Catholic Church

Description

A false religious organization that erroneously claims to be the only true church of Christ. It is ruled by an ecclesiastical hierarchy of bishops, archbishops, cardinals, with the pope at the top. Its headquarters is the Vatican in Rome, Italy. “Roman” describes the fact that it is headquartered in Rome. “Catholic” means universal and points to the RCC’s claim to have authority over all Christians throughout the world. The San Giovanni Laterno Church is the first church of Rome and a Latin inscription carved on the front says in translation, “MOST HOLY LATERAN CHURCH, MOTHER AND MISTRESS OF ALL CHURCHES OF THE CITY AND THE WORLD.” Catholic popes lived in the Lateran Palace until they moved to the Vatican in the 14th century.

The Catholic Church claims 800 million members worldwide, but membership figures are considerably misleading in that they count as members every person who has been baptized Catholic, including millions of people who were baptized as infants but are not practicing Catholics. While the number of priests and women participating in religious orders has decreased tremendously in the West since the Second Vatican Council, the number of priests in third world countries has increased. For example, in 1945 about 90% of Jesuit priests lived in Europe, the U.S., or Canada. There were no Jesuit units in Africa and Asia. Today only about 60% of the Jesuit membership lives in the West, while 20% live in Asia, 14% live in Latin America, and 4% in Africa (India Church Growth Quarterly, Apr.-Jun. 1986, p. 159).

History

The history of the Catholic Church depends on the source you get it from. They themselves claim to be founded by Peter in Rome, but any student of the Bible knows better then that. Most works will trace the faith back to Constantine (around 300 A.D.). The article in Way of Life Encyclopedia takes this tack.

David W Daniels in the work Babylon Religion, traces it back to Babylon. As does Two Babylons, The by Alexander Hislop. I believe this is a better way of looking at it as it is a pagan faith, that has been dressed up as Christian.

If one wants to delve more deeply into the history David Daniels’ book is an easy read, but Hislop’s work is the definitive work on the topic.

Doctrine

If one reads the Bible and understands basic dispensational interpretation, you will understand that the Catholic Church has little if any biblical foundation. It is a lack of “rightly dividing” that leads to so much apostasy in cults. The Catholic Church puts tradition and the word of the Pope over the Bible, plus they add additional books and take out major portions of it as well.

Salvation by faith plus works

“All children of the Church should nevertheless remember that their exalted condition results, not from their own merits, but from the grace of Christ. If they fail to respond in thought, word and deed to that grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they shall be the more severely judged” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, chap. 2, 14, p. 337).

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

The book of Romans is written expressly to reveal the way of salvation (Romans 1:15-17).

Consider Romans 3:21-24; 4:4-6; 11:6. Notice in the last reference that God says it is impossible to mix grace and works for salvation. We are saved by grace or we are saved by works; it cannot be a mixture of the two as the Catholic Church teaches!

Church Tradition Equal in Authority to Scripture

Any church teaching that contradicts the Bible is wrong (Is. 8:20; Acts 17:11; Ro. 16:17; Ga. 1:8; Ph. 3:17; Col. 2:8; 1 Ti. 6:14; 2 Ti. 1:3; 3:16-17). The problem with Roman Catholic tradition is not only that it adds to the Bible’s teaching but also that it directly contradicts this teaching.

The Roman Catholic Church is the only true church

“The Catholic Church believes, professes and proclaims that no one living outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but both Jews, heretics and schismatics, can become partakers of eternal life, but will go into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels unless before the end of life they become members of it [the Catholic Church]” (Council of Florence, 1439, “The Decree for the Arminians”, quoted from The Theologians Answer Your Questions, p. 213).

The N.T. speaks of the church in two ways: (1) the general church composed of all born again Christians in heaven (He. 12:23) and (2) local churches of professing Christians on earth (e.g., the seven churches Christ addressed in Revelation 2-3). The Roman Catholic Church is neither of these.

The Papacy

Pope is from the Latin word papa, meaning “father.” According to Roman Catholic dogma, Peter was the first bishop, or pope, of Rome, and to him was given the authority to open and shut the kingdom of God to men. Supposedly, Jesus gave to Peter the supreme authority in the church on earth, and this authority was passed on to other bishops of Rome.

Where in the N.T. do we see Peter claiming to be a pontiff? Where do we see him accepted as such by the early churches? Peter was openly rebuked by Paul because of hypocrisy (Ga. 2:11-14). Peter had a wife (Lk. 4:38; 1 Co. 9:5).

“But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ” (Mt. 23:8-10).

Was Peter in Rome? “In A.D. 41 Peter was at Joppa where he had a vision of the unclean animals (Acts 11). In A.D. 44 he was imprisoned by Herod and miraculously set free (Acts 12). In A.D. 52 he was at Jerusalem disputing against circumcision (Acts 15). He wrote his first Epistle from Babylonia about A.D. 60 (1 Pe. 5:13), the same verse stating that Mark was with him at that time. In Paul’s letter to Timothy from Rome, A.D. 66, shortly before his execution (2 Ti. 4:7-8), he writes in verse 11 ‘only Luke is with me.’ Timothy was the first [pastor at] Ephesus and Mark was with him (2 Ti. 4:11), confirming Col. 4:10. Peter was therefore with Timothy and Mark in Asia Minor and Babylonia, but never at Rome with Paul. His mission was to the circumcision (Ga. 2:7-9)—the Jews and the other 10 tribes whose location he referred to in 1 Pe. 1:1. So we see that the man that the Catholic Church says was the first Roman pope never ministered at Rome!”

The Priesthood

The term “father” has only three correct usages among Christians, according to the Bible:

  1. Father can be used to refer to God (Mt. 6:9; 1 Jn. 2:2).
  2. Father can be used to refer to one’s own parent or human ancestors (Ep. 6:2-4; Ga. 1:14).
  3. Father can be used to refer to the person instrumental in one’s conversion (1 Co. 4:15).

The Sacraments

Mary is to be worshipped

Images and Vain Rituals

The Bible says we are sanctified through the sacrifice of Christ (He. 10:10), through the Word of God (Jn. 17:17), in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God (1 Co. 6:11).

Celibacy

Prayers to the “saints”

Sources/Notes

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity