Warning! Catholic church is a FALSE religion

Baptism - So Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglicans - all who insist on infant baptism - aren't Christians? Infant baptism and adult baptisms are both mentioned in the Scriptures. While I am not a proponent of infant baptism myself, the issue can be argued either way. Some protestants demand baptism after conversion. Is that not a form of "works"?

Penance - Similar to what we protestants refer to as repentance. Our confession of sins is not supposed to be just a one time thing. People like to quote 1 John 1:9, but they don't seem to realize the verb tense indicates an ongoing confession. If we don't continue to repent, is our faith true? If we do continue to repent, is that not a type of work?

Eucharist - Somewhat similar to our protestant communion, with a major difference being that we treat it as symbolic rather than believing we are literally eating Christ. This is an issue where I am also very critical of the RCC. Despite my critical viewpoint on the Eucharist, I'm far from convinced that all RCs are non-Christian.

If a person is born-again, but lives his/her life without reading or meditating on the Scriptures, praying, fellowshipping with believers, or proclaiming the gospel, is he/she a Christian? If he/she does do all of this, don't they qualify as works?

Faith without works is dead. Works without faith is worthless.

I wonder if these verses apply re: catholics:

Luk 9:50 And Jesus said to him, Do not prevent him, for he who is not against us is for us.

Mar 9:40 For he who is not against us is for us.

Despite all your complaints that Catholics do this or believe that..I do know that despite there being 4 protestant and 1 Roman Catholic churches in my area, it is only ever people from the Roman Catholic church handing out flyers in my street that a ) God loves us , and b) Repent and Believe in Christ to be saved. The protestant ones don't seem to care about evangelism in their local area.

Remember the issue of who is christian and who is not is not a black and white issue,

Despite them being wrong on certain beliefs, many catholics say and believe that Jesus is Lord, which shows they have the Spirit:

1Co 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is a curse, and that no one can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 10:9 Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

A non-christian, satan-worshipper, etc, is not able to say Jesus is Lord and mean it.

There is nothing in the bible that says you have to believe in a "faith alone" doctrine to be saved.

Well, the Catholics pronounced an anathema on anyone who's not a Catholic and the only way to salvation is through the mother church the Catholic church, so I find it hard to consider them as brothers in the Lord when they would say I'm condemned to hell. Especially when the Catholic church is the w***e of Babylon in Rev. 17 and has killed millions of Christians and Jews throughout it's bloody history.

If you hold to a gospel of works which is anything else than a gospel of faith, Paul says you are accursed. One can believe in any "doctrine" they want, but it doesn't mean they're saved, and anything else than faith alone is not a true gospel.

That's completely untrue, I suggest you read up some on Catholic doctrine. In fact today there would be more protestant fundamentalists telling catholics they are going to hell than the other way around.


This is what the R.C. church says about non-catholics:
VATICAN II

Even in the beginnings of this one and only Church of God there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly condemned. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions made their appearance and quite large communities came to be separated from full communion with the Catholic Church -- for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame. The children who are born into these Communities and who grow up believing in Christ cannot be accused of the sin involved in the separation, and the Catholic Church embraces upon them as brothers, with respect and affection. For men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect. . . . It remains true that all who have been justified by faith in Baptism are members of Christ's body, and have a right to be called Christian, and so are correctly accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church. . . . Our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or as Communities and Churches [Churches refers to Orthodox; Communities refers to Protestant], are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through Him were born again into one body.

And Catholics do hold to a gospel of faith, as it said on the flyer I was given. It said nothing about working for your salvation without faith, or keeping the law for salvation. It said simply, "believe and you will be saved".

There is actually no verse in scripture that says the true gospel is "faith alone'. This catchphrase was coined by protestants, but needs to be understood in the right context. In fact scripture says the direct opposite to "salvation by faith alone" :

Jas 2:24 You see then how a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

i.e.
"a man is justified by works not by faith only".

No one is justified by faith in baptism. One is justified by faith in Christ.

You're taking that out of context, a man is justified by faith that produces works, not by the works. Which is what that passage is talking about, it's an apologetic against those in the church who claimed to be Christians but their works said otherwise.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

So that doesn't say faith alone?

Yes not by the works alone without the faith. But the phrase "faith alone" can be mistaken to mean "justified by faith without any works to show for it".




It doesn't actually say "faith alone", it says you aren't saved by works. But that doesn't say faith is without works, i.e. "faith alone". From James we know that faith alone doesn't save because true faith is shown by works.

Wesley hits the nail on the head with this apparent contradiction nicely:

Jas 2:24 Ye see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only - St. Paul, on the other band, declares, "A man is justified by faith," and not by works, Rom_3:28. And yet there is no contradiction between the apostles: because, They do not speak of the same faith: St. Paul speaking of living faith; St. James here, of dead faith. They do not speak of the same works: St. Paul speaking of works antecedent to faith; St. James, of works subsequent to it.

Yes indeed. But the Catholic church teaches that works are required for justification, see the Catechism 1987-1995, 1262-1274, 1247-1249, 1212, 1392, 2010, 183, 1129, 1815, 2002 for a few references. Not that they are required to prove their faith to be alive.

It doesn't actually say "faith alone", it says you aren't saved by works. But that doesn't say faith is without works, i.e. "faith alone". From James we know that faith alone doesn't save because true faith is shown by works.