Studies

Study to shew thyself approved unto God…

I Once Was A Catholic

I grew up in a Catholic home, went to Catholic school K-12. I practiced all the rites and rituals of Catholicism. Then one day someone questioned my faith in such a way that it led me to asking God who he is. God sent a man and woman who were able to answer that question for me. I’ve included this story in my testimony, HERE

The man who brought me to the Lord told me one thing I’ll bless him for for all eternity. He said “get a Bible and read it every single day. God has made known to us all about himself, who he is, who we are, where we’re going and how we’re to get there. Read it.”

So I started reading it.

I had never read the Bible, in fact we were taught in Catholic school that we are not to read it, that there is an order of priests whose responsibility it is to interpret it for us. So …I was reading it for the first time.

As I read, I noticed some things I thought odd. For example:

1. CALL NO MAN FATHER
“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for one is your Father, he who is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9

Well, in Catholic school we were taught to call every priest “father.” Why father? I mean, if you know the holy Scriptures say not to call him “father,” why does the Catholic church defiantly call every priest “father?”

Well I was reading for the first time so I told myself there must be a good reason for the church to actually go against the Bible. It must be ok once you hear their explanation. So I just kept on reading.

Next, I came to another issue that clearly defies the Bible. I was quite surprised to find this, and it raised a lot of questions for me.

2. CELIBACY

“A Bishop Must Be The Husband Of One Wife” 1st Timothy 3:2

I always wondered about the church’s demand that priests be celibate. It has always seemed foolishness. I’ve been married, and I’ve had many married friends. I don’t believe males are capable, generally, to be celibate, their sexuality is hard-wired into them. It’s no wonder the revelations coming out that expose multitudes of priests as predators. And it’s no wonder that so many priests are homosexuals.

The Bible states that the apostle Peter was married. Mark 1:30 speaks of the illness of Peter’s mother-in-law. So if the Catholic church is supposedly following Peter who was married, why then the foolish demand that men remain celibate?

3. THE SAINTS

We were taught that saints are very holy people who lived a very holy life and were “canonized” by the Catholic Church, thus officially designating them as “saints.” But …I did not find anything like that in the Bible. On the contrary, every mention of saints was referring to people alive on this earth.

Furthermore, where does the Catholic church get the authority to declare whether someone is even in heaven? I suspect that some of the popes who were “canonized” to sainthood, may not even be there.


THE BIBLE SAYS SAINTS ARE BELIEVERS ON EARTH:


– “All the saints salute you.” 2nd Corinthians 13:1
– “Distributing to the necessity of saints;” Romans 12:13
– “All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.” Philippians 4:22
– “…he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.” Acts 9:32
– “…to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.” Romans 15:26

4. THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPE

The history of the papacy is replete with the stories of some very, very evil “popes.” Some were out-and-out heretics. Many had illegitimate children. At one time there were TWO popes. Anyone prominent who left Catholicism was burned at the stake by order of the Popes – and those are the ones we know about. The history of the Catholic Church is shrouded in secrets.

Some say the present pope is an outlaw. He’s changing many things, and not for the good. Some say he is preparing the world for the one-world religion prophesied to be on the earth during the great Tribulation. If that is true, he’s playing his role perfectly.

5. The Ten Commandments

One of the he most egregious actions perpetrated by the Catholic Church is to take the ten Commandments of almighty God and alter them. They REMOVED the second commandment, which is the command against idolatry, images, venerations; and then to keep the commandments numbering ten, they took the last commandment from the Bible and divided it in two, so as to maintain the number ten. We were never taught the commandments from the Bible, we were taught them from the Catholic church.

So which commandment did the Catholic Church remove from God’s commandments? They removed the second commandment which forbids idolatry, graven images, deceiving the millions of Catholics into thinking there’s no prohibition against graven images, which encourages them to make the statues, medals, and all involved in bowing before them as “holy,” when in fact they are forbidden by God.

The TEN COMMANDMENTS FROM THE BIBLE, Exodus chapter 20. Briefly:

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image… you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife …nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

# 2 is removed

# Number 10 divided into two:

. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

THE COMMANDMENTS AS ALTERED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:

1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
5. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Next: Understanding Our Enemy

You can’t understand spiritual things
before you understand your enemy.

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