ROMAN CATHOLIC SACRAMENTALS & - · Web view2009/07/19 · Roman Catholic Sacramentals (1) The Roman Catholic Church is by and large a religion of rituals and sacramentals, which are

19 Teachings on the Ave Maria, Sign of the Cross, Crucifixes, Scapular, Rosary, Fasting & Abstinence, Flagellation, Holy Water, Lent, Christmas, Candles, All Souls’ Day, etc.

SACRAMENTALS & RITUALISMSACRAMENTALS & RITUALISM“One is forced to admit that gradual corruption of Christianity began very early.”

(Catholic Encyclopedia, 12:414).870

“Substituting of false documents and tampering with genuine ones was quite a trade in theMiddle Ages” ---Catholic Encyclopedia, 6:136.871

“Some parts of the governmental system of the Catholic Church are of divine origin, and many of them are human institutions.” – Externals of the Catholic Church, p. 19.872

“And history shows too plainly that the [Catholic] Church in their sense of the term, has varied in its doctrine, taught dogmas at various places at the same time, inconsistent with each other,

and therefore to a considerable extent erroneous.”– George M. Searle, Catholic writer.873

“By what right do you teach doctrines not found in the Bible?” “Because the origin of our faith is not in the Bible alone, but the Church which gives us both the written

and the unwritten word.” – Bertrand L. Conway, The Question Box, p. 75.874

“To enable her to carry out this divine plan she makes laws, laws purely ecclesiastical, but laws that have the same binding force as the divine laws themselves…For Catholics, therefore, as far as obligations are concerned there is no practical difference between God’s law and the law of the Church.” – Explanation of Catholic Morals, p. 26.875

Roman Catholic Sacramentals & Feast DaysThe Ave Maria

The RosaryThe Scapular

The Sign of the CrossCrosses and CrucifixesFasting and Abstinence

Flagellation and Self-TortureEaster

Relics of Dead SaintsHoly Water

CandlesChristmas

All Souls’ Day

870 See O. C. Lambert, 1:18.871 See O. C. Lambert, 1:16.872 Sullivan, Externals of the Catholic Church (New York: J. P. Kennedy & Son, 1919), p. 19.873 George M. Searle, Plain Facts, p. 34. Quoted by Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself. Unabridged Edition, 1:58.874 Bertrand L. Conway, Question Box, 1913 Edition, p. 75; quoted by O. C. Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself (Winfield, AL: Fair haven Publishers, 1963, Abridged Edition), 1:22.875 Explanation of Catholic Morals, p. 26; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:21-22.

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ROMAN CATHOLIC SACRAMENTALS(1) The Roman Catholic Church is by and large a religion of rituals and sacramentals, which are pagan in origin, as proved by evidences. As such she has departed from the simplicity and purity of the early church of Christ. The Catholic Encyclopedia admits that Christianity had been corrupted, that this corruption began very early, and that it happened gradually. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia, “One is forced to admit that that the gradual corruption of Christianity began very early.”876

(2) What is a sacramental? In Catholic theology it is “a sacred sign instituted by the Church as a devotional aid. It is similar to a sacrament in that it is a sacred sign; it differs from a sacrament in not having been instituted by Christ. Sacramentals span the whole range of words and actions, objects and gestures, and times and places. Included are various blessings, religious objects (such as holy water, crucifixes, and rosaries), liturgical ceremonies and seasons, and sacred places.”877

Sacramentals are not of divine origin; they are invented by men. Catholicism admits that many of its institutions are of human origin. Says the Externals of the Catholic Church, “Some parts of the governmental system of the Catholic Church are of divine origin, and many of them are human institutions.” 878

(3) “Before the 12th century, the word sacramental was used for any sacred sign and therefore included what are now called sacraments. It was only with the refinement of terms by the 12th- and 13th-century Scholastic theologians that the present restricted use of the term was determined.”879 This simply shows that their doctrines, their dogmas and their traditions keep on changing. George M. Searle, Catholic writer, writes, “And history shows too plainly that the [Catholic] Church in their sense of the term, has varied in its doctrine, taught dogmas at various places at the same time, inconsistent with each other, and therefore to a considerable extent erroneous.” 880

A. THE AVE MARIAA. THE AVE MARIA(1) The Ave Maria has a 6th century origin: “Ave Maria or Hail Mary, [is the] name given by Roman Catholics to a form of address to the Virgin Mary, included in the divine office and in a few antiphons of the Mass. Ave Maria are the first two words of the prayer that is taken from the salutation (see Luke 1:28) of the angel Gabriel, traditionally worded: ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women’. Appearing in various forms as early as the 6th century in the Liturgy of St James and others, the Ave Maria was finally adopted as a popular devotion in the 11th century. The present form was fixed by Pope Pius V in 1568 and has been used by the Roman Catholic laity as widely as the Our Father, or Lord's Prayer.”881

876 Catholic Encyclopedia, 12:414; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:18.877 MEPS 2005, art. “Sacramental.”878 Sullivan, Externals of the Catholic Church (New York: J. P. Kennedy & Son, 1919), p. 19.879 MEPS 2005, art. “Sacramental.”880 George M. Searle, Plain Facts, p. 34. Quoted by Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself, Unabridged Edition, 1:58.881 MEPS 2005, art. “Ave Maria.”

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(2) John Francis Noll says “The Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles’ Creed practically came from heaven.”882 What he means is that God is the author of these.

REFUTATION:(1) NO BIBLICAL SUPPORT FOR THIS TEACHING. Historical facts surrounding the teaching of the “Ave Maria” as a prayer as well as the “Apostles’ Creed” prove that they are neither teachings of Christ nor of His apostles. It originated in the 6th century and was adopted as a popular devotion in the 11th century.883 There is no biblical support for it.

(2) GOD ALONE IS TO BE WORSHIPPED. While she was alive, Mary was never worshipped (Matthew 2:11; cf. verse 2). Peter, whom they claim to be the “head” of their church, did not even want to be worshipped (Acts 10:25-26). Angels too did not want to be worshipped (Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9). If Mary were around in AD 431 during the Council of Ephesus884

when they tackled the “theotokos” issue, whether she should be or should not be called “the mother of God,” she would have signified her objection. Because she, like the rest of all humanity, needs God as her Savior (cf. Luke 1:46-47), who alone is to be worshipped.

(3) “HAIL MARY” WAS NOT EVEN A PRAYER. The statement of the angel, announcing that Mary was to become the mother of Jesus the Saviour, was not even a prayer. The angel said, “Hail, the one having been favoured, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28, literal translation). Catholic theologians admit it was a salutation. Whoever thought of turning that angelic statement into a prayer of praise for Mary surely has shown a lot of initiative, resourcefulness and imagination, but he is wrong! Surely, Mary is to be admired for her moral purity, obedience, meekness and humility. But the truth is, she is also a created being like us. While it is not wrong to copy her example, it is wrong to worship her (cf. Romans 1:25). God alone is to be worshipped (John 4:24-25; Revelation 19:10; 22:9; Philippians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

B. THE ROSARYB. THE ROSARY(1) “Let me first explain that the Rosary is a special form of prayer. The beads are merely a device for keeping count of the prayers, and are called rosary beads because they are used in this special form of devotion. The complete Rosary devotion consists of fifteen groups of Hail Marys, ten to each group, which is commonly called a decade. Each group of prayers is associated with a special mystery in the life of our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Hence, with beads as you have them the complete Rosary would be said by going over them three times.”885

(2) “In Roman Catholic practice, the rosary is a string of beads made in the form of a circle, with a pendant crucifix. The standard rosary consists of five sets of beads called decades, each composed of one large and ten smaller beads. On the large beads, the Lord's Prayer, or Our Father, is said; on the smaller beads, the Hail Mary, or Ave Maria. In between the decades the “Glory be”, a doxology, is recited. As the prayers are said, the person reciting the rosary may 882 John Francis Noll, Father Smith Instructs Jackson, p. 3.883 MEPS 2005, art. “Ave Maria.”884 MEPS 2005, art. “Council of Ephesus.”885 John Francis Noll, Father Smith Instructs Jackson, p. 208.

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meditate on a series of New Testament events, called the “mysteries” of the rosary, from the lives of Christ and his mother, Mary, including the birth of Christ, the crucifixion, and the Resurrection. The use of these meditations is optional.”886

(3) “Traditionally, the rosary was ascribed to the Spanish theologian St Dominic early in the 13th century, but no proof exists that he originated it. In 2002 Pope John Paul II added a new set of mysteries to the rosary prayer cycle, the only modifications that have made to the rosary since it was first introduced. The verses, known as the mysteries of light, highlight five more events from the life of Christ, including his baptism, the Transfiguration, and the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.”887

(4) “Aids to prayer, evolved through the centuries, include prayer beads, which enable a worshipper to count prayers; the prayer wheel, a cylindrical box containing written prayers believed to become effective as the box is revolved on its axis, used primarily by Tibetan Buddhists; and the prayer rug, used by Muslims.”888

(5) Rosary is used by other religions too: “Rosary, a string of beads or a knotted cord used to count prayers. The term is also applied to the prayers themselves. Rosaries are used in many religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Most often associated with the Roman Catholic Church in Christianity, the rosary is also used by the Orthodox Church, for whom it is almost exclusively a monastic devotion, and by some Anglicans.”889

REFUTATION:(1) INVENTED BY MEN. The rosary was invented by men. “Aids to prayer, evolved through the centuries, include prayer beads, which enable a worshipper to count prayers.”890

(2) INVENTED BY DOMINIC. “Well, from the earliest days of Christianity, the psalter, of book of psalms of David formed the main prayer of the monks in monasteries and other pious people who could read. Those who could not read would recite some other prayers approved by the Church, usually the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ in place of the psalms. They kept count of the number by little pebbles or beads. This explains the one hundred and fifty beads. Later the ‘beads prayer’ became a devotion in honor of the Blessed Virgin, when the ‘Hail Mary’ was substituted for the ‘Our Father.’ St. Dominic, who lived at the beginning of the thirteenth century, was visited by the Blessed Virgin and urged to propagate the Rosary as we now have it, principally with a view to check the heresy of that age. Then the Church authorities took the prayer in hand, improved its form, made it both a mental and a vocal prayer, indulgenced it, and urged its general introduction throughout the Catholic world.”891

MEPS 2005, however, says: “Traditionally, the rosary was ascribed to the Spanish theologian St

886 MEPS 2005, art. “Rosary.”887 MEPS 2005, art. “Rosary.”888 MEPS 2005, art. “Prayer.”889 MEPS 2005, art. “Rosary.”890 MEPS 2005, art. “Prayer.”891 John Francis Noll, Father Smith Instructs Jackson, pp. 208-209.

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Dominic early in the 13th century, but no proof exists that he originated it.”892 It may be true that he did not originate it because the Buddhists and the Hindus, which antedate Catholicism, first used it.893 The rosary became popular in the 13th century, and it is probable that the Dominican monks had lent their influence to its popularity.894

(3) One source says that Peter the Hermit originated it in the Catholic Church, and he must have adopted it from the Muslims. Peter the Hermit had inspired the first Crusade and also joined a band of Crusaders in the conquest of Jerusalem from the Muslim Turks.895

(4) The rosary as a mechanical aid in prayer promotes the use of vain repetitions in prayer, which the Lord prohibits (Matthew 6:7).

C. THE SCAPULARC. THE SCAPULAR(1) According to legend, the scapular was invented by Simon Stock, an English monk,896 in the year 1287. The story also says this man withdrew into the woods where he lived in great austerity for 20 years, during which the virgin Mary appeared to him in celestial splendor with thousands of angels and, holding the scapular in hand, commissioned him to take this as the sign of the Carmelite order to which he belonged.897

892 MEPS 2005, art. “Rosary.”893 “Rosaries are used in many religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Most often associated with the Roman Catholic Church in Christianity, the rosary is also used by the Orthodox Church, for whom it is almost exclusively a monastic devotion, and by some Anglicans. In Islam the rosary consists of 33 or 99 amber beads, and the practice of the rosary consists of counting around the ring to count the 99 “most beautiful names of Allah” recorded in the Koran. Hindu and Buddhist rosaries consist of 108 beads (112 in Japanese Buddhism). In Buddhism, the 108 beads signify the 108 sins or failings to which mankind is prone. Jainism also employs a rosary of 150 beads.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Rosary”).894 “Among the popular devotions that came into being at this time [13th century A.D.] were the rosary; (a chaplet originally consisting of 150 Hail Marys in imitation of the 150 Psalms in the psalter, later augmented by 15 interspersed Our Fathers as penance for daily sins); the angelus recited at sunrise, noon, and sunset; and litanies..” (MEPS 2005, art. “Mary [Virgin Mary]”).895 “Peter the Hermit, also called Peter of Amiens (c. 1050-1115), apostle of the First Crusade, [was] a native of Amiens, France. He is said to have served as a soldier, to have become a hermit, and in 1093 to have made a pilgrimage to Palestine, although he was unable to reach Jerusalem. In 1095, inspired by the appeal of Pope Urban II, he began the campaign that was to leave a mark on history, preaching the Crusade throughout central and northern France. In 1096 he led a group of Crusaders to Constantinople and over to Asia Minor, where they were destroyed by the Ottoman Turks while he was away trying to get help. He then joined a band of Crusaders under the French nobleman Godfrey of Bouillon in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099. Peter the Hermit was only one of several popular leaders who preached the First Crusade, and his importance was greatly exaggerated by many historians.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Peter the Hermit”).896 The English monk Simon Stock is credited for having reorganized the Carmelites as mendicant friars. The Carmelites is a Roman Catholic religious order founded as a community of hermits in Palestine during the 12 th

century by Berthold, the French hermit. In Cyprus, Messina, Marseille, and parts of England, where they were known as White Friars. During the 16th century two independent branches of the order were created: the Calced Carmelites, who were permitted to wear shoes; and the Discalced Carmelites, who went without shoes as a sign of austerity (MEPS 2005, art. “Carmelites”).897 “The Holy Virgin appeared to the Blessed Simon Stock… and giving him her scapular, said to him that those who wear it should be saved from eternal damnation.” (Alphonsus Liguori, Glories of Mary, p. 660; quoted by O. C. Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself, 1:76. See also Lorraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 288). The Cistercians, a Roman Catholic monastic order founded in 1098, is called White Monks because of the white or grey habit they

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(2) The scapular has big claims. (a) It is claimed that whoever dies “clothed in the scapularshall not suffer eternal fire.”898 (b) It is claimed that “Mary appeared at another time to John XXII, and directed him to declare to those who wore the above- mentioned scapular, that they should be released from purgatory on the Saturday after their death.”899 (c) Also, it is claimed that “no one dying in the scapular will suffer eternal burning.”900

REFUTATION:(1) The scapular is of human origin and not divine. It is a lie perpetuated by Simon Stock. One should understand that if a man had not been eating properly for months or years, like Simon Stock did, he would be seeing “Virgins” and apparitions. Matthew 18:16 says, “By the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.” Simon Stock has no witness but himself.

(2) Early Catholic writers, including monks and theologians, were very “imaginative.” “Writers of the fourth century were prone to describe many practices as Apostolic Institutions which certainly had no claim to be so regarded,” says the Catholic Encyclopedia.901 And so it happens, that “some parts of the governmental system of the Catholic Church are of divine origin, and many of them are human institutions.”902 Says George M. Searle, Catholic writer: “And history shows too plainly that the [Catholic] Church in their sense of the term, has varied in its doctrine, taught dogmas at various places at the same time, inconsistent with each other, and therefore to a considerable extent erroneous.”903

(3) Furthermore, the Bible teaches that it is not the WHAT that saves us, but the WHO. “He [that is, Jesus] shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

D. THE SIGN OF THE CROSSD. THE SIGN OF THE CROSSInvented around 300 A.D., this is both a prayer and a public profession of faith. According to legend, it began with Constantine. “Following the example of his father and earlier 3rd-century emperors, Constantine in his early life was a solar henotheist, believing that the Sun god, Sol, was the visible manifestation of an invisible ‘Highest God’ (summus deus), who was the principle behind the universe. This god was thought to be the companion of the Roman emperor. Constantine’s adherence to this faith is evident from his claim of having had a vision of the Sun god in 310 while in a grove of Apollo in Gaul. In 312, on the eve of a battle against Maxentius, his rival in Italy, Constantine is reported to have dreamt that Christ appeared to him and told him to inscribe the first two letters of his name (‘XP’ in Greek) on the shields of his troops. The next

wore under their black scapulars. The Cistercians were an outgrowth of the Benedictine order (MEPS 2005, art. “Cistercians”). The Benedictines wore a black habit under their scapulars, for which reason they have been called “black monks” (MEPS 2005, art. “Benedictines”).898 American Freedom and Catholic Power, p. 248; quoted by Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 288.899 Alphonsus Liguori, Glories of Mary, p. 661; quoted by O. C. Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself, 1:76900 Catholic Dictionary, p. 744; quoted by O. C. Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself, 1:76.901 Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: The Encyclopedia Press, Inc., 1913), 3:484. Fifteen volumes. Special edition published under the auspices of Knights of Columbus Catholic Truth Committee. Also quoted in O. C. Lambert, Catholicism Against Itself, 1:18.902 Sullivan, Externals of the Catholic Church (New York: J. P. Kennedy & Son, 1919), p. 19.903 George M. Searle, Plain Facts, p. 34. Quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:58. Unabridged Edition.

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day he is said to have seen a cross superimposed on the Sun and the words ‘in this sign you will be the victor’ (usually given in Latin, in hoc signo vinces). Constantine then defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, near Rome. The Senate hailed the victor as saviour of the Roman people. Thus, Constantine, who had been a pagan solar worshipper, now looked upon the Christian deity as a bringer of victory. Persecution of the Christians was ended, and Constantine’s co-emperor, Licinius, joined him in issuing the Edict of Milan (313), which mandated toleration of Christians in the Roman Empire. As guardian of Constantine’s favoured religion, the Church was then given legal rights and large financial donations.”904

REFUTATION:Since it came to be used only in A.D. 300, it is not apostolic. Further, it is not the cross that has power, but the preaching of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18). The preaching of the cross means the preaching of the crucified Christ. (v. 23).

E. CROSSES AND CRUCIFIXESE. CROSSES AND CRUCIFIXES(1) “Adoration of the Cross, [is a] devotion paid to the Cross as the instrument effecting Jesus’ sacrificial death for the sins of the world. Two festivals of early origin have been observed in honour of the Cross. The first, the Invention of the Cross, was celebrated on May 3 in memory of a reported finding of the True Cross by St Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, but the feast was eventually suppressed in 1960. It was replaced in the Western Church by the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross held on September 14, which was already observed within the Orthodox Church. Special devotions to the Cross often mark the services of Good Friday, the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion.”905

(2) “The cross was also used as a symbol in the ancient world of execution by crucifixion. Malefactors were often executed by being impaled on a pointed stake and being left to die. 906

The Latin word crux (“cross”) originally referred to such a stake. Later horizontals of various types were added to it. In Roman times only the lowest class of criminals was crucified…In Christianity the cross became not only a symbol of the shameful death of Jesus Christ as a criminal on a tau-shaped Roman cross, but also of his subsequent Resurrection to eternal life and of his promise of salvation to Christian believers. The Greek letters X (chi) and P (rho), the first two letters of the Greek word XPISTOS (Christos), were superimposed to form the chi-rho, which, as the monogram of Christ, became a pervasive decorative element in Early Christian and Byzantine Art.”907

(3) “It may be safely assumed that only after the Edict of Milan, A.D. 312, was the cross used as

904 MEPS 2005, art. “Constantine the Great.”905 MEPS 2005, art. “Adoration of the Cross.”906 Crucifixion “was a common form of capital punishment from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, especially among the Persians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Romans. The Romans used crucifixion for slaves and criminals but never for their own citizens. Roman law provided that the criminal be scourged before being put to death; the accused also had to carry either the entire cross or, more commonly, the crossbeam from the place of scourging to the place of execution. The practice was abolished in 337 by Constantine I out of respect for Jesus Christ, who died on the cross.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Crucifixion.”)907 MEPS 2005, art. “Cross.”

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permanent sign of our redemption. De Rossi (a Roman Catholic archeologist) states positively that no monogram of Christ, discovered in the catacombs or other places, can be traced to a period anterior to the year 312.”908

REFUTATION:(1) The doctrine originated in 312 A.D., hence unapostolic. It should not be the focus of our preaching, rather it should be Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-23).

(2) As for the actual cross of Christ, the Catholic Encyclopedia says “it was found on Mt. Calvary by the mother of Constantine (in the fourth century!) and taken to Jerusalem by Constantine himself.”909 Concerning this, John Calvin wrote: “If all the pieces... were collected into a single heap, they would form a good shipload... The gospel testifies that a single individual was able to carry it. What effrontery then to fill the whole earth with fragments which would take more than 300 men to carry!”910

(3) “The first mentions of the Crucifixes are in the 6th century.”911

F. FASTING AND ABSTINENCEF. FASTING AND ABSTINENCE(1) Fasting day is a day on which only one full meal is eaten, not one in which no food is eaten at all. “Fasting [is the] abstention from food, and often also from drink, for a longer than usual period. Fasting has been practised for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies. Fasts are observed among Christians, Jews, Muslims, Confucianists, Hindus, Daoists, Jainists, and adherents of other religious faiths.”912

(2) The Catholic Church’s Lenten fasts are of pagan origin. “Originally, fasting was one of a number of rites in which physical activities were reduced or suspended, resulting in a state of quiescence comparable, symbolically, to death, or to the state preceding birth. Fasts were also part of the fertility rites in primitive ceremonies. Many of these ceremonies were held at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and survived for centuries.”913 “Closely associated with fasts to induce fertility were fasts intended to avert catastrophe or to serve as penance for sin. Some indigenous North American groups held tribal fasts to avert threatening disasters. The indigenous Mexican cultures and the Incas of Peru observed penitential fasts to appease their gods. Among the peoples of the Old World, the Assyrians and the Babylonians especially, and others to a lesser extent, observed fasts as a form of penance.”914

(3) Fasting on Fridays. “In the Christian religion the day is consecrated to the memory of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Greek theologian Clement of Alexandria and other early writers indicate that from the early days of Christianity, Friday was observed by fasting and prayer. In the Greek Orthodox Church, as was formerly the practice in the Roman Catholic Church, Friday 908 The American Ecclesiastical Review, Sept. 1920, p. 275.909 Catholic Encyclopedia, 8:238.910 Quoted by Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 289.911 Catholic Encyclopedia, 7:667.912 MEPS 2005, art. “Fasting.”913 MEPS 2005, art. “Fasting.”914 MEPS 2005, art. “Fasting.”

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is a day of abstinence from the eating of meat, except when it coincides with a major feast day, such as Christmas.”915

(4) Voluntary, then made as obligatory. “During the first two centuries of its existence, the Christian [that is, the Catholic] Church established fasting as a voluntary preparation for receiving the sacraments of Holy Communion and baptism and for the ordination of priests. Later, these fasts became obligatory, as did others subsequently added. In the 6th century the Lenten fast was expanded from its original 40 hours, the time spent by Christ in the grave, to 40 days, on each of which only one meal was permitted.”916

(5) “The Roman Catholic Church has in recent years relaxed its laws on fasting. According to an apostolic constitution issued by Pope Paul VI in February 1966, fasting and abstinence during Lent are obligatory only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.”917 “Custom, moreover, has greatly modified the manner in which fasting is observed. With marked exceptions, selective fasting rather than total abstinence is the rule today. In the Roman Catholic Church fasting may involve partial abstinence from food and drink (as in the fast before partaking of Holy Communion) or total abstinence. Roman Catholic fast days now are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.”918

REFUTATION:(1) Fasting is an empty formality. “Fasting has been criticized from early times. Many Old Testament prophets and early Christian writers condemned the abuse of fasting as an empty formality by people who led immoral lives.”919

(2) They admit there are no fasting days in the New Testament. “It may indeed be objected that after all, no fasting days are imposed under precept in the New Testament, and that therefore the Catholic is different from the Apostolic idea of fasting.”920

(3) Fasting is an option one may take. See 1 Corinthians 7:5. But it was never commanded as a church ordinance.

(4) Concerning abstinence from meats, one should refer to 1 Timothy 4:1-3, where it is mentioned as a doctrine of demons.

G. FLAGELLATION AND SELF-TORTUREG. FLAGELLATION AND SELF-TORTURE(1) Flagellation is a form of religious fanaticism. “Flagellants [were] religious fanatics of 13 th

century Europe who proclaimed the imminence of the wrath of God against corruption and, as a religious rite, practised public, self- inflicted scourgings. The sect arose in Perugia, in central Italy, in 1259-1260 and is said to have numbered 10,000. The members would run through the streets of a town lashing themselves about the shoulders and calling upon bystanders to repent

915 MEPS 2005, art. “Friday.”916 MEPS 2005, art. “Fasting.”917 MEPS 2005, art. “Lent.”918 MEPS 2005, art. “Fasting.”919 MEPS 2005, art. “Fasting.”920Catholic Dictionary, p. 340.

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and join them in self-castigation. Manfred, king of Naples and Sicily, alarmed at the numbers of the flagellants and the possibility that they might be incited to riot in a country torn by political struggles, attempted to suppress them. The suppression failed to halt the movement, however, for groups of disciples were already scattered throughout Europe. At first the flagellants were noted for their piety, but as time went by, many disreputable people joined the sect. They attacked the Jews in many towns in Germany and the Netherlands, and the Church combined with the secular authorities in attempts to prevent their furious outbursts.”921

(2) In the Philippines, fanatical “flagellantes,” during the Lenten season of each year, join processions, carry heavy crosses, chant Latin hymns, and beat their bodies with a scourge until the flesh is raw and bleeding, in the blind hope that such suffering will merit indulgences in heaven.

(3) “Three times a week at a certain hour in the evening, Catholic seminary students are required to go to their rooms, disrobe, and practice flagellation,” so writes Emmet McLoughlin.922

REFUTATION:(1) Punishing the body does not profit anyone anything (1 Corinthians 13:3).923

(2) Christ says keeping the commandments as a show of love is the thing that matters (John 14:15). We are not commanded to torture ourselves.

H. EASTERH. EASTER(1) Easter and Christmas are the major festivals of the Roman Catholic Church. “It is unwise to make general statements about religious observance because there is always diversity of practice. Most Christians, however, will acknowledge the two major festivals of Easter and Christmas.”924

Their Easter festival has no fixed date. “The Christian year is an amalgam of three cycles, the most ancient of which is the Easter cycle, the date of which depends on the phases of the Moon.”925

(2) “Easter [is an] annual festival commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the

921 “The outbreak of the Black Death, which raged throughout Europe from 1347 to 1349, encouraged an intensified revival of the movement, the flagellants being convinced that the millennium was at hand. They traveled in organized bands, bound by vows to abstain from all physical pleasures and to endure tortures and whippings for 33 days, in memory of the 33 years of the life of Christ. In 1349 Pope Clement VI declared them to be heretical and strove to suppress them. A revival of the movement in several German states early in the 15th century led to persecutions of the flagellants that eventually culminated in the absolute condemnation of the sect by the Council of Constance (1414-1418). In more recent times, flagellant sects occasionally have sprung up. A band appeared in Lisbon in 1820; and in Colorado and New Mexico a sect of Christian Native Americans, the Hermanos Penitentes, continued the practice of scourging until the end of the 19th century.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Flagellants”). For further information about these Catholic flagellants, see also Catholic Encyclopedia, 6:90-92.922 See Emmett McLoughlin, People’s Padre, p. 17.923 1 Corinthians 13:3, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” (KJV).924 MEPS 2005, art. “Christian Festivals.”925 MEPS 2005, art. “Christian Festivals.”

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principal feast of the Christian year. It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates betweenMarch 22 and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. The dates of several other ecclesiastical festivals, extending over a period between Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter) and the first Sunday of Advent, are fixed in relation to the date of Easter.”926

(3) The name, as well as the festival itself, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. “Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The origin of its name is unknown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St Bede, believe it probably comes from “Eostre”, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in coloured Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colours to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg-rolling contests or given as gifts. Such festivals, and the stories and legends that explain their origin, were common in ancient religions. A Greek legend tells of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day; her return symbolized to the ancient Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. The Phrygians believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring equinox to awaken him. The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived “Pasch”, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.”927

(4) “According to an apostolic constitution issued by Pope Paul VI in February 1966 fasting and abstinence during Lent are obligatory only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. ”928

REFUTATION:(1) The Old Testament system of worship were just a figure, and stood only till the “times of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10). Christ came to change that system (Hebrews 9:11-26; Hebrews 7:11-28).

(2) An Old Testament prophet had prophesied that the old covenant system would be replaced by the new (Jeremiah 31:31-34). A New Testament writer confirmed that the old covenant system was indeed replaced by the new (Hebrews 8:1-13).

(3) “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (Galatians 4:9-10).

I. RELICS OF DEAD SAINTSI. RELICS OF DEAD SAINTS926 MEPS 2005, art. “Easter.”927 MEPS 2005, art. “Easter.”928 MEPS 2005, art. “Lent.”

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(1) A relic is a piece of bone or other part of the saint’s body or some article which a saint touched during his life. Pieces of the true cross, the nails, the thorns from the crown of thorns, the seamless robe of Christ, the linen of Mary, her wedding ring, locks of her hair, vials of her milk and other possessions of dead saints and martyrs are considered relics. “Relics [are] sacred remains or mementoes of religious figures. In Christian usage, these are usually remains of the bodies of saints, or objects connected with the life of Jesus Christ or with the lives of the saints. Christians are known to have venerated the relics of martyrs at least as early as the 2 nd

century.”929

(2) “The influx of relics from the Middle East at the time of the Crusades and the development of superstitious cults around them led to doubts about their authenticity and value. The practice of veneration was effectively defended, however, by the 13th-century theologian St Thomas Aquinas, who contended that the bodies of the saints are vessels of the Holy Spirit. The practice was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent after Protestant reformers rejected it, and relics are still important in the Roman Catholic faith today. ”930

(3) “In the Orthodox Church, the veneration of relics was sanctioned by the Council of Constantinople (1084), but the veneration of icons has always had a greater importance in the Eastern Church.”931

REFUTATION:(1) In the main, our judgment is that these so-called relics are just fabrications. “The influx of relics from the Middle East at the time of the Crusades and the development of superstitious cults around them led to doubts about their authenticity and value.”932 There is no way to prove that these bones or that rib belongs to Luke or to Matthew or to any saint of ancient history.

(2) Man should worship the Creator, not the things He created (Romans 1:25). The Bible too does not encourage men to worship other beings except God. (Acts 10:25-26; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 20:4; 19:20; 7:11).

(3) Anyone who contends “that the bodies of the [dead] saints are vessels of the Holy Spirit” does not know his Bible.

J. HOLY WATERJ. HOLY WATER(1) It is “water blessed by a bishop or priest and prescribed for use in the liturgies of some Christian Churches. The ceremonial use of water, a natural cleansing agent symbolizing interior purification, can be found in many religions from ancient times to the present. In ancient Judaism, the Mosaic Law prescribed that the hands and face of all people who were ritually unclean be sprinkled with water. From this Jewish practice was derived the present custom of dipping one's fingers in holy water and making the sign of the cross with it when entering a church. It is intended to serve as a reminder of baptism—that through the baptismal waters a

929 MEPS 2005, art. “Relics.”930 For example, in the 1990s the Archbishop of Padua commissioned lay experts to investigate a legend surrounding the location of relics of St Luke; as a result, bones which may be relics of the Evangelist were found in the basilica of Santa Giustina in October 1998 inside a box bearing the inscription “S. L. Evang” (MEPS 2005, art. “Relics.”)931 MEPS 2005, art. “Relics.”932 MEPS 2005, art. “Relics.”

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person undertakes the obligations of Christian commitment. In Roman Catholic practice, holy water is frequently kept in the home for private devotions.”933

(2) “…When we bless ourselves with Holy Water, we receive the actual grace partly through the prayer of the Church used in blessing the water and partly through the good sentiments with which we use the Holy Water. Thus, using the Sacramentals, the prayer of the Church is assured, and it depends upon our good dispositions that we receive grace.”934

(3) Mr. Jackson: “You said that their [the sacramentals’] chief benefit to us is grace. Are there other benefits that can be obtained by their use?” Smith: “There are others, such as: The forgiveness of venial sins; the remission of temporal punishment due to sin; protection from evil spirits; health and other material blessings.” 935

REFUTATION:(1) Holy water is of pagan origin. “The use of holy water and incense… was also no doubt suggested by the similar customs of pagans around them.”936 The pagan cult of Mithraism also makes use of holy water.937

(2) Catholics claim that their doctrine of the use of “holy water” is derived from Judaism: “In ancient Judaism, the Mosaic Law prescribed that the hands and face of all people who were ritually unclean be sprinkled with water. From this Jewish practice was derived the present custom of dipping one's fingers in holy water and making the sign of the cross with it when entering a church.”938 The Jewish system is just a shadow, not the reality (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 8:5; 10:1).

(3) The Roman Catholic Church invokes the authority of Apostolic Canons, one of the notorious forgeries, as the basis for its use of the holy water: “The use of holy water among Christians must be very ancient, for the Apostolic Canons contains a formula for the blessing of water that it may have the power ‘to give help, drive away diseases, put the demons to flight,’ &c. But there does not seem to be any evidence that it was customary for the priest to sprinkle the people with holy water before the ninth century.”939

K. CANDLESK. CANDLES933 MEPS 2005, art. “Holy Water.”934 John Francis Noll, Father Smith Instructs Jackson, p. 196.935 John Francis Noll, Father Smith Instructs Jackson, p. 196.936 Catholic Encyclopedia, 3:76; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:67.937 “Mithraism was similar to Christianity in many respects, for example, in the ideals of humility and brotherly love, baptism, the rite of communion, the use of holy water, the adoration of the shepherds at Mithra's birth, the adoption of Sundays and of December 25 (Mithra's birthday) as holy days, and the belief in the immortality of the soul, the last judgment, and the resurrection. Mithraism differed from Christianity in the exclusion of women from its ceremonies and in its willingness to compromise with polytheism. The similarities, however, made possible the easy conversion of its followers to Christian doctrine.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Mithraism”).938 MEPS 2005, art. “Holy Water.”939 Catholic Dictionary, p. 403; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:74.

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“Saturnalia, in ancient Rome, [was] a mid-winter festival celebrated from 17 to 19 December. Held at the darkest time of year, it was celebrated with the lighting of candles and torches, with feasting and drinking, and the giving of presents. Festivities began with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, the most sacred part of Rome, followed by public feasting to which everyone was invited. The Romans themselves associated Saturn with the pre-Hellenic god Cronus who was active during the Golden Age of the Earth. During the feast of the Saturnalia, slaves were often freed temporarily from their duties and their roles reversed with those of their masters. Each household chose a mock king, similar to the later “Lord of Misrule” or “Bean King” of Twelfth Night festivities.”940

REFUTATION:(1) Candles are of pagan origin. “Saturnalia, in ancient Rome, [was] a mid-winter festival celebrated from 17 to 19 December. Held at the darkest time of year, it was celebrated with the lighting of candles and torches, with feasting and drinking, and the giving of presents. Festivities began with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, the most sacred part of Rome… The Romans themselves associated Saturn with the pre-Hellenic god Cronus who was active during the Golden Age of the Earth. ”941

(2) The candlesticks were part of the ordinances of the divine service in the first covenant (Hebrews 9:1-2) which had been replaced. The Old Testament system of worship were just a figure, and stood only till the “times of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10). Christ came to change that system (Hebrews 9:11-26; Hebrews 7:11-28).

(3) An Old Testament prophet had prophesied that the old covenant system would be replaced by the new (Jeremiah 31:31-34). A New Testament writer confirmed that the old covenant system was indeed replaced by the new (Hebrews 8:1-13).

L. CHRISTMASL. CHRISTMAS(1) “It is unwise to make general statements about religious observance because there is always diversity of practice. Most Christians, however, will acknowledge the two major festivals of Easter and Christmas.”942

(2) “Saturnalia, in ancient Rome, a mid-winter festival celebrated from 17 to 19 December. Held at the darkest time of year, it was celebrated with the lighting of candles and torches, with feasting and drinking, and the giving of presents. Festivities began with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, the most sacred part of Rome, followed by public feasting to which everyone was invited. The Romans themselves associated Saturn with the pre-Hellenic god Cronus who was active during the Golden Age of the Earth… Gradually, these customs extended through to New Year's Day, and thus were absorbed into the Christian festival of Christmas.”943

(3) “Mithraism [is] one of the major religions of the Roman Empire; [it is] the cult of Mithra, the

940 MEPS 2005, art. “Saturnalia”941 MEPS 2005, art. “Saturnalia”942 MEPS 2005, art. “Christian Festivals.”943 MEPS 2005, art. “Saturnalia.”

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ancient Persian god of light and wisdom. In the Avesta, the sacred Zoroastrian writings (see Zoroastrianism) of the ancient Persians, Mithra appears as the chief yazata (Avestan, “beneficent one”), or good spirit, and ruler of the world. He was supposed to have slain the divine bull, from whose dying body sprang all plants and animals beneficial to humanity. After the conquest of Assyria in the 7th century BC and of Babylonia in the 6th century BC, Mithra became the god of the sun, which was worshipped in his name. The Greeks of Asia Minor, by identifying Mithra with Helios, the Greek god of the sun, helped to spread the cult. It was brought to Rome about 68 BC by Cilician pirates whom the Roman general Pompey the Great had captured, and during the early empire it spread rapidly throughout Italy and the Roman provinces. It was a rival to Christianity in the Roman world.”944

(4) Mithraism is similar to Catholicism in many respects, in its doctrines of “baptism,” “communion rite” (or “Eucharist”), the use of “holy water,” the worship of “many gods” or idols, and the adoption of December 25 as the birth of the Sun god. “The similarities… made possible the easy conversion of its followers to Christian doctrine.”945

REFUTATION:(1) Christ was not born on the so-called “Christmas Day.” “Since the Gospels make no mention of dates, it is not certain that Christ was born on this day. In fact, Christmas Day did not officially come into being until c. 350 when Pope Julius I proclaimed December 25 as the date of the Nativity. In doing so, he was following the early Church's policy of absorbing rather than repressing existing pagan rites which, since early times, had celebrated the winter solstice and the coming of spring.”946

(2) The December 25 festival was associated with the pagan god Saturn. “The pagan festival most closely associated with the new Christmas was the Roman Saturnalia, which honoured the god of the harvest, Saturn, on December 19 and was marked by seven days of riotous merrymaking and feasting. At the same time in northern Europe a similar winter festival known as Yule was celebrated in which giant logs, trimmed with greenery and ribbons, were burnt in honour of the gods and to encourage the sun to shine more brightly.”947

(3) The Roman Catholic Church incorporated these elements to its system. “Having incorporated these elements, the Christian [that is, the Roman Catholic] Church subsequently added, in the Middle Ages, the Nativity crib and Christmas carols to its customs. By this time lavish feasting was the highlight of the festivities with large quantities of food, including a decorated boar's head, ceremoniously consumed over eight or nine hours by rich and poor alike. All this came to an abrupt end in Britain at least when in 1652 the Puritans banned Christmas, a move followed in Massachusetts seven years later. Although Christmas returned to England in 1660 with Charles II and the Restoration, the rituals all but died out until revived in Victorian times.”948

944 MEPS 2005, art. “Mithraism.”945 MEPS 2005, art. “Mithraism.”946 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”947 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”948 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”

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(4) “Christmas as we know it today is thus a 19th-century invention.”949

(a) “The decorated Christmas tree, common in German countries for centuries, was introduced to Britain by Prince Albert,950 the consort of Queen Victoria [of England].”951 Albert was from Germany.

(b) “Carols were revived and many new ones written, often to traditional melodies. The custom of carol-singing, although with ancient origins, dates mainly from the 19th century.”952

(c) “Christmas crackers were invented in the late 19th century by an enterprising English baker, Tom Smith, who, by 1900, was selling 13 million worldwide each year.”953

(d) “Christmas cards only became commonplace in the 1870s, although the first one was produced in London in 1846.”954

(e) The familiar image of Santa Claus, complete with sleigh, reindeers, and sack of toys, is an American invention which first appeared in a drawing by Thomas Nast in Harper's Magazine in 1868, although the legend of Father Christmas is ancient and complex, being partly derived from St Nicholas and a jovial medieval figure, the ‘spirit of Christmas.’. In Russia, he traditionally carries a pink piglet under his arm.”955

(5) “Today, Christmas is as much a secular festival as a religious one. It is a time of great commercial activity and for present-giving, family reunions and, in English-speaking countries, a “traditional” Christmas meal of turkey or goose, Christmas pudding, and mince pies. Midnight mass is celebrated in churches and cathedrals in the West. In many countries the custom of lighting the tree, singing carols around it, and opening presents is celebrated on December 24, Christmas Eve.”956

(6) “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (Galatians 4:9-10). No comment.

949 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”950 In 1840 Prince Albert (1819-1861), second son of Duke Ernest of Saxe -Coburg-Gotha, married his British first cousin Victoria (of the House of Hanover). Saxe -Coburg-Gotha thus became the family name of Victoria and Albert's descendants from Edward VII onwards. However, during World War I, anti-German feeling in Great Britain caused George V to change the family name by royal proclamation (July 17, 1917) to Windsor.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Saxe -Coburg-Gotha”). Albert was born at Rosenau, near the town of Coburg. When he married Victoria, —they were both 20—he “moved from Europe’s princely periphery, a small German duchy, to what was to become during the 19th century the heart of Europe’s royal network, the Court of London. It was not until 1857, however, that the Privy Council gave him the title of Prince Consort.” (MEPS 2005, art. “Albert, Prince Consort).951 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”952 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”953 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”954 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”955 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”956 MEPS 2005, art. “Christmas.”

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M. ALL SOULS’ DAYM. ALL SOULS’ DAY“All Souls' Day, in the Roman Catholic Church, a festival falling on November 2, the object of which is, by prayers and alms- giving, to assist souls in purgatory. First instituted in the monasteries of Cluny in 998, the observance soon became general, without any ordinance at large on the subject. Among European peasants, All Souls’ Day became an occasion for reviving many pre-Christian folk customs. Roman Catholic priests are permitted to say three masses for the dead on this day. ”957

REFUTATION:(1) Our source says the “All Souls’ Day” festival was first instituted in the Cluniac monasteries, in France in 998 AD. Hence it is not apostolic in origin. And of the object of the festival is to pray for the souls in purgatory, then it cannot help them:

(2) The doctrine is based on presumptions and presuppositions by, and ignorance of the Roman Catholic theologians. Says Conway in his book The Question Box:

(i) “We do not pretend to know how far God applies the infinite merits of the sacrifice of the Mass to either the living or the dead.” 958

(ii) “The Church does not pretend to know how much of the Purgatory God remits by partial indulgence of so many days, years, etc.” 959

(iii) “The Catholic Church does not pretend to know anything about the duration of the suffering of Purgatory.” 960

(iv) “The Catholic Church does not claim to directly apply the infinite merits of Christ and the superabundant merits of His saints to the souls in Purgatory, over whom she has no jurisdiction… A Catholic may gain a plenary indulgence and offer it up for a particular soul in Purgatory, but God is not pledged to apply it.” 961

(v) “…The Catholic Church claims no jurisdiction over souls in the other world, and professes absolute ignorance regarding God’s particular application of the infinite merits of the passion and death of His son to the souls in Purgatory.” 962

Says The Plain Facts, another Catholic book: “So we presume all Catholics who die to be in Purgatory; although it may often seem more probable for a particular soul that it is in heaven or hell.”963

957 MEPS 2005, art. “All Souls’ Day.”958 Bertrand L. Conway, The Question Box, p. 454; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:45.959 Bertrand L. Conway, The Question Box, p. 413; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:44.960 Bertrand L. Conway, The Question Box, p. 567; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:44.961 Bertrand L. Conway, The Question Box, p. 414; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:45.962 Conway, The Question Box, 1913 edition, p. 460-461; quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:44, 45.963 Plain Facts, p. 125. Quoted by O. C. Lambert, 1:71.

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