Renew America Lies about the Catholic Church

On Sept. 25, 2013, protestant Rev. Bresciani wrote “Has the pope taken his first steps into Last Days apostasy?” for Renewamerica.com an online publication. 

[Link:  http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/bresciani/130925 ]

In the article, as you might well expect, Bresciani made lots of wrong statements about the Catholic Church in his attempt to shed speculation on the current pope and the end of the world.  I don’t care about his personal opinions about the end of the world so I am not going to comment on those.

What I am going to do is tell the TRUTH where Bresciani told anti-Catholic lies.  And I will do it using a PROTESTANT BIBLE, so the protestants can’t complain about the interpretation of a Catholic version of the Bible.

So let’s go…

Bresciani says: "Hundreds of traditional or patristic teachings of Catholicism are either in direct conflict with the bible or do not exist in the scriptures at all."

Me:  HORSEHOCKEY! There is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING in the official teachings of the Catholic Church that conflict with Sacred Scriptures or Sacred Tradition.  The “conflict” is with protestant PERSONAL INTERPRETATION of the Bible.

For example: A Baptist will tell a Lutheran that infant baptism is “merely getting the baby wet” because they PERSONALLY INTERPRET the Bible to neglect children in the New Covenant.  The Lutheran will tell the Baptist they have it all wrong.  A fundamentalist Baptist church will say “No female clergy”, while the American Baptists are loaded with female clergy.  It’s all in their own interpretation if the Bible. The protestants can’t even agree amongst themselves how to interpret the Bible, hence the reason there are tens of THOUSANDS of differing and bickering protestant denominations in the world and growing more and more new ones each day as they break off and write their own theology.  It’s a mess.

Bresciani says: What we must point out is that on two very important levels, those who stand on scripture can't ever recognize the authority of the Pope – it has never been a matter of whether they like him or not, nor is it a matter of personal choosing.  First, Because of the Greek rendering of Matthew 16: 18, "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" Protestants believe that Christ was referring to himself as the Rock, not Peter. This is supported by other scriptural passages, to wit:"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."(Mt 16: 18b)

Me: Bresciani is CHOOSING to ignore what Scripture says in order to keep his OWN personal interpretation of the Bible.  Protestants might “believe” that Christ was talking about himself as the “rock” in Matthew 16 but those protestants (like so many before them) are WRONG.

First, Peter’s given name was Simon, it was Jesus Christ who CHANGED Simon’s name to “rock” (Peter) because he was making him the first pope to build the Church on.

John 1:40-42 (NIV)
⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” which, when translated, is Peter.” [End quote]

Don’t like the NIV?  How about these…

New American Standard Bible
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

King James Bible And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

Holman Christian Standard Bible and he brought Simon to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, He said, "You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which means "Rock").

Aramaic Bible in Plain English And he brought him to Yeshua and Yeshua gazed at him and he said: “You are Shimeon, son of Yona; you shall be called Kaypha.”

GOD'S WORD® Translation Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon, son of John. Your name will be Cephas" (which means "Peter").

Weymouth New Testament He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John: you shall be called Cephas" --that is to say, Peter (or 'Rock')

World English Bible He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is by interpretation, Peter).
Young's Literal Translation and he brought him unto Jesus: and having looked upon him, Jesus saith, 'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas, thou shalt be called Cephas,' (which is interpreted, A rock.)

So what does “Peter” mean?  ROCK.

Don’t believe me?  Here’s the very PROTESTANT Strong’s Concordance definition:

Képhas: "a rock," Cephas, a name given to the apostle Peter

Original Word: Κηφᾶς, ᾶ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: Képhas
Phonetic Spelling: (kay-fas')
Short Definition: Cephas
Definition: Cephas (Aramaic for rock), the new name given to Simon Peter, the apostle.

Source: http://biblesuite.com/greek/2786.htm

Me: So we see Jesus meets Simon and right off the bat changes Simon’s name to Peter/Rock.  Now WHY did Jesus do that?  

Hmmm… Jesus had an aversion to the name “Simon”?  Nope.

Was Jesus marking Simon with a special position among the disciples?  

DING! DING! DING!

Jesus did not change ANYONE else’s name in the Bible- only Simon.  Why?  Because ONLY Simon was to become Pope- Jesus reinforces this in Matt.16:18 [and again in John 21].  The Rock which Jesus WOULD build His Church is Simon.  So let’s look at Matthew 16:18 again- using a Protestant Bible of course!  Now pay CLOSE attention here, because this is where Protestants get struck blind.  WHO is Jesus calling the Rock? Notice all the times Jesus uses “YOU” to clearly point to Simon Peter.

New International Version And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

New Living Translation Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means 'rock'), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

English Standard Version And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 New American Standard Bible

"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

King James Bible And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Holman Christian Standard Bible And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.

Me: No matter how you cut it, Jesus says “I tell YOU” (speaking to Simon) “YOU are Peter/Rock”. Jesus is the CORNERSTONE, but Simon Peter is the ROCK Jesus built His Church on. THAT is what Scripture says. Jesus is NOT pointing to himself while saying “YOU Simon are Peter”.  Can you even picture such a RIDICULOUS thing?  Jesus is speaking TO Simon, telling Simon that SIMON IS PETER THE ROCK and that Jesus is going to build His Church on Simon Peter.

Period.

The next ridiculous falsehood Bresciani makes is: “Secondly, not one word in the bible speaks of 'apostolic succession.' It is a concoction of the Roman church, not a biblical teaching. It is very difficult even to support the teaching in view of the fact that there was no Catholic church for over 300 years after Christ came into the world. Most Catholics are totally unaware of this fact. They have been told they are the 'first church,' but true history betrays them.”

Me:  Not one word about apostolic succession?  Gee Reverend, just HOW was Judas Iscariot replaced in YOUR bible [Acts 1:15-22]??  

Acts 1:15-22 New International Version (NIV)¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
¹⁸ (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:“‘May his place be deserted;    let there be no one to dwell in it,’
and,“‘May another take his place of leadership.’²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

Poor Bresciani doesn’t know Christian history or documents any more than he seems to know the Bible - but he will now.  He falsely claims no Catholic Church existed until after the year 300 A.D., then just how do we have these documents Rev. Bresciani?

"See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Christ Jesus does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles. Do ye also reverence the deacons, as those that carry out the appointment of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrneans, 8:2 (c. A.D. 110).

"[A]ll the people wondered that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this most admirable Polycarp was one, having in our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna. For every word that went out of his mouth either has been or shall yet be accomplished." Martyrdom of Polycarp, 16:2 (A.D. 155).

“…to be in honour however with the Catholic Church for the ordering of ecclesiastical discipline...one to the Laodicenes, another to the Alexandrians, both forged in Paul's name to suit the heresy of Marcion, and several others, which cannot be received into the Catholic Church; for it is not fitting that gall be mixed with honey. The Epistle of Jude no doubt, and the couple bearing the name of John, are accepted by the Catholic Church...But of Arsinous, called also Valentinus, or of Militiades we receive nothing at all.” The fragment of Muratori (A.D. 177).

Oops there it is!  The Catholic Church AND the Eucharist!  That IS the Holy Catholic AND Apostolic Church!

Now more about that Apostolic succession…(note the dates- long before the year 300 AD)

"And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits [of their labours], having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe. Nor was this any new thing, since indeed many ages before it was written concerning bishops and deacons. For thus saith the Scripture a certain place, 'I will appoint their bishops s in righteousness, and their deacons in faith.'... Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry...For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties." Pope Clement, Epistle to Corinthians, 42, 44 (A.D. 98).

"For what is the bishop but one who beyond all others possesses all power and authority, so far as it is possible for a man to possess it, who according to his ability has been made an imitator of the Christ off God? And what is the presbytery but a sacred assembly, the counselors and assessors of the bishop? And what are the deacons but imitators of the angelic powers, fulfilling a pure and blameless ministry unto him, as…Anencletus and Clement to Peter?" Ignatius, To the Trallians, 7 (A.D. 110).

"Hegesippus in the five books of Memoirs which have come down to us has left a most complete record of his own views. In them he states that on a journey to Rome he met a great many bishops, and that he received the same doctrine from all. It is fitting to hear what he says after making some remarks about the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. His words are as follows: 'And the church of Corinth continued in the true faith until Primus was bishop in Corinth. I conversed with them on my way to Rome, and abode with the Corinthians many days, during which we were mutually refreshed in the true doctrine. And when I had come to Rome I remained a there until Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. And Anicetus was succeeded by Soter, and he by Eleutherus. In every succession, and in every city that is held which is preached by the law and the prophets and the Lord.'" Hegesippus, Memoirs, fragment in Eusebius Ecclesiatical History, 4:22 (A.D. 180).

Me: Now here is where poor Rev. Bresciani gets confused by his own theology as he contradicts himself…now remember he JUST got done saying there is no apostolic succession right?

 

Bresciani says: “Christ relegated his authority to his Apostles and their teachings too are on the same level as his. They were not mere scribes or interpreters of his will they were Holy Spirit inspired and authorized to speak as final authorities.”

Me:  Does Bresciani think this authority died with the last Apostle?  That Jesus changed Simon’s name to Rock, told Simon Peter he would build a Church on him and then…what?  The Church died with Simon Peter? No!  That authority has been passed on and will be until the Second Coming.

"Since therefore I have, in the persons before mentioned, beheld the whole multitude of you in faith and love, I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons, who are most dear to me, and are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father before the beginning of time, and in the end was revealed…Let nothing exist among you that may divide you ; but be ye united with your bishop, and those that preside over you, as a type and evidence of your immortality." Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Magnesians, 6 (c. A.D. 110).

"For, since ye are subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, ye appear to me to live not after the manner of men, but according to Jesus Christ, who died for us, in order, by believing in His death, ye may escape from death. It is therefore necessary that, as ye indeed do, so without the bishop ye should do nothing, but should also be subject to the presbytery, as to the apostle of Jesus Christ, who is our hope, in whom, if we live, we shall [at last] be found. It is fitting also that the deacons, as being [the ministers] of the mysteries of Jesus Christ, should in every respect be pleasing to all. For they are not ministers of meat and drink, but servants of the Church of God. They are bound, therefore, to avoid all grounds of accusation [against them], as they would do fire." Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Trallians, 2 (c. A.D. 110).

As for the rest of what Bresciani says about apostasy, homosexuality and the end of the world he is certainly entitled to his opinion.  When he thinks he can speak falsehoods about the Church and Church history he will be and should be corrected by ALL Catholics.

As the motto of this blog states: “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” Romans 14:16

If I see it, I will not allow it to be spread unchallenged.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

God bless all.

Source: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/bresciani/130925

Source for Catholic quotes: http://scripturecatholic.com/the_church.html#scripture_II

What a bunch of mental midgets

When my father would come across a bigot or someone small minded and full of hate for someone he'd call them "mental midgets". I think he got that from watching Archie Bunker, but I can't be sure. It's a fitting expression for what I see happening very often today here in America and currently sweeping Australia. The mental midgets are the protesters who are passionately obsessed with disrupting Catholic youth who wish to celebrate their faith at World Youth Day. These mental midgets are not only handing condoms to Catholic youth, but mailing them to the housing places the youth are staying at. They are "gifting" Catholic youth with coat-hangers to show opposition to the Catholic faiths views on abortion. They are having "kiss-ins" where gays are going to make out in front of Catholic youth because these mental midgets say the Pope and Catholics are "homophobic" because we believe God created woman for man and instituted marriage between a man and a woman. They are also handing out gay stickers calling the Pope a "homophobe" and altering photos of the Pope to give him horns on his head. A well known brothel in Sydney is offering a 10% discount to any WYD Catholic who shows their WYD accreditation card and is encouraging them to "commit their sins before the Pope leaves Australia". And the list goes on with the anti-Catholic attacks and hate that our Catholic youth and all Catholics suffer daily from these people simply because we are Catholic and live our faith. Is this fair? Let's imagine for a minute that Muslims were having a WYD. What would happen if anti-Muslim protesters were handing out pork to Muslims? Or lets say Jews were having a WYD and protesters were handing them shellfish? How would the world view it if anti-Muslims or anti-Jews were being intolerant and forming coalitions to "annoy" them? "A newspaper ran a competition for the best anti-Catholic T-shirt. And an ABC host urged men to bait Catholics by going naked, but for a condom." (quote from Australian Andrew Bolt-more below) Would the world be appalled at such a display of intolerance for other faiths? Yes! But where is the outrage for Catholics? Barely a blip in the media over the "cracker" mental midget last week desecrating the Eucharist and taking great pleasure in belittling Catholics and our faith, and same now with WYD in Australia. I did find one guy, a non-Christian defending not only Catholics but the entire Catholic Church against the bigotry of these mental midgets. His name is Andrew Bolt and he's a columnist with the HeraldSun in Australia (link below). He not only sees the bigotry but he went a step further to write about it and call it what it is. Thanks Andrew Bolt! These gays, atheists, and other anti-Catholic groups demand their rights to "freedoms" for themselves (gay marriage, abortion, etc.), but they don't want Catholics to have the freedom to be Catholic and keep our faith. They want Catholics to change our faith to accept condom use, accept gay marriage, accept abortion and anything else THEY decide for us. Where are OUR rights to freedom of religion as WE believe? They are trying (but will never succeed) in forcing the Catholic Church to change its doctrines/beliefs to allow for gay marriage, condom use and abortion. They want to force THEIR beliefs on us, then tell us "Now you can be Catholic and we'll leave you alone because you've caved in to our demands." Where is tolerance for the Catholic faith? Why are non-Catholics demanding that Catholics accept their beliefs? Is this not the stuff of intolerant bigots? Who are they to dictate what our faith should be? What nerve! What intolerance! What mental midgets they are.

If you don't believe they want to force their beliefs on Catholics see what they are saying:
"We will say to them [Catholic youth], 'Take up the campaign within the Catholic Church to promote condoms.' We're not planning to get into any trouble. We don't want to condemn Catholic youth for being Catholics. We want to condemn the Pope for being homophobic and anti-condom. He [the Pope] is clearly a bigot ... many in the Catholic Church are also raising these issues, condemning the Pope for his hateful ideas."-Rachel Evans, from NoToPope Coalition and Community Action Against Homophobia
"Wearing a political T shirt, promoting safe-sex - pre-marital or otherwise and criticising the World Youth Day (WYD) 08 'code of ethics' will all be showcased at our highly annoying fashion show" noted Evans. "Criticising WYD ethics includes promoting contraception, access to abortion and conducting any criticism of the reactionary views of some Catholic Church leaders", said Evans."We will hand out condoms at our rally to young Catholics" said Anthony Englund. "The annoyance laws will not stop us. Young Catholic people are quite capable of distinguishing what they want from their church's theology and what they don't want. By providing them with a token number of condoms we're reminding them they can make up their own minds about what they believe is appropriate behavior in terms of their personal sexual health, "he concluded.

So where's all this tolerance they are screaming about? Where's the right to Catholics to be Catholic? Where is the outrage at these anti-Catholics for trying to force their demands into our doctrines? Don't Catholics have the right to our faith as other groups do? Just how do anti-Catholics define "tolerance"? I can't tell because I see so little from them. They scream tolerance but never show any. When will Catholics see the tolerance anti-Catholics are screaming about? And when will the world see the bigotry against Catholics that Andrew Bolt saw and spoke of? Those yelling for tolerance need to practice tolerance themselves.

Sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-condom-protest-against-pope/2008/06/24/1214073209465.html

http://www.notopope.com/news.php?item.5

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24036598-5000117,00.html

Hardcore Christianity Debunked

Have you ever started off on one website then clicked a link from that and gone to another and clicked a link from there to another and so on until you don't remember where you started or how you ended up where you are? Well, I do that quite often. Many times I find myself ending up at some anti-Catholic site or a proclaiming Christian site that is bashing, mocking or outright lying about my Catholic faith. Up until this moment I have never mentioned any sites by name or debunked them for their falsehoods, but today all that is going to change. I guess I am just in a fed up mood and I am not going to let this stuff go without posting the truth. Why would I do that? Because of this verse in scripture: Romans 14:16 "Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil." I think this will make a perfect motto for my blog. So here's the deal, ANY anti-Catholic website or statements on websites are fair game to me. If you know of such websites, please email them to me. I will debunk their falsehoods one by one. It's passed time that Catholics stopped letting others spread falsehoods and lies about our faith. These lies are damaging, not only are they keeping people from becoming Catholic and having the fullness of Truth found in the Catholic Church but they are also leading many Catholics out of the Church in confusion. We need to stop this damage and share the Truth of our faith for all to see and know. So for what it's worth, I will start with this blog. So here's the first site to be exposed for its lying and false statements made against the Catholic Church. It comes from a site called "Hardcore Christianity" (http://www.hardcorechristianity.com/teachings/chapter5.php)
Here is what the site says:
Hardcore Christianity states: "The Roman Catholic church is the largest "Christian" organization in the world and the largest single religious group on the planet with over 1.2 billion adherents (there are approximately 1.1 billion Muslims & 700 million Pentecostals). Untold articles have been authored on this organization, pro and con, over the centuries with much continued confusion. Centuries ago priest's like Luther, Huss & Calvin started the Protestant revolution after they read the New Testament and discovered many of the teachings of the Catholic church were contradictory. What teachings were they talking about? How do their teachings compare to the truths in the Word of God? What caused the start of Protestantism?"
1) Popes, Bishops, Cardinals and Priests are forbidden to marry in the Catholic church, however Peter, the alleged first Pope, was married (Mk. 1: 29-31).
2) In addition, the Priest Zachary was married (Lk. 1: 5,13) and Bishops were permitted to marry (1 Tim. 3:1-4). In fact, forbidding people to marry is a doctrine taught by demons (1 Tim. 4:1-3).
3) The Bible forbids making or bowing down to religious images (Ex. 20:3-5).
4) Only God can forgive sins, humans cannot. (Mk. 2:7).
5) Jesus forbids calling any human, dead or alive, their spiritual "Father" (Mt. 23:9).
6) The Bible says there is only one mediator between humanity and God. It is only Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5-6, 1 Jn. 2:1-3, Acts 4:10, 12, Jn. 14:6).
7) The Bible teaches that when a person dies they either go to Hell or Heaven. There is no evidence of any kind that Purgatory exists, ever existed or any dead person can communicate with the living (Lk. 16:19-31, Mt. 25:41,46, Heb. 9:27).
8) Has the mother of Jesus ever been given an elevated status by God? According to Lk. 11:27-28 and Eph. 4:4-6, she has not. The veneration, exultation, glorification, honoring, blessed imagination and adoration of Mary is unscriptural.
9) What is the N. T. definition of a "Saint"? Is it a deified dead Roman Catholic? No. It is any born again believer, dead or alive (I Cor. 1:2, 6:1-2, Eph. 5:3, Phil. 1:1, 4:22, Jude 1:14, Rev. 13:7, 20:9). Is Roman Catholic doctrine occur.
-----------------------
OK, so I get a little up tight when I read this kind of garbage, I admit it. Now let's take these falsehoods one at a time and debunk them all.

Falsehood #1: "Popes, Bishops, Cardinals and Priests are forbidden to marry in the Catholic church", clergy in the Latin Rite do not marry because scripture first shows this and Jesus Christ himself was unmarried, Latin Rite Catholic priests are following Jesus Christ's example in celibacy and priesthood: Matt.19:12 "For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of Heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." That's it folks, Jesus Christ's own words on the celibacy in the priesthood.
Falsehood #2: "forbidding people to marry is a doctrine taught by demons (1 Tim. 4:1-3)". The Catholic Church isn't forbidding anyone to marry, priests make this choice on their own if they wish to be priests. This verse is not about the priesthood as we see from the quote in Matthew 19:12 that I already gave. Jesus said "The one who can accept this should accept it." The men who wish to be priests in the Latin Rite are those men! They accept the celibacy and follow Jesus in a celibate priesthood. This is not unbiblical, but totally biblical!
Falsehood #3: "The Bible forbids making or bowing down to religious images (Ex. 20:3-5)." What an outright lie that statement is! What the scripture forbids is WORSHIPING statues. Well guess what? Catholics don't worship statues! In the bible God commands some statues and religious images to be made, if that was a sin WHY would God command it? He wouldn't! When God command the Ark of the Covenant to be build, He told them to make statues of angels made of gold. When the Israelites were in the wildness and plagued by snakes, God commanded them to make a statue of a snake (Num.21) and when ever someone was bit by a snake to go to the statue and they would be healed. Statues are NOT bad, worshiping anything other than God is. That was the point. How many Protestants have statues of the Holy Family and set up Nativity sets for Christmas? If they truly believed that the bible forbids the making of religious images then what are they doing every Christmas with their Nativity sets and putting angels on top of their Christmas trees? Or how about all those angel pins people wear on their coats? Or the pictures in our homes of "Jesus" (what some artist thinks he might look like)? Come on people, think! This stuff is common sense.
Falsehood #4: "Only God can forgive sins, humans cannot. (Mk. 2:7)". Someone at "Hardcore Christianity" hasn't read their bible very well. John 20:23 "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." This is Jesus Christ talking to his disciples after he breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit making them the first priests in his Catholic Church. (Matt.16:18-19)
Falsehood #5: "Jesus forbids calling any human, dead or alive, their spiritual "Father" (Mt. 23:9)". Now if that were true Jesus Christ would have sinned because he called Abraham "father" in the Gospels, so we know that's not true. We also know that Paul himself explains how priests are "fathers" in the Church: 1 Cor. 4:15 "Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel." There it is folks! The priests are fathers through the gospel!
Falsehood #6: "The Bible says there is only one mediator between humanity and God. It is only Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5-6, 1 Jn. 2:1-3, Acts 4:10, 12, Jn. 14:6)" I don't know why this one is here as Catholics believe the same thing. Jesus is the ONLY mediator to God, even our Catholic catechism says so (#2674).

Falsehood #7: "There is no evidence of any kind that Purgatory exists, ever existed or any dead person can communicate with the living". This is two things, purgatory and the false belief that Catholics commune with the dead. Let me respond to the latter first. No saint who's physically died on earth is dead, not one. All are alive in Christ, that is what scripture says. What Communion of Saints is, is the Family of God on earth and in Heaven because death does not divide or separate the Family of God. It can't because Jesus Christ defeated death! Purgatory is seen in scripture a few times, though the word "purgatory" (like "trinity") is not used in the bible. In the scriptures we see it called "Abraham's Side" or "Paradise". All the righteous who died before Christ could not enter Heaven until He ascended, they were in purgatory on their way to Heaven. (Luke 16:19-31) Also, when Christ is on the cross he tells the thief "Today you will be with me in Paradise", this is not Heaven because later when Mary Magdalene tried to touch Jesus he tells her not to because he has not yet gone to the Father in Heaven (John 20:17). In Acts 1 it says Jesus was on earth for 40 days after he came out of the tomb before he finally ascended into Heaven. When Jesus and the thief went to "Paradise" that was Purgatory, the place of the righteous on their way to Heaven. That is scripture.
Falsehood #8: "Has the mother of Jesus ever been given an elevated status by God?" Well at least this time they asked-even though the insinuation is that Catholics are in error about Mary. The answer to the question is of course: YES! It's right there in scripture: Mary's Song, Luke 1:48 "for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,". There it is! Catholics call her Blessed Mother of God because that is what she is! She is blessed because scripture says so and she's the Mother of God Incarnate-hence "Blessed Mother of God" as Catholics call her.
Falsehood #9: "What is the N. T. definition of a "Saint"? Is it a deified dead Roman Catholic? No. It is any born again believer, dead or alive (I Cor. 1:2, 6:1-2, Eph. 5:3, Phil. 1:1, 4:22, Jude 1:14, Rev. 13:7, 20:9). Is Roman Catholic doctrine occur." Now I've read this over and over and I can't make any sense out of it. I can't help but go "Huh?" at this one. So either Hardcore Christianity is saying NO Roman Catholic is a born again believer and hence can't be any form of "saint" or they are so off the wall they think ANY and/or all Roman Catholics are "deified" when called "saint". They are wrong on all accounts. No one is "deified" by the Catholic Church, God and God alone is worshiped.
Ok, so there you have it folks. All "Hardcore Christianity's" claims have been debunked and shown to be false. Onward to the next! (Email me those anti-Catholic sites).

What the heck is anti-Catholic?

This anti-Catholic topic seems to have caused a stir with some, good. That way it can be discussed and clarified so that falsehoods about the Catholic faith will no longer be spread as truth. Here is a reply I got from my post "Anti-Catholic Hatred Answered": "What the heck is anti-Catholic? Catholics have hijcked USA policy in East Europe, Rwanda, Timoor, Phillipines, Vietnam. They were responsible for slavery (Roger Taney, John Wilkes Booth) and the socialist labor movement and corrupt politics (Tammany, Daley). They have spread bigotry and government casuistry everywhere. They never hesitated to spread their bigotry. It is not racism to say this. Catholicism is a choice."
My response: I need to clarify a misunderstanding the writer seems to have by listing these people who have gone against Catholic teaching. When I say "anti-Catholic" I am referring to people opposed to official Catholic TEACHINGS or what they think the Catholic Church teaches. As with all religions there are members who do not follow the official teachings of their faith as this person points out. But you certainly can not lay the sins of individuals at the feet of the Catholic Church who is correctly teaching. Each person has a free will and if the person rejects the teachings of their faith they are not representing that faith, but their own free will, as the examples given show. There are "bad" Catholics, as there are "bad" Muslims or "bad" Baptists or "bad" Methodists etc. If you have an issue with the official teaching say so and let's discuss it but please don't make the mistake of thinking every Catholic is a shining example of their faith. I know that I don't look at Fred Phelps and the members of the Westboro Baptist Church as shining examples of Baptists, do you? Do their actions define the entire Baptist denomination to you? I should hope not.
Now about the slavery comment, the Catholic Church opposes slavery and fought against it, most especially here in America.
"The Catholic Church was the very heart of Christendom and the spirit that radiated from her penetrated into all the relations of life. Catholicism laid the very foundations of modern civilization. Herself the most admirable of all organizations, there was formed beneath her influence, a vast network of organizations--political, municipal and social--which supplied a large proportion of the materials of almost every modern structure. In the transition from slavery to serfdom, and in the transition from serfdom to liberty, she was the most zealous, the most unwearied and the most efficient agent." by Lecky, "History of Rationalism," Vol. II, pp. 31-32. And...
"There can be no doubt that the Catholic Church struggled resolutely against the great vices of the social state--against slavery, for instance. These facts are so well known that it is needless for me to enter into details." by Guizot (a French Protestant), "History of Civilization," Lect. VI.
I do not know what "bigotry" you are referring to. The Catholic Church has been a victim of bigotry right here in the United States. Look at the history of Catholics in America and see the rights denied to Catholics. Catholic parents were forbidden to teach their Catholic faith to their children and those children could legally be taken away from them just because they were Catholic. Priests could not preach legally without fear of being arrested. Read the history of the state of Maryland some time. Ever heard of the "Know Nothing" political party? Look them up sometime to see what Catholics have endured in American History. Anti-Catholicism is alive and well even today as current FBI reports show (see below). This anti-Catholicism has existed from the founding of this country and still spreads today, though since the 1930's and the decline of groups like the KKK it has somewhat diminished compared to the days prior to the 1930's when it flourished in this nation and Catholics lived in terror.
The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ and entrusted to spread the Gospel to all nations and she has worked to do that for over two thousands years and she will continue to do so until the Second Coming. I hope I have addressed your comments, thanks for sharing your thoughts even though we hold differing views of this issue.
For anyone who thinks anti-Catholicism is not real, may I suggest reading this FBI report on the issue;
Hate Crimes Against Catholics Show 33% Increase in 2006
November 20, 2007
According to USA Today, the latest FBI data shows that in 2006, there was an increase in the number of hate crimes motivated by bias against religion. While hate crime against people of faith in general shot up 19% from 2005, the increase in hate crimes against Catholics increased by approximately 33%. (The increase for crimes against Muslims and Jews was 22% and 14%, respectively.) Anyone wishing to read the full report may do so by visiting the FBI's website at http://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov07/hatecrime111907.html
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