Is Catholicism Christian?
A Question Sincerely and Prayerfully Answered
By
Comparing Catholic Doctrine with The Bible
In the Hope of Reaching Catholics With the Gospel of Jesus Christ
By
Shaun Aisbitt
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:8-9)
Chapter 1
Reason for writing
Throughout the world today, there are many different churches, quite a lot are Christian. There are many that are thought of as Christian by undiscerning or unaware people, that are in fact cults, or churches which teach falsehood. It is the responsibility of every Christian to examine what they are being taught and see if it in accordance with the Bible. The Apostle Paul considered the Bereans "Of more noble character" because they examined the Scriptures to see if what he taught lined up with the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).
I have lived a good part of my life in Ireland, a country that is wrongly considered Christian. Most people are (it is claimed) Catholic, though few believe or know what the Catholic church really teaches. Many just religiously, traditionally or superstitiously go to mass and are unaware as to what it is all about. A lot of pagan and new-age beliefs have come into the Catholic church (Wicca [Witchcraft, introduced as coming in under the umbrella of Ecumenism by Fr. Matthew Fox and accepted by the Pope], reincarnation, ennegrams, Sufi dancing, creation centered spirituality, yoga, reki etc) I will not deal with those beliefs here, though they do need to be seriously addressed.
Here in Ireland I was raised mostly in Roman Catholic surroundings, having most of my junior schooling in Catholic schools. One school was a boarding school run by a Catholic order of brothers, and it was excessively strict and brutal, with one or two brothers who were most definitely pedophiles and who practiced their perversion on the young boys there, myself included. It was only years later when I became a Christian and started to read God’s Word, the Bible, I discovered how different and how far removed from Christianity that Catholicism really is. Having come out of the Catholic church, I would urge you the reader to take time to examine the Bible, and see if it lines up with Catholic teachings. If it doesn't, which should you trust, the Word of God, or the word of men?.
I realize anyone reading this who is a Catholic may be shocked or angered by what I have just said. I understand your anger, it's not easy to read and come to terms with something which shows you have been raised to believe and follow a lie. But please don’t form an opinion or judge me, please don't just close this page down and ignore it, be open minded enough to examine yourself and your faith, this is commanded by God in the Bible (2Corinthians 13:5). Could you stand before the judgment seat of God on the day you die and plead ignorance? ignorance isn't an excuse, God will ask you what you did with His Son Jesus Christ. Did you put your faith in His sacrifice for your sins, or chose to follow the false teachings of men because you found them easier to follow and accept.
I don’t hate anyone, I don’t judge anyone, I love you and try to love as Jesus loves, but I’m only human so I do have faults. I would love nothing more than to have an audience with some of the Catholic churches top guy’s including the pope and the college of cardinals, and question why they knowingly mislead and direct the faithful away from God. Why they cover up their misdeeds, why they knowingly add to and take from God’s Word, why they use deception in inter church dialogue.
The doctrines of the Catholic church will be examined in this booklet in the light of God's Word the Bible, not the opinions of man, and I will leave you to decide for yourself if Catholicism is Christian or not. I join with the Apostle Paul in saying as he said in the Epistle to the Romans