Pope Resigns

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Warning: What you are about to read may highly offend you if you are catholic. Please understand that I grew up in the catholic church and most my entire family continues to identify themselves as catholic. I know there are wonderful catholic members in this nation and around the world (G-d assures us His people are in all churches), however the church itself is rooted in evil. I am merely attempting to explain how I arrived at this decision and encourage you to read my words with a critical and open mind. 

Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign from his position. It seems he is mostly blaming his age and health. 

There are people already speculating that the next pope will be Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson. 

Personally, I view the vatican as the clever work of satan since its beginning so, any amount of chaos  within the organization of the church brings me delight. Nothing would please me more than to see the entire church come tumbling down. 

It would be nice to hear that the real reason he decided to resign was that he can no longer stand by and do nothing about all the boys he allowed to be molested by the monsters who continue to hide behind their priesthood. Of course that won't happen. No matter who takes over, you can be assured that the church will continue to support Hamas, deny they have a pedophilia problem, and ignore every single law found in the Bible given to us by the Lord.

I do not consider myself a religious person. I have spent a lot of time searching for a church that I could feel comfortable attending and while there are some out there that seem to offer the inspiring message of Christ, most all of them have fallen victim to absorbing bad doctrines that are not a part of G-d's Word. I grew up in the catholic church and know first hand that out of all the churches out there, none is so boldly (except for Islam of course), against the Word of the Father as the vatican. Literally everything they believe in and do is explicitly spelled out in the Bible NOT to do. 

This is a topic I have wanted to write about for quite sometime but have yet to do so. Mostly I haven't had time since the reasons for no longer being catholic is extremely long - I don't quite even know where to begin but I will attempt to do so now.

Here are just a few of the catholic traditions/beliefs that mock the Lord and His teachings:

1) The First Commandment clearly tells us to have no other gods. The papacy of Rome boldly declares that the pope IS Christ on earth. Unbelievable. They worship a man! Repeatedly we see people who bow down to the pope, kiss the hand of the pope, and other actions of genuflection. 

Matthew 23:9, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

Only in catholicism do we see the members calling their priests "Father." What is even worse is that catholics are told to go to their priest and confess their sins to them. After the confession, the priests tell people to recite a number of repetitive prayers in order to be "forgiven." This idea is so bizarre to anyone who takes the time to read even some of the Bible. No man can forgive you of your sins and furthermore we are saved by the grace of G-d. It doesn't matter how many prayers you repeat; forgiveness is given to those to who go straight to the Lord and ask for it. 

In addition to worshiping the pope, a man, they also do things like pray to "saints." Who are these saints? They are men or women who have been declared by the church (NOT G-d), to be worthy of praise. They worship Mary as well by praying to her as if she is divine. The rosary is a perfect example of Mary worshiping.

2) The Second Commandment tells us not to make graven images. The catholic church repeatedly ignores this commandment and even goes so far as to keep Jesus on the cross! Jesus overcame sin by dying on the cross and rising into the heavens. He overcame death. It is not only against G-d's law to make these graven images it is repulsive to keep the Lord on a cross displaying His suffering. If you really think about this, it's almost as if they are happy to see Him during His weakest moment.

The New Testament is the "good news" of the Lord. There is no "good news" in seeing Jesus suffer. There is a tradition in the church that is required of members to participate in called, The Stations of the Cross. The entire mass is devoted to detailing the horrors Jesus encountered before He was put to death -- by Rome.

One has to ask themselves why it is the catholic church makes the choice to focus on the death of Jesus rather than His life, His example, and His triumph over satan, sin, and death?

Like any great conspiracy we see put forth in modern times, the past is no different -- the Jews are solely blamed for the crucifixion of Christ by the catholic church. For years I had to endure The Stations of the Cross and never once did I feel good afterwards. It was depressing, sad, and left me feeling empty. When I look back on my life as a former catholic, I am ashamed to say that while it wasn't explicit, anti-Semitic beliefs were gradually instilled in me. My grandparents, their siblings, and others around me would casually express their distaste for "the Jews." 

Crucifixion was the form of execution for violators of Roman law.

Stoning was the form of execution for violators of Jewish law.

There are numerous examples of idolatry in the church. They also put up statues of Mary and pray to her. While Mary (the mother of Jesus), is someone who should surely be respected, she is not to be worshiped nor someone to pray to. They also like to claim her to be a virgin for life but ignore that she was married to Joseph. To believe that a married couple didn't engage in sex is completely ridiculous. A careful read of the Bible shows that Jesus was the firstborn and had brothers and sisters that were a product of Mary and Joseph.

Please note that the catholic church has actually removed the second commandment altogether and split the last commandment in two. 

3) The Third Commandment tells us not to take the Lord's name in vain. The catholic church repeatedly does this through their ever love of repetitive prayer (which is specifically warned against in the Bible). Simply repeating meaningless words that amount in "prayer" and using the Lord's name excessively is a strong example of abusing the name of G-d. Prayer especially is a personal act that involves speaking with the Lord in a unique way. It is not to be abused with worthless phrases like, "and this I pray in G-d's name..." There is no genuine thought in such phrases, therefore they are merely utterances made in vain. 

4) The Fourth Commandment tells us to rest on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is from Friday sundown till Saturday sundown. This has never changed. Our calendar we currently use has not changed since Biblical times. For thousands of years we have documented evidence that shows seven days of the week. There is not one verse in the Bible that says G-d ever changed this commandment. 

The Word of God says:
Daniel 7:25, "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." 

The word of Rome says:
"The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ." "The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ." -Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. (The Pope can modify divine law.) Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary.

The catholic church has repeatedly admitted that the Bible makes it clear what day the Sabbath is on. Check out some quotes here and below that reveal this admission:

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was her act... And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things." H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons. 

"Sunday is our MARK of authority. . .the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact" Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1,1923.
The Catholic Mirror (a publication by Cardinal Gibbons) Sept. 2, 1893- "...the Redeemer, during His mortal life, never kept any other day than Saturday." 

The Catholic Mirror Sept. 9, 1893- "Nor can we imagine any one foolhardy enough to question the identity of Saturday with the Sabbath or seventh day, seeing that the people of Israel have been keeping the Saturday from the giving of the Law, A.M., 2514 to A.D. 1893 (to the present day)..." 

The Catholic Mirror Sept.9, 1893- "We deem it necessary to be perfectly clear on this point....The Bible- the Old Testament- confirmed by the living tradition of weekly practice for 3383 years by the chosen people of God, teaches, then, with absolute certainty, that God had, Himself, named the day "to be kept holy to Him"- that the day was Saturday, and that any violation of that command was punishable with death." 

Martin J. Scott- Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927) "Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday .... Now the Church ... instituted, by God's authority, Sunday as the day of worship. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made. We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday."

Here is one of the most amazing quotes I have ran across concerning the issue of the Sabbath:

Peter R. Kraemer- Catholic Church Extension Society (1975), Chicago, Illinois. "Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:"1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man."2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws. "It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible."

There you have it. Do you believe in the Word of G-d or do you believe in man -- the pope?

I would also like to point out that unlike the other commandments, the Forth Commandment says to "Remember." The word "remember" is clearly used because G-d knew His people would forget. Indeed! Christians have completely forgotten this Commandment and now follow the law of man. Very few churches who worship the Lord continue to follow this Commandment.

I have had some rather shocking conversations with Christians who boldly declare that G-d only meant for us to rest one day of the week and it doesn't matter what day that is. Interestingly enough they still chose Sunday and not just "any day." If it were any day and it didn't matter, than why would G-d be so particular in discussing this specific time period all throughout the Bible?

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Matt. 5:17 

Ask G-d about His Sabbath here. 

Q. What difference does it make which day I keep? A day is a day isn't it?  

A. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Romans 6:16 

Q. But isn't it sufficient that I love the Lord and live by the law of love?  

A. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15 

More information about the Sabbath click here. You can scroll down and read about the biology of our bodies and how they have a natural 7-day cycle. Chronobiology appears to be a relatively new field that studies how living things handle time. It further proposes that the influence of these cycles has nothing to do with culture but rather biology alone. I'm not terribly familiar with this area of study but it is certainly interesting.

5) The Fifth Commandment tells us to obey our parents. As I have previously pointed out, catholics call priests their fathers, more specifically their spiritual fathers which is forbidden in the Bible. They also view Mary as Mother. I cannot think of a specific tradition that teaches catholics to dishonor their earthy parents however, they do misuse the terms mother and father.

6) The Sixth Commandment tells us not to murder. I mean no offense, but if you don't know about the many, many, many horrific murders that were carried out under order of the Roman Catholic church, then you are ignorant of history, you refuse to accept the truth, or you are simply brainwashed and probably think "the Jews" did it.

Pope Sergius III obtained the papal office by murder.

 Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia bribed his way to become Pope Alexander VI in 1492. His pontificate lasted until 1503. Even at a young age, Borgia was cruel. One chronicler said Alexander committed his first murder at age twelve on a boy his own age.

"On August 24, 1527, Roman Catholics in France, by prearranged plan, under Jesuit influence, murdered 70,000 Protestants within the space of two months. The Pope rejoiced when he heard the news of the successful outcome."-Western Watchman, Nov.21, 1912 (Catholic) 

March 12, 2000, Pope John Paul II ADMITTED the Roman Catholic Church KILLED the believers and does NOT know the Father or Jesus. To deny that, is to deny the very words of Jesus Christ. 

 "That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history . . . It is impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their sufferings."--W. E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, vol. 2, p. 32, 1910 edition.  (An excellent though lengthy article describing in detail the right of the Roman Catholic Church to do this, will be found in The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 12, p. 266.)

For some more information you can check out these sites here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Books can and have been written about the vatican that detail the many atrocities that have been sanctioned from this church. It's hard to understand how people ignore these things and explain them away by either citing protestant leaders who have done bad (as if that negates the sins of their church), shrug it off saying, "well, they aren't perfect," or some other inexcusable explanation. How can a pope claim to be infallible, to be Christ on earth, yet at the same time "not be perfect"? Catholics cannot have it both ways!

 Luke 3:14, "...Do violence to no man"

What I find even more disturbing are the catholics out there who actually try and defend the Inquisition. While looking up some websites concerning this issue, I was amazed that there were actually people who actively attempt to defend the actions of this church -- not apologize -- defend. With that type of irresponsible, evil thought one has to wonder if something like this could be carried out again in modern times?

7) Thou shall not commit adultery. This is a fairly simple commandment that most everyone agrees upon. When a man and woman marry, they should not cheat on one another out of sheer respect for each other, for their marriage, and their family. As we have seen with the rest of the Commandments so far, the papacy has great difficulty following the rules they claim to uphold. 

The adulterous Pope Alexander VI 

Contemporary reports wrote of how Alexander had a passion for adultery. The best-known among his mistresses were Vannozza Catanei (mother of four of Pope Alexander's children) and Giulia Farnese whom he took as his mistress when she was 15 and he was 61. Giulia bore him two more children. 

"Borgia's enjoyment of the flesh was enhanced when the woman beneath him was married, particularly if he had presided at her wedding. Breaking any commandment excited him, but he was partial to the seventh. As priest he married Rosa to two men. She may have actually slept with her husbands from time to time -- since Borgia always kept a stable of women, she was allowed an occasional night off to indulge her own sexual preferences -- but her duties lay in his eminence's bed. Then, at the age of fifty-nine, he yearned for a more nubile partner. His parting with Rosa was affectionate. Later he gave her a little gift- he made her brother a cardinal." 

There were critics of the corruption in the church, and they invariably met gruesome deaths. Girolamo Savonarola, (1452-1498) gave marathon sermons denouncing the church's hypocrisy saying "The Papal Palace had literally become a house of prostitution where harlots sit upon the throne of Solomon and signal to the passersby. Whoever can pay enters and does what he wishes." At last, "the Pope condemned him as a heretic, sentenced him to torture, and finally had him hanged and burned in the Plaza della Signoria."
-- A World Lit Only by Fire - The Medieval Mind and The Renaissance, by William Manchester

Of course this is just one example. You can see some more examples of sexual deviant behavior and adultery by visiting here.

Some of the names of other adulterous popes include: St. Damasus, St Sergius I, John XII ( also incest), Benedict IX, Pope Pius II, and Gregory VII.

John XXIII was accused of 70 crimes and was deposed for adultery, incest, atheism and murdering predecessor Alexander V.

Yes, the papacy demands celibacy but the documented occurrences (Julius II to name one), of avoiding this rule are too numerous. They have actively worked to mock the Law of the Prophets.

8) Thou shall not steal. Stealing is taking money away from people. Again, the papacy has always been plagued with popes that steal.

Pope John XXIII (1410-1415) - In addition to his numerous crimes, theft is included. This man was one depraved a-hole.  Pope Innocent VIII was also a thief.

Pope Boniface VIII maintained his position through lavish distribution of stolen money. He was quoted saying, "to enjoy oneself and lie carnally with women or with boys is no more a sin than rubbing one's hands together."

Now, I suppose I would not call this stealing but I always noticed the catholic church being rather irresponsible with the money that comes into their churches. For instance, they spend an exuberant amount of money on their churches, decorating them with stain glassed windows, statues, and the churches themselves are known for their fancy architecture. Instead of simply investing in Bibles and asking their members to bring their own to mass, they print missals. These are printed weekly, sometimes monthly. Why would the Word of G-d need to be reprinted in this manner when all you need is a Bible? (Rhetorical).  I think we can see by now, the catholic church is not interested in the Bible.

Priests are supposed to live in a simple manner, devoted to G-d but, too often we see them driving around in luxury vehicles. While I'm sure we all want priests to have a safe means of transportation, the idea that they need a luxury vehicle is utterly insulting. There are many examples of this type of waste. Church does not and should not be some fancy place filled with decorations and adornments. It should be simple, neat, and comfortable. The best churches are the ones where members are invited to speak to one another and to the church as a whole. So many of the catholic churches I have visited are impersonal. Some are so large and grand that you can't even feel a connection with the priest. Their sermons are repetitive, impersonal, boring, and basically a mockery of worship.

9) Thou shall not bare false witness against your neighbor. We are Commanded to tell the truth. We are responsible for everything that comes out of our mouths and including the things we write. We are called upon to make sure what we speak is the truth and if we don't know...well, we need to qualify that we do not know for sure or simply keep our mouths shut. 

The entire catholic religion is bearing false witness against G-d and continues to do so. They lie, lie, and lie some more. They tell people that Christ's body is actually inside a wafer (transubstantiation); they insist on some place called purgatory; they repeatedly engage in indulgences;  they claim to support celibacy (NOT Biblical) while covering up numerous crimes of pedophilia; they baptize babies (how can a baby be called to proclaim Jesus as their Savior? Babies are already innocent and furthermore, baptism means to submerge in water, not sprinkle water on the forehead. Everything they proclaim about baptism is a lie); the popes claim to be Christ on earth (blasphemy); the church insists that you confess your sins to a priest instead of going to the Lord directly (again, not Biblical); they insist that Peter the Apostle was their first pope (NOT true); they falsely claim they can change G-d's Sabbath and worship on Sunday; they tell people they will burn in an eternal hell fire if they do not convert to catholicism; they continue the lie about the trinity doctrine; they pray the rosary, and to top it off, they see nothing wrong with telling people we can do things like eat pig (G-d never cleaned these animals). Distorting and misrepresenting scripture is easy to do when you are preaching to those that haven't picked up their Bible.

10) Thou shall not covet. Essentially this Commandment is rooted in G-d giving us the wisdom to understand that we should not be jealous of what others have. Instead, we should be happy for others and focus on what we do have, rather than worrying about what we don't have. We should not compare ourselves or are belongings with what others have. Notice that coveting is merely the act of thinking. Thinking is an action according to G-d's Word and this is why we are told to focus on G-d's love, so that we may have pure thoughts that will develop into pure actions and we can do this when our minds and hearts are focused on the Lord. 

Unfortunately, as I have shown catholics are not focused on G-d's Word but rather the word of man -- the pope and almost none of these men come close to being an example of Jesus and displaying His mercy or His character. Clearly the church is coveting by constantly comparing themselves with other religions and proclaiming to be superior in every way, as they continue to misrepresent G-d and ignore His law.

By insisting on the change of G-d's Sabbath, they have committed the sin of coveting, not just through thoughts but action. 

* Some of the links I have listed above lead to websites that I do not fully support on other topics they cover. For example, I do not support ridiculous conspiracy theories. I do not believe in the false, pagan hell doctrine that condemns people to eternal fire for not obeying the Lord. However, the information they cover concerning the topics associated with them, I do agree with. 

There is obviously so much more than what I have listed here that clearly outlines the hypocrisy and problems associated with Roman catholicism. I merely ask that you read with an open mind and then take the initiative to research the information for yourself. Remember to pray and ask the Lord to guide you to the truth and be willing to listen and have Him lead you. 

Check out the catholic websites for yourself (PLEASE), and find out what they have to say in regards to defending their beliefs. You will find (as I have repeatedly found in my studies), that most of their explanations are only about a paragraph long and interestingly the Bible quotes they use are not included in their texts. You will have to look them up for yourself and by doing so you will also discover that most of the verses they quote actually say nothing of what they claim.

I particularly love the http://www.remnantofgod.org website because they take the time to really dissect information and break down any and all arguments that are presented by catholics. They make great efforts to help you understand exactly what they are saying and how the Bible supports their views. Again, I do not agree with the entire message they propose but there is no doubt in their diligence to provide full information concerning various topics I have brought up. 

For information and answers from the catholics, I recommend http://www.catholic.com/. This site is fairly exhaustive, easy to navigate, and they cover a wide variety of topics. Overall they present the best answers and explanations, in my opinion. I often use them as a reference, since growing up catholic didn't necessarily teach me the reasoning behind their teachings. 

It is up to you to have a curious mind about the Lord. Challenge yourself, no matter what you believe now. As Christians, we must make great efforts to understand Christ and His purpose for mankind. It is important for us to have our facts together so that we may live our lives in a manner that will please G-d, become an example of the Lord's love and mercy, and correctly witness to others. The Bible IS history. Just like any other writings, it is a goldmine of information that will strengthen our faith and understanding. 

Isa 28:10 (KJV) For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.

This verse is extremely important to keep in mind for any Bible study. Using a concordance will help you find information located throughout the Bible, not just from one verse. Most every topic that people study is covered in several verses inside of the Bible. You must look at ALL the passages concerning your keyword or topic before you decide upon what is true or not true. Do not merely accept one passage as being fact since many stories are parables and their meaning should not be taken literally. I find that catholics love to offer just one verse as justification for their doctrines. They do this mostly because if they showed you the other verses, you would find that their interpretation is misleading.

Again I say, think for yourself. G-d is love. He gave us the Commandments in order to understand His love, develop a personal relationship with Him, and to love on another. Keep it simple! The New Testament is meant to reveal that Christ completed G-d's work. Also understand that you need the Old Testament in order to understand the New and vice versa.  

I'm not sure what will happen now that the pope has decided to leave or who will replace him but it's important for us to be alert of their actions since we know what they have done in the past and what they may be capable of in the future. We need not be afraid but we are instructed to be aware. 

G-d Bless.