Catholicism
------------------- by
Bro. Mark Householder ------------------
Introduction
Q. Are there any visitors with us this evening? (Don’t want to offend anyone right off the
bat by commenting on some very sensitive points.)
Welcome!
* There are a few points worth making before beginning any
Bible study, be it for yourself (i.e. a personal Bible study) or with someone
else. In my opinion, these are crucial
questions and points to make.
1) Who (or what) is the authority in the religion?
• This
even applies to atheism & humanism which, in my opinion, are also
religions. I say that because I define
& understand religion as being a set of beliefs & values. This definitely applies to both atheism
& humanism which set self into the authority position.
2) By whose/what authority?
• The
Bible, The Koran, The Humanist Manifesto, The Baghavad Gita, The Catholic
Encyclopedia, other?
3) Who is eligible to become a member of this religion/-ous
group?
4) What must one do to be saved/to become a member of this
group?
• Are the
requirements different?
• Is there
a waiting period or a probationary period?
In answering these four questions, you will find a great
number of the differences among religions.
Further, you absolutely MUST know if the other party (person/s)
believes in the existence of God and sees the Bible as the Holy, inspired,
all-sufficient authority which speaks God’s will for man. If not, you will invariably return to this
point at some juncture in your studies.
Consider this the foundation upon which you will build
indefinitely. Without that firm
foundation, you certainly can’t erect the walls, let alone the roof!
II Tim. 3:16 “All
scripture is God-breathed...”
Now, this study is the beginning of a series of studies on
various denominations. Tonight’s study
will be on Catholicism.
The first thing i’d like to do is to look, in history, at
the beginnings of the Catholic Church.
These excerpts are from The Western Heritage, Kagan, et.al.
Arius
of Alexander
Arianism
-vs- Armenian(ism)
The
Council at Nicaea
Catholic
-vs- heretic
Track:
Institutionalism
An elder
——>Pope with missionary societies.
let’s not
forget the geo-political struggles, territory, land = wealth, gain for the
crown, exploration/exploitation, the “Holy” Inquisition, the Crusades.
Def. of catholic
Dictionary
of Word Origins by Shipley
1)
universal
a)
the church, universally
b)
the Catholic Church, the institution
Teaching
Our Neighbors by Max Tice
1)
The numbers of Catholics
a)
_600 million (I’ve heard _900 million)
b)
_50 million in the U.S.
Major tenets
1) Peter
was the first pope
a)
Examine Mt. 82:16.
b)
Petros=Peter m. and Petra=bedrock, foundation f.
c)
Peter & John were sent (to Samaria?) by others. How is this so if the Pope is superior to others?
d)
The keys were used in Acts 2:36ff.
The commission (a.k.a. The Great Commission) was fulfilled completely in
the first 2 chapters of Acts. cf The 11
Fulfilled Prophecies.
2) The
Pope is infallible
a)
“For all have sinned...”
b)
This is an office/title NEVER mentioned.
c)
Historically, this evolved out of man’s desire to control more territory and
more than 1 church!
d)
Examples of illegitimacy (bastardy), et.al.
3) The
term “Father”
4) Priests
& priesthood
a)
Jesus is THE High Priest
i)
in the order of Melchizadek
ii)
entered the Holy of Holies once and for all
iii)
the only unblemished spiritual lamb that could be offered to God
b)
Jesus is THE head of the church (the bridegroom for the bride, respectively)
5)
Sainthood
a)
This is really the church (the body of faithful members)
b)
Curious, isn’t it, that;
i)
there happen to be exactly the same number of days as there are male and female
saints!
ii)
the majority of them are Italian.
iii)
virtually all were Roman Catholic!
iv)
Very Suspicious, indeed!
6)
Mariology
cf.
bro. John Yost’s work, a synopsis.
7) Other:
a)
original sin
b)
Mary the perpetual virgin
c)
deification of the Pope
d)
ornamentation of buildings and cathedrals
e)
selling of indulgences
f)
selling icons, relics, idols ...
g)
“missionary” journeys & groups
h)
The Inquisition
i)
idolatry *
j)
marriage not accepted if outside the Catholic Church
k)
Jesus gave Peter the Fisherman’s Ring
l)
tradition equally important as scriptures
m)
acceptance of apocryphal works
n)
parallel between Catholicism and Roman mythology
o)
forbidding to marry
p)
homosexuality & sexual abuse
q)
hierarchy & regions of authority (jurisdiction)
r)
forbidding to eat meat on certain days
s)
the priest drinking the wine for the laity
t)
the secrecy and privacy of monasteries, nunneries, abbies, etc.
They do, however, do many things right.
The Catholic Church is vocally opposed to pre-marital sex,
abortion and homosexuality, e.g. They
do, however, have a history for pedophile priests (sexual abuse with children
under the direction of priests.)
* I taught my children; saying, “God becomes very angry
when we sing to statues, when we pray or blow kisses or pay money to
statues. It’s wrong and makes God
angry.”
Clarification-
We do
have a catholic (universal) church which has a High Priest (Jesus) who,
along with the Holy Spirit, is our confessor and mediator.
Mary-ology, her worship, deification, adoration, ...
1) Jesus
didn’t worship her
2) “Hail
Mary, Mother of God...” was added to the Bible
3) She
couldn’t have been a virgin all her life if she had other children and we know
that there was only 1 son begotten of God (Jesus).