Brother Michael responded to a comment on this post that I thought was worthy of reprinting here.
In reading Joanna’s comments and perusing the fodder titled, “Sola Scriptura – A Blueprint for Anarchy”, I must digress and say how thankful I am that I was raised in the religion of Rome. Raised by a multi-generational Catholic family from a babe on upwards to nearly 25 years of age. Here, I consider myself most blessed to have sat under the feet of nuns and priests being educated by them from grammar school through high school, to have served as a faithful alter boy, to have been baptized, catechized, confirmed and even married as a RC. I am thankful that I was deemed a faithful follower of Mother Rome and was looked upon highly by large and small in her community.
I am thankful that I had my Marian statue and faithfully prayed many a night my decades on the rosaries. My homemade cross (from my 1st “holy” communion) I hung with pride in my bedroom where every Palm Sunday I would take the new palm branches and drape them over it for another year.
So too am I thankful that I use to look down with disdain on those “born again” Jesus wackos (the way I sadly felt at the time) since I “knew” that ONLY Catholics were going to heaven. And of course for no other reason but that we were faithful, card-carrying Catholics. This party line I parroted like a well trained student of my Jesuit and Franciscan pedagogues.
Why am I so thankful? I am thankful because I KNOW the truth about mother Rome. I know the truth whereby the outrageous claims made by RC apologists, the lies, distortions and incredible falsehoods are laid bare before my eyes. 33,000 or 330,000 denominations doesn’t really matter as it is pure straw-man blather. The so-called unity of Mother Rome is a smoke screen; it is like an old Hollywood western movie set where once you walk into the apparent salon or hotel, you realize all you have is a thin facade with nothing behind it but empty space. This is Rome’s unity, a paper thin facade.
Here, I challenge anyone to take a poll of their local RC parish, a poll not in paper alone but by looking at life choices and you will find discord and disharmony that will begin to show the heart of the RC religion. People divided about sex before marriage (and most partaking), divided about birth control, divided about woman being priests, divided about divorce/remarriage/annulments, divided about priests marrying, divided about girls being alter boys eh I mean alter people, divided about homosexuality, divided about the liturgy, divided about Vatican II, divided about purgatory, divided about people of other “faiths” going to heaven, divided about evolution, divided about Mary, divided about the current pope, divided about abortionists (e.g. Nancy Pelosi and others) receiving the holy wafer, divided about tithing, divided about praise and worship, divided about fund raising, divided about …. fill in the blanks.
Oh – but we have unity because all these people for one hour (hopefully less as a priest is always commended if he can get you out in less than an hour) who gather in a building and like trained puppets on cue sit down, stand up, cross themselves, kneel, recite words back and forth, shake hands, walk an aisle, sing a song, and walk back out the door being elated the ordeal is over for another week.
I am also thankful that I know the heart of those cute Catholic boys and girls who look so prim and proper in their uniforms where it is hard to think they could do anything wrong. Oh what a lie! Thankful because I was there where the sin that me and my faithful heaven bound (eh – well probably purgatory bound first) Catholic friends partook in was no different than that of our agnostic/atheist cohorts; possibly even worse in many respects. Mocking the nuns, swilling beer like it was water, drugs (even on our HS bus), stealing, cheating, sex, mouths like sailors and more bore ample witness to the fact that we were dead in trespasses and sins regardless of the lies the priests fed us with.
Oh- wait, but we were Catholics and on our way to heaven because we said our five “our father’s” and ten “hail mary’s” so as merit our forgiveness after our 5 minute penance. Lies damnable lies!!!
I could go on and on how I witness the same today being surrounded by DEAD Catholic families and friends who HATE the gospel and Lord of Glory and LOVE their sin. And what incenses me the most is that in Rome Jesus Christ is NEVER enough for it is the organization, the 501c-3 den of iniquity that is always preached as the way of salvation. This is the heart of every RC apologist for if they preach Jesus alone the gig will be up and the power over men’s souls will be vanquished. And so it will be…
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication”
Christ Alone Wyoming 
May the Lord God be praised for revealing truth to Michael. There are none so blind as the self-righteous.
I remember in high school, going on Catholic Youth Organization trips {I wasn’t Catholic, but my Grandpa was, that was qualification enough}. One particular trip was to Chicago, another to Philadelphia. Both trips were nothing but a beer drinking, pot smoking party fest. I was right in the thick of it, along with all these ‘good’ Catholic girls who ‘partied ’til they puked’. The Roman Catholic religion is a cult. It cannot change or regenerate the lost, dead sinner. The way Michael describes the mass is very telling. It was much the same way in the Lutheran church I grew up in. I underwent 2 years of Catechism classes, was confirmed, baptized, and went on to live the most hellish, sexually immoral life imaginable. Why? Because ‘religion’ does not save. Going through the motions does not save. Water baptism, communion, etc. does not save!!! Praise God for His grace.
Thanks Pilgrim for bringing brother Micheal’s post to the forefront.
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I went to Catholic school for years, although even at that age I was different from most of my peers in that I loved God (I became a Christian in college).
I can attest to the filthy mouths that Catholic school kids are (in)famous for. My husband and I have a friend (a non-believer) who is a music teacher in several elementary and middle schools, both public and private, and he has related with shock more than once how disgustingly filthy the CATHOLIC school kids’ mouths are. “I haven’t heard that kind of language since I was in the army!” he once noted.
Evidently nothing’s changed in the 25 years since I was a student.
Catholicism is a lie because it is antithecal to the Bible’s teaching. Rotten fruit simply comes from a rotten tree. Period.
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Here is an excellent review of the core issue that separates the Roman Catholic Church from the body of Christ – they worship another Jesus.
http://www.lighthousetrails.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LTP&Product_Code=AJ&Category_Code=RO
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Oh, my! What a flash from my past, too. I remember the snobs racing out of mass to light up their cigarettes and gossip about each other. Even the priest was a card-playing alcoholic. At the Catholic weddings or celebrations that I remember the beer kegs were kept flowing. Even the priest drank and danced and smoked. People were rude to us because we were poor and the nuns played favorites to the better off families. To this day, I do not know how our tuition was paid. When my life changed after having to get married I wanted to raise my child in the faith (because I still believed it was the only one true church). I started to read my big coffee-table Catholic Bible and searched high and low for Limbo and purgatory, mortal and venial sins and didn’t find them. I would call the priest weekly and ask him about these basic biblical issues and he never gave me a straight answer. I had wanted to have my daughter baptized and had to stop by the rectory to turn in some papers one evening and low and behold after a few moments of what sounded like kids playing and bouncing off of the walls, the priest opens the door and standing behind him was a homosexual male that I had gone to school with and who had grown up just a few blocks from my childhood home. Needless to say, I didn’t stay in that church. A fter a few years of wandering in the desert I have finally found a bible teaching church and people who live to the Word. I’m sure there are a few very nice people in that faith who don’t drink, cuss, and smoke. Unfortunately they are damned as long as they are comfortable with their religion and all of it’s rituals. I praise God for my salvation. I used to credit the nuns for putting some kind of fear of God in me, but I know now that it was God and His Holy Spirit all of the time, My past sins are repulsive. I have repented and called on Him and he saved me from death and hell. It is only by His grace through faith that I have any hope in this life.
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I’m also a Christian, attended Catholic school as a child, but was never confirmed or took communion. Although they are in great error, damnable heresy, we should have a spirit of love in all things or we’re just making noise. It seems some here are shocked that lost people are acting like lost people. Don’t forget, you too were lost at one time. I pray that the deception of Rome will cease, and that by the grace of God none who claim the name of Christ will fall into deception either.
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Rob,
As the Lord Jesus demonstrated – we should indeed have compassion on those who are led astray by false doctrine; and we should have a rebuke from Scripture for those who lead folks astray with such. We are commanded to identify, expose, and flee from false prophets – see Matthew 7:15 – 20 and Titus 1:7-11 for example.
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Rob, I do believe all here do have love, enough love to speak God’s truth to those who cross our paths. It’s the false doctrine of the RCC that we speak out against, not the lost people caught up in that false doctrine. I am also quite sure every one of us remembers the sewer God pulled us out of. I don’t think anyone intended to come across ‘holier than thou’; many can relate to being blind, and how glorious it is that we now see.
The deception of Rome will indeed cease, when our Lord comes in glory and destroys all wickedness. We certainly are closer now to His coming than we ever have been…praise be to God!
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Praise the Lord for this brother, where is he from ? I got the impression it was England , is that correct ?
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dale mcalpine – I am from the US.
Rob – You are quite correct about the RCs being lost; the point though re. the Roman religion is that they do not believe they are lost. They believe, as you know, that because they are Catholics they are by default on the fast track to heaven regardless of the fruit their tree (i.e. life) bears. Only by shinning light into the darkness and exposing it will truth be seen by those given eyes to see.
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There is a common thread or two that I see with all of this and that is false beliefs are not limited to the RC or evangelical types, but are centered around the proclamation of a belief system that caters to the false gods we create in order to keep from having to humble our self before the one true God and His Son. I was raised Methodist and later Baptist (after marriage). The road to hell is indeed wide, the words and methods may differ, but the end result is equal—eternal damnation.
While one may extol the virtues of their mother church and adherence to all the dogmas and rituals, another may require something along the lines of a simple “prayer” and a short “profession of faith” and getting wet in a pool of water. All useless, all not leading to salvation, all granting a false sense of security and all ending in Hell. “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”.
The other thread I see is that of genuine repentance, sorrow to the point of hatred for one’s sins and former life, a longing to be pleasing to our Lord and a new found love for the Savior. Each having faced their sin in all of it’s ugliness and wanting to find a hole to hide in, but thankfully the only thing we found was an outstetched Hand, gentleness and mercy overflowing, forgiveness for our sins and a new realization of the love displayed at the cross. And that my friends is the power of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I’m sorry that the sinful example of the Catholics around you has caused you to feel so much bitterness towards the Catholic church. I actually am Catholic and because that unholy attitude is rampant, it can be discouraging and repulsive, and your attitude is understandable. On a positive note, I am part of a Catholic group outside church that tries to grow in our love and reverence for the Lord.
The Church does not condemn non-Catholics as “unsaved.” God alone proves hearts and knows who will and will not be with Him for eternity.
I hope you can pray for the Catholic church and overall that we, as followers of Christ, may grow in holiness for the glory of God in all religious denominations. AMEN!!
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Jennifer,
Thanks for stopping by. I am afraid that you are being duped by a religious organization that goes completely contrary to the Word of God. Roman Catholicism insists on prayers to the dead, the worship of Mary, and a continual sacrificing of the Lord Jesus Christ every time the mass is performed.
In addition, the Roman Catholic church has long taught that to believe apart from the traditions of Rome is to be anathema or damned to hell. Somewhere in your catechism you have missed this. It was the basis of the taking over in the New World and was also the setting for the Spanish Inquisition in which thousands died for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They refused to acknowledge the pope as being the representative of Christ on earth. They refused to take the mass knowing it was idolatry to do so. They refused to bow the knee to the Baal worship prevalent in Rome. They refused to recant their faith in Christ ALONE for their salvation. —- So, the Roman Catholic
Churchreligion killed as many as they could.Jennifer, we do pray for and seek to love all those who are in false religions that the Holy Spirit of God will place the message of the gospel in their path, and that they will be brought to the Biblical understanding of salvation. It is by grace through faith alone that we as wretched, totally depraved sinners come to the foot of the cross and plead for mercy from the hands of a just, holy God. He must punish all sin for He is a God of wrath. Somebody has to pay or it was already paid.
So the question is this — If you were to die tonight and stand before God, and He were to ask you, “Jennifer, why should I let you into my heaven?” What would your answer be? Please give careful consideration to this because the answer is the difference between life with Christ forever or an eternity in hell. These are the only two places the Bible teaches will come after our life on this earth ends.
The Desert Pastor
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Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for your comments. The Desert Pastor addressed a few items I hope you think long and hard on. With this, please note that any of us at DefCon are always open to discussing matters of the faith in more detail where you can e-mail us if this is what you seek.
With that said, I want to try to take your eyes off of me and my experiences because at the end of the day, the heart of the issue has nothing to do with me. Yes, my experiences are illustrative of core, systematic issues within Roman Catholicism and must not be dismissed. But none of these are the true issue. That is, the issue is not boys sinning, or priestly molestation, or doctrinal divisions amongst members, etc.
Rather, the issue is Jesus Christ and the gospel. This is the issue and this is what you must deal with here and now, or wait unto the judgment on the last day as you forfeit eternal life found only in Jesus and not in Roman Catholicism. It really is that serious.
It is also that serious because Rome does not preach the gospel even though you may be hearing similar language as voiced by your evangelical friends and discussed in your studies. This is merely the by-product of Vatican II as Rome attempts to counter the Reformation and gain as many converts as possible. Yet on the books, the theology of Roman Catholicism has not changed an iota. It is still the same at heart with only the externals being changed to deceive those who do not look more deeply into their religion’s doctrine.
Be it known that the gospel is not about sacraments, it is not about doing good, it is not about being a good person and trying your best, it is not about avoiding sin to tip the scales more in one’s favor. Likewise, it is not about hoping to be saved or trying to be saved by doing all that one’s religion tells them they must do. None of these are the gospel and all of them are anti-gospel.
I encourage you to listen to a sermon I heard a while back by today’s featured speaker, Art Azurdia. It can be found here. The question you’ll need to answer is whether you are a good person or bad.
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