In Monday’s newsletter, we discussed the book Catholic Myths by Charles Zonca and touched on two foundational pillars of Roman Catholicism: Apostolic Succession and Transubstantiation. These two teachings of Roman Catholicism lend support to still other unbiblical practices within Catholicism. If you delve more deeply into RCC beliefs, you’ll find that its structure and practices, while interconnected, are not based on truth.
For instance, the practice of Transubstantiation lays the groundwork for the existence of the Roman Catholic priesthood, which is central to Catholic worship, as Charles Zonca conveys in the following quote:
Roman Catholicism teaches that her priests discharge the priesthood of Jesus Christ, that they are other Christs (alter Christus). This explains the extravagant adulation and exaltation heaped upon the Roman priest. The French Catholic saint J. B. M. Vianney said that “Where there is no priest, there is no sacrifice; and where there is no sacrifice, there is no religion.” Without the priest, the death and passion of our Lord would be of no avail to us. See the power of the priest! By one word from his lips, he changes a piece of bread into God! A greater feat than the creation of the world. He also said, If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I would salute the priest before saluting the angel. The angel is a friend of God, but the priest holds the place of God Next to God Himself, the priest is everything! What humiliation for Jesus Christ! All mankind must say with John the Baptist, He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)
Charles also did a great job in his book dealing with the false teachings about Mary. The Marian movement, which is the worship and veneration of Mary, seems to be gaining in popularity all the time. As feminism has been on the rise, so has the desire for some to find a female image they can worship or identify with. Mary has filled that need for many.
Pope Pius XII, head of the Catholic church from 1939 – 1958, said the following:
We pronounce, declare and define to be a dogma revealed by God that the Immaculate Mother of God, Mary, ever virgin, when the course of her life on earth was finished, was taken up body and soul into heaven.
The Catholic church also teaches that Mary never died. She was just assumed bodily straight to heaven.
“What evidence do we have to prove that the Assumption actually happened? Who was present as a witness at the time it supposedly occurred? Who could have confirmed this incident? There is one who had first-hand information on anything that Mary did up until the time of her death, one who was around for a number of years after her death. John the beloved, the apostle to whom Jesus entrusted His mother, because His brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5), could have confirmed these events. He certainly would have written something so great, perhaps one of the greatest events of all time. Nothing as important as this, be it in the past or in the future, would ever have been omitted from the Bible. If God had intended for it to be a revealed truth, to be believed by all, it would certainly be mentioned somewhere in His revelation. Since the Bible is a complete revelation of all events of spiritual significance, an event of this importance would certainly have been included. No Christian would have any reason to reject the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary IF it were actually recorded in Scripture, but it is nowhere mentioned. Thus, in the light of revealed truth, this doctrine must be classified as presumption. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)
Says the Jesuit priest, E. R. Hull, in What Is the Christian Church? p. 35, published by the Catholic Truth Society:
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception simply means that Our Lady, in view of her exalted office, was endowed with God’s grace from the first moment of her existence, instead of being conceived and born in original sin. We cannot infer that Mary did not owe her redemption to Christ’s death, but only that the grace of redemption was conferred beforehand. “At Medjugorje (Yugoslavia), two priests confirmed their belief that Mary is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Most of the major attributes that belong to Christ alone have been applied to Mary of Romanism. She has been called the second Eve, mediatrix, the co-redemptrix, seat of wisdom, Ark of the covenant, Gate of heaven, Morning star, Refuge of sinners,5
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How about NO to all of that!! What crazy times we live in. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And, yes, that includes Mary. And Mary would tell you that it most definitely includes Mary!
Roman Catholicism is loaded front to back with false teachings. You don’t get saved into Roman Catholicism; you get saved out of it. You need to be boldly witnessing to your Catholic friends. If they are trusting the RCC, the eucharist, Mary, etc., for their salvation, hell awaits them when they die. And, as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, you do not want anyone, even your worst enemy, to spend five seconds, let alone all of eternity, in hell.
This book has some great information in it to help you in your witnessing to Catholics. You can pick up a copy at the link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Myths-Examination-Superstitions-Inventions/dp/B08R7XYNND
/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=charles+zonca&qid=1620070123&sr=8-1
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Until the Nets are Full of Former Catholics,
P.S.
References:
1 Charles Zonca, Catholic Myths (Independently published, 2020), 45.
2 Ibid., 60.
3 Ibid., 61,62.
4 Ibid., 64.
5 Ibid.,70.