I trust that this will get some discussions going.
A brief comparison between the written Word of God and some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
1). “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7)
2). “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46)
3). “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)
4). You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God . . .” (Exodus 20:4-5)
Christ Alone Wyoming 
Roman Catholicism = Blasphemy
The interesting part is the fact that all ecumenical roads lead back to Rome. Mystery Babylon’s tentacles have long since slithered into nearly every corner the professing Protestant church and she is inexorably drawing the apostates home to Rome.
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Roman Catholicism is heresy. They are a cult and can not stand when people call them Christian. If they truly believe what the church teaches then they are going to hell for having a different Jesus, different way of salvation, and a different gospel which is no gospel at all. I hope the dialog on this post gets going. By the way, the Berean Beacon has really done a great job on exposing this heresy.
In Christ
Alan
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Pointing out the errors and idolatry of Rome remains the heart of the Reformation to this day. The differences over the doctrine Justifcation and the Office of the Papacy have not changed. There can be no unity between Rome and the various sects of Protestantism until there is unity in doctrine. Let us not ever turn our backs on history and sound doctrine:
“9] Therefore the Church can never be better governed and preserved than if we all live under one head, Christ, and all the bishops equal in office (although they be unequal in gifts), be diligently joined in unity of doctrine, faith, Sacraments, prayer, and works of love, etc., as St. Jerome writes that the priests at Alexandria together and in common governed the churches, as did also the apostles, and afterwards all bishops throughout all Christendom, until the Pope raised his head above all.”
“10] This teaching shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God. 11] This is, properly speaking to exalt himself above all that is called God as Paul says, 2 Thess. 2, 4. Even the Turks or the Tartars, great enemies of Christians as they are, do not do this, but they allow whoever wishes to believe in Christ, and take bodily tribute and obedience from Christians.”
“12] The Pope, however, prohibits this faith, saying that to be saved a person must obey him. This we are unwilling to do, even though on this account we must die in God’s name. 13] This all proceeds from the fact that the Pope has wished to be called the supreme head of the Christian Church by divine right. Accordingly he had to make himself equal and superior to Christ, and had to cause himself to be proclaimed the head and then the lord of the Church, and finally of the whole world, and simply God on earth, until he has dared to issue commands even to the angels in heaven. 14] And when we distinguish the Pope’s teaching from, or measure and hold it against, Holy Scripture, it is found [it appears plainly] that the Pope’s teaching, where it is best, has been taken from the imperial and heathen law and treats of political matters and decisions or rights, as the Decretals show; furthermore, it teaches of ceremonies concerning churches, garments, food, persons and [similar] puerile, theatrical and comical things without measure, but in all these things nothing at all of Christ, faith, and the commandments of God. Lastly, it is nothing else than the devil himself, because above and against God he urges [and disseminates] his [papal] falsehoods concerning masses, purgatory, the monastic life, one’s own works and [fictitious] divine worship (for this is the very Papacy [upon each of which the Papacy is altogether founded and is standing]), and condemns, murders and tortures all Christians who do not exalt and honor these abominations [of the Pope] above all things. Therefore, just as little as we can worship the devil himself as Lord and God, we can endure his apostle, the Pope, or Antichrist, in his rule as head or lord. For to lie and to kill, and to destroy body and soul eternally, that is wherein his papal government really consists, as I have very clearly shown in many books.”
-Martin Luther, 1537; Smalcald Articles, Article IV: 9-14 (Text taken from the Book of Concord. The variations found in the Latin text where they differ from the German text are included in the quote in braces “[…..]”.)
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>”I trust that this will get some discussions going.”
An anti-Catholic echo chamber is not much of a discussion.
>”1). “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7)”
There are two criteria in this statement, the prayers are meaningless (vain) and repititious. You posted photos of rosary beads, but no proof of any meaningless AND repititious prayers. The burden of proof is on you.
http://catholic.com/library/Rosary.asp
>”2). “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes,”
Ok, got it. Beware of these guys as they are all sinners just like us. Good thing we are saved by grace alone.
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2006/0604fea2.asp
>”3). “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)”
Why then does Jesus contradict himself in scripture by saying:
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad. (John 8:56)
Also Paul contradicts Jesus by saying:
… for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (1 Cor 4:15)
BTW, Catholics believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and does not contradict itself.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp
>”). You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God . . .” (Exodus 20:4-5);”
Catholics are in full compliance. No idols, no worshiping idols and no serving idols.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Do_Catholics_Worship_Statues.asp
So, bottom line, these are what is keeping you from making a profession of faith and becoming Catholic? If these four “offenses” are resolved to your satisfaction, you’d join the Catholic Church?
“I could not understand why these romancers never took the trouble to find out a few elementary facts about the thing they denounced. The facts might easily have helped the denunciation, where the fictions discredited it. There were any number of real Catholic doctrines I should then have thought disgraceful to the Church . . . But the enemies of the Church never found these real rocks of offence. They never looked for them. They never looked for anything . . . Boundless freedom reigned; it was not treated as if it were a question of fact at all . . . It puzzled me very much, even at that early stage, to imagine why people bringing controversial charges against a powerful and prominent institution should thus neglect to test their own case, and should draw in this random way on their own imagination . . . I never dreamed that the Roman religion was true; but I knew that its accusers, for some reason or other, were curiously inaccurate. ”
(G.K. Chesterton, The Catholic Church and Conversion, NY: Macmillan, 1926, 36-38)
God bless…
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Timothy,
Thank you for your comments. I will try to be very brief.
1). The prayers of the Hail Mary are repetitious but are in vain. Repetitious because you keep repeating yourself as if you’ll be heard for your many prayers, and vain because Mary was a human woman and not able to hear your prayers. Additionally, we are never commanded to pray to her, but only to God.
2). Not sure if you’re being sarcastic on the “grace alone” remark, but the very issue of the robes that Jesus was referring to is not the robes themselves, but how these religious men whitewashed all the external, but their lives, teachings, and doctrines were corrupt. I see glaring similarities between the priests of Catholicism and the priests of Judaism.
3). Don’t call anyone on earth “father” requires you to understand context and use common sense. Your dad is your father. The men who founded this country are our founding fathers, etc. Jesus was very clear here that “father” was in regards to calling any sinful, fallen, man a “spiritual” father or “holy” father. The point was that we can boldly approach the throne of grace (Hebrews) because of what Jesus has done. We do not and cannot get closer to God by getting closer to any man.
4). You can deny the very act that you guys perform (bowing down before graven images that you create) or you can call it something else. But you’re not fooling anyone but yourself if you believe that. That’s why I included the pictures I did of those people (including the pope) bowing down before these pictures and statues.
Bottom Line: No, these aren’t the only things keeping me from RC. They were just four selected issues. There is a plethora of doctrinal errors and false teachings that keep me from RC. Do you want issue number five? Take Justification by Faith for example.
Check out my post Faith vs Works for further.
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1. The same can be said of the protestants who throw “Father God” at the beginning and end of every phrase in a prayer in an attempt to make it sound pious… and the use of repetitive and vain praise music that repeats the same three or four words a doezen time with that idea that the format of such worship is more God pleasing than any other. Most modern protestants are more guilty of vain repetition in their worship than any Roman Catholic.
2. Wearing vestiments is not evil for the same reason that money is not evil. It is when these things violate the first table of the law and take the place of God in our hearts that they cause us to sin. The book of Revelation tells us that vestments, robes, crowns, and bowing exist in heaven. Clearly such actions are not sinful in themselves. It is how you are using these holy things and why. Pilgrim is right in this case… but banning the use of robes all together makes a human command that God did not give which does not solve the problem.
3. The opposite side of the coin is just as sinful. Total disrespect and hyper-familiarity for the men who have been placed in authority over the rest of the church shows contempt for the hierarchy that Holy Scripture established to promote good order and discipline. Christ is one the Mediator between God and men. That does not mean that men do not have earthly authority over us.
4. We are not to bow before or worship the image of any creature in heaven, on earth, or under the earth. Bowing before God and those things that He considers holy is not forbidden. The ark in the Old Testament was treated with holiness and respect. It had two golden angels scuplted on it. People bowed before the altar and veiled it from view. It was not an idol, but the very throne of God. God is not a creature. Jesus Christ is God and is to be worshiped. How is showing reverance before the image of Jesus Christ, God the Son, idolatry?
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The man who commented above me is an ignoramus. He justified idol worship in the Catholic church with the holy ark of the covenant. First of all the ark was made according to specifications given by G-D to Moses in the Bible. I doubt that those idols of “saints” and of “mary & jesus” made in China could claim to follow G-D ‘s specifications. Also (Catholics are notorious for their lack of Biblical knowledge) the ark contained the original tablets of The Ten Commandments written by G-D HIMSELF on Mount Sinai, a bowl of the manna with which G-D provided the Israelites, and the staff of Aaron (Moses’ brother). How can one be so blind & desperate as to compare those absurd & idolatrous figurines made by ignorant humans with objects that came from G-D HIMSELF!
The Israelites were not worshiping the ark. They knew that the tablets of Law written by G-D HIMSELF was in that ark. That is why they showed such reverence for it.
They were giving reverence to something created by G-D not to something made by
a human being. Furthermore those ridiculous images of “Jesus” are not really His image. Have any of you seen those sacred heart images? Jesus is blond haired and
blue eyed. Last time I checked my Bible Jesus was born as a Middle Eastern Israeli Jew. Not many blond haired and blue eyed people living in Israel during Biblical Times (this was before the diaspora when Jews spread throughout the world & mixed with other nations resulting in some of today’s blond Jews). Mostly likely Jesus was tan skinned, dark haired and dark eyed. Like the Middle Eastern Jews of modern times.
You never see any people in New Testament Israel worshiping images of the various prophets of G-D that came before like Samuel, Isaiah,etc. The New Testament just like the Old condemns images & idols. Wake up from your self induced blindness!
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Cibeles,
You make an excellent point. The excuse the Romanists use, that “Well, there were images of angels in the tabernacle and the Ark” is fruitless. After all, while there were indeed images of angels in the tabernacle and on the Ark, I wonder how long a man would have remained high priest if he had bowed down to them and had begun praying to them?
Illustration: If I see a little animal with white feathers and a yellow bill, and it quacks and waddles–I can call it a Chevrolet all day long, but it’s still a duck. Likewise, Rome can twist the definition of what they do in bowing down to statues (a practice forbidden in Exodus 20:3-5) and call it “veneration” all they want. It doesn’t matter what we humans call it. God considers it idolatry, and His is really the only opinion that matters.
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