Catholic anti-King teachings
Topics
| Category |
Topic |
Protestant* |
anti-Topic |
Catholic (replacement theology) |
| Pastoral (King) - anti-Christ |
| |
God |
One God |
anti-God |
Three equal Gods - Trinity |
| |
Father |
One Father |
anti-Father |
Pope - "Holy Father" |
| |
Christ |
Jesus Christ |
anti-Christ |
Pope - "Vicar of Christ" |
| |
Mediator |
Christ |
anti-Mediator |
Christ + Virgin Mary + saints |
| |
Head |
Christ |
anti-Head |
Pope - Head of the Church |
| |
Apostles |
Elders |
anti-Apostles |
Bishops - successors to the apostles |
(*) Most Protestant denominations believe in the basic Protestant tenets. However, most do not believe in the seventh-day Sabbath or the one true God (i.e. monotheistic, non-tritheistic and non-trinitarian).
anti-God
Catholics believe that the Trinity doctrine is "the most fundamental of our faith. On it everything else depends and from it everything else derives" (Catholic Doctrine of the Holy Trinity).
- Cathechism #234: The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith".
- Cathechism #261: The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The problem with the Trinity doctrine is that it is not an explicit teaching of the Bible, but came by way of numerous post-apostolic ecumenical councils to debate and ultimately agree on the doctrine. Here is the history:
- [325] Nicea I: Is the Son eternal?
- [381] Constantinople I: Is the Holy Spirit the Third Person?
- [431] Ephesus: Was Mary the bearer of Christ's divine nature (theotokos)?
- [451] Chalcedon: Did Christ have one or two natures? How?
- [553] Constantinople II: How can we interpret the dual natures without dividing Christ into two?
- [681] Constantinople III: Did Christ have one or two wills? (monothelitism versus dyothelitism controversy)
- [787] Nicea II: Can icons of Christ be worshiped? How?
In everyone of the above controversies, the "loser" got kicked out of the church. Thus, debate over the Trinity was (and is) inherently divisive. So, we have a conundrum here:
- If trinitarian primacy is true—that it always existed and was understood and taught since the time of the apostles—then why was there over four centuries of controversies and attempts at resolution?
- Why does this historical record look like the Trinity went through a slow evolution spanning centuries?
Lack of controversy in the first century. Moreover, there is no record of Jews who converted to Christianity ever challenging the Trinity doctrine in the first century. The Jewish belief in monotheism was paramount, so a switch to a multi-God (whether tritheist or trinitarian) would have raised major concerns to a faithful Jew who was being proselytized. But, alas, none is recorded in the New Testament. The only possible explanation for this silence is that the Trinity doctrine did not exist and was not taught.
anti-Father
The pope (Latin: papa "father") is the bishop of Rome, head of the Catholic Church (#882, #936). There are other titles for the pope, the most important in this discussion is "Holy Father" (or typically "Most Blessed Father" in Spanish and Italian). If the pope enters a room, you are supposed to stand and applaud. If he approaches you, you are to genuflect (i.e. bend at the knee). If he offers his hand, you kiss his ring. The ring is a mark of the papacy and kissing it is a sign of respect and affection. Jesus taught differently. We are to call no one "Father" or "Holy Father" but God the Father.
- Matthew 23:9: And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
- John 17:11b: Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
- Romans 8:15: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
anti-Christ
The pope is also called the "Vicar of Christ" (vicarius Christi) (#882, #936). "Vicar" in the broadest sense means someone who is authorized to act as a substitute or agent for a superior. The words inscribed in the Pope's official miter are “Vicarius Filii Dei,” Latin for “Vicar of the Son of God.” As the "Vicar of Christ", the pope is acting as both the agent of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, since the Holy Spirit was sent to be Christ's representative on earth (John 14:16, 26). The pope can truly be called the antichrist as defined in 1 John 2:22, since he "denies" (effectively, substitutes for) the work of (and worship to) the Father and the Son.
- 1 John 2:22b: This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
Hierarchy of power. The pyramid of power that constitutes the pope's office as the “Vicar of Christ” consists of cardinals, patriarchs, major archbishops, metropolitans, coadjutor archbishops, diocesan bishops, coadjutor bishops, episcopal vicar, eparches, apostolic vicars, apostolic prefects, apostolic administrators and vicars general.
anti-Mediator
Rather than a single Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5) and the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6), the Catholic Church has a long list of human mediators beginning with the Virgin Mary (Mediatrix) followed by a communion of saints in Heaven, while the priesthood is reserved to the ministerial priesthood (holy orders) of the Pope, bishops and priests.
Mariology. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith. In the Catholic Church she is venerated to the level of a goddess. "Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix" (#969).
Marian dogmas. There are four dogmas relating to Mary in the Catholic Church.
- Mother of God (Theotokos). Mary's divine motherhood was proclaimed at the Council of Ephesus in 431.
- Perpetual Virginity. Mary conceived "without any detriment to her virginity, which remained inviolate even after his birth" (Council of the Lateran, 649).
- Immaculate Conception. The belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. Declared in 1854 by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus.
- Assumption of Mary. Declared by Pope Pius XII in 1950 that "when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven." Unlike the saints who will receive glorified bodies at the Resurrection, Mary already has a glorified body and soul.
Together with the above four dogmas, Mary is regarded as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Dispensatrix.
- Co-Redemptrix. Refers to a subordinate but essential participation by the Virgin Mary in redemption, which means she shared in Jesus' life, suffering, and death, which were redemptive for the world. The Catholic Catechism reads, "Without a single sin to restrain her . . . she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race" [#494].
- Mediatrix. "Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix." Effectively, Mary is the second Advocate after Christ. Or, if you believe in the Trinity and that the Holy Spirit is another Advocate, then Mary is the third Advocate. Thus, "from her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal intercession before the Son and His Father" (Ad Caeli reginam, 39, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII). Mediation is something that can be said of all the heavenly saints, but Mary is seen as having the greatest power of mediation. Pope Pius IX declared, "does she approach the problem of our salvation, and is solicitous for the whole human race; made Queen of heaven and earth by the Lord, exalted above all choirs of angels and saints, and standing at the right hand of her only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she intercedes powerfully for us with a mother's prayers, obtains what she seeks, and cannot be refused" (Ibid. 42).
- Dispensatrix. Pope Leo XIII calls Mary "the guardian of our peace and the dispensatrix of heavenly graces." God "showered her with heavenly gifts and graces from the treasury of His divinity so far beyond what He gave to all the angels and saints..." (Ad Caeli reginam, 41, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII).
Rosary. A physical string of beads used to count the component prayers, most of which are Hail Marys (53)—It consists of one Apostles Creed, six Our Fathers, six Glory be(s), 53 Hail Marys and one Hail Holy Queen. Rosary recitations and meditations is a form of indulgence, is a type of penance, are said to put demons to flight, and have resulted in apparitions and other miracles. However, the Bible speaks against such repetitive prayer practices.
- Matthew 6:7 (TLB): Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again. Remember, your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
anti-Head
The pope is the head of the Church and is infallible (#891). The Bible tells us that Christ is the head of the Church.
- Ephesians 1:22: And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
- Ephesians 5:23: For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
- Colossians 1:18a: And he is the head of the body, the church.
anti-Apostles
"The Bishops, established by the Holy Spirit, succeed the apostles" (#938, #892, #896). As a general rule, bishops are to be celibate (#1579, #1580). In contrast, the Bible speaks against "teachings of demons . . . who forbid marriage" (1 Timothy 4:1-3). The Bible also requires monogamy for a bishop (1 Timothy 3:2).
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