Roman Catholic’s False Worship

By E. L. BYNUM, Editor

PLAINS BAPTIST CHALLENGER

P. O. BOX 3100 · LUBBOCK, TEXAS 79411

E-Mail: baptist2tbaptist.com

Web Page: www.tbaptist.com

The Roman Catholic religion is filled with false doctrine and practices. At the same time Protestant and some Baptist leaders advocate closer ties to this false system that dooms its advocates to an eternal hell, unless they can be delivered from this kingdom of darkness.

Prayers To Dead Saints

Although some may deny such a practice, it is a well-known fact that this is a doctrine and practice of the Catholic religion. While we believe that all born-again Christians are saints, the Catholic Church Saints are those approved by the Vatican’s rules and they are all dead. The New Testament uses the word "saints" about 60 times and it refers to living Christians in the New Testament times which were located in various churches and places of that very time. There is no instruction for us to pray to saints. Saints are people who are called to be saints by virtue of the fact that they are in Christ Jesus through salvation. "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." (1 Corinthians 1:2)

While visiting in a Catholic hospital lately, I picked up a little Catholic magazine called The Family Digest. On page seven we find the following prayer to Joseph the husband of Mary.

"Prayer to St. Joseph — O Glorious St. Joseph, chosen by God to be the foster-father of Jesus, the chaste spouse of Mary ever Virgin, and head of the Holy Family, be the heavenly patron and defender of the Church founded by Jesus.

"With confidence we beg your powerful aid for the Church on earth. Shield it with paternal love, especially the Supreme pontiff, together with all the bishops and priests who are in union with the Holy See. Be the defender of all who labor for souls.

"Protect the working men and women and their families. Intercede for young people who are searching for their place in life. Be the sure refuge for all of us at the hour of death, and guide us safely into heaver.

"In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen."

Of course they also pray to the Virgin Mary and multitudes of other so-called saints. There is not one Scripture that teaches such an unholy doctrine.

Prayers for the Dead

Another false practice is praying for the dead. We should pray for the living, but not for the dead, for it is too late to pray for the dead as their destiny is already sealed and cannot be changed. Yet, there are many Catholics in third world countries, such as Latin America, that have been paying priests on a regular basis to pray their relatives out of Purgatory.

There is no such place as purgatory and there is not one verse of Scripture that teaches such a thing.

Veneration of Relics

Another false practice of Catholics is the veneration of relics associated with some Saint or individual. It may be a finger, a hand, some other bone that they claim belonged to some famous Roman Catholic Saint. It may be a splinter of wood that they say came from the cross on which Jesus was crucified. I remember hearing an Arab Baptist preacher many years ago. During his message, he pulled out his billfold and removed a splinter of wood which he said came from the actual cross of Jesus. I was a young preacher at the time, and I must say that I thought it was a fraud at the time, and I still do.

While in New York in October, I purchased a copy of The Post-Star, Glen Falls, N.Y., dated October 6, 2006. Here are some quotations from that article.

"MERRICK? In life, St. John Vianney was a revered 19th-century French clergyman who was said to be blessed with the ability to read the hearts of worshippers. In death, his own heart has become an object of worship.

"For reasons unknown, Vianney’s body never decayed after death, and his heart and body have been encased in separate glass reliquaries in France for more than a century.

"The heart is being brought to the U.S. for the first time this weekend in what the pastor of the Long Island church hosting the relic calls a ‘historical moment for our country, our diocese, our church.’

"The Rev. Charles Mangano of Long Island’s CurDe of Ars church said pastors from some of the Roman Catholic parishes around the country that bear Vianney’s name are flying in for the occasion, and thousands of worshippers are also expected. The heart and Vianney’s chalice will be placed at the front of the altar, where people can alternately walk past the relics and pray, or attend various Masses and other events commemorating the visit.

"After five days of services beginning Saturday, the heart will be taken to a parish in Boston before returning to France.

"Vianney was the 19th century CurDe (curate, or pastor) of the village of Ars in France, and died there in 1859. When his body was exhumed in 1904 because of his pending beatification, it was found intact. Except for one time in 1925, when the heart was taken to Rome for Vianney’s canonization, it has never left France.

"Picture of a heart in Chalice. This undated photo shows the uncorrupted heart of St. John Vianney, who died 147 years ago in France. The heart and Vianney’s chalice are being brought to the United States for the first time this weekend in what the pastor of Long Island’s CurDe of Ars church calls an historical moment for our country, our diocese, our church." — The Post-Star, Glen Falls, N.Y. (Bold face type added by ELB for emphasis).

Veneration is Worship

What can you say to people who are so gullible as to think that the body of a person who died 147 years ago would not naturally decay? The heart that was pictured in the The Post-Star was so vague that it could have been a hunk of mud and certainly was not shaped the same way as a human heart. It would seem to me that this should be classified as the desecration of the dead.

Webster’s Dictionary defines "venerate" as "worship, reverence." This is nothing short of idolatry.

"Possible sarcophagus of St. Paul exhumed in Rome"

This was the headline of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal December 12, 2006. The Vatican thinks that they may have found the body the Apostle Paul in Rome. They have not opened it yet, but they are excited about it. It was found under "the main altar of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls Basilica." If they determine that this is the real McCoy, they will have something else to venerate.

The trouble with all their theories is a house of cards that would easily fall if they accepted the truth. Paul no doubt did die in Rome, but to the Romans he was a criminal who was executed. They would never have buried him in a marble sarcophagus. There was no Catholic Church at that time and the Christians in Rome were outcasts at the time.

For the record we don’t believe Peter was ever in Rome, much less die there, and his body will no doubt rise from somewhere else in the resurrection.

What Roman Catholics need more than anything else is the salvation that brings eternal life. We should make every effort to lead them out of the kingdom of darkness. They need Jesus Christ as Saviour, not some bone, heart or relic. V

OTHER DOCTRINES OF

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH NOT FOUND

IN THE WORD OF GOD ADDED BY TORCH EDITOR

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS NOT STARTED UNTIL 300 YEARS AFTER CHRIST. GO TO THE LIBRARY AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT IS TRUE.

THERE IS NO POPE IN THE BIBLE.

PETER WAS NEVER IN ROME. PETER WAS A MARRIED MAN WITH CHILDREN ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE.

THERE ARE NO CARDINALS IN THE BIBLE

THERE ARE NO MONSIGNORS IN THE BIBLE

THERE ARE NO HUMAN NEW TESTAMENT PRIEST IN THE BIBLE PASTORS ARE TO BE MARRIED.

IN THE BIBLE IN ORDER TO BE A PASTOR YOU MUST BE MARRIED.

THERE ARE NO SACRAMENTS IN THE BIBLE. THE WORD IS NOT IN THE BIBLE.

NO SPRINKLING OF BABIES OR ADULTS IN THE BIBLE.

NO SUCH THING AS CHRISTENING OF BABIES IN THE BIBLE.

NO PERGATORY IN THE BIBLE.

THERE IS NO MAKING OF SAINTS IN THE BIBLE. EVERYONE WHO IS BORN AGAIN IS A SAINT ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE.

THERE IS NO PRAYING TO SAINTS IN THE BIBLE.

THERE IS NO MARY WORSHIP IN THE BIBLE.

MARY WAS MARRIED AND HAD OTHER CHILDREN. SHE WAS A SINNER JUST LIKE THE REST OF US AND CALL JESUS HER LORD AND SAVIOUR.

IDOLS ARE CONDEMED IN THE BIBLE. CATHOLIC CHURCHES ARE FULL OF IDOLS WHICH ARE BOWED DOWN TO.

THERE ARE NO NUNS IN THE BIBLE.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MASS IN THE BIBLE.

THERE IS NO CONFESSIONS TO A PRIEST WHO IS ONLY A MAN IN THE BIBLE. NO MAN, INCLUDING A BAPTIST PREACHER, CATHOLIC PRIEST CAN FORGIVE SIN.

JESUS WAS NOT BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE CATHOLIC. ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE HE WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST.

THE DOOM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS FOUND IN REVELATION CHAPTER 17 AND 18. BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS WILL NOT BE HERE THEN. THEY WILL HAVE BEEN RAPTURED INTO HEAVEN. WHEN A CATHOLIC GETS BORN AGAIN THEY LEAVE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.