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Mike Shreve was a teacher of yoga at four universities. (The portrait above was drawn by one of his students in 1970.) Then a spiritual rebirth brought him into a real relationship with God and drastically changed his heart, his life and his belief system. Read his story here.
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TWELVE BELIEFS OF
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH I
NO LONGER EMBRACE!
First some background information: I was raised Roman Catholic by parents who were very fervent in their devotion to God, to ethical ways of living and to this church that boasts millions of adherents in this world. Without a doubt, some of the kindest, humblest and most dedicated believers in Christ that I have ever met were some of the priests and nuns with whom I became acquainted during my years in parochial school and my time of serving as an altar boy. I deeply respect all Catholics who have a deep passion for God and seek to sincerely serve Him in this world. Thank God for the stand taken by the Catholic Church against abortion and against various forms of immorality! And thank God for all the ways various Catholic people, ministers and lay people, have served needy people in various situations. I have written this article, though, because I have a deep concern. During all my years as a Catholic, I was never taught about being "born again" (the experience in which Jesus actually dwells in the heart of a believer). Yet Jesus promoted this experience as being absolutely essential in order to inherit ETERNAL LIFE (Read John 3:1-5). Once I received this life-transforming experience (Click here for my story.) I began reading the Bible. As a Catholic, this was not my practice. I trusted primarily in studying the Catechism: a book, familiar to all Catholics, which contains select biblical readings that uphold Catholic doctrine. I was quite surprised to find that the Bible does not support many beliefs that are common to Catholics. As a born-again Bible believer, I can no longer endorse what the Scripture does not uphold. It is not my intention to be insulting by presenting this material. Quite the contrary, my heart cries out to help my Catholic brothers and sisters to see the error of the following twelve points of doctrine: As a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I can no longer accept: (1) The infallibility of the pope—History proves that many popes have made incorrect decisions in the execution of their office (e.g., Read "Halley’s Bible Handbook"). The pope is NOT the Vicar of Christ on earth, the primary representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no single person who fills this role. God has MANY apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists (the 5-fold ministry) who fill various levels of ministerial authority in the TRUE CHURCH (which is not an organization, but a living body made up of born again believers of MANY denominations). (See Ephesians 4:10-12) (2) Exclusivity of Roman Catholicism—The concept that the Catholic Church is the true church is not correct. You become a member of the Catholic Church by joining the organization (adhering to its code of beliefs) or by infant baptism (which is itself unscriptural). However, when I was a Catholic I was not saved. I was religious, but I did not have a regenerative born again experience (which Jesus said was necessary); neither did I have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus (which is the essence of eternal life—See John 17: 1-3). Besides, there are genuinely born again individuals in many denominations who are truly saved. The true church is not an organization; it is an organism—spiritually discerned. (3) Infant baptism—Though the Bible is very supportive of infant dedication, there is no Scriptural approval of infant baptism. The Scripture explains that the person who “believes and is baptized” shall be saved. (See Mark 16:16) This is a clear indication that baptism should take place only AFTER a sincere and knowledgeable conversion to Christianity. Also, it should be mentioned that the Bible never endorses the practice of sprinkling. The very word “baptism” is itself synonymous with the idea of full immersion. (4) Confession and penance—The necessity of confession to a priest and penance is emphasized in Catholicism. However, the Bible primarily teaches that we should confess our sins to God, not to a minister of the Gospel. The Scripture promises, “If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) Admittedly, the Bible encourages us to confess our faults to one another and pray for one another. (See James 5:16) But this does NOT imply that we should appeal to fellow believers in order to obtain absolution or remission of those sins. It is simply a suggestion that we be accountable to one another and help one another in prayer. It is true that Jesus told his chief disciples, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (John 20:23) But this passage cannot be used to prove that “remitting sins” is an exclusive right of Catholic priests. In fact, just prior to this ‘remitting’ promise, Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit.” This act implies that ANYONE filled with the Holy Spirit is especially empowered to impart the knowledge that brings forgiveness of sins to those seeking reconciliation with God. It should also be mentioned that there are priests seeking to grant absolution who have never been filled with the Holy Spirit themselves, according to the biblical standard. (See Acts 2, 10:44-48, 19:1-7) Furthermore the idea of doing penance robs the cross of its power. What brings forgiveness to me—repeating seven "Hail Mary's" and ten "Our Fathers" or the precious blood that the Savior shed? The Scripture emphasizes in the letter to the Ephesians that we are saved by grace (unmerited love), AND NOT BY WORKS. (See Ephesians 2:8) It must be heartbreaking to the Lord to see that men attribute such importance to repetitive prayers and empty rituals, when He paid such a supreme price, which is sufficient within itself. Remember, He did say, “It is FINISHED!” when He died. And He did warn us not to use “VAIN REPETITIONS” like the heathen. (Matthew 6:7) (5) An ecclesiastical hierarchy or priesthood—The idea of an exclusive priesthood is wrong. Scripture teaches every believer is a priest (See I Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1: 5-6) A priest is one who has access into the presence of God, something Jesus purchased for ALL of us. (6) Celibacy for priests and nuns—The demand that the priests be celibate is also unscriptural and has been the source of many personal failures in the lives of those who had a deep devotion toward God, but were not graced to live a single life. Peter was married, yet he is considered the first pope. When and how did such a tradition creep in? According to Paul's letters, pastors and bishops should be the husband of one wife, not celibate. Although some definitely do have this “gift,” it is NOT NECESSARY for a person to do this in order to be qualified as a representative of the Lord. (See I Corinthians 7:7) (7) Purgatory and indulgences—This supposed 'intermediate hell-like state' after death is not taught in the Bible. Scripture only speaks of heaven or hell. One passage may be subject to speculation, but it is certainly not clear enough to validate this doctrine. (See I Corinthians 3:11-15) I would dare to say that purgatory is a church tradition which has enabled the Catholic Church through the years to raise quite a bit of money through the 'purchasing' of merits (‘indulgences’) so that people could exit purgatory at an earlier date than their projected time of 'incarceration.’ Of course, many who espouse a belief in purgatory may be completely sincere in embracing this concept. They may feel it extends God’s mercy to a wider group of people. However, such a doctrine is ultimately a refusal to see the sufficiency of what Jesus did on Calvary as our means of justification. We could never ‘buy’ our way into a righteous state with money, even if we spent millions of dollars purchasing indulgences. (8) Sainthood—Authorities in the Catholic Church have, through the centuries, canonized a number of followers of Christ who have exhibited deeper-than-normal devotion to the Lord. They alone are referred to as saints. However, according to the Bible, every true believer is a “saint,” not just those who have achieved an exceptional state of piety and moral excellence (See I Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1; 4:12, Colossians 1:2, 12, etc.). The word “saint” means a separated person who is dedicated in holiness to the Lord. Some may well manifest ‘saintliness’ more than others, but all believers are called to this role. (9) The intercession of departed saints—Catholics believe that departed saints can be petitioned in prayer. They then intercede in the behalf of the petitioner before God. This is an unbiblical belief, illogical as well. What if one million people around the world were petitioning Mary to intercede in their behalf at one time? She (or any other saint being similarly petitioned) would have to be omniscient and omnipresent to effectively respond. These are attributes that only God can claim. (10) Devotion to Mary—The Catholic tendency of devotion to Mary is, in some ways, similar to the Far Eastern practice of devotion to various teachers, swamis, gurus, gods, etc. Only God should receive our devotion. Some Catholics almost deify Mary. It is very unbiblical. She is not the perpetual virgin. She had children by Joseph after she conceived of the Holy Spirit and brought forth the Lord Jesus. She should certainly be deeply respected for the beauty of her character and faithfulness to God, but no more than that. Anything more than that is idolatrous—a serious transgression of the first commandment. (11) Statues and Icons—God commanded from Mount Sinai that we not make any images of things in heaven or earth in order to bow down before them, yet Catholics regularly break the second commandment because of church tradition. (See Exodus 20:4-5) Too much sacredness is placed on the images of various saints. God never has been pleased with such practices. (12) Transubstantiation—This is the idea that the bread and wine in Communion actually BECOME the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. Most Protestants (including myself) believe in the beauty, power and necessity of practicing the Lord's Supper, but that it is merely SYMBOLIC. Because Jesus was “the Word made flesh,” digesting the Word into our innermost being is “eating His flesh.” Because the Scripture teaches that “the life is in the blood,” partaking of the wine (unfermented grape juice) represents ‘drinking in’ the life-giving Spirit of God. Every time we celebrate communion (which incidentally we can just-as-effectively do in the privacy of our own homes) we are openly making a statement that we are fulfilling Jesus’ command to live a “Word-filled, Spirit-filled life”—thus “eating His flesh and drinking His blood.” (John 6, see entire chapter). Final Thought—As a final thought, let me once again reiterate that I have great respect for many dedicated Christians who also claim to be Catholic. In India, some of the main supporters of my outdoor Gospel gatherings are the beautiful parish priests, many of whom have suffered severe persecution from some Hindu people. And there has probably never been a more beautiful Christian than Mother Theresa. However, Jesus explained in John 4:23 that if we are to be “True Worshippers” we must worship God in spirit and IN TRUTH. Part of this includes embracing the right doctrine. |
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"In Search of the True Light" ©2002 copyright
by Mike Shreve.
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