Monday, May 25, 2009

Non Catholicism and Anti Catholicism

I have debated Catholicism off and on for 30 years now and I have pretty much heard every attack there is on Catholicism. I also have known many people who have left the Catholic faith and many that have come into it.

These are some of my general observations.

Non-Catholics are all wrong to greater or lesser to degree. Only the Catholic Church is the fullness of truth. Yet, they are not all bad. Some are really decent and godly people who are just deceived and lacking in understanding. Since we are all judged by our works and not by faith alone (James 2:24), these too can be saved.

Their wrongness is made manifest in their disunity. There are no two non-catholics who agree on all doctrinal matters and there are no doctrinal matters on which all non-catholics agree. The body of the Protestants, sects and cults is the very definition of what Jesus called a house divided against itself.




Matthew 12:25 But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, "Every
kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided
against itself will stand.

Of course I believe that protestantism and every form of non-Catholicism is destined to fall for just this reason. It is built on a foundation of unbelief. A house built on sand. Only the house built on the Rock can withstand the storms that will surely come (from inside and outside). Matthew 7:24-25

This is why Jesus went to such great pains to identify Peter as the Rock (Aramaic: Kephas: John 1:42, 1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:22, 9:5, 15:5, Galatians 1:18, 2:9, 2:11, 2:14. )

Protestants point to the signature passage on this doctrine, Matthew 16:18 and say See! Jesus called Simon "Petros" meaning little stone! As with most of the doctrines of fundamentalists, this silly word play is easily exposed. "Petros" is nothing more than the masculine form of the Greek word "Petra", meaning a foundational stone.

Jesus didn't call Peter "Petros", Jesus called Peter "Kephas", which is translated to "Petros". Your own Bible tells you this.




John 1:42 Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are
Simon the son of John; * you will be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

The Gospel of Matthew wasn't written in Greek, it was translated into Greek.

and yet, some fundamentalists insist that the ROCK Jesus referred to in Matthew 16:18 wasn't Peter. They claim that Jesus said "You (Peter) are Petros (little stone) and upon this Petra (huge stone) I will build my church. Some claim that the huge stone refers to Jesus, Himself or to Peter's faith.

Folks, that dog just don't hunt. These kinds of linguistic gymnastics don't serve the body of Christ.
The sentence is constructed in a way that perfectly and completely refutes this nonsense.

First, Petros and Petra are nothing more than masculine and feminine versions of the same word. Indeed, I have known men named Peter and Women named Petra. I could give countless examples; Robert and Roberta, John and Joan, Reginald and Regina, Terrance and Theresa, Paul and Pauline, George and Georgette, and so on.

The translator has to assign Peter the masculine version as a proper name. If the translator were marking a distinction, he would have used the Greek word "Lithos" to address Peter and then "Petros" (masculine) to address Jesus.

Second, the word AND!

16:18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, * and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

You have to perform linguistic cartwheels to get around this one word!




and 

–conjunction
1.(used to connect grammatically coordinate words,
phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to;
besides; also; moreover: pens and pencils.
2.added to; plus: 2 and 2 are 4.
3.then: He read for an hour and went to bed.
4.also, at the same time:
to sleep and dream.
5.then again; repeatedly: He coughed and coughed.

This is where common sense must kick in. The fundamentalist argument simply defies common sense! The Conjunction AND joins together coherent segments of a sentence.



Apples taste good and I like them.

Suzy is smart and will pass the class.

I am concerned about your troubles and I want to help.

To believe the fundamentalist view of Matthew 16:18, you have to having a willing suspension of knowledge of basic sentence structure.



Apples taste good and I refuse to eat them.

Suzy is smart and she will fail.

I am concerned about your troubles and you are on your own.

You are a pebble and upon a rock I will build my church.

Contrasting would require use of the word BUT or HOWEVER or NONETHELESS. Common sense dictates this.

Third, for the translator to have intended "lithos" (little stone) as Peter's name would be confirmed by use of the Aramaic word "enva". As you see, nowhere is Peter referred to as "Enva". Yet, He is repeatedly referred to as "Kephas".

Fourth, the term tautee tee confirms this interpretation because it means on this very....

Literally... You are the Rock and upon this very Rock I will build my Church.

The wiggle room for misinterpretation simply isn't there.

Of course, these things are difficult for some to understand and, thus, not all will come to understand them but many will do the best they can with the light in them.

Others, however, rejoice in their ignorance and celebrate it with prideful arrogance and sinful derision and disdain. These will have a grievous time being saved if there is any hope for them at all. It is these that Jesus and John the Baptist railed against with fury!


MT 6:2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before
you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise
of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.


MT 6:5 "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward.


MT 6:16 "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.


MT 15:7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:
MT 22:18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you
hypocrites?


MT 23:13 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.


MT 23:15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.


MT 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You
pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things
of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done,
without neglecting the others.


MT 23:25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.


MT 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.


MT 23:29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous,

MT 24:51 and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.


MK 7:6 He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;

LK 12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

LK 13:15 The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for
watering?


The anti-catholic is a special brand of hypocrite that is an outgrowth of the false doctrine of Sola Fide (Salvation by Faith Alone). They truly believe (or at least want you to think they do) that Jesus cannot see their sin because they have been saved or reborn or born-again (or whatever they are calling it these days) and are, therefore, free to condemn each and every other person who does not think exactly as they do. They have the same cold, stone heart of the pharisees and- sadly- are headed to the same fate.

Unlike the non-catholic, the anti-catholic scarcely can be saved because they don't think they need a physician. Only too late will their eyes be opened and see the covenant form of the work of salvation.

Only those who show mercy will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7). Only those who do not judge will not be judged. Further, those who do judge will be judged by the very same measure they use!


Matthew 7:2 For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with
which you measure will be measured out to you

Romans 2:1 Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes
judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,
since you, the judge, do the very same things.

Romans 2:3 Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such
things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Only too late will the anti-catholic learn that, not only was she wrong about doctrine but she was wrong in a far more grievous way. Even as she boasted of her salvation, God saw her hate and her gossip and treachery.


Proverbs 6: 16 There are six
things which the LORD hates,Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans,Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false
witness who utters lies,And one who spreads strife among brothers.

After she dies, she will stand in chains, howling in horrible pain and despair, her eyes ever fixed on the clear knowledge of how she reviled her fellow man and, as a consequence, the very grace that could have saved her from this terrible state that she must now forever endure.

With all self deception having fled her, she will endure this horror fully- feeling all of the pain of the fire, all of the loneliness of being forsaken of God and all of the despair that comes with the certain knowledge that She shall never even have hope of escaping these torments.

The anti-Catholic thinks in her heart that Jesus must admit her into heaven. If she lies, it is nothing. If she slanders and hates, it is a small matter. Her salvation is assured. What is a lie or a malicious attack against someone she disagrees with? If it furthers her aim of destroying a foe, all the better, right?

Ahhhh. Too late will she be reminded of the parable of the talents or of the good Samaritan.

The problem with the anti-catholic is that she hates the catholic far more than she loves Jesus Christ. If given the choice, she would probably choose hell if she found out any catholics will be in heaven. Unfortunately, she very well may get her wish.

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