A Catholic
reply to Protestant “[mis]-
Understandings” Part 1
“I Am Catholic” by Pat
Miron
A message to our non-Catholic Friends
Psalm
95:8 “If today You Hear His Voice; Harden Not Your Hearts”
Deuteronomy 18: 15 - 20
"The LORD your God will
raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren -- him
you shall heed -- just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day
of the assembly, when you said, `Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my
God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' And the LORD said to me,
`They have rightly said all that they have spoken. I will raise up for them
a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his
mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not
give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it
of him. But the prophet [person] who
presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, or
who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die… Yahweh; the God of the OT is the same God as Jesus in the
NT. What was good for souls then is even more important in the Secular; Devil
driven times of today. Jesus promised NOT to abandon us; [John 14:19] and kept His Word by Appointing Peter and the Catholic
Church, which He personally continues to guide, guard, protect and lead. [John17:15-19]
From the
beginning of recorded history God has consistently chosen mortal men to lead
“his Chosen people.” Even if [and when]
they sinned; God was with them. They
were commanded by God to speak on His behalf, guided and inspired by
God, and to be heard as “God Himself is to be heard. …Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
David, Solomon, the Prophets, John the Baptist; then Jesus Christ Himself;
God Incarnate, who following His Own Tradition personally choose Peter to
complete the New Covenant, and entrusted to Peter His own one-set of Faith
beliefs, and the Only Church ever founded directly by God Himself. So the ONE
question each man, women and child of age must ask themselves is: Do I listen
and Obey God or someone else?
Matt.
16; 18:19 ..”And I [JESUS] tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Isaiah
55:8
-9 “For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so
high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.”
. Thomas makes his case plain, and to the
unknowing, or unsuspecting; convincingly
. Mr.
Heinze has a Masters Degree in Theology from the DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
Here we
are in the middle of January, 2012, and I’m just now opening one of my
Christmas presents. This from our daughter, who no doubt saw the word
“catholic” and exclaimed: “Oh! Dad would like this”
Although
it is written by a Protestant
Theologian, I must confess that I am delighted to be able to report that the
booklet is well thought out and presented with true Christian charity. Thomas makes his case plain, and to the
unknowing, or unsuspecting; convincingly . Mr. Heinze has a Masters Degree
in Theology from the DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
What
became immediately apparent is the sincerity of the positions held by Mr.
Heinze., and his
evident desire to be factual and true. Which only affirms my own opinion that
God Himself has a role in these
well-intended Protestant positions which , nevertheless, reflect serious-errant misunderstandings of Catholic
Doctrines and Dogma, along with an in ability to separate “church-practices,”
which can change, from doctrine and dogma which cannot be changed. God Himself limits their ability to understand the bible
by imposing upon them the plague of Ignorance. This will be proven and become very evident
as we proceed though the booklet Thomas authored, and which, God willing, we shall prove and
provide biblical evidence of that explains and supports the Catholic Positions.
I have for
sometime now been Blessed by God, and
able to recognize God’s hand in the lack of RIGHT understanding of what the
bible really says as a rather common Protestant trait. In fact; it seems to be
one thing many of the denominations have in common. This ought not be a
surprise to any of us who are “bible-savvy,”
as clear warning is given by God through the bible itself., in a variety
of ways.
Let’s
begin with an understanding that the Bibles is a Catholic Book, in a very specific and precise manner.
[This too is often debated as if there were actually grounds to despite it].
It is the
Catholic Church that “birthed the Bible.”
It is
historically provable that it was the
Catholic Church that selected and collected the Old Testament books to be
included as part of the bible; and the entire New Testament is authored by men
known today, to have been early Fathers of today’s Catholic Church. It was the
Catholic Church that Codified and selected officially all of the books to be
included in the bible.. Further as the bible was
completely written by the end of the First Century; the only “church” that
existed anywhere in the known world, is historically proven to be, today’s
Catholic Church. Thus, all references in the bible to “church” or
“churches” are a direct reference to today’s Catholic Church. And the final
point, is that it is Jesus Himself who
first introduced the term “church” in Matthew
16:15-19, when He appointed Peter as the first leader of this one-
church. A position, known today as the papacy.
2nd.
Peter 1: 16-21 “You will do well to pay
attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts. First
of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of
one's own interpretation, because no
prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God.”
Acts.20: 28 “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God [SINGULAR] which he obtained with the
blood of his own Son.”
1Tim. 3: 15 “if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to
behave in the [SINGULAR] household of God, which is the church [SINGULAR] of
the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth [SINGULAR]”
Luke
10:16 "He
who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects
me rejects him who sent me."
1
John 4: Little children, you are of God,
and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the
world. They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the
world listens to them. We are of God.
Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to
us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
John
17:18-24 "As thou didst send
me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.”
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.”
1
John 4: 4-9 “Little children, you are of
God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in
the world. They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and
the world listens to them. We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of
God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit
of error.”
2
Tim. 4: 1-4 ”I charge you in the presence
of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his
appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of
season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.
For the time is coming when people will
not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for
themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander into myths.”
Eph.3: 9 to 12 “And to make all men
see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all
things; that through the church
[SINGULAR: meaning
THE CATHOLIC Church]
the manifold wisdom
of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly
places.
This was according to the eternal purpose which he has
realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of
access through our faith in him”
Matt.13:9-12
“He who has ears, let him hear." Then
the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in
parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has
been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,
but to
them it has not been given.”
For to
him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him
who has not, even what he has will be taken away. “
2nd. Peter 3: 14-17 “Therefore, beloved, since you wait for
these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And
count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother
Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he
does in all his letters.
There are some things in them hard to
understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as
they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand,
beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own
stability”
Even all
of this is not the complete set of warnings presented in the Bible; but these
ought to verify my position, that it is nearly impossible for anyone not to be
warned about the high probability of incorrect understanding of what God really
taught and what he means and commands, without the chosen-guides that he
himself has commanded. Those guides being exclusively of the Catholic Church.
John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” …Matt. 16: 18-19 “And I
[JESUS] tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matt.
28:16-20 “Now the eleven disciples went to
Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw
him they worshiped him; but some doubted. [THOMAS] And Jesus came and said to
them,
"All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and
lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
Having
identified the underlying cause of the problem as an apparent inability to
consistently understand correctly and fully, the Written Words of God,
I am now obligated to explain just why it
happens.
The underlying
cause is a God imposed penalty for NOT doing what He say’s and NOT fully
following ALL of His teachings, as will
be clearly demonstrated.
Exactly how
God accomplishes this remains a mystery.
The fact that
He is behind it, is not.
I suspect it
is accomplished by withholding Devine guidance, as is His Right. There is
evidence of an unintentional selective application of passages elected and
chosen to solidify the positions expressed by Brother Heinze, that I have seen
quite often by his contemporaries. At first I thought it might be intentional; but
have come to understand that it is God who limits their understanding; making
it still possible, but far more difficult for them to uncover and discover God’s Fullness of Truth. It’s a battle
between Pride and Humility; Good and Evil; Partial truths and the Fullness of
Gods Own Truth.
Heb.
3 12 “Take care, brethren, lest there be in
any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living
God. But exhort one another every day,
as long as it is called "today," that
none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence
firm to the end, while it is said, "Today,
when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
Mt.
11: 25-26 “At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to babes; yea,
Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me
by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
This “hidden messages” is God’s way of formulating
a particular cross for non-Catholics to carry. Because God can ONLY be a “Good
and Fair” God [anything less would deny His Divinity], this burden is imposed
to make clear His displeasure with what is going on, and the fact that never once in the entire Bible, did or has
God permitted a belief in more than one
God [Triune], or more than Only One set of Faith-beliefs, or ever guide, guard
and protect more than one “church” [or one chosen people.] This FACT alone
ought to put everyone on the “same page.”
That
friends sets us up for the discussion of the positions expressed so kindly by
Mr. Thomas Heinze. I will first share his views and evidences, and then provide
our Catholic response to them. The first topic selected by Mr. Heinze, is the
Catholic Mass.
“Answers to my Catholic Friends” by Thomas F. Heinze
“The
outward form of the mass has been modified [as a result of the “Spirit of Vatican II”]
To
make it much more similar to our communion services than when it was said in
Latin [The now Extraordinary Form], but the differences in its basic
meaning remain..
The
Roman Catholic doctrine [actually
it’s a dogma] of
the mass was established at the Council of TRENT,
[NO!
The Mass dates back to at least the second Century A.D.]
[1] which affirmed, among other things,
that it is a “sacrifice of expiation…. of sins and the punishment for sins …
not merely for the living but also for the poor souls in Purgatory
[2] {Ludwig
Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic DOGMA, pp. 412-413}. The Roman church thus teaches
that Christ’s sacrifice is renewed at each mass
[3], and that each time the mass is said, this renewing of His
Sacrifice adds a bit of merit that can count towards ones’ salvation.
[4]. When mass is said for the dead, it supposed to reduce by an
unknown amount of time they must suffer in Purgatory for their sins.
[5] In
practice, many people, probably the majority in most Roman countries
[6], have been
taught that after death in the family they must give
[7] more or
less and unending offering to priest for masses to shorten their loved one’s
time in purgatory. [MY NOTE: a continuation of Luther’s “selling of Indulgences
issue“ ?]
[8] This is particularly tragic for widows who are often poor and
very religious.
[9] While many
priest are not in agreement of this doctrine, and do not even accept offerings
[THANK YOU!]
for
the mass in these conditions, others bring to mind the admonition of Christ in
the scriptures…
Mark 12-38-40 [Mr. Heinze went so far as to even be quoting
the Catholic New American Bible… again THANK YOU!]. “And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like
to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the
best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour
widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the
greater condemnation." In Italy, the very heart of Roman Catholism, there is a saying
which is often used when someone wants to say “you only get what you pay for.”
Translated word for word it is “Without money, they don’t sing the mass.” [10]
[1]
While “affirmed by the Council of Trent”
this was no new, or even recent declaration. It is historical fact that “the
mass” is a yet clearly defined and unregulated manner was celebrated by the
Apostles and the early followers of
Christianity. This is clear from both secular historical information,
the bible itself and the writings of the early Church Fathers. Here is a sample
of the evidence. In the Bible the first termed for what was to become known as
“the mass,” was “the Breaking of the Bread”
THE BIBLE:
Luke.24: 35 “Then they told
what had happened on the road, [to Emma'us,] and how
he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Acts.2: 42, 46 “And they
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and the prayers. … And day by day, attending the temple together
and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous
hearts,” [Homes were the first physical churches].
The
Early Church Fathers
The early Church Fathers interpreted these passages literally.
In summarizing the early Fathers’ teachings on Christ’s Real Presence, renowned
Protestant historian of the early Church J. N. D. Kelly, writes:
"Eucharistic teaching, it should be understood at the outset, was in
general unquestioningly realist, i.e., the consecrated bread and wine were
taken to be, and were treated and designated as, the Savior’s body and
blood" (Early Christian Doctrines, 440).
1330 The memorial of
the Lord's Passion and Resurrection. The Holy Sacrifice, because it
makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church's
offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, "sacrifice of
praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used,
since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.
1366 The Eucharist is
thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of
the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its
fruit:
[Christ], our Lord and God, was
once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar
of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because
his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the
night when he was betrayed," [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse
the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the
bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be
re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its
salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit.
[3] The satirical
claim of “merit” earned through the Mass, is actually factual.
[3] The satirical
claim of “merit” earned through the Mass, is actually factual.
[4]
The same applies to the dead as Merit is
too a fact [There is a biblical foundation for this in the Second Book of Maccabee’s 12:41-45
[5] Speaks of the role of a
“Purgatory” that he denies is a reality.
Like most Protestants who deny
this reality; a reality made absolutely Necessary by Devine Justice because of
the Divine need in an absolute sense for Souls to be “perfected” prior to
gaining the Beatific Vision; on the grounds that the term “Purgatory” does not
appear in the bible; gives evidence of all of the following:
1. That
as I claimed; here is more evidence of them not understanding God’s Word fully
or correctly.
It is a fact, that the term
“purgatory” itself does not appear in the Bible. This is not unusual as the
terms Protestant, Catholic, dogma, doctrine, codified, Sacraments, papacy, pope
and many other terms later added to give direction and meaning to recognized
and widely accepted theologies, ALS do appear in the bible. The idea that there “is no mention of Purgatory in the bible,”
too is a GREAT ERROR.
Rev.
21: 27 “But nothing unclean shall enter it,
nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are
written in the Lamb's book of life.”
Mt.
5: 26
truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
Heb.
2: 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom
and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the
pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.
1John.3: 2 to 3 “Beloved, we
are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know
that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he
is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
2. Even more alarming seems to be evidence that they do not have a
full and correct understanding of
God’s Nature, nor of the
manner humanity is created “in the image of God [Gen. 1:26-27]?
Purgatory, like heaven and
hell, are a creations of our “Perfect God”. It is because God is and HAS TO BE
perfect that Mary, His Mother HAD TO BE PERFECTED in order to become the Mother
of Jesus. Only those who have been perfected either on earth or after death [if they died without unconfessed Mortal sins] can and will attain heaven. God’s nearly incomprehensible desire
to be is a Personal Relationship with His Created humanity, led Jesus to devise
and make available a path of reconciliation available to those who die in the
“State of Grace” but are not yet perfected. The Mass, the Sacraments of
Confession and the Most Holy Eucharist [Jesus Himself ], Indulgences, Good
works, and the Sacraments of the “last Rite”
all have a role in accomplishing this task before ones dies. EACH of
these can be justified by either Christ Himself; or the powers and authority
passed unto the Apostles and there successors on the Feast of the First
Pentecost.
John 20:19-23 “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the
doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said to them, "Peace
be with you." When he had said this, he
showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples
were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I
send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said
to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you
retain the sins of any, they are retained."
All of the following took place
in this brief passage.
1. The official formation of
today’s Roman Catholic Church
2. The First Pentecost
celebration
3. The Institution of the
sacrament of Confirmation
4. Jesus passes along His OWN Powers and
Authority as God to the Apostles, and through them to there successors. If you doubt this consider the following:
Matt. 10: 1-8 “And he called to him
his twelve disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and
every infirmity. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of
Zeb'edee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the
tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean,
and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, charging
them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And preach as you go,
saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay” …. This is
later expanded to the entire world as the Hebrews as a Nation; reject the
Messiah. [Luke 19:41 …. Matt. 28:16-20].
5. The necessary and
essential Sacrament of Known Forgiveness of sins
[the ONLY acceptable method as Ordained and commanded by God himself.] The PATH to the “Peace”
that Jesus desires for each of us.
[6] “have been taught that after death in the family they must give”
Like a
great many Protestants, Thomas seems to find great difficulty is discerning the
significance of doctrines, dogma’s from
what are merely “church practices.” Thomas’ remarks on this topic seem to
indicate an important VOID IN HIS EDUCATION.. This has never been NEVER been a mandatory
practice but does have some Tradition behind it.
Church
doctrines and dogma are unchangeable;
while “church practices”, can and even must change to keep current with the
changes in the times. After all today’s Catholic Church is some 2,000 years
old. One ought not expect practices of
2,000 years ago to necessarily apply today, exactly as they did when developed.
[7] “more or less and unending offering to
priest for masses to shorten their loved one’s time in purgatory.” … Keep in mind that Mr.
Heinze is one who holds to the OSAS theology of many Protestant denominations.
So He would then naturally find Catholic doctrine of Purgatory and Merits of
prayer and sacrifices for the deceased to be completely unnecessary; even
foolish.
[8 through 10] Make the point
that this changing is both unbiblical and un-Christ-Like
This a issue of practice. It
is not mandatory; many parishes do not do it; and I rather doubt that ANY
priest would take “food off the table” of a poor widow.
CCC
#2122 The minister should ask nothing for the administration of
the sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority,
always being careful that the needy are not deprived of the help of the
sacraments because of their poverty." The competent authority determines
these "offerings" in accordance with the principle that the Christian
people ought to contribute to the support of the Church's ministers. "The
laborer deserves his food."
Matt. 10: 8-10 “Heal the sick, raise the
dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You
received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper
in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a
staff; for the laborer deserves his food
Because Protestant ministers are often
Full time and Married, they expect and get a MUCH larger fee “for services
rendered” than do our catholic priest.
END OF FIRST SECTION # 1
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