Roman Catholicism – Part 3

This is the
3rd in the series of rebuttal to the unacceptable
and untrue words of Pope Benedict XVI who recently said,
"The Roman Catholic Church provides the only path to true
salvation".

Our great concern is for the millions of Catholics who are
locked into a system which rarely teaches biblical salvation, and
almost universally teaches unbiblical and heretical lies which
holds the people in bondage and blinds them to the glorious
liberty and freedom that Christ wrought on Calvary for all
mankind.

This article will address some of the main issues of false
doctrine and unbiblical practices that permeate Catholic
worship.

MARIOLATRY

The Bible teaches us that Jesus’ mother was a betrothed
virgin named Mary. She is greatly honoured, and rightly so, as
the vessel by which God Himself would give the world a Saviour
who was free from the curse of Adamic sin upon every human being
according to Romans 3:23.

In Catholicism, Mary has been elevated to a position that
exceeds that of Jesus or God, with prayers almost exclusively
offered to her. The extent of the heresy of Mariolatry is shown
graphically in the movement currently underway within the Vatican
to make Mary co-redemptrix with Christ. That is utter blasphemy!
Acts 4:10-12 clearly teaches us that salvation comes through
Jesus only.

"Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the
‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become
the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any
other, for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved."

Many Catholic apologists deny that Catholics pray to Mary,
saying that they ask the saints to pray for them. Once again,
this deceitful attitude is shown to be threadbare of truth, as
there is not one instance in the Bible that gives a precedent to
this. In fact the Bible says it is appointed once for man to die,
then the judgement – hardly a scenario for those who have
died to be praying for us. The story of the rich man and Lazarus
also shows "there is a great gulf fixed"
between the spiritual realm and the earthly realm, teaching that
contact human to human is impossible after death.

Mary, in Catholic eyes, is the Queen of Heaven. Surely the
Bride of Christ, and not Mary, will hold such a position after
the marriage supper of the Lamb, when Jesus marries His bride.
The Rosary (recited prayer) contains the blasphemous words
– "Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! Our life, our
sweetness, and our hope." She is not our life – Jesus
is the way, the truth and THE LIFE! The Rosary
prayer continues the error by calling her "most gracious
advocate." What rubbish! She is not our defence attorney
before a righteous God, Jesus is! 1 John 2:1 says –
"My little children, these things I write to you, so
that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an
ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous."

We publish again (on the next page) the picture of the altar
in the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Not only is the
all seeing eye of Lucifer ascendant over Jesus and the dove of
the Holy Spirit, Mary appears HIGHER than Jesus Himself in this
mural. That is purely intentional, and reflects the terrible
error that Catholicism has made in its veneration of Mary.

Altar in the Church of the
Annunciation in Nazereth

HOLY COMMUNION

In Catholicism, this sacrament is also known as the
"sacrifice of the Mass." Within this observance,
another heretical error has been perpetrated. Through the
supposed "miracle of transubstantiation", according to
Catholic teaching, the emblems of communion become the ACTUAL
true body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This is the reason why you see every Crucifix in a Catholic
Church or home with Jesus still attached to the Cross! They keep
on crucifying Him! But Jesus said as He hung on the Cross,
recorded in John 19:30, "It is finished!" Yet
each time the Mass is celebrated the same sacrifice is repeated.
This has its roots in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament the sacrifices were repeated on a daily
basis. Yet Hebrews 7:27 declares that, "…who
does not need daily, as those High Priests, to offer up
sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the
people’s, for this He did ONCE FOR ALL when he offered up
himself". Further, Christ’s blood was poured
out on Calvary. When Jesus returned after death in His
resurrection body He said to Thomas, "Handle me and see,
for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I
have". Note that Jesus did not say "flesh and
blood" for blood is the life of mortal flesh.

Catholicism ascribes miracle power to the Priest to
supernaturally change bread and wine into the actual body and
blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore the wafer of bread (also known
as the host or eucharist) is worshipped as Christ Himself. Around
the world, a large wafer is displayed in a monstrance or gold
vessel with a transparent cover. This is used in processions and
is displayed as the pre-crucifixion body of Jesus Christ.

All this has come about through a literal interpretation of
John 6:51-57 and demonstrates the danger of taking verses out of
context and not studying every verse on the same subject. The
symbolical aspect of the communion meal is proven at the Last
Supper where Luke 22:19-20 records, "And He took bread,
gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in
remembrance of Me.’ Likewise He also took the cup after
supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood,
which is shed for you’".

Here we have Jesus BEFORE HIS DEATH, saying "this is
my body and my blood". Proof indeed of the symbolism of
the meal, and proof positive that substantiation is a
preposterous notion, which has deceived millions by placing them
in bondage to a lie.

A monstrance containing the host

From a purely logical viewpoint, transubstantiation is a
crock. No one has ever said or written that the experience of
partaking of the Mass had them taste human flesh or human blood,
yet this is the very thing Catholicism teaches. We must also
remember that Christ came to fulfil the law, not to replace it.
That focuses the spotlight on the validity of the command in
Leviticus 7 NOT TO EAT BLOOD. God’s word is true. He is not
a liar. Either the Bible is correct or the Roman Catholic Church
– you choose!

PAPAL INFALLIBILITY

The vast majority of Catholics believe that Papal
infallibility has been with the Church from the beginning. Not
so! In fact it happened as late as 1870 and then in circumstances
which perpetuated the deception, lies and intrigue which have
been a hallmark of the Catholic Church throughout the
centuries.

We are grateful to the Swiss historian A B Hasler who had
access to the secret Vatican archives and was so horrified by
what he found that he wrote a book ‘How the Pope Became
Infallible’. Dave Hunt records in his book that
– "Hesler met an "untimely death" just
after the manuscript was finished. For writing the book’s
introduction, Catholic theologian Hand Kung was "stripped of
his ecclesiastical teaching priviledges."

The truth was that only a small minority were in favour of
Papal infallibility before the Council began. Bishops that
attended were virtual prisoners and many fled the proceedings.
The law was passed by threat of imprisonment and the elimination
of free discussion. Archbishop Darboy wrote in his diary,
"The elections are dishonest."

Pope Pius IX will go down in history as another in a long line
of manipulative and duplicitous Popes, who were no more
representative of Jesus Christ than the man in the moon.

The problem with infallibility is that it leads us down the
road of tyrants and oppressors. This is why we have had no
apology or admission of guilt from the Vatican regarding the
Inquisition, the Jewish holocaust (of which Rome was complicit
in), the martyrdom of millions of Christians, and the smuggling
of thousands of Nazi war criminals to safe havens after the
collapse of the Reich in 1945.

CATHOLIC SALVATION

The extremely sad and anti-biblical fact is that Catholics
cannot say for certain they are saved or that they will go to
heaven. What sort of testimony of Christ’s atoning work is
that? True to form, the Catholic Church has spurned the gospel
narrative and declared something different. The Council of Trent
brought the diabolical threat of excommunication and the curse of
the Catholic Church by stating, "If anyone says that in
order to obtain the remission of sins it is nec- essary…
to believe with certainty and without any hesitation that his
sins are forgiven him, let him be anathema"
(cursed).

Salvation for the Catholic is an ongoing burden of works,
ritual and demand which, after this life, deposits the Catholic
in purgatory, which is not scriptural, but an invented type of
holding cell for the departed. Here one must languish until found
worthy to enter heavens gates, usually by the devious means of
having had your relatives pay the Church enough money
(indulgences) for prayers to get you through. God help the
singles and the homeless – how do they get there?

Salvation by grace means something entirely different to the
Catholic. Apart from the works, Mary has been given a role to
play. St Bonaventure said, "The gates of heaven will
open to all who confide in the protection of Mary". St
Anselm said in so many words regarding Mary, "If you
will, then our salvation is certain". What
preposterous, unscriptural junk this is, yet millions are
enmeshed in these terrible lies.

The Bible teaches that repentance of sin and believing on the
Lord Jesus Christ lead to a full assurance of salvation. Who
would want to serve a God who treats salvation like Russian
roulette? God’s revealed character in His Word denies that
He is like that – far from it. Romans 6:23 says that
salvation is a gift. If we receive it, that’s exactly what
it is – not some nasty surprise with strings attached.
Praise the Lord for that!

In the final instalment in the next issue of Omega Times, we
will examine the prophetic aspects of the Catholic Church and its
connection with the Bible teaching on Mystery Babylon.