Apostle Prophet Patrick J Miron bringing correction by his personal inspiritional opinion

Protestant Theology & Catholic Doctrines

Exposed to cover & discover the “Naked Truth“... Catholic responses to the Booklet: 

“Answers to my Catholic Friends” by Thomas F. Heinze …  Part 9

A Catholic reply by ;

extraordinaire Patrick j Miron ,

 personal insite and opinions that never change,

 and add to the division of the church of Jesus Christ

Gee why can't we just all get along 

 to Protestant “[mis]- Understandings” Part 9

Chapter 8: “On Whom is the Church Founded”

Patrick j Miron stepping into the office on inquisitor

THE INQUISITION:
A Study in Absolute Catholic Power

Arthur Maricle, Ph.D.

"And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." {Revelation 17:6}

Those who classify themselves as Christians can be divided into 2 broad groups: those who have chosen to allow the Bible to be their final authority and those who have chosen to allow men to be their final authority. For sake of simplicity, I shall refer to the first group as "Bible believing Christians." The latter group has always been best represented by Roman Catholicism, by far its largest, most powerful, and most influential component. The Roman Catholic hierarchy has always boldly stated that it is not dependent upon Scripture alone, but also accepts tradition as another pillar of truth -- and where a conflict exists, tradition receives the greater acceptance. Being its own arbiter of what is to be accepted as truth, it accepts no authority as being higher than itself. This explains why the Catholic belief system has been constantly evolving over the centuries.

This also explains why a fierce antagonism has always existed between Bible believing Christianity and Roman Catholicism. Rome's frequent spiritual innovations excites the passions of Bible believers, who react adversely to religious modifications that are at odds with the eternal, changeless Word of God. Harboring a supreme confidence in the Book, a trust which reflects their trust in the Holy Spirit who authored the Scriptures, the Bible believers boldly challenge the suppositions of the Catholic hierarchy. In the course of this spiritual warfare, Catholic people are frequently converted from trust in Rome's complex religious system to a childlike faith in the Saviour and a simple reliance on His Word. Many such converts ultimately leave the Church of Rome to join local, New Testament churches. Frequently in history, the trickle of individuals who were making this remarkable transformation turned into a flood. Such ruptures cannot go unchecked by the Catholic hierarchy. As with any bureaucracy, its primary interest is its own protection and propagation.

The nature of its response to the inroads made by spiritual challengers is dictated by its cultural surroundings. The more Catholic the culture, the more severe the response. In past centuries, when Rome's ecclesiastical power was virtually absolute throughout Europe, the intensity of the attacks by the papists upon their spiritual enemies could be equally absolute. Ignoring the injunction of II Corinthians 10:4 ("For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal..."), Catholicism built its own philosophical system to justify the use of carnal (fleshly, human, physical) means to achieve spiritual ends.

Having divorced herself from Biblical absolutes, Catholicism adopted a theology in which she sees herself as the church founded upon the Apostle Peter by Jesus Christ, and alone empowered to bring salvation to the world. Further, she believes herself assigned the daunting task of bringing Christ's kingdom to fruition on earth. With those dogmas forming her philosophical foundation, she seeks her power in the political sphere as well as the religious realm. To whatever degree she achieves political power, to that degree she feels compelled to use her secular influence as a weapon against her spiritual adversaries. Thus, down through the centuries, we see that in those countries in which Catholicism had achieved absolute power, the pope's followers have not hesitated to brutally subdue the enemies of "the Church". Although Jews, Moslems, pagans, and others have felt the wrath of Rome, her special fury has always been reserved for her bitterest and most effective challengers -- Bible believing Christians. Only as the political climate changed in recent centuries did the Catholic hierarchy see it expedient to change tactics and appear to be more tolerant. Yet, to this day we see persecution continuing in those places on the globe dominated by Catholicism. The degree of the persecution is determined by the degree of control.

To what lengths is the Catholic hierarchy prepared to go in its drive to repress opposition and achieve its goal of instituting the kingdom of Christ on earth? To find the answer, one must look to the pages of history.

When the Roman Catholic Church was founded by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., it immediately achieved expansive influence at all levels of the imperial government. As Bible believing Christians separated themselves from the Church of Rome, which they saw as apostate, they represented a formidable potential threat to the official new imperial religion. Persecution in varying degrees of severity was instituted over the centuries following.

By the 11th century, in their zeal to establish Christ's kingdom, the Roman popes ("pope" is an ecclesiastical office that is the very antithesis of the New Testament ideal of a local church pastor) began utilizing a new tool -- the Crusades. At first, the Crusades had as their object the conquering of Jerusalem and the "Holy Land". Along the crusaders' paths, thousands of innocent civilians (especially Jews) were raped, robbed, and slaughtered. In time, however, the crusade concept was altered to crush spiritual opposition within Europe itself. In other words, armies were raised with the intent of massacring whole communities of Bible believing Christians. One such group of Bible believing Christians were known as the Albigenses.

[Pope] Innocent III believed that Bible believing dissidents were worse than infidels (Saracens, Moslems, and Turks), for they threatened the unity of ... Europe. So Innocent III sponsored 4 "crusades" to exterminate the Albigenses. Innocent (what a name!) called upon Louis VII to do his killing for him, and he also enjoined Raymond VI to assist him.

The Cistercian order of Catholic monks were then commissioned to preach all over France, Flanders, and Germany for the purpose of raising an army sufficient to kill the Bible believers. All who volunteered to take part in these mass murders were promised that they would receive the same reward as those who had sallied forth against the Moslems (i.e., forgiveness of sins and eternal life).

The Albigenses were referred to in Pope Innocent's Sunday morning messages as "servants of the old serpent". Innocent promised the killers a heavenly kingdom if they took up their swords against unarmed populaces.

In July of 1209 A.D. an army of orthodox Catholics attacked Beziers and murdered 60,000 unarmed civilians, killing men, women, and children. The whole city was sacked, and when someone complained that Catholics were being killed as well as "heretics", the papal legates told them to go on killing and not to worry about it for "the Lord knows His own."

At Minerve, 14,000 Christians were put to death in the flames, and ears, noses, and lips of the "heretics" were cut off by the "faithful."^A

This is but one example from the long and sordid history of Catholic atrocities committed against their bitter enemies, the Bible believing Christians.

Much worse treatment of Bible believers was forthcoming during that stage of bloody Catholic history known as the Inquisition.

It is vital, though, that we here define what is meant by the term "heretic".

According to Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, this is a heretic: "One who holds or advocates controversial opinions, esp. one who publicly opposes the officially accepted dogma of the Roman Catholic, Church." Or, as one author has put it, "Heresy, to a Catholic, is anti-Catholic truth found in the Bible."^B Another summarized the official stance as this: "Every citizen in the empire was required to be a Roman Catholic. Failure to give wholehearted allegiance to the pope was considered treason against the state punishable by death."^C

From 1200 to 1500 the long series of Papal ordinances on the Inquisition, ever increasing in severity and cruelty, and their whole policy towards heresy, runs on without a break. It is a rigidly consistent system of legislation: every Pope confirms and improves upon the devices of his predecessor. All is directed to the one end, of completely uprooting every difference of belief... The Inquisition ... contradicted the simplest principles of Christian justice and love to our neighbor, and would have been rejected with universal horror in the ancient Church.^D

Pope Alexander IV established the Office of the Inquisition within Italy in 1254. The first inquisitor was Dominic, a Spaniard who was the founder of the Dominican order of monks.

The Inquisition was purely and uniquely a Catholic institution; it was founded far the express purpose of exterminating every human being in Europe who differed from Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. It spread out from France, Milan, Geneva, Aragon, and Sardinia to Poland (14th century) and then to Bohemia and Rome (1543). It was not abolished in Spain until 1820.^E

The Inquisition was a terrifying fact of life to those who lived in areas where it was in force. That domain would eventually include not only much of Europe, but also the far-flung colonies of Europe's Catholic powers.

The Inquisition, led by the Dominicans and the Jesuits, was usually early on the scene following each territorial acquisition of the Spanish and Portuguese empires in the 16th and 17th centuries. The methods used, which all too often were similar to those used by Serra in California or the Nazi-backed Ustashis in Croatia, sowed the seeds of reaction and aversion that have proved to be a barrier for true missionaries ever since.

Albert Close writes of the Jesuit mission to Indonesia in 1559 that "conversion was wonderfully shortened by the cooperation of the colonial governors whose militia offered' the natives the choice of the musket ball or of baptism."

Everywhere it existed, the "Holy Office" of the Inquisition spread its tentacles of fear.

When an inquisitor arrived in an area he called for reports of anyone suspected of heresy, sometimes offering rewards to spies who would report suspected heretics. Those suspected were imprisoned to await trials. The trials were held in secret and the inquisitor acted as judge, prosecutor, and jury. The accused had no lawyer. It was often simpler to confess to heresy than to defend oneself, especially since torture was often employed until the accused was ready to confess.

Because church and state had not been kept separate, the church powers could call upon the government to use its power against the convicted heretics. Anyone who fell back into heresy after repentance was turned over by the Inquisition to the regular government to be put to death. Most of those condemned to death were burned at the stake, but some were beaten to death or drowned.

The Inquisition was called the sanctum officium (Holy Office) because the church considered its work so praiseworthy.^F

Even after the death of a victim, his punishment was not ended. The property of condemned heretics was confiscated, leaving his family in poverty.

It is important here to emphasize Rome's role in the brutality of the Inquisition. Roman Catholic apologists are quick to point out that it was the state that put heretics to death. This is an alibi meant to excuse the Vatican's role in the atrocities. However, Dollinger, the leading 19th century Catholic historian, stated: "The binding force of the laws against heretics lay not in the authority of secular princes, but in the sovereign dominion of life and death over all Christians claimed by the Popes as God's representatives on earth, as [Pope] Innocent III expressly states it."^G

In other words, the secular arm of the state acted only as it was pressured to do so by the popes. Even kings who hesitated to commit genocide on their own populaces were spurred into action by their fear of papal excommunication or subversive Catholic activities within their kingdoms.

Dollinger continues: "It was the Popes who compelled bishops and priests to condemn the heterodox to torture, confiscation of their goods, imprisonment, and death, and to enforce the execution of this sentence on the civil authorities, under pain of excommunication,"^H

Will Durant informs us that in 1521 Leo X issued the bull Honestis which "ordered the excommunication of any officials, and the suspension of religious services in any community, that refused to execute, without examination or revision, the sentences of the inquisitors." Consider Clement V's rebuke of King Edward II: "We hear that you forbid torture as contrary to the laws of your land. But no state law can override canon law, our law. Therefore I command you at once to submit those men to torture.^I

The methods used by the Inquisition ranged from the barbaric to the bizarre.

When the inquisitors swept into a town an "Edict of Faith" was issued requiring everyone to reveal any heresy of which they had knowledge. Those who concealed a heretic came under the curse of the Church and the inquisitors' wrath. Informants would approach the inquisitors' lodgings under cover of night and were rewarded for information. No one arrested was ever acquitted.

Torture was considered to be essential because the church felt duty-bound to identify from the lips of the victims themselves any deviance from sound doctrine. Presumably, the more excruciating the torture, the more likely that the truth could be wrung from reluctant lips. The inquisitors were determined that it was "better for a hundred innocent people to die than for one heretic to go free".

"Heretics" were committed to the flames because the popes believed the Bible forbade Christians to shed blood. The victims of the Inquisition exceeded by hundreds of thousands the number of Christians and Jews who had suffered under pagan Roman emperors.^J

This wanton slaughter of innocent people was justified by Catholic theologians such as "Saint". Thomas Aquinas, who said, "If forgers and other malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for putting to death one convicted of heresy." In 1815, Comte Le Maistre defended the Inquisition by advocating: "The Inquisition is, in its very nature, good, mild, and preservative. It is the universal, indelible character of every ecclesiastical institution; you see it in Rome, and you can see it wherever the true Church has power."^K Such a viewpoint could only be expressed by one so brainwashed as to think that the cruel, torturous deaths of dissidents to Catholicism is preferable to the survival and propagation of those who would challenge the Vatican's authority.

Patrick j Miron  Bringing correction to the masse's of deceived religious peoples

Self-righteousness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Holier-than-thou" redirects here. For other uses, see Holier-than-thou (disambiguation).

Self-righteousness (also called sanctimoniousness, sententiousness, a holier-than-thou attitudes^[1]) is a feeling of (usually) smug moral superiority^[2] derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person.

The term "self-righteous" is often considered derogatory (see, for example, journalist and essayist James Fallows' description of self-righteousness^[3] in regards to Nobel Peace Prize winners) particularly because self-righteous individuals are often thought to exhibit hypocrisy due to the belief that humans are imperfect and can therefore never be infallible, an idea similar to that of the Freudian defense mechanism of reaction formation

John 5: 21-27 “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself,  and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man.”

The Wise …Hear

The Prudent …Listen

But ONLY the Humble …OBEY and are Saved

2Pet.2: 1 to 3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep.”  …The SHOCKER here is that are MILLIONS of souls who think that they are doing God’s Will; and therefore have stopped seeking “The Singular truth.” LET US PRAY for them.

God always taught belief in only: One God; Only One Set of Faith believes [now entrusted to the Catholic Church ALONE ..Mt. 16:15-19; Mt. 28: 16-20 ..and only One Chosen People; and always just One Chosen people: Today’s Catholic Church. [Which is The Only Christian Faith and Church founded by Christ Himself and the ONLY Christian Church in existence for more than ONE THOUSAND YEARS!]

If I am understanding what I’m reading here? Thomas is questioning whether the Catholic Church is founded on Christ or Peter?  The answer of COURSE is that the Catholic Church is Founded BY Jesus Christ, and by HIS OWN CHOICE, on the guided; guarded and protected, Peter and the Apostles. There would be no Christian Faith today were it not for today’s Catholic Church from which all other Christian faiths originate.

Catholics are thee Original Bible Church and thee Only True Sacramental Church; Clearly  [Biblically] founded on and BY Jesus Christ. Catholics have ALWAYS proclaimed salvation By and THROUGH Him ALONE; and it remains Christ OWN Teachings that He  taught, lived and entrusted DIRECTLYY to Peter, the Apostles and those He chooses to follow them,  NOT modified  to suit  the agendas of mortal men; twelve to fifteen hundred years later.

John.10: 16 “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd”

Eph. 2:19-20 “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [SINGULAR] built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; [SINGULAR] in whom you also [MUST BE] are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

Acts.4 :11 to 12 “This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." [JESUS CHRIST!] …AND it must happen in the manner chosen and desired by God. …Acts.5: 29 “But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.” AND SO MUST WE.

1. “To have a Biblical basis for the papacy, the Roman Catholic Church neglects the numerous passages such as the one above that clearly teach that Christ is the head and the foundation, and quotes a short part of a passage of Matthews Gospel. They neglect to realize that EVEN IF THE CHURCH WERE FOUNDED ON PETER, THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS PASSAGE TO INFER THAT THIS STATUS WAS PASSED ON TO THE POPES.” End Quote

1^st. Cor. 3:10-15 [Thomas quotes ONLY verse 11]

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. {11} For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. …Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Today’s Catholic Church is TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD, WHICH CAN BE EASILY PROVEN THROUGH HISTORY FACTS. HOW OLD IS YOUR FAITH?

Matthew 16:14-19 “And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I [Jesus /God] tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock [SINGULAR] I will build my church, [SINGULAR] and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I [Jesus / God] will give you [SINGULAR} the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Thomas makes several additional points.

2.  With this background it seems that “the rock” Jesus refers to is not Peter Himself, but his confession [who Jesus is]

3. Even if this understanding is not true; and Peter is the ROCK upon which the church is founded, there is still no biblical reason to think Peters authority was passed on to others, and that popes are his successors.

4. Neither is there reason to think that this idea was ever accepted by the early church.

5. The Infallibility of the pope was not defined and declared until Vatican 1, in 1870

Permit me to share with you FROM THE BIBLE, evidence that each point that Thomas makes if a falsehood based on his agenda and incorrect understanding.

REPLY Point #1. THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS PASSAGE TO INFER THAT THIS STATUS WAS PASSED ON TO THE POPES [Even if much biblical evidence did not exist… [It does; Mt.28: 17-19 and John 20:19-22 for example]; simple logic supported by the historical fact that The CC has survived some 2,000 years dating fro the Visitation of Christ and the times of the Apostles; one would have to hold the position that Christ intended EVERYTHING he did, suffered for and taught to die with the Apostles. PURE SILLINESS.

Look at the final verse. “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." This promise and commitment from God to Peter [and through Peter to Christ CC as we shall prove] deals with unlimited POWERS of Governance, as will be proven in my summary article on this topic. It is absurd; complete nonsense to think that God would come to earth to ESTABLISH A NEW COVENANT IN HIS BLOOD, TEACH A NEW AND MORE PERFECT SET OF FAITH BELIEFS, THEN  SEAL THIS COVENANT BY GIVING VERY HIS LIFE, AND EXPECT THAT IT WILL ONLY LAST UNTIL PETER DIES. THAT IS completely unfounded and unsupportable conjecture on the part of Thomas.  Note: THE FINAL COMMENT OF Jesus / God: and the gates of hell shall NEVER prevail against it!” The evidence Thomas seeks IS THERE. Thomas just does not see it! Then look at Matt 18:18 where it is passed on to the other Apostles too!

REPLY Point #2  With this background it seems that “the rock” Jesus refers to is not Peter Himself, but his confession [who Jesus is]

To accept the view of Thomas, one has to assume that Jesus/ God had no idea what He was saying and doing. This is GOD speaking; a Perfect God unable to lie. He knew exactly what he had done and so did the other Apostles as too will be shown.

Eph. 2:19-20 “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; [SINGULAR]  in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” I CHECKED AND THIS READS THE SAME IN THE KJ BIBLE TOO!

John.10: 16 “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd”

Eph. 4: 1-7 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Eph. 3: 9-10  “And to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in  God who created all things;  that through the church [Catholic Church-singular] the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

REPLY #3 “there is still no biblical reason to think Peters authority was passed on to others, and that popes are his successors”

Proof 1. “The Gates of hell shall never prevail against it” “Never” is forever.

Proof 2. “I give you [singular] the “Keys to the gate of heaven” .. Jesus had just announced a new religion, built upon His newly taught Faith beliefs and introduced for the first time the term “CHURCH”.. Clearly the key and the church are ties together; and just as clearly God did not intend to die with Pater.

Proof 3. Matt. 28:16-20 verses 18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, [the eleven Apostles in verse 16] "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

So either God forgot about this mandate, or Thomas is WRONG.

 It is impossible for this to have been accomplished in the life of Peter or the  eleven-Apostles to whom this was COMMANDED.

Proof #4. John 20:19-23 “ Jesus speaking to ALL of the Apostles: “As the Father sent Me; so too I [God] send you.” [With my power and my authority].

Proof #5 John 21:15-17  “FEED MY SHEEP; Feed My Lambs; Feed my Sheep”

REPLY #4 Neither is there reason to think that this idea was ever accepted by the early church.