Thursday, October 4, 2018

Distinguishing Between Sociology And Morality

"A common mistake of relativists is to confuse behavior with value. That is, they confuse what is with what ought to be. What people do is subject to change, but what they ought to do is not. This is the difference between sociology and morality. Sociology is descriptive; morality is prescriptive."

Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, p. 182

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

A Theological Analysis Of Roman Catholic Marian Prayers

  • Defining The Issues: 
          -For centuries, there has been much debate between Roman Catholics and Protestants on the issue of offering religious devotion to saints through prayer petitions, ceremonies, and the creation of iconography. In fact, Rome has made a reputation for itself with its obsession with the spirits who have departed into the supernatural realm. 
          -While critics accuse the Roman Catholic Church of idolatry, proponents vigorously defend themselves by asserting that they are merely giving honor to whom honor is due. On the contrary, arguments made by Roman Catholic apologists for venerating saintly figures in Christianity fail for the simple reason that their own words and actions testify against them. Their behaviors toward Mary, saints, and the angels so closely resemble worship which belongs only to God Himself.
          -Roman Catholics claim that they do not pray directly to saints and angels, but ask them to intervene on their behalf in prayer. However, a person would have to pray to them if he asks them for something because they are not physically present. Moreover, it would seem redundant to ask people in heaven for support when they are in turn going to ask God Himself. Said petitions to Mary for instance are clearly written with language directed to her as a prayer. 
          -The biblical concept of prayer is always a form of worship. In Scripture, people always worshiped through prayer. It was always directed to God alone. We never see followers of God praying to other entities for any reason. Asking is a component of prayer, but also encompasses factors such as praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and repentance from sin (Psalm 23; 25; Matthew 6:6-14; Luke 18:9-14).
  • The Memorare Prayer: 
          -"Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me."
            *This prayer is essentially a petition to Mary for spiritual protection. The person offering up this request to the mother of Jesus can allegedly rest assured of being answered. It entails a person approaching Mary in a heartbroken, remorseful manner, as though he has transgressed against her and she is a source of forgiveness. That really does sound like idolatry. If people can place this much trust in Mary, then why not simply place all trust in God alone, as did the psalmists of the Old Testament (Psalm 73:24-26)? God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1-2). He is our confidence (Proverbs 3:26). Never are these things said of Mary in Scripture. Christians stand before God, humbly pleading for His mercy. Jesus Christ lives forever to make intercession to all who approach Him by faith (Hebrews 7:24-28). This kind of prayer to Mary contains elements that should be uttered to Christ alone.
  • The Hail Holy Queen Prayer:
          -"Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!"
            *In God should we be placing our trust (Psalm 33:20-22). He is our hope (Psalm 63:5; 1 Timothy 1:1). He is our helper (Hebrews 13:5-6). The Lord Jesus Christ is our advocate before God (1 John 2:1-2). He is our redeemer (Matthew 1:21; 2 Peter 1:1), and does not need any help. Additionally, this Roman Catholic prayer contradicts themes on access to God set forth plainly in Hebrews 4. We now have direct access to God through Christ. The prophets and the apostles never once mentioned entrusting this much confidence to mere creations. There is no denying that such prayers elevate Mary to the level of a goddess. This kind of petition to Mary infringes on the self-sufficiency of Jesus Christ as mediator.
  • Consider This Excerpt From A Papal Speech: 
          -"The history of Christian piety teaches that Mary is the way which leads to Christ and that filial devotion to her takes nothing from intimacy with Jesus; indeed, it increases it and leads to the highest levels of perfection. The countless Marian shrines throughout the world testify to the marvels wrought by grace through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Lord and our Mother." (JOHN PAUL II, GENERAL AUDIENCE, Wednesday, May 7, 1997)
            *Nowhere does the Bible teach that Mary is the way that leads to Christ. Also, asserting that Mary is our mother is nothing but cultic superstition. God will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8), which includes Mary. Christ plays an exclusive role in dispensing salvific grace (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). The only way for us to approach the Father is through the Son. Mary cannot help us get to heaven in any fashion whatsoever.

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Lying Signs And Wonders Of The Charismatic Movement

"It is ironic that Charismatics, who consider themselves experts on the Holy Spirit, completely misunderstand the purpose of the Holy Spirit’s ministry. Does the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit came so that we could have a wonderful, subjective experience? So that we could have wonderful religious sensations? So that we could feel electric current in our bodies? So that we could have an exciting, mind-blowing experience? So the our worship services would make people go, “Wow, how thrilling”? Does the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit came so that people would focus on the Holy Spirit? So that people would hang banners with representations of doves in their churches and have seminars on Spirit-baptism, etc.? No, not at all. Listen carefully to what Jesus Christ says about the Spirit’s ministry: “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come…He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (Jn.16:13-14). The Holy Spirit came to point me to Christ and to glorify Christ. After Peter was baptized in the Spirit, did he stand up and tell the crowd about his wonderful experience? Did he say, “Men and brethren, I have just received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I want to tell you how wonderful it is. When it came upon me, it was like being thrilled with a vital electric current. I felt such a beautiful love and peace course through my whole body, right down to the balls of my feet”? On the contrary, Peter made no reference to himself or his feeling. His message was Jesus Christ and Him crucified: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God…” (Ac. 2:22). . . .

The Bible teaches that signs are public, visible, miraculous events. Their purpose was not to give believers exciting worship services or a wonderful experience but to authenticate a divine message or messenger, to prove publicly that the person performing miracles was sent from God."

Brian M. Schwertley, The Charismatic Movement: A Biblical Critique, pg.10-11, 30-31.

Man Becomes Puffed-Up In His Ignorance

"...the less ability a man has, the more he tries to raise and swell himself out, as those of short stature exalt themselves on tip-toe, and the weak use most threats."

Quintilian's Institutes of Oratory, Book 2, Chapter 3

Sunday, September 30, 2018

1 John And Assurance Of Salvation

          "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)

          The Apostle John spells out his purpose in writing this epistle. It closely mirrors the evangelistic appeal of John 20:30-31 in that Christ leads us to eternal life. John includes various standards to use in evaluating our overall standing before God:  

             *According to 1 John 2:1-6, assurance of salvation is based on whether or not we genuinely know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. False professions of faith do exist.
             *Our life should be characterized with a desire to please God and obey His commandments (1 John 5:2-3). We should continually be striving to grow in sanctification. 
             *If believers do stumble, then Jesus Christ is their advocate before God (1 John 2:1). He can be likened to an attorney who intercedes before a judge in a courtroom on our behalf. 
             *A lack of concern regarding our status with God or consistent failure to make Him top priority in our lives is sufficient reason to doubt having been saved. It indicates a serious need to examine what has gone wrong in our spiritual life. A saved person will seriously try to overcome sin in his life.
             *A person who loves God and loves neighbor as himself can confidently assert being justified before God (1 John 3:16-24). A Christian will love truth and is changed by the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:4-6).

          This is not meant to be viewed as an all or nothing proposition or some sort of a legalistic checklist. Rather, the central point of emphasis here is our current state of heart. Are we striving to approach and worship God on His terms? Are we persistently living in sin? God will not accept our worship if it is based on a lie.

           If a person has doubts regarding his salvation, then he need not at the moment focus on sanctification, but justification. He needs to find the root cause of that doubt by using Scripture and strive diligently to resolve it.

Jehovah's Witnesses And Blood Transfusions

          The Watchtower Society forbids adherents from receiving blood transfusions on the grounds that such a procedure allegedly violates commandments given by God in the Old Testament to not consume blood. Members who proceeded to do so have been expelled from their religious community.

           Blood transfusions were not possible during biblical times because they did not even exist. These procedures were only made possible due to technical advances in medicine and machinery.

          The oral consumption of blood is not the same as intravenously transferring blood from one individual to another who has a matchable blood type. The first process involves digesting so as to nourish the body, whereas the latter involves a substitute to carry on the same bodily functions. Blood transfusions are not meals. 

          The blood itself is not sacred, but the life thereof. Blood transfusions are a voluntary undertaking, not coerced. No sacrificial offering or murder is done in the process. Blood transfusions are done to preserve life. Jesus Christ commended self-sacrifice for the welfare of others (John 15:13).

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Does The Roman Catholic Church Disregard Scripture?

        Following is an excerpt from a Roman Catholic publication titled Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine, by Michael Müller:

        "Q. Are the doctrines of the Catholic Church then entirely independent of Scripture?

        A. They are; because she taught her doctrines, and they were believed by the early Christians before the New Testament was written—centuries, indeed, before the Bible was collected into its present form; and she would have done so, in precisely the same manner, had they never been written."

Saturday, September 22, 2018

The Omnipresence Of The Jesus Christ

  • Discussion:
          -One aspect of God's nature is that He is omnipresent. That means He is present everywhere at once. He transcends the boundaries of matter, space, and time. He is infinite. Nothing in creation can contain Him in the fullness of His glory. He is bound by nothing. This is revealed plainly throughout the Old Testament:          

          "But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built." (2 Chronicles 6:18)

          "Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,“And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

         The various expressions from the Old Testament describing God as omnipresent are equally applicable to Christ in His deity. Consider this passage in the New Testament:

          "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:21-23)

          The church is said to be His body, which can be found across earth. Christ dwells spiritually amongst people of faith. He resides in our hearts.

          One passage from Matthew states that Christ is with us always to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). This strongly implies that He in His divinity is both all-knowing and all-present. Another noteworthy text is cited as follows:

           "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)

          It is likely that in Matthew 18:20, Matthew alludes to a saying popular amongst Jewish rabbis of his day. The New American Bible Revised Edition has this excerpt:

           "[18:20] For where two or three…midst of them: the presence of Jesus guarantees the efficacy of the prayer. This saying is similar to one attributed to a rabbi executed in A.D. 135 at the time of the second Jewish revolt: “…When two sit and there are between them the words of the Torah, the divine presence (Shekinah) rests upon them” (Pirqê ’Abôt 3, 3)."

            We never see in the four gospels Christ being in many places at the same time in His humanity. Such a statement would be true of Him in His deity. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. He is fully human and divine, which is known as the doctrine of the hypostatic union.

Friday, September 21, 2018

A Trinitarian Perspective Of John 17

        Jesus Christ petitioned the Father to give Him the glory that they both shared since before the timing of creation (John 17:4-5). God the Son expresses having a relationship with God the Father from eternity past (John 17:24). Notice also how God said in the Old Testament that He would give His glory to no other (Isaiah 42:8). If Jesus is not God, then how could He share that same glory?

        The Son reveals an inextricable unity between Himself and the Father (John 17:11; 20; 22). Both have fellowship with each other. Both are one in essence. If the Father and the Son are one by nature, then does this not imply the latter to be divine? Just as everything belongs to the Father, so everything also belongs to the Son (John 17:10). The Father and the Son are co-equal and co-eternal while having different functions.

        Both share the same divine glory. Jesus oftentimes spoke from a human standpoint, which should not surprise us because He is a composite being. He is fully man and fully God. According to John 17:25-26, Jesus Christ reveals to us the Father. The knowledge and understanding of God transcends our mental faculties by an infinite margin. How could Christ reveal to us the Father if He Himself were not also God?

Monday, September 17, 2018

Is The Roman Catholic Eucharist A Re-Sacrifice Of Christ?

  • Discussion:
          -This article strives to interact with a post published by Roman Catholic apologist Steve Ray at Catholic Answers called Ankerberg Aweigh on the dogma of transubstantiation. Following are quotations from the author followed by a critique of such claims:

          "The Catholic Church does not teach that Christ is "re-sacrificed" on the altar. Why does Ankerberg say that it does? The quotation he uses from the Catholic Encyclopedia does not use anything like"re-sacrifice," yet Ankerberg says it teaches "re-sacrificing." Words are important; smart Catholics will catch on to what he is doing- playing footloose with terminology to suit his own interests."

          The eucharist is called a divine sacrifice (CCC, 1068), and is done repeatedly. We are told that the sacrifice of the Mass and the sacrifice of Jesus are "one in the same sacrifice" (CCC, 1367). The eucharist is believed to be propitiatory (CCC, 1367). It is believed to make atonement for sin (CCC, 1414). So the Roman Catholic distinction between "re-sacrifice" and "re-presentation" is a weak one. The principle of Jesus Christ being offered "once for all" is still violated (Hebrews 10:10-14).

          "Catholics teach that there was only one sacrifice and that the Mass is a re-presentation of that sacrifice, a partaking in and of the one sacrifice-the eating of the Lamb (Ex. 12:11, John 6:52-58)."

           The atonement sacrifices that were performed in the Old Testament pointed to the one perfect, final sacrifice accomplished by Jesus Christ at Calvary (Hebrews 10:1). This is an instance of taking typology way too far. Although we can see many examples of such in Exodus 12 (the bones of the lamb [symbolizes Christ] not being broken), we have no reason to interpret these blood of the covenant passages as being supportive of transubstantiation. They do not say anything about a mysterious conversion of the consecrated elements at the Mass into the literal flesh and blood of Christ.

          "So we have an anomaly: Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, and Christ, the Lamb of God, standing on the altar. In the temporal world, he was slain once-but in heaven, the world outside time, it appears that the sacrifice of Christ is an eternal event. We are even told that he was crucified before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8)."

          The reason for that is to remind us continually of Jesus Christ's atonement. The effects of His work are permanent. Christ does not need to be offered as a sacrifice today. Only He could offer Himself up anyway.

          If the literalistic interpretation of the Last Supper is correct, then does that mean Roman Catholics who partake of the eucharist become living tabernacles? If the consecrated wafer is the body of Christ, then should we not be able to use it in the process of cloning Him? How is eating a man's flesh and drinking his blood communion?

           It should not surprise us when early Christian writers made statements similar to "this is my body" and "this is my blood," since they were alluding to the words spoken by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper. The focus should become what is meant by such language. A person, for example, can point to a country on a map and say, "This is Israel." In that instance, he would not be literally saying the place pointed at on the paper is Israel but that it represents the location. Even if a church father believed in some mystical presence of Christ in the communion elements, that does not demonstrate he believed in transubstantiation. The former notion can be embraced without knowledge of the later.

           This excerpt from Church Historian Philip Schaff's work called History of the Church, Volume II, paragraph 69, is pertinent here:

          "The doctrine concerning the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, not coming into special discussion, remained indefinite and obscure [during the period from 100-325 AD]. The ancient church made more account of the worthy participation of the ordinance than of the logical apprehension of it. She looked upon it as the holiest mystery of Christian worship, and accordingly, celebrated it with the deepest devotion, without inquiring into the mode of Christ’s presence, nor into the relation of the sensible signs to his flesh and blood. It is unhistorical to carry any of the later theories back into this age; although it has been done frequently in the apologetic and polemic discussion of this subject.”

          Robert J. Daly writes in his paper titled Eucharistic Origins: From The New Testament To The Liturgies of the Golden Age:

          "We do not know and cannot reconstruct in precise detail what Jesus did at his "Last Supper." The New Testament itself remembered and interpreted what Jesus did in quite different ways. Attending to these differences undermines the assumption that there is a single line of development that runs from Jesus to the later Eucharist of the Church, and that can be traced back by us toward Jesus. And indeed, if by Eucharist is meant what is now done in the Church, the farther back one goes, for example, to the "Eucharists" of James, Peter, and Jesus, the farther one gets from the Eucharist of the present. Indeed, if an exact reconstruction of what Jesus did at the Last Supper were possible, it would probably look quite different from what Christians now celebrate."

           This excerpt from John D. Hannah, Our Legacy: The History of Christian Doctrine, p. 274, is pertinent here:

          "...they saw the Lord's Supper with a strong degree of realism, though with a spiritualizing tendency. The elements really and truly were the body and blood of Christ, yet not in such a way as to be identical with the historical body of the Savior. Christ's literal body had ascended into heaven, to be brought from heaven only in His return in the last great judgement." 

          This excerpt from the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia online (emphasis added):

           "The Leonine and Gelasian Sacramentaries show us what is practically our present Roman Mass. How did the service change from the one to the other? It is one of the chief difficulties in the history of liturgy. During the last few years, especially, all manner of solutions and combinations have been proposed. We will first note some points that are certain, that may serve as landmarks in an investigation…Justin gives us the fullest Liturgical description of any Father of the first three centuries (Apol. I, lxv, lxvi, quoted and discussed in LITURGY). He describes how the Holy Eucharist was celebrated at Rome in the middle of the second century; his account is the necessary point of departure, one end of a chain whose intermediate links are hidden. We have hardly any knowledge at all of what developments the Roman Rite went through during the third and fourth centuries. This is the mysterious time where conjecture may, and does, run riot. By the fifth century we come back to comparatively firm ground, after a radical change. At this time we have the fragment in Pseudo-Ambrose, “De sacramentis” (about 400. Cf. P.L., XVI, 443), and the letter of Pope Innocent I (401-17) to Decentius of Eugubium (P.L., XX, 553). In these documents we see that the Roman Liturgy is said in Latin and has already become in essence the rite we still use."

           Following is a good observation from J.N. Darby on the substance and accidents Aristotelian philosophy employed in Roman Catholic transubstantiation: 

           "The doctrine of transubstantiation is simply the fruit of the scholastic use of Aristotle in the middle ages. It depends, on the face of it, on the difference of substance and accidents. The substance of bread is changed into the substance of the Lord's body, the accidents of bread remain. Without this theory, the idea could not exist. But this theory of a particular substance and accidents was a mere metaphysical theory, without any real foundation. We have got nowadays to molecules and atoms infinitely minute, which may be called perhaps substance or essential matter; but all this Aristotelian theory of an imaginary substance and accidents in material objects, is a mere groundless fancy. We see different qualities which awaken sensations in us; colour, form, hardness, etc., and the mind recognises there is something there. Of this conviction, which in relation to us creatures I do not dispute, Aristotle and the schoolmen, who were as a rule wholly under his influence, made a distinct but imaginary substratum in which the various qualities were inherent. There was the substance of bread, etc. But this was a mere philosophical notion, a mere theory of the heathen Aristotelian school, adopted by the schoolmen, and has no other foundation whatever. But the whole doctrine of transubstantiation, and even the word, depends on it, cannot exist without it, is the mere expression of it, only bringing in a miracle on the ground of it, as to the Lord's supper."

           An excerpt from Dr. Francis Nigel Lee's Fifty-Five These Against Transubstantiation:

           "Even since A.D. 831, many Roman Catholics still opposed such transubstantiation. So: Ratramnus, Berengarius, John Scotus Eriguena, Rabanus Maurus, Walafrid Strabo, Christian Druthmar, Florus Magister, Eusebius Bruno (Bishop of Angers), Frollant (Bishop of Senlis), and Elfric. Also, according to the famous RC Cardinal Bellarmine in his De Sacramento Eucharistea (111:5 and 4 dII q.6 art. 1,2 and q. 3 art. 1,2 and I:5) - even the celebrated Cardinal Cameracensus said: "Transubstantiation cannot be proved from Holy Writ .... To this Cardinal Roffensis, Cardinal Cajetan and also Scotus all concur." Indeed, the RC scholars Gabriel, Nicolus, Cusanus, Tapper, Hessel and others all present the "Protestant" interpretation of John 6:54. See Dr. P.G. Logan's Ph.D. dissertation The History and Doctrine of Transubstantiation, Sydney, 1994, pp. 84f."

           "Notice the sacrificial language being used. The term "table of the Lord" is a technical term which in the Old Testament always refers to a table of sacrifice. Why would Paul use such blatantly sacrificial terminology if he is trying to deny any association between the Eucharist and sacrifice?"

          The context of this passage is about appropriate conduct and application of discernment in worship services, not having a correct view on the eucharist. The purpose and meaning, not the substance, of the communion elements are being discussed in 1 Corinthians 10-11. The communion that the pagans had with idols was also very real, yet there is no evidence suggesting that their offerings were transubstantiated. Even granting that this text makes mention of the eucharist, that fact in and of itself does not prove the communion elements become the literal body and blood of Christ at the words of consecration by a priest.