“Even if a day arrives when the Catholic Church is pure, none of us will live to see it,” says Margery Eagan in her Boston Globe article (1-29-18) discussing the pope’s visit to Chile.
Some people can stumble over the truth, get up and go on as if nothing ever happened. Dr. Richard Ruhling, author on current events and Bible topics, applies this to what’s happening with Catholics. He says people’s faith dictates their actions—if your house is on fire, you get out. If we see the church fitting the Bible description of apostasy, shouldn’t we get out too?
The problem is, Catholics are taught that they cannot understand the Bible–the priest must explain it. But that goes against Bible teaching. The Bereans were noble in their reception of teachings and they searched the Scriptures to see if they were so, Acts 11.
Paul wrote that we should study to show ourselves approved to God “that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.” 2Tim 2:15; 3:17. Good works doesn’t sound like priests who have a problem with alcohol, tobacco, homosexuality or pedophilia.
It should not be difficult for average people to take their Catholic translation of the Bible and compare it with the catechism to see how their church changed the commandments in Exodus 20 (2nd book of the Bible). They deleted the 2nd Commandment forbiding images because their church is full of images. Moses said not to add to or take away from the law. Deuteronomy 4.
Christ said not to call any man father, for one is your Father in heaven, Matthew 23:9. He also taught us, “when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Matthew 6:7 It doesn’t sound like we need to say Hail Mary’s.
In fact, the Bible teaches that if we confess our sins to Christ, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9. The priests who have problems haven’t read or believed the Bible on these points.
Why should we have confidence that they know the way of salvation? Can we be right with God by following what Scripture teaches is a fallen system in Revelation 18? It refers to the previous chapter where a harlot (unfaithful church) is involved with kings (politics) and is dressed in scarlet (color of cardinals) and is a “mother of harlots—churches that no longer protest her, sitting on seven hills, verse 9.
This hasn’t matter so much for centuries because the Bible says, “the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men everywhere to repent because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world.” Acts 17.
In the Bible, judges were deliverers, like Gideon and Samson in the book of Judges. God will be the Judge and He will deliver us if we are open to following His Word.
The end-times that are impending will drive us toward Him or away from Him, depending on whether we see Him as a loving God who or the other way if we have never learned what He is like and it takes faith to truth the Bible as our guide. An easy-to-read pdf online (translated into 140 languages) is non-denominational and reveals God’s love and provision for us at http://www.whiteestate.org/books/sc/sc.asp
Dr. Richard Ruhling has a scary title, The Destruction of Jerusalem, but it’s been well-liked and is FREE on Thursday, February 1 at http://amzn.to/2AwUOh6 It the reader doesn’t have Kindle, they can download a free app so the ebook (also no charge) can download into it.
A 3-minute video offers a summary at https://youtu.be/zAzpI7pSwRs