10 Things Catholics Are Tired of Hearing

1.“Catholics worship statues.” This stereotype is painful to hear. Not only is this completely false, but it is ludicrous. Despite the fact that there are 801 millions Protestants world-wide, according to the Pew Research Center, my rant will be geared towards our brothers and sisters in the United States. In this country, approximately 51.5% of people are Protestant Christians. Realistically, most of these families have pictures in their home, which is completely normal, right? Right. They have pictures of their loved ones, both living and deceased. Is it not hypocritical then to say that Catholics are idol worshipers, when these families have portraits of their loved ones on the walls? If these Protestant families can have pictures of Uncle Bernie and Mawmaw hanging on the wall, then most certainly the Church can present pictures of our beloved Jesus, his disciples, and the saints.

2.“Catholics pray to Mary instead of God.” This is a very common misconception throughout the Protestant community, and while I can understand why it is, I am also disheartened that many jump to such a harsh conclusion of the Catholic faith. We don’t pray to Mary, we ask her to pray for us, just as a Protestant asks their deceased grandparent/parent to watch over them.

3. “The saints can’t hear your prayers, because they are dead.” I beg to differ. Since when is anyone who is in Heaven considered dead? We call it the afterLIFE for a reason. In fact, there is biblical proof that the saints can hear our prays: -Revelation 5:8 “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” -Revelation 8:3-4 “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.”

4. “Mother Mary isn’t important; she’s just like anyone else.” If our Blessed Mother isn’t important, then every female would have had an immaculate conception. For this reason, that is why the declarative statement above doesn’t make sense. Of course Mother Mary is important, she gave birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What is so amazing about the Catholic faith is the fact that we recognize the importance of Mary, and we honor her accordingly. She is a role model and saint for all Christians to look up to, because she submitted to God completely. Until the day another woman gives birth to Jesus, no one will ever be just like Mary. She is a very special, holy woman.

5. “Catholics made up all their rules.” Every single tradition we have in the Catholic Church, namely during Mass, has biblical roots. Not to mention the fact that Jesus was the founder of our Church. I don’t know about you, but Jesus doesn’t make mistakes.

6. “God said to confess sins to Him, not a priest.” This one is a personal favorite of mine. Drum roll please. -James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” It is true that we pray directly to God, and ask Him to forgiveness, however for sins (mortal) we do as Jesus commands and confess it to one another (our priests). Jesus said this directly to his disciples, so through Him, they were able to forgive sins. This power passed down to every priest, and so on and so forth. That felt good.

7. “Catholicism is a cult.” Jesus Christ founded this Church more than 2,000 years ago, I would hardly call it a cult.

8. “Catholics aren’t Christians.” The word Christian is associated with anyone who follows Christ’s teachings, and since the Catholic Church does just that then we are to be called Christians. Not to mention Catholics were actually the first Christians.

9. “Catholics added books to the Holy Bible.” This one is so hilarious it hurts. For 300 years there was no Bible, only random writings from the prophets like St.Peter etc, until the Catholic monks compiled and canonized what is now known today as the Holy Bible. (That is until the Protestant Reformation occurred, in which one man *Martin Luther* removed 7 books). Ouch.

10. “Catholics believe you can pay your way into Heaven.” We definitely do not. That is a huge misconception which occurred during the Protestant Reformation.

Despite the many stereotypes that hang over our faith, the important thing to remember is our Church has stood the test of time and remained for more than 2,000 years. Whether you are Catholic or Protestant-- we are all followers of Christ, and He is the ultimate goal.

Once again you have presented such specious and ignorant RC apologetic that they are an argument against being RC.

10 Things Evangelicals Are Hearing From Catholics desperate for an argument:

1. Trying to deny Catholics worship toward statues by equating it with family portraits. As if they were being prayed to by prostrated devotees.

One would have a hard time in Bible times explaining kneeling before a statue and praising the entity it represented in the unseen world, even with adulation, attributes, glory and titles never given in Scripture to created beings (except to false gods), including having the uniquely Divine power glory to hear and respond to virtually infinite numbers of prayers addressed to them, and beseeching such for Heavenly help, and making offerings to them. Which would constitute worship in Scripture, yet Catholics imagine by playing word games they avoid crossing the invisible line between mere "veneration" and worship.

Instead they should do what Mary and every believer in every prayer to Heaven did (and I should do more of), which was to pray directly to the Lord, not secretaries. But they must truly become born again for that.

Moses, put down those rocks! I was only engaging in hyper dulia, not adoring her. Can't you tell the difference?

Instead Caths basically say,

As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. 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... (Jeremiah 44:16-17)

2. Trying to deny that Catholics pray to Mary instead of God by arguing that they don’t pray to Mary, but ask her to pray for us. Which semantically sophistry obfuscates the distinction btwn to "pray" (Gk.: proseuchomai) and to "ask" (aiteō), as the former is what souls do toward deity, and which often is characterized by the manner in which prayer is made toward Mary, and of who it is said "there is no grace which Mary cannot dispose of as her own, which is not given to her for this purpose," while the later (ask) is what one may casually ask someone to do at the store.

3. Trying to use the argument of a few soul-sleep types, “The saints can’t hear your prayers, because they are dead” as a standard objection. But then trying to use Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4 as proof that saints can hear our prays, when in reality this neither says or infer anything about saints or angels hearing prayers, including now. For instead they are only shown offering them as a memorial, as incense was in the OT. (Lv. 2:2,15,16; 24:7; Num. 5:15) And which was only shown to be done in tribulation period, not now.

4. Trying to argue against the assertion, “Mother Mary isn’t important; she’s just like anyone else” by invoking the immaculate conception, which is simply begging the question, as this itself is nowhere taught nor required (see post here by God's grace) In addition, Prots are to recognize and honor Mary in accordance with what Scripture reveals of her, but not think of mortals above that which is written, (1Co. 4:6) as Caths do in blasphemously making Mary into an almost almighty demigoddess who largely parallels Christ .

5. Trying to argue against the charge that “Catholics made up all their rules” by stating "Every single tradition we have in the Catholic Church, namely during Mass, has biblical roots," when that is manifestly not true , but the veracity of that assertion rests upon the premise of Rome's perpetual magisterial infallibility. Under which premise tradition, history and Scripture mean whatever she says.

For Rome has presumed to infallibly declare she is and will be perpetually infallible whenever she speaks in accordance with her infallibly defined (scope and subject-based) formula, which renders her declaration that she is infallible, to be infallible, as well as all else she accordingly declares.

Likewise absurd is the argument-by-assertion that "Jesus was the founder of our Church" when this is again begging the question, and it is manifest that the church of Rome today stands in critical contrast to the NT church.

Meanwhile even if one church could claim Christ as founder then it does not equate to perpetual validity of that one particular body of the children of God, as Israel was once uniquely His instrument, while in the NT the only true church is the body of Christ, as it alone 100% consists of true believers, in contrast to the visible churches in which they express what they believe, as do the tares in it. It was the body of Christ that He bought with His own sinless shed blood, not one particular visible expression of it, and the claim to uniquely be that body of Christ is a mark of a cult.

6. Trying to argue against the charge that “God said to confess sins to Him, not a priest” by invoking Ja. 5:16, then even trying to make vs. 16,17 only to refer to them, and that this pertains to moral sins. For that text distinctly says presbuteros (elders) NOT hiereus (priests) which distinctive title the Holy Spirit never gives to NT clergy (except as part of the general priesthood (hierateuma) of all believers. (1Pt. 2:9) A separate sacerdotal class of NT clergy titled hiereus/priests was a later unScriptural development due to imposed functional equivalence. See here .

In addition, while God can forgive sin thru the intercession of others, in the sense of removing judgment/chastisement due to unknown or perhaps not fully repentant sin, (Mt. 9:1-6) and in which the elders are to be the primary righteous confessors, yet this power is not restricted to them.

For as in Mt. 18, the spiritual (if not judicial, which the OT magisterium also had: Dt. 17:8-13) power of binding or loosing also pertains to every believer who is a righteous man of fervent prayer, and is not restricted to the elders, let alone the non-existent Cath. priesthood.

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. (James 5:16)

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

And which James says Elijah exampled, binding and loosing the heavens. (Ja. 5:17,18; cf. 1Ki. 17:1; 1Ki 18:18,42-45) Blessed be God.

7. Trying to argue against the charge that “Catholicism is a cult” by asserting "Jesus Christ founded this Church more than 2,000 years ago," which again is presuming what needs to be proved, while Rome is critically contrary to Scripture .

Yet this argument-by-assertion itself testifies to the cultic nature of Rome, as we are expected to believe it because Rome says so. For the veracity of its claim to be the one true church cannot rest upon the weight of Scriptural substantiation, as that would validate the evangelical means of assurance of Truth. Instead it rests upon the premise of the veracity of Rome, which she declares she uniquely possesses. Rome is her own infallible authority if she does say so herself.

8. Trying to counter the charge that “Catholics aren’t Christians” by asserting that the Catholic Church follows Christ’s teachings, and Catholics were actually the first Christians, which again is question begging, and which assertions we are expected to believe because Rome says so, while comparison Scripture reveals the contrary nature of the church of Rome. In which some Christians can exist, but overall she has become as the gates of Hell for multitudes.

9. Trying to counter against the charge that “Catholics added books to the Holy Bible” by incredibly arguing that there was no Bible (a book of books) until Rome compiled it. Which is absurd, and leaves the NT without its foundation in Scripture, which the Lord and His disciples abundantly appealed to. If there was not generally accepted body of Scripture then the Lord would not have appealed to the tripartite canon canon in Lk. 24:44, and which men as Josephus seemed to refer to.

Further fallacious assertions of ignorance are that Rome canonized what is now known today as the Holy Bible "until the Protestant Reformation occurred, in which one man *Martin Luther* removed 7 books." When in fact there was no indisputable canon for RCs until after Luther's death, and he was not alone in his doubts and rejection of certain books, as this also was the case among other scholars down thru the centuries and right into Trent!

10. Making the assertion that “Catholics believe you can pay your way into Heaven” into a standard one, as this is very rare, while asserting that that was a huge misconception which occurred during the Protestant Reformation, when in reality the sale of indulgences to gain Heaven that was a cause of the Reformation.

It remains that this Elizabeth is one of the most ignorant RC apologists with a web site that i have encountered, and is an argument against being an RC.

Unless Mary and your saints have BECOME God that can not hear the prayers of all the people all the time.. OMNIPRENSE is a NON TRANSFERABLE attribute of God..

But according to the cultic Cath hermeneutic, if God did not condemn or exclude it that may become an article of faith or at least be taught without censure if they remember a fable that was passed down. Thus Rome "remembered" Mary was bodily assumed, and as they "cannot honor her to excess" RCs teach that "She is the sanctuary and resting-place of the Blessed Trinity...the holy City of God, the greatness of the power which she wields over one who is God cannot be conceived, " that "...when she acts, it is also He who acts; and that if her intervention be not accepted, neither is His...." so that even God himself, is subject to the Blessed Virgin," in that her power is "so great that she seems to have the same power as God," "surpassing in power all the angels and saints in Heaven," for indeed ."the power thus put into her (Mary’s) hands is all but unlimited," and "there is no grace which Mary cannot dispose of as her own, which is not given to her for this purpose" and "through her alone does He dispense His favours and His gifts," and that "God gave her the power and the mission of assigning to saints the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels who fell away through pride....all the angels in heaven unceasingly call out to her...They greet her countless times each day with the angelic greeting, "Hail, Mary", while prostrating themselves before her, begging her as a favour to honour them with one of her requests...,' The whole world is filled with her glory,. "

But "she had to suffer, as He did, all the consequences of sin," "that Jesus and Mary suffered for our sins," that "We were condemned through the fault of one woman; we are saved through the merits of another woman." Sources .

But we are to "not to think of men above that which is written." (1 Corinthians 4:6)

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