EARLY CATHOLIC DOCTRINES
This
table shows that
the following doctrines were implemented by the dates shown,
if not earlier, and
thus the Church at Rome would have motive to insure the New Latin
of Jerome reflected
such doctrines. (This
is not a complete list, but just some key doctrines.)
Mary,
Mother of
God
For the attitude of
the Churches
of Asia
Minor and
of Lyons
we may appeal to the words of St.
Irenaeus, a
pupil of St. John's
disciple
Polycarp
[145]; he calls Mary our most eminent advocate. St.
Ignatius of Antioch,
part of whose life reached back into apostolic
times, wrote to the Ephesians
(c. 18-19)
in such a way as to connect the mysteries of Our Lord's
life more
closely with those of the Virgin Mary. For
instance, the virginity
of Mary, and her childbirth, are enumerated with Christ's
death, as
forming three mysteries unknown to the devil.
The sub-apostolic author of the Epistle to
Diognetus,
writing to a pagan
inquirer concerning the Christian
mysteries,
describes Mary as the great antithesis of Eve,
and this idea
of Our Lady occurs repeatedly in other writers even before the Council of
Ephesus. We
have repeatedly appealed to the words of St. Justin
and Tertullian,
both of whom wrote before the end of the second century.
As it is admitted
that the praises of Mary grow with the growth of the Christian
community, we may conclude in brief that the veneration
of and devotion
to Mary began even in the time of the Apostles.
Despite the above, there is no clearly writtetn scripture that describes Mary as the mother of God !!!
Absolution
by a priest
Clement of
Alexandria,
who perhaps received his inspiration from the "Pastor" of Hermas, tells
the story of the young bandit whom St. John went after and brought back
to God, and in the story he
speaks
of the "Angel of Penance," meaning the bishop or priest who presided over the
public
penance. Following Clement in the Catechetical school of Alexandria was Origen (200)
Despite
the above, there is no clearly writtetn scripture that describes
absolution by a priest! In fact, there is much contrary
scripture, including that all believers are priests who only confess to God.
Purgatory
While
this passage presents considerable difficulty, it is regarded by many
of the Fathers
and theologians
as evidence for the existence
of an intermediate state in which the dross of lighter transgressions
will be burnt away, and the soul
thus purified will be saved.
This, according to Bellarmine
(De Purg., I, 5), is the interpretation commonly given by the Fathers
and theologians;
and he cites to this effect:
Despite
the above, there is no clearly writtetn scripture that describes
purgatory, even using a synonym !!! The church at Rome invented it.
Baptism
to be saved
St.
John Chrysostom (230 and again in 347-407 AD) (Homily 28
on the Gospel of John),
Theophylactus (in cap. iii, Joan.), and Tertullian (On
Baptism, Chapter 2) declare that the baptism
given by the Disciples
of Christ
as narrated in these chapters of St. John was a baptism of water only
and not of the Holy Ghost; but their reason is that
the Holy Ghost was not given until after
the Resurrection. As theologians have pointed out, this is a
confusion between the visible and the invisible manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The authority of St. Leo (Epistle
16) is also
invoked for the same opinion, inasmuch as he seems to hold that Christ instituted the sacrament when, after His rising from
the dead, He gave the command (Matthew 28): "Go and teach . . .
baptizing"; but St. Leo's words can easily be
explained otherwise, and in another part of the same epistle he refers to the sanction of
regeneration given by Christ when the water of baptism
flowed from His side on the Cross; consequently, before the Resurrection.
Despite
the above, there is no clearly written scripture that describes baptism
as needed to be saved. In fact, Tertulllian, in the late 2nd century,
said it was not required. He later changed his mind in the early 3rd
century, destroying his credibility, as in is baptism required or not?
Rather,
believers are babtized who already have the Holy Spirit baptism
(Acts 10:47). In otherwords, they were saved before they got in the
water, meaning water baptism is only symbolic of having been saved.
Peter even called it "symbolic."
The
pope's universal coercive
jurisdiction
Not only did Christ
constitute St.
Peter head of the Church,
but in the words, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, it shall be
bound also in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven,"
He indicated the scope of this headship.
The expressions binding and
loosing
here employed are derived from the current terminology of the Rabbinic
schools.
A doctor who declared a thing to be prohibited by the law
was said to bind, for thereby he imposed an obligation
on the conscience.
He who declared it to be lawful was said to loose).
In this way the terms had come respectively to signify official
commands and permissions in general. The words of Christ,
therefore, as understood by His hearers, conveyed the promise
to St.
Peter of legislative authority within the kingdom
over which He had just set him, and legislative authority carries with
it as its necessary
accompaniment judicial authority.
However, there is no basis in scripture for a pope, including Peter not being the first pope. In Matthew 16:18, Peter is called by Jesus "a little rock" (masculine trait in the Greek, meaning "small"). Further,
in 1 Corinthians 10:4, Jesus is identified as the "big Rock" (feminine
trait in the Greek meaing very large). Hence, Jesus is our priest, not
the pope. Hebrews 6:20 backs this up even further.
======================== END OF QUOTATIONS
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Conflict
with 1 John 5:7
Mary, as the Mother
of God, was in conflict with 1 John 5:7, which reads in the German
Schlachter 2000: "So then there
are three
that bear witness in heaven:
the Father,
the Word and the Holy Ghost,
and these
three are one;"
The conflicts for Mary include, but are not limited to:
- If
the Father, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Ghost are one, where does
that leave the "Mother of God"? On the outside? How can that
be
if she is the "Mother of God"?
- If Mary is the "Queen of Heaven",
where does that leave God the Father? Did God, as a King"
have sex with Mary, His Queen?
- How
could she be the mother of the Son of God and be the "Mother of God"
the Father at the same time that God is the Father of Jesus?
- When
one baptizes in the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, if these are
"one", where does that leave Mary? But if they are not "one"
(that is, if 1 John 5:7 is removed) Mary being excluded in the baptism
formula is not an issue.
- How can one be three and
three be one? How can infinite power be divided into 3 and if
the
3 are combined, is that not 3 times infinite power, both of which are
mathematical problems?
The
evidence for the removal of 1 John 5:7 is both the early references by
various writers to this passage being present in John's letters, and
the umlaut ( ¨ ) placed
where this verse used to be in the Latin and in other versions from the
4th century. Apparently, included in other purges of
"offensive"
scriptures, this one was particularly "offensive" and suffered
extensive purging, very early on, since no early text has yet been
found to support it, save the external writings, which are however,
reliable references.
Here are some links on this important passage:
1 John 5:7
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