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Elements of Roman Catholicism that Cannot Be Proven from Scripture A. Certain
Elements of What Rome Believes about the Transmission of Divine
Revelation Cannot Be Proven from Scripture.
1. That Roman Catholic Church tradition is equally as
authoritative as Scripture cannot be proven from Scripture. 2. That the pope and the bishops in communion with him are the sole interpreters of Scripture cannot be proven from Scripture. 3. That the pope can make statements ex cathedra that are infallible cannot be proven from Scripture. 4. The assertion of the Roman Catholic Church that its Magisterium can propose dogmas which oblige “the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith” cannot be proven from Scripture. B. Elements Necessary to Support the Papacy Cannot Be Proven from Scripture. 1. Apostolic Succession cannot be proven from Scripture. 2. The existence of Monarchical Bishops cannot be proven from Scripture. 3. That Peter was ever a Monarchical Bishop cannot be proven from Scripture. 4. That Peter ever arrived in Rome cannot be proven from Scripture. 5. That Peter has always been the most important Apostle cannot be proven from Scripture. 6. The office of Pope cannot be proven from Scripture. 7. That Jesus promised He would build His Church upon Peter cannot be proven from Scripture. 8. That Peter is the head of the church cannot be proven from Scripture. 9. That Peter was ever a Pope cannot be proven from Scripture. C. Elements Necessary to Support the Contention that Roman Catholicism is the Only True Church Cannot Be Proven from Scripture. 1. The primacy of the church at Rome cannot be proven from Scripture. 2. That the Roman Catholic Church is the only true expression of Christ’s universal Church cannot be proven from Scripture. D. Certain Elements of the Roman Catholic Liturgy Cannot Be Proven from Scripture. 1. The existence of sacraments (which by definition impart grace) cannot be proven from Scripture. 2. That water baptism imparts regeneration cannot be proven from Scripture. 3. That the Eucharist is a propitious sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ cannot be proven from Scripture. 4. The existence of a separate category of canonized saints cannot be proven from Scripture. 5. The function of a liturgical priest who offers an unbloody sacrifice, forgives sins, and serves as a necessary mediator between man and God cannot be proven from Scripture. a. The Book of Hebrews demonstrates that there is only one legitimate priest, Jesus, who offered one sufficient sacrifice for all time that does not need to be repeated. 6. That believers need to confess their sins to a priest cannot be proven from Scripture. 7. That there is any such thing as an indulgence which can be obtained from a pope cannot be proven from Scripture. 8. That there is a distinction between venial sins and mortal sins cannot be proven from Scripture. 9. That the Catholic church has the authority to issue anathemas against those who disagree with her on the smallest point cannot be proven from Scripture. a. (There are 151 anathemas directed against those who disagree with various teachings of the Catholic Church as found in the canons of the Council of Trent.) 10. That good works can dispense grace cannot be proven from Scripture. 11. That there exists any such thing as a “treasury of merit” cannot be proven from Scripture. E. Certain Elements of Roman Catholic Belief about Mary Cannot Be Proven from Scripture. 1. That
Mary was conceived in an immaculate conception freeing her from any
stain of original sin cannot be proven from Scripture. The Church maintains that Mary was sinless.
The Church concludes thus, presumably, in order to protect Jesus Christ
from infection by sin through His mother. Here are some supporting
statements. Mary was "... ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect ...." [Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, Dec. 8, 1854, opening paragraph]. "And indeed it was wholly fitting that so wonderful a mother should be ever resplendent with the glory of most sublime holiness and so completely free from all taint of original sin that she would triumph utterly over the ancient serpent."...[Ineffabilis Deus, 2nd para.]. "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin ...." [Catechism, 966]. "...conceived without original sin."... [Ineffabilis Deus, closing para.]. What does the Bible say? "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23) "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— " (Rom. 5:12) "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8) "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us." (1 John 1:10) What must we conclude? We conclude that the Church's claim of an immaculate conception resulting in her being unstained by any original sin cannot be proven from Scripture. It is a human doctrine invented to protect Jesus from Mary's sinfulness. But, in fact, this dogma contradicts Scripture. God's Word teaches us that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23). This includes Mary. Death spread to all men because all, including Mary, sinned in Adam (Rom. 5:12). If we say that Mary has no sin nature, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). If we say that Mary has not committed acts of sin, we make God a liar, and His word is not in us (1 John 1:10). God has other ways to protect Jesus from sin than by hypothesizing that Mary herself was sinless. Mary, like each other person except Jesus, was a sinful human being in need of redemption. Mary, through faith in Jesus, is a redeemed sinner. She died, and her body was buried in a tomb. Her body, like that of every other believer, awaits the resurrection. 2. That Mary was and is a perpetual virgin cannot be proven from Scripture. The Church takes the position that Mary is a perpetual virgin. Here is what the Catechism reads at paragraph 499: The
deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess
Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to
the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his
mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it." And so the liturgy of
the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin". But what does Scripture say? Mary had no marital relations with Joseph until after Jesus was born (Matt. 1:25). The clear implication is that Mary did have relations with Joseph after Jesus had been born. In Matthew 13:54-57, we find that Jesus came to his hometown and began teaching in their synagogue. His townspeople were astonished, at his teaching and miracles, for they knew Him so well. They asked, "Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother Mary? Are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Are not his sisters with us?" How did he get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? And they took offense at him. Clearly Mary did not remain a virgin. Jesus had half brothers and sisters. (They had the same mother, but not the same father.) In fact, James, the half brother of Jesus presided over the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. He is the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name (James 1:1). Another half brother of Jesus wrote the letter of Jude (Jude 1:1), himself, as he states, the brother of James. There are other Scriptures that refer to Jesus' siblings: Matt. 12:46; Mark 3:31-34; Luke 8:19-21; John 2:12; Acts 1:14. The Church tries to explain away the evidence from Scripture as follows: Against
this doctrine [of the perpetual virginity of Mary] the objection is
sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus.
The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to
other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, "brothers
of Jesus", are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St.
Matthew significantly calls "the other Mary". They are close relations
of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression The Scriptural documentation the Church provides is Mt 13:55; 28:1; cf. Mt 27:56. It is true that there was another Mary (a very common name) as identified in Matt. 27:56. This Mary is to be identified as Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joses (Mark 15:40), and probably with Mary, the wife of Clopas (John 19:25). But the fact that this Mary happened to have sons named James and Joseph or Joses does nothing to prove that the siblings listed in Matt. 13:54-47 and associated with Jesus' mother are in fact referring to a different Mary. The objections of the Church are specious. It is a dogma imposed on the text, not based on fact. It is eisegesis, not exegesis. It seems to me that the Catholic Church is obsessed with Peter and obsessed with Mary. They have made an unbiblical fetish of both. They make Mary just short of being an object of worship. They pray to her give her an exalted status that is unsubstantiated by Scripture. I could speculate why the Church as done this, but that is outside the pale of this article. Let us simply say that the status the Church has assigned to Mary is an unbiblical one. 3. That Mary was assumed up bodily into heaven, obviating any need for a resurrection, is a dogma that cannot be proven from Scripture. Though
the Church concedes that Mary did, in fact, die, according to the
Church, her body did not suffer corruption. She was "assumed" bodily
into heaven, and she now has a resurrected body. "Now
God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from
this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely
overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not
subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she
did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her
body." (MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS, paragraph 5) But nowhere in Scripture do we find the statement that Mary was assumed up into heaven without dying. The reason Catholics believe they can assert this is that it is a logical corelative of Mary's presumed sinlessness. But we have already demonstrated from Scripture that Mary's sinlessness is an invention of the Church, not a doctrine derived from any Scripture. Since the basis for Mary's sinlessness is unprovable from Scripture, so also is her assumption into heaven without further need of a resurrection a baseless invention. What do the Scriptures say? The assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven has no support whatever in Scripture. The redemption of each Church-Age Christian's body awaits the return of Christ. 16 "For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ
will rise first. 17 Then
we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the
Lord." (1 Thess. 4:16-17) 51 "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Cor. 15:51-51) Conclusion: We conclude, therefore, that there is no basis in Scriptural fact for saying that Mary has been assumed up into heaven with no need of a resurrection. The truth is that one day Mary's body, like that of all other deceased believers, will be resurrected from her grave. Then, and only then will she have a resurrected body. In that respect she is no different from any other Church Age believer. 4. The belief that Mary is the mother of God is, at best, misleading. That she was the mother of Jesus, God-become-human-flesh is true. She is certainly not the mother of God the Father. 5. That Mary is the mother of the Church cannot be proven from Scripture. 6. That Mary is a mediatrix cannot be proven from Scripture. 7. That Mary is a co-redemptrix cannot be proven from Scripture. 8. That Mary is the Queen up in heaven cannot be proven from Scripture. 9. That Mary offers prayers to her Son Jesus in heaven which He is obligated to answer cannot be proven from Scripture. 10. That it is appropriate to pray to Mary cannot be proven from Scripture. |
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