A Weak and Flabby Protestantism

Do you mean to imply that Catholicism is Baal worship?

In so far as their doctrines regarding salvation and the church are contrary to Scripture then they worship a false god, not unlike the naturalists of old and new.

We affirm the faith of our forefathers that truth regarding these doctrines is revealed in the Scriptures alone as is evident in the perverse traditions of the RCC. To claim the authority of Christ on earth and then proclaim doctrines contrary to His revelation leave us with no other possible conclusion.

Who do you think you are? You are nobody and certainly no Elijah.

You have rightly spoken. I am the least of the saints and not worthy to sit among the people of God in His church. But grace is able to transform even the chief of sinners into a lover of truth.

Here are the words of one like a modern day Elijah. This is a link to Lloyd-Jones sermon from which his quote is taken…

http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?ArtKey=lloydjones

God bless you my friend and brother for speaking the truth in love.

(Latin Vicarius Christi).

A title of the pope implying his supreme and universal primacy, both of honour and of jurisdiction, over the Church of Christ. It is founded on the words of the Divine Shepherd to St. Peter: "Feed my lambs. . . . Feed my sheep" (John 21:16-17), by which He constituted the Prince of the Apostles guardian of His entire flock in His own place, thus making him His Vicar and fulfilling the promise made in Matthew 16:18-19.

In the course of the ages other vicarial designations have been used for the pope, as Vicar of St. Peter and even Vicar of the Apostolic See (Pope Gelasius, I, Ep. vi), but the title Vicar of Christ is more expressive of his supreme headship of the Church on earth, which he bears in virtue of the commission of Christ and with vicarial power derived from Him. Thus, Innocent III appeals for his power to remove bishops to the fact that he is Vicar of Christ (cap. "Inter corporalia", 2, "De trans. ep."). He also declares that Christ has given such power only to His Vicar Peter and his successors (cap. "Quanto", 3, ibid.), and states that it is the Roman Pontiff who is "the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Jesus Christ" (cap. "Licet", 4, ibid.). The title Vicar of God used for the pope by Nicholas III (c. "Fundamenta ejus", 17, "De elect.", in 6) is employed as an equivalent for Vicar of Christ.(The Catholic Encyclopedia)

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15403b.htm

Just by the title “Vicar of Christ” all doubt is removed about how the Pope is viewed in the RCC to be head of the Church of Christ.

Gary Gordon

Since the word “antichrist” means not only “against Christ” but also, “one who comes in the place of Christ,” the reformers had no qualms about calling the Pope, antichrist, since he claimed "supreme headship of the Church on earth." A quote from John Calvin:

I deny that see to be Apostolic, wherein nought is seen but a shocking apostasy — I deny him to be the vicar of Christ, who in furiously persecuting the gospel, demonstrates by his conduct that he is Antichrist — I deny him to be the successor of Peter, who is doing his utmost to demolish every edifice that Peter built — and I deny him to be the head of the Church, who by his tyranny lacerates and dismembers the Church, after dissevering her from Christ, her true and only Head (The Necessity of Reforming the Church).

There are many antichrists in the world and the Pope is not THE antichrist, but rather, a type of antichrist. He is typical of antichrist because he exhibits the characteristics the Bible gives for antichrist. For example, the Pope is the leader of the greatest apostasy the world has seen to date and is worshipped as though he were God everywhere he goes. This certainly fits the description given in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

Gary Gordon

The link between the characteristics of the "man of sin" and the Pope are so evident, even the RCC can’t ignore them, so they twist it to their advantage. From the Catholic Encyclopedia, Cardinal Newman says:

“If the Church must suffer like Christ, and if Christ was called Beelzebub, the true Church must expect a similar reproach; thus, the Papal-Antichrist theory becomes an argument in favor of the Roman Church.
The gibe, "If the Pope is not Antichrist, he has bad luck to be so like him", is really another argument in favour of the claims of the Pope; since Antichrist simulates Christ, and the Pope is an image of Christ, Antichrist must have some similarity to the Pope, if the latter be the true Vicar of Christ.”

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01559a.htm

Gary Gordon

In John 15:15, Jesus makes clear that “true” Christians are “friends” of God. This is an important distinction, because friends reveal “knowledge” about themselves to each other. God is intimate with us, his friends, revealing His innermost secrets to us. Psalm 25:14. A person knows he is the friend of God simply because he knows God well enough to distinguish Him from all the other false gods.

So it’s interesting that Calvin, in the passage I quoted above, uses the term “persecuting the gospel” when describing the Pope. He derives that from 2Peter 3:16, when Peter says that unlearned men “wrest” the Scriptures to their own destruction. The word “wrest” in the Greek, means to twist, or literally “to torture, put to the rack.”

“Unlearned” men do this, and thereby show themselves that they are no friends of God at all, but are instead, an enemy of the cross. That the Pope “persecutes” the gospel, should be evident to anyone who is a “friend” of God.

Anyone who says that the Pope doesn’t consider himself to be the head of the Church is either talking out of both sides of his mouth or doesn’t know anything about the Church he is in.

Ed has been here long enough to know the truth by now. Surely you quoted 1Kings 18:21 for his sake. He is the one halting between two opinions.

What the Church needs is more Elijah’s. False modesty shouldn’t come into play, here. The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Mt 11:11. You are an Elijah.

So instead of calling Ed a brother, maybe we should be saying, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if Christ be head of the Church, follow him: but if the Pope be head of the Church, then follow him.”

Gary Gordon