Catholicism: Another Gospel
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. — Galatians 1:8
What teachings in Catholicism present another gospel?
Altered Ten Commandments
The Catholic version of the ten commandments remove the second commandment that commands us not to make unto ourselves and graven images and splits the tenth commandment into two.
The biblical ten commandments in Exodus 20:1-17
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
This differs from the Catholic version:
I am the LORD your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the LORD’s Day.
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. (Source: Hallow.comvia Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Scripture warns against this.
Deuteronomy 4:2
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Bowing to carved (graven) images
In Catholicism, bowing to carved images, carrying carved images in processions, lighting candles to carved images, speaking to saints through carved images is customary. Scripture forbids this.
Deuteronomy 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
Acts 17:29
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
The three-legged stool, or foundation, of Catholicism (Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Magisterium i.e. the official teaching authority of the Catholic church) which conflicts with scripture’s foundation of The Law & The Prophets i.e. the Old Testament
Mark 7:7-9
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Matthew 22:36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Praying the Rosary
Praying the rosary involves prayer and meditations Christ and Mary. According to Catholic.com, “The rosary is a Christ-centered prayer, rooted in Sacred Scripture, that helps us meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary. The rosary is a Catholic devotion in which we ask for the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, in drawing closer to her divine Son, Jesus. When praying the rosary, you use a string of beads to keep track of your progress through the prayers.”
Scripture says we are only to pray to God in Jesus’ name:
1 Peter 1:17
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Prayer to saints and angels
According to catholicexchange.com, “For us Catholics, praying to saints and angels can seem like the most natural thing in the world. We do it all the time both in the Church’s official liturgies and in our personal prayers, so it is part of the fabric of our daily spiritual lives.”
Scripture forbids this.
Colossians 2:18
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
An angel rebuked angel worship in Revelation 19:10:
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Immaculate conception which states that Mary was free from original sin from her conception in her mother’s womb.
Immaculate Conception:
the dogma of the unique privilege by which the Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother's womb without the stain of original sin through the anticipated merits of Jesus Christ. (Source: Dictionary.com )
Scripture does not say that Mary was sinless:
Romans 3:23-26
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
She recognized her need for a savior in Luke 1:46-47
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Purgatory and the need for purification after death.
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).
The purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 21:27) and, while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven.” (Source: Catholic.com )
This is not scriptural. There is no purification after death and no purification in purgatory.
Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Confessing sins to the priest as mediator.
There is no precedent for this in scripture. Christ is our mediator. We confess our sins to God and, for prayer, to one another mutually.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Romans 8:34
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
James 5:16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The position and title of the pope (which means ‘Father’) and the title Vicar of the Son of God
“The word pope comes from the Latin papa, meaning father. In the Catholic Church, the pope serves as the spiritual father and servant leader of the universal Church.” (Source: Catholic.com )
The Bible tells us to call no man Father.
Matthew 23:9
And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
The Pope wears a hat with the words “Vicarius Fili Dei” meaning Vicar of the Son of God.
According to Catholicculture.org:
VICAR
An ecclesiastic who substitues for another in the exercise of a clerical office and acts in his name and with his authority according to canon law. (Etym. Latin vicarius, a substitute; from vicarus, substituting, acting for; from vicis, change, turn, office.)
In other words the words “Vicarius Fili Dei” means a substitute for Christ
Roman letters were also associated with numbers. When the letters of the title “Vicarius Fili Dei” are given their corresponding numbers you get the number 666:
V=5 F=0 D=500
I=1 I=1 E=0
C=100 L=50 I=1
A=0 I=1 ——-
R=0 I=1 501
I=1 ——
U=5 53
S=0
——
112
Baptizing babies
There’s no biblical account of the baptism of babies. Even when it mentions that entire households were saved, it never states that those households included babies.
You must be able to believe and repent first, which a baby can not do.
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
John 3:5-6
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Veneration of Mary, including regarding Mary as the queen of heaven
What does scripture say about the veneration of Jesus’ mother?
In Matthew 12:46-50, Jesus himself says :
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Mary is never referred to as the queen of heaven in the Bible. What does scripture say about the queen of heaven?
Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Jeremiah 44:17-25
17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
20 Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,
21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
22 So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
24 Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
And there are many more false teachings….
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. — Isaiah 8:20