Origins of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholicism itself maintains that the Roman Catholic Church was established by Christ when he gave direction to the Apostle Peter as the head of the church. This belief is based on Matthew 16:18, when Jesus Christ said to Peter:
“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (NIV).
Here is where they start to go wrong. The ROCK Jesus was referring to was God’s revelation to Peter that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is the foundation stone of our faith NOT Peter. In addition, Peter died 68 years before the Catholic Church came in to being.
Sadly, at one point, the Apostle Paul rebuked Peter for encouraging believers that they should still follow Jewish Law which was contrary to the Gospel of Christ.
Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, became an influential leader in the Jewish Christian movement. Later James, most likely Jesus’ brother, took over leadership. These followers of Christ viewed themselves as a reform movement within Judaism, yet they continued to follow many of the Jewish laws.
Another belief system at this time was Gnostic Christianity, which taught that Jesus was a spirit being, sent by God to impart knowledge to humans so that they could escape the miseries of life on earth.
In addition to Gnostic, Jewish, and Pauline Christianity, many other versions of Christianity were starting to be taught. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Jewish Christian movement was scattered. Pauline and Gnostic Christianity were left as the dominant groups.
REF: (History of the Roman Catholic Church (learnreligions.com)
So the question is; How did paganism make its way into Christianity?
The origin of the Catholic Church is the tragic compromise of Christianity with the pagan religions that surrounded it. Instead of proclaiming the gospel and converting the pagans, the Catholic Church “Christianized” the pagan religions, and “paganized” Christianity which sadly includes the Protestant (Catholic) Church also. (Ref🙂
Some basic issues:
- Mary is NOT the mother of God, she is the Mother of His son. To say that she was the Mother of God is to say God had parents. Sorry, but news flash, she was the mother of His humanity.
- Mary did NOT stay a virgin all her life. If you read the scriptures, there are 2 specific ones that prove this, and they are
Jesus Christ is our Advocate with the Father. The word advocate has Latin roots meaning “one who pleads for another.” 1 The Savior pleads for us, using understanding, justice, and mercy. Knowing this can fill us with love and gratitude for His Atonement.Notice the phrase “knew her not TILL she brought forth her 1st born son. If she had no other children why would the scripture make the distinction?
- Here again, is proof of her having other children:
47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:47-50
As for praying to Mary, it is a blatant disregard for the teaching of Christ. Jesus Christ is our Advocate with the Father. The word advocate has Latin roots meaning “one who pleads for another.”
1 The Savior pleads for us, using understanding, justice, and mercy. Knowing this can fill us with love and gratitude for His Atonement.
The Church, in the early years did not encourage people to read the Bible. They were afraid that it would propagate heresy to their doctrine.
The one person in history that confronted the theology of Catholicism is Martin Luther
- Luther taught that salvation and, consequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds but are received only as the free gift of God’s grace through the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority and office of the pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge,[4] and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood.
So, armed with this information, read your Bible, study your Bible and as the Word tells us, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
My Daily Musings 