The Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in Rome, Italy, has its own powerful City-State, the Vatican, and claims over 968 million members worldwide and 60 million in the U.S. and Canada (as of 1996). (Catholic membership figures are considerably misleading, though, in that they count as members every person who has been baptized Catholic, including millions of people who were baptized as infants but who are not practicing Catholics.) The Roman Catholic Church, in its pagan form, unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called "miraculous conversion" to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 A.D., Constantine, from 312 A.D. until his death in 337, was engaged in the process of simultaneously building pagan temples and Christian churches, and was slowly turning over the reigns of his pagan priesthood to the Bishop of Rome. However, the family of Constantine did not give up the last vestige of his priesthood until after the disintegration of the Roman Empire -- that being the title the emperors bore as heads of the pagan priesthood -- Pontifex Maximus -- a title which the popes would inherit. (The popes also inherited Constantine's titles as the self-appointed civil head of the church -- Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Bishops.)
Prior to the time of Constantine's "conversion,"
Christians were persecuted not so much for their profession
of faith in Christ, but because they would not include pagan
deities in their faith as well. Then, with Constantine's
emphasis on making his new-found Christianity palatable to
the heathen in the Empire, the "Christianization"
of these pagan deities was facilitated. For example, pagan
rituals and idols gradually took on Christian meanings and
names and were incorporated into "Christian"
worship (e.g., "saints" replaced the cult of pagan
gods in both worship and as patrons of cities; mother/son
statues were renamed Mary and Jesus; etc.), and pagan
holidays were reclassified as Christian holy days (e.g., the
Roman Lupercalia and the feast of purification of Isis became
the Feast of the Nativity; the Saturnalia celebrations were
replaced by Christmas celebrations; an ancient festival of
the dead was replaced by All Souls Day, rededicated to
Christian heroes [now Halloween]; etc.). A transition had
occurred -- instead of being persecuted for failure to
worship pagan deities, Christians who did not agree with the
particular orthodoxy backed by the Emperor were now
persecuted in the name of Christ! "Christianized"
Rome had become the legitimate successor of pagan Rome! This
is the sad origin of the Roman Catholic Church.
Below are the highlights of what Catholics believe concerning
their source of authority; God, Christ, and Mary; salvation
and the sacraments; and heaven and hell. So much more could
be said concerning not only the items listed below, but also
concerning other areas of Catholic teaching (such as the
claims of the Roman priesthood and its supposed origin in the
Apostles; the nature of the pope's alleged infallibility and
the supposed origin of his office in the Apostle Peter; the
nature of the Confessional; the doctrine of
penance/indulgences; practices concerning rituals,
ceremonies, and relics; the doctrine of Celibacy; policies on
marriage and divorce; the role of the parochial school;
etc.). Excellent reference sources for a thorough treatment
of Catholicism’s origins, beliefs, and practices would
be Roman Catholicism (466 pgs.) and A Woman Rides
the Beast (544 pgs.).
1. Source of Authority. With respect to the
Bible, Catholics accept the apocryphal books in addition to
the 66 books of the Protestant Bible. They also accept
tradition and the teaching of the Catholic Church as
authoritative and at least equal to that of the Bible (cf.
Mk. 7:8,9,13; Matt. 15:3,6,9; Col. 2:8). With respect to
papal infallibility, Catholics believe that ecumenical
councils of bishops and the pope are immune from error when
speaking ex cathedra about faith and morals
(i.e., "from the chair" -- by sole virtue of
position or the exercise of an office). (And by
"infallible," Catholics mean much more than merely
a simple, de facto absence of error -- it is
positive perfection, ruling out the possibility
of error. In actuality, Roman Catholicism places itself
above Scripture; i.e., it teaches that the Roman Catholic
Church produced the Bible and that the pope is Christ's vicar
on earth. Catholics also maintain the belief in
sacerdotalism -- that an ordained Catholic priest has the
power to forgive sins (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5). This of
course is a false teaching because no one can forgive sin
other then God Himself (Mark 2:7). The Word of God is
the ONLY true source of truth, not church tradition.
2. Jesus Christ. Catholicism teaches that
Christ is God, but they, nevertheless, do not believe that
Christ's death paid the full penalty for sin; i.e.,
they believe that those who qualify for heaven must still
spend time in purgatory to atone for sin (cf. John. 19: 30;
Hebrews 10:11,12). There is nothing taught in the Bible
about purgatory. Catholics diminish Christ's deity (as
do other cults), but in a different manner; instead of
bringing Christ low by denying his deity, Catholics elevate
Mary high in an attempt to make her equal with Christ, this
is heresy.
3. Mary. The Catholic Church gives
honor and adoration to Mary that the Scriptures do not; she
is readily referred to as "holy," the "Mother
of God," and has been dubbed the
"Co-Redemptrix," thereby making her an object of
idolatrous worship (e.g., the rosary has ten prayers to Mary
for each two directed to God). In 1923, Pope Pius XI
sanctioned Pope Benedict XV's (1914-1922) pronouncement that
Mary suffered with Christ, and that with Him, she redeemed
the human race. And Pope Pius XII officially designated Mary
the "Queen of Heaven" and "Queen of the
World." Catholics claim not only that Mary was perfectly
sinless from conception, even as Jesus was (doctrine of
Immaculate Conception, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854),
but that the reason she never sinned at any time during her
life was because she was unable to sin (cf. Luke
1:46,47; Rom. 3:10,23; 5:12; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 1:8,10).
Catholics also believe that Mary was a perpetual virgin (cf.
Ps. 69:8; Matt. 1:24,25; 13:54-56; Mk. 6:3; John 7:5), and
that she was assumed, body and soul, into heaven (doctrine of
Assumption of Mary, declared ex cathedra by Pope
Pius XII in November of 1950 -- that Mary was raised from the
dead on the third day after her death, and anyone who refuses
to believe this has committed a mortal sin). The
consequence of all this veneration of Mary, in effect,
establishes her authority above Christ's -- Rome
says, "He came to us through Mary and we must go to Him
through her." All this is so obviously idolatrous,
one wonders why Catholics take offense when their religious
affections are called cultic. Exodus 20:4,5 (the
Ten Commandments) strictly forbids bowing down to any
likeness of anything in heaven (this includes Mary).
It's the 2nd command, read it for yourself! It's the
same Scripture found in the Catholic Bible, so why do they
disobey God?
4. Salvation. Catholics teach
that a person is saved through the Roman Catholic Church and
its sacraments, especially through baptism; they do not
believe that salvation can be obtained by grace through faith
in Christ alone, but that baptism is essential
to salvation. Catholics believe that no one outside the
Catholic Church can be saved (Unum Sanctum) (cf.
John 5:24; Ephesians 2: 8,9; Galatians 2:21; Romans
3:22,23). They also believe that one's own suffering
can expiate the sin's of himself and of others, so
that what Christ's suffering was not able to achieve, one can
achieve by his own works and the works of others (Vatican
II). These are all lies of the Catholic church!
The thief on the cross was never baptized. The Apostle
Paul said Jesus had not sent him to baptize, but to preach
the gospel (1st Corinthians 1:17). Jesus didn't baptize
(John 4:2).
5. Sacraments. Catholics have seven sacraments:
baptism, confirmation, Eucharist (mass),
penance/reconciliation (indulgences), extreme unction (last
rights), marriage, and orders (ordination). Although not even
formally decreed until the Council of Florence in 1439, the
Council of Trent later declared all to be anathema whom do
not hold Rome's position that it was Christ Himself who
instituted these seven sacraments! (The idea behind the
sacraments is that the shedding of Christ's Blood in His
death upon the cross is of no value unless it is somehow
dispensed and applied "sacramentally" by the
Catholic priesthood.) Although Catholics believe that the
first five sacraments are indispensable for salvation
(because without any one of them, a mortal sin has been
committed), baptism is considered the most important.
Catholics believe that a person enters into the spiritual
life of the Church through baptism; i.e., baptismal
regeneration -- that a person can be saved through baptism
(actually, 'on the road to salvation,' because Catholics
never know exactly when they are saved). They practice infant
baptism because they believe baptism erases original sin (cf.
John 3:18). Titus 3:5 makes clear that we cannot be
saved by works, "Not by works of
righteousness..." There are NO sacraments taught
in the Bible. Nothing is essential for our salvation
other than simple child-like faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
as personal Saviour to forgive our sins.
6. The Mass. Unknown in the early church,
the mass did not become an official doctrine until pronounced
by the Lateran Council of 1215 under the direction of Pope
Innocent III, and reaffirmed by the Council of Trent. The
Church of Rome holds that the mass is a continuation of the
sacrifice that Christ made on Calvary -- in effect a
re-crucifixion of Christ over and over again in an unbloody
manner (cf. Hebrews 9:22; 1 John 1:7). They believe
that by this means Christ offers Himself again and again as a
sacrifice for sin (cf. Hebrews 7:27; 9:12,25,26;
10:10,12,14,18), and that this sacrifice is just as
efficacious to take away sin as was the true sacrifice on
Calvary. Catholics thus teach the doctrine of transubstantiation
(meaning a change of substance) -- that the bread and
wine (at communion) actually become (by the power of
the priest!) the body and blood of Christ, which is then
worshiped as God Himself! Indeed, the sacrifice of the mass
is the central point of Catholic worship, as
evidenced by the fact that those abstaining from attending
mass are considered to have committed a mortal sin. Of
course, holy communion is not taught in the Bible. The
Bible teaches the "Lord's supper" which was simply
an ordinance that Christ initiated for believers to do in
remembrance of Him, no more. There is nothing magical
about the Lord's supper. Nothing changes into
anything. It is simply a time to remember Christ in an
official church manner, Jesus is NOT dying again. The
book of Hebrews tells us repeatedly that Jesus died
"once" for all.
7. Purgatory. Of pagan origin, the Roman
Church proclaimed purgatory as an article of faith in 1439 at
the Council of Florence, and it was confirmed by Trent in
1548. The Catholic Church teaches that even those
"who die in the state of grace" (i.e., saved and
sins forgiven) must still spend an indefinite time being
purged/purified (i.e., expiated of sins/cleansed for
heaven). Technically, this "purging" can
occur in this life rather than in purgatory itself, but as a
practical matter, purgatory is the best the average Catholic
can hope for. Some Catholics will admit that the doctrine of
purgatory is not based on the Bible, but on Catholic
tradition (which, by Catholic standards, is equally
authoritative) (cf. John 5:24; Luke 23:43; 1 John 1:7,9;
Phil. 1:23). (Others teach that it is based upon the
interpretation of several Scriptural texts -- 1 Corinthians
3:15; 1 Peter 1:7; 3:19; Matt. 12:31.) They teach that those
in purgatory can be helped by the prayers and good works of
those on earth (which would include the "purchase"
of masses and/or other indulgences), but they are not certain
how these prayers and works are applied (cf. 2 Peter 1:9;
Hebrews 1:3; John 3:18; 19:30; 2 Corinthians
5:6-8).
8. The Church Councils. There have been
three major Roman Catholic Councils: Council of Trent
(1545-1563), Vatican I (1869-1870), and Vatican II
(1962-1965). The last Council, Vatican II, offered no new
doctrines nor repudiated any essential teaching of the Roman
Church; it referred to Trent dozens and dozens of times,
quoted Trent's proclamations as authority, and reaffirmed
Trent on every hand. Even the New Catholic Catechism
(1992/1994) cites Trent no less than 99 times! There is
not the slightest hint that the proclamations of the Council
of Trent have been abrogated by Rome. At the opening of
the Second Vatican council, Pope John XXIII stated, "I
do accept entirely all that has been decided and declared at
the Council of Trent," and all of the Catholic leaders
who attended Vatican II signed a document containing this
statement. (The current pope, Pope John Paul II, has even
cited the Council of Trent as authority for his blasphemous
position on Mary.):
Council of Trent -- The Council of Trent was held in an attempt to destroy the progress of the Protestant Reformation; it approved many superstitious and unbiblical beliefs of the Middle Ages (all to be believed under the threat of "anathema"):
(a) Denied every doctrine of the Reformation, from Sola Scriptura to "salvation by grace through faith alone";
(b) Pronounced 125 anathemas (i.e., eternal damnation) upon anyone believing what evangelicals believe and preach today;
(c) Equal value and authority of tradition and Scripture (in actuality, tradition is held above Scripture);
(d) Scriptures for the priesthood only (prohibited to anyone in the laity without written permission from one's superior -- to violate this was [and still is in most "Catholic countries" today] considered a mortal sin);
(e) Seven sacraments;
(f) Communion by eating the bread only (not drinking the wine);
(g) Purgatory;
(h) Indulgences;
(i) The Mass as a propitiatory offering.
Vatican I
(a) Defined the infallibility of the pope;
(b) Confirmed Unum Sanctum (no salvation outside of the Catholic Church).
Vatican II-- made no new doctrines, nor did it change or repudiate any old ones; Trent and Vatican I stand as is (i.e., Vatican II verified and validated all the anathemas of Trent). Vatican II reaffirmed such Roman heresies as papal supremacy; the Roman priesthood; the mass as an unbloody sacrifice of Christ; a polluted sacramental gospel; Catholic tradition on equal par with Scripture; Mary as the Queen of Heaven and co-Redemptrix with Christ; auricular confession; Mariolatry; pilgrimages to "holy shrines"; purgatory; prayers to and for the dead; etc. (Although the restriction against laity reading the Scriptures has been removed, it is still a mortal sin for a Roman Catholic anywhere to read any Protestant version of the Bible. That the real attitude of the Vatican toward the Bible has not changed is shown by the fact that in 1957 the depot of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Madrid, Spain was closed and its stock of Bibles confiscated and burned.)
(a) Reaffirmed the infallibility of the pope (and even when he does not speak ex-cathedra, all Catholics must still give complete submission of mind and will to what he says);
(b) Divided Catholic doctrine into that which is essential core of theology, and must be received by faith, and that which is still an undefined body of theology which Catholics may question and debate without repudiating their essential Catholicism;
(c) Established 20 complex rules concerning when and how any indulgence may be obtained, and condemned "with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them ... [for] the task of winning salvation."
A Sampling of the Anathemas (curses) of Trent:
If any one shall deny that the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore entire Christ, are truly, really, and substantially contained in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist; and shall say that He is only in it as a sign, or in a figure, or virtually -- let him be accursed (Canon 1).
If any one shall say that the substance of the bread and wine remains in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall deny that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, the outward forms of the bread and wine still remaining, which conversion the Catholic Church most aptly calls transubstantiation -- let him be accursed (Canon 2).
If any man shall say that Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is not to be adored in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, even with the open worship of latria, and therefore not to be venerated with any peculiar festal celebrity, nor to be solemnly carried about in processions according to the praiseworthy, and universal rites and customs of the holy Church, and that he is not to be publicly set before the people to be adored, and that his adorers are idolaters -- let him be accursed (Canon 6).
If anyone shall say that the ungodly man is justified by faith only so as to understand that nothing else is required that may cooperate to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is in no wise necessary for him to be prepared and disposed by the motion of his own will ... let him be accursed (Canon 9).
If anyone shall say that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in the divine mercy pardoning sins for Christ's sake, or that it is that confidence alone by which we are justified ... let him be accursed (Canon 12).
These traditions which began at the Council of Trent are all heresies, NOT based upon the Word of God! Catholicism is a pagan religion, far far from the truth of God's Word. They have churchianity without Christianity!
In the Catholic Catechism (part 3) you'll read the following words of blasphemy...
"2132 The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, "the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype," and "whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it."[70] The honor paid to sacred images is a "respectful veneration," not the adoration due to God alone: "
First of all, not bowing to a graven image is the 2nd command, not the first. The evil men who wrote the Catholic Catechism deceitfully split the 10th commandment into two to make up for the missing 2nd commandment. Why are there two commandments telling us not to covet? Seems kind of strange don't you think? It's obvious what the devil has done here. You can't just eradicate the 2nd commandment!
Secondly, the quoted passage from the Catechism above is blasphemy. God clearly warns us in Exodus 20:4-5 NOT to make unto ourselves ANY graven images. The brazen serpent was God's idea, not Moses. God never told us ANYWHERE in the Word of God to make a statue of anyone or anything. The Israelites were instructed to "look" to the serpent (which pictured Christ) and live. The people were NOT instructed to bow, honor, or pray to a statue. The Catholics can devilishly call their idolatry "Respectful Veneration" if they want to, but it's a direct violation of the 2nd Commandment (which you don't have in Catholicism).
"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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God..." -Exodus 20:4,5
And doctrine to be true must conform to the Word of God. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20)
At the Reformation in the 16th Century these heresies were repudiated as having no part in the Religion of Jesus as taught in the New Testament.
| Heresy | Date |
| OF ALL THE HUMAN TRADITIONS taught and practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, which are contrary to the Bible, the most ancient are the prayers for the dead and the sign of the Cross. Both began 300 years after Christ. | 310 |
| Wax Candles introduced in church. about | 320 |
| Veneration of angels and dead saints. | 375 |
| The Mass, as a daily celebration, adopted. | 394 |
| The worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the use of the term, "Mother of God", as applied to her, originated in the Council of Ephesus | 431 |
| Priests began to dress differently from the laity | 500 |
| The doctrine of Purgatory was first established by Gregory the Great | 593 |
| The Latin
language, as the language of prayer and worship
in churches, was also imposed by Pope Gregory I. 600
years after Christ The Word of God forbids praying and teaching in an unknown tongue. (I Cor. 14:9). |
600 |
| The Bible teaches
that we pray to God alone. In the primitive church
never were prayers directed to Mary, or to
dead saints. This practice began in the Roman Church (Matt. 11:28; Luke 1:46; Acts 10:25-26; 14:14-18) |
600 |
| The Papacy is
of pagan origin. The title of pope or
universal bishop, was first given to the bishop of
Rome by the wicked emperor Phocas This he did to spite Bishop Ciriacus of Constantinople, who had justly excommunicated him for his having caused the assassination of his predecessor emperor Mauritius. Gregory 1, then bishop of Rome, refused the title, but his successor, Boniface III, first assumed title "pope." Jesus did not appoint Peter to the headship of the apostles and forbade any such notion. (Lk. 22:24-26; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18; I Cor. 3:11). Note:-- Nor is there any mention in Scripture, nor in history, that Peter ever was in Rome, much less that he was pope there for 25 years; Clement, 3rd bishop of Rome, remarks that there is no real 1st century evidence that Peter ever was in Rome." |
610 |
| The kissing of
the Pope's feet It had been a pagan custom to kiss the feet of emperors. The Word of God forbids such practices. (Read Acts 10:25-26; Rev. 19:10; 22:9). |
709 |
| The Temporal
power of the Popes When Pepin, the usurper of the throne of France, descended into Italy, called by Pope Stephen II, to war against the Italian Lombards, he defeated them and gave the city of Rome and surrounding territory to the pope. Jesus expressly forbade such a thing, and He himself refused worldly kingship. (Read Matt. 4:8-9; 20:25-26; John 18:38). |
750 |
| Worship of the
cross, images and relics was authorized This was by order of Dowager Empress Irene of Constantinople, who first caused to pluck the eyes of her own son, Constantine VI, and then called a church council at the request of Hadrian I, pope of Rome at that time. Such practice is called simply IDOLATRY in the Bible, and is severely condemned. (Read Ex. 20:4; 3:17; Deut. 27:15; Psalm 115). |
788 |
| Holy Water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by the priest, was authorized | 850 |
| The veneration of St. Joseph began | 890 |
| The baptism of bells was instituted by Pope John XIV | 965 |
| Canonization of
dead saints, first by Pope John XV Every believer and follower of Christ is called saint in the Bible. (Read Rom. 1:7; I Col. 1:2). |
995 |
| Fasting on
Fridays and during Lent were imposed Imposed by popes said to be interested in the commerce of fish. (Bull, or permit to eat meat), some authorities say, began in the year 700. This is against the plain teaching of the Bible. (Read Matt. 15:10; I Cor. 10:25; I Tim. 4:1-3). |
998 |
| The Mass was
developed gradually as a sacrifice; attendance made
obligatory in the 11th century. The Bible teaches that the sacrifice of Christ was offered once and for all, and is not to be repeated, but only commemorated in the Lord's Supper. (Read Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28; 10:10-14). |
|
| The celibacy
of the priesthood was decreed by Pope Hildebrand,
Boniface VII Jesus imposed no such rule, nor did any of the apostles. On the contrary, St. Peter was a married man, and St. Paul says that bishops were to have wife and children. (Read I Tim. 3:2,5, and 12; Matt. 8:14-15). |
1079 |
| The Rosary,
or prayer beads was introduced by Peter the Hermit,
in the year 1090. Copied from Hindus and Mohammedans The counting of prayers is a pagan practice and is expressly condemned by Christ. (Matt. 6:5-13). |
1090 |
| The Inquisition of heretics was instituted by the Council of Verona in the year 1184. Jesus never taught the use of force to spread His religion | 1184 |
| The sale of Indulgences,
commonly regarded as a purchase of forgiveness and a
permit to indulge in sin. Christianity, as taught in the Bible, condemns such a traffic and it was the protest against this traffic that brought on the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. |
1190 |
| The dogma of Transubstantiation
was decreed by Pope Innocent III, in the year By this doctrine the priest pretends to perform a daily miracle by changing a wafer into the body of Christ, and then he pretends to eat Him alive in the presence of his people during Mass. The Bible condemns such absurdities; for the Lord's Supper is simply a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ. The spiritual presence of Christ is implied in the Lord's Supper. (Read Luke 22:19-20; John 6:35; I Cor. 11:26). |
1215 |
| Confession of sin
to the priest at least once a year was instituted
by Pope Innocent III., in the Lateran Council The Bible commands us to confess our sins direct to God. (Read Psa. 51:1-10; Luke 7:48; 15:21; I John 1:8-9). |
1215 |
| The adoration of
the wafer (Host), was decreed by Pope Honorius So the Roman Church worships a God made by human hands. This is plain idolatry and absolutely contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. (Read John 4:24). |
1220 |
| The Bible
forbidden to laymen and placed in the Index of
forbidden books by the Council of Valencia Jesus commanded that the Scriptures should be read by all. (John 5:39; I Tim. 3:15-17). |
1229 |
| The Scapular
was invented by Simon Stock, and English monk It is a piece of brown cloth, with the picture of the Virgin and supposed to contain supernatural virtue to protect from all dangers those who wear it on naked skin. This is fetishism. |
1287 |
| The Roman Church forbade
the cup to the laity, by instituting the
communion of one kind in the Council of Constance The Bible commands us to celebrate the Lord's Supper with unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine. (Read Matt. 26:27; I Cor. 11:26-29). |
1414 |
| The doctrine of
Purgatory was proclaimed as a dogma of faith by
Council of Florence There is not one word in the Bible that would teach the purgatory of priests. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins. (Read I John 1:7-9; 2:1-2; John 5:24; Rom. 8:1). |
1439 |
| The doctrine of 7
Sacraments affirmed The Bible says that Christ instituted only two ordinances, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. (Read Matt. 28: 19-20; 26:26-28). |
1439 |
| The Ave Maria,
part of the last It was completed 50 years afterward and finally approved by Pope Sixtus V, at the end of the 16th century. |
1508 |
| The Council of
Trent, held in the year 1545, declared that Tradition
is of equal authority with the Bible By tradition is meant human teachings. The Pharisees believed the same way, and Jesus bitterly condemned them, for by teaching human tradition, they nullified the commandments of God. (Read Mark 7:7-13; Col. 2:8; Rev. 22:18). |
1545 |
| The apocryphal
books were added to the Bible also by the Council
of Trent These books were not recognized as canonical by the Jewish Church. (See Rev. 22:8-9). |
1546 |
| The Creed of Pope
Pius IV was imposed as the official creed 1560
years after Christ and the apostles True Christians retain the Holy Scriptures as their creed. Hence their creed is 1500 years older than the creed of Roman Catholics. (Read Gal. 1:8). |
1560 |
| The Immaculate
Conception of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed by
Pope Pius IX The Bible states that all men, with the sole exception of Christ, are sinners. Mary herself had need of a Savior. (Read Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Psa. 51:5; Luke 1:30,46,47). |
1834 |
| In the year 1870
after Christ, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of Papal
Infallibility This is a blasphemy and the sign of the apostasy and of the anti-christ predicted by St. Paul. (Read II Thess. 2:2-12; Rev. 17:1-9; 13:5-8,18). Many Bible students see the number of the beast (Rev. 13:18), 666 in the Roman letters of the Pope's title: "VICARIVS FILII DEI." -- V-5, I-1; C-100, I-1; V-S, I-1; L-50, I-1; I-1; D-500, I-l -- Total, 666. |
1870 |
| Pope Plus X, in the
year 1907, condemned together with
"Modernism", all the discoveries of modern
science which are not approved by the Church Pius IX had done the same thing in the Syllabus of 1864. |
1907 |
| In the year 1930 Pius XI, condemned the Public Schools | 1930 |
| In the year 1931 the
same pope Pius XI, reaffirmed the doctrine that Mary
is "the Mother of God" This doctrine was first invented by the Council of Ephesus in the year 431. This is a heresy contrary by Mary's own words. (Read Luke 1:46-49; John 2: l-5). |
1931 |
| In the year 1950 the last dogma was proclaimed by Pope Pins XII, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary | 1950 |
CONCLUSION
What will be the next invention? The Roman Church says it never changes; yet, it has done nothing else but invent new doctrines which are contrary to the Bible, and has practiced rites and ceremonies taken bodily from paganism. Some scholar has found that 75% of the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church are of pagan origin.
Note:-- Cardinal Newman, in his book, "The Development of the Christian Religion," admits that ... "Temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water, holidays and season of devotions, processions, blessing of fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests and monks and nuns), images ... are all of pagan origin..." (Page 359).
HERESIES are those doctrines and practices which are contrary to the Bible. They are also called "human traditions" or "doctrines of men". Both Peter and Paul predicted and warned that in the later times "false teachers" would rise within the Church and bring in "damnable heresies" and "doctrines of devils". (Read II Peter 2:1-3, and I Tim. 3:2-5). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, for they transgressed the commandments of God by keeping their traditions. "in vain," He said, "they worship me by keeping for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:3,9).
The real heretics therefore, are the Roman Catholics and the true orthodox are the Evangelical Christians.
BRETHREN! The Word of God commands us to get out of Babylon, saying: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. 18:4). All true Christians will remain faithful to the religion of Christ as taught in the Bible, and heed the warning of the Apostle Paul, who said: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." (Gal. 1:8).
According to the Church of Rome, Christ did not accomplish a full, finished and completed salvation in his work of atonement. His death on the cross did not deal with the full penalty of man's sin. It merited grace for man which is then channeled to the individual through the Roman Catholic Church and its sacraments. This grace then enables man to do works of righteousness in order to merit justification and eternal life.
Pope Celebrates Palm Sunday at Pagan Sun Pillar
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| Images © 2000 by CTV | |
So in St. Peter's
square, the symbol of Baal is within the
symbol of Ishtar, and at the center is an
Egyptian obelisk, all representing pagan sun
worship.
