Category: Catholic Church

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Catholic Church

The Catholic Church and Satanism

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Cognitive Dissonance occurs when a person is presented facts that are contrary too a deeply held belief. The need to hold onto that deeply held belief results in rejecting the facts presented even if those facts are compelling. Rarely does a person experiencing cognitive dissonance accept any truth that contradicts their deeply held belief.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Many  Roman Catholics will experience cognitive dissonance when presented with facts that expose the RCC as evil, even if it’s the RCC that exposes itself.  Hiding in plain sight are things that should shake the faith of any RC. Take for example the Vatican Audience Hall pictured below.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Audience Hall at the Vatican” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:32|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Raleway%3A100%2C200%2C300%2Cregular%2C500%2C600%2C700%2C800%2C900|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_single_image image=”580″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you don’t see the head of a snake, you’re experiencing cognitive dissonance.  I understand. The idea that the RCC would knowingly construct a building that looks like a snake is unthinkable.

Take another look at the picture below. Right down to the fangs many people clearly see the head of a snake. Even if you don’t see a snakes head,  accept the fact that a great many people do. You would think the RCC would have nothing to do with this.

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”595″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]If this was the only evidence of the RCC representing a snake, I too might dismiss the idea. But you don’t have to look far to find another example of the RCC representing a snake.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Resurrection Sculpture” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:32|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Raleway%3A100%2C200%2C300%2Cregular%2C500%2C600%2C700%2C800%2C900|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]Prominently displayed on the wall behind the pope is a sculpture named “The Resurrection”. It dominates the stage of the Vatican hall where the pope’s general audiences are held.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Many people see the entire sculpture as evil, and downright ugly. There are many hidden representations of evil in the sculpture, but let’s look just at Jesus’s head. Do you see a snakes head? Look closely.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”582″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]I’ve taken the photo and zoomed in on Jesus’s head. There are no Photoshop tricks applied other than zooming in. This should help you see the snake.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”597″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Described as both an art and a science, ‘steganography’ is concerned with concealing the fact that a secret message is being sent, as well as concealing the contents of the message. The message whether positive or negative is subtle yet hidden in plain sight, subliminal, imperceptible to the conscious mind, ensuring that someone who is not specifically looking for it is unlikely to notice, yet once seen it can not be ignored.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Sometimes the most important messages are hidden in plain sight. After years of studying what many consider “conspiracy theories”, I have discovered that the enemy always tells us what he’s up to. You just need to open your eyes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Catholic Church Mary

The Idolatry of Mary

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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30″][bs-text title=”Written Sermon” icon=”fa-pencil-square-o” title_link=”” heading_color=”” heading_style=”default” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ css=””][vc_column_text]John MacArthurs the Idolatry of Mary Part One Written Sermon[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Catholic Church Christianity History

Catholic to Christian

[vc_row][vc_column][bs-text-listing-3 columns=”1″ show_excerpt=”0″ title=”Working My Way to Heaven” icon=”” hide_title=”0″ heading_color=”” heading_style=”default” category=”-58,-16″ tag=”” count=”0″ post_ids=”” offset=”” featured_image=”0″ ignore_sticky_posts=”1″ author_ids=”” disable_duplicate=”0″ time_filter=”” order=”DESC” order_by=”date” _name_1=”” post_type=”” taxonomy=”” _name_2=”” cats-tags-condition=”and” cats-condition=”in” tags-condition=”in” tabs=”” tabs_cat_filter=”” tabs_tax_filter=”” tabs_content_type=”deferred” paginate=”none” pagination-show-label=”0″ pagination-slides-count=”3″ slider-animation-speed=”750″ slider-autoplay=”1″ slider-speed=”3000″ slider-control-dots=”off” slider-control-next-prev=”style-1″ bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” override-listing-settings=”0″ listing-settings=”” css=””][vc_column_text]I was born and raised Roman Catholic. As a child, I attended mass every Sunday, received the sacraments, confessed my sins to a priest, and attended Catholic school. I believed there are two kinds of people; those who are Catholic, and those who are not.

I was eight when I had my first experience with death. I was at the funeral of my grandmother, and heard people whisper that grandma was in heaven with God. Grandma must have been a good Catholic I thought, and decided I would be too, because I didn’t want to go to hell.

As a young adult, I began questioning some of the things the Catholic Church teaches. I started skipping mass when I could get away with it, and leaving after communion when I could not.

By the time I was a sophomore in high school, God and hell were the furthest thing from my mind. I was far more interested in teenage things, like boyfriends, sports, and friends.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]After high school, I went away to college. No longer under the watchful eyes of my parents, it was easy for me to quit attending mass entirely. I have enough respect for my parents to go to mass with them when I came home for a visit, but that was enough God for me.

When I graduated from college, I was too busy climbing the corporate ladder of success to find time for God.   Soon, I was making more money than I ever dreamed of. I foolishly believed that I could buy anything my heart desired, including happiness.

Mid way through my thirties, my brother Frank lost his 17-year battle with cancer. I was at his bedside for the last few hours leading up to his death. Moments before he died, I had an encounter with God that changed my life, and brought peace, because I was certain that Frank was in heaven.

For the first time in my life I was on fire for God. I returned to the only thing I knew, the Catholic Church. Things were different this time. Instead of going through the motions, I poured my heart into doing everything the Catholic Church teaches is necessary to go to heaven, and avoid hell. Of course, there’s always the silver medal – purgatory. On her TV program, Mother Angelica said she’ll be happy if she wakes up in purgatory after death.  That’s better than waking up in hell I thought. But if Mother Angelica believed she’d be lucky to make it to purgatory, where did that leave me.

Everything I learned as a young Catholic started sinking in.  I needed to attend mass every Sunday and all holy days, and by all means, not die having committed a mortal sin that hadn’t been confessed to a priest. Every week I convinced myself I had committed a mortal sin, and was frantic to find a church hearing confessions, even if it was the middle of the week.

Little by little the fire died. The rigid, impersonal Catholic faith I was practicing left me bored and unfulfilled.  After ten years of earnestly searching, God was still too abstract.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Buying my way to happiness wasn’t working either, so I quit my job and moved more than 1,000 miles from home to sunny Florida. I bought a boat and spent my days in the sun enjoying my favorite sport. I had everything I dreamed of, but still I wasn’t happy, so I bought a bigger boat.

I no longer feared hell because I was basically a good person, and a loving God doesn’t put good people in hell. Hell is reserved for people like Hitler.

A series of events led to a crisis in my life. I needed a friend, and realized that I was all alone. As if she heard my cry, my best friend Stephanie, who I had betrayed ten years earlier, contacted me to ask if she could visit. We had not been in touch for more than five years, so this was quite a surprise. Of course, I said yes.

Stephanie and I were on a walk when she asked if I still believed in God. Without even thinking about it I started to answer no, but couldn’t get the words out of my mouth. For ten years, I seldom gave God so much as a second thought. Still, when I examined if I believed in Him, I had to admit that I did.

Stephanie helped me through the most difficult time of my life. I sold everything I had and moved back home. I left Florida owning no more than what fit in my car. It should have been harder than it was to let go. Instead, I felt amazingly free. I was ready to give God another try.

I joined the local Catholic Church. I wasn’t on fire for God like I had been years earlier, but I was seeking Him with my whole heart.

I found myself mindlessly going through the same routine mass, praying the same prayers I had memorized as a child, and confessing my sins to a priest. I was in danger of losing my faith once again, but I believed in God, and I feared going to hell, so I kept doing the only thing I knew.

One Saturday I met a man who had been to confession just ahead of me. He handed me a tract explaining that if I died wearing a scapular, said three hail Mary’s every day, attended mass the first Friday of every month, and did this for nine months, Mary promised to save me from hell. Is it really that easy I thought? The Catholic Church said it was, so it must be true. Finally, I knew a way that guaranteed I wouldn’t go to hell, and I started saying hail Mary’s.

[What the man explained to me is known in the Roman Catholic Church as an “indulgence”. Indulgences are acts defined by the pope that can be done to lessen your time in purgatory. This is not biblical, rather is part of church tradition. Many, including myself, believe that our sole source of authority is the Bible, and reject tradition when it contradicts the Bible.][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][bs-text-listing-3 columns=”1″ show_excerpt=”0″ title=”Eyes Wide Open” icon=”” hide_title=”0″ heading_color=”” heading_style=”default” category=”-58,-16″ tag=”” count=”0″ post_ids=”” offset=”” featured_image=”0″ ignore_sticky_posts=”1″ author_ids=”” disable_duplicate=”0″ time_filter=”” order=”DESC” order_by=”date” _name_1=”” post_type=”” taxonomy=”” _name_2=”” cats-tags-condition=”and” cats-condition=”in” tags-condition=”in” tabs=”” tabs_cat_filter=”” tabs_tax_filter=”” tabs_content_type=”deferred” paginate=”none” pagination-show-label=”0″ pagination-slides-count=”3″ slider-animation-speed=”750″ slider-autoplay=”1″ slider-speed=”3000″ slider-control-dots=”off” slider-control-next-prev=”style-1″ bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” override-listing-settings=”0″ listing-settings=”” css=””][vc_column_text]There is an old story of three men who die and arrive in Heaven at the same time. St. Peter asks the first man, “Religion?” “Methodist,” the man says. St. Peter looks down his list, and says, “Go to Room 24, but be very quiet as you pass Room 8.” St. Peter asks the second man, “Religion?” “Baptist.” “Go to Room 18, but be very quiet as you pass Room 8.” St. Peter asks the third man, “Religion?” “Jewish.” “Go to Room 11, but be very quiet as you pass Room 8.” The third man asks, “I can understand there being different rooms for different religions, but why must we all be quiet when we pass Room 8?” “Well, the Catholics are in Room 8,” St. Peter replies, “and they think they’re the only ones here.”

Still struggling to find God in the Catholic Church, I decided to find out why Catholics believe they are the only ones in heaven. (The Catholic Church no longer teaches this.)

The idea that Catholics are the only ones in heaven is based on the Roman Catholic Church’s claim to be the one true church established by Jesus. The Catholic Church further claims that it alone has the marks of the true church.

Now I knew why Catholics believe they are the only ones in heaven, but is it true they are the one true church established by Jesus? To answer this claim I needed to find out how the apostles practiced their faith immediately after Jesus’ ascension. After all, like the telephone game we all played as children, the further you get from the original message, the more distorted it becomes. I started to do some research.

It’s impossible to research the history of Christianity without learning that many non-Catholic scholars believe the Roman Catholic Church teaches false doctrine, and the pope is the anti-Christ. Some dedicate their lives trying to save Catholics from the apostate church. Others believe that the Roman Catholic Church is a cult.

I was shocked! These are people who believe in God saying this. I buried myself in books, videos, sermons, and debates, determined to get to the bottom of this.

The further down the rabbit hole I went, the more I realized how little I knew. Church history is ugly; brutal massacres, deceit, lies. There is little in the way of immorality the church is not accused of. Certainly, this wasn’t the Catholic Church I thought, but history proves otherwise.

I started out searching for an answer to a joke, and ended up questioning the validity of the Catholic Church. Is the RCC the one true Church established by Jesus? History is not on the side of the Catholic Church, but is there more?[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Continued in article titled “What Catholics Believe”. Follow link to continue my story.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”WHAT CATHOLICS BELIEVE” color=”default” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2F45.76.31.156%2F2020%2F10%2F17%2Fwhat-catholics-believe%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

Categories
Apologetics Catholic Church Salvation

Do Catholics worship Mary?

Roman Catholics have an extremely high view of Mary and have attributed some astounding characteristics and abilities to her, such as her interceding for us, atoning for us, and delivering our souls from damnation. Do Catholics worship Mary? Most Catholics will vehemently protest, saying that they do not WORSHIP Mary, and sincerely believe they don’t. Let’s examine what the Church herself has said.

In his Ineffabilis Deus in 1854, Pope Pius IX established as dogma the immaculate conception of Mary, which preserved her from inheriting original sin. His concluding statements provide a good summary of the Catholic view of Mary.

Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very dear to us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal for piety, religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this most sweet Mother of mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties, needs, doubts and fears. Under her guidance, under her patronage, under her kindness and protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing is hopeless. Because, while bearing toward us a truly motherly affection and having in her care the work of our salvation, she is solicitous about the whole human race. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard. gty.org

In addition, here are some quotes from various popes and other Catholic sources.

  • Pope Benedict XV, in 1918 – “Mary suffered with Christ and nearly died with Him when He died, thus she may rightly be said to have redeemed the human race with Christ.”
  • Pope Pius XI, in 1923 – “The virgin of sorrows shared the work of redemption with Jesus Christ.”
  • Pope Leo XIII, in 1891 – “No one can approach Christ except through His mother”.
  • The Catechism, in the Sunday Missal (Catholic Catechism) says, “My salvation depends on Mary’s mediation and union with Christ, because of her exalted position as Mediatrix of all grace.”
  • Vatican II, said, “Mary’s intercession continues to win for us the gift of eternal salvation.”

In the celebration of the Marian year, Pope Pius XII accurately reflected the church’s view of the Virgin Mary when the Pope stood up to give this following pontifical prayer:

“Enraptured by the splendor of your heavenly beauty and impelled by the anxieties of the world, we cast ourselves into your arms, O Immaculate Mother of Jesus and our Mother.  Mary, we adore and praise the peerless richness of the sublime gifts with which God has filled you above every other mere creature from the moment of conception until the day on which, after your assumption into Heaven, He crowned you Queen of the Universe.  O crystal fountain of faith, bathe our hearts with your heavenly perfume! O Conqueress of evil and death, inspire in us a deep horror of sin, which makes the soul detestable to God and a slave of hell! O well-beloved of God, hear the ardent cries which rise up from every heart in this year dedicated to you.  Then tenderly, O Mary, cover our aching wound. Convert the wicked, dry the tears of the afflicted and the oppressed, comfort the poor and humble, quench hatred, sweeten harshness, safeguard the flower of purity, protect the holy Church.  In your name, resounding harmoniously in heaven, may they recognize that all are brothers, and that the nations are members of one family.  Receive, O sweet Mother, our humble supplications, and above all obtain for us on that day, happy with you, that we may repeat before your throne that hymn which is sung today around your altars. You are all-beautiful, O Mary! You are glory, O Mary.  You are the joy, you are the honor of our people!”

In 1745, St. Alphonsus de Liguori wrote a massive book called The Glories of Mary. What de Liguori did was collect all the great tributes to Mary going all the way back to the 5th century, and amasses them in this huge tome. Collective tribute from all the ages to Mary. Here are but a few:

“O Mary, sweet refuge of poor sinners. Assist me with thy mercy. Banish me from the infernal enemies and come thou to take my soul and present it to the eternal judge. My Queen, do not abandon me. I give you my heart and soul.”

“We have confidence, but in thee O most faithful Virgin. O great Mediatress of peace between men and God, the love of all men and of God to whom the honor and benediction with the Father and the Holy Ghost.

“O sovereign Lady, saint of all saints, our strength and our refuge. God, as it were of this world, Glory of Heaven, accept those who love thee.”

“O sovereign Princess. Turn, O Mary, thy loving eyes on me. Look at me and draw me to thee.” Another one: “Mary, Blessed Virgin, Immaculate Queen, I dedicate my family forever to thy service. I appoint thee ruler of my whole house. Bless us, defend us, provide for us, counsel us, comfort us, assist us in our infirmities, especially in the sorrows of death. Granted, we may go to heaven.”

I now place myself in thy hands. Tell me what I must do to recover the favor of my Lord and I will immediately do it. He sends me to thee, that thou mayest help me and He wills that I should have recourse to thy mercy, that not only the merits of thy son, but also that thy intersession may help me to save my soul. To thee, then, I have recourse.

These prayers give us clear evidence that Catholics do WORSHIP Mary. All of these are prayers that belong only to whom? To God. God says, “My glory will I not give to another.” If only Catholics knew the Bible.

Categories
Catholic Church Current Events

The unholy Catholic Church

Shock and outrage is how I felt when I heard about this. There is no possible way the Catholic Church can explain this.