This is not a rant. Hopefully what follows is a simple contrast between some Catholic teachings and what scripture says about the same things. In the past I have gone off on some folks and in regret of my methods, I have adopted the following as a guiding principle when challenging things:
"But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Jude 1:9 NIV
CNN, FoxNews, ABC, CBS, NBC and all the newspapers have had their say. Now it's my turn. :-) And unlike those organizations, there's no money in it for me. You'd think all these media outlets were huge fans of Catholicism. No, they're huge fans of ratings that translate into dollars.
The media coverage of Pope John Paul II has been quite amazing. I fell asleep last Friday night watching Fox News as they covered his impending death and I woke at about 2:00 AM Saturday and they were still covering things - LIVE! I refer to these journalists as the Pope-arazzi.
I've watched a lot of historical pieces on this man in the last week, and I must say that I am impressed with Karol Wojtyla as a very decent man and a strong political figure. I believe that he played as much a role in the downfall of Soviet communism as did Ronald Reagan, and for that we can all be thankful.
While I respect Karol for the strong moral stands he has taken in his lifetime, I am still greatly opposed to the Papacy and to the teachings - shall I say misteachings - of the Roman Catholic Church. I just went to Yahoo! and found the following headline:
"The Church Loses Its Light" - Washington Post
Yesterday, while watching TV coverage, someone said that "The church has lost its shepherd." And below, from a weblog, we have the following statement:
"A Vatican official just said that we need an intercessor in heaven who understands the problems of the 21st century on earth. He was talking about John Paul II going to heaven to be an intercessor. I assure that official that the Lord Jesus knows all about the troubles of the 21st century."
James White on his website.
As to the "light" headline, let's try this:
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12 NIV
As to the "shepherd" comment, let's see what scripture says:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11 NIV
And as far as having an "intercessor in heaven", well, let's look at that as well, shall we?:
"...but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:24-25 NIV
I am pretty certain that any of Christ's apostles or disciples, including Peter, would be appalled at the veneration that is being given to Mr. Wojtyla, another human being. To see thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square, mourning this man's death as if he were a god or a king is truly sad. As a jealous God, I am sure this cannot be at all pleasing to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit as our triune God is the only thing in this universe worthy of such veneration and glory. When ANYONE, be it Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, or Karol Wojtyla insinuates himself between mankind and God, short-circuiting normal worship, something is terribly wrong. I would rather be damned than to bow before the Pope, as so many do, and kiss his ring! If an angel of the Most High God won't allow himself to be worshipped by St. John, then how is it that Mr. Wojtyla is comfortable allowing millions, perhaps billions, to do it to him? What is up with that? To this day, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod still officially refers to the Roman Church as the Antichrist. While I'm not sure about that, there is no question that many Catholic teachings work in opposition to the teachings of scripture.
When John was experiencing an angelic visit during his Revelation, he at one point fell at the angel's feet to worship him. The angel corrected John with the following:
"Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Revelation 19:10 NIV
And later, in Revelation 22, we see John getting rebuked one more time by the angel. John, like all of us, is somehow hardwired to want to worship - but we're not free to worship anything apart from God:
"I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" Revelation 22:8-9 NIV
The Pope is known affectionately to Catholics as "The Holy Father." This title alone - forget about the Marian worship and Purgatory and confession to priests - is enough outright blasphemy for me to want to stay very far away from this organization.
If a Catholic wants to also call himself or herself a Christian, they need to have respect for what the Founder, Jesus Christ, had to say about such things as this:
"And do not call anyone on earth 'father', for you have one Father, and he is in heaven." Matthew 23:9 NIV
When you contrast some of the things held by the Roman church with scripture, there are inconsistencies. Where any such differences arise, we must always look to scripture as the final word on how we are to behave as followers of Christ. This was what Martin Luther and the whole Protestant Reformation were all about. I like to think of it as cutting out the middlemen. Confess to a man? Hardly. According to Hebrews chapter 5, I can boldly approach the throne of grace. I don't need some guy holding my hand. Jesus paid too high a price for us to be able to come before God in prayer to have men in white collars put up a roadblock like this between God and men. Think of them as toll collectors on the highway to God - quite redundant when Jesus paid it all!
And finally, on this "throne of Peter" stuff. The bulk of Catholic thinking on this matter is found in a discourse between Jesus and Peter in the book of Matthew. According to a Washington Post account, Karol Wojtyla is the 263rd successor to St. Peter.
I heard someone explain this the other day and it went like this. First, here's the text:
"Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build by church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:16-18 NIV
According to the explanation I heard the other day, the rock that Jesus would build upon was not Peter, but rather Peter's testimony about Jesus being the Christ. Even if that interpretation is wrong, there is no evidence or direction to provide for what has become the Roman Catholic Church and the office of Pope. Peter may have been a "rock" but I prefer what is said about Jesus Christ in Ephesians:
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." Ephesians 2:19-21 NIV
Now there's a floorplan for a church! It didn't say "Peter himself being the cornerstone..." did it? Did it???
I think Jesus words in Luke chapter 9 can put an end to the circus that we now see taking place worldwide:
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Luke 9:57-60
Soli Deo gloria!
R.J.
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