Many years and experiences ago, I always felt a deep presence of God in my heart. I grew up as a Catholic who faithfully went to church, but there was always an empty spot that ached to be filled. I was so full of questions and needed more. I began reading the Bible at age 21 and taught a religious education class for about 10 years, but something was missing. Something was not adding up. About at the age of 24, I had an awesome experience which took me to new heights. I cannot explain what happened, but it was like one morning I woke up and was literally a new person. I saw life literally in a whole new light. I had remorse for the things I did in the past and had to call individuals to say I was sorry. I had to make right some of the wrongs I did. It felt great! From that point on, I really did some searching. I read the New Testament from a couple different Bibles and read the whole Catholic Bible. I collected and read so much material I could get my hand on. When I home schooled my son, we studied the churches and history of the Bible in concordance with the history of the world. It took me about 16 years to realize I had to have even more and some of the issues with the Catholic faith really bothered me. Several of those included praying to the saints, Jesus’ mother Mary being prayed to and made into a “virgin” and assumed into heaven, communion being changed to the actual body of Jesus and sacrificed over and over every Sunday, to baptism. There were just too many issues and for a little while, I was confused and scared of change from something I have always grown up with. I knew I had to get personal with God and get it right. So, I recently became a Christian and boy did the “Catholic” community and family members throw a fit. So in response to some family members, I decided to write down the main reasons why I left the Catholic faith to become a Christian. I decided to share this article to help anyone else out there struggling with their faith. Please keep in mind that I do use make believe names in this article.
I looked back through the years at how others treat those who seek and convert and saw how they were treated. For example, my sister and brother-in-law. They were hurt so bad by those who claim to be of the Lord and show love that God said was top priority. I recall not long ago she saying how her family would make snide remarks as they would come in the door on Holidays. And I, being among those inside, had my eyes and heart opened to love of family and why Jesus said He came to separate not join. God also says in John 4:6 that those of God listen, but those who are not do not listen and that is how we recongnize the Spirit of truth and of falsehood. The more I searched, the more hypocrisy I saw. God says we should seek Him and He will find us and He found me.
In seeking, I found so much in history that disturbed me. The Roman Catholic popes of old loved control to the point of hanging, beheading, and torturing those who did not follow their way. There was a man named Tetzel who sold “indulgences,” or papers to get out of a so called “purgatory” (purgatory is a supposed place where one goes after death to be punished before they go to heaven) that is not supported by the Bible. They needed funds to support the building of their churches and some even sold extra indulgences to those wanting their family and friends out early. Built on deceit and lies, the popes kept going. The Bible says once you die, that is it, your fate has been decided by God, not man. Priests claim to “absolve” you of your sin. No, only going through Jesus Christ can that happen.
I had a discussion with “Father” Dee about the many issues I found. But first on the note of “Father,” it reads in Matthew 23:8 Jesus is explaining to the disciples when teaching, to NOT call anyone Father but the Father in heaven. Yes, we call our father who raised us father, but this was specifically discussing those who taught God’s word. One of the first things discussed with “Father” Dee was communion. In Hebrews 10:10 it says we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Once you fall away, Hebrews says you cannot come back because it is like sacrificing Jesus over and over again and that is impossible. So then, I asked why it was that Catholics turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ and say, “We offer up this sacrifice to you oh Lord.” “Father” Dee’s response was that we just remember what Jesus did for us. Yes, we are suppose to remember, but that still is not answering my question as to why is the bread and wine changed to the actual body of Christ and sacrificed.
The next thing I asked was why do Catholics think praying to dead saints and Mary can help them. Why not go straight to God? All over in the Bible it says that there is ONE mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ. Acts 10:25 reads where even Peter makes Cornelius stand up from bending to worship him and says, “I am but a man.” So to me, no man should be bowed down to.
1 Corinthians 15:56 reads that God gives us victory through Jesus Christ – does not say man or dead man. Galatians 4:19 says there is no mediator when ONE party is involved – Jesus Christ (referring to the priests before Jesus was sacrificed once for all who went into the holy of holies to ask God’s forgiveness for our sins). Ephesians 1:7 and 2:18 discuss One Mediator. 1 Timothy 2:5 says there is ONE God, the is also ONE mediator. Hebrews 7:25 and just all over in Hebrews it says this. 1 John 2:1 says when we commit sin we have an Advocate – Jesus Christ, not man or any priest. Why did the Catholics change God’s word to benefit themself is what I am wondering.
“Father” Dee’s response, and I quote, was, “Well, we are leaning against that (praying to the saints) now. It is just like going to visit President Lincoln’s memorial and you see his statue sitting there in that chair and are reminded of what he did for our country. Likewise, we are reminded of the saints and what they did for us and we should live lives like them”, I said the word exactly and asked him why then did Catholics pray to dead saints to help them. He pretty well brushed me off and two weeks later in mass was saying, “Lets pray to the saints that they blah blah blah…”.
At that point, especially after the rest of the conversation I will explain further, I felt the true deception and brushing me off and my heart sunk. I felt like he was just telling me things to pacify the moment and he honestly did not care about the truth. He is just a man infallible as the rest of us. But, it is written that those who preach and teach God’s word will be held more responsible for spreading the correct Word.
In Matthew 5 it reads that Jesus said every word to the smallest curve is true and when I asked him these things and why they claim Mary is still a virgin, they made her the queen of heaven, and claim she was assumed into heaven when the Bible does not support this or say it, again, he brushed me off with, “Oh we are always being accused of these things and attacked.” Humm, I wondered why that was. In the first part of Matthew it says Mary and Joseph did not have relations UNTIL Jesus was born. In history, it was unthinkable for a couple to not consummate their marriage. Luke 8 discusses Jesus’ mother and brothers. Galatians 1:18 discusses Paul meeting Jesus’ brother James, whom they claim wrote the book of James. In Matthew 13:55 it lists Jesus’ brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas by name. So, why do they call Mary a virgin and pure? She was when God chose her to be the mother of Jesus, but the Bible says the opposite of still being a virgin. Well, “Father” Dee’s response was that the word brothers meant cousins. OK then, did Jesus lie when He said every word to the smallest curve was true? I do not think so.
On Baptism, no where is it meant for infants. The Bible says, and Paul stressed over and over, that baptism is for the remission of sin – to be washed completely after one confesses Christ. Read Acts 2:38, 8:36-38, 22:16, 10:48, Mark 16:15-16, 1 Peter 3:20-21, and even Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 3:27. Christ says that once we confess and are baptized, He will remember our sin no more. One also needs to understand that baptism meant the whole body being emmersed in water to symbolize total cleanliness, not a sprinkle on the forehead. There are pictures of those “baths” in the Archeological Bible. In Matthew 18:3 and Mark 10:13 Jesus Himself said the children are innocent. Several argue that it reads that if only you believe you are saved, but if they read (I think Corinthians) a chapter or two before that statement, they will know that Paul already told them to confess and be baptized. Jesus was NOT a baby when He was baptized, he was much older than that. We are suppose to live by example so I really wonder why they changed that to infants. One cannot take one thing out of text. Has to be read as a whole to completely understand it.
I preceded to tell “Father” Dee that I understood the thought behind the infant baptism that led the Catholics to put into place the sacrament (which are not supported in the Bible) of Confirmation. As a teen, I was not ready to fully understand what accepting Christ meant. My Confirmation was a joke. “Father” Cam who taught our class talked about his night before parties and I remember one day going somewhere with a group of us girls and when he got around the sharpest curve going down the knobs, he backed his car up. It was a joke. As far as the infant baptism because Catholics believe also in “original” sin, well Ezekiel 18:20 says we do not inherit or are responsible for our father’s, or even sons, sins. Humm. As far as the sacraments being put into place to save us, well that is wrong because only going through Jesus Christ and accepting Him can save us. First Communion, Confirmation, and some of these other things were added or changed to suit man. They claim if the Bible does not say it, then it is alright. No, God says the opposite. He says in Matthew that every word to even the smallest curve is true.
Galatians 1:8, Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:5 & 6, and the last paragraph in Revelations says to NOT add to or change the Bible less one be eternally condemned. I needed to make my mind up if I should keep following something against the Bible or stand up. I have been accused of being too literal, but Jesus said Himself every word to the smallest curve was true, so that tells me I have to be literal and I am very happy to be. I am so blessed to have had the veil lifted and God allowing me to see what I was searching for. From the beginning of the Catholic church there has been a power struggle and Reformation and now I understand why. They changed and added too much.
I have been hearing other’s stories on how they confronted their priests and one said the priest pretty well told him to shut up. Another told a different young man to not bring such charismatic stuff to this congregation or else… Wow, sounds like a threat to me. The reasons behind a man of God with true love and interest in teaching God’s truth acting this way is beyond me. Sounds like a power thing and that is the fact of history. Some others at this Catholic church I just moved from are now moving on too. I have heard some are blaming the priest and wanting him to leave, but in truth, it is not his fault. He is just following what he was taught.
Catholics do not ever carry their Bibles to church. It seems to me that they only trust what man has to say instead of God completely. Many years ago the mass was said in Latin because they knew many did not understand the language of that time frame. They created their own creeds and books and forbid people to have Bibles. They were afraid people would find out the truth and they would lose their power. All of this information is not something I made up, read for yourselves. It amazes me how cruel some can be when they discover someone is seeking the Lord. I understand how my sister-in-law felt ( and feels ) and am saddened by the lack of love some Catholics show when you no longer are in their “circle.” And by using the term “catholic,” it probably seems I am just targeting them, but it is all I ever knew and the only “personal” religion I can use in comparison.
Someone told me not long ago that I have to be careful on what I read in the Bible. I almost had to laugh out loud when this individual told me, after asking her if she ever read any of the Bible, that she had not. Someone who has studied, read, took notes, searched, and found being told to be careful by someone who has not touched it. How prejudice and wrong that is. Some people really must be scared of what they will find out. I know it seems good to stay in your comfort zone and that is to each one’s choice, but those who want to seek and find, should not be hindered or made fun of. That kind of behavior is not God-like and that is another reason I walked away. God says to build one another up and to not tear down and I want to be a part of building up and encouraging. I want to do what God wants me to do, not what other’s want me to do.
I pray that whoever reads this article that they too will find some answers to those questions on faith, baptism, communion, Mary, and Jesus Christ. I know, as I was once in there, that it is hard to find out what we have been taught might be wrong. I know how easy it is to say to someone else that they are wrong and I am right. But, keep an open mind and before you judge, find out for yourself. God says we are to know His word and follow His example and we cannot go through life without listening to His instructions for us. He gives us 168 hours a week and we can at least dedicate some of that time back to Him. Find out how you too, can improve your life. God loves you and wants you to seek Him and His Light. I cannot express enough when I got up from being emersed in water and cleansed of all of my sin how great it felt. It was the right thing to do and as a baby, I could not sin. I pray whoever you are, that you find Him too. Many blessings to all of you!
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Originally Published: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rebecca_Book/93543