The same questions have been posted 2/3 times on this page, & I'm sure they were on page 1, so there have been many answers - but there are always room for more, from those who may well understand the questions better than I :wink:
Confessing your faith must be on-topic here, so this is from a search @
'errors of RC catechism'
@ the UCCF forum, by D Brasted (= Universities/Colleges Christian Fell)
"Is Roman Catholicism Christianity?"
I am writing this to two audiences - to those of you in the Roman Catholic Church, and to Biblical, born-again believers in Jesus Christ. As we are propelled ever faster into the time of the end, I believe it is ever more important that people are made aware of one of Satan's greatest deceptions - the lie that Roman Catholicism is a valid form of biblical Christianity. Many of you will be protesting at this point at such a seemingly confrontational, discriminatory statement, but please hear me out because it concerns the most important question we could ever consider - our eternal destination.
The Word of God is very clear on the importance of pure doctrine. We are called to "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." Why? "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." (2 Timothy 4:2-4) Christianity as proclaimed in Scripture is "...the faith which was ONCE FOR ALL delivered to the saints." Jude 3 (my emphasis) There are dire warnings against preaching a gospel that is in any way different to that outlined in Scripture.
Galatians 1:8-9: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."
But this is precisely what Roman Catholicism is - a different gospel. AND IT CANNOT SAVE.
Perhaps you are unaware of the actual teachings of Roman Catholicism. Allow me to go through some of these doctrines, comparing them to Scripture. Quotes will be from the Catholic Catechism of 1994, revised in 1997, as referenced on
http://www.kofc.org/faith/catechism/catechism.cfm
Teachings on Mary...
According to Catholic teaching, Mary was sinless.
Section 491: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.
Section 508: From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. "Full of grace", Mary is "the most excellent fruit of redemption" (SC 103): from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.
But what does the Word of God say?
Romans 3:23: "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..."
Luke 1:46-47: "And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour."
If Mary was sinless, then why does the Bible say ALL have sinned, and why does Mary need a Saviour?
According to Catholic teaching, Mary is Queen of Heaven, is involved in our salvation by her intercession, and was taken up bodily into Heaven.
Section 964: Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:
Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son."
Section 966: "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death." The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:
In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.
Section 969: "This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfilment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation .... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix."
But what does the Word of God say?
Galatians 3:13-14: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
1 Timothy 2:5-6: "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all..."
Romans 8:34: "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."
Hebrews 7:25: "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
Mary is NOT "Queen of Heaven", was NOT taken up bodily into Heaven to be exalted, is NOT our Mediator, and will NOT "deliver our souls from death" by her prayers!!!
Teachings on salvation...
According to Catholic teaching, salvation comes through the Catholic Church.
Section 819: "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements." Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."
Secion 846: ...all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
According to Catholic teaching, baptism is necessary for salvation and forgiveness of sins.
Section 1257: The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. 66 In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.
Section 1277: Baptism is birth into the new life in Christ. In accordance with the Lord's will, it is necessary for salvation, as is the Church herself, which we enter by Baptism.
But what does the Word of God say?
Ephesians 2:8-9: " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Romans 10 -10: "...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Galatians 2:16: "...a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
1 John 1 : "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Scripture is clear - we are saved solely through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing else. Not baptism, not by belonging to a particular church, but faith alone. And even our faith is not of ourselves, but a gift from God. We simply confess our sins to God in true repentance, and "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
According to Catholic teaching, confession of our sins to a mere man is necessary for forgiveness.
Section 1493: One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience. The confession of venial faults, without being necessary in itself, is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.
Section 1456: Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly."
When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know."
Section 1497: Individual and integral confession of grave sins followed by absolution remains the only ordinary means of reconciliation with God and with the Church.
But what does the Word of God say?
1 John 1 : "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Ephesians 1 : "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..."
Colossians 1:14: "the Son...in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."
We are not forgiven of our sins because we confess them, for that would mean that any unconfessed sins would not be forgiven and we would therefore be damned.
We are forgiven because we are redeemed through Christ's sacrifice once and for all on the cross. He took our punishment upon Himself. Our confession to God is the means by which our fellowship with Him is restored and our guilt cleansed.
Teachings on Islam...
According to Catholic teaching, Muslims, among others, are in the plan of salvation.
Section 841: The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.
But what does the Word of God say?
John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Galatians 1:8-9: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."
Galatians 2:16: "...a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
Scripture is clear - salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. It is not enough to "acknowledge the Creator". Also, the Creator that Muslims worship is NOT the Creator God of the Bible - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For one, Allah "has no son". I could go further, but this is worth a discussion of its own...
Teachings about the Mass...
According to Catholic teaching, the Eucharist is a sacrifice, it is conducted in communion with the dead, and those who partake of it eat and drink the actual body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Section1365: Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice. The sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution: "This is my body which is given for you" and "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood." In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Section 1370: To the offering of Christ are united not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the glory of heaven. In communion with and commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, the Church offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ
Section 1367: The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different." "And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody manner. . . this sacrifice is truly propitiatory."
Section 1376: The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."
But what does the Word of God say?
Deuteronomy 8:10-12: "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, OR ONE WHO CALLS UP THE DEAD. For all who do these things are AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you." (my emphasis)
John 19:30: "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "IT IS FINISHED!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." (my emphasis)
Hebrews 10:11-14: "And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered ONE SACRIFICE for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (my emphasis)
Necromancy (communion with the dead) is expressly forbidden in Scripture. Christ's sacrifice on the cross was ONCE AND FOR ALL. The teaching of transubstantiation is not only complete nonsense, but cannibalism.
I have chosen only some of the teachings of Roman Catholicism here. It should be plainly obvious that these teachings are utterly contrary to God's Word. Roman Catholicism is clearly another gospel, and the Bible gives this warning: " ...if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."
If you are a Roman Catholic, I urge you to consider what is written here and to search the 66 books of Scripture for the Truth that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 29:13: "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Roman Catholicism will not save you.
Only faith in Jesus Christ - that He is the Son of God, that He died once and for all to take the punishment for our sin, and that He rose again - this alone will save you. Romans 10 -11: "...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.""
To those of you who are born again believers in Jesus Christ, and have put your trust entirely in Him for your salvation, I hope and pray that the true identity of Roman Catholicism is now clear. It is another gospel - deceptively similar to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but deadly to those who follow it. May the Lord give us wisdom and courage to share the true Gospel to those around us who are caught in this deception. It is my prayer that this has better prepared you for that task.
A final word to those who are truly born again but are still in the Roman Catholic Church. Get out! Revelation 18:4: "..."Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues." You cannot believe what the Roman Catholic Church teaches AND believe the clear teaching of Scripture - they are wholly incompatible. I urge you: choose the truth!
: 
: 
