Survey for Protestants

[Richard]

1-Do you believe Catholics are Christian?
No.


2-Do you believe Catholics are a cult?
In a way.  Yes and no.


3-Do you believe Catholics worship Mary?
Yes.  They pray to her.  That is worship of someone other than God, which is forbidden by the Ten Commandments.


4-Do you believe Catholics worship the Pope?
No.  I think.

[Richard]

3. No, not worship. If I'm not mistaken, they pray to the saints as mediators between themselves and God, which is a little weird if you ask me, but certainly not worship.

You are mistaken.  As Catholics we pray with the saints directly to God.  By praying with others, our prays are strengthened, as Jesus tells us to "pray for one another".

Two questions:

1) How does "pray for one another" translate into "pray with dead people?"

2) Praying, or consulting with the dead (saints, or Mary), is witchcraft, which is prohibited by God.

[Richard]

You cannot know for sure someone is in Heaven.  God knows people, not the pope.  Some of the saints may very well not be in Heaven.  Thus, praying with them, or communicating with them, is witchcraft.

Regardless, death in my original post merely refers to those that departed this world.  It is irrelevant where they ended up.  God punished Saul even though he communicated with someone God liked... someone that will be in Heaven for sure.  Samual.

All forms of communicating with the dead (those that departed this world) is witchcraft, prohibited by God.

[Richard]

In Exodus 20:4-5, we read:  "4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;"  Yet, when I observe Roman Catholics, I see something completely different.  Many Catholics go to the front of the church and fall on their knees in front of a cross, or a priest (to receive communion).  God very specifically commanded that we do not make an idol and bow down before it (such as the cross), or before other people (such as the priest).

Roman Catholicism has many roman pagan beliefs intertwined with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The obvious is the idols, the icons, the physical "holy" things that they carry around and have in their homes (maybe not so much today anymore, but it was a big thing).  This was directly inherited from Roman pagan religion.  Mark 7:8 seems to reflect on that: "You give up the command of God, and you observe the tradition of men."

Jesus never commanded us to carry a little holy cross around.  He also never commanded that we have idols in the church.

How about 1 Timothy 3:1-5?  It makes a declaration that the leaders in the church have the right to marry.  Jesus never commanded that priests must remain unmarried.

Another issue I found with the Roman Catholic religion is Mary.  Mary is, for some reason, raised to the level of mediator.  1 Timothy 2:5 and 1 John 2:1, and also Heb 7:25 specifically tells us that there is only one Mediator for men: Jesus Christ.  Mary is irrelevant.  She wasn't even Jesus' biological mother.  She just carried the baby, which was conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Mary is a human being, just like you, just like me.  She was blessed to have carried the Messiah, but that is where it ends.  No where in the New Testament does Jesus say Mary is a mediator, or does He instruct us to pray with, or to, her.  There is only one intercessor between man and God the Father, and that man is Jesus Christ. 

I completely reject the doctrine of the "Immaculated Conception of Mary."  Mary was a sinner, just like you, and just like me.  She deserves hell, like you, and like me.  Through Jesus, she was saved, just like you, and I, both need Jesus to be saved.  The Bible does not ever mention that Mary was somehow exempt from the orginal sin.  In fact, Acts is very clear that ALL humans fall short of the glory of God!  (And Jesus wasn't human, just human form.  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Mary was just the carrier.)  "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

There are other issues, but I will conclude with the doctrine of baptism.  Catholics baptize babies, I belive in baptism for believers.  Scripture tells us that baptism is a voluntary and personal act of repentance.  Babies can't decide!  After one is saved, one undergoes baptism.


I'm not anti-Catholic, but I disagree with their doctrinal beliefs.  I'm sure there are some saved Catholics, but I do, for most part, consider it another false religion that puts the emphasis on the wrong spot.  Jesus is the emphasis, and Jesus alone.  Only Jesus can forgive sins, not your local priest, and certainly not for money.

Jesus is available 24/7, free of charge, to anyone that wants to come to Him.  Confess your sins, believe that He is the Son of God, the Savior, and you shall be saved.  John 3:16.  Nothing else is required.  Once you die, you will enter Heaven, not some other place called Purgatory.  Jesus doesn't "almost" clean you so that you need purgatory.  He washes you clean.

[Richard]

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But not for worship, or to bow down before it.

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But not for worship, or to bow down before it.

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But not for worship, or to bow down before it.

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Although the Bible does not mention it in this case, many cases angels directly command the people to "get up" because they are not God.  I belive this happened in this case too.

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Continue to verse 18:
Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

Daniel was dreaming.

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Remember does not mean consult with them.  Are you allowed to remember those that are not saints?

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God healed them, not the bones.

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The Holy Spirit was working through Peter, and the apostles.  I again iterate, Jesus did not command you to have icons and holy devices.  They do not replace Him.  I do not put my faith in these trinkets, but rather, in Jesus.

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There was no church of God before Jesus died.  Before then, God dealth with the world through the Israelites.  After that, the Holy Spirit which is in each of God's children.  No need for trinkets to worship or to bow down to.

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It doesn't make it right.

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Yes, but Catholic priests are not allowed to marry.  I don't know of one Bishop, Cardinal, or even the Pope that married.  This is against the Bible.

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Thats not quite what I said now, is it?


I was reading through the rest of what you wrote, but then I saw this: " requires an open mind, which you don't have."

Obviously you made up your mind too.  Well, nothing's new.  It is not easy to convince or change someone.  No hard feelings?  I just do not agree with you doctrinally.

The more important question, and this is the most important question ever and dwarfs everything else we discussed is, are you saved?  If you can say yes, you belong to Jesus, and you know of a date and time that you made the commitment, then all is well.

Do you believe Jesus is going to come back and rapture His church?