ROME’S NEW CREED

In the early ages of Christianity the Papacy, as it now exists, was unknown. The Bishop of Rome in course of time became honoured, but had no supreme jurisdiction or infallibility. The great Schism of the West between 1378 and 1417 caused the loss of “visible unity” which is claimed as one of the essential properties of the church which “never changes” as is the boastful motto of the Roman Catholic Church. That boast is seen to be erroneous by reviewing the many innovations which have been made through her history. Man-made dogmas, quite contrary to the teaching of Christ, have been introduced by various Popes. Here are some of them.

INNOVATION No. 1

Worship of the Virgin Mary - It Was not known by the primitive Christians, nor for several centuries. When the Wise Men came from afar with their gifts to Bethlehem they worshipped Him – not Mary (Matt. 2: 11). Luke 1: 28, is the text much made of by the R.C. theologians as the foundation of this worship, but it was simply the Angel making the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Mary – and not connected with the worship at all. Another thing we may note is that throughout the Gospels we never find Jesus addressing her as “Mother” - but “Woman”; and His own words clearly show His attitude to her when He said, “Who is My mother? and who is My brethren? And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and said, Behold My Mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12: 46-50; also Mark 3: 31-35; Luke 8: 19‑21). Not one of the Apostles, in their epistles, makes even mention of her (strange! if she was to be an object of worship) and the last we hear of her in the New Testament is in Acts 1: 14, where we find her in the upper room, praying along with the disciples. (Why were they not rather worshipping her?)

The cult of Mary in the R.C. Church has not only come into rivalry with the worship of God, but it has to a large extent supplanted it, and it is well known that the very Lord’s Prayer has been changed to – “Our Mary, who art in heaven.” If Mariolatry did not pay, it would not be cultivated. According to the R.C. Church the way to keep her in good humour, and make her responsive, is to give to her frequently and generously, thus the more Madonna festivals there are the more money flows into the pockets of Pope and priest. Even the poorest have to bring their offerings in money or kind. No one, more than Mary herself, would resent the dishonour done to her Lord and ours in degrading her to the level of a pagan Diana. The people are taught that she is more merciful than Jesus, and that she can plead with Him for them.

After preaching a sermon on the Virgin Mary, Father Chiniquy - who was a priest for 25 years - had a strange experience: “That night, before going to bed, I read the 12^th chapter of Matthew, and when I came to the latter part (“Who is My mother”) I had hardly finished reading when drops of sweat began to flow from my face and the voice of conscience seemed to say to me, ‘do you not see that you have preached a sacrilegious lie this morning?’ I was bewildered and in great distress. I went to the Bishop and expressed my doubts to him. He was so thunderstruck that he quickly answered, ‘I hope you have not given way to these temptations, and that you will not become a Protestant.’ My faith was terribly shaken, and I asked the Bishop many questions relating to the subject. He seemed absolutely confounded, and at last, excusing himself as he had some pressing business said, ‘You will find an answer to your questions in “the Holy Fathers.”’ ‘Can you lend me the “Holy Fathers,” my lord?’ I asked. ‘No sir,’ he said, ‘I have them not!’ This last answer shook my faith to the foundation. With the sincere hope of finding in the “Holy Fathers” some explanations that would dispel my painful doubts, I went immediately to a bookseller, who, at last, got me a copy from France. This I examined with the utmost attention and found, to my desolation and surprise, that the Holy Fathers for the first six centuries had never advocated the worship of the Virgin, and also that many other innovations had been introduced from time to time. I also discovered that the so-called Liturgies of St. Peter, St. Mark, and St. James (which were intended to prove that the sacrifice of the Mass, and Purgatory, etc., were taught and believed from the very days of the Apostles) were nothing but audacious forgeries presented to the world. And now I felt I must leave this Church whose theologians said, ‘Out of the Church of Rome there is no salvation.’ I began to speak more openly on Christian rights and duties as set forth in the Gospel of Christ, and was now suspected as a disguised Protestant, and was ordered to write an act of submission. This, I presented to the Bishop who, reading it slowly, came to the words ‘we submit to your authority according to the Word of God as we find it in the Gospel of Christ’. He stopped, and said, ‘What do you mean by this?’ I answered, I mean what you see there. That neither I nor my people will ever submit ourselves to anybody except to the eternal laws of truth, justice and holiness, as we find them expressed in the Bible. The Bishop then said, ‘I hope, that as a good priest, you do not want to rebel? Remove these expressions “Wordof God,” “Gospel of Christ” and “Bible” from your document and I shall be satisfied.’ But, my lord, I answered, we want to submit only to the Church which respects and follows Christ. The Bishop then angrily replied, ‘M. Chiniquy, I am your Superior, and I do not want to argue with you. You are my inferior, your business is to obey me.’ What you ask me, I replied, is not an act of submission, but an act of adoration. I do absolutely refuse to give it. ‘If that be so, sir,’ said the Bishop, ‘you can no longer be an R.C. priest.’ My intelligence was now fully awake to the falseness of my Church, and exclaimed, ‘God Almighty be for ever blest’! and I walked out from the Bishop’s presence never more to be subject to the Church of Rome.”

INNOVATION No. 2

The Celibacy of the Clergy - This was introduced by Gregory (Hildebrand, 1073). Before that time priests could marry. St. Peter, who is supposed to be the first Pope, was married ; for were told that Jesus cured his wife’s mother of a fever (Matt. 8: 14), and He never raised His voice against the disciples who had wives. There is no suggestion, in the whole of the New Testament, that a Pope is necessary, for Jesus sent out His disciples, very simply equipped to preach and teach, and gave them and succeeding Christians commission to spread His Gospel all over the world. Although St. Paul never married he never laid down any hard and fast rules, instead, he said: “A bishop must then be blameless, the husband of one wife, ... one that ruleth well his own house.” (1 Tim. 3 : 2). Also he said: “Have we not the power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas” (St. Peter) (1 Cor. 9 : 5).

INNOVATION No. 3

Transubstantiation, which became a dogma under Innocent III in 1215 at the Council of Lateran. Scripture distinctly condemns this, in these words: “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9: 28), and “By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10: 14, also verses 10 and 12). The Lord’s Supper is simply a memorial feast - to use the very words of Jesus – “This do in remembrance of Me.” It is certainly not a recurring sacrifice. Jesus frequently used symbolical words, such as, when referring to Himself as “the Door,” “the True Vine,” “the Bread of Life,” but no one would ever take these expressions literally. Why then regard the Bread and Wine as the true Body and Blood of Christ?

INNOVATION No. 4

Auricular Confession - adopted in Rome’s creed in 1215. Great stress is laid upon this practice by the R.C. Church, but it may be asked, “What has become of all those saints before that time, who lived and died without confessing. Are they lost?” The text chosen to uphold this dogma is James 5: 16, which simply refers to “faults” between human beings, while sins must be confessed to God, Who alone can forgive.

INNOVATION No. 5

Purgatory - by Pope Stephen in the middle of the 3^rd Century, but generally unknown until about the 5^th Century when Gregory I was the real founder. Enormous sums of money are expended every year to help the souls in purgatory. When the Pope was in special need of money, Indulgences were issued, and agents sent up and down the world to sell them to dupes who had been deluded into believing in such blasphemous claims. A great scandal was caused by the public sale of Indulgences to procure money for the building of St. Peter’s in Rome. The Spanish Government in the Philippines derived a revenue of nearly £60,000 a year; sold over the same counter with tobacco, brandy, lottery tickets, and other articles, of which the Government retained the monopoly. The Primitive Church would never have dreamt of committing such enormities!

INNOVATION No. 6

The Rosary came into general use in the second half of the 11^th Century, and was introduced by St. Dominic, and accepted by Pius V. in 1569. An instrument for measuring mechanical worship!

INNOVATION No. 7

The Mass - First celabrated in Latin in the 4^th Century, and introduced into England in the 7^th

The following is an advertisement taken from an R.C. Year Book:- “In addition to an Annual Mass for all benefactors, living or dead, each member of the Society undertakes the following obligations: Upon the death of a donor or subscriber of £10, one Mass; £25, two Masses; £50 upwards, four Masses; £1,000 upwards, one annual Mass.”

Compare it with the following, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16). God’s salvation is free for the acceptance, “without money and without price.”

INNOVATION No. 8

The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary - This dogma was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854, to be an established doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.

INNOVATION No. 9.

Papal infallibility was first proclaimed as dogma of the Church by the Vatican Council as recently as 1870. Since the decree was promulgated the Popes have been discreetly silent. Infallibility is afraid of itself!

Roman claims were principally established by forged documents in the year 850, known as the Isidorian decretals.

- The Churchman’s Magazine.