Roman Catholic Church, History of … or, why people believe what they believe. (There is another post in the religion thread that is essential to understanding this information; Simon Peter versus Simon the Sorcerer)
To begin with, let me be frank; nothing that has come from the Roman Catholic church is Biblical. Period. To understand this, go here;
http://www.biblebelievers.com/babylon/
This is a free online book titled, Two Babylons, and it accurately describes the source of the rituals and beliefs of the Roman Catholic church. It is worth reading, if you wish to understand.
Secondly, I have had discussions, recently, in threads in the 4um from people who accused me of making things up; namely, the Roman Catholic church banned the reading of the Bible by people. In fact, one went so far as to claim that the reason that the Bible was so widely distributed was because the Roman Catholic church is the one who distributed the Bible! Hogwash and Balderdash! The Roman Catholic Church hates the Bible, and, people who dare to read the Bible because the Bible reveals all of the lies of the Roman Catholic church!
Go here, please; http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/banned.htm
ITEM #1 POPE INNOCENT III
Pope Innocent III stated in 1199:
... to be reproved are those who translate into French the Gospels, the letters of Paul, the psalter, etc.
ITEM #2 COUNCIL OF TOULOUSE - 1229 A.D.
The Council of Toulouse, which met in November of 1229, about the time of the crusade against the Albigensians, set up a special ecclesiastical tribunal, or court, known as the Inquisition (Lat. inquisitio, an inquiry),
Canon 14. We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament;
ITEM #3 THE COUNCIL OF TARRAGONA - 1234 A.D.
The Council of Tarragona of 1234, in its second canon, ruled that:
"No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned
ITEM #4 JOHN WYCLIFFE - MORNING STAR OF THE REFORMATION
John Wycliffe was the very first to translate the entire Bible into English, which he completed in 1382. Wycliffe translated from the Latin Vulgate. One copy of an original manuscript is in the Bodlein Library in Oxford, England. Wycliffe's Bibles were painstakingly reproduced by hand by copyists.
In 1408 the third synod of Oxford, England, banned unauthorized English translations of the Bible
ITEM #5 THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH IS PRINTED
William Tyndale completed a translation of the New Testament from the Greek in 1525, which church authorities in England tried their best to confiscate and burn. After issuing a revised edition in 1535, he was arrested, spent over a year in jail, and was then strangled and burned at the stake near Brussels in October 6th, 1536
ITEM #6 THE BIBLE PROHIBITED BY THE INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM
Pope Pius IV had a list of the forbidden books compiled and officially prohibited them in the Index of Trent (Index Librorum Prohibitorum) of 1559. This is an excerpt:
Rule I
All books which were condemned prior to 1515 by popes or ecumenical councils, and are not listed in this Index, are to stand condemned in the original fashion.
Rule II
Books of arch-heretics - those who after 1515 have invented or incited heresy or who have been or still are heads and leaders of heretics, such as Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Hubmaier, Schwenckfeld, and the like — whatever their name, title or argumentation —
ITEM #7 POPE CLEMENT XI ON READING SCRIPTURE
From UNIGENITUS, The Dogmatic Constitution issued by Pope Clement XI on Sept. 8, 1713:
The following statements are condemned as being error:
79. It is useful and necessary at all times, in all places, and for every kind of person, to study and to know the spirit, the piety, and the mysteries of Sacred Scripture.
80. The reading of Sacred Scripture is for all.
81. The sacred obscurity of the Word of God is no reason for the laity to dispense themselves from reading it.
82. The Lord's Day ought to be sanctified by Christians with readings of pious works and above all of the Holy Scriptures. It is harmful for a Christian to wish to withdraw from this reading.
83. It is an illusion to persuade oneself that knowledge of the mysteries of religion should not be communicated to women by the reading of Sacred Scriptures. Not from the simplicity of women, but from the proud knowledge of men has arisen the abuse of the Scriptures and have heresies been born.
84. To snatch away from the hands of Christians the New Testament, or to hold it closed against them by taking away from them the means of understanding it, is to close for them the mouth of Christ.
85. To forbid Christians to read Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels, is to forbid the use of light to the sons of light, and to cause them to suffer a kind of excommunication.
Perhaps this is enough. You are welcome to visit the site quoted above, as there is a wealth of additional information.
One thing that everyone needs to understand is that when the Roman Catholic church claims that someone, such as Luther, is a heretic, it is because they rejected at least a part of the unscriptural teachings of the Roman Catholic church. You can do your own research on this, but if you can not find anything, just let me know.
Go here; http://cdelph.org/catholic.html
The Roman Catholic Church -- Examined Historically and Biblically
Pretty interesting, and confirms what I am going to post about the Roman Catholic church
There are some Protestant denominations or groups that will try to establish a “Trail of Blood” that can be traced back through the centuries to the first century church and the apostles themselves. While these Protestants do not hold to apostolic succession in order to establish the authority of a “Pope” as an infallible leader, they still look to that connection to the early church in at least some small degree to establish the authority of their doctrines and practices.
The problem with any of these attempts to trace a line of succession back to the apostles, whether it is Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant, is that they all are attempts to derive or support the authority of what they believe and teach from the wrong source, that of some real or perceived connection with the apostles, instead of deriving it from the Word of God, i.e., from the Bible.
To understand this better, please read the post put up in the Religion thread;
Simon Peter versus Simon the Sorcerer
The above information is good, but it is not complete. Yes, the Great reformation in Christianity occurred because enough people began to understand how far from the Bible were the teachings of the Roman Catholic church; that has not changed today.
But, what was the problem with the Great Reformation? Simply put, it did not go far enough in removing the evil influences brought into Christianity by the Roman Catholic church. Many of the truly un-Scriptural teachings of the Roman Catholic church remained.
I have posted the following before;
cdelph.org/catholic.html
The Roman Catholic Church -- Examined Historically and Biblically
cdelph.org/catholic.html#false
FALSE DOCTRINES WHICH UNITE THE CHURCHES WITH ROME
TIME OUT! Read the above sentence a couple of times and understand what it says!!; Unites the churches (of Christendom) with Rome.
2. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. Belief in a triune God - a God that is both one and three - is opposed to reason and the clear declaration of Scripture (Mark 12:29; 1 Corinthians 8:6). It was included in church teaching about 300 years after the death of Christ, and from Rome has found its way into the beliefs of nearly all communities of Christendom.
The HOLY SPIRIT is the power of God, a divine energy by which He fills all space and creates and sustains all things: Luke 1:35, Psalm 51:12, 104:30, 139:7-12, Acts 17:27-28. The Holy Spirit is NOT A PERSON, but the "one spirit" of God used for special purposes: miracles, signs and wonders: Acts 2:1-4.
MAN is a mortal creature whose consciousness utterly ceases at death, and, therefore, renewed life can come only through a bodily resurrection. Genesis 3:19, Ezekiel 18:4, Psalm 6:5, Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, 9:5-6, Isaiah 38:18-19, 1 Corinthians 15:13-21, John 5:28-29, Daniel 12:2.
Let us examine a short list on non-Biblical teaching in Christendom;
There is no Trinity.
There is no immortal soul.
There is no hell, and no hell fire and damnation.
There is no Christmas. No one knows when Jesus Christ was born, and that is as it should be. http://www.xanga.com/Babylon_The_Great/554683845/item.html This is a belief that came directly from Babylon.
There are no Christian holy days, as proscribed by the Roman Catholic church and the protestant churches as well, EXCEPT the one new day detailed in the Bible, which neither the Roman Catholic church nor the Protestant churches recognize.
There is no Easter, except that Easter brought into Christendom by the Roman Catholic Church.
Here is an interesting site especially for those who accept the dogma and tradition of the Roman Catholic church:
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p2.htm
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
232 Christians are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"53 Before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son and the Spirit: "I do." "The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity."
The above is the basis by which the Roman Catholic church maintains that anyone professing the trinity is a Catholic.
233 Christians are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: not in their names,55 for there is only one God, the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit: the Most Holy Trinity.
The above is why the Roman Catholic church, and those churches which adhere to her dogmas and traditions, reject the name of God, Jehovah, and this is why the Bible of today are printed with His chosen Name.
234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, …
There are no mysteries in Christianity. Christ himself said that He said nothing in secret. All has been revealed, except for the end of times, which was an admitted mystery to the Christ Jesus as well.
The dogma of the Holy Trinity
253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity".83 The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God."84 In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."85
Yes, that is indeed a mystery, as in the mystery religion of Babylon. It has no place in Christianity, and no place in your heart. But that is your choice to make. Jehovah God does not force Himself on anyone, but then His Promises are only for those who celebrate His Holy Name, and take in accurate knowledge of Him.
John 17:3; This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.
Chose wisely, please.