This is a publication from the Roman Catholic magazine, ‘KNOW THE TRUTH’ A Publication to Defend the Catholic Faith, Page 10.

The Primacy of Peter is an important teaching in the Bible. Non-Catholics have to disobey the Pope’s authority just to create their illegal, fake churches and to defend their false dogmas. It is so interesting to know how they misinterpret those Biblical parts to escape from the obedience to the Pope.

 Peter is “the Rock”

 Jesus was able to see the anarchy and divisions that Satan can create in the only Church He instituted. It was the great desire of Jesus that His followers must be united together. (John 17:11) “Holy Father, watch over them…. That they may be one just as we are.” He decided to make Peter the leader, so that all shall be united under him.

 Matthew 16:18,19 “ And I tell you, you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

 Jesus spoke in Aramaic and nicknamed Simon “Kepha” (Cephas) which means “the Rock”. Anti-Catholics try in vain to misinterpret it as the “Rock” here is Jesus, not Peter. Jesus was not speaking to himself but to Simon, ‘you are Peter’ (the Rock) and upon you ‘this rock’ I will build my church. Here, ‘this rock’ is Peter not Jesus. The next sentence clarifies it. I will give ‘you’ the keys and, what ‘you bind’ on earth, will be bound in heaven. This word of the Lord supports beyond doubt that Peter is ‘the rock’ upon which Jesus built His Church. To confuse people and to escape from the authority of Peter, anti-Catholic ministers quote all the Bible passages where the word ‘rock’ comes. Usually they use 1Cor 10:3-5 where the phrase “they drank of that Spiritual Rock….and that Rock was Christ.” This has nothing to do with the institution of the Church. They simply misuse this out of context just to support their lie.

 More than that, assuming that we accept their claim, it will never contradict the position of Peter. Catholics have always believed Jesus is the invisible head or the spiritual rock of the Church because the Church is His body. But we consider the Pope as its visible head. When God the Father made a covenant with Abraham, He made Abraham the father of all nations. But it didn’t take away the Fatherhood of God (Is 51:1). He remained the Spiritual Father forever.

 Anti-Catholics may play another funny verbal gymnastics. When Jesus said ‘Rock’, he used the Aramaic word “Kepha” which means only ‘rock.’ But when it is translated into Greek, it may get a gender change: ‘Pebble’ or ‘chip of rock.’ They may try on this word to show that Peter is only a pebble. But the next sentence will correct them “I will give you (not me) the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever ‘you’ (not ‘me’ Jesus, but Peter) bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

 Peter is Shepherd

In St. John 21:15-19, we find clear scriptural evidence that Peter was commissioned by Jesus to care for His flock. “Simon , son of John….shepherd my sheep! Simon, son of John…feed my Sheep.” We know Jesus is the good shepherd (John 10:11) but here, He gives authority of the shepherd to Peter. So we call Peter and his successors, the Pope—Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church.

“Pope” means father. It is an affectionate title that the apostles used to express their responsibility to the faithful. St. Paul calls himself as ‘father’ (1Cor 4:14-16) “You are my beloved children… For I became your father in Christ.”

This is a publication from the Roman Catholic magazine, ‘KNOW THE TRUTH’ A Publication to Defend the Catholic Faith, Page 7

 Until 1400 AD, Catholic monks preserved the original purity of the Bible and made copies by hand. Everyday in the Holy Masses, the congregation attended both ‘Breaking of the Word’ and ‘Breaking of the Bread.’ The Bible was not available to common people as there was no printing at that time as it is today.

 In 1453 AD, printing was invented. Copies of the Bible were made available. In 1517 AD, Martin Luther attacked the Church, but first he vandalized Bible itself. To defend his dogmas, he threw out seven Old Testament books from the early canons of the Bible (Wisdom, Sirach, Judith, Baruch, Tobit, 1^st Maccabees and 2^nd Maccabees). He planned to destroy even the New Testament book, ‘Letter of James, which spoke against his doctrine ‘sola fide’ (man is saved not by work but faith alone). But James 2:26 says: “Faith without work is dead.” When opposition mounted, he was satisfied, accusing this Epistle as ‘Epistle of the straw.’ So, the Bible that is used by Protestants, is partial, incomplete, and unauthentic.

 His followers started to fight with each other on the interpretation of the Bible by creating contrary theologies and new dogmas. Thousands of Churches were formed. All believed that the Bible alone is the basis of faith; a dogmas never taught by Jesus, never written in the Bible, nor supported by the Bible. Each church started to change interpretations and even words in the Bible according to their desire. This resulted in more than 200,000 churches with contrary views, all based in the Bible. All claim the guidance of the same Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can never do this dirty confusion and total anarchy as it is the Spirit of Truth. There are more than 700 churches here in the Philippines with the ‘Bible alone theory.’ Thus, history proved, beyond any doubt, that the ‘Bible alone’ theory is not from God. In fact, the Bible became an instrument in the hands of Satan to create chaos and anarchy in Christendom when it was taken away from the real basis—the Church founded by Jesus upon Peter. So Jesus warned, (John 15:6) “Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and withers.”

 

This is a publication from the Roman Catholic magazine, ‘KNOW THE TRUTH’ A Publication to Defend the Catholic Faith, Page 21.

 “There is only one God, and one mediator between God and men, man Jesus Christ” (1Tim 2:5). Then why do we ask saints to intercede for us? Can they hear our prayers? Are they alive there in heaven as Catholics believe or ‘sleeping’ here in the dust, as anti-Catholics teach?

 We all admit the fact that Jesus is the only mediator; it doesn’t mean that we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us? In fact, the “Prayer of the righteous person is very powerful” (James 5:16).

 The saints and martyrs of the Catholic Church are those who lived the Bible heroically. (Not simply preachers.) By declaring someone as saint, the Church proclaims publicly that they practiced virtues in their life as taught by Jesus and all must try to imitate them.

 In different Christian groups great preachers are considered as most anointed, but the Catholic Church considers those who practice gospel values in their lives as most anointed! They are those who interpreted the Bible not only in words, but, in their life! They are the heroes of the church.

 In 1400AD St Augustine taught that worship is always given to God as it is expressed in the Greek word ‘Latria’. But the veneration of saints is considered ‘dulia’ which means ‘honor’ that we give to the saints and the angels.

 The Bible says the Saints Are to be Venerated

Saints are venerated as they reflect the glory of God. John 17:20-23 “The glory which you have given me, I have given to them.” St. Paul says God honors those who are righteous. Roman 2:4-11 “For he will give every man according to his works. Those who patiently do good works, seek glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life…glory and honor to everyone who does good.” Roman 13:1-7 instructs us to “respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.”

 Saints Can Intercede For Us

The Greek word for witness is ‘martus’ as it is used in the New Testament. In the Bible, we have the evidence that those who suffered martyrdom are helping us in our needs before God: “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great cloud of witnesses’ let us also lay aside every weight” (Hebrew 12:1). We see the prayers of saints are offered to God (Rev 5:8). “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and with golden bowels full of incense which are the prayers of the saints.” The Saints are aware of what is happening here in the earth: Rev 12:10-12 Saints in heaven say ‘woe to you earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, he knows his time is short.” They see what is happening here in earth. Jesus himself said the saints and angels in heaven are watching us. “Despise not these little one because their angels are always seeing the face of the heavenly Father.” (Mat 18:10) “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinners who repents” (Luke 15:7). It all shows the presence of saints and angels in heaven.

 Veneration of Relics of Saints

Do relics of martyrs and saints have any power from God? Why do we (Catholics) keep and venerate them? Does the Bible support this Catholic practice?

 Throughout the centuries it has been Christian practice to give reverence to the relics of saints. This has a strong Biblical foundation. 2 Kings 2:13—“then he took the mantle of Elijah and struck the water, saying: “where is the Lord, God of Elijah!” When he had struck the water, the water has parted to the one side, and to the other. And Elijah went over.” The mantle of Elijah becomes an instrument of God’s miracle. Luke 8:43-47—A woman suffering from the flow of blood for 12 years was healed when she touched the fringe of his garment. Mark 6;56—“They might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many touched it, all were made well.” Acts 5:15, 16—“They carried the sick to the streets as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them…and they were all healed.” Acts 19:11-12—“God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,  even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to the sick and their diseases left them, evil spirits came ,out of them.”

This is a publication from the Roman Catholic magazine, ‘KNOW THE TRUTH’ A Publication to Defend the Catholic Faith, Page 22

 Another accusation against Catholics is that they are “Idol Worshippers’ as there are statues and images in the church. God said to Mosses: “You shall not make for yourself any graven image or any likeness…in heaven above or earth beneath, or water under the earth. You shall not bow before them’ (Ex 20:3-5)

 If we take these words literally, God is prohibiting all arts and architecture in this world. All arts belong to images or likeness in the universe. In fact God forbade the worship of fake gods that existed at that pagan culture! They believe that the statues themselves are their gods, and made sacrifices for them. But God never prohibited the use of statues in the places of worship, which helped people to feel His presence, as the Bible says.

 God Commanded to Make Images

Ex25: 10-20 God said: ”And you shall make two cherubims of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the 2 ends of the mercy seat.” This is to create an awareness among the people about God’s Presence.

 In 1 Chronicles 28:18-19 David gives the plan of the temple to Solomon; “His plan for the golden chariot of the cherubims that spread wings and covered the Ark of the Covenant.” When Solomon constructed that temple with statues, God blessed him and dwelt in that temple.

 Exodus: 28: 31 God commanded Aaron’s priestly vestments must be adorned with images. Numbers 21:8-9 God said to Mosses “Make a statue of a fairy serpent and set it on a pole, everyone who is bitten when he sees, will live” In all these places God made use of statues for religious purpose.

 God reveals Himself in a visible form (Daniel 7:9). The Holy Spirit reveals himself in a visible form of a dove (Mt 3:16) and tongues of fire (Acts 2:14). Christ is visible image of invisible God (2Cor 4:4)

 When God said not to bow before them, is meant not to worship them nor respect them, as they all were fake gods. Catholic devotees, who bow down before a statue, are not necessarily worshipping them! When we bow before the statues of our national heroes, does that mean we worship them? This practice varies from culture to culture. In Japan, India, and some of the Middle Eastern countries, bowing is used as an expression of respect!

 The real biblical meaning of idolatry is not prohibiting statues and paintings, but worshipping fake gods and committing sins as Paul says: “Put to death the parts of you that are earthly; immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires and that lust that is idolatry” (Col 3:5)

 Early Christian tradition

Before the formation of the Bible, Christians in their churches used statues and pictures. The 4^th century historian Eusebius tells us that he had seen a statue of Christ ‘arm outstretched’ (Church history, book 7 Ch:8)

We have evidence from 150AD onwards that the Christians decorated their tombs and catacombs with paintings of Jesus, Mary, dove cross, fish etc. Excavations for a new basilica at Nazareth brought to light a mosaic painting of the Eucharist which dates back 63AD. The oldest pictures of Mary and the Child Jesus are found in the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome, dating back to the 2^nd century! Even before the Bible was formed, paintings and statues catechized people by reproducing the events in the Gospel!

 For hundreds of years, the Protestants accused Catholics of making images. They destroyed beautiful artworks all over Europe during the time of Protestant Reformation!

Now images are coming back to their TV shows! All the Bibles stories are taught to their children by books filled with images! Statues decorate some of their churches! We see a huge statue of Felix Manalo in the Central headquarters of Iglesia ni Cristo, who always accuse the Catholics Church for using statues! Some preachers from different Christians sects are very fond of selling their own images!

Just want to  quote again, from the recent Roman Catholic Magazine, 'KNOW THE TRUTH", A Publication to Defend the Catholic Faith.

Page 19
'ARE YOU A BORN AGAIN?"

'Born Again' Christians usually present themselves as a 'non-denominational Church', an easy way to attract different Christian religious groups to their sect. All Christians are welcome in their gatherings; but after some prayers and teachings, the pastor slowly start to inject protestant doctrines to all those who are listening to him. If you are a Catholic, he will open the Bible and start to critize 'statue making' and Mother Mary'. This group believes and propagates the 'Bible alone theory' of Martin Luther. It has thousands of divisions with contrary views and different names as their members follow miracle workers and preachers of their choice.

The Name Game!
The name 'Born Again' comes from an unauthentic translation of the Bible; Jesus said to Nicademus: "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. I am telling you the truth that no one can enter the Kingdom of God, unless he is born of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5)

Here in the original Greek manuscript of this gospel, John never uses the word 'born again' ("palin" is again; born "gennethe"). All Catholic translations are using the correct word written in Greek, "anothen" which means "from above" or "born above" when they translated. The name 'born again' itself is an artificial creation of some Protestant ministers, and was never spoken by Jesus!

Born again people beleive that when they confess "I am born again", they automatically become born again! Just say "I accept Jesus as Lord and Savior" we become worthy to go to heaven! It is like an instant coffee, an easy way and shortcut to go to heaven.

These foolish concepts of "Born Again" groups are coming from the teachings of Martin Luther who said, "faith alone is the way to salvation (without works) the Bible alone is the basis of faith (not the preaching and practices of Apostles as the Catholic Church considers Holy Traditions).

Some preachers of this religion even believe that 'the Church alone will not save' and 'Baptism is not essential for salvation'. If these were the case, why did Jesus institute Baptism and the Church?

The mere emotional satisfaction that we get from  music and loud shoutings of prayers will never make us genuine Christians. Works must follow our faith as St. James teahes "faith without work is dead". Jesus Himself says to us: "Not anyone who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my father in heaven wants them to do" (Mat 7:21). At the time of judgment, Christ will come in His glory and he will separate the wicked from the righteous and everyone will be rewarded accordingly to their works. "I am hungry, you gave me food." "I was thirsty; you gave me drink" that is the way Jesus will judge us. But 'Born Again' trusts in the theory of Luther 'faith alone is the basis of salvation'. At the time of judgment, when 'Born again' makes a statemnt; "I accepted you as my Lord and Savior" will they be taken to heaven? Will Martin Luther come to rescue them by qouting his theory? The way of Martin Luther and the way of salvation that is written in the Bible, are entirely different! ------unquote

Any comments?

I felt the magazine of the RC is not consistent! In my earlier blog quoting from the same source, "Know the Truth--any Comment", The RC believe that "the Bible alone" is not the basis of faith!  Now in this editorial, they are qouting from the BIble to "critisize Martin Luther! Is the RC religion using the Bible for their own convinience?

And for the informaion of people reading this blog, born again Christians, or plainly Christians believe that we are saved by the grace of God through Faith and Faith without deed is dead! Because Christians believe only in the BIBLE!
That is why we should rely on God's Word, which is the Bible, as the basis of our faith! not from any self proclaimed, man made doctrine!

I just recently read a magazine given to me, "KNOW THE TRUTH", A Publication to DEFEND the CATHOLIC faith.

In page 6 of the magazine, under THE "BIBLE ALONE' is not the basis of FAITH!
and I quote:  

"Jesus in His life never mentioned about the BIBLE. HE NEVER COMMANDED US TO BELIEVE IN A BOOK. We cannot see that He ordered apostles to write a Book.During the time of the apostles there was no Bible at all. Jesus founded, not a book as the basis of faith, but the church as the "pillar and foundation of the truth" (2 tim 3:15). and He promised not that Book, but that He himself will be with his Church till the end of age (Mt 28:20) and the Holy Spirit will lead the apostles and the SUCCESSORS into the' fullness of truth' after his ascension to heaven (John 14:16-17). He even said, "If anyone refuses to listen to the church, treat him as if you would a gentile or a tax collector." ....unqoute

 I am doubting my religion now! If we will not base our faith in the writing of the Lord, the BIBLE! who are we to trust? the priest? the pope?
any comments? I just need answers!