Because I said so....!

Because I said so….!

Over the last 1,700 years, the Catholic Church has made some claims about its authority that gives it exclusivity over all truth. The Church makes the claim that it holds itself as the authority over the Bible, giving itself the highest authority; higher even, than the Bible. This is done by elevating “Church tradition” to an equal status to the Word of the Lord.

The Catholic Church teaches that it has two sources of the Word of God: “Sacred Tradition and Scripture”, because they both contain the Word of God, and it claims that she is the servant of the Word of God, in Sacred Tradition and Scripture.

The Magisterium of the Church
"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ."

This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with “the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome”.
“Scripture and Tradition “are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move toward the same goal” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 80).

So, according to Catholicism, Scripture and Tradition together make up authoritative divine revelation for the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church’s claim to this authority is through what is known as “Apostolic succession”. This is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the Apostles by a continuous succession, which has been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bishops ultimately passed down to the head Bishop or the Pope.

The Pope, according to the Catholic Church, is the direct successor of the authority handed down to him from Peter, the supposed first Pope. They make this claim by taking the passage in Mathew 16 out of context.

Matthew 16:13-17
Now when Yeshua came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He *said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Yeshua said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 

The claim of the Catholic Church is that this statement by Yeshua established Peter as the first Pope of the church, and that they are now the successors of that authority by every subsequent Pope that preceded him. 

But the problem is that Yeshua is not establishing Peter as the rock of the “Church”. The rock that Yeshua is establishing is the confession that He (Yeshua) is the Messiah the son of the living God. This would make sense since the rest of the Scripture clearly declares that salvation is found by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths.

Romans 10:9-11
“… that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 
 
It is also clear that Yeshua is the stone which the builders rejected.
 
Psalm 118:22 
The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.
 
Matthew 21:42 
Yeshua said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'?
 
Mark_12:10 
"Have you not even read this Scripture: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone;
 
Luke_20:17 
But Yeshua looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone'?
 
Act_4:11 
"He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.
 
Ephesians 2:20 
…having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Yeshua Himself being the corner stone,
 
1Pe_2:6 
For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

1Pe_2:7  This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER STONE,"

Shouldn’t we hear more about Peter’s appointment as the first Pope if this were so? If, as Catholics say, the Church was built upon Peter as the first head of the “Church”, then I would consider it a bit more important of an issue than to have it relegated to just one verse. It should be expounded upon to make it clear. I think it was made pretty clear in other passages that Yeshua is the corner stone.

Where in Scripture do we ever see a precedent where one man was imbued with all the authority of the Lord? Moses spoke on behalf of the Lord but did not speak on his own authority. When he took it upon himself to strike the rock instead of speak to the rock, he was severely penalized by the Lord. All authority was given to Yeshua after the resurrection, not a man.

Matthew 28:16-20 
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.   When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
 
Why would Yeshua pass that authority back to men when it was His to inherit? The Catholic Church has presumed way too much in thinking that they are the sole inheritors of Gospel message. As a result, this has led them to make statements under the auspices of what is called Papal infallibility.
 
“Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church that states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope is preserved from the possibility of error " when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.”
 
The gravity of that statement is outstanding. Not only is this just a bit presumptive of them to say this, but it is blasphemy. In one breath they say only the Pope has the power to speak in this authority in regards to doctrine and morals, yet in the first Vatican council in 1869 they say in Chapter 2, paragraph 5:
 
“Therefore, if anyone says that it is not by the institution of Christ the lord himself (that is to say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole Church; or that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in this primacy: let him be anathema.”

So if I do not agree that the Pope is the successor of Peter and the head of the “Church”, I am to be cursed. They set up a scenario where his authority and position cannot be challenged under penalty of a curse. And then they back peddle and say that he only speaks ex cathedra in matters of faith and doctrine. He, according to this, has primacy over the whole church. I can’t question this under penalty of a curse, but then I am supposed to believe his authority is limited to faith and doctrine. And why is this so, “because I said so”!  This is what I call double speak.

Why should I accept the authority of the Catholic Church? Because they said so? Me thinkest not!

Just this one example below makes the scenario clear. The Catholic Church changed the day of the Sabbath from Friday evening to Sunday in its own authority. Why? Because they said so! 

The Roman Emperor Constantine, a former sun-worshiper, professed conversion to Christianity, although his subsequent actions suggest the “conversion” was more of a political move than a genuine heart change. Constantine named himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and enacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321.

On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. —Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.

The Catholic Church admits that they had the right to change the Biblical mandate of the Sabbath, thus breaking the 4th commandment in Ex 20.
 
Exodus 20:8-11 
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
 
In this matter they take authority over the Scriptures themselves. Do they really believe that the Lord has given them this authority?
 
In the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, we read:
 
Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday….
Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.
Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!
—Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50.

First of all Yeshua did not rise from the dead on Sunday. I have dealt with this many times in other blogs. Second of all nowhere in Scripture do we see the Lord replacing or abolishing the Shabbat. So where did the Catholic Church get the idea that they had the right to do this? Because…they said so! All of their authority is based on the false premise that Peter, who was the first Pope, decreed apostolic authority upon their declared successor.  

So that has to mean that if their premise is true, that the Lord abandoned Israel and established a new people in their place. These new people were given the right to invalidate the Shabbat, worship idols, pray to Mary and the saints, invoke indulgences, establish infant baptism, declare the Eucharist as being critical for salvation, teach that the Eucharist becomes the actual blood and flesh of Yeshua, sexually abuse children, kill Jews and other true believers, invent holidays that are not Biblical and abolish the Biblical feasts of Leviticus 23, establish Mary as the Queen of heaven, declare that Mary was conceived without original sin, teach that the Pope is infallible in matters of religious doctrine. Need I go on? As I said before, it’s all because…they said so!

Their track record is a bit shaky to say the least. I for one would not be willing to take anything they say as authoritative.

So with that being said I have to ask, how much have they influenced Christianity today? Let’s just pick on one of those subjects addressed above.

 Yes, you guessed it, Christmas.

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th of December.

This date might have also been chosen because the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' took place in December around this date; so it was a time when people were already celebrating.

The Winter Solstice is the day which is the shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. It happens on December 21st or 22nd. To pagans, this meant that the winter was over and spring was coming, and they had a festival to celebrate it and worshiped the sun for winning over the darkness of winter. In Scandinavia, and some other parts of northern Europe, the Winter Solstice is known as Yule, and it is where we get Yule Logs from. In Eastern Europe the mid-winter festival is called Koleda.

The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place between December 17th and 23rd and honored the Roman god Saturn. Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means 'birthday of the unconquered sun' and was held on December 25th (when the Romans thought the Winter Solstice took place) and was the 'birthday' of the Pagan Sun god Mithra. In the pagan religion of Mithraism, the holy day was Sunday and is where get that word from.

So to recap, the Pagan Roman culture celebrated these days dedicated to their deities. The Catholic Church sprinkled holy water on them and synchrotized them into the church’s celebrations to draw in the pagans. They did this because they said so. Christians, of all flavors, all over the world celebrate these made-up events instead of the Biblical feasts in Leviticus 23, which prophesy the coming of the Yeshua to the detail. They do this all in the name of good intentions, i.e., “we’re not celebrating Santa, we’re celebrating the birth of Jesus”. Protestants, supposedly, broke off from the Catholic Church because of the paganism that they practiced, yet they themselves participate in many of those same practices today and why…because they said so!

One last thing to consider.

Mal 3:6  "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 
Exo 23:13  "Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.    
Exo_23:33  "They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."   
Lev 20:23  'Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.                                                                                    
Deu_12:30  beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?'
Deu_7:16  "You shall consume all the peoples whom the LORD your God will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
Deu_12:2  "You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
Deu_12:30  beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?'
Jer 10:2  Thus says the LORD, "Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them; 
Jer 10:3  For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 
Jer 10:4  "They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter. 
Jer 10:5  "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good." 
Rom 12:2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

And why, because He (The Lord) said so….!