Page 562 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

drinking His blood, and He said it has a symbolic, not a by the popes.
literal meaning (Jn. 6:35, 38, 41, 48, 53). (2) The Mary Was Born without Sin. This is the dogma of the
sacrifice of Christ was a once-for-all event (He. 9:12, 26, Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church denies
28; 10:10, 12, 14). When Christ died on the Cross, He that Mary had a sin nature or that she ever committed
said, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30). The RCC, with its wrong doing.
repetition of Christ’s sacrifice, denies the eternal “Through the centuries the Church has become ever
sufficiency of the Atonement. (3) A sacrifice without more aware that Mary, ‘full of grace’ through God, was
blood cannot atone for sins (Le. 17:11; He. 9:22); thus, redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is
the mass has no atoning value. (4) The intrusion of a what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
special priesthood between Christ and the believer is an confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854” (New
unbiblical abomination (1 Ti. 2:5; He. 7:24-27; 1 Pe. Catholic Catechism, 491).
2:5,9). (5) Masses for the dead, which have been a “From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the
central feature of Roman Catholicism for centuries, are Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. “Full of
entirely foreign to the Bible. Prayers and rituals for the grace,” Mary is “the most excellent fruit of
dead are paganism, not biblical Christianity (De. 18:9, redemption” (SC 103): from the first instant of her
11; 26:13-14). (6) The supposed changes that occur in conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of
the Mass are clearly deceptions. The wafer and wine original sin and she remained pure from all personal
sin throughout her life” (Catholic Catechism, 508).
remain unchanged in appearance, color, odor, or form,
yet the Catholic Church requires its people to believe “The Immaculate Virgin [was] preserved free from all
stain of original sin” (Vatican II, “Dogmatic
that the elements actually become Christ. They call this Constitution on the Church”).
deception a miracle, but true biblical miracles are Mary Was the Mother of God. The most common title
observable. (7) It is idolatry to worship the elements of for Mary in Catholicism is the Mother of God. The
the Mass (Ex. 20:4-5; Jn. 4:24). (8) There is no reasoning given for this is as follows:
semblance between the drama of the Catholic Mass and
the simple ceremony initiated by Christ and practiced by “Mary is really the mother of Jesus; and since Jesus is
the N.T. churches (Mt. 26:26-29; Mk. 14:23-25; Lk. God, Mary is the mother of God. It is, therefore, correct
to say that Mary is the mother of her Creator” (Any
22:19-20; 1 Co. 11:23-25). The Bible promises perfect Questions?, p. 67).
security and assurance through Christ’s once-for-all “... the Church confesses that Mary is truly “Mother of
sacrifice on Calvary. Any person who places his trust God” (Theotokos)” (New Catholic Catechism, 495).
entirely in Christ and His shed blood need never doubt Mary is a Perpetual Virgin. The Catholic Church
his eternal salvation before God (Jn. 3:16; He. 9:12). contends that Mary had no other children after bearing
The biblical Lord’s Supper, far from repeating Christ’s Jesus.
sacrifice, simply REMINDS the believer of that glorious
sacrifice by which he is redeemed unto God forever! “The Blessed Virgin had no child other than Jesus.
Such is, and has ever been, the faith of the Church,
5. In the New Testament there are no special priests whom Christ has promised to assist till the end of
set apart for performing “sacraments.” The only time” (Any Questions?, p. 63). [Editor: We must point
priesthoods described in the New Testament in relation out that this teaching WAS NOT the teaching of the
to the churches are (1) the Melchizadec priesthood of church in the days of the apostles! The phrase “has
Christ (Hebrews 5-7) and the priesthood of all believers ever been the faith of the Church” is entirely false.]
(1 Pe. 2:5, 9). “... the glorious ever Virgin Mary” (Vatican II,
6. The Catholic Church uses James 5:14-16 as “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church”).
biblical support for its practice of anointing the sick, but Mary Was Taken Bodily to Heaven. This is called the
as we have seen, (1) The sick is to call the elders of the the Assumption.
church, not a priest. (2) The confession of sins is to “one “On November 1, 1950, Pius XII speaking as infallible
another,” not to a priest. (3) The Eucharist is not Pastor of the Universal Church said, ‘To the glory of
mentioned. Christ, Immortal King of all Ages, and Victor over sin
Error # 7—Mariolatry and death, we declare it a divinely revealed dogma
that the Blessed Virgin Mary was, after her life on
The Roman Catholic Church teaches many false earth, taken body and soul to the glory of heaven.’ This
things about Mary, Christ’s mother. Though it is declaration was made by the Holy Father after nearly
sometimes denied, official Catholic dogma does affirm all the bishops of the world had petitioned for the
that Mary is to be worshipped. This will be proven with Assumption to be defined as a truth revealed by
substantial documentation from official Catholic God” (Any Questions?, p. 70).
publications, including declarations made by the Second
Vatican Council, the New Catholic Catechism (1994), and

562 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity