Letters    

 ...To A Catholic Priest (Con't.)

9.   Concerning the Office of "Pope"—First, God established only two offices in His Church: that of "pastor" which is described as "bishop", "presbyter" or "elder"; and that of "deacon." It is only through the naughtiness of pride that men would presume to add another office.

     Second, That "any visible Church would necessarily be an institutional church that would require an earthly head" is not substantiated in the Word of God. Is our faith to be rooted in "Thus saith the Lord" or in "private interpretations" of which Peter himself warned us? (See: II Peter 1:20,21)

     Third, Regarding the primacy of Peter—Peter is first mentioned in the lists of the apostles because he was first called. He was also the Apostle of the circumcision. However, this gave him no authority over the other apostles, nor is there the slightest sign of supremacy given to him. Peter never claimed any supremacy. In fact, in Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus paid the taxes of Peter: a sign that Peter was to be in subjection to civil authority rather than the contrary.

     Fourth, It is sad that you can handle Matthew 16:18 so carelessly. "Thou art petros," (i.e. "a little stone," masculine gender) "and upon this petra" (or, "rock," feminine gender), "I will build My Church." It is sloppy scholarship to translate the "rock" in the context to mean "Peter" when it can only mean the confession of Peter.

     Two things are of note here: first, in Matthew 16:23, our blessed Lord rebuked Peter saying, "Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Rome should also remember that Peter denied our Lord 3 times.

     Second, consider how you handle Matthew 16:19—"And I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."—I say, your handling of the passage is most interesting when in Matthew 18:15-20, the "binding" and "loosing" on earth is clearly the keys given to the disciples, and not to Peter only.

    While Rome looks to Peter as "the blessed prince of the apostles," the Irish at the Synod of Whitby said they followed "the blessed evangelist, St. John, the disciple specially loved by our Lord, and all the churches over which he presided."

10.  Concerning Temporal Authority—You state, "What is the temporal power that bishops are accepting? One IN authority HAS authority." Did the Lord Jesus give authority to bishops (elders, pastors) over His Church, or over the kingdoms of the earth? "My kingdom is not of this world:" said Jesus, "if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight ...." The interpretation by Rome is a temporal interpretation, to say the least, and a carnal one to say the worst.

11.  Concerning Crosses, Images, and Relics—"These are devotional objects ...which may be helpful in obtaining favor from God through the prayers of the faithful ...." How can the works manufactured by men "be helpful in obtaining favor from God?" Would it not be more effective to cut ourselves and to cry louder like the priests of Baal did on Mount Carmel?

     The grace of God is not the fruit of our works: it is the gift of God (Romans 3:24; Titus 3:5, etc.). So, Abraham "believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3).

    Since the grace of God is freely bestowed, and is not the reward of our works, then the whole concept of grace-giving sacraments is false.

12.    Concerning "Holy Water"—God has not told us of any such invention. None of the Evangelists speak of it in Holy Writ. The faith of God's people rests upon the foundation of Scripture. As "people of the Book", they refuse to become enslaved by man-made, and thereby man-manipulative, religious systems. All such systems are changeable. We ought, therefore, to fear least we add another foundation than that which is laid.

       As far as "Holy Water" being used in "rituals of the church to remind us of our baptism", why should we not throw ashes into our cups like the pagan Egyptians did in order to remind themselves that one day they would die? The answer is, "because we are not told to do so in the Word of God.

13.    Concerning the College of Cardinals—Certainly, it is true our blessed Lord gathered disciples about Him; but to infer from this that the Church has the authority to institute other offices than that of "pastor" and "deacon" is to go beyond what is written. The Lord did not give such authorization in His Word, and therefore, to do so is base and wicked presumption.

14.    Concerning the Rosary—This is yet another example of adding to what is written, and this is another reason why we are convinced that the assertion by Rome that it is Head of the Church is arrogant and pretentious. God has not told us any such thing.

     The Rosary is an invention by men, and one that is much akin to the prayers of Moslems who think to be heard for their much speaking. For instance,

O God, O God, O God, O God!—O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord!—O Immortal, O Living, O Immortal, O Living, O Immortal, O Living, O Immortal, O Living— O Creator of the Heavens and the earth, O Creator of the Heavens and the earth, O Creator of the Heavens and the earth, O Creator of the Heavens and earth—O Thou who art endowed with Majesty and Authority, etc.

Consider, is this a far cry from believing that saying 5 "Hail Mary's" will help us?

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