The True Church and the Bible

Your religion is built on these forgeries...

If the Pope is chosen by God, then why would anybody in that institution condone the last Pope’s actions to voluntarily step down from the position?

It is errant in 2 cases. First his decision was man centered not God centered and secondly, the replacement to the office accepted the office while the Pope was still alive, thereby assuming his decision out trumped God’s.

When the RCC backed off on those decisions they also backtracked on the authority of the office. They instinctively know it is simply a man-made institution where they vote in the next pope by religious-political worldly power. It has no authority other than what their institution creates in worldly power.

Any historical documentation that shows the Catholic Church to be the one true church is immediately discredited and slammed by the usual Catholic bashers on FR. Same story, different day.

Christ called the spiritual society He established, "My Church" (Mt. xvi, 18), "the Church" (Mt. xviii, 17).

And in less than a lifetime; CAtholics had so screwed up what they were doing that an Angel had to appear to John to publicly REBUKE their erroneous teachings in the seven churches mentioned in last book of the Bible (that the Catholics put together.)

Their first pope gets called out by Jesus as being SATAN and later on he is said to be CONDEMNED.

Yup; Rome has done a REALLY good job alright!

The Church believes

Yet; we get the idea what the 'church' teaches.

Orthodox left the Catholic Church, not the other way around.

The Church believes that when the bishops speak as teachers, Christ speaks; for he said to them: “He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me” (Lk 10, 16).

Somebody cue the Paul Havery sound bite...

The REST of the story...

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

I don’t claim to know all that Schaff wrote on the subject, but if he considered all the letters attributed to Ignatius to be forgeries, then he was wrong.

You don't know; but are NOT above judging his work.

Ok then...

Sometime in the fourth century the original collection of Ignatius’ letters was tampered with, and extra material was added.

And someone STOLE 116 pages of Joseph Smith's early work; too!

Anything in the 4^th century would have been FULLY under the CONTROL of Rome.

So; who's to blame here?

Catholics as the "True Church" ? ? ?
Give me a break ! ! !

daughters. “

“And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.

“Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:

“But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments” (Isaiah 47:6-9). If those who comprise the “daughters” of the lady of kingdoms knew who they were, they would be very concerned, indeed!

There is one great nation which is called the “Fatherland.” There is one great religious organization which calls itself “the mother church.” A German protestor, many centuries ago, began a process whereby “daughters” came out of the great mother church; daughters which adopted practically all of her creeds and doctrines, but which eschewed her granting of indulgences and procedural abuses, while retaining much of her liturgy, many of her rites, and her refusal to obey God’s Sabbath and holy days, along with her sun worship, idolatry, and pagan holidays such as “Ishtar” (silent “h,” pronounced “Easter” today).

This “Lady of the kingdoms” is characterized as a great whore; a licentious old “mother of harlots” who has concourse with the heads of state of the world: “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters [symbol of many nations]:

“With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication [her false doctrines and political agendas].

“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast [scarlet is the color of the College of Cardinals], full of names of blasphemy [they call themselves “holy”], having seven heads and ten horns.

“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:1-5).

Of this great false church, Halley’s Bible Handbook says, “This description of Babylon the Great Harlot, seated on the seven-headed ten-horned beast, while it may have ultimate reference to a situation yet to appear, exactly fits Papal Rome. Nothing else in world history does fit.

“The desire for worldly power began to manifest itself in the church, on a broad scale, in the 4^th century, when the Roman Empire ceased its persecutions and made Christianity the State Religion. The spirit of Imperial Rome passed into the church. The church gradually developed itself into the pattern of the empire it had conquered. ... The Vatican is where the palace of the Caesars was. The popes have claimed all the authority the Caesars claimed, and more. The Papal Palace, throughout the centuries, has been among the most luxurious in the world. Popes have lived in pomp and splendor unsurpassed by earthly kings. ... ‘Full of names of blasphemy,’ Popes claim to hold on earth the place of God, to have supreme authority over the human conscience, to forgive sin, grant indulgences, and that obedience to them is necessary to salvation. How could anything be more blasphemous?

“‘Scarlet’ [is] the color of the Beast and the Harlot, and also of the Dragon [Rev. 12:3], [and] is the color of the Papacy. The Cardinal’s hats and robes are scarlet.” (Halley’s, pp. 731,732).

One need not wonder about the interpretation of the ten horns, nor about the location or identity of the great harlot who rides the Beast.

John was told, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast [the power of a king is absolute; the power of his economy and his military]. These have one mind [one policy; one agenda; they are in complete agreement], and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them [this DATES the prophecy insofar as the sequence of events; it is the FINAL economic/military coalition prior to Christ’s return!]: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

“And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire [Study the 18^th chapter of Revelation].

“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

“And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:12-18).

To which great world capital city do the heads of state go? To whom do they appeal? To the Dalai Llama? To a representative of Islam, or Buddha? No, they go to the pope in Rome! It is this city, more than any other which has “reigned over the kings of the earth.” Over the centuries, Rome has crowned them, or taken away their crowns.

The most revered human religious leader in the world today is the pope. He issues statements about the wars of the world; about the Mideast; about politics and religion.

And then there is this issue:

"“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37"

Remember:

"For the time is come that JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN at the house of God:
and if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey NOT the gospel of God?"

Remember:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

NOT every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, SHALL ENTER into the kingdom of heaven;
but HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils?
and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them,
I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME, YE THAT WORK INIQUITY.
Therefore whosoever HEARETH these sayings of mine, and DOETH them,
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that HEARETH these sayings of mine, and DOETH THEM NOT,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
For he taught them as one having authority,
and not as the scribes.

Think you,

to do away

God forbid !

A wise man one said in a meeting I attended in person:

Sin is the breaking of God's law. Repenting of sin means being sorry you have broken God's law. If you are sorry, it means you do not intend breaking His law any further! Let's illustrate it this way:You live in a society which must be regulated according to various laws. There are federal, state, county and local laws which regulate practically every act and deed. Whether we are speaking here of federal laws, civil codes or simply traffic laws, the same principle applies. You are required in order to retain your freedom and your citizenship to obey the laws of our country. If you break some of them, it may only require a fine or a very small penalty, or even a warning, and you will be allowed to remain free. Breaking others can be far more serious. Grand theft, larceny, arson, robbery, burglary, auto theft or murder could get you thrown behind bars (not withstanding the terrible laxity of the courts today). Let's suppose you have done precisely this. Maybe, caught up in an emotional state with wrong companions, you perpetrate some act which is clearly against the law. Let's assume you are arrested and in due time brought to trial. But, during the trial, just as the judge has imposed upon you a terrific fine which you would never be able to pay— say, a million dollars— a completely unknown stranger, your benefactor, stands and says,"Your honor, I believe this man is seriously contrite. I believe he got caught up in the emotion of the moment and was under the influence of some evil companions. I feel he is a man of integrity and wishes truly to mend his ways and live a better life. "Therefore, I am willing to pay his fine myself so he can go free, and he doesn't need to pay this penalty!" Although it probably wouldn't happen in our society, it does illustrate the point. The judge (as a type of God the Father) would say to the benefactor (who is a type of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for our own sins),"That will be fine! You may step up and pay the court $1 million and we will write on the court recordsthat the man who has been accused is free to go." Then the judge may look at you, the person who has been arrested, tried and sentenced, and say,"You are free to go. But don't ever get caught up in that kind of a situation again!" Do you see? You are required, as a citizen of a free country, to obey its laws, or else In the case of God's divine laws, you are required, whether you know about them or not (ignorance of the law is no excuse), whether you are a Christian, a professing Christian or whatever, to obey God's Ten Commandments. Though people by the millions freely break the Ten Commandments every single day, they are unknowingly coming under the penalty of the law, which is death! (Romans 6:23). When you repent, you are saying to God you are deeply sorry you have broken His laws. Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the counsel for the defense says to God, the Righteous Judge, that He believes in your profession of repentance and is willing to allow His own sacrifice to be applied in your case! Then, just as Jesus said to the woman taken in the very act of adultery, God will say the same thing to you,"Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more!" True repentance, then, meansbeing deeply sorry you have broken God's Ten Commandments, resolving through the power of God's Holy Spirit and the help of Jesus Christ as your daily High Priest and Intercessor, not to break the Ten Commandments henceforth.

Don't fall into Satan's deception of believing that God's Laws , The Ten Commandments are done away with.

“Orthodox left the Catholic Church, not the other way around.”

OK, I’ll bite. Aside from the fact that it was the Bishop of Rome, the Patriarch of the West, who broke communion with the then 5 other Patriarchates and went into schism, leaving them, so to speak, why do you say that?

And yet somehow, catholics have managed to inject false teaching into the church.

And the Catholics have made SURE that the world KNOWS about it; too!

You really don’t understand how this works do you? Schaff worked in a time when, for instance, many scholars denied the Hittites ever existed - because there was no record of them outside of scripture.

So?

The vast majority of experts and scholars believe the letters of Ignatius to Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Smyrna, Philadelphia, and to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna are genuine.

Move along sharply now; that sound is NOT that of axes being ground.

“Anything in the 4th century would have been FULLY under the CONTROL of Rome.”

Virtually NOTHING, outside the city limits of Rome, was under the control of Rome in the 4th century.

Your religion is built on these forgeries...

But wait!

There's MORE!!

Any historical documentation that shows the Catholic Church to be the one true church is immediately discredited and slammed by the usual Catholic bashers on FR.

Any documents that show the church being culpable in fraud and forgery are easily explained away by it's faithful minions.

Orthodox left the Catholic Church, not the other way around.

Golly; I wonder why...

2 Corinthians 6:17
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

... why do you say that?

'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,

' it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.'

'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'

SHHH...

You’ll mess up a fine story line...