Convert me: If the Catholic Church is the True Religion, Why?

Question

Does the Bible Teach?
1. Why does it condemn clerical dress? (Matt. 23:5-6).
2. Why does it teach against the adoration of Mary? (Luke 11:27-28).
3. Why does it show that all Christians are priests? (1 Pet. 2:5,9).
4. Why does it teach that all Christians are saints? (1 Cor. 1:2).
5. Why does it condemn the making and adoration of images? (Ex. 20:4-5).
6. Why does it teach that baptism is immersion instead of pouring? (Col. 2:12).
7. Why does it forbid us to address religious leaders as "father"? (Matt. 23:9).
8. Why does it teach that Christ is the only foundation and not the apostle Peter? (1 Cor. 3:11).
9. Why does it teach that there is one mediator instead of many? (1 Tim. 2:5).
10. Why does it teach that a bishop must be a married man? (1 Tim. 3:2, 4-5).
11. Why is it opposed to the primacy of Peter? (Luke 22:24-27).
12. Why does it oppose the idea of purgatory? (Luke 16:26).
13. Why does it oppose repeative prays, such as 10 "Hail Mary's" (Matt. 6:7)

Ouroboros, Why are you calling me a Hyprocrate? What example have you?

I always get alot of Catholic's to respond to my "Catholic Questions", Now I have Silence. What Happened? Did the Scriptures bit your tonuge? I hope Catholics can research the scriptures, and use facts to choose their religion. Being a Christian truely is the way, but only if its according to the bible, which is inspired instructions from God.

Ouroboso: God made "Satan". He was perfect in Heaven. He was beautiful. Satan had free will. He choose to go against God. He didn't make him evil. Satan fell to Earth. He is awaiting Judgement day, just like the rest of us. But he wants to take as many people with him to burn in Hell first!!!

Mary is truly Blessed Among Woman.

The Catholic Church Truly Worships Mary. She seems to be in the line of Jesus by Catholics Standards. She is Dead. Where in the Holy Bible does it say to pray to someone who is dead, so they can pray for you? Jesus is the only Mediator between God and Man. Sure someone alive can pray, but the Dead, Know not anything! We are to pray for one another, but the Dead can’t pray for us. We are not to call on the dead. The bible forbids that.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

I can’t Believe I am reading that…The bible is not angaisnt Graven Images? Sure you can make an image, but not to Bow down to it. That’s what Catholics Do.

Levitcus 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.

Deuteronomy 4:16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

Exodus 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.
5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
OK, GOD COMMANDED TO MAKE ANGELS ON THE ARK. Where did he command to make all those GRAVEN IMAGES, that Catholic’s “RESPECT”, but not pray to, wait, you do pray to them, ok you don’t Worship them, Wait, Praying to Them and Showing Repsect, while bowing down, Sure seems like worship to the Rest of Us. Seems like Catholics wants to confuse the rest of us, but I am not confused.

NO GRAVEN IMAGES, means not praying to them, or showing respect (as if it’s a person), no bowing down. Time and time again, you Catholics bow down to them. I was a Catholic, most of my family are still. They bow down to them, pray to dead Saints, Throw big Parties to Dead Saints, sure sounds like more worshipping to me.

Yes I was jesting as the last comment said, I dont' indend to be converted back to a Catholic. It would be like a Dog vomitting then going back to eat it up. I will not be lied to, sorry. I use this question more to learn what a Catholic thinks who KNOWLYING bows down to Graven Images, when its clear that the bible states not to. They call it interpretation, yet it needs non.

Such Scriptures like DEUTERONOMY 4:15,16

15Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

16Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

We all know that God is male, yet we don't know how he looks like. We can't make images of him and bow down.

If God wanted you to make images of him or anybody in the bible he would have stated to. The Ark was commanded to make, but never worship. NO ONE EVER DID THAT

Answer 1

I've ofter wondered about all that myself. Why do they pray to Mary? Many of my friends and family are Catholic and go to church every Sunday, yet know nothing of whats in the bible. It just seems too ritualistic to me, and Jesus had a real problem with the Pharisees rituals.

Answer 2

Ok. For the sake of clarity I'm a Catholic. This answer is going to be long, but since your question was sorta long i'm hoping you won't mind. If you've done all the biblical research that's in your question (alot!) then you'll probably be interested in this.

1. Jesus is not condemning clerical dress here. He's deploring the hollow pomp of the Pharisees, showing off in front of everyone. If you're right and he's condemning dress, then why did God command the Levites to make clerical dress? Exodus 39:1

2. First of all, Jesus here says nothing about reverence towards Mary. But that's kinda besides the point... because Catholics don't worship Mary. You've heard we do, but we don't. If you're a Protestant I'm sure your pastor has prayed for the church, or you've asked someone to pray for you. That's all we do with Mary (and the saints)- on her own power she can give us nothing, but she prays to God for us, and she- the most perfect woman to ever walk the earth- deserves our veneration because of her holiness. But not worship, of course.

3. If everyone was a priest, why did Pual command Titus to appoint elders (in some translations, presbyters- Titus 1:5), why did Paul discuss the responsibilities of bishops (Titus 1:7-10), and why did Paul himself appoint elders (Acts 14:23)?

4. Actually this verse of Corinthians says "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints..." The Catholic Church believes that all are called to be saints, and that all those in Heaven are saints, whether we know it or not. It just declares some of them officially.

5. If God forbids graven images, why, in this same book, does God command Moses to make two cherubim of of gold (Ex 25:18-19), graven images which he just forbade? Because God does not want us to make idols to worship. On the other hand, images and statues used to lift our minds to God, as the cherubim on the Ark, are lawful.

6. This verse doesn't say anything about immersion, it just talks about our former selves dying and being buried through baptism. That doesn't require immersion though.

7. If Jesus was saying you can't call anyone father, then why do the first martyr, Stephen (Acts 7:2), St. Paul (Acts 22:1, 1 Cor 4:14-15), and St. John (1 Jn 2:13) all call someone father?

8. Peter alone is not the foundation- Christ made him the foundation. In Mt 16:18, Jesus says in no uncertain terms that He will build His church on Peter. I think He meant it. (By the way, don't be confused by the Greek Petros/petra argument- Jesus didn't speak Greek, but Aramaic. In that language the word for 'Peter' and the word for 'rock' are the same.

9. Read the verses before this one: 1 Tim 2:1-4. Paul says God wants us to pray to Him, as intercessors for one another. And like I said before, asking someone to pray for you, whether a saint or Mary or your best friend, isn't diminishing Jesus at all, becuase all prayers go through Him anyway.

10. The early Church allowed marriage for bishops, but doesn't any more. Look at 1 Cor 7:32-35 (and earlier) showing that celibacy is allowed.

11. Jesus, who gave Peter his primacy, isn't opposing it here. He's saying that most humble is the greatest among men. That doesn't mean you can't have authority. It just means if you have it, you gotta be REALLY humble.

12. This verse only talks about the separation of Heaven and Hell; it does not refute purgatory. In 2 Macc 12:44-46 it speaks of atonement for the dead, and in 1 Peter 3:18-19 it says that after His death Jesus spoke to the spirits in prison. Also, if nothing imperfect shall enter Heaven (Rev 21:27) and none of us are perfect (Jam 3:2), can we get into Heaven if we're mostly good but still have sin? No way that's going to happen, unless there's Purgatory, a place for those who loved GOd but still have sin, to purge them before they enter Heaven.

13. Ok, last one, lol. If we aren't supposed to pray the same thing, then why does Jesus do it? "So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words." (Mt 26:44). The angels do it too- Rev 4:8. Jesus forbade us from babbling like the pagans, who thought that the louder they were and the longer they talked, the more their gods would listen. But God hears even the smallest prayer, and Jesus prayed repetitiously, so the 10 Hail Marys follow Jesus's example.

Anyway, hope that this answered some of your questions.

Answer 3

the bible says 'not to worship graven images'. as people above have pointed out, yet you seem to ignore, that the bible does say its ok to have images, but not worshipped ones ie, its ok to have a pic of the person you're writing a letter to, so as to help you write the letter. its a reminder.

mary is regarded as a saint, and prayed to like other saints. the bible does state that saints can intercede(and the bowls were filled with the prayers of the holy ones-Rev) the bible also says mary is something special (hail mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee-how gabriel greeted mary)(blessed are you amost women-what mary's sister said to her)

and the 'saints are dead' argument is, well, bad. 'so that whoever believeth in Him might not perish but have everlasting life'. hmm, what does 'everlasting life' mean?

one last thing, Catholics do not bow to images, and if they do, its out of respect, of what that image represents, not worship. like kissing a bible when picking it up, something many, if not most protestant denominations do. that act would be idol worship. is it? no, its respect out of what the bible is.

Answer 4

>>1. Why does it condemn clerical dress? (Matt. 23:5-6).<<

You are seriously reaching to find a condemnation of clerical dress in that. Phylacteries and tassels were/are not clerical wear. Even if they were, Jesus Himself wore a tassel (Matthew 9:20), and since He gave the Apostles the authority to act in His name, that would actually support the use of clerical wear.

>>2. Why does it teach against the adoration of Mary? (Luke 11:27-28).<<

Now you are pitting the book of Luke against the book of Luke. Elizabeth calls Mary "blessed" (Luke 1:42), and Mary says, "all generations will call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). Catholics do not offer Mary latria (worship to be directed only to God).

>>3. Why does it show that all Christians are priests? (1 Pet. 2:5,9).<<

The Catholic Church also teaches that. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P28.HTM

>>4. Why does it teach that all Christians are saints? (1 Cor. 1:2).<<

The Catholic Church also teaches that. See http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p5.htm

>>5. Why does it condemn the making and adoration of images? (Ex. 20:4-5).<<

"The honor paid to sacred images is a 'respectful veneration,' NOT the adoration due to God alone" http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7F.HTM

>>6. Why does it teach that baptism is immersion instead of pouring? (Col. 2:12).<<

http://www.catholic.com/library/Baptism_Immersion_Only.asp

>>7. Why does it forbid us to address religious leaders as "father"? (Matt. 23:9).<<

It doesn't. St. Paul refers to himself as our father. http://www.scripturecatholic.com/the_priesthood.html

>>8. Why does it teach that Christ is the only foundation and not the apostle Peter? (1 Cor. 3:11).<<

The Catholic Church also teaches that. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P27.HTM

>>9. Why does it teach that there is one mediator instead of many? (1 Tim. 2:5).<<

The Catholic Church also teaches that. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P98.HTM

>>10. Why does it teach that a bishop must be a married man? (1 Tim. 3:2, 4-5).<<

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/the_priesthood.html#priesthood-IV

>>11. Why is it opposed to the primacy of Peter? (Luke 22:24-27).<<

That was before Jesus left Peter in charge. Read John 21:15-17.

>>12. Why does it oppose the idea of purgatory? (Luke 16:26).<<

http://www.scripturecatholic.com/purgatory.html

>>13. Why does it oppose repeative prays, such as 10 "Hail Mary's" (Matt. 6:7)<<

Jesus HIMSELF prayed repetitively: "And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words." (Mark 14:39). The people Jesus was talking about thought the mere words themselves would be effective.

Answer 5

Convert you? Surely you jest. You're not of honest and contrite heart to convert to Catholicism, you just want to demean it.

Here's some advise: Rather than rely on your own personal interpretation of a few conveniently hand-picked Bible vereses, and questionable interpretation, you might do better to obtain a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It contains the teaches, beliefs, and traditions of the Catholic Church. What's more, it cross-references it's content with that of the Bible, so you will know exactly where certain teachings originate.

Answer 6

"Catholicism is a messed up form of Christianity.I wouldnt reccomend it."
--

..and, Christianity is a messed up form of reality. There is NO such thing as a god, or a prophet, or a son of a god.

The bible is a fictional book and nothing more. Some of the stories are interested but poorly written.

To be converted to Christianity is like being hit over the head so hard with a brick you can lo longer think straight and have to recieve the help of others to get by.

Answer 7

Go fornicate yourself hypocrite. I suppose worshiping a masochist God is any better?

You attack Catholicism for pity reasons yet you refuse to ask yourself the big questions like "Why would people go to Hell for acting out of fear?", "If hate and aggression are defense mechanisms, why are they evil?", "Why would God send me to Hell even if I were a loving person?", "Why must I worship God when it is my parents who gave me life?", "How can I respect and admire my fellow man when I will ignore their suffering in the afterlife?", "Why does God want to take away my pain when pain has created so much beauty?", "Why should our fellow man burn in Hell so God can feel loved?", "Why does God send most of His creation to Hell when He could've just as easily created them in Heaven?", "What is the point of eternal bliss, you cannot be creative without discontent?", "Does a judgmental God really exist or has man created one to control himself?", "Do I really know God or do I know what I'm told?"

Answer 8

Catholicism is a messed up form of Christianity.I wouldnt reccomend it.