Another Ohio Blogger, Amy raised some common objections to Catholicism on her blog today. She graciously allowed me to address them on her blog, and I am putting them here as a whole. Her comments in italics. Quotes from other sources in blue. My comments in black.
First would be Mary, and I now understand that she also needed Christ as her savior (Romans 3:10, 3:23, Luke 1:47).
Absolutely and Catholics totally agree! In fact Mary says that herself! We do not disagree that Mary needs a savior! She just needed a savior in a different way than the rest of mankind did in that she had a very special role to fill as the Mother of Christ.
The Bible says that there was none perfect except Christ.
The passage I am familiar with says all have sinned. I do not take this however to be an absolute all inclusive, literal statement. Afterall, new babies have not sinned. The profoundly mentally retarded have not sinned either. This is not a literal passage.
Some might object that the Bible says that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23), and thus are in need of redemption by Christ. But “all” can mean “the great many” as opposed to each and every person. Indeed, babies who die before the age of reason necessarily could not have committed personal sins; they only could have suffered from the stain of original sin. Meanwhile, Mary, the New Eve, was saved by Christ from the instant of her conception and thus was preserved from the effects of original sin:
It took a positive act of God to keep her from coming under [original sin’s] effects the way we have. We had the stain of original sin removed through baptism, which brings sanctifying grace to the soul, thus making the soul spiritually alive and capable of enjoying heaven, and makes the recipient a member of the Church. We might say that Mary received a very special kind of “baptism” at her conception, but, because since she never contracted original sin, she enjoyed certain privileges we never can, such as entire avoidance of sin.[9]
http://www.cuf.org/Faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=100
The Bible also says there is only one mediator between God and man- Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5-6, Hebrews 7:25, Ephesians 3:12).
Yes and I agree with this. What mediator means is that only one has ever had the experience of being man and God and that is Jesus Christ. Therefore only Jesus has the ability to relay the humanity to the divine as he is the only who has experienced this.
Of course even Protestant Christians in their own way believe in asking others for prayer and it is a quite common practice. That is not what is referred to in these passages.
Another charge commonly levelled against asking the saints for their intercession is that this violates the sole mediatorship of Christ, which Paul discusses: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).
But asking one person to pray for you in no way violates Christ’s mediatorship, as can be seen from considering the way in which Christ is a mediator. First, Christ is a unique mediator between man and God because he is the only person who is both God and man. He is the only bridge between the two, the only God-man. But that role as mediator is not compromised in the least by the fact that others intercede for us. Furthermore, Christ is a unique mediator between God and man because he is the Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15, 12:24), just as Moses was the mediator (Greek mesitas) of the Old Covenant (Gal. 3:19–20).
The intercession of fellow Christians—which is what the saints in heaven are—also clearly does not interfere with Christ’s unique mediatorship because in the four verses immediately preceding 1 Timothy 2:5, Paul says that Christians should interceed: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). Clearly, then, intercessory prayers offered by Christians on behalf of others is something “good and pleasing to God,” not something infringing on Christ’s role as mediator.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Praying_to_the_Saints.asp
I prefer to go to God through Christ than through a fallen man (priest) who is blaspheming by exalting himself above others, when the Bible says that there is no one greater than another (1 Corinthians 3:18).
Priests are not supposed to be exalting themselves. They are servants of the master. Have you ever seen an ordination? The young men entering the priesthood lie prostate, face first, on the floor!! On Holy Thursday, they are the ones that wash the feet of the others as Christ did. The priesthood is a life of service and servitude.
1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.
1592 The ministerial priesthood differs in essence from the common priesthood of the faithful because it confers a sacred power for the service of the faithful. The ordained ministers exercise their service for the People of God by teaching (munus docendi), divine worship (munus liturgicum) and pastoral governance (munus regendi).
Catechism Catholic Church
I also do not believe in purgatory. If the shed blood of Christ is not enough, what was the point to begin with? Why shed his blood if we then ALSO have to say numerous prayers to save someone? That is a salvation of grace plus works, which is completely contradictory to the Word of God.
From my archives with permission by apologist Jason Gennero
1. Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”
God is asking us to do what He did, to act every day in a way compatible with Him. He says is you want to follow Him to Heaven, you must deny yourself daily. By denying yourself daily, you are allowing others to have what you would have or want to possess…is that not a good work. You might say, well, taking up your cross daily means professing or acknowledging your faith each day. But that still contradicts a one-time profession of faith for a once saved, always saved belief.
2. Matthew 7:21,24
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven…Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Jesus’ words are plain, you must do the will of the Father. You must take His words and put them into practice. If you don’t do these things, your faith is a fraud.
3. Romans 1:5
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
Faith requires obedience. Obedience to what? The commandments. (Matthew 19:17) If you continually break the commandments you are sinning. If you are sinning, you disobeying God and rejecting your faith, which requires obedience.
4. 1 Cor. 6-9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Believer or not, if you commit these sins or return to committing them after receiving justification, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. No salvation for these people. Not all of them are murderers, either. Slanderers and the greedy are also not going to heaven.
5. Galatians 5:1,6
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Christ has redeemed us and set us free, but we can slip back into slavery and it doesn’t take rejecting Jesus. How do we fight against this? With faith that expresses itself through love. Love expressing itself. That’s doing something.
6. Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose
If your salvation is assured and full payment made, why does one need to work out their salvation. Remember, these are Christians that have always obeyed St. Paul. And why must you act according to His good purpose. Seems like there is some work required.
7. 1 Timothy 1:19
I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 20Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Two Christians are blaspheming and they might be going to hell. Satan will deal with them, but there is a chance that they can make amends, if they learn not to blaspheme. Until they do, though, faith or no faith, they are near to losing their salvation.
8. 1 Timothy 5:8
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever
Read closely. Not doing a good work means you can deny your faith. Note that St. Paul does not say they were unbelievers. He said they would be worse then unbelievers. These people he was criticizing did not give up their faith. They still believed. But their lack of good works could earn them the loss of salvation.
9. Hebrews 5:9
once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
Again, we must not only believe in Christ, we must also obey Him. That means doing good things and refraining from sin. (Matthew 5:20, 48)
10. James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
According to this and the system of faith alone, even demons will go to Heaven for they know that Christ is the God of salvation (Luke 4:33, Matt. 8:29).
11. James 2:24
You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
This one stands on its own.
I am especially appalled at the thought of babies being sent to suffer because their parents did not have them baptized (Mark 10:14).
This one is near and dear to my heart because I have had a stillborn baby. You can read his story here.
For years there was a theological theory that unbaptized babies must go to a place of eternal bliss but without the presence of God, because they had not been purified through baptism. I emphasize that this was theological theory and thought, because that’s what theologians do – theorize and think! God bless them!
This place wasn’t “Purgatory” but rather limbo as these unbaptized children had never had a chance to commit actual sin.
Nonetheless, this was never the official dogma or doctrine of the Catholic church and in fact has been in the news lately as being officially “dropped.”
1261 As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,”63 allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
Catechism Catholic Church
A baby cannot know or understand what the law is and therefore cannot break it. This is true of those who are mentally disabled. You must be able to understand what sin is in order to be guilty of it. The Bible also says you must BELIEVE and be baptized. How can a baby believe?
None of the Fathers or councils of the Church was claiming that the practice was contrary to Scripture or tradition. They agreed that the practice of baptizing infants was the customary and appropriate practice since the days of the early Church; the only uncertainty seemed to be when—exactly—an infant should be baptized. Further evidence that infant baptism was the accepted practice in the early Church is the fact that if infant baptism had been opposed to the religious practices of the first believers, why do we have no record of early Christian writers condemning it?
But Fundamentalists try to ignore the historical writings from the early Church which clearly indicate the legitimacy of infant baptism. They attempt to sidestep appeals to history by saying baptism requires faith and, since children are incapable of having faith, they cannot be baptized. It is true that Christ prescribed instruction and actual faith for adult converts (Matt. 28:19–20), but his general law on the necessity of baptism (John 3:5) puts no restriction on the subjects of baptism. Although infants are included in the law he establishes, requirements of that law that are impossible to meet because of their age are not applicable to them. They cannot be expected to be instructed and have faith when they are incapable of receiving instruction or manifesting faith. The same was true of circumcision; faith in the Lord was necessary for an adult convert to receive it, but it was not necessary for the children of believers.
Furthermore, the Bible never says, “Faith in Christ is necessary for salvation except for infants”; it simply says, “Faith in Christ is necessary for salvation.” Yet Fundamentalists must admit there is an exception for infants unless they wish to condemn instantaneously all infants to hell. Therefore, the Fundamentalist himself makes an exception for infants regarding the necessity of faith for salvation. He can thus scarcely criticize the Catholic for making the exact same exception for baptism, especially if, as Catholics believe, baptism is an instrument of salvation.
It becomes apparent, then, that the Fundamentalist position on infant baptism is not really a consequence of the Bible’s strictures, but of the demands of Fundamentalism’s idea of salvation. In reality, the Bible indicates that infants are to be baptized, that they too are meant to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Further, the witness of the earliest Christian practices and writings must once and for all silence those who criticize the Catholic Church’s teaching on infant baptism. The Catholic Church is merely continuing the tradition established by the first Christians, who heeded the words of Christ: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16).
http://www.catholic.com/library/Infant_Baptism.asp
Too many people think they are safe because they were baptized as infants, yet they live their lives in perpetual sin, placing no faith in Christ for salvation through His death.
If the Word of God alone is not enough (if it is outdated, wrong, merely ideas and not inspired words, whatever) then can anything we base on it be considered true
?
The bible itself does not say that it is enough. In fact the bible says that the pillar of truth is the church! Not the bible.
I am emphatic that people understand WHY they believe and do things. I implore you to consider it.
I absolutely and totally understand everything that I believe and do. In fact it was an in depth study that drove me right back into the heart of the Catholic church.
Read through the Bible for yourself (Jeremiah 33:3, James 1:5). Read The Truth Set Us Free: Twenty Former Nuns Tell Their Stories. That book alone had a profound effect on my understanding of the Catholic doctrines and why they are false.
Well, how do you know that the 20 nuns had a total and complete understanding or that they were totally telling the truth? Why were they authoritative for you but a book by a practicing Catholic would not be?
But I have a deal for you, I’ll read that book if you will read one of mine.
Please don’t just feel offended and write me off. Read it. Show me verses that prove me wrong. Just don’t be content with what others have told you to believe. You will give account of yourself one day.
Ditto.
Whew- that wasn’t too bad. Only 7 pages in Word! Thanks for the opportunity Amy!
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