Sometimes after church, I hit up a certain part of town to grab some lunch. It is a part of town that can have a lot of traffic. There is much less traffic on Sunday afternoons, so that is one reason why I will go over there. I seem to hate traffic more and more as I get older! Is anyone else in that same boat?
Snatching Truth Away
There is also a coffee shop over there that I have popped into a few times. It is a restaurant, bar, and coffee shop place. A very strategic place to sit is at the end of the bar, near where the waiters and waitresses pick up the drink orders. It allows you to chat with the waitstaff, bartenders, and even managers! It can be a fun spot to hang out.
The day-shift bartender, Britt, was getting ready to leave. We had a fascinating give-and-take. The next bartender, Gia (pronounced Jah), came in. I was getting ready to leave when he noticed the basketball-covered notepad I had with me. It was a gift from my players, right about thirty years ago, and I still use it! I let him know that I used to play some, and he was hooked. He loved hoops. Well, I didn’t leave until three hours later! We had a wide-ranging conversation, and he took some materials.
A couple of weeks ago, I popped back in. It had probably been about four months since I was last there. I saw both Britt and Gia again, and we picked back up with our conversations. As I was getting ready to leave, Gia said, “I forgot to tell you something. The last time you were here, there were two guys sitting next to you. After you left, they looked at me and said, ‘Everything that man said was correct, but he is wrong because he is not Catholic.’”
Life is so interesting sometimes. Here Gia and I were having a great give-and-take about the afterlife, whether the Bible is true, who Jesus is, how we are forgiven of our sins, etc. And as soon as I walked out the door, Satan was already trying to snatch those seeds of truth away! Just utterly fascinating to me.
Artificial Intelligence
I am not the biggest fan of AI. There is a much greater chance that it is going to lead to bad things than to good things. One of its better qualities is that it can be used as a search engine. Some people are getting away from Google and other browsers, where they used to do a lot of searching, because they are now doing it on AI.
So I decided to ask AI what intelligence means! Yes, that is probably an oxymoron! Here is the answer I received:
The word intelligence is generally defined as the ability to acquire, understand, and apply knowledge and skills. It encompasses a range of cognitive capacities, such as reasoning, problem-solving, learning, memory, perception, and adaptability to new situations. Definitions can vary depending on context—psychology, philosophy, or artificial intelligence, for example—but at its core, intelligence involves the capacity to process information and use it effectively.
In everyday language, it’s often associated with mental sharpness or “smartness.” In a more technical sense, like in AI, it might refer to a system’s ability to mimic human-like cognitive functions or perform tasks autonomously.
Knowledge is one thing, but how you apply it is of the utmost importance. But as you see, this AI definition mentioned nothing about the God of the Bible.
I decided to ask AI to explain the difference between intelligence and wisdom:
Intelligence and wisdom are related but distinct qualities. Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge, solve problems, and think critically—often measured by things like IQ or academic performance. It’s about processing information efficiently and understanding complex concepts.
Wisdom, on the other hand, goes beyond raw cognitive ability. It’s the capacity to use knowledge and experience to make sound decisions, often with a deeper sense of judgment, empathy, and perspective. Wisdom involves understanding the bigger picture, recognizing what truly matters, and applying insight in a way that’s practical and humane. While intelligence might help you win an argument, wisdom tells you whether it’s worth having in the first place.
Think of it like this: intelligence is knowing how to build a bomb; wisdom is knowing whether you should. One’s a tool, the other’s a compass.
As you can tell, once again, the God of the Bible is not mentioned.
Wisdom is mentioned 222 times in the Bible. Well, that tells me that wisdom is kind of important! An easy definition of “wisdom” is biblical knowledge applied. Now can you see one of the major flaws with AI?
Proverbs 3:13
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Trust me, you want wisdom, and you want a lot of it!
So are Roman Catholicism and biblical Christianity the same thing? I put the following question into Grok. Let’s see eight of the items that popped back.
“List, with no commentary, ten parts of the Roman Catholic catechism that go against the teachings of the Bible. List the paragraph number in the Catholic catechism and put the Bible verses next to it that contradict it. Write out the Catholic catechism paragraph and the Bible verses using the KJV.”
Comparing False Doctrine with Truth
#1 — Mary versus Jesus
CCC 969 — “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
#2 — When Can Sins be Purged?
CCC 1030 — “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”
Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
____________
Even though the statistics show Protestantism is the biggest religious group in America, Catholicism is also very big. There are approximately 64 million people in the United States who consider themselves to be Roman Catholic, which is about 19 percent of the American population. Their official position is written down in their Catechism, which we will continue to examine in Part 2 of this newsletter coming out on Wednesday. And if over 60 million people have the wrong answer for eternity when they die, we as born-again believers need to be doing something about it.
Remember to keep testing everything by the Word of God, so you and others can steer clear of the eternal harm that deception can bring.
Until the nets are full,
P.S. One day people are yelling out “Papa,” and the next day he meets God.
Acts 10:34, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:”
Whether it is Pope Francis or the homeless person you drove past yesterday who you knew you were supposed to stop, share Jesus with them, and maybe give them a blessing, God is no respecter of persons. As I tell people, Judgment Day is the great equalizer. Tall, short, skinny, fat, college educated, no education, male, female, rich, or poor, we all will meet God one day before His throne and there are no second chances on that day.
P.P.S. I did a talk a few years ago called Roman Catholicism vs. The Bible. I think you will like it. People tell me it is very informative. They have also sent the link to many of their Catholic friends. A good thing to do is ask them to critique it and get back with you about it. Many of them have never heard some of the information presented in it that reveals what Roman Catholicism really teaches.
We received this message just the other day from Kevin. He said, “My wife and I were given new life from your teaching on the Roman Catholicism vs. The Bible about 10 years ago. We share it as much as possible.”
You can check out this talk at the following link:
https://markcahill.org/wp-content/uploads/audio/18%20-%20Roman%20Catholicism_The%20Bible.mp3