0 Roman Catholicism, Mary, and Idolatry

1611-kjv.blogspot.com

Roman Catholics have an extremely high view of Mary and have attributed some astounding characteristics and abilities to her, such as her interceding for us, atoning for us, and delivering our souls from damnation (documented below).  Protestants consider this elevation to be not only extreme, but idolatrous since they attribute to Mary what should only be said of God.  Roman Catholicism responds by saying it venerates Mary and gets its doctrines on her from Sacred Tradition, which is an "inanimate thing passed from hand to hand,"1.  Alright, so which is it, the sin of idolatry or the blessing of veneration?

0 Bodily Assumption of Mary

The Bodily Assumption of Mary is the Roman Catholic teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was bodily assumed into heaven.

"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."⁵⁰⁸ The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians 1:

0 A Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

A litany is a prayer.  This following litany was approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.   Notice the numerous terms used to describe Mary.  For the purpose of identification and discussion, we have numbered the statements;
please take special note of the ones emboldened:

0 Mary the subject of preaching and worship

From Vatican Collection Volume 1, Vatican Council II, The Conciliar and Post Conciliar documents.  General Editor Austin Flannery, O.P. New revised edition 1992; Costello publishing company, Northport, New York.  1992 pages 420-421 (par. 65)

0 Why Protestants Don't Pray to Mary (A Brief History of Prayer to Mary)

 "Blessed art thou among women..."   -Luke 1:28

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus;" -I Timothy 2:5

"Why don't Protestants pray to the Virgin Mary? (or even seek Mary's intercession on one's behalf?)

0 Mary, full of grace, and Luke 1:28

According to The Catholic Encyclopedia (TCE) under the topic of Hail Mary it says, "Hail (Mary) full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women", embodies the words used by the Angel Gabriel in saluting the Blessed Virgin (Luke, I, 28)."  The Roman Catholic Church derives all sorts of teachings concerning Mary from the phrase "full of grace." Two of them are...

0 Is Peter the rock on which the Church is built?

juventus.theoffside.com

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it," (Matt. 16:18).

The Roman Catholic Church Puts a great deal of emphasis on Peter and claims that Jesus said he would build his church on him.

0 Mary's virginity and Matt. 1:25

The Roman Catholic Church maintains that Mary retained her virginity after the birth of Christ.  It says in paragraph 510 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,

0 The Apocrypha: Is it scripture?

The Apocrypha consists of a set of books written between approximately 400 B.C. and the time of Christ.  The word "apocrypha" (απόκρυφα) means "Hidden."  These books consist of 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the Rest of Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, (also titled Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, The Letter of Jeremiah, Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, The Additions to Daniel, The Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.

0 Transubstantiation and the Real Presence

Transubstantiation and the Real Presence of Jesus

eucharistjesuswithus.blogspot.com

Transubstantiation is the teaching that during the Mass, at the consecration in the Lord's Supper (Communion), the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are transformed into the actual body and blood of Jesus and that they are no longer bread and wine, but only retain their appearance of bread and wine.

The "Real Presence" is the term referring to Christ's actual presence in the elements of the bread and the wine that have been transubstantiated.

0 Did Mary Have Other Children?

www.the-gospel-truth.info

One of the more controversial teachings of the Catholic church deals with the perpetual virginity of Mary. This doctrine maintains that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus and that biblical references suggesting Jesus had siblings are really references to cousins (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 510).

0 Did the Roman Catholic church give us our Bible?

www.thelordsworktrust.org

Roman Catholics often say that it was their church that gave us the Bible. They sometimes claim this when defending their "Sacred Tradition" so that they might support extra-biblical teachings such as purgatory, penance, indulgences, and Mary worship.  They often say the only way the Christian church knew what books are to be included in the Canon of Scripture was because it was revealed by word-of-mouth in the early church; that is, by the tradition of the Catholic Church.

0 Comparison Grid of Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christianity

I hesitate to put this grid up only because I do not want to needlessly assail the Catholic belief system in an offensive manner. However, I cannot help but see the similarities between Catholicism and some of the cults.

Do I think Catholicism is a cult? No. But I do think it has some very serious theological problems, bordering on apostasy, imposed upon itself through its history of letting traditions seep into the fabric of biblical truth.

0 The Exaltation of Mary

Following is a list of the titles, attributes, and qualities of the Virgin Mary according to the Roman Catholic Church.  Note how many of the statements elevate Mary to a place that is equal to God in many functions, i.e., intercession, atonement, prayer to, etc.

1. Adoration of Mary
   1. Prayer to Mary
      1. CCC par. 2675, "Beginning with Mary's unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God, centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries..."
         

0 Mary

Mary occupies a unique place in biblical history. She conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then she bore the Messiah. Among women, she is most blessed (Luke 1:42) and all who claim to be Christian acknowledge her as a chosen vessel of God. While Christians admit Mary's uniqueness, the Catholic church has, in its own words, "clarified her position and nature through Sacred Tradition." Through the centuries, more and more doctrines concerning her have been revealed. For example:1

0 The CCC paragraphs 862, 883, 896, 939 and following the Bishops

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that its Bishops must be followed as you would follow Christ (862, 896), because it has supreme authority over the church (883), to teach the true faith (939).

0 The CCC paragraph 460 and becoming a god

http://top-10-list.org/2009/09/11/erroneous-beliefs-about-catholicism/

I have never heard in all my years of studying Roman Catholicism that it is ever declared that we will become gods.  Such a teaching is, of course, against the Bible (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5) and is held by cults -- in particular the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints (Mormons).  So, when I discovered in the catechism of the Catholic Church (scborromeo.org/ccc.htm) a paragraph that was surprisingly unbiblical, I had to take a closer look.  It is about becoming gods.

0 Roman Catholicism

press.co.nz

There is so much about the Catholic Church that is fascinating. They teach many orthodox things, and then they teach so many non orthodox doctrines. Following are some of them in an easy-to-cut-and-paste arrangement.  Also, check out the Roman Catholicism section on CARM.

0 The Gospel for Roman Catholics

This paper is written in two parts.  The first explains and documents the Roman Catholic Church's position on justification.  The second part presents the true gospel in contrast to the Catholic Church's position. 

Because of the great emphasis on Sacred Tradition within the Catholic Church and because so many Roman Catholics appeal to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, the Word of God is often placed after the Catholic Church itself in relation to authority.  Because of this, many Catholics appeal to their works, in combination with the sacrifice of Christ as a means of being justified before God.  The Council of Trent expresses this plainly:

0 Catholic Terminology

douglawrence.wordpress.com

This list of terms used by the Catholic church is brief and succinct. It should help those who are learning about Catholicism and who desire to be conversant with Catholics on their terms.

1. Absolution - the act of releasing someone from their sin by God, through the means of a priest.
2. Actual grace - God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.
3. Actual sin - any sin that a person commits.
4. Annunciation - When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was to be the mother of the Messiah.