The Catholic Church is either Divine or diabolical; she is either the true church of God or the true church of Satan. Many Protestants say that Catholics can be saved, even though many Catholic beliefs are wrong. What they don't realize, however, is that IF Catholic beliefs are wrong, they are so wrong that the Catholic Church is nothing short of diabolical. If the Catholic Church is right, then she is the true Church of Jesus Christ, infallibly teaching His truths for almost 2,000 years. In this essay, I will show why the Catholic Church is either the church of God or the church of Satan, based on the following beliefs:
� The Infallibility of the Church
� Apostolic Tradition
� The Sacrifice of the Mass
� Transubstantiation
� Confession of Sins
� Gracious Merit
If the Catholic Church truly is infallible, then it's not hard to see why she would be the true Church of Jesus.
If the Catholic Church is not infallible, then she claims to have an authority that she really doesn't. If she doesn't truly have infallible authority, then she is leading her flock astray, inevitably teaching false doctrines. As Paul said in Galatians 1:9, "If anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed." In its 2,000-year history, the Church, if not infallible, would be bound to teach a gospel contrary to what the apostles preached.
If the Church's Apostolic Tradition truly is part of God's word, then to not be a part of the Catholic Church (which would mean obeying her Tradition) is to disobey God Himself. As Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, "Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter." If these traditions were not all eventually written down, then to disobey them would be to disobey Scripture itself.
If the Church's Apostolic Tradition is NOT God's word, then she DEFINITELY goes against Paul's command in Galatians 1:9, and should DEFINITELY be accursed. If her tradition is not God's word, then she is just as bad as the Pharisees who disobeyed God's command for the sake of human traditions (Mark 7:6-13).
The Church says that during the mass, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross 2,000 years ago is made present to us today, and we re-offer it up to the Father for the forgiveness of sins. If she is right, then Protestants are missing out on a tremendous gift given to us by our Lord.
If the Church is wrong, then the mass is nothing short of blasphemous. The thought of re-offering up Jesus' sacrifice to the Father, an act of distrust in Jesus' sacrifice, is, for one who professes to be a Christian, a sacrilege.
The Church says that when the priest says the words of consecration, the bread and wine turn into the literal, physical body and blood of Jesus. The substance changes, hence the term "transubstantiation." If the Church is right, then Protestants are missing out on another extraordinary gift from God, and Catholics who don't believe it commit a grave sacrilege by treating the body and blood of Jesus as mere bread and wine.
If the Church is wrong, however, then she practices idolatry, one of the gravest sins possible.
If God forgives sins through priests in confession, then what a great gift he has given us. Protestants would miss out on a wonderful healing experience through God's Church.
If the Church is wrong, then she commits another grave sin, blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins. If He doesn't forgive through priests, then the sacrament of reconciliation is a diabolical deception.
The Church says that, even though we can't strictly earn merit, God does set up a system in which His grace allows us to earn merit from Him. If the Church is right, it doesn't give any exceptional support to the belief that she is the Church of God.
If the Church is wrong, however, then Catholics trust in their own works (aside from God) for salvation, denying the sufficiency of Jesus' cross. If a supposedly Christian church to not trust fully in Jesus, her members cannot be saved.
What Church but the true Church of God can infallibly teach His truths and hand down His word (Tradition), re-offer Jesus' sacrifice to the Father, give us Jesus' physical body and blood, and offer forgiveness of sins through its priests?
What church but the true church of Satan would falsely claim to infallibly teach God's word, hold human traditions (that go against Scripture) as God's infallible word, try to blasphemously re-offer Jesus' sacrifice to the Father, worship a wafer, claim to forgive sins, and not trust completely in Jesus' sacrifice for salvation?
