Roman Catholicism
Christian or Pagan?
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 fullpenalty 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 himselfand 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 apagan religion, far far from
the truth of God's Word. They have churchianity without Christianity!
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