Is heaven only for Christians? - That's convenient

[BreadOfLife]

The offence was saying something spiritual and it being taken literally, which was breaking God’s law. That is what was offensive.....how on earth can you equate such a thing with ‘loving their enemies’ or forgiving them? At the time when Jesus walked the earth Israel was in a very poor state spiritually, and they were under the domination of a foreign world power whose religion was abhorrent to them.....but they were teaching “the command of men as doctrines”......the church of today is doing the exact same thing.
The Jews had skewed a lot of things scripturally, but consuming blood was not one of them.

This makes absolutely ZERO sense.
A mistaken perception is NOT a violation of God’s Law.

I openly-challenge you to show me where this is the case.
Chapter and Verse, please . . .

In time the corrupted church got into bed with that enemy and embraced his false religion…..imposed by state mandate on the whole empire. Any church that declares a nationality is a false church….Christianity has no nationality.

Then you actually believe that Jesus LIED in Matt. 16L18.
Good luck with that . . .

That is so twisted....God’s law said not to consume ”any sort of blood”.....and it meant what it said. Consuming animal’s blood was something Jews would not do.....so consuming human blood for the Jewish Christians would be especially repulsive. But to the gentiles, not so much as they were used to consuming blood in their diet and since the majority of Christians from the first century onward were gentiles, perhaps the old habits came back and didn’t look so wrong when it was suggested that Christ’s blood could be consumed without penalty In this ritual.
The apostles command to the gentile Christians was clear…they were not to consume blood in any way. (Acts 15:28-29)

There were MANY thing in the Law that were forbidden and were later allowed because the Law had been FULFILLED by Jesus – which included the Dietary laws. How "twisted" is that??

Look at your last sentence....is that where God wants his people to be? Still at the place where Jesus gave his life, beaten and battered? Is that how we are to remember the Christ? His resurrection three days later facilitated his return to heaven 40 days later, during which time he encouraged his disciples and strengthened them for the rough road ahead.
Jesus is not the dead man hanging on an execution stake, nor is he a helpless baby in a manger…he is the conquering King of his Father’s Kingdom….soon to show the world that his Father’s worship is not to be substituted with the doctrines of men.

Paul wrote well of YOU and people like you:

1 Cor. 1:20-25
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

We don’t “forget” the sacrifice because of the triumph of the Resurrection.
Without the suffering and death of Christ – there is NO Resurrection.

Paul knew that the Greeks and Jews thought Christians were idiots for worshipping a man who was executed. The earliest depiction of the Crucifixion of Jesus is an etching called the Alexamenos Graffito. It depicts a crucified man with the head of a jackass.

YOUR rejection of the Crucifixion is reminiscent of what Paul condemned . . .

The Lord’s supper replaced the Passover for Christ’s Jewish disciples, because he was symbolised by the Passover Lamb. The Passover was a yearly commemoration of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, and so on the same night, Jews to this day hold that commemoration, but for Christians there was no command to hold it weekly or daily, but to follow the pattern set by the Jews in a yearly holding of all their festivals and annual observances. The only weekly observance was the Sabbath which was not incumbent on Gentile Christians. (Acts 15:28-29)

No – the Passover Lamb was only the precursor to the TRUE Paschal sacrifice – the Lamb of God.

And just as the Passover Lamb was to be eaten – the Lamb of God must ALSO be consumed because He is the fulfillment.

What gives you the idea that the Roman Catholic church is the one Jesus spoke about?
He also taught that the devil would sow “weeds” in the world that would take over the majority who profess to be Christians. But calling yourself a Christian does not make you one, as Jesus himself will demonstrate when the judgment comes. “Few” will be granted life....which means the majority will not.

If the foretold apostasy was “already at work” by the end of the first century, then from the second century onwards, the rot would just continue once the restraining power of the apostles was ”removed”.

No one can erase the disgusting conduct of the Roman church in its approach to idolatrous worship and the bloodshed it has supported down through the centuries. (Exodus 20:4-5; Isaiah 1:15)

As I stated before – the Catholic Church can document itself ALL the way back to the Apostles. This is acknowledged by Protestant and secular historians alike.

Please show me the documented history of this “true” Church that you speak of, going ALL the way back to the FIRST century – back to the Apostles.

Since when do we need a catechism to replace the Bible? Down through the years, as I have witnessed to Catholic people and asked them to get their Bible so that I could show them Scriptural proof that what they accepted as truth, was in fact, false....9 times out of 10 they would bring out a chatechism....they really didn’t know the difference.
The Jews did the same thing with the Talmud.....it was the “Jewish” explanation of Scripture, just as the catechism is the Catholic explanation of Scripture.

WHO said that the Catechism “replaced” the Bible??
Is it that your are incapable of having an honest discussion?

I reject their explanation out of hand because I have studied the Bible extensively for many years.

Sooooo, I guess that makes YOU the “top expert” in languages, hermeneutics, historical context, etc.?
Nothin’ like good, old-fashion spiritual PRIDE . . .

And those who came out of the Catholic Faith and studied the Bible for themselves,
found comfort in the elimination of all those false doctrines as well as its blatant idolatry.

The more I study the Bible – the more I see the truth of Christ’s Catholic Church . . .

You have presented the Catholic explanation and interpretation of Scripture, and promoted your church as the one who teaches Scriptural truth.....according to scripture, they are not even close.

THIS coming from a person who embraces the all-encompassing heresy of Sola Scriptura – and has YET to show me a Scriptural defense for this abomination . . .

 

[BreadOfLife]

I’ll tackle this one separately….

History tells the story.....the apostolic succession that you rely on to support your pope and his hierarchy did not exist in the first century church. All the apostles had equal status, none were given a leadership role.
And according to Revelation, the church that Christ founded had 12 foundation stones….all equals. (Rev 21:12-14)

There waas a hierarchy - and Peter was in charge.
- Jesus singled out Peter when He gave him the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 16:18-19).

- Jesus asked Peter and Peter alone to feed His lambs and tend His sheep (John 21:15-19).

- Jesus said that He prayed for Peter ALONE to strengthen the others and bring them back to faith (Luke 22:31-32).

- Peter called "Protos" (First) in the Gospel (Matt. 10:2).

- Peter's name occurs first in all lists of apostles (Matt. 10:2; Mk 3:16; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13).

- Peter is specified by an angel as the leader and representative of the apostles (Mark 16:7).

- Peter takes the lead in calling for a successor for Judas (Acts 1:22).

- Peter is the first person to speak (and only one recorded) after Pentecost, making him the first Christian to preach the Gospel in the Church (Acts 2:14-36) .

- Peter works the first miracle of the Church Age, healing a lame man (Acts 3:6-12).

- Peter utters the first anathema (Ananias and Sapphira) affirmed by God (Acts 5:2-11).

- Peter is the first person after Christ to raise the dead (Acts 9:40).

- Cornelius is told by an angel to seek out Peter for instruction in Christianity (Acts 10:1-6).

- Peter's name is mentioned more often than ALL the other disciples put together.

Jesus’ words at Matt 16:18-19 in the Catholic Douay Bible reads: “I say to thee: That thou art Peter, (petros) and upon this rock (Petra) I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”
Does this mean, as the Roman Catholic Church claims, that Jesus appointed Peter the head of his church and the first pope?

Reading those words in Greek we see that the RCC has conflated the words “petros” and “petra”..... as though they are one and the same word....not so.
Peter (petros) means a small pebble, whereas “petra” means a solid rock mass….they are not the same at all.
So right from the get go, your apostolic succession hits a wall, because Peter was given responsibilities, but never leadership.

WRONG.

Jesus and the Apostles spoke Aramaic – not Greek The work used in Mat. 16:18 was ”Kepha”, which means “Rock”, period. NO distinction between large or small . . .
Jesus said: “You are Kepha, and on this Kepha, I will build my Church.”

This is why Peter is called “Cephas” throughout the NT (John 1:42, Gal. 2:7-14, I Cor. 1:11-13, I Cor. 3:21, I Cor. 9:5 and I Cor. 15:5).

Where does the pope’s title “Pontiff” come from? I’ll give you a clue…it wasn’t from the first Christians….

“Pontiff” simply means “bridge-builder”.
There’s nothing :sinister” or “pagan” about this.

Where does Mary get her titles from?….same place.

Mary, Mother of God (Luke 1:43)
Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:48)
Queen of Heaven (Rev. 12:1-5)

Who told us that the NT was the word of God? Are you serious? This is the excuse you give for preaching a false gospel? If “all Scripture” is not “inspired of God” then we have been hoodwinked and the Bible as it stands today is a fake! Do you really think that a church with such a disgusting history can possibly represent Christ and his apostles?
Did the Bible come from the Catholic Church, or only by means of them when it was God’s time to give it to the world?…….the church did it’s darndest to keep God’s word out of the hands of the common people….which created the ignorance for which your church members are noted.

The Bible came out of the Church – the Church did NOT come out of the Bible.

The Church existed for 300 years before there even was Canon of Scripture. Before the 4th century, there were MANY other books that were considered to be “Scripture”. Books like the Shepherd of Hermas, Gospel of Peter, The Protoevangelium, Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Enoch, etc.
Time for a History Lesson . . .

The Synod of Rome (382) is where the canon was first formally identified – ALL 73 (not 66) Books.
- 11 years after that, it was confirmed at the Synod of Hippo (393).
- 4 years later, at the Council (or Synod) of Carthage (397), it was yet again confirmed. The bishops wrote at the end of their document, "But let Church beyond sea (Rome) be consulted about confirming this canon". There were 44 bishops, including St. Augustine who signed the document.
- 7 years later, in 405, in a letter from Pope Innocent I to Exsuperius, Bishop of Toulouse, he reiterated the canon.
- 14 years after that, at the 2nd Council (Synod) of Carthage (419) the canon was again formally confirmed.

The Canon of Scripture was officially closed at the Council of Trent in the 16th century because of the perversions happening within Protestantism and the random editing and deleting of books from the Canon.

The one thing that the Reformation accomplished was getting the Bible into the hands of the people so that they could judge for themselves if the church was telling the truth. It’s power was crushed and God’s word revealed all it’s false doctrines. It’s fall from grace was monumental.

It was the Printing Press that put the Bible in the hands of the people.

Up until the 15th century ALL books were hand-copied, making them very r\are and very expensive. This, coupled with the fact that almost 90% of the general public was functionally-illiterate makes your claim ALL the more asinine and historically-bankrupt. The Bible has been read aloud at every Mass durinjg the Liturgy of the Word for over 2000 years.

Where does your pope get his authority? The Vatican is a cess pit of vipers, drunk with power, and not averse to getting rid of those who don’t conform to their agenda, or who advocate for change.

Well, for starters - Matt. 16:18-19, M]att. 16:15-18, Luke 10:16, John 16:12-15, John 20:21-23, 1 Cor. 11:2, 2 Thess. 2:15, 2 Tim. 2:2, 2 Thess. 3:60 . . .

Did Christ live in a palace with gold trimmings? Did he have disciples around him in distinctive clothing and high sounding titles? Did he promote the doctrines taught in the Catholic church?
None are found in Scripture…not a one.

Why do you keep LYING instead of engaging in honest dialogue??

- The Holy Trinity
- Baptism
- The Virgin Birth
- Jesus is fully God and fully Man
- The Atoning Death of ?Jesus Christ
- His glorious Resurrection and Ascension
- His Second Coming

I can go on.
WHERE do you get the fallacy that “NOT ONE” Catholic doctrine is found in Scripture??

Why don’t you take some time off and do some HOMEWORK.
At the very LEAST, you’ll stop embarrassing yourself . .

 

[JohnDB]

This was the "Why only us?" question I had to grapple with as a young adult.

Is it true? Heaven is only for Christians? What does that even mean?

]

There are no homeless in Heaven.
You either build your home there or you build a fireplace in Hell. Can't do both.

 

[St. SteVen]

There are no homeless in Heaven.

What about those outside the gates that are always open?

[

 

[Behold]

What about those outside the gates that are always open?

[

God does not want any to perish (Hell and the Lake of Fire) and wants all to come to faith in Christ before they die, as there is no 2nd chance in Hell.

 

[St. SteVen]

God does not want any to perish (Hell and the Lake of Fire) and wants all to come to faith in Christ before they die, as there is no 2nd chance in Hell.

Countless billions have not had a first "chance".
Nothing is left to chance anyway.

[

 

[Behold]

Countless billions have not had a first "chance".

Everyone has a chance to trust in Christ.
God will make sure of it.

Once, in the OT< there was NINEVEH... and God wanted them spared....... One of his prophets was not interested and tried to refuse.
God sent Him an unexpected "taxi", that took Him to Ninevah, and Jonah preached to them, and they were saved. ("spared from God's wrath".)

So, God who is all powerful, has no issue with getting "The Gospel" worldwide........into Treehouses, and into dark caves, or wherever the Gospel needs to find a sinner.
God was here before the Internet, and WiFI, and has no issue getting the message of The Cross to everyone, everywhere. And does.
He does it all day long, and all night.
God never sleeps, and The Gospel is always Beaming the Love of God as a Lighthouse worldwide, shining Christ's Salvation into the hearts of sinners.

 

[St. SteVen]

Everyone has a chance to trust in Christ.
God will make sure of it.

On that point we agree.
"... in heaven and on earth and under the earth..." (in the realm of the dead)

Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Note on "acknowledge" in Philippians 2:11 from Strong's Concordance
S1843 eksomologéō (from 1537 /ek, "wholly out from," intensifying 3670 /homologéō, "say the same thing about") – properly, fully agree and to acknowledge that agreement openly (whole-heartedly); hence, to confess ("openly declare"), without reservation (no holding back).

[

 

[Behold]

Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Your verse says that everyone is going to bow their KNEE to Jesus.

This is not because of universal salvation........its because there will be noone who can resist this, as they will be MADE to respect.....even tho they never did while they were alive.
See, Jesus isn't the suffering Messiah, and the gentle Lamb, anymore...>He is the 'King of Kings" and all will BOW....<
This goes for the Demons as well. You see, EVERYONE......= ALL the God deniers, the Christ Haters, = ALL, will bow their knee and their tongue will confess that "Jesus is Lord"... even those who died Hating God and Despising Christ.

Listen up., Reader.

God's GRACE is found before you die....as if you die never born again, you find this..

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" : Hebrews 10:31

-
New Living Translation
And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

English Standard Version
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Berean Standard Bible
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

Berean Literal Bible
The one believing in the Son has eternal life, but the one not obeying the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

King James Bible
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

New King James Version
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

New American Standard Bible
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

NASB 1995
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

[Triumph1300]

Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father
-------------------------------

I.o.w. The ones in hell will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.
But by that time it is TOO LATE!


It's like Spurgeon said:

Mothers by children in hell being cursed because they never told their children about the Lord.
Grinding of teeth. Children hating their parents in hell.

 

[St. SteVen]

I.o.w. The ones in hell will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.
But by that time it is TOO LATE!

Note on "acknowledge" in Philippians 2:11 from Strong's Concordance
S1843 eksomologéō (from 1537 /ek, "wholly out from," intensifying 3670 /homologéō, "say the same thing about") – properly, fully agree and to acknowledge that agreement openly (whole-heartedly); hence, to confess ("openly declare"), without reservation (no holding back).

[

 

[Behold]

Note on "acknowledge" in Philippians 2:11 from Strong's Concordance
S1843 eksomologéō (from 1537 /ek, "wholly out from," intensifying 3670 /homologéō, "say the same thing about") – properly, fully agree and to acknowledge that agreement openly (whole-heartedly); hence, to confess ("openly declare"), without reservation (no holding back).

A Christ Rejector will not be saying "Jesus is Lord" by the Holy Spirit, because they dont have the Holy Spirit.
Didnt you know?
Now you do.
See, You have to be born again to have the Holy Spirit, and no DEAD Christ Rejector has the Holy Spirit, because they died never being born again.
And.... on that day of Judgment, they will bow, they will confess, that ""Jesus is Lord""", and they wont like it, same as the Demons, and same as the Devil.

 

[Hiddenthings]

Actually, I’ve made PLENTY – and you haven’t been able to refute ANY of them.
Remember - denial is not refutation . . .

You really need to get over this.

Maybe, do some actual homework about the subject . . .

Why didn't you bold the other part of my post?

 

[JohnDB]

What about those outside the gates that are always open?

[

Nope....no homeless....they can't get through them. Broad is the path that leads to destruction with cheers, applause and "glad to see you" being said.
Narrow is the path that leads to life and FEW find it.

 

[St. SteVen]

Narrow is the path that leads to life and FEW find it.

Does God make sport with our souls?

[

 

[JohnDB]

Does God make sport with our souls?

[

Nope....
Sport?

Not a game to God.

 

[Hiddenthings]

@BreadOfLife

Jesus shared the emblems of bread and wine while he was still alive, before his death.

Symbolic!

 

[Aunty Jane]

This makes absolutely ZERO sense.
A mistaken perception is NOT a violation of God’s Law.

I openly-challenge you to show me where this is the case.
Chapter and Verse, please . . .

Let’s try this again......
I said.....”The offence was saying something spiritual and it being taken literally, which was breaking God’s law. That is what was offensive.”
The Jews who heard him say that ‘drinking his blood and eating his flesh’ was the only way to everlasting life, shocked them....it disgusted them.....They took it literally, when Jesus meant it spiritually.

Did Jesus tell them to break God’s Law? They thought so. He waited for a response from his disciples and then told them what he said was “spirit and life”...so there is no literal ‘eating of Jesus flesh and drinking his blood’....taken literally, it was abhorrent back then, and it still is to those who have not been drawn into false Christianity.
Only Catholic indoctrination could make this concept acceptable to anyone with a modicum of human sensibilities in any civilised nation.

I cannot comprehend how this is acceptable to you.

There were MANY thing in the Law that were forbidden and were later allowed because the Law had been FULFILLED by Jesus – which included the Dietary laws.

That is true, but God’s prohibition on consuming blood was restated in three different eras. The first mention was to Noah when God gave him permission to eat animal flesh....and there were no prohibited meats in his statement.
Gen 9:3-4....
“Whatever moves and has life will be used for your food. I give you all these things, just as I have already given you every green plant. Only do not eat flesh along with its life, that is, with its blood.” (NCB)
Humans went from being vegetarians to carnivores. And a fear of man was instilled in them for the first time.

The second era was when the nation of Israel was given God’s Laws....
Lev 17:10-12...
“Whoever from the house of Israel or from among the aliens living in your midst eats anything with blood, I will set my face against that person and he shall be cut off from among his people. The life of all flesh is found in its blood. I have given it to you to make atonement for your life upon the altar. Blood is to make atonement for one’s life.’ Therefore, I told the children of Israel, ‘No one of you shall eat blood, nor shall the alien living among you eat blood.’” (NCB)

And the third time, it was given to Christians...
Acts 15:28-29...
“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and also our decision not to lay any further burden upon you beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food that has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of animals that have been strangled, and from unchastity. If you avoid these, you will be doing what is right.” (NCB)

Those “essentials” were for all Christians, but especially the gentile believers who may have regularly consumed blood in their past....but now even eating a strangled animals (ones that were not properly bled) was prohibited.
Consumption of blood, murder and immorality were always stressed as prohibited under God’s law for his worshippers, and all incurred the death penalty.

 

[Aunty Jane]

We don’t “forget” the sacrifice because of the triumph of the Resurrection.
Without the suffering and death of Christ – there is NO Resurrection.

We don’t forget the sacrifice either, but we commemorate it on the right date and in the way that Jesus did.
After the Passover meal was eaten, after sundown, the Passover was held. Christians commemorate the memorial of Christ’s death in a similar way, not weekly or daily, but annually as the Jews held their Passover and as Jesus himself did. It is not to be partaken of lightly, or by those who have not brought their lives into harmony with God’s commands.

1 Cor 11:27-29...
“Therefore, anyone who eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner is guilty of an offense against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone should examine himself about eating the bread and drinking from the cup. For a person who eats and drinks without discerning the body of the Lord is eating and drinking judgment on himself.” (NCB)
It’s a serious business....

Paul knew that the Greeks and Jews thought Christians were idiots for worshipping a man who was executed. The earliest depiction of the Crucifixion of Jesus is an etching called the Alexamenos Graffito. It depicts a crucified man with the head of a jackass.

YOUR rejection of the Crucifixion is reminiscent of what Paul condemned . . .

The Christians did not worship Jesus....they reserved worship for his Father, who alone is God. (1 Cor 8:5-6) They paid the son of God his due honor in obeisance. Something that can be done to humans, but worship belongs only to God.

We do not reject the crucifixion, but concentrate on Jesus’ death, not the instrument used to execute him.....and certainly not to make an idol of it. (Exodus 20:4-5)
We are asked to memorialise his death, not the stake on which he was impaled....and certainly not with a corpse on it.

As I stated before – the Catholic Church can document itself ALL the way back to the Apostles. This is acknowledged by Protestant and secular historians alike.

Yes, the Catholic Church and historians can claim a lot of things, but adhering to the teaching of Jesus Christ isn’t one of them. An apostasy was foretold and it took place when Jesus said it would...the apostles knew that after they left, everything would go belly up. (Acts 20:28-30) Which was the only church? You’ve already told me.

Paul specifically mentioned certain apostates, such as Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus....already causing trouble long before John’s Revelation recorded at end of the first century.
Among the varied causes of apostasy set forth in apostolic warnings were: lack of faith, lack of endurance in the face of persecution, abandonment of right moral standards, ( 2 Peter 2:15-22) the heeding of the “counterfeit words” of false teachers and “misleading inspired utterances”, (2 Pet 2:1-3; 1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Tim 2:16-19) and trying “to be declared righteous by means of law”. (Gal 5:2-4)
They copied the Pharisees in many ways...their priestly robes, their grand temple like cathedrals, and their departure from the faith that God had given them.

 

[Aunty Jane]

WHO said that the Catechism “replaced” the Bible??
Is it that your are incapable of having an honest discussion?

In the minds of the majority of Catholic people that I have met in my ministry, they didn’t know the difference between a catechism and a Bible. Whose fault is it that they thought that? And what possible reason could they have for thinking that the Bible is called a catechism?

Sooooo, I guess that makes YOU the “top expert” in languages, hermeneutics, historical context, etc.?
Nothin’ like good, old-fashion spiritual PRIDE . . .

No, but it did give me a framework so that I could detect religious falsehood when I heard it.
Those without knowledge can be so easily led. The RCC were intent on maintaining ignorance whilst demanding compliance and strict obedience to their clergy, especially the pope, who had no place in the Christianity set up by Jesus. After all, they had the best deterrent...a hell of eternal torment if they dared to question.

The more I study the Bible – the more I see the truth of Christ’s Catholic Church . . .

That doesn’t surprise me. It was predicted to be this way in a world ruled by the devil. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

THIS coming from a person who embraces the all-encompassing heresy of Sola Scriptura – and has YET to show me a Scriptural defense for this abomination . . .

Refusal to accept Sola Scriptura is the all encompassing heresy....the true abomination.....bringing doubt about the value of Scripture in their teachings, your church was able to adopt all manner of unscriptural beliefs and practices and pass them off as “Christian”. Any wonder that they didn’t need Scripture.
If Jesus and his apostles used God’s word as their authority, and quoted from the Scriptures often, why wouldn’t we? Why would anyone call referring to God’s word alone as an “abomination”!?

Jesus himself said...
John 17:14-17....
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. “Consecrate them in the truth.Your word is truth.” (NCB)

God’s word is all we need.....all else comes from deceitful men. There is no truth in the counterfeit Christianity sown by the devil. Jesus warned that it was coming and people can pretend that it didn’t, but history shows us that corruption is everywhere in Christendom’s teachings.....a divided mess who fail to represent what Jesus started....any wonderhe will say....”I never knew you!”