Christian versus Catholicism
Let's examine the
teaching of the Catholic Church to see
if it holds up to scripture. Are they teaching another Jesus?
Reading from Galatians 1:9 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.
This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.
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Catholic |
Christian |
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The Mass |
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| Catechism of the Catholic Church 1382 The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood. But the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us. |
This states
that the priest who is serving mass literality turns the
wine and the bread into the actual body and blood of
Jesus. Even though the bread still looks and tastes like
bread and the wine still looks and tastes like wine.
Jesus is then ingested into the person who eats the
bread or drinks the wine (To receive communion is to
receive Christ himself). This is perpetuated (to make something last) by the Catholic Church at each mass. Jesus is re-sacrificed each time mass is performed. Mass can only be performed by a catholic priest. We are told that Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Jesus had to only die once for the sins of mankind. To continue to sacrifice Jesus at each mass is to deny that the penalty has already been paid. To deny that Jesus died once for all is a rank hearsay and denies the real sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross. Would you continue to pay a loan to a lender if the loan has already been paid in full? Remember that this is not in remembrance of Jesus death on the cross but a continuation of the cross. At mass the priest has the power to forgive the sins of the people. Prayer cards can be bought to lay on the alter which helps their loved ones escape purgatory, although no catholic priest can tell you how many masses must be given to free a person from purgatory, multiple cards can be purchased from the Church to be laid on the alter during mass. |
| Catechism of the Catholic Church 1378 Worship of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession." | |
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
1388 It is in keeping with the very
meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have
the required dispositions, receive communion when
they participate in the Mass. As the Second Vatican
Council says: "That more perfect form of participation
in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest's
communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same
sacrifice, is warmly recommended."
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| The pocket dictionary states that "The mass is a truly propitiatory sacrifice by which the Lord is appeased, He grants grace...and He pardons wrongdoings and sins" |
In order to
have your sins forgiven you must attend mass. You must
go to a catholic priest in order to have your sins
forgiven. Where is this in the Bible? Where is it
mentioned in the Bible that we have to go to man in
order to be forgiven.
As stated
in Ephesians 1:7 In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace; We have the forgiveness of sin
through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross not through
some ritual of the Catholic Church. We must go to Jesus
not to some man for forgiveness of sin. Again, we find
that this is against the teaching of Jesus and the Word
of God. |
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Vatican II states that "Our Savior at the Last Supper...instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood" The counsel of Trent states "offered up to God the Father His own body and blood under the form of bread and wine..." |
If so then
Jesus sacrifice happened at the last supper and not on
the cross. This reduces the cross to the same level as
the mass. The cross would not have been needed since
Jesus was already sacrificed before his death on the
cross. Again this is not Biblical and is not found ion
the Bible. Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
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| The counsel of Trent also states "the Eucharist is the true and only sacrifice" |
If this is
true then the literal cross is not needed. Jesus dying
on the cross was not needed and was in vain. Again we
find the heresy of the Catholic Church.
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"Finally
the mass is the divinely ordained means of applying the
merits of Calvary. Christ won for the world all the
graces it needs for salvation and sanctification. But
these blessing are conferred gradually and continually
since Calvary and mainly through the mass..." The pocket dictionary states that "Christ "offers himself...as really as he did on Calvary. |
This means
that the priest is indispensable because he alone is
able to turn the bread and wine into the physical blood
and body of Jesus. Christs sacrifice is not yet
complete but is still in process. This teaching is rank
heresy. Reading in John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. Jesus finished his sacrifice for man kind when he died on the cross. There is no more sacrifice that needs to be completed; period.
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Vatican
II page 103 claims that "(in the Mass, Christ)
perpetuates in an unbloody manner the sacrifice offered
on the cross."
And Catechism of the Catholic Church 1367 The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different." "And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. . . this sacrifice is truly propitiatory."
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This is
directly opposite to what the Bible teaches as stated in
Hebrews 9:22 And
almost all things are by the law purged with blood;
and without shedding of blood is no remission.
How can the mass forgive sins without the shedding of Christ's blood? |
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Transubstantiation |
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
1413 By the consecration the transubstantiation of
the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is
brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread
and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present
in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and
his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council
of Trent: DS 1640; 1651). Catechism of the Catholic Church 1376 The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."
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Transubstantiation is the process of turning the wine
and the bread into the body soul and spirit of Jesus.
The bread and the wine are God and are worshipped as
such. The bread and wine are placed in a lantern like
container then placed on the alter. People literality
bow down and worship the bread and wine which was turned
into Jesus himself.
This is directly opposite of the teaching of the Bible as stated in Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: This is no different then bowing down to pagan idols which was forbidden in Leviticus 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. |
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Purgatory |
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Affirmed - "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified. After death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (Catech 1030) Catechism of the Catholic Church 1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire: Catechism of the Catholic Church 1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.
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We read in
the bible that to be absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord.
2Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord.
Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins. To deny this sacrifice of Jesus' death on the cross, is to deny the gift of salvation the He has given unto us freely. If we need to purify ourselves then this also voids the scripture which states that in Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: If we reject this free gift by claiming that we need to do something in our own power then we also reject the gift which God has extended unto us. Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. If we were saved by our works or if we need to "work" for our salvation then we can throw Ephesians 2:9 out the window. |
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Catholic |
Christian |
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Indulgences |
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The Church
also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of
penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: Let us help
and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by
their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our
offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let
us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer
our prayers for them.[609]
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1498 Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory. Prayers for the Dead "[607] From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.[608]The new Catechism teaches that "As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God." This is proved by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states, "An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishment due for their sins." The Church does this not just to aid Christians, "but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity" (CCC 1478).
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Again we
turn to Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
If we reject this free gift by claiming that we can purchase with money a portion of our salvation or the forgiveness of sins then this is an outright rejection of the saving power of the blood of Jesus on the cross. This is heresy to think that you can purchase partial or full forgiveness of sin. |
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Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (the brown Scapular) |
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A
magnificent assurance of salvation is Our Lady’s Brown
Scapular. One of the great mysteries of our time is that
the great majority of Catholics either ignores or have
forgotten the Blessed Virgin Mary’s promise that
"whoever dies wearing this (Scapular) shall not suffer
eternal fire." She further says: "Wear it devoutly and
perseveringly. It is my garment. To be clothed in it
means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn,
am always thinking of you and helping you to secure
eternal life."
He stated
that the Blessed Virgin had said to him in this
vision, concerning those who wear the Brown Scapular:
"I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday
after their death and whomsoever I shall find in
Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the
holy mountain of life everlasting."
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So let's
get this straight, by wearing a piece of cloth you can
enter into salvation. You might as well throw out the
whole Bible. If this is true then the word of God must
be a lie. Where in the Bible (Kings James Bible) does it mention that Mary is our savior, where does it mention that we are saved through Mary? Is Mary going to free us? Is Mary going to show us the way to salvation? Is Mary going to "lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting?" Not according to scripture. |
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Mary |
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Mary had no
original sin, remained free of sin throughout her life,
is "Mother of God" and the new Eve. (Catechism,
508-10) Bodily assumption into heaven instead of
death. (Catechism,
966). Mary was a perpetual virgin.
The Catechism of Vatican II states "From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin had been honored with the title of 'Mother of God' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their danger and needs." |
You will
not find any of this teaching in the Bible. In order for
Mary to have no original sin would mean that her parents
would also not have any original sin as well as her
grandparents and so on.
We are told in Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; If it were true that Mary had no original sin then Romans 3:23 is a lie. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was a perpetual virgin meaning that Mary did not have any children after Jesus was born. This is once again incorrect as mentioned in Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. Why would we fly to Mary for her protection when Gods' protection is available? She must be at least as great as God, and must be much more sympathetic then the Father and Jesus. There are 100 times more prayers offered to Mary then there are offered to Jesus and the Father. It was Christ not Mary who died for our sins. Jesus says in John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. There
are many many versus where the Bible tells us that we
are to come to Jesus for our salvation. Not once are we
instructed to pray to Mary for anything, let alone our
salvation. |
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Other Religions |
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| "Many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside [the Catholic Church's] visible confines." (Catech 870) |
There is no
salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as
Lord.
Jesus is the only way to salvation as stated in John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The Bible warns us in
John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but
climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber.
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| Good works | |
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Meritorious, Commendable, Praiseworthy |
The Bible
states according to
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
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| Means of Salvation | |
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Received at baptism; may be lost by mortal sin; regained by penance |
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We can not earn our way to Heaven. It is a free gift from God. Anyone who tries to earn their own way to salvation, rejects this free gift from God.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any
man should boast. |
| Sources of Doctrine | |
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Bible, church fathers, popes, bishops; Seven Ecumenical Councils; Trent, Vatican, and other Catholic councils |
We hold the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as our final authority. We accept no humanly devised confession or creed as binding.
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| Prayer to saints | |
| The Catholic Church teaches that once the Church makes a former deceased pope or some other great person in the Catholic Church a saint, you can then pray to that person and ask for forgiveness of your sins. |
Who are the saints? The new testament refers to the saints as those who are true believes and follows of Jesus Christ. We are never told to Pray to any person dead or alive including Mary.
Romans 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God,
called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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| Priests | |
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A special vocation for some believers; mediators between God and man. |
Christ is our High Priest. You do not need to go to any man for your salvation. You have a direct line of communication with God. You don't have to pay some priest for forgiveness of sin or to speak with God.
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The Church |
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| The Catholic Church is "the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation" (Catech 845) but those baptized in other Christian denominations are in communion with the Church (Catech 838). |
There is a distinction between the visible and invisible church, regardless of church membership. There is the brick and mortar physical church. Then there is the true church, the invisible church, which is Christ itself and is comprised of the saints of God.
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Authority |
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Scripture
and tradition
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Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone |
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) 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. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
** Note all references are
taken from the King James Version.