The Protestant Reformation came about because of the errors and heresy of the Catholic
Church.
Actually what lit the fuse was Luther’s misconceptions on indulgences. While there were certainly abuses within the Church (as there are in anything that man has a part in) Luther’s ninety-five theses concentrated on HIS opinions (not heresy on the part of the Church since Luther was not the discerner of such matters, he was simply a troubled priest unable or unwilling to recognize authroity outside of himself).
The breakaway was necessary; to go back to what Jesus intended for His church;
and this was started by Martin Luther centuries ago. During this period of time; the Catholic
Church KILLED all people; whom were protesting and leaving the Catholic Church; and this
is referred to as the Christian Crusades.
There were nine Crusades. The 1st Crusade began in 1095. The 9th Crusade ended in 1272. I would respectfully explain to your mom that the crusades were long over by the time the reformation took place. In addition, the crusades, as I understand, involved defending and retaking the Holyland. However, perhaps your mother was speaking of the inquisitions. If that is the case, I would suggest that both you and her read up on these as the truth of the matter is that CIVIL (not ecclesiastical) courts were the weilders of death in cases involving heresy during this time.
Thus, there is only one simple way; to be saved; and it is NOT through mother Mary, or anyone else…ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, THE LORD!
Agreed. Respectfully, your mother is misinformed as Catholics do not seek salvation through Mary.
It is idolatry to pray to this person or anyone else, except Jesus. For those whom have been cleansed, by the blood of Jesus; and are sanctified by His Grace; are considered saints. Not to be prayed to; but to be grafted into the family of God.
The word “pray” does not equal the word “worship”. The word “pray” simply means “request.” When Catholics pray to a saint, they are making a request of him/her, NOT worshiping the saint. Think back to those old english movies or novels where you can here someone say, “I pray you kind sir, where might I find an inn for the night?” Was the character of the novel seen as worshiping this stranger? No. That is silly. So, if Catholics understand that “to pray” is simply “to request” it should clear up the confusion. However, no matter how many times this is explained, the argument continues to come up. Let me ask you something… does your mom ever “ask” (request) people at her Church to pray to God on her behave? If she does, then she takes part in the exact same thing that Catholics do. We ask (request) others to pray to God on our behave too. Not only do we ask living breathing Catholics to do this, we also ask our family of God who have passed on and are now in the presence of our Lord… the Saints. Since we cannot simply call these saints up on the phone and ask them to pray for us, we pray (request) to them and ask that they make our petition before the Lord. In that they are standing right next to Him, they see Him, and our in Heaven with Him, is it really so strange to request (pray) that they do this? If so, then I would suggest that it is even more strange that Protestants ask those not in God’s presence, who don’t see Him, who aren’t standing next to His throne, but are instead sitting in a pew next to them in Church to go to God on their behalf.
The Baptist Church goes strictly by the Bible; and is without error; because God’s Word is truly without error. The Catholic Church has added to their religion things that are NOT Biblical…praying to mother Mary; and other saints to get healed, saved, or to have certain prayers answered. Plus having to pay money for the remission of one’s sins (penance); etc.
The Catholic Church also goes by the Bible. We recognize that it is without error as well. We too call it “the Word of God.” So I am glad that both the Southern Baptists and the Catholics have the same overall common view of the Bible. Now… Catholics actually have more to say concerning the Bible, since the Catholic Church is the one that God used to give It to the world. In 393 AD (Council of Hippo) and then again in 397 AD (Council of Carthage) the Church determined and approved the 46 books of the Bible. For 16 centuries both the Holy Spirit, which we know guards the Church and God’s Word, and the world itself accepted this. Then in 1529, Martin Luther proposed the Palestinian Canon of only 39 books (removing 7 OT books). Why? And more importantly, why would God allow the Alexandrian Canon to be the one and only error-free Bible of the world for 1600 years and then suddenly here comes Luther saying, “no no… this Bible is in error… here, let me present this new version which I promise is without error” and so many went off and followed him and his bible? To me that is the real question.
Again, your mother is mistaken. Respectfully, attempt to explain to her that Catholics do not “pay money for the remission of… sin.” I have been a Catholic my entire life, a long time by the way, and never once have I written a check, paid cash, or used a credit card in a confessional. This would be like me saying, “Southern Baptists make human sacrifices.” I would never do that because it would be a lie to say such a thing. So, I will assume that your mother doesn’t realize that what she is saying is a lie and not take offense, but to me both her statement and my example above are equally silly.
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What verses can I point to that shows the Catholic faith is correct and the baptist faith is false. Please let me know.
