I Don't Know Who It Is

Roman Catholicism is a religion of dominance. It maintains control over its one billion subjects through a system of promises and threats. Those who adhere closely to the multitude of rules governing every aspect of religious belief and practice are rewarded with the favor of the RCC ruling class, dispensed in the form of grace, doled out as one gives a treat to a well-trained pet. Failure to live according to Rome's stringent and ever transmuting laws can result in sanctions ranging from repeating a few canned prayers through denial of admission to the church's sacraments to confiscation of property, torture and death, depending upon the severity of the failure and the degree of temporal power enjoyed by the RCC.

It astonishes me that anyone under submission to the Romish potentate would fail to diligently strive to learn all the rules and ways of the RCC so that he might avoid running afoul of her judicial process. Yet just about every Roman Catholic apologist I have encountered has displayed an abysmal ignorance of the very system he pretends to defend. Some while ago, a spokesman for the Roman cult took umbrage with what he considered my lack of appropriate reverence when addressing an issue concerning the wafer god of Catholicism, the consecrated host. His words illustrate both the arrogance of those who would defend Rome and the woeful lack of either knowledge or understanding of what they seek to defend.

We celebrate the Eucharist to gain unity under God. It is our statement of Faith and believing. Without faith, yes it would just be a cracker. But with our Faith, we can feel the love of Jesus Christ in our own bodies every week. Check out Matthew 26: 26-30, Mark 14: 22-26, and Luke 22 14-20. (The Lords Supper) Remember also that we do not believe that the Priest transforms the Eucharist. He only provides the words that God will recognize and allow his presence into this usually ordinary object.

The various aspects of Rome's Eucharistic celebration are subjects that I am convinced every Christian who takes issue with RCC doctrine and practice must deal with often. Every time a new voice for Rome pops in, we must re-invent the wheel. Rather than go through all the effort again, I am going to let one of Rome's own RCC theologian's words explain why what this person wrote is not what Rome believes. According to John O'Brien, the Catholic version of Christ the Savior, is submissive and obedient to the commands of the Catholic priest celebrating mass:

When the priest announces the tremendous words of consecration, he reaches up into the heavens, brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the Victim for the sins of man It is a power greater than that of saints and angels, greater than that of Seraphim and Cherubim. Indeed it is greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary While the Blessed Virgin was the human agency by which Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man—not once but a thousand times! The priest speaks and Christ, the eternal and omnipotent God, bows his head in humble obedience to the priest's command

Of what sublime dignity is the office of the Christian priest who is thus privileged to act as the ambassador and the vicegerent of Christ on earth. He continues the essential ministry of Christ; he teaches the faithful with the authority of Christ, he pardons the penitent sinner with the power of Christ, he offers up again the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of alter Christus For the priest is and should be another Christ. -- John O'Brien, The Faith of Millions, Publi. Our Sunday Visitor Inc (C) 1938 John A. O'Brien, 2nd Ed, pp 235-236; has Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur [My emphasis]

Did you catch that? When the priest issues his command to the Catholic Jesus to come down from the Catholic Heaven and somehow work himself into the very fabric of the cracker and the wine, O'Brien describes his power as "greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary." That is strong stuff in the Roman church.

The Son of God (RCC version) responds humbly to the commands of the Roman priest. This is every bit as blasphemous as when the same fictions are recounted by Word of Faith hucksters. Well, maybe not. Maybe the Catholic Jesus clone is under the power and authority of a million Catholic priests, bound to obey their commands to convert himself into a cookie and a glass of wine.

This fellow then shifted his focus to defend his faith in works by writing:

We believe that part of us saying "I believe" means reaching out to others in need. Our works is how we express our faith.

"Our works is how we express our faith" Nothing at all wrong with that. I cannot imagine a mature Christian arguing against the idea that good works follow regeneration as normally and naturally as night follows day. In that passage from James which RCC apologists so love to twist, the Lord makes it abundantly clear -- to those who approach the passage without having already been told by the Magisterium what they are to find there -- that one's good works justify his faith before man.

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"-- James 2:14-20

Don't we see it everywhere? A man professes to be Christian, may even comport himself with great ceremony and sanctimoniousness in all he does, yet if he does no good works, who will believe his profession of faith? On the other hand, another might live a poor and miserable life, but out of his regenerated heart wells an endless flow of kind acts and words. By these good fruits, many shall see his faith. Notice that it is not the works that bring forth faith, but faith which evidences itself in good works.

Good works are as natural to regenerated man as breathing. Of course, just as we all sometimes get congested and have trouble breathing, there may be times in a Christian's life when the good works come with less frequency than usual.

The Pharisees surely did good works for all the world to see. In fact, they made a point of it that their good works should be seen – and Jesus condemned them for their hypocrisy (Matthew 23). Did not the Pharisees go about with oversized phylacteries on their foreheads and wrists, so that men might see their holy nature? Did not the Pharisees give alms in public with a great show of giving? Did not the Pharisees make a grand display of praying in public? All these things and more were done

This Catholic apologist did not write to lure me back to the deadly embrace of Mother Church. He had another, more ecumenical, purpose.

I do not wish to convert you to Catholism but show you the Truth as evidenced by the Gospel that Catholics are just as saved as any other Christian who believes in the goodness of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I imagine just about every Christian who comes to this board admits to the likelihood there are, within the cult of Roman Catholicism, some who have responded to God's call and trusted in Jesus for their eternal state. These likely are continuing in Catholicism, but with no clear understanding of dogma or doctrine and surely not trusting in a cracker for salvation. I doubt there are many, but only God can read the heart. I believe Scripture clearly shows that those who rely on faith plus anything, such as baptism, sacraments, etc., are not responding to the Gospel of salvation as clearly taught in Scriptures.

But I would agree with my apologetic antagonist that Catholics, for the most part, are just as saved as any professing Christian who believes himself saved because God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are good and a good god would not abandon his children to eternal suffering. That the triune God Almighty is god is not to be denied. However, Christians are not saved because they believe God is good.

We are saved because we believe that Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, took human form and became the perfect atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. We believe, with the invincible assurance of God-given faith, that Jesus died for our sins, according to Scripture, that He was buried and that He rose again, according to Scripture. This is the Gospel, the Good News.

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: -- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Jesus of Nazareth, Who suffered and died on Golgotha hill, was God Incarnate. He was fully God and fully man. When His torn and pummeled body was fastened to the cross, the nails passed through human flesh, not a cracker. When the lance penetrated His side, what poured out was blood and lymph, not water and wine.

His final utterance, breathed but moments before He died, are translated "It is finished." (John 19:30) The debt of all mankind had been paid in full.

His salvific work complete, Jesus still had prophecies to fulfill. According to prophecy, He had died for our sin. He was buried. According to prophecy, He rose again. He was seen by many. There was a multitude of witnesses who had known Him before His ordeal who saw Him again, alive. He spoke with many, including those who had been closest to Him during His ministry.

That He had risen is historical fact. But He is not on earth now, nor does He jump up and zoom down to Catholic altars millions of times a day to take the form of a wafer or a cup of watered wine. Scripture is clear, Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Trinity, is in Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. (Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 1:13, 8:1; 1 Peter 3:22; etc.)

That being that the Roman Catholic Church claims her priests conjure from Heaven is not a part of the triune Godhead. If anything at all happens to that cracker and that wine, it did not happen by an act of God. More likely, if there is such a thing as transubstantiation, the agent is the Prince of this Age.