Posted on 09/25/2013 8:27:57 PM PDT by WXRGina
Reuters and other news agencies are reporting that the Pope has capitulated on several issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception.
The Pope’s remarks were taken from a 12,000 word interview with the Jesuit periodical, Civilta Cattolica, (Catholic Civilization) the most prominent statement reaching news agencies is his declaration that the church needs to shake off its obsession with abortion and homosexuality.
The Pope has pleased the liberal factions of the Catholic Church and sickened and worried the conservative members of the church.
Few have reported on the prophetic implications of the Pope’s remarks and with some exceptions, such as those made by Evangelist Bill Keller, most protestant news outlets remain free of op-eds or theological treatment of the Pope’s interview, at the moment.
Biblical Theology and Catholic Teachings – Always at Odds
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.
The list of theological discrepancies has been addressed repeatedly for centuries and there would be little room to cover them all in one short article.
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)
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.
Simply because these facts cannot keep the childlike faith of any Catholic from reaching the Savior does not justify or verify the truth of Catholicism’s origins. It is simply a matter of Catholics being saved or redeemed not because of their religion – but in spite of it!
The Real and Present Danger in the Discrepancies between the Papacy and the Bible
Gentle, but firm, is the only way to approach addressing the errors of Catholicism at the same time knowing that millions of Catholics are of the family of faith simply because Jesus said “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (Jn 6: 37)
Yet, it is more than an item of curiosity or some minor theological difference; it is a dire sense of urgency and concern, especially in the last days, that causes anyone who knows scripture to make fair warning.
I have repeated this warning so often that I think my publishers may think I’ve run out of new things to say. I’ll take that chance, as opposed to risking a confrontation with my Savior for not making it as abundantly clear as possible, while there is still time.
What warning you ask!
Any religion, Catholic or other, that derives its ultimate authority from a man is subject to heresy, apostasy and error depending on the personality, the current state of mind or the evolvement of personal ideologies in that man.
Faith based solely on the scriptures, the written accounts of Christ’s teaching and his Apostles and biblical prophets cannot be altered, changed or disputed until the very last day of time. God intended this; it is his way of grounding us on a rock instead of the sinking sands of a changing and unstable world, to wit:
“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.” (Mt 7: 24, 25)
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.
“He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.” (Lk 10: 16)
Finally, since we will not be judged by what other men say – why would we waste time or risk being found in total error. Why not go to the source of truth and take Christ’s warning seriously?
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (Jn 12: 48)
So what did the Apostles really say about abortion, homosexuality and issues of the day?
The prophetic part of the bible contradicts the Pope’s assertion that believers are obsessed with homosexuality and abortion. In fact it warns that in the last days it is possession (demonic) that will fuel the slide into apostasy the world over.
Political correctness, floundering Pontiff’s and general acceptance of everything the bible condemns, is proof immutable, that the NWO, apostasy and the emergence of the Antichrist are well on track for the very near future. ‘Just don’t talk about it’ is the advice of fools. If the only choices are between obsession and possession it’s pretty much a no brainer.
Not only is homosexuality referred to as an abomination, to be noted, rebuked and refused as part of the church, but immoral behaviors were cause for people to be put out of the church and not allowed back in until they had fully repented. (1Co 5: 1-7) Should the perversion of same sex acts and marriage be an exception?
The idea of the Pope suggesting that we are over-talking the subject of abortions reaches to the heights of apostasy. The only voices the over two hundred million aborted babies worldwide have - is ours. Telling us to be silent is the moral equivalent of blasphemy.
After the Sandy Hook massacre of innocent children the liberals went after guns with a vengeance. Doesn’t it seem hypocritical that after 60,000,000 abortions in the U.S. and 160,000,000 abortions worldwide that telling us to pipe down is the only thing the Pope can think of to say? We will never be silent, or to borrow a phrase, you can pry my anti-abortion argument from my cold dead lips, but no other way.
The Folly of Following the Fallen
Has the Pope taken his first steps into the last day’s (apostasy) falling away? We can only hope he has not, but if this is the beginning of it, it is also the end of everything as we have known it.
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Th 2: 3)
The church is always referred to in feminine terms. It’s the “bride of Christ”. Even in Revelation the term is “come out of her”. I don’t believe it can be the church.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Abide with those in the “church”. It doesn’t say He will be on the earth forever.
Acts 2:16-21 He did that in the Old Testament also but there was no indwelling.
Revelation 12:17 is talking about Israel and the keeping of the commandments. There is no indwelling but only the external law keeping.
Revelation 19:10 That is taking place in heaven and there is no indication of the Holy Spirit being present on earth as He is today during the church age.
Revelation 7: 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
There robes were washed after they were killed. Unlike today when we have been washed already. During the tribulation the Holy Spirit functions on earth as He did before the ascension of Jesus. He is no longer the restrainer as He is now during this age.
>>One more thing, because I know it will come up: calling the Church "he". It is called the "one new man", masculine.
No it isn’t. Ephesians 2:15 is not talking about the church. It’s talking about the two distinct personages of Jesus while He was on earth. He was fully man and fully God. When He “abolished in His flesh” He was making “of twain” one new man.
Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Is talking about Christ being the perfect man. I know that one can be confusing but if you read it in the Greek the word order is different. We will mature to the same level of knowledge as Christ when He was a perfect man.
1 Corinthians 12 When a man and a woman get married they become one. That doesn’t mean the woman becomes male.
other Christian.....if you’re not Catholic nor protestant, what “other Christians are there???
of course being used by God to accomplish a goal does not save anyone....but it certainly points to a head start!!! without the early Christians, becoming known as Catholoics, you would have no idea whatsoever, of who Jesus was.....yes, it was God who used the Catholics to preserve His message...nevertheless they did it and you should be thankful
do you even own a bible????does it have the old and new testament in it??? Of course Jesus read in the synagogues, but He read from the old testament. We, however, need both the old and new testaments to have a bible....(the old testament, alone, is not a bible...) it is through the efforts of the Catholic church that we do, indeed have both. Without them you'd read ONLY the old testament.....there was no one else to carry it to us...
Wow! Are you clairvoyant as well? Or puporting to read their mind? Telling someone what they know! I thought Catholics didn't like when people do that.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Hmmm, they must of only done that when the apostles were with them. Oh wait, they did that even when the apostles weren’t there! And now you say the apostles “were the only ones in possession of the scriptures”? The Holy Spirit inspires Paul to write that they had the scriptures and you say they didn’t. Who to believe?
please
We need no earthly bureaucracy to be followers of Jesus. Being saved is between me and HIM, I do not need a Priest, a Bishop or Pope.. none of which are biblical.
As soon as you give thanks to and venerate Judas. I’ll continue to give the glory and credit to God.
..is that so repugnant to you that you can’t grasp reality?????
The Gospel was preached to the world in the same manner.
well, let's see, we can either go back to follow the Jewish teachings or we might observe that they missed the coming of Christ as the messiah that they had been waiting for...The Jews were adequately forewarned of the coming of the Messiah, and through the pride and arrogance of the Jewish rulers, they missed the boat....too bad, so sad.
You seem to be missing the point:
The Pharisees believed in TWO Torahs delivered on Sinai: One written (the Books of Moses), and one oral (The Jewish tradition... Talmud and Mishna, etc).
They held their oral tradition and authority to be equal to, or above the written Word.
They claimed their oral tradition and authority was verified only by way of succession.
They claimed the sole authority to determine and interpret Scripture.
They claimed infallibility.
They claimed to call down YHWH by means of their rites and utterances.
They claimed the right to change the law by way of their tradition.
They claimed the right to lord over the laity, and dressed in opulence, while claiming poverty and servitude.
They claimed to be 'God on earth' vicariously.
The comparison goes on and on...
But moreover, they claimed they would never ever fail, because YHWH said He was with them forever (in the Torah, no less)...
Any of that sounding vaguely familiar?
How did all that turn out? I will tell you: They were stone_dead_wrong.
What is it that makes y'all think it will be any different for you?
Y'all have been adequately warned of the coming of Messiah too. Will you listen?
Yet you very matter of factly stated a number as if it were the number. Now you backtrack.
I care not of denominatons, nor does God.
It's been explained to you many times what makes up the church that Jesus started, and it most certainly isn't Catholics except for the few (realitively) that are born again, or "from above" as Catholics prefer to say.
All who have decided to repent and follow Jesus are Christians, and the sum of those make up the church. Period. Same as it was in the first century.
Catholicism is no more important than any of the other denominations.
Terycarl, you are misinterpreting what Jesus said. As the column above points out, and as all of Scripture makes plain, Jesus is the Rock, the Foundation, of His church, certainly not Peter.
"Protestant" is a false label. Bible-believing Christians are not protesting anything, but whatever. As I have already said, you--a catholic--and I will never agree, only reach impasse after impasse. It is futile to argue, and I will only do it for a short time before bidding you good day.
Mercifully so, we must think. Thank you for the sage thoughts. You are an unfailing blessing.
I understand where you’re coming from. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one. I think this might be a FIRST, CB! You make good points, but for now, and until I study this more thoroughly, I have to stay in this position. Not to say it won’t change, but for now...And you WILL be the first to know if my mind is changed :)
smvoice
LOL I had the same struggle as you are going through. Just remember that the “church” which is us, couldn’t restrain the adversary without the Holy Spirit. So who is it exactly who is doing the restraining? Man or the Holy Spirit?
I don’t know for sure, but one thing I DO know for sure: we are doing exactly as the Bereans did. I searched the Scriptures and gave you my reading, you searched the Scriptures and gave me your reading, and I’m going back to the Scriptures to go over your reading. THIS is what constructive and thorough Bible study is all about! Thanks for your hard work, your dedication to the Scriptures and your knowledge of God’s Word of Truth!
So thankful to be IN CHRIST,
smvoice
Amen, Amen, and Amen!
just a thought...salt is used to slow the decay of ‘meat’
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