If Catholics have false teaching and doctrines......?

why do people have to create straw men and lies about beliefs to attack instead of attacking the true beliefs of Catholics?





I think it is because non-Catholic Christians who hate His Church do so out of evil contention thus avoiding the real truth that their beliefs can not match the veracity of Catholic teaching. In the Bible the Catholic Church is called the ';bulwark and ground of the truth'; which will never fall into apostasy. Those are difficult credentials to attack.





Why don't Catholic critics check Catholic beliefs and find out if the true beliefs match with what they believe and have been told about Catholic beliefs instead of persisting in bearing false witness against Catholics and Christ's Church?If Catholics have false teaching and doctrines......?
I think cases of ';evil contention'; are rarer than you might otherwise expect. Certainly, there are plenty of people who hate the Catholic Church for reasons that usually have nothing to with Catholic theology (although most will try to dress it up as that). However, I have noticed that most people who say things like ';Catholics worship Mary instead of God'; and ';Catholics worship idols'; and ';Confession of sins to a priest is unbiblical'; and ';Catholics believe in salvation by works'; are simply ignorant.





They have been told these things by sources that they trust and it does not occur to them that these sources might be wrong. Some of these sources, I'm sure, are intentionally in error in order to paint the Catholic Church in as negative a light as possible. Others are no doubt unintentionally in error, having been influenced by the propagation of Protestant misconception about the RCC that has built up with the passage of time.





Honestly, most of the people that I've had ask me why I do things like worship Mary, pay for indulgences, and worship statues have *no idea* that Catholics don't do these things. If they ask me about Confession, eventually the discussion comes around the passage out of Scripture where Christ tells the Apostles ';If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.'; Of course, in Protestant theology, the implications of this passage are significantly downplayed.





I wish people who spout false information about the Catholic Church (intentionally or unintentionally) would do their homework. Almost without exception, any Protestant that I've invited to Mass or to sit down and have a chat with a priest or attend a Catholic Bible study has been astonished at ';how Christian'; Catholic theology and practice are. That's usually the point at which I try to resist the urge to roll my eyes and say ';I told you so.'; ;)If Catholics have false teaching and doctrines......?
The problem is that many many non-Catholics get their teaching about Catholicism from Chick-tracts and other anti-Catholic hate literature than from the source.





Why do real study when you can get trash on a group for free on the web or from someone on a street-corner passing out a tract? You 'll also hear it on Sunday from some churches that teach from Chick or other such places. The problem with these people is that since they know so little about Catholic teaching, that they don't even know where their own come from.





The truth is that if one thinks Catholic teaching is wrong because ';it's not in the Bible';, they have no means of justifying Sola Scriptura, because not only is that NOT in the Bible, but specifically spoken AGAINST in the Bible. Paul taught that believers were to heed what was given in letters and in tradition.





It's likely not straw man arguments, but aping faulty arguments heard about Catholicism from people completely ignorant about what those teachings really are.
Father Joseph





it never ceases me amaze me the audacity some people have in trying to educate us catholics on what we believe in! i am of the opinion that that protestants are wannabe catholics but with attitude. they desperately desire to be in the Church yet it is the very Church they accuse of personifying evil.





i know you have stated before that you were a protestant minister for 25years before converting. my question is do protestants actually look up to their pastors like we catholics do are priests, like yourself? and if so are they not preaching a meassage of hate perpetrated by these church leaders?





i dont understand the hatred towards Christ Church by seemingly good people. i dont know if i will ever understand this this kind of hatred. are catholics encouraged to have such loathing towards protestants churches? i dont believe so.





i will stand corrected with whatever your reply is.





God bless
';Many hate what they PERCEIVE of Roman Catholicism, not the Truth of Roman Catholicism.';


Bishop Fulton Sheen





I have found this to be extremely true. It is easier to say hateful things, than to investigate entirely or to speak with a Catholic openly about the truth of our Faith.





Case in Point***


';read your own Catholic Encyclopedia on, Mary, Trinity, Christmas, Easter.';





As if I do not willfully accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior AND the True founder of HIS Catholic Church.





Jesus Christ is the Great High Priest of His Catholic Church


Heb 4:14-16, What is a priest in His Catholic Church? 5:1-4


And these priest made others...Act13:3, Acts14:22, Acts 1:24-26, Titus 1:5
';Hold your friends close, but your enemies closer!';


The dream of two pillars that St John Bosco had is a very interesting one, I would think you would like it.


http://www.miraclerosarymission.org/bosc鈥?/a>


(isn't he a saint?)
A lot of sincere people really misunderstand Church teaching. You said we don't pray to the BVM. You have to understand that the word pray original meaning was not to worship but to petitiion, ask, etc and in that sense we do pray to the BVM. The old English term prithee means pray thee. A person used that expression when they wanted a special favor from someone.
2tell: This is exactly what he is saying in the question - attacking us for things that people perceive we believe, but we do not. We do not pray to Mary. It is discussed on this board every single day. People never get tired of accusing us of it, so we continue to explain it. We do not pray to Mary. We ask Mary to pray for us. She is not a mediator. She is a friend, a holy person, Jesus' blessed mother and our holy mother. We don't worship her any more than you worship


your friends when you ask them to pray for you. When you ask your friends to pray for you, are you praying to them? No, you are communicating with them. We can't exactly call Mary on the phone, so the only way we can communicate with her is to pray. Our prayers are not to ask her to do the things that only God can do - we know that only God can do those things. We ask her to join us in our prayers to God.





And purgatory is in the Bible, but it is in the part of the Bible that the Protestants took out. I wonder why?
they dont do it becuase it would actually require thinking and annalizing, something most protetants refuse to do. further more there businesses (churches) would have to declare bankrupsy if the followers did, so they sit and spew their lies about it
In many cases, it is simply easier to hate, and we all know that hate is usually based on fear and ignorance.





Many anti-catholic bigots fear the truth, and thus are deathly afraid to learn that their misconceptions of the Catholic Faith are utterly wrong. Their ignorance and refusal to learn the truth only fuels the fear on which their hatred feeds.
It is not just flesh and blood critics that Catholics will have to fight, but against the powers and principalities of hell itself which seeks to destroy the Church. Satan still has a great deal of influence in trying to destroy the Church. ';But the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.';
Good works are integral to salvation, as the Council of Trent agreed. PeacebyJesus is mistaken.





Matthew 25 shows that we will be judged by our charitable works to the least of our brothers.





Romans 3-5 talks about faith as a vital step toward salvation. Nowhere does the scripture say we are saved by faith alone. The one mention of ';faith alone'; in James 2 says: ';You see that a person is justified by what he does and NOT by faith alone.'; James also teaches that faith without works is dead, with no power to save us.





Reread Eph 2:8-10:





For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith鈥攁nd this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God鈥攏ot by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.





We don't earn salvation by the ';works'; of keeping the law, a constant theme in Paul's writings. But as verse 10 teaches, we are created to do good works. If we refuse the good works for which we are created, we have dead faith and we are not being saved.





The continuing Protestant insistence on faith without works is more than a misinterpretation: It is an evasion of the Christian responsibility to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, tend the sick, and in general, to become a servant to the needy.





Cheers,


Bruce
because Satan and his minions are behind the attacks and the majority of these people are the ones that are against baptism so they have no real conscience to help them fight off his attacks. The proof is in the pudding I would say. Just like Jesus said when he told them when they said that Abraham was their father that he (Abraham) wasn't their father---their father was the prince of lies---because if they were Abraham's children they would love him. If these people were actually children of the most high God they would not be so hateful towards Catholics. The Holy Spirit would counsel them but, they do not have the Holy Spirit. They are victims of another spirit.
To answer your first question: Why do people have to create straw men and lies about beliefs to attack, instead of attacking the true beliefs of Catholics?





The truth is, many non-Catholics are steeped in prejudice. They are content with hearing from a third party complainer about what we Catholics believe, and do not dare examine what we truly believe lest they may be influenced. The prejudice is blinding. Jesus contended with the same viewpoint. The scribes and pharisees had all kinds of imaginary accusations against him, with no evidence. They accepted false testimony rather than evaluated what Jesus was doing, what he was saying, and what wonderful things were occurring due to his teachings and works.





The fact is, Jesus himself established the church which spread from Rome to all the corners of the globe. If you oppose his church, you oppose him. He is in control of his body, the church. Our protestant brothers are deprived of the gifts and full fellowship of the church established by Jesus, as long as they imagine that we are the anti-Christ or believe some other ridiculous lie.





Here is the measuring stick of a follower of Jesus, whether Catholic or Protestant, because no group can claim 100% compliance with Christ's teachings: You will know them by their fruits.
Maybe these slanderers fear that the Church may actually be right or they would draw from primary sources in context like the Catechism or Dogmatic Constitutions of the Councils.
How do you tell the truth, in a loving way? If I knew that you were in a false religion, would you want me to ';attack'; you by letting you know. If a bomb was going to explode inside a large building and you knew about it, wouldn't you try to tell everyone so they could get out? Please take some time to explore what I am talking about at www.endtime.com (sincere thanks to you - my brother in Christ Jesus)
First off, read your own Catholic Encyclopedia on, Mary, Trinity, Christmas, Easter.





Then get back to me Honey. you are about to be shocked.


Now, who's church is HIS CHURCH????????


Jesus? God the Father? The POPE?


Who's church?????


Christ as our Savior NEVER would bare false witness.


So The Christ said two things.


Tho will not kill.


love thy neighbor as you love yourself.


and to His Apostles...MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD


explaining why REAL Christians who BELIEVE in CHRIST do not KILL in WAR, because WE believe that Christ, and His Father God Almighty will fix the earthly problems.


So as a False Christian, you have been duped into believing many Church Doctrines that go against early TRUE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN BELIEFS.


RE READ the Catholic encyclopedia.


Then read the Real word of God the BIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!
As a former faithful Catholic, who left after i became born again, my experience has been that it is Catholics who are the most ignorant of their faith, and in addition, few really have a clue as to how radically different it is now than 1,000 years ago.


http://www.catholictreasures.com/article鈥?/a>





The council of Trent did teach works are meritorious for salvation, a denial of Romans 3-5, Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:8-10, and a misunderstanding of Ja. 2. And Catholic today believe they are in the one true church. Yet the authenticity of a true church or believer is not based upon ecclesiastical or physical lineage, but like that of a true Jews, it is based upon effectual faith in the gospel of grace, which Rome effectively, officially and effectually, denies.





Scripturally, the RC assumption of a papacy is not Biblical, In interpreting the gospels and thus Mt. 16 we are to look to their application and the doctrine behind them in the promised (Jn. 16:12-15) revelation of Christ in the rest of the New Testament. Searching therein we do not find even one command ever given to the New Testament church or churches to submit to Peter as a singular supreme pope, nor one example of them submitting to Peter as one (in Acts 15, James gives the definitive sentence), nor does Peter ever refer to himself as such, but as ';an'; elder and ';an'; apostle, and ';a servant'; (1Pt. 5:1; 2Pt. 1:1). And very critically, no where is there any provison made for a sicessor to Peter, unlike for that of pastors.





The papacy is patterned more after the manner of the autocratic Roman empire. Taking on the form of the empire in which it was found, it became a vast an autocratic (answerable to no one) institution, with it's own Caesario-papacy, that adds to the Bible and effectively it makes it a second class authority (after the ';Teaching Magisterium';). Thus were unScriptural doctrines like indulgences and novenas and prayers to saints adopted, and the Bible was effectively bound from the common people for hundreds of years, while later Bingo was loosed! Hence a autocratic Caesario -papacy that makes the Bible a second place authority to an autocratic pope and church.





Finally, the ultimate error of Rome is that of fostering dependence upon her supposed powers, as well as one's own merits, for salvation, rather than bringing souls to come before God as sinners, destitute of any merit whereby they may escape Hell and gain Heaven, and thus cast all their faith upon Christ and His blood for justification and regeneration (Rm. 3:9 - 5:8; Eph. 1:13; Titus 3:5).





And having turned from sin to Him, be baptized under water (Acts 8:37) and walk in newness of life (Rm. 6). And so glorify God alone!!*
I think you are putting the cart before the horse when attempting to link the Roman Catholic Church to scripture, with this claim, ';In the Bible the Catholic Church is called the ';bulwark and ground of the truth'; which will never fall into apostasy.';





What you need to understand is that many Christians do know the Catholic faith and do not believe it to be what it claims. I mean no ill will to you, but I do not believe that the Catholic Church teaches salvation as Christ did. In fact, I am quite certain that it doesn't.
I'm sure there are many spirit filled Catholics. Its some of their beliefs that just dont line up with the Bible! The biggest one I think, is praying to anyone besides Jesus Christ. There is only one mediator. And there is no purgatory. That's really all I need, to stay clear.


Dont they pray to Mary?


Please show me scripture