Foundations
One of the most significant ways religions fool people is explained on this page.
The chart below describes the organization and some of the practices of the Catholic church. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this and if you were raised a Catholic it must seem very appropriate, very religious like. However, is it the truth? Is there a solid foundation for this belief system? Catholic’s like most people of religion live in the upper portion of this chart, that is, things related to their organization and practices. This is how people are fooled because they never question the origins, the foundations of their beliefs. Someone might say, “it does not matter” this is where we are today and all the good things we are now accomplishing stand on their own merit. One of the prominent lies in the world is that you have your truth and I have mine. No one really knows the truth. I would suggest there is truth and you can differentiate truth from error and it is critically important to your eternal outcome. A good place to start sorting truth from error for a given religion is to study the origin of the belief system.
The Foundation Of The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is right in one thing, namely the need for validation from scripture for their existence. The foundations or origins of Catholicism lack validation, but an equally obvious problem is their direct opposition to scripture on every doctrine.
The Catholic church may be THE MOST SIGNIFICANT LIE OF ALL TIMES and also one of the easiest to expose. Yet, few look because they are satisfied in the Catholic Church and there are many close family, friend and clergy connections. Catholicism elicits a certain strong trust from its members and that can last a lifetime. Many Catholics leave the church only to return, but not out of conviction. They return from concern, even fear that Catholicism might be true or it is the best thing they know. Those who possess a concern about the truth see all kinds of problems and will not return.
As the graphic above suggests, Catholicism flourishes in the realm of their many man-made doctrines and practices. However, if you look closely Catholicism is built on a foundation of lies. Specifically, a pope that is an earthly head and possesses the authority for adding to and taking away from God’s word. All of Catholicism collapses on the wrong conclusion of Matthew 16.16-19. If their interpretation is not true then everything above collapses. There is a simple rebuttal of Catholic teaching on Matthew 16.16-19 included at this website. Thus Catholicism’s foundation for the reasonably open-minded person crumbles under the weight of the truth.
Catholics can distort anything to maintain their authority. 1 Corinthians 3.11 should be pretty clear indicating Jesus is the only foundation on which salvation is based.
1 Corinthians 3:11
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Matthew 16.16-18 indicates that the church is built on the rock and that rock is clearly Peter’s ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD. In other words, the foundation of salvation is none other than Jesus. Peter, how can you be what God intended from the beginning? Did you die for the sins of mankind? Peter, were you sinless? Peter, did you ever act in such a position as head of the church? Of course, the most amazed individual of a Catholic papacy would be Peter.
Verse 19 is then claimed to be the justification for the Catholic church to make the rules. The true meaning is given in the references supplied on this page. Briefly, the keys to the kingdom are given to the apostles by the Holy Spirit and consists of the teaching they will bring to the lost, the organization and character of the local church, the nature of sin, and the many other things we find in the new covenant. These things they bind or loose come from the Holy Spirit and will be bound/loosed in heaven. The apostles would have no idea WHAT to bind or loose unless directed by God but their teaching of these things to other people will carry the weight of heaven. One of the things revealed in scripture is a good understanding of God, of His purpose, of His plan, of His nature. As you understand God you will understand that man is not capable of speaking for God unless authorized by God, that is speaking as the oracles of God. To leave man the option to bind and loose as he/she would seem fit is totally inconsistent with God’s revelation and would be destructive to the careful execution of His plan.
Furthermore, the keys are for opening the kingdom (i.e. the keys of the kingdom) and that is done by Peter in Acts 2 (for the Jews) and in Acts 10 (for the Gentiles). Romans 1.16 indicates that the Gospel is God’s power for salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In both cases it was the Holy Spirit that led Peter to open the kingdom.
Matthew 16.16-19
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
In 2 Peter 2.3 Peter tells us that God, “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” What more do people need than “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” The period of God working with the apostles was completed. It had been a time of revealing truth and confirming the word as indicated in:
Hebrews 2.3,4
3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
The word of God represents the spiritual character of the kingdom, that is a law written on the hearts of God’s children. The bible repeatedly emphasizes God’s word and obedience to it and NEVER says anything about an organization such a Catholicism. There is a local physical church with no higher authority than local authority. Unlike Catholicism, God defines that organization including qualifications for elders and deacons. The word of God is the one solid thing that you can count on and those who do so are wise indeed.
The evidence AGAINST the conclusion that Peter is the rock on which the church is built is overwhelming. To spend eternity in a lost state as the result of Catholicism in view of all the evidence is pathetic. Yet, many will suffer this fate while realizing that pride (in Catholicism) kept them from the truth. So, how are people fooled religiously? Very simply the focus of the religion is on the practices of the group, on duties, on rules, on being helpful to others and frequently many good and wonderful things. However, is the religion the truth? Do you understand the foundation, the origin? Is it the prime purpose of religion to be a benevolent society (as good as that may be)? Is this what God wants or is He interested in obedience that results in eternal life?
The true foundation is quite different than having the church built on Peter.
Ephesians 2.19-22
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The foundation and the chief cornerstone are both similar in that they form the basis or the building block / foundation for the church. It is a spiritual church where God’s people dwell through Jesus Christ. The physical or local church is not universal but consists of people living in a certain locality. Those people in that local church are part of the spiritual universal church having been added to the church by God through obedience to the gospel of Christ. So, Catholicism in its weakness of understanding and in its paranoia to protect its position of authority creates a universal physical church. God in His wisdom brought Jesus to the world originally through the oversight of the prophets. Then the apostles guided by the Holy Spirit revealed the truth as Jesus promised. It has always been all about Jesus and finally having died, been buried and arose from the dead Jesus took His place as head of the church and sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Indeed, His kingdom is not of this world, but His children are His by faith and Jesus resides in heaven. Truly this is a spiritual kingdom, the church belonging to Christ.
It was never about Peter, it was never about a universal physical church. How incredibly distant is the Catholic church from the truth. Below you can see the foundation of truth that is solid in every way. This is what God planned to fulfill His purpose and it is what you need to have a successful life, a successful ending, that is an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
The Foundation Of The Truth
A Startling Contrast To Synthetic Religion
The contrast between THE TRUTH and any of the popular religions is staggering. The origin of truth is not a nebulous person or a few verses, but all scripture points to God’s purpose and His plan to achieve it. You will not be putting your trust in any person because God’s word will give you assurance. We have compared THE TRUTH to Catholic beliefs, but we could do the same for any of men’s religions. The chart below does this in very brief form. The net-net is that men’s religions all have weak foundations and cannot stand reasonable tests.
The truth is explained on the many pages of this website and associated websites as well as the book, “What Is Life All About?.” Of course, the truth is God’s word and only inasmuch as “Heaven Coach” is aligned with God’s word is it the truth.
A couple of webpage’s that might be of help are:
The church is the kingdom
Conversions of the New Testament
Religious Vision at 10,000 feet
Believe No One
The Foundation Of The Catholic Church
The Catholic church may be THE MOST SIGNIFICANT LIE OF ALL TIMES and also one of the easiest to expose. Yet, few look because they are satisfied in the Catholic Church and there are many close family, friend and clergy connections. Catholicism elicits a certain strong trust from its members and that can last a lifetime. Many Catholics leave the church only to return, but not out of conviction. They return from concern, even fear that Catholicism might be true or it is the best thing they know. Those who possess a concern about the truth see all kinds of problems and will not return.
As the graphic above suggests, Catholicism flourishes in the realm of their many man-made doctrines and practices. However, if you look closely Catholicism is built on a foundation of lies. Specifically, a pope that is an earthly head and possesses the authority for adding to and taking away from God’s word. All of Catholicism collapses on the wrong conclusion of Matthew 16.16-19. If their interpretation is not true then everything above collapses. There is a simple rebuttal of Catholic teaching on Matthew 16.16-19 included at this website. Thus Catholicism’s foundation for the reasonably open-minded person crumbles under the weight of the truth.
Catholics can distort anything to maintain their authority. 1 Corinthians 3.11 should be pretty clear indicating Jesus is the only foundation on which salvation is based.
Verse 19 is then claimed to be the justification for the Catholic church to make the rules. The true meaning is given in the references supplied on this page. Briefly, the keys to the kingdom are given to the apostles by the Holy Spirit and consists of the teaching they will bring to the lost, the organization and character of the local church, the nature of sin, and the many other things we find in the new covenant. These things they bind or loose come from the Holy Spirit and will be bound/loosed in heaven. The apostles would have no idea WHAT to bind or loose unless directed by God but their teaching of these things to other people will carry the weight of heaven. One of the things revealed in scripture is a good understanding of God, of His purpose, of His plan, of His nature. As you understand God you will understand that man is not capable of speaking for God unless authorized by God, that is speaking as the oracles of God. To leave man the option to bind and loose as he/she would seem fit is totally inconsistent with God’s revelation and would be destructive to the careful execution of His plan.
Furthermore, the keys are for opening the kingdom (i.e. the keys of the kingdom) and that is done by Peter in Acts 2 (for the Jews) and in Acts 10 (for the Gentiles). Romans 1.16 indicates that the Gospel is God’s power for salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. In both cases it was the Holy Spirit that led Peter to open the kingdom.
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
The word of God represents the spiritual character of the kingdom, that is a law written on the hearts of God’s children. The bible repeatedly emphasizes God’s word and obedience to it and NEVER says anything about an organization such a Catholicism. There is a local physical church with no higher authority than local authority. Unlike Catholicism, God defines that organization including qualifications for elders and deacons. The word of God is the one solid thing that you can count on and those who do so are wise indeed.
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
It was never about Peter, it was never about a universal physical church. How incredibly distant is the Catholic church from the truth. Below you can see the foundation of truth that is solid in every way. This is what God planned to fulfill His purpose and it is what you need to have a successful life, a successful ending, that is an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
The Foundation Of The Truth
A Startling Contrast To Synthetic Religion
The contrast between THE TRUTH and any of the popular religions is staggering. The origin of truth is not a nebulous person or a few verses, but all scripture points to God’s purpose and His plan to achieve it. You will not be putting your trust in any person because God’s word will give you assurance. We have compared THE TRUTH to Catholic beliefs, but we could do the same for any of men’s religions. The chart below does this in very brief form. The net-net is that men’s religions all have weak foundations and cannot stand reasonable tests.
A couple of webpage’s that might be of help are:
The church is the kingdom
Conversions of the New Testament
Religious Vision at 10,000 feet
Believe No One