of saints. I do not know whether they instill pride in a R/C who is really trying to keep all the rules, although I do know that rule-keeping generally makes a person proud of their accomplishments.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: The priesthood of Rome instills a great deal of pride in its "little Levites". Perhaps it would be best to let Rome speak for herself on this matter:
"The priest is a storm: hurricane, cyclone, tornado rolled into one. Like Christ in the temple. Like Christ before the Pharisees. Like Christ hanging on the cross...No, He is more than that. The Priest is not just the cross, he is Christ Himself" (Lone Star Catholic, "Father" Brigante, March 1, 1959).
"...glorious priests...oracles of the Eternal Word...chiefs in the celestial militia...custodians of the Keys of heaven" (The Priest, His Dignity and Obligations, "St." John Eudes, XXV).
"To the carnal eye, the priest looks like other men, but to the eye of faith, he is exalted above angels" (Faith of our Fathers, Gibbons, 442).
"God deigns to make prelates His own equals...If then, you receive a command of one who holds the place of God, you should observe it with the same diligence as if it came from God Himself" (True Spouse of Christ, Liguori, 93).
"Thus priests are gods in power. O power and dignity of the priesthood which surpasses all the powers of heaven and earth, second only to the ineffable dignity of the Mother of God" (The Priest, His Dignity and Obligations, John Eudes, 177).
"St. Gregory Nazianzen asserts that the priest is a 'God who makes gods'." (The Priest, His Dignity and Obligations, 13).
"This is what the Church asks from the bishop, viz., that he would give her other Christs. She may ask from her priests to give every day the body and blood of our Lord to her children; she cannot ask them for other Christs: the bishop alone can perform such a wonder!" (Our Priesthood, Buneau, 147) [Evidently, no one in the Roman Catholic Church even knows God's Holy Bible well enough to be scared of what they have just done. In claiming to be able to "make other Christs", they have committed enormous offence. Listen: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." [Galatians 1:6-9] When Paul uses this term, "accursed", and he repeats it twice so you will get the point, he means, "may you go to Hell". Certainly, this blasphemous doctrine that the bishop can create "other Christs" violates the integrity of the Gospel mightily. Time and time again, the Bible declares that there is only ONE Jesus Christ and ONE Gospel. [David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
Pride has also caused bloody battles within different organizations of Rome, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans and Opus Dei and the Jesuits. They have all stooped to great deceit (even faking "Mary" apparitions) in order to gain support for their prideful anti-scriptural doctrines.
BLANKING THE MINDS OF ROMAN CATHOLIC ADHERENTS
JUST AS IN NEW AGE MYSTICISM AND SATANISM
HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit NEVER blanks out our minds. He puts thoughts into our minds, but does NOT blank them. He wants us to 'take every thought captive' [2 Cor.10:5] and to 'will to do God's will [Phil 2:13]. He always wants us to ACTIVELY cooperate with Him. We do not have to blank our minds for the Holy Spirit to speak to us. He is so powerful that He can override our active mind at any time. THIS is the place where most Christians make mistakes and fall into deception, thinking they have to blank their minds for the Holy Spirit to operate through them or speak to them."
DEMONS: "Demons frequently blank out a person's mind. They function best when the person passively lets them take over. That's why Eastern and occult meditation ALWAYS involves relaxation techniques to blank the mind. Demons have difficulty overriding an active strong mind. They always encourage periods of mental passivity."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Here, I must confess I do not know whether any of this demonic activity applies to the private worship techniques of the R/C adherent. However, I wonder about the importance of a mantra, being repeatedly said, over and over again without thinking what you are saying. Occultists use this technique to achieve the blankness of mind of which Rebecca speaks here. It is very critical to achieve the separation of mind and spirit needed to implant into their minds the demonic doctrines they want to implant. I am curious as to whether their many memorized prayers, especially the "Hail Mary's" they repeatedly say, achieve the same effect as a mantra does to the occultist and to the Eastern Religions.
FORMER CATHOLIC: I never personally achieved any "state" by repetitious prayer except boredom; however, others have. If you look up the word "ecstasy" in the Catholic dictionary, you will see it comes from the Greek word "existanai" which means to "put out of place". This
"...state in which the soul is absorbed in God and the activity of the senses is suspended. It is the highest form of spiritual and mystical union with God" (The Maryknoll Catholic Dictionary, Nevins, 198). [Emphasis added; when you consult an American dictionary, you get a most interesting explanation of meaning of ecstasy: "An emotional state, associated with religious or sexual experience, or drug taking, characterized by exuberant behavior and loss of self-control". David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
"Through systematic meditation, prayer, contemplation, visualization, and illumination, Loyola would go into a trance and ecstasy, he was even seen to levitate off the floor, as have many Jesuits completely under Satanic power" (The Secret History of the Jesuits, Paris).
At Garabandal, "Mary" appeared to some children. They reported going into ecstasy", where their bodies were in a trance-like state and levitated. Ignatius Loyola and "St" Francis of Assisi also achieved this state of ecstasy. "St." Thomas Aquinas was also a mystic who experienced visions, revelations and ecstasies. It. s so sad that one of his "visions" didn. t tell him that his most influential work Summa Theologica was based on forgeries.
CATHOLICISM'S MESSAGE OF HOPELESSNESS
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. BUT, His conviction is nondestructive. He always leads the person to repentance, forgiveness, redemption, and peace."
DEMONS: "Demons do one of two things. They help the person justify his sins, or they bring destructive crushing guilt with NO hope of forgiveness or redemption. Demonic guilt always brings with it the message: 'You cannot be forgiven'."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Once again, I am not sure of the degree of commonality with demonism in this point. When I have been to the world famous La Sallette shrine in Attleboro, I see people so crushed by their sin, they are doing damage to their body in doing penance. I am depending upon your R/C experience and knowledge on this one.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: David, there have been many incidences where priests has refused to forgive someone, or refused to perform a sacrament. My sister's first child was born out of wedlock. The priest forbade the child to be baptized because she was not married. My sister was hysterical, being taught that if a baby died before it was baptized, that it would spend all eternity in limbo, never permitted to see God. She finally was able to find a monk who baptized her daughter for $50.00. My sister paid the price required to "save" her daughter.
From a personal point of view, let me just say that going to confession and asking a woman to reveal her most secret "bad thoughts" is so degrading that most woman do not comply. By not complying, guilt and fear sets in. I know many Roman Catholics who disagree with Rome, but refuse to tell them how they feel, so they live in guilt and fear, for it is a mortal sin to withhold a true confession. A good example of this "withholding" information is when Rome condemned contraceptives. Many Catholics continued to use them, while refusing to confess it as sin. This produced more hypocritical confessions, and of course, more guilt and fear. Since a Catholic is not permitted to believe he/she is saved (the "sin of presumption"), they never experience that blessed assurance of salvation and therefore can never really know they are forgiven of their sins. So they go to confession and Rome tells them to say a few "Hail Mary. s" and a couple of "Our Father. s" to do penance for their sins, but the guilt remains. This did not lead us to repentance, but kept us in bondage.
"...that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb 2:14-15)
ROME TWISTS TRUE MEANING OF THE BIBLE, JUST AS ANY GOOD DEMON WOULD DO!
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit will NEVER give us any communication that contradicts God's Word."
DEMONS: "Demons will twist and turn God's Word and take it out of context to justify sin."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: The Church twists and turns God's Word horribly and uses it to justify their own pagan doctrines.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: The following quote is from footnotes of Catholic translation, New American Bible, Revised New Testament, Matthew 22:11,13 is a good example of the twisting of scripture to support their pagan doctrine of salvation:
"A wedding garment: the repentance, change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (3:2, 4:17) must be continued in a life of good deeds (7:21-23). Wailing and grinding of teeth: the Christian who lacks the wedding garment of good deeds will suffer the same fate as those Jews who have rejected Jesus."
One cannot earn salvation by good works. (Eph.2:8-9), but good works are the result of salvation. (Titus 3:5-8).
Rome also twists Matthew 16:18 to support the pagan title "Pontiff Maximus".
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church& ."
Rome also uses Matt.18:23-35 and 1 Cor.11:15 to justify Purgatory, an obvious pagan doctrine, but admits:
"We would appeal to these general principles of Scripture, rather than to particular texts often alleged in proof of Purgatory. We doubt if they contain an explicit and direct reference to it" (Catholic Encyclopedia, 704). [Hmm, if Catholic theologians admit that no Scripture contains a direct reference to Purgatory, one has to wonder why Roman Catholics continue to teach this false doctrine!? Perhaps the reasons are two-fold: 1) Purgatory enriches the coffers of Catholicism greatly; 2) Most Pagan religions teach Purgatory in one way or another. Since Roman Catholicism is demonstrably Pagan in a lot of other areas, we should expect them to teach Purgatory also. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
Rome also teaches that the baptism of babies washes away "original sin" and attempts to parallel it with the circumcision of babies in the Old Testament.
Devils, parading as Mary and Jesus, have communicated hundreds of messages that not only contradict God. s word, but justify praying to Mary for salvation!. "Jesus" told Gladys Quiroga De Motta of Argentina (1986):
"If this generation does not listen to My Mother, it will perish. I ask everyone to listen to her...I tell My children: To deny the Mother is to deny the Son...Pray to Mary, for the prayer to this Mother will bear plentiful fruit. May this be known and meditated on. Read: 1Tim.4:4."
Here we have "Jesus" instructing them to misapply Timothy as justification for prayers being addressed to "Mary". Rome also twists the words of our Lord Jesus at the last supper to justify following the pagan religions before her. Jesus NEVER held up the bread and said that it contained the blood necessary to make it actually His flesh that was being eaten. But the pagan societies before Jesus was even born, did teach that the flesh of the Deity was to be eaten!
"In nearly all the Mysteries an agape, or sacramental meal, preceeded initiation. At Eleusis the sacrifice to Demeter and Kore was followed by a banquet on the flesh of the victims ... In the Mysteries of Mithra . bread and a cup of water are offered in the rites of initiation accompanied by certain explanations,. to which Pliny refers in magicis cenis initiaverat. Extant symbola attest the sacramental meal in the cult of the Great Mother. The inscription of Andania and one from Messenia . prove the same for Demeter. , while for the Samothracian Mysteries an inscription from Tomi relates that the priest . shall break and offer the food and pour out the cup to the mystae.. But in what sense did the participant of the sacramental meal become...of the god? Was he conceived as feeding on the god by eating his totem or sacrifice, that is, by the entry of the deity into the believer in a magical fashion? & there was a firm belief, in the earlier stages of religion, of such participation in the god by eating him in a sacramental meal cannot be questioned. In the Thracian- Dionysiac Mysteries, e.g., the celebrants by such a meal obtain a share in the divine life of the god, and so are called by his name, Saboa, Sabazioa. And in the Dionysus-Zagreus cult the communicants rushed madly upon the sacrificial animal, tore it to pieces and ate it raw, believing that the god was resident in the offering. Cumont believes that the original significance of the eating of a sacred animal in the Phrygian cults was that . IT WAS BELIVED THAT THUS THERE TOOK PLACE AN IDENTIFICATION WITH THE GOD HIMSELF, TOGETHER WITH A PARTICIPATION IN HIS SUBSTANCE AND QUALITIES,. and that in certain mystic meals of the Syrian cult the priests and the initiates, by eating the fish sacred to Atargatis, considered themselves to be devouring the life of the deity" (The Mystery Religions, Angus,129-130).
"CONTROLLING" JESUS CHRIST, GOD AND "MARY"
HOLY SPIRIT: "We can NEVER control the Holy Spirit! He functions when and how HE pleases . We are the servants. He is Master. We cannot control when the Holy Spirit speaks to us, gives us a glimpse of the spirit world, makes us aware of God's presence, heals, or gives us discernment. The Holy Spirit never does the same thing twice. he refuses to allow us to depend on any routine or ritual.
DEMONS: "Demon spirits dupe the people they indwell into thinking they can control them. They will come whenever the person calls, heal when the person wants, etc. They love rituals and routines. They enable a person to see the spirit world more and more. The demonic counterfeits of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are usually under the control of the person, i.e., he can heal, prophesy, have 'words of knowledge', etc., when he wants."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: The Church dwells upon ritual and routine, especially in their prepared prayers. Does the R/C adherent believe they have any control over Mary or Jesus or the saints to whom they pray?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Just as paganism uses ritual to drive away demons, Rome boastfully admits using bells, incense, holy water, candles, etc. for the same purposes. Bill Schnoeblen. s book, Wicca, Satan. s Little White Lie makes an interesting observation between paganism. s use of ritual to control demons and Catholicism. s use of ritual to control God:
1. Both teach "salvation" through ritual acts and good works.
2. Both have a god and a goddess (Mary) figure in their pantheon. [As we noted in Seminar 1, "America's Control of the New World Order", witches trumpet the fact that the Virgin Mary is nothing more nor less than the latest Pagan Mother Earth worship! The Armageddon Script, by New Age leader, Peter Lemesurier, p. 246. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
3. Both have a slain and risen god who dies and is reborn in a seasonal cycle of ritual dramas. [Isn't it interesting that Catholicism continually slays Jesus Christ and then resurrects Him in their Mass, just as Witchcraft does with their deities? David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
4. Both have magic or thaumaturgy (Transubstantiation in the Mass) as central elements in their theology. [Isn't it highly interesting that Witchcraft teaches Transubstantiation? Since Witchcraft has existed at least 3,000 years before Catholicism, no one can argue who copied whom? David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
5. Both make extensive use of incense, statues, candles and ceremonial robes in their devotion.
6. Both believe in a kind of second chance after death (Purgatory). [We have already made this point, above. David Bay]
7. Both believe the rituals of the living can affect the dead. [God expressly forbids praying for or to the dead - Read Deuteronomy 18:10. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
8. Both believe in rituals of pain and mortification for purification. [When I see people deliberately hurting themselves at the Catholic shrine, La Salette, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, so they can be purified of their sins, I can only cringe at the absolute Paganism of this practice. David Bay]
In the book Externals of the Catholic Church, page 156, we read:
"It is interesting to note how often our Church has availed herself of practices which were in common use among pagans...Thus it is true, in a sense, that some Catholic rites and ceremonies are a reproduction of those pagan creeds; but they are the taking of what was best from paganism, the keeping of symbolical practices which express the religious instinct that is common to all races and times". {Emphasis added} [God NEVER, EVER, allowed His people to borrow the "BEST from Paganism"! He always commanded that all aspects of the Paganism practiced be absolutely destroyed, some of it by fire. God took the spiritual disease of Paganism so seriously, He commanded, in some instances, that every man, woman, child, baby, and animal, be destroyed before the Israelites be allowed to occupy the land. For an official of the Roman Catholic Church to admit they take doctrines and practices from Paganism, but trying to excuse it, demonstrates how un-Christian and how Pagan, Catholicism truly is. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
In that same book, page 289 Msgr. Sullivan gives the prayer said at the "blessing of the candles":
"...that at the sound of this bell their faith and devotion may be increased, that the snares of the Evil One may be ineffectual, that the elements may be calmed, that the air may be healthful, and that demons may flee when they hear the sweet tones of the bell."
In that same book, he admits, "Bells were used by ancient Egyptians in the worship of Osiris", but attributes the introduction of them to Moses, "who was educated in the priestly class of Egypt, introduced them into Judaism". There is no scriptural evidence to back up Sullivan. s statement here. Not only does he use rituals to "drive away devils", but just as the pagans used ritual to obtain favor from their gods, Rome also uses her ritual to obtain favors from her "God".
"The Church has blessings for persons, places, and things...Anybody may ask a priest to bless him. Houses and places of business, fields and crops may be blessed. Devotional articles, such as medals, rosaries, crucifixes, images and holy pictures may be blessed...All these blessings and objects blessed are sacramentals. WE USE THEM TO OBTAIN FAVORS FROM GOD" (My Catholic Faith, Louis LaRavoire Morrow, 382). [Once again, Catholics demonstrate their absolute Biblical ignorance. In Ephesians 1:3, we learn that God has already "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Since we have already been blessed to the maximum through Jesus Christ, then nothing we can do or say, nor any ritual performed, can bless us any more. God has already -- past tense -- loved us enough to bless us completely through Jesus Christ. But, then, in the next verse, we see that God loved mankind enough to begin this blessing from Eternity Past. Listen verse 4: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world & " Folks, only Pagans, only Satan worshippers, believe in a god that has to be appeased, and has to be begged for blessing! David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
A Catholic praying to Mary feels pretty secure that their prayers will be answered because Mary controls Jesus (Catholics would say "has influence over") & "He can refuse me nothing". According to the apparition of Mary by visionary Catherine Laboure, Rome was commanded by "Mary" to make the following image of her with the serpent under her feet and a "promise" for those who wore this medal. The following image is still very popular in Roman Catholicism.
Catholic author, Omar Englebert, in his book, Catherine Laboure and the Modern Apparitions of Our Lady, page 237, we read:
"This is a truth upon which she [Mary] most often insists: . I am the mistress of my Son. s heart; He loves me so much that He can refuse me nothing.. So she said at Pellevoisin. And at La Salette she declared; . Ah, if you knew what it costs me to withhold his [Jesus] avenging arm.. It is costly; she must sometimes plead, but in the end she always prevails. Her prayers are infallible because there is no saint in heaven she prays as she does and because He to whom she prays is her Son." [This lie defames the Lord Jesus Christ more than just about any other of which I can think! To say that Mary can persuade Jesus to not punish someone is to simultaneously admit that the person is guilty, and admitting that Jesus' decision is imperfect. If His original decision to punish were perfect, then Mary would have no say in the matter, and most definitely could not persuade Him otherwise. So, this teaching that Mary acts to prevent Jesus' punishment is saying that Jesus Christ is imperfect. If Jesus is imperfect, He is not the God of the Bible, because Absolute Perfection is one of His many attributes. James 1:25; Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalms 18:30.
But, Pagan gods are not perfect, and can make mistakes. If you looked closely enough in pagan literature, I bet you would find a Mother Goddess who is acting as an intermediary to prevent her vengeful son from destroying mankind. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
But it is not just scapulars, rosaries and crucifixes that Rome uses to "protect" them from devils.
"Many Catholic writers attribute a magical power to the "seven sacraments" and 125 sacramentals (The Sacramentals, Lambing, 35) to protect them from all the forces of nature which are believed to be under the control of evil spirits, in truly pagan character, for barbarous people do not attribute earthquakes, cycIones, floods, drought, famine, lightning etc., to the understandable working of natural law. So also with accidents, such as fire, shipwreck, drowning etc. They rarely see any relation between sanitation and health, but their charms, enchantments, amulets etc., are used against disease" (Catholicism Against Itself, Lambert, 142).
Dr. Bill Jackson of C.E.C. (Christians Evangelizing Catholics) website (http://www.angelfire.com/ky/dodone/HolyWater.html), did an excellent job of explaining the pagan use of holy water to control demons.
"Msgr. Sullivan teaches that this is one of the Roman Catholic rites that was a reproduction of pagan worship (Externals of the Catholic Church, 226). Justin Martyr, who died about 163 A.D., wrote, . The pagans, on entering their temples, sprinkle themselves with water.. It is a very important sacramental of the Roman Catholic Church. A tradition says St. Matthew used it. In a letter (admitted to be spurious) Pope Alexander mentions Holy Water. Its actual use is probably from the 4th century. Holy Water is made from a union of salt and water, both of which have been exorcised. It is used a great deal in liturgical functions: Mass, Matrimony, Extreme Unction and services for the dead. Private use of Holy Water is encouraged. By making the Sign of the Cross with Holy Water, having contrition and saying, "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" a person gains indulgence of 300 days. (Time values for indulgences are no longer used.)
From Holy Water, Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration, Imp. Charles Helmsing (1962), . Its blessing consists of exorcisms, prayers and the mingling of salt with water. The purpose of the exorcisms is to banish the evil spirit and destroy his influence.. . The prayer with which the salt is blessed implores God that it may be the means of salvation to souls; that it may preserve from bodily harm; and that it may sanctify everything with which it comes in contact.. . The prayer used in blessing the water implores God that it may drive away demons; that it may cure diseases; and that it may free houses and their inhabitants from all evil, particularly from epidemics.." {Emphasis added} [Holy Water may be a "means of salvation to souls"? What blasphemy! Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can achieve the "salvation to souls"! David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
"Theologians teach that holy water, when used with the proper intention and disposition confers actual graces, remits venial sins, restrains the power of Satan, defends against temptations, secures temporal blessings and obtains relief for the souls in purgatory.. . A simpler form (of blessing) is to make the sign of the Cross in silence on the child's forehead and sprinkle him or her with holy water. Give this blessing after morning and evening prayers, before the child leaves home for school, church, etc.. & . The devil hates Holy Water because of its power over him. He cannot long abide in a place or near a person that is often sprinkled with this blessed water.. " [Pity the pour Catholic parent that confers this Satanic curse upon their children every day. Truly, no institution on earth more deceives its people in the ways of Satanism, using the blessed name of Jesus Christ, than the Roman Catholic Church! It is no wonder that the Illuminati has given the position of False Prophet under the coming Kingdom of Antichrist -- New World Order -- to the Catholic Pope!
WALKING BY EMOTION, NOT BIBLICAL FAITH
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit demands that we walk in faith -- NOT by sight OR emotions. Therefore, He does not frequently or routinely give us visions or prompt us to respond with dramatic emotional outbursts. The Holy Spirit does not satisfy carnal desires for emotional rewards. Because we must walk by faith and not by sight, the Holy Spirit RARELY lets us see the spirit world, and certainly not on a routine basis, or when we want to." [Folks, re-read this many times, as it is critical to you properly understanding spiritual maturity]
DEMONS: "Demons love to manipulate human emotions. They control MANY by giving them emotional 'highs' or rewards. Demons also love to give humans emotional extremes. Demons FREQUENTLY help people see the spirit world, thus decreasing their need for faith. People with demon spirit guides frequently have visions and super-natural experiences."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Again, the R/C frequently depends upon either their own supernatural experience, or upon the testimony of ones who claims to have had a super-natural experience. Walking only by faith seems to be denied. Catholics seem to be depending upon emotional highs or rewards. This point seems to be very rich in possible comparisons of R/C to demonism. But, it will take a former insider like yourself to fully plumb the depths of this point.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: First of all, let me start by saying the whole Catholic mass is surrounded by the promise of the supernatural abilities of a priest to change a simple piece of bread into God, so the average Catholic is already preconditioned to look for some "sign". The ex-cathedra statement (the supposition that the pope speaks in place of the Holy Ghost) of the infallibility of the pope was also based on supernatural visions of the epileptic pope Pius IX, who "was morbidly eager to believe his court prelates. stories about visions and prophecies". His vision of Mary convinced him that she was his ally in this preposterous, anti-scriptural doctrine of infallibility, yet the pope did not consider even once that Peter, out of fear, had erred concerning doctrine and had to be rebuked by Paul. Roman Catholics have their bleeding statues, weeping statues, stigmatics, thousands of visionaries, and the most fantastic fairy tale stories about saints that did not even exist. The hundreds of apparitions of Mary, conveying messages totally contrary to the word of God, are riddled with stories of supernatural miracles "proving that it must be God". Let me give you an example of a "miracle".
"The sinner entered, adored the cross, and wept. She returned to the picture: . O Lady. she said, . I am ready; where shall I return to do penance? . Go. said the Virgin, . beyond the Jordan, and thou wilt find the place of thy repose. " (Glories of Mary, 98-99).
"The nobleman went to the church, and on seeing the figure of Mary he felt himself, as it were, invited by her to cast himself at her feet and trust. He hastens to do so, kisses her feet, and Mary, from the statue, extended her hand for him to kiss" (Glories of Mary, 232).
"Not long after his return to Assisi, whilst Francis was praying before an ancient crucifix in the forsaken wayside chapel of St. Damian. s below the town, he heard a voice saying: . Go Francis, and repair my house, which as you see is falling into ruin. " (Catholic Ency., VI, 22).
"The great servant of God, Brother Bernard of Corlien, a Capuchin, did not know how to read, and his fellow religious wished to teach him. He went to ask for advice from the crucifix, and Jesus answered him from the cross: . What necessity for books or reading! I am your book . a book in which you can always read the love I have borne you. " (Devotion of the Holy Rosary, 96).
"Father Bernardine de Bustis relates that a hawk darted upon a bird which had been taught to say Ave Maria...the bird said Ave Maria, and the hawk fell dead. By this Our Lord wishes to show us, that if an irrational bird was saved from destruction by invoking Mary, how much more surely will he be prevented from falling into the power of an evil spirit, who is mindful to invoke Mary in his temptations" (Glories of Mary, 96).
I think Catholics walk by "faith in their miracles", not by faith in God or His word.
"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." (Rom.10:3)
ROME KILLS ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO REFUSES TO BE THEIR PUPPET
HOLY SPIRIT: "We can grieve the Holy Spirit by disobeying Him. When we disobey Him, He withdraws and does not function in our lives. The Holy Spirit NEVER goes against our free will. God doesn't want puppets or robots."
DEMONS: "Demons bring quick punishment to anyone disobeying them. They are quick to take over and control, ALWAYS trying to usurp the person's free will. Demons love puppets and robots."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: It seems to me that the Church wants puppets and robots. Historically, the Church has always reacted vigorously and physically, and quickly, against "heretics", which is anyone who disagreed with Rome. The blood on their hands of Protestants and practitioners of any religion other than R/C is evidence of this. Jesus Christ never taught that His Church was to kill people who disagreed with Him; only the pagans do that, and Rome has done it in abundance. As the Pope becomes the False Prophet, supporting Antichrist, he will spill blood again.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: One writer estimated that Rome was guilty of the blood of 50-60 million people, but others have estimated it much higher. One thing for sure, Roman Catholicism. s attitude is that she rules over all things.
"There is no king now upon any throne who sets forth his pretensions in more imperious tones than Pope Pius IX.; yet, they crouch at his feet as submissively as the slave at the feet at his task-master. When he insists-as other popes have done before him-that God has given him . full power over the whole world, both in ecclesiastical and civil affairs, and that to maintain the contrary is impious and heretical& .. " (The Papacy And The Civil Power (1876), R.W.Thompson)
"...since the decree of papal infallibility...this means the pope, who represents and absorbs all the authority of the Church...says: . She [Roman Catholicism] is, under God, the supreme judge of both laws, which for her are but one law and hence she takes cognizance, in her tribunals, of the breaches of the natural law as well as of the revealed, and has the right to take cognizance by nations as well as of its breaches by individuals, by the prince as well as the subject, for it is the supreme law for both. The state is, therefore, only an inferior court, bound to receive the law from the Supreme Court, and liable to have its decrees reversed on appeal." [Since the Pope has always believed that he has the #1, Absolute Authority over all political rulers, I find the sequence of events in the Book of Revelation very interesting. As Antichrist arises -- Revelation 13:1-10 -- we see that he takes absolute control over all the peoples of the earth; he is the #1 man, and his post is Political. Then, in 13:11-18, we see the False Prophet arise, whom we now know will be the Catholic Pope. He is the #2 man, serving Antichrist. This is quite a departure from the Pope's historical belief in his supremacy over all political rulers.
Then, in Revelation 17:16, we see that Antichrist and his rulership of the 10 Super Rulers suddenly turn on the False Prophet, utterly destroying him with fire. Why would they suddenly turn on him, destroying him after he had served him so well? I believe the Pope has just tried to overthrow the political leadership, taking all control for himself. After all, that is exactly what the Virgin Mary promised Pope John Paul II that she would do -- The Keys to this Blood, Malachi Martin. Thus, this historic belief by the Popes that they do control all things, both political and spiritual, will be the thing that causes the Antichrist to totally destroy the Roman Catholic Church. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
"The Roman Catholic religion assumes, as its point of departure, that it is instituted, not to be taken care of by the people, but to take care of the people; not to be governed by them, but to govern them;" and from this stand-point of deadly hostility to the institutions under which he was born, and which allowed him the liberty he was so unpatriotically abusing, it was but a single step to such bold and audacious avowals as the following: "The people need governing, and must be governed.... They must have A MASTER.... The religion which is to answer our purpose must be above the people, and able to COMMAND THEM.... The first lesson to the child is, obey; the first and last lesson to the people, individually and collectively, is, OBEY; and there is no obedience where there is no authority to enjoin it.... The Roman Catholic religion, then, is necessary to sustain popular liberty, because popular liberty can be sustained only by a religion free from popular control, above the people, speaking from above and able to command them; and such a religion is the Roman Catholic.... In this sense, we wish THIS COUNTRY TO COME UNDER THE POPE OF ROME. As the visible head of the Church, the spiritual authority which Almighty God has instituted to teach and govern the nations, we assert his supremacy, and tell our countrymen that we would have them submit to him. They may flare up at this as much as they please, and write as many alarming and abusive editorials as they choose, or can find time and space to do-they will not move us, or relieve themselves from the obligation Almighty God has placed them under of obeying the authority of the Catholic Church, pope and all." [The #1 message that former priest, Chiniquy, wanted to impart to Americans in his book, "50 Years In The Church of Rome", is that the Roman Catholic Church was out to enslave America just as thoroughly as it enslaved Europe and Britain for over 1,000 years. David Bay]
Will Rome spill blood again? I believe so David. In The Western Watchmen, Dec.24, 1908 the Catholics are quoted as saying:
"Protestantism -- we would draw it and quarter it.[?] We would impale it and hang it up for the crows to eat. We would tear it with pincers and fire it with hot irons. We would fill it with molten lead and sink it in a thousand fathoms of hell fire."
"The Feb.20, 1994, Denver Post reported that 'an estimated 15,000 people...have been expelled, sometimes at the point of a gun, from their homes and lands because of the religion they practice[?]....The 'expulsados' are evangelicals and other protestants...who were thrown out of their communities by local authorities that are Catholics. One missionary who visited Chiapas State, was told of dozens of brutal attacks on non-Catholics. One woman's house was torched and she was shot in the face with a shotgun when she tried to rescue her children. She escaped through a cornfield to another Christian's house that took her three hours on foot to a hospital. Her children were found later either dead in the fire or mutilated by machete blows. When she recovered, she was forced to join a slum camp with thousands of other Christians whose homes had also been confiscated by their Roman Catholic attackers" (Battle Cry, July/August, 1994, 2-4).
"Stunned by the staggering growth of evangelical . sects. in Brazil, leaders of the Roman Catholic church have threatened to launch a . holy war. against Protestants unless they stop leading people from the Catholic fold ... At the 31st National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil...Bishop Sinesio Bohn called evangelicals a serious threat to the Vatican. s influence in his country. . We will declare a holy war; don. t doubt it,. he announced, . the Catholic Church has a ponderous structure, but when we move, we. ll smash anyone beneath us.. According to Bohn, an all-out holy war can. t be avoided unless the 13 largest Protestant churches and denominations sign a treaty ... that would require Protestants to stop all evangelism efforts in Brazil. In exchange, he said Catholics would agree to stop all persecution directed toward Protestants" (Charisma, May 1994).
ROME DENIES ANYONE CAN BE ASSURED OF THEIR SALVATION
JUST AS ANY PAGAN RELIGION IN HISTORY!
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit loves us and brings us into eternal life in the presence of God."
DEMONS: "Demons hate us and lead people into eternal destruction separated from God forever in Hell."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: There is no salvation in the Roman Catholicism doctrine.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Rome teaches that it is the "sin of presumption" to believe you are saved. The whole system is based on working for your salvation even though the word of God says salvation is "not of works lest any man should boast" (Eph.2:8-9). II Corinthians 11:3 says:
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is IN CHRIST."
When the "keeper of the prison" asked Paul and Silas, " What must I do to be saved?", Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ". In a prayer card from Mother of the Savior Seminary, Blackwood, NJ, we get a list of 60 things you MUST DO to be saved:
"Things necessary for salvation: Believing in God; Hoping in God; Loving God; Being sorry for offending God; Adoring God; Aspiring after God; Thanking God; Calling upon God; Being led, restrained, comforted and defended by God; Consecrating all thoughts, words, actions and sufferings to God; Referring all actions to God's Glory; Suffering whatever God appoints; Desiring God's will; Having understanding enlightened, will inflamed, body purified and soul sanctified; Expiating offences, overcoming temptations, subduing passions, acquiring virtues; Loving God's goodness, hating my faults, loving my neighbor, having contempt for the world; Being submissive to superiors, courteous to inferiors, faithful to friends, and charitable to enemies; Overcoming sensuality, avarice, anger and tepidity; Being prudent, courageous, patient and humble; Being attentive at prayer; temperate at meals; diligent in employment, constant in resolutions; Having a pure conscience, being modest, letting conversation be edifying, and deportment regular; Laboring to overcome nature, working with God's Grace, keeping His commandments and working out my salvation; Seeing the nothingness of this world, the greatness of heaven, the shortness of time and the length of eternity; Preparing for death, fearing God's judgments, thereby to escape hell and in the end obtain salvation." [Wow! That is quite a list; yet, I did not read the name of Jesus Christ anywhere in that list. The Bible says that believing in God only for salvation will not save us, for even the demons believe in God -- James 2:19. Jesus Himself said that salvation is only through Him -- John 3:18; 20:31; 14:6. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
SELF-IMPOSED PUNISHMENT IN ROMAN CATHOLICISM
HOLY SPIRIT: "Jesus loved us enough to die for, and shed His OWN blood for us, paying the price for our purification from sins Himself."
DEMONS: "Demons never shed any of THEIR blood for them, teaching the people that they must do this for their purification so that Satan and the demons can 'bless' them. Or, in the case of Christians, demons bring about all sorts of self-imposed punishment and/or rigid legalistic rules so that 'God' can bless them." [Emphasis added]
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Catholic adherents are infamous for their self-imposed punishments in penance designed to get 'God' to bless them.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: In The Secret History of the Jesuits, by Paris, we read of the harsh treatment Jesuits inflicted upon themselves:
"To beat or flagellate ourselves, and offer each blow as a sacrifice to God through Mary, to carve with a knife the holy name of Mary on our chest: to cover ourselves decently at night so as not to offend the chaste gaze of Mary; to tell the Virgin you would be willing to offer her your place in heaven if she didn. t have her own; to wish you had never been born or go to hell if Mary had not been born; to never eat an apple, as Mary had been kept from the mistake of tasting of it" (61).
They teach the people that they should do sacrifices to make reparation for sins themselves. The harsher the punishment inflicted on the sinner, the more blessed the individual, according to Catholic doctrine. This opened the door for some very bizarre self-inflicted abuse by so-called "saints" that is, without a doubt, demonic. In Otis Von Corvin. s book, The Mirror of the Clergy, (a book long on the Vatican. s hit list) he elaborates on the kind of harshness the saints of Rome voluntarily submitted themselves to:
"There were some who had their hands tied behind their backs, apparently driven by a demonic spirit, thinking themselves unworthy to look up to heaven. Others were sitting in heaps of ashes hitting their heads against the ground over and over. Still others cried and wept as if in grief. Some others chastised themselves for not being able to shed more tears. Many refused to nourish their bodies, and when given food they only took a few bites and threw the rest away, triggered by a sense of unworthiness, or they refused to drink but a few drops at a time. Many clad themselves in filthy rags that stank and were full of lice, and often they had self-inflicted wounds. In many cases they spit blood because they had chastened themselves mercilessly. Some of them, who were about to die begged not to be buried, but be left to decay like animals. One of these misled souls lived in a cage, never to see the light of day again. Others dug themselves into the hot desert sand right up to their necks. The "holy Eusebius" carried 260 pounds of iron chain and weights at all times. Again, others made vows not to speak to another person as long as they lived, or hopped around on one leg for many years, or they ate grass like an ox. St. Barnabas had a sharp stone embedded in his foot and was suffering excruciating pain, yet he would not allow anyone to remove the stone. Some slept on beds of thorns. Some tried to go along without sleep at all. Simeon, the son of an Egyptian shepherd, ate only on Sundays. Before the meal, he would tie a rope around his waist so tight, that he developed ulcers on his skin that stank so bad that no one wanted to come near him. He came under the illusion that his sufferings were not yet enough, so he came up with an idea to torment his flesh even more. He would go to worship the goddess of the Syrian, Kebele, and stood on top of a 10 foot high pole for several years. The greater the madness, the higher the poles, and at the peak of it he stood on top of a 30 foot pole for close to 30 years. How he managed not to fall off when sleep overcame him is not documented. He managed to fast for 40 days at one time, but because of physical weakness, someone had to tie him with a chain to a pole that was extended from his pole."
"So you see their highest aim was to trample nature under foot. The God-given sex drive was considered very unchristian-like and was condemned and battled against. Many young men and women went out into the desert to quench their sex drive by tormenting their bodies, not realizing that through this torment the flesh was even more aroused than before. Many made short process of the root of evil by cutting it off. Amongst them was Origen, a Christian theologian and teacher, and many followed in his foot steps, with the majority being priests and lay people, which led to the point where a law had to be implemented to stop this madness. These, and many other stories were told of those who went out away from civilization. It is hard to understand why completely "normal people" would suddenly have the urge to wander away from the simple gospel of JESUS CHRIST and become part of a mystical lifestyle that has every sign of demonic tendency, yet millions followed them to do likewise." [How I wish that these poor, mislead Catholics had taken St. Paul's statement to heart: "I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Cor 11:3. Notice that Paul implicitly stated that Satan gets people away from "the simplicity that is in Christ". He does this by creating the very confusing, and complicated, religion of the Pagans, none of which is so complicated and confusing that the Modern Day Paganism, Roman Catholicism. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
ROME SACRIFICES JESUS OVER AND OVER
SATAN GLOATS IN THE MASS
HOLY SPIRIT: "Jesus paid the price for our sins ONCE and for all [1 Peter 3:18]"
DEMONS: Demons always demand more and more sacrifices. They are NEVER satisfied."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Is this the reason R/C's "sacrifice" Jesus Christ over and over again through the Mass? This seems powerful proof that R/C is disguised demonism and paganism. They seem never satisfied with the amount of symbolic Savior's blood they shed in the Mass. While we are speaking of the Mass, there are two things I wish to bring up for your reaction. Doc Marquis, former Satanist Illuminist, boldly stated that R/C is disguised Satanism. He also said that the Mass, when said in Latin, evokes powerful demons; he said that the priests who really knew the 'score' were very upset when Mass began to be said in a language other than Latin. Doc predicted that, soon, the Mass would begin to be said in Latin again, as we approach the appearance of Antichrist. Secondly, in Fox's Book of the Martyrs, I noticed a peculiar occurrence: the average population of R/C seemed to be susceptible to being provoked en-masse, at which point they would fall upon the Protestants and murder them in public. It seems as though several of the most heinous murderous rampages against Protestants occurred after Mass had been said. Is there something within the Mass, maybe tied in with Doc's assertion above, that allows mental programming of the individual adherent, particularly after they had gone to Mass for years and years and years of their life?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: I believe when anyone mocks the finished work of Jesus on the cross for our sins, (as in the following quote) they open the door for demons.
"The priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man - NOT ONCE BUT A THOUSAND TIMES! The priest speaks and lo! Christ, the eternal and omnipotent God, bows his head in humble obedience to the priest's command" (The Faith of Millions, by John O'Brien).
One of the great changes that came about after Vatican II was the "Novus Ordo" (New Order) or "New Mass". Despite the decree Quo Primum by Pope Pius V on July 19, 1570 which stated:
"We determine and order that NEVER shall anything be added to, omitted from, or CHANGED in this Missal...We specifically warn all persons in authority, of whatever .dignity or rank... NEVER to use or permit any ceremonies or Mass prayers other than the ones contained in this Missal ordered by the Sacred Council of Trent...We herewith declare that it is in virtue of our Apostolic Authority that we decree and determine that this our present order and decree is to last IN PERPETUITY AND CAN NEVER BE LEGALLY REVOKED OR AMENDED AT A FUTURE DATE...And if anyone would nevertheless ever dare to attempt any action contrary to this order of ours, given for all times, let him know that he has incurred the wrath of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul" (The Dawning Of The New Age New World Order, Cutty, 148) (Emphasis mine).
They changed! The mystery surrounding the Latin Mass for some reason appeared "more holy", and I. m not sure why. I just remember that it had a devastating effect on many Catholic believers who became disillusioned by the lack of mysticism. There remains great division in Catholic circles over this and there is a move to return to the Latin Mass, so it would not be a surprise. The Black Mass is the Latin Mass backwards. What does that mean? It is recognized by authorities that backward-masking can be detected by the subconscious mind. Interesting that the backward masking of the Satanic Mass is the Catholic Mass forward! Need I say more?
ROME'S ATTACKS ON BIBLE READING IS PURE SATANISM
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit gives the desire to read the Bible."
DEMONS: "Demons try to keep people from reading the Bible."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Infamous for its attacks on people reading the Bible for themselves. This parallel is striking in proving that R/C is disguised Satanism, don't you think?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Yes David, I agree totally. Rome is notorious for forbidding her people to read their Bibles, and if by some chance they should, then they are warned not to interpret them. Rome, however, interprets her behavior a little a bit differently:
"It is said that we deprive the Faithful of the word of God, which is the soul's daily bread. We may answer this falsehood by stating that while, indeed the Scripture is our soul's daily bread, Mother Church proportions it to our needs. Just as parents do not give the whole loaf to their children, or a knife with which to cut it lest they injure themselves, so it is the duty of the Church, of the priest or the preacher, to distribute this spiritual bread of the word of God to the people in portions suited to their requirements. It is said that the word of God is the light of the world. Well, indeed do we admit this truth. But we do not place a lighted candle in a child's hands, lest he burn himself" (The Priest, His Dignity and Obligations, "St." John Eubes, 99).
"From all of which it must be abundantly clear that the Bible alone is not a safe and competent guide because it is not now and has never been accessible to all, because it is not clear and intelligible to all, and because it does not contain ALL THE TRUTH of the Christian religion" (Finding Christ's Church, John A. O'Brien, p. 20). [How surprised this priest will be when Jesus reminds him at the White Throne Judgment of His words to His disciples. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:" -- John 16:13. Once again Catholic doctrine calls Jesus Christ a liar! -- David Bay]
"More than this, parts of the Bible are evidently unsuited to the very young or to the ignorant, and hence Clement XI condemned the proposition that the reading of Scripture is for all. These principles are fixed and invariable but the discipline of the Church with regard to the reading of the Bible in the vulgar tongue (language of the people) has varied with varying circumstances" (Catholic Dictionary, Addis & Arnold, 82).
"Through Luther, although Calvin seems to have been the first to announce Monobiblicism clearly, the Bible became the arm of the Protestant revolt. A DUMB AND DIFFICULT book was substituted for the living voice of the Church, in order that each one should be able to make for himself the religion which suited his feelings. And the Bible opened before every literate man and woman to interpret for themselves was the attractive bait used to win adherents" (Catholic Commentary, 11). [Wonderful. Now Catholicism calls the Holy Bible a "dumb and difficult book". Could Satan be any more pleased by this official denunciation of God's Word? -- David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
"But nothing was further from the minds of the writers, and of the Apostles generally, then that these writings be gathered together and made into a book, which would be accepted as a complete statement of the doctrine of Christianity. Any one of them would have been shocked had he known that his letters would in time be made use of by heretics in an attempt of usurping the place of the authoritative teacher, the Church of Jesus Christ. That compositions intended to meet certain local circumstances should be accepted everywhere as an infallible guide in faith and morals independent of any authority to interpret them, is distinctly wrong" (Our Faith In The Facts, Donovan, 348). [Jesus Christ Himself told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to bring Jesus' message to the world -- John 16:7-16. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
"Yet it does happen that some devout Christians experience a certain disappointment when they open the Bible. They expect to find uplifting and heartwarming phrases and are faced instead with dry lists of ritual observances, fierce imprecations of some of the prophets and the enigmatic sentences of the Apocalypse -- if not the matrimonial adventures of the Kings. It must be admitted that the Bible in no way resembles a manual of devotion; apart from the Gospels and Sapiential books, it has little to offer the believer nourished on the Imitation or even the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola" (Henri Daniel-Rops, 20th Century Encyclopedia, Vol. 60, 112-113). [Psst, Mr. Henri Daniel-Rops, St. Ignatius of Loyola was a pagan mystic, not truly a born-again Christian. For this reason, Hitler patterned his Satanic SS after the Jesuits as founded by "St" Ignatius of Loyola. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
"...if the sacred books are permitted everywhere...in the vernacular, there will by reason of the boldness of men arise there from more harm than good" (Council of Trent, recorded in Decrees of the Council of Trent, Schroeder, 273-278).
ROME TEACHES CONFUSION AND BLIND FAITH IN CHURCH DOCTRINE
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit helps us to understand the Scriptures."
DEMONS: "Demons bring confusion. They block a person from understanding the scriptures."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Roman Catholicism attempts to keep the person mightily confused about the Scriptures, and then try to keep them for reading the Bible for themselves. As I read their doctrines, I am amazed at how confusing they are.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Rev.17:4-5 says:
"And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Babylon means "city of confusion". This perfectly describes Roman Catholicism, for indeed her doctrines are confusing! Example: Purgatory:
"Roman Catholicism teaches that when we sin we steal from God. If we were to steal from a man we would not only ask his forgiveness but also pay him back, so when we tell God we're sorry we are forgiven the eternal punishment, but we still have to pay God back. This is called the temporal punishment. The eternal punishment, absolved in Confession, is Hell. The temporal punishment may be satisfied by good works, almsgiving, saying indulgenced prayers and bearing our Cross. Temporal punishment not fully paid on earth is completed in purgatory" (Externals of the Catholic Church, Msgr. Sullivan, 376).
The "temporal punishment" of purgatory (i.e. burning lake of fire or as one Catholic apologist said "day at summer school" where "Buddha and Mohammed walk on a beach") leaves one slightly ignorant on exactly how much suffering is required or sufficient to "purify", yet they send out literature saying such things as:
"If they. re in Purgatory, they. re all looking to YOU to intercede for them for the alleviation of their sufferings. They need our prayers and indulgences...They can no longer help themselves...It just breaks our hearts to think how some Catholics neglect the suffering souls of their family and friends in Purgatory today...." (Apostolate for Family Consecration, Oct.7, 1996) [Hear that sound? It is coin clinking in the offering tray of a Catholic priest who can now be "persuaded" to pray for a dead loved one. If you cannot see the pagan origin of this false teaching, you are truly spiritually blind. All the pagans carried out this practice. -- David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
When the priests ask you to pay for a Mass to be said for your loved ones who are supposedly suffering in purgatory, you. d feel horrible if you did not comply. My own dad often gave money for Masses to be said for his dad. But, as the church is raking in the money for these "suffering souls", she neglects to remind the paying customer that she cannot assure them that it will in any way help their loved ones!
"I would say that the Catholic Church claims no jurisdiction over souls in the other world, and professes absolute ignorance regarding God. s particular application of the infinite merits of the passion and death of His Son to the souls in purgatory. All Masses and prayers for the dead are applied . by way of sufferage. - that is our dependence on God. s secret mercy and will, who in His infinite justice may apply to another soul altogether the Masses said for a certain individual" (Question Box, 1913 Edition, 460-461; Emphasis added).
This same nonsense and confusion surrounds the doctrine on indulgences. They used to promise us 300 days out of purgatory if we said a certain prayer. Worse than that, during the crusades they promised penary (full) indulgence for killing "heretics"!
"The period of the crusade marks a turning point in the history of indulgences, for they were given more and more freely from that time onward ... For example at the council of Siena, in 1425, a plenary indulgence was offered to those who took arms against the Hussites; while wars against the Waldenes, Albigenses, Moors, and Turks were stimulated by the same means" (Catholic Dictionary, 442).
Indulgences insult our Lord Jesus Christ by offering a counterfeit substitute for His eternal and perfect satisfaction rendered by His obedience and death which satisfies the justice of God.
Another example of Rome. s confusion is Limbo.
"LIMBO is from the Latin word limbus meaning a fringe or border and is the name given to that place on the borders of hell in which the just who died in a state of grace before Christ were detained until our Lord's Resurrection from the dead. Such souls were friends of God but, because the Redemption had not yet taken place, they were still suffering the effects of Original Sin. Heaven not being open to them they were detained in Limbo as not deserving the torments of hell, since they were not guilty of personal sin; [Rom.3:23; 5:12] but they had to experience a temporary loss of God. It was into this part of hell that the soul of Christ descended while his body was in the grave after his death. This is the usual interpretation given to I Peter 3:I8-19: . being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit, in which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison.. This limbo is sometimes called the limbo of the Fathers, that is, the Fathers of the Jewish people, men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, who were detained here. This is to distinguish it from the limbo of children, the place where children go who die without baptism. The existence of the limbo of infants has NEVER BEEN DEFINED BY THE CHURCH, BUT IT IS A CONCLUSION THAT WE ARE LED TO from a consideration of the fact that baptism is necessary for entrance into heaven, while we are reluctant to believe that God will punish those who have never been guilty of personal sin...The inhabitants of this limbo are in a somewhat different position from those who were in the Limbo of the Fathers, for they are in a state of purely natural happiness and know nothing of heaven which is closed to them for ever, whereas the Fathers knew they would attain heaven some day." (Catholic People. s Encyclopedia, 1966, Vol.2, 627-28) [I cannot imagine a more damnable lie to tell bereaved parents than this, that their infant child is in eternal limbo because it was not baptised before death. No Catholic can ever point to one Scripture that says baptism is necessary for entrance into Heaven! -- David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
ROMAN CATHOLICISM CORRUPTS AND PERVERTS TRUE PRAYER
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit draws us to pray."
DEMONS: "Demons hinder all true prayer."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Emphasis on mantra type prayers "hinder all true prayer". The R/C prayer is a pagan prayer, and God will not hear it. This parallel is again very striking in the way in which it demonstrates that R/C is disguised Satanism.
FORMER CATHOLICS COR CHRIST: Many of the prayers said in the Catholic Church are addressed to Mary, saints or angels which are not omnipresent, and therefore cannot hear your prayers. Even the angel that was sent to Daniel was detained and could not get there for 21 days. If the angel were omnipresent, he could have been there with Daniel at the same time as fighting angelic beings. Only God is omnipresent and able to hear all prayers. By granting a human being the same attributes that pertain to God alone, Rome insults his Creator and lies against the scriptures that clearly state no one is equal with God. (see Isa.40:25; 46:5) Rome also claims that all graces flow through Mary. This means that no sacrament Rome does is without "Mary. s" spirit present to dispense the graces. This is indeed pagan in its purest form. All the pagan religions before Roman Catholicism worshipped, prayed and offered sacrifices to a "Queen of Heaven" (see Jeremiah 7 and 44). Msgr. John Sullivan, in The Externals of the Catholic Church (page 257) admits:
"Repetition in prayer is a very ancient custom. This usually leads to a resolution to say a certain number of prayers daily; and then the utility of having some counting device suggests itself at once. Hence comes the string of beads that we call a Rosary. The use of some means of counting prayers is not restricted to Catholics. The Buddhist of India has his long strong of beads which he uses to measure his eternal repetitions of the praises of Buddha." [I find it refreshing, indeed, to hear a Roman Catholic official admit that Rome's practices are un-Christian and pre-Christian. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE OF ROMAN CATHOLIC RITUALS IS PURELY PAGAN IN ORIGIN
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit is NOT a show-off."
DEMONS: "Demons LOVE to make a show."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Is there any other religion in the world that creates such a show in their services as R/C?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Roman Catholicism is the mother of pomp with her processions, candles, incense, idols, Babylon-type garments, etc. copied from their pagan predecessors.
In describing the pagan practices of Egypt and Rome, Hislop, in his book The Two Babylons, says:
"The Pope has not merely a chair to sit in; but he has a chair to be carried in, in pomp and state, on men's shoulders, when he pays a visit to St. Peter's, or any of the churches of Rome. Thus does an eyewitness describe such a pageant on the Lord's Day, in the head-quarters of Papal idolatry. The drums were heard beating without. The guns of the soldiers run on the stone pavement of the house of God, as, at the bidding of their officer, they grounded, shouldered, and presented arms. How unlike the Sabbath - how unlike religion, how unlike the suitable preparation to receive a minister of the meek and lowly Jesus! Now, moving slowly up, between the two armed lines of soldiers, appeared a long procession of ecclesiastics, bishops, canons, and cardinals, preceding the Roman pontiff, who was borne on a gilded chair, clad in vestments resplendent as the sun. His bearers were twelve men clad in crimson, being immediately preceded by several persons carrying a cross, his mitre, his triple crown, and other insignia of his office. As he was borne along on the shoulders of men, amid the gaping crowds, his head was shaded or canopied by two immense fans, made of peacocks' feathers, which were borne by two attendants..
"Thus it is with the Sovereign Pontiff of Rome at this day; only that, frequently, over and above being shaded by the fan, which is just the . Mystic fan of Bacchus,. his chair of state is also covered with a regular canopy. Now, look back through the vista of three thousand years, and see how the . Sovereign Pontiff of Egypt' used to pay a visit to the temple of his god. . Having reached the precincts of the temple. says Wilkinson, . the guards and royal attendants elected to be the representatives of the whole army entered the courts...Military bands played the favourite airs of the country; and the numerous standards of the different regiments, the banners floating on the wind, the bright lustre of arms, the immense concourse of people, and the imposing majesty of the lofty towers of the propylaea, decked with their bright-coloured flags, streaming above the cornice, presented a scene seldom, we may say, equalled on any occasion, in any country. The most striking feature of this pompous ceremony was the brilliant cortege of the monarch, who was either borne in his chair of state by the principal officers of state, under a rich canopy, or walked on foot, overshadowed with rich flabella and fans of waving plumes.. We give, as a woodcut, from Wilkinson (Fig. 47), the central portion of one of his plates devoted to such an Egyptian procession, that the reader ma see with his own eyes how exactly the Pagan agrees with the well-known account of the Papal ceremonial." (213-14) [I believe Hislop also pointed out that the Pagans have always recognized that men and women are most influenced by what they see with their physical eyes; therefore, the Pagans have always created the most showy of rituals and "church" services. Contrast that pompous type ritual with the simple early church services seen in the first church of the New Testament, and you can see the "simplicity that is Christ" -- 2 Corinthians 11:3. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
ROMAN CATHOLIC LIES
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit is a spirit of truth. He NEVER lies."
DEMONS: "All demons are liars, so are the people they indwell."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: All their pagan doctrines are lies. This seems another good parallel to demonstrate that R/C is disguised demonism.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: As the scriptures say:
"I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth." (1 John 2:21)
Rome is founded on forgeries and lies. In 1 Timothy 4:2, Paul speaks of false teachers, who lead men away from the faith that they will speak "lies in hypocrisy", of the "lying wonders" (2 Thess.2:9) of the man of sin. The surprising thing concerning Roman Catholic writers is their lack of reticence in applying that sort of characterization to the Catholic Church by using practically every synonym for forgery and lying in the language, to describe their own literature. I have noted a few different expressions, all of which have this general meaning. Keep in mind that the following quotes are all from Catholic writers describing their own history.
"Forgery quite a trade with Catholics" (Cath. Ency., VII, 136; V, 780; XII, 768; XIV, 378.
"Spurious" (Catholic Dictionary, 43, 522; Catholic Ency., VII, 644, 645; IX, 234-5; XV, 485).
"Fraud" (De Montor, I, 197).
"Legal fiction" (Inquisition, 128-130).
"Fable" (Short History, 82; Cath. Ency., VII, 539).
"Fictitious" (Cath. Ency., I, 636).
"False" (Catholic Dictionary, 105).
"Highly debatable" (Cath. Ency., IX, 743.
"Unlikely tale...myth...not authentic...Fable...not history" (Explanation of Catholic Morals, 115-116).
"Exaggeration", (Question Box, 520, 521).
"Pure works of imagination...pious fancy...editorial manipulations...unreliable" (Cath. Ency., IX, 743).
"Historically untenable" (Cath. Ency., IX, 224).
"Falsely attributed" (Cath. Ency, XIV, 666).
"Full of errors" (Cath. Ency., IX, 224).
"Doubtful Value" (Externals of the Catholic Church, 131).
"Whitewash" (Question Box, 176; Catholic World, Oct. 1925).
"Unauthentic" (Cath. Ency., IX, 225; De Montor, I, 36).
"Utterly False" (Cath. Dict., 338).
"Far-fetched...superstition" (Lives And Times Of The Roman Pontiffs, I, 197).
"Legend" (Cath. Dict., 9).
"Quasi-historical testimonies" (Cath. Ency., VII, 326, 341, 342).
"Manipulations...Purports to be" (Cath. Ency., I, 36).
"Compiler Supposes" (Cath. Ency, I, 72).
"Substituting False Documents" (Cath. Ency., VI, 136).
"Tampering with Genuine Ones" (Cath. Ency., VI, 136).
"Very Good Poetry, Very Poor History"(Catholic World, Oct. 1925).
"Pretended to be" (Cath. Dict., 41, 42).
"Little or no historical value" (Cath. Dict., 9-10).
Rome. s list of forgeries is endless. One of the most famous is the Donation of Constantine. Pope Stephen III took this fabrication "probably concocted by a Lateran priest" to Pepin, king of the Franks, to persuade him to use his armies to protect the Roman church. The Donation was supposedly a gift from Constantine ("in the name of the Senate and the entire Roman people") to pope Sylvester and all "his successors". The Donation stated:
"Inasmuch as our imperial power is earthly, we have decreed that it shall venerated and honour his most holy Roman Church and that the sacred See of Blessed Peter shall be gloriously exalted even above our Empire and earthly throne. He shall rule over the four principal Sees -- Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Jerusalem -- as over all churches of God in all the world ... Finally, lo, we convey to Sylvester, universal Pope, both our palace and likewise all provinces and palaces and districts of the city of Rome and Italy and of the regions of the west" (Vicars of Christ, De Rosa, 41).
Pepin fell for the deception, and secured Rome as the headquarters for the Catholic hierarchy. The Donation continued to be influential and Rome used it whenever it was convenient. It wasn. t until 1440 A.D. that it was taken apart line by line by a papal aide named Lorenzo Valla. He proved it to be a fraud in a hundred irrefutable ways. It was not written in classical Latin "but in a later bastardized form". Sylvester was not "pope" at that time, Miltiades was, and the text refers to Constantinople whereas Constantine. s city in the East still retained its original name of Byzantium. Rome suppressed the information and it was not until 1517 that Valla. s book was published. Even after the world saw the fraudulent workings of Rome, she still did not concede but went on asserting the Donation was authentic for centuries. Now she admits it is a fraud. She has no choice!
CATHOLIC PRIESTS ARE THE 'INFORMATION BANK' FOR THEIR SUBJECTS
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit demands that we actively use our minds to learn. He is never willing to serve as an information bank independent from our minds."
DEMONS: "Demon spirit guides are quite willing to serve as an information bank so that the person they indwell does not need to actually learn the information with their minds."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: Roman Catholicism insists that the priests serve as the "spiritual information banks" for their parishioners, do they not?
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Yes David, like I said before, Rome fears men reading for themselves and learning. The Council of Trent (as recorded in Decrees of the Council of Trent, Schroeder) states:
"...if the sacred books are permitted everywhere...in the vernacular, there will, by reason of the boldness of men, arise there from, more harm than good" (273-278).
It is Rome. s stand that God uses the teaching magesterium alone to interpret the word of God.
ROME'S DISGUISED DIVINATION
HOLY SPIRIT: "The Holy Spirit is NOT a fortune teller. Neither does he give us divination ability [Matt 6:34].
DEMONS: "One of the most common deceptions of demon spirit guides is to give the person many false 'words of knowledge' which is really simple divination. Demons also give many individual 'prophecies' which is really fortune telling. Prophecy in the Scriptures is usually for the whole body of Christ, rarely for individuals, and certainly not on a frequent basis."
ROMAN CATHOLICISM: It seems to me that the apparitions phenomenon has given rise to much divination. Each apparition also gives false 'words of knowledge' or 'words of prophecy' which is nothing more than divination or attempts at such.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Yes, "Mary" has appeared and given many false words of knowledge, but she also has given some true prophecies. Deut.13:1-3 says:
"If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." [This Scripture proves that demons have limited foreknowledge. Sometimes God allows them to give accurate 'words of prophecy' for the express purpose of testing people to see if they will adhere to God's warning here. David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries]
Although "Mary" foretold future events, she also asked that devotion to her heart be established.
"The second part of the secret concerned devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In the words the Blessed Mother spoke to Lucia: 'God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not stop offending God, a worse war will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given to you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father.' Let it be noted that the Second World War began during the reign of Pius XI, just as Mary had predicted. In addition, on the night of January 26, 1938, strange and spectacular lights were reported in the skies in many parts of Europe. The war followed shortly after" (Visions of Mary, Eicher, 214).
Do you agree that Rebecca Brown, former Satanist, has given us some unique insight into the fact that Roman Catholicism is nothing more than disguised Satanism? Please advise, as I am anxious to begin a series of articles on this subject. It seems to me that your background of Roman Catholicism would be able to provide much in-depth information about most of all these points. This type of article(s) could be a powerful catalyst in convincing many individual Catholics to come out of this powerfully evil and deceptive system.
May God Richly Bless You,
David Bay, Director
Cutting Edge Ministry, Inc.
FORMER CATHOLICS FOR CHRIST: Yes David, I agree totally with you. It would make a great article. Hopefully, individual Catholics who read this will take a second look at their own religion and who really holds power of Rome. But if they won. t look listen, for fear that we are biased, then perhaps they should look at their own Catholic leaders who have also warned others of the Luciferic connection.
"Catholic scholar Dr. Malachi Martin, formerly a Jesuit professor at Georgetown University and a confidant of Vatican insiders, flatly declared in a recent New York City interview: . Yes, it. s true, Lucifer is enthroned in the Catholic Church. " (Flashpoint, Texe Marr, July 1997).
When confronted about Satanists in Rome, Dr. Malachi Martin replied:
"Anybody who is acquainted with the state of affairs in the Vatican in the last 35 years is well aware that the prince of darkness had and still has his surrogates in the court of St. Peter in Rome."
Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo also stunned an international audience of bishops, priests, nuns, and laity in Rome by exposing Satanic worship by the Catholic hierarchy. As far back as 1976, Pope Paul VI shocked a papal audience by confiding:
"The smoke of Satan has entered the very sanctuary of St. Peter. s Cathedral" (Flashpoint, Marrs, July 1997).
Peter De Rosa, in his book Vicars of Christ: the Dark Side of the Papacy, speaking of Pope John XII, states:
"He had invented sins, they said, not known since the beginning of the world, including sleeping with his mother. In front of the high altar of the mother church of Christendom, he even toasted the Devil" (51).
Otto of Saxony, emperor of in St. Peter. s in 961, wrote a letter to Pope John XII that read:
"Everyone, clergy as well as laity, accuses you, Holiness, of homicide, perjury, sacrilege, incest with your relatives, including two of your sisters, and with having, like a pagan, invoked Jupiter, Venus and other demons" (51).
Roman Catholicism and Demonism indeed have the same spirit. There is no pagan religion or society that has done more damage to the word "truth" as she has. She is the very seat of Satan, and demonism pales in comparison to her atrocities. We can only pray that God have mercy on those who are blinded by the god of this world, that they may come to the glorious gospel of grace.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt.11:28-30)
Because of Calvary,
Rebecca A. Sexton (a former Catholic)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I thank you, Becky Sexton, for contributing much knowledge to this most important subject. Since the New World Order Plan has given the Roman Catholic Pontiff the seat for which he has most ardently sought, the top religious position in the coming New World Order, it is time to recognize the position for what it is, i.e., the Biblical False Prophet of Revelation 13:11-18. This position is the Seat of Satan. The False [Religious] Prophet will seem to the world as Christian [Revelation 13:11, but his heart will be deeply Satanic. Since the rise of Protestantism, scholars have been consistent with their warnings that the False Prophet system is Roman Catholicism. In today's world, these warnings have come true. We encourage you to read the seminar notes of the House of Theosophy Seminar of August 16, 1991, where the New England Director of the House of Theosophy declared that the post of top religious leader of the New World Order had been given to the Roman Catholic Pope [NEWS1052]. In this seminar, the Director also stated that, when the Antichrist arose, the Pope would be a "proper receptor" of him.
You can be deceived no longer. Roman Catholicism is disguised Satanism. Turn away now, as your eternal soul is at stake.
David Bay, Cutting Edge Ministries
www.cuttingedge.org
|