Do you think the Catholic Church follows too many of its own doctrines and should rely more on the Bible?

Question

I am a practicing Catholic. I have read a great deal of the Bible, and some of the doctrines held by the Catholic Church perplex me. While I can appreciate the symbolism of receiving Communion and confession and going to mass, I have never read in the Bible where Jesus asks us to regularly do these things. I know most Catholics will say that the Church is passed down from Peter, but it seems somewhere along the lines Jesus' message has been lost and more emphasis has been on following the Church and its doctrines rather than what Jesus asks of us.

Answer 1

Regarding Confession

Jesus himself was able to heal not only the physically sick, but the spiritually sick as well. Christ had the power to forgive sins (see Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:5-12).

He passed on that power to forgive sins in his name to his Apostles.

"Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father." (Matthew 18:18-19)

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I sent you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:21-23)

Jesus entrusted his Church with the power of forgiving sins through this most wonderful sacrament. The priest is simply the one who acts in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) in the confessional, but it is our Lord who forgives our sins. The priest grants absolution (sets us free from our sins) using the power Jesus entrusted to his Church. It is through Christ, however, that our sins are forgiven.

St. Paul tells us, "And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us." (2 Corinthians 5: 18-20)

Regarding Eucharist



Cor 11:23-29
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Answer 2

You must elaborate. Be specific and list the Catholic beliefs and practices you feel are not supported in Scripture.

Answer 3

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. (John 16:12-13)

Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

We instruct you, brothers, in the name of (our) Lord Jesus Christ,to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6)

I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you. (1 Corinthians 11:2)

The Catholic Church does not use Holy Scripture as the only basis of doctrine. It could not. The early Catholic church existed before and during the time that the New Testament was written (by Catholics).

There were hundreds of Christian writings during the first and second centuries. Which New Testament writings would become official was not fully decided until about 400 C.E.

Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit was guiding the early church (and is guiding the church today) to make the correct choices about things like:
+ The Holy Trinity (which is also only hinted at in the Bible)
+ Going to church on Sunday instead of Saturday (which is actually directly against one of the Ten Commandments)
+ The Communion of Saints
+ Which writings include in the New Testament?

Things that are even more modern like
+ Slavery is bad. Slavery is never declared evil in the Bible. This was one of the justifications for slavery in the Confederate States.
+ Democracy is good. The Bible states that either God should be the leader of the nation like Israel before the kings or kings should be the leader, "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's." This was talked about a lot during the American Revolution.

This second source of doctrine is called Apostolic Tradition.

Do Christians who do not allow the continuing guiding force of the Holy Spirit to make their beliefs more and more perfect, still endorse slavery as Colossians 3:22 commands, "Slaves, obey your human masters in everything"?

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 80 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.htm#80

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

yes

Answer 5

I think you don't understand the Church very well. Perhaps you should sit down with someone from your parish and voice your concerns.

Answer 6

helo, i m a muslim. i've been research lots in christianityb especially in the concept of trinity and salvation. those doctrines were been made by human itself, and the doctrines itself were been created by the pope who is the high priest for the catholics.

Answer 7

The RCC removed itself from Biblically, sound doctrine in the Dark Ages. That is when paganistic beliefs were inculcated into the RCC. Much of what they teach is reliant on "tradition", not Scripture. I would strongly advise you to do as I did, stick with the Scriptures, learn of them, use the Scriptures as your measuring rod. If what they teach cannot be backed up by Scripture, then it is to be discarded. If you continue on the learning path, God will call you out of the RCC and into a Bible believing assembly. I pray it will be soon for you.

Answer 8

I think and believe, we all need to not worry about denomination and bible translations but follow the bible and what Jesus teaches us. That's more important than following religion and doctrine.

...but that is just me.

Blessings, peace and grace is for everyone!

Answer 9

yes. a lot of their doctrine does NOT fall into the line of God.

read the word of God..it's all there. what God instructs us to do is all there.

the prayer to saints, infancy baptism, confession...the list goes on.

Answer 10

Absolutely. Also the Baptists, and all the others.

Answer 11

What part of Catholic doctrine are you not finding in the Bible?

Apart from a couple of things like the Immacualte Conception, everything is Biblically based, unless you're reading a Protestant Bible where the Catholic parts are taken out.

It's not like the Protestants haven't invented their own stuff. Where are "personal relationship with Jesus Christ," "Slain in the spirit" and "rapture" found in the Bible?