Why is the Catholic religion a false religion?

Question

Why is the Catholic religion a false religion?

Answer 1

Your question is flawed. You are assuming that Catholic sect of Christianity is flawed, which is not correct. I am not a Catholic, but I think you and I are not the ones to decide which religion is correct and which isn't.

Answer 2

Catholic is a Greek-derived word which means "universal." It is not a separate religion from Christianity. It is an original form of Christianity, preserving, along with the East Orthodox, the worship and piety practices of Christians from earlier times.



We do not worship Mary, statues, or the Pope. We ARE sacramental, traditional, and liturgical, however.

Answer 3

Who forced you to stop kicking your dog?

And how come you would rather be cruel to it than kind to it?

And why do you want to be mean to dogs?



Search for it online. It is there now.





That is called a "fallacy".



When people use a fallacy to make an argument, when the facts will not support it or they don't feel like bothering to collect the facts and build a logical argument - that argument is called rhetoric.



The only way to counter rhetoric is to point it out for what it is. Or counter with more rhetoric. Or both.



Anyway, if your dog understands this then he can probably relax and stop worrying that you are going to hurt him.

Answer 4

If you are an evangelic Southern Baptist or a Muslim, well then yes, by those lights, Cathoicism is a false religion. However, Christ said that Peter, the first Pope, would be the rock on which his church was founded. Does it help you to know that to have catholic tastes is to have a wide-ranging and discerning interest in things?

Answer 5

As as Catholic I find your question interesting to say the least.



How did you come to the conclusion it is a false religion...and I ask this out of wanting to know what your "proof" is?



For the other posters:



Mary is not worshiped she is honered as the Mother of Jesus.



We do not worship statues we worship God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...the statues in church are to remind us of saints and to live a saintly life as much as possible.

Answer 6

I was raised Catholic and I am offended! Just Kidding! I was raised Catholic though. I slept through most of it. It is very ritual oriented. It works for them I suppose. My grandmother was Catholic to the bone. I doubt very seriously she's in Hell for it. God probably told her that was close enough. He's a funny guy, that God!

Answer 7

I look up Catholic in web searches and find wonderous things. Thanks....LOL! It was Martin Luther's writings that got me to Catholicism in the first place. Had I just had access to the web in 1985.

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism



all Christian religions practise intercessory prayer...confession is just the way Catholics do it....in other churches it's called ''prayer chains'', etc. Jesus meant for us as Christian siblings to lift each other up in prayer....it's called the ''Power of Prayer"..there is some ''over-ritualism'' in Catholicism & some get caught up in this & get distracted from the real message/redemption of Jesus Christ, but there are stumbling blocks in all Christian denominations obviously because Satan is at work hard in Christianity....it is His sworn enemy, but to call Catholicism a false religion is just ludicrous.

Answer 9

What makes you think Catholic IS a false religion?

Answer 10

Who ever said Catholic religion was false?

Answer 11

They worship idols, they worship Mary, they say Mary is the mother of God. How could a human being be the mother of God?

Answer 12

I think that by condemning the Catholic faith it means you are interested in converting. Why would you care about it if you thought it was false? Don't knock it if you haven't tried it!



I'll pray for your conversion!

Answer 13

I think you assume too much. Why is the Catholic faith assumed false and not, say, Isalm or Methodism?

Answer 14

council of nicaea- christianity is a lie



Islam, however, makes perfect sense. There is not one single contradiction in the koran. dont believe the media. look for yourself

Answer 15

Because all religions are false.

Answer 16

Let's keep it simple.

"What Has Happened to Love of Neighbor?



MILLIONS feel lost, afraid, and miserable, with nowhere to turn. “I eat alone, walk alone, sleep alone and talk to myself,” one person lamented. Few are willing to reach out and act in a loving way toward those in need.



A retired businesswoman observed: ‘One evening a widow who lives on my floor knocked on my door and said she was lonely. I told her politely but bluntly that I was busy. She apologized for bothering me and left.’



The woman continued: ‘I felt quite proud of myself for not getting trapped by such a bore. The next evening a friend telephoned and asked if I knew the woman in my building who had committed suicide the night before. If you have not already guessed, she was the woman who knocked on my door.’ Afterward, the businesswoman said she had learned a “hard lesson.”



It is well-known that babies deprived of love can die. Older ones can also die if they do not receive love. In a suicide note, an attractive 15-year-old wrote: “Love is not being lonely any more.”



A Modern Tragedy



Commenting a few years ago on ethnic hatred, Newsweek reported: “‘Hate thy neighbor’ seemed the motto of the year.” During conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, formerly part of Yugoslavia, over a million people were forced from their homes, and tens of thousands were killed. By whom? “Our neighbors,” lamented a girl who had been driven from her village. “We knew them.”



“We used to live together in peace,” a woman said of the 3,000 Hutu and Tutsi living in the village of Ruganda. The New York Times said: “The story of this village is the story of Rwanda: Hutu and Tutsi living together, intermarrying, not caring or not even knowing who was a Hutu and who a Tutsi. Then something snapped,” and “the killings began.”



Similarly, Jews and Arabs in Israel live side by side, but many hate one another. Throughout this 20th century, like situations have arisen in Northern Ireland, in India and Pakistan, in Malaysia and Indonesia, and between the races in the United States—yes, throughout the world we live in.



One could continue citing example after example of ethnic and religious hatred. Never before in history has the world been so lacking in love.



Who Bears Responsibility?



Hatred, like love, is taught. A popular song says that children are “taught before it’s too late/Before you are six or seven or eight/To hate all the people your relatives hate.” Especially today is hate taught. The churches in particular have failed to teach their members to love.



The French newspaper Le Monde asked: “How can one avoid thinking that the Tutsi and the Hutu who are at war in Burundi and Rwanda were trained by the same Christian missionaries and attended the same churches?” Indeed, according to the National Catholic Reporter, Rwanda is a “70% Catholic nation.”



Earlier in this century, countries of Eastern Europe turned to atheistic Communism. Why? In 1960 the dean of a religious faculty in Prague, Czechoslovakia, observed: “It is we, we Christians alone, who are responsible for Communism. . . . Remember that the Communists once were Christians. If they do not believe in a just God, whose fault is it?”



Consider what the churches did during World War I. British brigadier general Frank Crozier noted regarding that war: “The Christian Churches are the finest blood-lust creators which we have and of them we made free use.” Later, after World War II, The New York Times said: “In the past local Catholic hierarchies almost always supported the wars of their nations, blessing troops and offering prayers for victory, while another group of bishops on the other side publicly prayed for the opposite outcome.”



Yet, Jesus Christ demonstrated love in all his activities, and the apostle Paul wrote: “You yourselves are taught by God to love one another.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9) “True Christians are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,” observed a staff writer for the Vancouver Sun. “They would never, never intentionally hurt one another.”



Clearly, the churches bear heavy responsibility for today’s lack of love. An article published in the magazine India Today observed: “Religion has been the banner under which the most hideous crimes have been perpetrated.” There is a fundamental reason, however, why our generation has been marked by such heartless disregard for others.



Why Love Has Cooled Off



Our Creator gives the answer. His Word, the Bible, calls the time in which we live “the last days.” Bible prophecy says that this is a period during which people would have “no natural affection.” Regarding these “critical times hard to deal with,” also called in the Scriptures “the conclusion of the system of things,” Jesus Christ foretold that “the love of the greater number will cool off.”—2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:3, 12.



Today’s lack of love, therefore, is part of the evidence that we are living in the last days of this world. Happily, it also means that this world of ungodly people will soon be replaced by a righteous new world ruled by love.—Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Peter 3:7, 13.



But do we really have reason to believe that such a change is possible—that we will be able to live in a world where all people will love one another and live together in peace?"

Answer 17

Dude, just look over my sources for ANY question.

Answer 18

why don't you try to offer some proof instead of just making vague, offensive comments?

Answer 19

this question is absolutely laughable. it is not false.

Answer 20

No, the Catholic religion is not a false religion.



Here are some verses about Confession, Saints, and calling priests Father.



Sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation





Catholic Note:

Protestants have a hard time thinking that a man can give absolution for another's sins. They claim there is only one mediator between God and man: Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Catholics believe Christ gave His apostles the power to forgive sins, a power that has been handed down for generations through apostolic succession. The sacrament of reconciliation is Christ's gift to us. The root of all sin is pride; its antidote is humility. Confessing one's sins to God's appointed representative is thoroughly biblical, and calls for tremendous humility. The priest does not act on his own, He acts in the name of God and on behalf of His Church, administering God's forgiveness (absolution). The sacrament of Confession wipes away our sins, increases sanctifying grace in our souls, and reunites us with Christ and His Church. The Church is the extension of Christ's incarnation, and that extension takes place through the sacraments" (Scott Hahn , Swear to God, Page 22)



Jesus continues his example of priestly forgiveness in the Old Testament.



Leviticus 4:13-21 - "priests shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven"

Leviticus 5:14-26 - (Sin offering brought to the Old Testament priests, who make atonement for sinners' forgiveness.)

See also: - Leviticus 4:27-25, Leviticus 5:5, Numbers 5:8



Confession is not a private affair in the Bible.



Leviticus 5:14-26 - (Public confession with animal sacrifice)

Numbers 5:6-7 - "man ... commits a fault ... he shall confess the wrong he has done"

Matthew 3:6 - "baptized by him ... as they acknowledged their sins"

Acts 19:18 - "believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices"

James 5:16 - "confess your sin to one another ... that you may be healed."

See also: - Leviticus 26:39-42, Psalms 32:3-5, Proverbs 28:13, Mark 1:5



Jesus has power to forgive sins.



Matthew 9:1-8 - (Healing of paralytic - "which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or ...") Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins

Mark 2:10 - (Jesus says the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth)

Luke 7:48 - "He said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'"

1 John 5:16 - there is sin that is not deadly

See also: - Acts 2:38, 1 Johns 1:9



Jesus gives his power to forgive sins to His priests



Matthew 16:19 - (Jesus gives the apostles the power to bind and loose sins)

Matthew 18:18 - whatever you bind and loose on earth, so it is in heaven

John 20:22 - If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.

John 20:23 - After saying this he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. (recall Genesis 2:7)



2 Corinthians 5:17-20 - "God ... has reconciled us to himself ... given us the ministry of reconciliation"

James 5:14-15 - "presbyters of the church ... pray over him ... he will be forgiven" (prayer of presbyters forgives sin)

See also: - Luke 22:29-30, James 5:16



After forgiveness, the need for reparation can remain.



2 Samuel 12:13-14 - "The LORD ... has forgiven your sin ... but ... child born to you must surely die"

Luke 19:8-9 - (Jesus praises Zacchaeus for his promise of reparation)



Penance as satisfaction for sins.



Matthew 3:8 - "Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance."

2 Corinthians 7:10 - "godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret"

See also: - Luke 3:8, Acts 2:38



Veneration of the Saints



Joshua 5:14 - Joshua fell prostrate in worship before the angel

Daniel 8:17 - Daniel fell prostrate in terror before Gabriel

Tobit 12:16 - Tobiah and Tobit fall to the ground before Raphael

Matthew 18:10 - the angels in heaven are always before the face of God

Note: We venerate angels because of their great dignity, which comes from their union with God. Saints are also in united with God. Veneration nor honor IS NOT WORSHIP. Catholics worship GOD/Jesus alone!

Hebrews 13:7 - Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, take their faith as your model

1 Thessalonians 1:5-8 - you become an example to all believers

Note: this is what Saints are for Catholics and all mankind: examples of holiness

1 John 3:2 - we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is



Statues



Exodus 20:4-5 - do not make and worship any graven images

Commentary on Exodus 20:4



Only images of strange gods were prohibited as appears not only from the words in Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:7 but also from the cherubim (Exodus 25:18) and the brazen serpent (Numbers 21:8) which Yahweh ordered to be made and from the mural decorations of the Jewish synagogues in the early Christian period as excavations abundantly attest. There is question therefore not of a separate commandment which forbids the worship of all images but of an application of the precept forbidding the worship of strange gods. The prohibition of image worship, already discussed, does not contemplate the case of an image of Yahweh, most probably forbidden in the Book of the Covenant. Deuteronomy 4:16 insists, however that he did not appear in material form lest the people should be led to make an image out of him and misapprehend his spiritual nature. The prohibition of idols is found in the Book of the Covenant. It appears here in an amplified form most probably as a later addition to the decalogue to illustrate and safeguard the first commandment. The Latin division of the commandments is thus the more reasonable one and the more likely to be original.



Exodus 25:18-19 - make two cherubim of beaten gold

Numbers 21:8-9 - Moses made bronze serpent and put on a pole

1 Kings 6:23-29 - temple had engraved cherubim, trees and flowers

1 Kings 7:25-45 - temple had bronze oxen, lions and pomegranates



Intercessory prayer to the Saints



Tobit 12:12 - angel presents Tobit and Sarah's prayer to God

Romans 15:30 - join me by your prayers to God on my behalf

Ephesians 4:3 - pray for us

Ephesians 6:18-19 - Never get tired of staying awake to pray for all God's holy people, and pray for me to be given an opportunity to open my mouth and fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel

2 Thessalonians 1:11 - we always pray for you

2 Thessalonians 3:1 - finally, brothers, pray for us

Revelation 5:8 - angel offers prayers of the holy ones to God



Call No Man Father? (Matthew 23:9)





Catholic Note:



All human titles are only shadows of God's authority from which they derive, Ephesians 3:15. RE: "call no one on earth Abi father". "Father" is a term sometimes used of the great Rabbis. Note our Lord is not a grammarian regulating the use of terms: he is a doctor of the spirit. He forbids any acknowledgement of fatherhood that obscures the fatherhood of God, nothing more. If we make no allowance for the concreteness and brevity of his phrases we reduce either them to absurdity or him to inconsistency. He would not forbid a human son to use the word father nor would he forbid the term if addressed to one who is God's representative; in this second case, indeed, it serves to remind its user of the fatherhood of God. Nor must the Christian disciple pose as an independent spiritual guide. He himself is subject to one Teacher and one Guide - to the Lord Himself.



Luke 14:26 - Jesus says, "Anyone who comes to me without hating father, ... "

Acts 6:14 to 7:2 - St. Stephen calls the Jewish leaders "fathers"

Acts 21:40 to 22:1 - St. Paul calls Jerusalem Jews "fathers"

Romans 4:16-17 - Abraham called "the father of us all"

1 Corinthians 4:14-15 - St. Paul says, "I became your father in Christ through the gospel"

1 Thessalonians 2:1 - we treat you as a father treats his children

1 Timothy 1:2 - St. Paul says, "my true child in faith"

Titus 1:4 - St. Paul says, "my true child in our common faith"



Philemon 10 - whose father I became in my imprisonment

Hebrews 12:7-9 - we have earthly fathers to discipline us

1 John 2:13,14 - I write to you, fathers, because you know him