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Janette
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Hi, guys —
I was baptized a Catholic and received my First Communion and Conformation all before I had any understanding of the Truth which brings me to my question.
- Is there anyway of being unbaptized from Catholicism?
Kind regard,
Janette
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{
Since I never knew the truth even after Confirmation can I be unbaptized from being Catholic? }
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Bob replied:
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Janette,
You can't be unbaptized, but you clearly seem to have renounced your Catholic faith already, even though, as you conceded, you had no understanding of it. I would wager that even now you may think you understand the Catholic faith but really only have misconceptions that you truly renounce.
- What is it that keeps you from Catholicism from a doctrinal point?
That, we may be able to answer.
Peace,
Bob Kirby
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Janette replied:
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Hi Bob,
At the time of my Confirmation, I wasn't even 12 years old, so I didn't understand the faith. I simple did what I was told to do but after studying the Bible I began to see that the faith that I was raised in, and thought I believed, actually had been steering me away from God.
First, Catholics openly disobey God's Second Commandment:
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." (Exodus 20:4-5)
Exodus 20:4-5 couldn't be any clearer that even bowing down to a statue is idolatry yet, Catholics foolishly claim that they are not worshipping the statues they are bowing down to, but God forbids us from even bowing to statues. In fact, the Bible is so clear on this matter that the Vatican has even removed the second of the Ten Commandments to deceive you.
No wonder 1 Timothy 4:2 states:
"Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron."
You may think you don't worship Mary and dead saints but please look up the word worship in any dictionary and you will find that Catholics do indeed worship Mary and other dead saints.
Second, the Bible clearly states that we should Call No Man Father or Master and that Priests cannot forgive sins. We read in 1 Timothy 2:5:
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
Jesus condemned recognizing any man as the vicar of God, or as a having special privileges or powers from God. Just look in the Catholic Bible. It states in (Matthew 23:8-11):
"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant."
Simply stated, the Bible condemns allowing ministers to come between us and God and Catholics are taught to believe that the Pope is literally God's messenger upon the earth. When El Papa speaks, Catholics worldwide hinge on every word, as if God Himself were speaking.
Third, the Bible plainly states in 1 Timothy 4:1-3 that false teachers would come to us, teaching doctrine of devils: forbidding to marry, and forbidding to eat meat. The celibacy requirement for all priests is a devilish doctrine.
The Catholic forbiddance of meat, or certain meats, on certain days, are doctrines of devils. God plainly tells us to enjoy the meat He has given us to eat, as long as we are thankful for it.
(1 Timothy 4:4). Mark 7:6-13 plainly teaches that we are never to follow the traditions of men,
yet the Catholic religion is one big conglomerate of traditions fabricated over the centuries.
It wasn't until the year 1950 that Pope Pius XII decided to make the Assumption of Mary an official Catholic doctrine, a doctrine not found anywhere in the Bible. Everything that the Catholic Church has taught you is twisted, corrupted, and damnable!!!
Fourth, Catholic doctrine denies justification by faith alone where as in the Bible it states justification is based entirely on the Sacrifice of Christ by His shed Blood:
"...having now been justified by His blood..." (Romans 5:9)
Justification is a gift of grace (Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7) that comes through faith. (Romans 3:28; Romans 5:1) Christians receive Jesus (John 1:12) and put their faith-filled trust in what Jesus did on the cross (Isaiah 53:12; 1 Peter 2:24) and in so doing are justified by God.
The Bible states that justification is not by works (Romans 3:20, 28, Romans 4:5; Ephesians 2:8-9) because our righteous deeds are filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Fourth, Catholic doctrine denies justification by faith alone where the Bible it states justification is based entirely on the sacrifice of Christ by His shed blood:
Therefore, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Lastly, the Roman Catholic church is a cesspool of homosexual perverts and pedophiles. Pedophilia and homosexuality are inseparable. As many as 50% of all Catholic priests are sodomites.
- There is nothing in the Bible about praying to statues.
- There is nothing in the Bible about not eating meat on Fridays.
- There is nothing in the Bible about worshipping the dead.
- There is nothing in the Bible about digesting Jesus' flesh and blood.
The Catholic religion can't make up it's mind and keeps changing it's dogma (doctrine). I didn't include it in my reply but there is a long list of Catholicism's man-made heresies and when they were fabricated. Catholics just keep making it up as they go.
- Can't you see that Catholicism is a lie of the devil, a prison-house of religion?
If I didn't sincerely care about people, then I wouldn't take the time to warn you. The Catholic religion is all a bunch of Satanic lies based upon traditions and ridiculous manipulations of the Word of God.
I plead with you please obey the Bible by turning to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and forsaking the Mother of Harlots. The Great Whore of the Catholic Church will take you to Hell with them if you're foolish enough to follow them. Don't do it.
Salvation is not found in a religion, but in a Person — the Lord Jesus Christ! You need Christianity, not churchianity.
God Bless,
Janette
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Bob replied:
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Janette,
I'm sorry that you have been misled by the like of the anti-Catholic Boettner-esque followers.
| [For readers unfamiliar with Loraine Boettner, Boettner was an anti-Catholic who wrote a big book called Roman Catholicism that had a bunch of misperceptions and errors about the Catholic faith. This man, who passed to his particular judgment in January of 1990, has lead many, many Protestants into many misunderstandings about what we believe as Catholics through his books and other writings. Faith-sharing honestly, is one thing; distorting what others say they believe, is another thing.] |
There are so many things to take up with what you said that it will take quite a bit of undoing.
First, with respect to graven images, God himself must have violated this commandment if it taken in the sense you imply (cf. Exodus 37:6-9), which is literal. It would therefore also apply to all religious art, and therefore could be extended to music, poetry and the like. The true sense of the commandment means not putting false God's in front of the Lord, not simple images, whatever form they take. Catholics use sacred art to inspire, not worship.
It is true that Christ is the one Mediator, however, we are all mediator's in Christ's mediatorship when we pray for one another. That reality extends to the entire body of Christ, the saints in Heaven, and those on earth. It is not a separate mediatorship but the same as His own, for He lives in each of us, and what He does, we do, in a limited sense.
- Do you not pray for others on your own authority?
No, by His, as we all do. And the saints, likewise, not by their own authority, but because of the One they abide in.
As far as the authority to forgive sins, Jesus did absolutely convey that authority to His disciples in John 20:21-23. This has nothing to do with the preaching of the word as some Protestants claim. (There is nothing in that text to interpret it that way, it is strict eisegesis on their part), but a bestowing of authority to the Twelve, that was unique to Jesus' own authority. The Apostles likewise passed on this authority and responsibility to their successors all throughout the last 2000+ years.
In a similar way, Jesus gave a specific authority to Peter in the bestowal of the keys, which Christ himself holds, linking Peter's leadership to His Own. You will benefit by a through study of the context of Isaiah 22 (particularly verses 15-25) and the Davidic kingdom of which Christ emulated in Matthew 16:19ff.
Lastly, Justification is completely God's work, but requires us to say yes to God, in essence, to cooperate with His work. Some Protestants such as Calvin taught that predestination preempted free will:
Since you were predestined you were saved, and the corollary is that you were also predestined to Hell since you have no free choice.
We condemn such as an error, in that God desires the salvation of all mankind (cf. 1 Timothy 4:10)
- Do you believe in free will?
God does, because he is Love, and Love requires free will to work. So when you say yes to God it is your free will at work, albeit aided by God's grace. Since we can't save ourselves, God will finish His work in us in bringing us to the full stature of salvation so long as we persevere in faith. Read Hebrews.
- Is not the message perseverance?
Read James.
- Is not the message, faith requires action?
In short, Catholics believe we are Justified by God's grace, through faith that works in Love.
Finally, there is something about digesting Jesus' flesh in the Bible, and it is John 6. If you study your Greek you will see the word Jesus uses literally means to gnaw and chew his flesh, which is why many of his followers were offended and stopped following Him. They were the first Protestants.
They were accustomed to hearing Him speak in parables, allegories, and other symbolic language, yet this was the breaking point. Jesus' wasn't speaking symbolically, and they knew it, but couldn't understand, and since they lacked faith they bailed on him.
They didn't understand that what he was talking about only made sense in the Resurrection, for his Flesh would become transcendent of the reality they knew, and he would become their food.
- If you think he is speaking only symbolically, why didn't Jesus say my WORD is true food?
In actually he said, my FLESH is true food. That the eisegesis that Protestants have to make to get around this difficulty.
There is much more to this one point but I'll let you read the chapter again and see if you can see it for yourself.
Peace,
Bob Kirby
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Mike replied:
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Hi, Janette —
I just wanted to add to what Bob has said.
You said:
I didn't include it in my reply but there is a long list of Catholicism's man-made heresies and when they were fabricated. Catholics just keep making it up as they go.
This is a common misperception.
Some people have been mislead to believe that once a teaching has been define by the Church, (like Transubstantiation in 1215 A.D.) the underlying false assumption is that it was never believed up until that time.
Most of the faith in the Early Church was passed on orally. Remember Our Lord said,
"He who hears you, hears Me." (Luke 10:16)
The only time the Church has spoke on a teaching, that had already been believed since Apostolic times, has been when there was confusion and uncertainty in the Church among the faithful. This is why 100% of the first portion of the patristic era was devoted to clearing up the question:
Who is Jesus Christ?
This doesn't mean that before the Councils of Nicaea through Constantinople, the faithful didn't believe in Jesus. <They did!>
If you are interested, check out my Christian heresies throughout Christendom page. (temporarily off-line)
You said:
Lastly, the Roman Catholic church is a cesspool of homosexual perverts ...
Thank-you for giving a proof for the divinity of the Church today.
It is despite our scandalous, grievous, sinful behavior that miraculously, all of Christ's teachings have still been preserved to this day in the only Church Jesus founded on St. Peter and his successors, the Catholic Church.
- By the way, are you sinless?
Remember Jesus came for sinners, not the elect or righteous. (Matthew 9:13)
- I wonder what Calvin thought about this passage?
Check out what the very first Christians:
- thought
- taught, and
- died for
at:
My favorite quote is from St. Pacian of Barcelona on this page.
Mike
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