Roman Catholicism - Biblical Christianity or not ?

Question

Please give a brief argument from scripture to support your argument. Thanks in advance for all replies. PS I know that this is an emotive issue, but please endeavour to be polite. Thanks.

TeeM - Catholics believe in salvation by works rather than by grace through faith in Christ alone, so do the Watchtower. I can quote you clear proof of this from WT literature, if you like.

Catholics have in place an unbiblical two - tier system of Christianity. With the erroneous 144,000 & "other sheep" doctrines, so do the Watchtower.

The Bible can only be correctly interpreted by the Roman Catholic hierachy, ditto with the Watchtower governing body.

The Roman Catholic "church" have perverted the memorial of the Lord's supper with their doctrine of transubstantiation & the mass, the Watchtower also. In spite of the Lord Jesus' clear command to all believers to participate in the emblems, any JW's outside the 144,000 "anointed class" refuse to do so. Just like many Catholics, JW's disobey the Bible's clear teaching in favour of their own traditions.

It looks like the Watchtower and Roman Catholicism have quite a bit in common...

Furthermore -
1 Cor. 11:3 - Ask yourself this question - does the Bible teach that man and woman are essentially & spiritually unequal in Christ ? The answer is in Galatians 3:28. The "inequality" referred to in 1 Cor. 11:3 is in regard to function, not essence.

The Bible says that only God is to be worshipped. Yet John 5:22 says that it is the Father's will that all "...should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him." The Greek word translated "honor" is "timao". It means "to prize, to fix a valuation upon" - what does that say to you ? If you do not honor the Son just as you honor the Father, your worship is unacceptable to God, just like the legalistic Pharisees, who had the scriptures but couldn't recognise Jesus for who He was.

In regard to leaving the judging to Jesus - that's a bit rich TeeM, coming from...

... a member of a group which often rails upon what it perceives to be "apostate Christendom". The Bible says that believers ought to contend for the faith delivered to the saints (Jude 3), which is what I attempt to do. I leave the judgement & condemnation of individuals to the Lord.

Re - the passing of the soul into non - existence after death - if that is the case why did the Lord say that it would have been better for Judas if he had not been born ? How could passing into non - existence be a worse state than the non - existence of no birth ? Answer the question, not for me, but for yourself.

May God be gracious to you.

Besides all of the numerous scriptures which clearly show that salvation for the believer is by grace through faith & not by works, I present 1 Cor. 3:11 - 15 for your consideration. In particular, please note verses 14 & 15 - "If anyone's work which he has built on it (that is, the foundation of Jesus Christ) endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; (mark this:) but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." Question - if a believer's works are burned up yet they are still saved, how can salvation depend upon works ?

Answer 1

Dr. Boettner then gives us "Some Roman Catholic Heresies And Inventions" and the dates that these alleged "Apostolic" traditions were added to Roman Catholic theology &endash;
* Prayers for the dead, began about A.D. 300
* Making the sign of the cross 300
* Veneration of angels and dead saints, and use of images 375
* The Mass, as a daily celebration 394
* Beginning of the exaltation of Mary, the term "Mother of God" first applied to her by the Council of Ephesus 431
* Priests began to dress differently from laymen 500
* Extreme Unction 526
* The doctrine of Purgatory, established by Gregory I 593
* Latin used in prayer and worship, imposed by Gregory I 600
* Prayer directed to Mary, dead saints and angels, about 600
* Title of pope, or universal bishop, given to Boniface III 607
* Kissing the pope's foot, began with pope Constantine 709
* Worship of the cross, images and relics, authorized in 786
* Holy water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by a priest 850
* Canonization of dead saints, first by pope John XV 995
* The Mass, developed gradually as a sacrifice, attendance made obligatory in the 11th century
* Celibacy of the priesthood, decreed by pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) 1079
* The Rosary, mechanical praying with beads, invented by Peter the Hermit 1090
* Sale of Indulgences 1190
* Transubstantiation, proclaimed by pope Innocent III 1215
* Auricular Confession of sins to a priest instead of to
God, instituted by pope Innocent III, in Lateran Council 1215
* Bible forbidden to laymen, placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Council of Valencia 1229
* Purgatory proclaimed a dogma by Council of Florence 1439
* The doctrine of Seven Sacraments affirmed 1439
* Tradition declared of equal authority with the Bible by the Council of Trent 1545
* Apocryphal books added to the Bible by the Council of Trent 1546
* Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, proclaimed by pope Pius IX 1854
* Syllabus of Errors, proclaimed by pope Pitts IX, and ratified by the Vatican Council; condemned freedom of religion,conscience, speech, press, and scientific discoveries which are disapproved by the Roman Church; asserted the pope's temporal authority over all civil rulers 1864
* Infallibility of the pope in matters of faith and morals, proclaimed by the Vatican Council 1870
* Public Schools condemned by pope Pius XI 1930
* Assumption of the Virgin Mary (bodily ascension into heaven shortly after her death), proclaimed by pope Pius XII 1950
* Mary proclaimed Mother of the Church, by pope Paul VI 1965

And then Dr. Boettner concludes:
Add to these many others: monks - nuns -monasteries - convents - forty days Lent - holy week - Palm Sunday - Ash Wednesday - All Saints day - Candlemas day - fish day - meat days - incense - holy oil - holy palms - Christopher medals - charms - novenas - and still others.
There you have it - the melancholy evidence of Rome's steadily increasing departure from the simplicity of the Gospel, a departure so radical and far-reaching at the present time (1965) that it has produced a drastically anti-evangelical church. It is clear beyond possibility of doubt that the Roman Catholic religion as now practiced is the outgrowth of centuries of error. Human inventions have been substituted for Bible truth and practice. Intolerance and arrogance have replaced the love and kindness and tolerance that were the distinguishing qualities of the first century Christians, so that now in Roman Catholic countries Protestants and others who are sincere believers in Christ but who do not acknowledge the authority of the pope are subject to all kinds of restrictions and in some cases even forbidden to practice their religion. The distinctive attitude of the present day Roman Church was fixed largely by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), with its more than 100 anathemas or curses pronounced against all who then or in the future would dare to differ with its decisions.

"The Apocrypha refers to 14 or 15 books of doubtful authenticity and authority that the Roman Catholics decided belonged in the Bible sometime following the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Council of Trent (1545-1563) canonized these books. This canonization took place largely as a result of the Protestant Reformation. Indeed, Luther had criticized the Catholics for not having scriptural support fur such doctrines as praying for the dead. By canonizing the Apocrypha (which offers support for praying for the dead in 2 Maccabees 23:45-46), the Catholics suddenly had "scriptural" support for this and other distinctively Catholic doctrines.
Roman Catholics argue that the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) contained the Apocrypha. As well, church fathers like Iraneaus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria used the Apocryphal books in public worship and accepted them as Scripture. Further, it is argued, St. Augustine viewed these books as inspired.
Protestants respond by pointing out that even though some of the Apocryphal books may have been alluded to in the New Testament, no New Testament writer EVER quoted from ANY of these books as holy Scripture or gave them the slightest authority as inspired books. Jesus and the disciples virtually ignored these books, something that wouldn't have been the case if they had considered them to be inspired.
Moreover, even though certain church fathers spoke approvingly of the Apocrypha, there were other early church fathers - notable OrigIn and Jerome - who denied their inspiration. Further, even though the early Augustine acknowledged the Aprocrypha, in his later years he rejected these books as being outside the canon and considered them inferior to the Hebrew Scriptures.
The Jewish Council of Jamnia, which met in A.D. 90, rejected the Aprocrypha as Scripture. Combine all this with the fact that there are clear historical errors in the Aprocrypha (especially those relating to Tobit) and the fact that it contains unbiblical doctrines (like praying for the dead), and it is clear that these books do not belong in the Bible. In addition, unlike many of the biblical books, THERE IS NO CLAIM IN ANY APOCRYPHAL BOOK IN REGARD TO DIVINE INSPIRATION.
We are saved by grace, not by works, so that no one can boast.
We are saved by grace alone. Recall that in Acts 16:31 the jailer asked Paul and Silas how to be saved. They responded, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." The jailer believed and immediately became saved.
Close to 200 times in the New Testament salvation is said to be by faith alone - with no works in sight. Consider the following:
John 3:15 tells us that "everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
John 5:24 says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
In John 11:25 Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."
John 23:46 says, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."
John 20:31 says, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
If salvation were not by faith alone, then Jesus' message in the Gospel of John - manifest in the above quotations - would be deceptive, stating that there is one condition for salvation when there are allegedly two - faith and works.
I must emphasize that we are saved by faith for for works. Works are not the condition of our salvation, but a consequence of it We are saved not by works, but by the kind of faith that produces works.

Eph 2:8-10 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this: It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Answer 2

There's no doubt that Jesus founded only one church, and that he personally selected and trained only a small group of men to establish it, and that he endowed that church with power and authority that has virtually no limits.

There's no doubt he sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, to guide the church and to keep it from teaching or practicing in error, for as long as the church would continue on the earth.

He also promised that the gates of hell would never prevail against it, and he promised to stay with it until the end of time.

Anyone can easily locate the scriptural basis for all these statements and divine assurances.

But it's also clear that all of the above is true, solely due to the will of God, and that the church is not at all dependent on or subservient to the Bible, or scripture of any kind.

The writings of the early fathers along with abundant existing defacto evidence proves that the very same church has been known as Catholic since the early 2nd century.

It is also clear that no other Christian church existed for the first 1500 years or so, of modern (AD) history.

In opposition to this, we have the relatively recent and largely unscriptural teachings and practices of the Protestant reformers, who claim to operate on the principles of faith alone and scripture alone ... neither of which appear in the Bible .. and so fail to pose a formidable challenge to the truth of Catholicism, whose practices and beliefs have remained relatively unchanged for almost 2000 years.

I suggest that the divine forces that were operating in the beginning continue to operate today, that the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ continue to be powerfully engaged in the work, worship, and sacraments of the Catholic Church, and that they will continue to be true to their word, right up until the end.

This means that the Catholic Church, in spite of the known deficiencies and corruption of some who belong to it and govern it, will most certainly remain one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, as well as perfect and spotless in the sight of God, because it belongs to him, he dwells within it both spiritually and in substance, and because he wills it to be so.

Biblical Christianity?

Not the kind defined by those who showed up 1500 years after the fact, and attempted to rewrite history, after all the hardest work had been done, and the world had already been largely converted for Christ.

Catholicism is based on the whole truth of the word of God, as expressed by Jesus Christ, the apostles, the scriptures, and by the subtle nuances and the continuing inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in the ongoing life of the church, wherever it might exist in the world.

Answer 3

"And so I say to you, you are Peter, (aramaic 'kephas') and upon this rock (aramaic 'kephas') I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

So - we have here Jesus saying the church starts with Peter, that the church will not fail, and that the church has been delegated some authority. These, coincidentally, also are the precise claims of the Catholic church.

For a thousand years, there was no church but the Catholic church. Protestants would not come for 1600 years.

For people to say that the Catholic church is not a biblical church, you MUST assert - and there are no outs here, you must agree to this if you hold this position - that at some point Jesus lied and the church failed, despite his claim that it never would.

I can't call this one for you... all I know is I will not accuse my Lord of lying. If he said the church wouldn't fail, I'm going to have to take him on his word, and agree that there was a Christian church continuously from the time he said this. And however uncomfortable it may make some, I think we need to acknowledge which church exactly this was....

[And I'd simply add this: the church certainly never killed St. Augustine, who died a natural death in Hippo as a Catholic bishop in the 5th century. And the church characterized itself as Catholic three centuries before Constantine came along (St. Ignatius early 2nd century letter, 80 years after the crucifixion, does it first.)]

Answer 4

The Catholic church is a non-Christian cult that distorts the Word of God, and teaches dogma that contradicts God's Word.

The Catholic church teaches that Mary never sinned, but God's Word says ALL have sinned, and that includes Mary.

The Catholic church teaches that the pope is the head of God's church, but the head of God's church is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 5

I dont deny that there are true christians with the Catholic church just like any other denomination but some of the things in the catholic system itself are not Biblical and some go against the teaching from the Bible.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Catholics believe in many intercessors like Mary, Joseph and other"saints". It is quite ironical that they now use these saints like St Augustine's, Annah, Barnabas etc in their worship and yet it is the same church system that killed these people during the dark ages after labelling them as heretics.
Then there is the issue of the pope's infallabilty and that he is the vicar (representative) of the son of God on the earth. Jesus never used to have such riches and luxuries the vatican has today and he never had an intelligence unit which we have in the form of the Jesuits priests.
The catholic church is very much deeply engrossed in the politics of the world and detect the political issue world over just like the book of Daniel says through the dream Nebuchadnezzar had of the Image with a head of gold and down at the feet where it was iron and clay.
The Bible tells us not to call anyone "Father" save for our heavenly father but within the hierarchy of catholics there are fathers.
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
There have been books and other stories detailing the evil and henious deeds of catholicism such as Fox's book of Martyrs and A nun's confession amongst others.

Peter was not Catholic. Yes sir!! The Catholic Church was only a result of the Nicene council which was way after Peter has left. When Jesus said "Upon this rock will I build my church" he never meant Peter as a human being for God does not build his church on a man. He referred to Revelation and it is upon revelation of the word of God that the church is built upon and that is why Jesus said "flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you...." How could Peter be Catholic when the very core of the Catholic system is anti-christ in every way?

Answer 6

Roman Catholicism is not Biblical Christianity. I will give you the differences between your authority (The Catholic Catechism) [page numbers in brackets] and the Church's authority (The Holy Bible).

Salvation:
Justification is furthered by sacraments and good works [1212,1392,2010] while the Bible says: Justification is the imputation of the perfect righteousness of God ( 2 Cor 5:21)
In Christ the believer has been made complete (Col 2:10)

Justification is lost through mortal sin [1033,1855,1874] The Bible says Justification cannot be lost. Those whom God justifies will be saved from the wrath of God (Romans 5:8,9)

Grace is merited by good works [2010,2027] The Bible says Grace is a free gift (Romans 11:6

Venial sins do not incur eternal punishment [1855,1863] The Bible says every sin is punishable by eternal death (Rom 6:23)

Serious sins must be confessed to a priest [1456-1457] The Bible says sin is to be confessed directly to God (Ezra 10:11)

The priest forgives sin as a judge [1442,1461] The Bible says no one can forgive sin but God alone (Mark 2:7)

No one can know if he will attain to eternal life [1036, 2005] The Bible says the believer can know that he has eternal life by the Word of God (1 John 5:13)

Eternal life is a MERITED reward [1821,2010] The Bible says eternal life is the free gift of God (Rom 6:23)

The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation [846]
The Bible says there is salvation in no one but the Lord Jesus Christ, "for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Answer 7

It is a sect of Christianity that depends upon the Vatican for proper guidance and authority. The values of Catholicism, as determined by the Pope, do not necessarily reflect the true meaning of the Bible. A proper biblical understanding in the eyes of Unitarians requires a rejection of Catholic teaching, a careful reading of all the Dead Sea Scrolls, a proper knowledge of the Old Testament, the oral traditions of Jesus and the New Testament.

As well, we have absorbed elements of German Reform Judaism, universalism, Buddhism and the ideas of the Protestant Reformation. We cannot believe in the Holy Trinity, do not accept a literal hell, support world peace and civil rights, reject religious laws, believe in universal salvation and reject Calvinism.

Answer 8

Catholics believe Jesus is God,
Protestants believe Jesus is God.

Notice what Jesus told Biblical Christians 60 yrs after his resurrection:

Rev 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. - 12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Who is Jesus' God? What is the name of his God that he will write on Christians?

Ex 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Paul said: 1 Cor 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

If Jesus is equal to God, then man is equal to Jesus, and this is 30 yrs after Jesus was resurrected.

(If man is equal to Jesus, then man is equal to God, never may that happen to quote Paul)

Who is the God of Jesus according to the Apostle John's comment?

Rev 1:6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

On the testimony of two witnesses, John and Jesus, Jesus wants us to worship his God.

According to Jesus and John, True Christians become priests to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Catholics believe immortality of the soul,
Protestants believe immortality of the soul.

See what Biblical Christians understand.

Ez 18: 4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

John 3:16"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Eternal life is a reward, the punishment for sin is death or to perish or be destroyed as other bibles say.

Gen 2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Men are souls, they do not have souls.

Biblical Christians leave the judging to Jesus.

Paul said at Phil 3:13Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus

If Paul did not consider himself saved, why would Bibical Christians presume salvation.

Jesus at Matt 24: 13"But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

Jesus at Rev 3:14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:
15'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

16'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

17'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,

Biblical Christians know that it is not their decision if they are saved or not.

Biblical Christians follow Peter's counsel:

2 Pet 3:14Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
.

Answer 9

Not.
They are two entirely different religions.

The Romans executed Christ. They executed Peter, and in fact it wasn't until 325 years AFTER Christ was crucified that the Roman Emperor stopped the persecution of Christians, and adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Empire.

Answer 10

to answer this question lets compare the catechism [official book of roman catholic doctrine (teachings)] to the bible..
the catholic church teaches if you're a catholic you are Jesus christ, God,and a god
"Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself. Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ." Pg. 210, #795
"For the Son of man became man so that we might become God." Pg. 116, #460
"The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods." Pg. 116, #460
the bible says: "… I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me," Isaiah 46:9
"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." 1 Corinthians 8:6

moving along,

the catholic church teaches salvation through works
"Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved." Pg. 222, #837
These works include baptism (pg. 320, #1257), various sacraments (pg. 292, #1129) plus many additional works.

but the bible says
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" Titus 3:5

i could go on foreveron this, but why not just check it out for yourself.

no its not biblical, it actually teaches things that are gaurenteed to damn your soul to hell. and you can learn more by reading this book online for free http://www.chick.com/reading/books/160/160cont.asp

Answer 11

Well, since they actually canonized the Bible, I don't see how it matters. I'll be critical on a lot of things, but being critical of their scriptural literalism seems uniquely self-defeating with regard to Catholicism.