Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: BOT
Program Code: BOT000006
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00:30 Hello again everybody!
00:32 I am very glad that you're here this evening 00:34 to study God's Word. 00:35 This is number six in the series on, The Bible or Tradition? 00:40 And this evening we are going to study Part 2 of the topic titled 00:46 The Roman Catholic View of Tradition. 00:49 However, before we do we want to have a word of prayer 00:52 to ask for the Lord's presence. 00:54 And so I invite you to bow your heads with me as we implore 00:58 the Lord's presence with us. 00:59 Let us pray. Father in heaven, thank You so much for this 01:03 wonderful day that you have given us. 01:05 We thank You Father, for the privilege of opening Your word 01:08 now, and we ask that as we open Your Word You will open the 01:13 hearts of those who are present, as well as those who are 01:16 watching this program on television, 01:18 and through the Internet. 01:19 Give us willing and open hearts and minds to receive the word, 01:24 and to live in harmony with every word that proceeds 01:27 out of the mouth of God. 01:28 We thank You Father, for hearing our prayer for we ask it 01:32 in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:34 In our last study together we considered three Roman Catholic 01:42 sources that helped us understand the Roman Catholic 01:47 view of tradition. 01:49 Those three sources were, first of all, the Roman Catholic 01:53 Catechism, secondly the Conciliar Declaration 01:58 Dei Verbum, that is on the word of God, 02:00 and then we examined several statements from Roman Catholic 02:05 theologians about the Roman Catholic view of tradition. 02:09 And we noticed in our study that the Roman Catholic view 02:13 of tradition is virtually identical to the view that the 02:17 Jews had in the days of Christ. 02:20 In both systems you have three elements, 02:24 the same three elements: 1. You have what is called a 02:28 sacred deposit of tradition, which is composed of the 02:33 written scriptures, and the unwritten oral traditions. 02:37 In both Judaism and Roman Catholicism 02:40 you have that first point. 02:41 You also have, in both concepts, a transmitting mechanism, 02:47 a way in which the oral traditions can supposedly, 02:50 be transmitted in a trustworthy way. 02:53 And in Judaism you have this system of transmission which, 02:58 supposedly preserves the oral traditions intact, as they were 03:03 originally given to Moses. 03:05 In the case of the Roman Catholic Church, supposedly 03:09 those oral traditions are kept intact from the time that they 03:12 were given to Simon Peter. 03:14 And then we noticed that in both Judaism, 03:18 and in Roman Catholicism, there is also the idea of a living 03:23 interpreter of the traditions at every stage of the history 03:28 in the process of transmission. 03:29 And so you have these identical three elements in Judaism, 03:33 as well as in Roman Catholicism: a sacred deposit, 03:38 2. A transmitting mechanism. 03:41 3. A living interpreter at every stage in the 03:45 process of transmission. 03:47 We also noticed that the terminology that is used, 03:51 for example in Mark 7, and the terminology that is used 03:54 in those Roman Catholic sources is virtually identical. 03:59 Words and expressions such as: tradition, handed down, 04:04 passed on, received, hold, unbroken succession, 04:11 all are terms that are used in Mark 7, 04:14 and elsewhere in the gospels. 04:16 And those same terms are used in Roman Catholic sources 04:20 about the Roman Catholic view of tradition. 04:23 We also noticed that in both systems they claimed that 04:27 there was someone to whom God gave the 04:29 original oral traditions. 04:32 In the case of Judaism, God supposedly gave the oral 04:35 traditions to Moses, and then Moses handed them on. 04:39 In Roman Catholicism the idea is that these traditions 04:42 were given to Simon Peter, and Simon Peter passed them along. 04:46 We also noticed that in Judaism the scribes and Pharisees 04:50 claimed to sit on Moses' seat. 04:53 That word seat, by the way, in Greek is cathedra. 04:56 In other words, they spoke from the cathedra. 04:59 And it's interesting that in Roman Catholicism, 05:02 when the Pope speaks infallibly, and with authority, 05:07 in the matter of doctrines, and observances, he speaks 05:11 ex cathedra, the very same word that is used in Matthew 23:2 05:16 to refer to the scribes and the Pharisees. 05:19 We also noticed that in both systems they claimed that the 05:23 written Scriptures, and oral tradition are on the same level. 05:26 But in actual practice oral tradition is above the written 05:33 Scriptures of the word of God. 05:35 We also noticed that in both systems the people were expected 05:39 to render strict, and unquestioning obedience 05:44 to the words of their leaders, or to the concepts that were 05:47 taught by the church. 05:49 And in both systems it was believed that the lay people 05:53 could not really determine the meaning of the Scriptures; 05:56 that only the theological experts could give the 06:01 Scriptures their true sense, and their true meaning, 06:03 and people simply had to accept what they taught. 06:08 And in the case of the times of Christ, those who did not comply 06:12 were expelled from the synagogue. 06:15 The Roman Catholic Church calls it Excommunication, by the way. 06:19 Now this was an interesting way of controlling the masses. 06:23 You know, Jesus Christ, and His teachings were captivating 06:27 to the multitudes. 06:29 You read the gospels, the multitudes followed 06:31 Jesus Christ, thousands of people followed Jesus Christ. 06:35 But at the end of the life of Jesus, the same people that had 06:39 followed Him along clamored, Crucify Him, Crucify Him! 06:43 And the main reason was that people could not understand 06:47 how the religious leaders could be wrong. 06:50 They could not understand how Jesus spoke against 06:54 the religious leaders of that time, when they had such 06:57 a huge, and intensive respect for the religious leaders. 07:01 In other words, by controlling the religious leaders, 07:05 the devil was able to control the people, 07:08 both in the days of Christ, and also throughout the Dark Ages, 07:12 and it will happen once again at the end of time. 07:15 Now I'd like to read a statement that we find in 07:18 The Great Controversy, page 595, where Ellen White describes 07:23 how through the concepts of the leaders, the theological 07:29 concepts of the leaders, the devil is able to 07:31 control the multitudes. 07:33 This is how it reads: 07:54 And now notice: 08:04 Do you see the principle here? 08:06 In other words, control the leaders, and through the leaders 08:10 you can control the populous; you can control the people. 08:15 Interestingly, Ellen White compares the plight of the 08:19 populous in Christ's day, with the condition of the people 08:23 in the Roman Catholic Church today. 08:25 Regarding the control of the Jewish leaders over the people, 08:29 Ellen White had this to say: 08:48 Who was the chief of the priesthood? 08:51 It was the High Priest, Ananias and Caiaphas. 09:36 Now notice this: 09:43 Is it just possible that the Roman Catholic view of tradition 09:47 at the end of time, will also lead people to 09:50 reject Jesus Christ as their Redeemer? Absolutely! 09:54 Because it's an identical view, as we've been studying. 09:58 Now, regarding the control of the Roman Catholic, 10:01 and Protestant clergy over their masses, Ellen White had this 10:06 to say. And this is a rather lengthy statement, 10:08 but it is charged with very, very important details, 10:13 so I'm going to take a view minutes to read this passage 10:17 from the book, The Great Controversy, pages 595-597. 10:21 Notice how she compares what happened in the days of Christ, 10:25 with what happens in Roman Catholicism. She says: 10:40 See, that the control wasn't going to cease when the Jews 10:44 were dispersed after Jerusalem was destroyed. 10:46 She continues saying: 11:03 Now you need to understand what Ellen White means when she says, 11:06 It is withheld from the common people. 11:08 During the Dark Ages it was literally withheld. 11:11 In other words, people, I'm going to read in a few moments 11:13 a few statements where in church councils, they actually forbade 11:18 people to have copies of the Scriptures and to read them. 11:20 But Ellen White knew at her time, that in some cases 11:24 the Roman Catholic Church was encouraging people 11:27 to read the Scriptures. 11:28 What she means is explained in the next few sentences, 11:32 so lets continue reading. She says: 11:40 Now here comes the explanation. 11:56 And then she says: 12:14 So, in other words, what she's saying by the word withhold 12:17 the Scriptures, is that the Roman Catholic Church allows 12:21 people to read the Scriptures, and in some cases encourages 12:24 people these days to read the Scriptures, 12:26 but they are to accept the interpretation 12:29 given by the church. 12:30 And so it's as if they are not really reading the Scriptures. 12:33 They are withheld from them in the sense that they are not 12:37 allowed to interpret the Scriptures for themselves. 12:40 Ellen White continues saying: 12:54 It's talking about pastors here. 12:56 She continues saying: 13:38 So when you don't study the Scriptures for yourself 13:41 you are chained in error, is what Ellen White is saying here. 13:45 She continues saying: 14:22 What a powerful statement about what is really happening 14:26 in the Christian world today. 14:28 There are so few Christians today that even read 14:31 the Scriptures for themselves. 14:32 You know, it kind of reminds me of a story of an evangelist 14:36 who once went to visit a farmer, and he wanted to persuade him 14:41 that his view of Scripture was correct. 14:44 And, of course, he needed to find out, first of all, 14:47 what the farmer believed, so he says, Sir, could you tell me 14:50 what you believe? And the farmer says, Well, I believe 14:52 what my church believes. 14:53 And he wasn't about to give up so he says, Well, what 14:56 does your church believe? 14:57 And the farmer says, Well, my church believes what I believe. 15:00 And he still wasn't going to give up, so he says, 15:03 What do you and your church believe? 15:05 We both believe the same thing. 15:07 There are many Christians that are that way. 15:11 They can't think for themselves. 15:13 They can't speak for themselves. 15:14 They simply accept the authority of their church 15:19 without reflection, and without investigation. 15:21 And thus they are caught in the chains of error, 15:25 as it is described by Ellen White. 15:27 Now let me give you some examples from Roman Catholic 15:31 theology about how the Roman Catholic Church 15:34 majors in minors. Do you remember that in the times of 15:37 Christ you had an absurd casuistry where they tried 15:41 to dictate every little detail about how life should go on, 15:45 and what you should do, and what you shouldn't do? 15:48 Well, in the Roman Catholic Church you don't have the Talmud 15:51 where you have this collection of oral sayings that were 15:54 finally codified, you have what is called Cannon Law. 15:58 Now we have some former Roman Catholics here who know 16:02 very well what I mean by Cannon Law. 16:03 Now the Cannon Law was codified in 1752, and I want to share 16:11 with you an interesting question here that comes from Cannon Law. 16:15 Now listen to it. 16:21 You know what Extreme Unction is, right? 16:23 It's called today the anointing of the sick. 16:25 It's our equivalent of anointing, only they believe 16:28 that the oil has virtue, and the oil has power. But anyway: 16:35 Or in the final rites. 16:43 Of course, because the lipstick is between the oil 16:47 and the mouth, right? 16:48 Now notice the answer. 17:05 Does that sound similar to the traditions that existed 17:09 in the days of Christ? Absolutely! 17:12 It's nitpicking! Of course they believe that there's virtue 17:15 in the oil. The oil itself has power. 17:18 And if there's this barrier between the oil and your mouth, 17:20 it's not going to have a powerful effect. 17:23 Now commenting on this prescription of Cannon Law, 17:28 Jaroslav Pelikan, who is a theologian who wrote about 17:32 Roman Catholicism. 17:33 He actually wrote a book called, The Riddle of Roman Catholicism, 17:36 had this to say: 17:50 Does that sound very similar to what happened in the days of 17:55 Christ, where people never actually knew if they were 17:58 obeying because there were so many prescriptions 18:00 and proscriptions that they could not keep up? Absolutely! 18:04 This is the same problem that existed in the days of Christ. 18:08 Thus the Jewish laws contained in the Talmud are paralleled 18:13 by the laws that are contained in Roman Catholic Cannon Law. 18:17 And, believe me, there are thousands of casuistic 18:20 regulations in Roman Catholic Cannon Law. 18:23 In 1983 the Code of Cannon Law contained 7 books, 18:28 and I'm not talking about booklets, I'm talking about 18:31 7 books, with 1,752 Cannons, and many of those Cannons 18:40 are subdivided in multiple paragraphs. 18:42 You're talking about huge volumes, 18:44 applying oral tradition to every little circumstance, 18:49 and every little act, and every little thought that people have, 18:52 just like in the days of Christ. 18:55 Now lets talk a little bit about the Roman Catholic 18:58 view of marriage. I want to read once again from the book, 19:02 The Riddle of Roman Catholicism, by Jaroslav Pelikan. 19:05 He's a very respected scholar that knows Roman Catholicism 19:10 forwards and backwards. 19:12 I want you to notice what he says about the Roman Catholic 19:16 view of marriage. 19:40 Of course who determines whether it was valid? 19:42 Ha ha, the Bishop and the Pope. 19:44 A convert, listen to this! 19:59 Now where in the Bible do you find all of these details 20:03 about what you can do, and what you can't do regarding marriage? 20:06 Does this sound like a problem that existed in Mark 7? 20:10 Actually, folks, a mockery is made of marriage when you 20:14 qualify it, and we create all kinds of exceptions, 20:17 and you're adding to the commandment of God. 20:20 Many times the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church actually 20:24 contradict the clear word of God. 20:26 Lets read a statement from the Council of Trent about marriage, 20:33 and you tell me if this sounds like the Bible. 20:55 Now does that sound like Scripture? Of course not! 20:59 In the Bible the ideal is marriage; 21:03 from the very beginning. 21:04 In fact, in Genesis 1:28 God created marriage. 21:10 Jesus honored marriage by going to a wedding feast 21:13 at the beginning of His ministry. 21:15 In fact all of the original bishops, elders, deacons, 21:19 pastors, were all married, including he who the 21:23 Roman Catholic Church believes was the first Pope, 21:25 because Peter had a mother-in-law. 21:28 And if he had a mother-in-law, he must have been married. 21:32 And so a mockery is made of what the Bible says, 21:37 because of these oral traditions that have been handed down 21:40 from generation to generation. 21:42 Now lets talk a little bit about the Roman Catholic view 21:46 of reading Scripture. 21:47 Now in this age of enlightenment the Roman Catholic Church 21:53 does not forbid the reading of Scripture, because that wouldn't 21:56 go over very well with the media. 21:58 You know, forbidding people to read certain things, 22:00 or to look at certain things. 22:01 But in the past the Roman Catholic Church has had clear 22:04 laws in church councils, where they have forbade lay people 22:09 from reading Scripture. 22:10 For example, Cannon 14 of the Council of Toulouse, France, 22:16 in 1229 said this:... By the way, this is a council 22:20 of the Roman Catholic Church. 22:31 That is the Psalms. 22:44 Now when it means the vulgar tongue, it means the tongue 22:47 that people spoke at that time. 22:48 In other words, not in Latin, because the Roman Catholic 22:52 Church kept everything in Latin during the Dark Ages. 22:55 So basically it's forbidding the Bible to the laity 22:58 in this church council. 23:00 By the way, this is the reason why William Tyndale was burned 23:03 at the stake; for translating the New Testament into English. 23:07 Now notice this statement that we find from John Gilmary Schae. 23:13 He's a Roman Catholic, and he had this to say about the reason 23:16 why the Bible was forbidden to people during the Dark Ages. 23:20 He says: 23:33 Now I don't find anywhere where the apostles say 23:36 that the text is obscure. 23:38 The text is clear. 23:42 The text is simple. 23:44 It's easy to understand. 23:45 But what he's saying is that: 23:57 And, of course, the idea is because it's obscure, 24:00 only the experts, who are able to read the original 24:02 language, are able to tell the people what it means. 24:04 It continues saying: 24:38 That is the translations in the language of the people. 24:52 That is their priests. 24:59 So here's a Roman Catholic scholar admitting that the 25:01 Roman Catholic Church forbade lay people from reading 25:04 the Scriptures, even the Roman Catholic version 25:07 of the Scriptures. 25:08 Now notice what the Council of Trent had to say 25:12 in Rules On Prohibited Books, which was, by the way, 25:17 approved by Pope Pius IV in 1564, just one year after 25:21 the Council of Trent came to an end. 25:23 This declaration by the Council of Trent was 25:26 approved by Pope Pius IV. 25:28 And remember that the Pope speaks from the throne. 25:31 He speaks from the cathedra. 25:33 So notice what it says. 25:44 That is in the language of the people. 26:18 Are you understanding what this statement is saying? 26:21 Notice what it continues saying. 26:37 In other words they have to hand over their copies 26:39 of the Bible to the church. 27:10 Isn't that interesting? 27:12 Church councils saying that lay people could not have 27:17 copies of the Bible in their own language! 27:20 How is it that in the Roman Catholic system, in its church 27:24 councils, they can condemn the reading of the Bible 27:27 by the common lay person when Jesus stated, 27:31 Search the Scriptures, and when the Apostle Paul clearly said 27:35 that the Scriptures are able to make one wise unto salvation. 27:39 Clearly Roman Catholic tradition has made the word of 27:44 God of none effect. 27:46 They have made of none effect the words of Paul, 27:48 and they've made of none effect the words of Jesus. 27:52 Now I'm going to include something that's not 27:55 specifically in your handout. 27:57 You know that Constantine proclaimed a civil Sunday law 28:02 on March 7, 321. By the way, this was not a religious 28:08 Sunday law, this was a civil Sunday law in 321. 28:13 And this is how it read: Let all the judges and town people, 28:17 and the occupation of all trades rest on the 28:22 venerable day of the Sun. 28:24 Now soon this law, which was a civil law, 28:29 morphed into a religious law. 28:31 It didn't take very long because today you have this idea 28:35 that in Europe they are pushing the European Parliament to 28:39 enact a Sunday law all over Europe. 28:44 And it's for social reasons, for family reasons, 28:48 so that people can rest because they work too hard. 28:52 But whenever you have a Sunday law for social reasons, 28:55 it always morphs into a religious law. 28:58 It didn't take very long. 28:59 Cannon 29 of the Synod of Laodicea in 336, 29:06 just a few years later, had this to say about 29:12 the Sabbath and about Sunday. 29:15 Christians must not Judiaze by resting on the Sabbath. 29:21 In other words, Christians should not act like the Jews 29:24 by resting on the Sabbath. 29:26 But must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord's day. 29:31 Are you understanding what this church council is saying? 29:36 It's saying that Christians shall not keep the Sabbath 29:40 like the Jews, but they must work on the Sabbath. 29:43 And rather than the Sabbath, they should 29:45 honor the Lord's day. 29:47 And, if they can, resting then as Christians. 29:51 But if any shall be found to be Judiazers, that is keeping the 29:56 Sabbath along with the Jews, let them be anathema from Christ. 30:01 The word anathema means to be Excommunicated. 30:03 Anathema means, let him be accursed. 30:06 In other words, the church is pronouncing a curse upon those 30:10 who keep the Sabbath that the Jews kept. 30:12 Now is this making the word of God of none effect? Of course! 30:17 The word of God clearly says that the seventh day Sabbath 30:19 is the day of the Lord. 30:21 It's the Lord's day. 30:22 And when the Roman Catholic Church, 30:24 in this Synod of Laodicea, and this was confirmed also 30:29 in the Council of Chalcedon in 451. 30:31 When the Roman Catholic Church says, No, you will be accursed 30:35 if you keep the Sabbath. 30:36 You need to keep Sunday because it's the Lord's day. 30:39 Clearly Roman Catholic tradition is contradicting 30:42 openly the word of God. 30:44 Now lets talk a little bit about the role of Mary 30:48 in the Roman Catholic Church. 30:49 This is the biggest example that I'm going to share with you 30:52 in our study today. 30:53 And many of you who did not grow up in the Roman Catholic 30:56 Church are going to be surprised by some of the things 30:58 that I'm going to say. 31:00 I grew up a Protestant. 31:02 I grew up a Seventh-day Adventist from the time 31:04 that I was born into a Seventh-day Adventist family. 31:06 The only reason I know all of these things is because 31:09 I've had to study it, because I taught a class in 31:12 Roman Catholic theology when I taught in our 31:15 University in Columbia. 31:16 And, of course, I grew up in Columbia, Venezuela, 31:18 where the religion at that time was almost 100% Catholic. 31:22 So I came much into contact with Roman Catholics, 31:25 and the Roman Catholic Church. 31:26 Now there was a Roman Catholic scholar priest by the name of 31:30 Saint Alphonsus Liluori, and he was one of the most prolific 31:35 writers of the Roman Catholic Church. 31:37 Actually, he wrote 22 volumes. 31:40 22 volumes have been published from Saint Alphonusus Liguori. 31:44 He was canonized as a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church 31:48 by Pope Gregory XIV in the year 1839, and he was declared 31:54 a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX. 31:58 And, by the way, there are only 32 Doctors of the Church 32:02 in the Roman Catholic Church. 32:03 They are the cream of the crop when it comes to 32:06 scholarship in the Roman Catholic Church. 32:08 Now one of the books that were written by 32:14 Saint Alphonsus Liguori is called, The Glories of Mary. 32:18 And in Roman Catholic theology, it's considered to be 32:22 one of his masterpieces. 32:23 Basically, this book provides all of the wisdom, 32:29 in quotation marks, of all of the great thinkers in the 32:33 history of the Roman Catholic Church, up till the 17th century 32:37 on the importance of marriage in relationship to the individual, 32:42 and in relationship to the church. 32:44 Now I want to emphasize that this book is not 32:47 simply Liguori's opinion. 32:49 It is actually a collection of all of the oral traditions 32:54 that have supposedly been passed down all the way from 32:57 the times of the apostles. 32:58 It includes all of the Roman Catholic wisdom 33:01 on the role of Mary. 33:03 Now I want to read from Liguori himself the reason why 33:08 he wrote this book. 33:09 He says this in The Glories of Mary, page 30. 33:55 Since when was Mary divine? 33:57 In other words, he wrote that the purpose of this book was 34:01 to lead people to have a strong devotion towards Mary. 34:07 Now basically the book contains several chapters. 34:10 And in each one of the chapters he seeks to prove 34:14 a certain point about Mary. 34:16 After he proves his point he provides an illustration, 34:20 and after he provides an illustration of that point, 34:23 then he ends the chapter with a prayer offered to Mary. 34:28 Now the edition that I used when I studied this was from the 34:32 Redemptorist Fathers. 34:33 It was published in 1931, and it has the imprimatur, 34:38 that is the official acceptance and condoning of the 34:42 Roman Catholic Church. 34:44 It has the imprimatur by Cardinal Patrick Hayes, 34:49 and it was given on April 16, 1931. 34:52 Now most of the statements or quotations in this book 34:57 that Liguori uses, come from the church fathers, many of them 35:01 from the church fathers from way back in post-apostolic times, 35:05 all the way till the 17th Century when he actually lived. 35:08 There are also quotations from the Apocrypha, 35:11 the Apocrypha books, you know the Roman Catholic Church uses 35:13 You know the Roman Catholic uses 14 books, or portions of 35:15 books that are not found in Protestant Bibles. 35:17 It uses, for example, Ecclesiastics and 35:22 The Wisdom of Solomon, which are included in 35:24 Roman Catholic Bibles. 35:25 And also it includes many quotations from the book of 35:29 Proverbs, and from Song of Solomon, where the relationship, 35:34 for example Song of Solomon speaks about the relationship 35:37 between Solomon and his bride, as an illustration of the 35:41 relationship between Christ and His church. 35:43 Now the texts in this book constantly are torn 35:48 out of their context. 35:49 Let me give you a few examples. 35:52 In this book on page 101, Liguori says, If Mary is for us, 35:59 who can be against us? 36:01 Do you know where that text comes from? 36:03 Romans 8:31, but in the original it says, If Christ is for us, 36:07 who can be against us? 36:08 He also says on page 202 of his book, Mary was prefigured 36:13 by the dove which returned to Noah in the ark, with an olive 36:17 branch in its beak as a pledge of the peace 36:19 which God granted to men. 36:21 In other words the dove represented Mary. 36:23 Now where do you find that in scripture? 36:25 On page 244 He says, Saint Gregory said this: 36:36 So in other words, the city of God is described gloriously 36:39 in Scripture, but Mary is the city of God. 36:41 On pages 244 and 245 we find this statement: 36:55 That's 1 Timothy 2:19, by the way. So once again: 37:08 Now comes the explanation. 37:16 So the seal you have that shows that you are of God 37:21 is your devotion to Mary. 37:22 And it's interesting to notice that after Liguori was buried... 37:29 He was buried in Nosari, by the way. 37:31 ...His grave was opened, and three fingers from his right 37:37 hand were cut off, and they were sent to Rome by the 37:41 wish of Pope Pius VII. 37:43 And the Pope explained the reason why 37:45 his fingers were cut off. 37:46 And, by the way, they're still there in Rome. 38:02 And so because those were his writing fingers, 38:05 you know they have to venerate the fingers, 38:08 and so the fingers are sent to Rome because of all these 38:11 beautiful things that he wrote about Mary. 38:13 In a few moments I'm going to share some things that he wrote 38:15 about Mary, which will be an eye opener. 38:17 Now one thing which is very interesting is that everything 38:21 that the Bible attributes to Christ, the Roman Catholic 38:24 Church attributes to Mary. 38:26 You have this statement in Liguori, page 470, the edition 38:30 that I mentioned, where Liguori says this: 38:45 And you'll find in this book time and again expressions 38:48 such as, it was fitting, it was necessary, it was befitting 38:53 that Mary go through the same identical experiences as Jesus. 38:58 And as you read this book, you discover that Mary is 39:01 actually a rival of Jesus. 39:03 Mary rivals Jesus! In other words, everything that the 39:08 Bible applies exclusively to Jesus, Liguori, and the church 39:13 fathers apply to Mary. 39:15 Now lets take one example. 39:18 The Roman Catholic Church believes that Mary 39:21 was perpetually a virgin. 39:23 In other words, she not only remained a virgin after 39:28 she had Jesus, which is out of the ordinary, but she never 39:33 had sexual relations with Joseph after that. 39:36 That's what the Roman Catholic Church believes. 39:38 And she never, never had other children. 39:40 Now can that be sustained from Sscripture? It can't. 39:45 Let me explain why the Roman Catholic Church believes that. 39:47 The reason the Roman Catholic Church believes that is because 39:50 Saint Augustine, one of the two great pillars of the 39:53 Roman Catholic Church, in terms of theology: 39:56 one is Saint Augustine, and the other is Saint Thomas Aquinas. 39:59 Those are the two tremendous pillars of theology in the 40:02 Roman Catholic Church. 40:03 Saint Augustine believed that original sin in the 40:07 Garden of Eden was sexual sin. 40:09 In other words, the tree was not a literal tree, and the fruit 40:13 was not a literal fruit. 40:14 The tree was Eve, and Adam partook of sex with Eve 40:18 before it was allowed. 40:20 And so original sin was sexual sin. 40:22 And so in Roman Catholic theology sex is mainly for 40:28 what? mainly for procreation, not for pleasure. 40:31 Because sex in itself is evil. 40:34 And this is the real reason why priests, and why nuns 40:38 don't get married. 40:39 It's not so that they can devote more of their time 40:41 to the church. It's simply because sex is seen as something 40:47 negative, something that is primarily for procreation. 40:51 Now is there evidence in Scripture that Mary did have 40:55 other children? Absolutely! 40:57 Lets notice the evidence. 40:59 In Luke 2:7, speaking about Mary it says: 41:06 Now what does firstborn mean? 41:08 He's not the only begotten son. 41:11 He's the what? the firstborn son. 41:21 So if she had a firstborn son, that would hint that she 41:24 had other children. 41:25 Notice also Matthew 1:18. 41:28 This idea that she was perpetually a virgin, 41:30 and Joseph never had sexual relationships with her, 41:33 even after Jesus was born. 41:35 Notice Matthew 1:18. 41:49 So did they come together after they got married? 41:52 Of course! Notice also Matthew 1:24, 25. Very clear! It says: 42:05 And now notice, and Joseph... 42:16 What does it mean that he did not know her 42:18 until she had Jesus? 42:20 What does the word know mean? 42:23 It means to have sexual relations. 42:25 Adam knew his wife, and she conceived a son. 42:28 So there's clear evidence from Scripture that Mary did have 42:34 a normal marriage with Joseph, and most likely 42:37 she had other children. 42:38 Notice also Psalm 69:8. 42:41 You notice that this is the Messianic Psalm, 42:46 because verse 9 says, zeal for Your house has eaten Me up. 42:50 Do you remember Jesus quoted that when He 42:52 cleansed the temple? zeal for Your house has eaten Me up? 42:54 And also in that chapter, in verse 21 you have, gall for food 42:59 and vinegar to drink, that they gave to Jesus. 43:02 And that also is fulfilled with Jesus in the New Testament. 43:05 But also in that chapter the psalmist says: 43:12 And this is the Messiah speaking. 43:19 To my... You know Jesus had brothers, but they were the sons 43:23 of Joseph. But here it says the mother's children, 43:27 which would clearly indicate that Mary had children. 43:31 There's nothing evil about sex within the 43:35 marriage relationship. 43:36 But in Roman Catholicism it is looked upon as evil. 43:40 They might not openly admit it, but you read their works, 43:44 you see Saint Augustine, before he became a Christian, 43:48 and before he devoted his life to the Lord, 43:51 he lived a very promiscuous life. 43:53 And he described how he struggled with the idea of sex, 43:57 until finally he wrote about this idea that sex was the 44:02 original sin in the Garden of Eden. 44:04 Now lets examine what Liguori says that the fathers 44:08 stated about Mary. 44:10 Here's where it's going to become very surprising. 44:13 Liguori says that the fathers taught that Mary was conceived 44:18 without original sin. 44:20 This is known as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. 44:24 It doesn't mean that Jesus was conceived without sin, 44:27 it means that Mary was born without a sinful nature. 44:30 Where in the Bible do you find any verse about 44:33 the birth of Mary? 44:34 Is there anything in the Bible that talks about 44:36 the birth of Mary? No. 44:38 Is there anything that says that Mary was born without a 44:41 sinful nature like Jesus? 44:43 They say, Well, if Jesus was born without a sinful nature, 44:45 then His mother, you know, she had to be born 44:47 without a sinful nature also. 44:49 In Roman Catholic theology Mary is called the mother of God. 44:53 Is there any place in the Bible that said she's 44:55 the mother of God? No! 44:57 She's the mother of Christ, of the human Christ. 44:59 Roman Catholic theology in this book, and other sources says 45:03 that Mary was taken bodily to heaven. 45:05 It's known as the Assumption of Mary. 45:07 You know some sources say that she died, and three days later 45:11 she resurrected and went to heaven. 45:12 It's kind of copying what happened with Jesus. 45:15 Others say that she didn't die, she was translated 45:17 without dying. But the point is the Roman Catholic Church 45:20 believes that she's in heaven now. 45:22 Now notice the reason that is given by Karl Keating. 45:27 He's a Roman Catholic theologian. 45:29 Notice the reason that he gives why the Roman Catholic Church 45:33 believes in the Assumption of Mary. Listen to this: 45:48 So he's admitting there is no Biblical evidence 45:51 for the Assumption of Mary. 46:02 Now this doesn't make any sense! 46:11 Now that's real scholarly, and real in touch. 46:16 Because the church says so, you have to accept it. 46:18 Because it's one of the traditions that has 46:20 been handed down. 46:21 Now listen to what the Roman Catholic Church 46:24 believes about Mary. 46:25 This is from Liguori's book. 46:27 By the way, I have a few extra copies if somebody would like 46:30 a copy of the book to read. 46:32 It's fascinating reading, and it's frustrating reading. 46:35 It's blasphemous reading. 46:36 Because what I'm going to share now about what the church says 46:40 about Mary is nothing short of blasphemy. 46:43 You know, if Mary resurrected now, she would die of a 46:46 heart attack if she saw what the Roman Catholic Church 46:49 has done with her. 46:50 This is what is taught in that book. 46:53 The world was created by God and Mary. 46:57 She was born immaculate and holy, without a sinful nature. 47:01 She never sinned during her lifetime. 47:04 She is the incarnation of the Holy Spirit. 47:08 See, because Jesus was God, and He became incarnate, 47:13 so the Holy Spirit had to be incarnate in Mary. 47:16 That's the idea. Where does the Bible say that? 47:19 Where does the Bible say any of these things? 47:21 Nowhere! It's tradition. 47:23 The book says, She is full of grace and can dispense it 47:29 to human beings at will. 47:30 The book says she is a priest. 47:33 She is our advocate, our mediator. 47:36 The last time I read my Bible, it says we have one mediator 47:40 between God and man, Jesus Christ the man. 47:43 And I want you to notice what this declaration, Lumen Gentium, 47:49 which was one of the proclamations at 47:51 Vatican Council II, has to say about this. 47:56 Mary, supposedly. 48:18 Those are titles that they give her. 48:22 You know they use John 3:16. 48:24 Mary loved the world that she gave her only begotten Son. 48:28 They say Mary is our ladder. 48:31 Well, who is the ladder? 48:32 The Son of man is the ladder, Jesus says. 48:35 They say we are supposed to pray to Mary to ask for favors, 48:39 and Mary will answer us. 48:40 In fact, there's one father that said we could only know 48:43 God through Mary. 48:44 Mary helps us when we're tempted. 48:48 Mary is the way to the Father. 48:50 Mary is the door. Mary is the rod out of the root of Jesse. 48:54 Wow! She is co-redemptrix. 49:00 Now the Roman Catholic Church does not teach this as dogma 49:03 yet, but there's a strong drive and pressure to recognize 49:07 Mary as co-redemptrix with Jesus. 49:11 In fact, Roman Catholic theology teaches that if Mary had not 49:14 consented to bring Jesus into the world, there would have 49:17 been no redemption. 49:18 Now I want to read from Kenneth Woodward. 49:22 Do you know who Kenneth Woodward is? 49:23 The guy who with Bernstein unveiled the Watergate thing? 49:29 He's a staunch Roman Catholic. 49:31 Notice what he has to say. 49:32 This is in an article in Newsweek magazine titled, 49:35 Hail Mary, August 25, 1997. 49:39 This is on the drive to make Mary a co-redemptrix. He says: 50:23 And then he says this: 50:41 That's blasphemy, folks. 50:43 There's nothing in the Bible on that. 50:45 Not even the faintest hint! 50:47 Implicit, it's not there! 50:50 It comes purely through tradition. 50:53 And those who are looking to Mary for salvation, 50:55 they can't be saved. 50:56 Because there is no name given under heaven whereby we 51:01 might be saved, except the name of Jesus. 51:03 It is a salvation issue. 51:04 It's not like Protestants are saying today, 51:09 Tony Palmer, for example. 51:10 He says, Oh it doesn't really make any 51:12 difference what we believe. 51:13 If we have contrary beliefs we'll settle that 51:15 when we get to heaven. 51:16 The fact is, if you think that Mary is the one that you have 51:20 to look to for salvation, you're not going to make it there 51:23 to unravel things. 51:24 Now notice what else we find. 51:28 This is Mark Miravalle who is one of the ones who is strongly 51:32 fighting to make Mary co-redemptrix. He says: 51:38 That is Mary. 51:53 I have a list of things that she's called in this book. 51:57 She is called our refuge, our throne of grace. 52:01 She's the light of the sun. 52:03 She is our life. She changes and transforms lives. 52:08 She protects us from the power of Satan. 52:10 She is our propitiation. 52:12 She has a name that is above all names. 52:15 If we die we have assurance of life in her. 52:18 All power is given to her in heaven and on Earth. 52:22 She is all powerful. 52:23 These are terms that are used in the book. 52:25 These are not my terms. 52:26 These are terms that are used that are taught by 52:29 Roman Catholic theologians throughout the course of 52:31 Roman Catholic history. 52:32 She is all powerful. 52:33 She's the morning star. 52:35 She's the mercy seat. 52:36 She crushes the serpent's head. 52:38 In fact, if you look at the Vulgate, the Roman Catholic 52:41 translation, it says, She shall crush your head. 52:47 It doesn't say He, it says she shall crush your head. 52:51 Because they totally mistranslate the text and apply 52:54 it to Mary, saying that Mary was going to crush the 52:56 head of the serpent. 52:58 This book calls her the pillar of cloud and fire. 53:02 We can cast out devils in her name. 53:05 She is the water of life. 53:07 She's the peacemaker. 53:08 She's the tower of refuge. 53:09 She draws all men to herself. 53:11 She gives eternal life. 53:12 She is worthy of being praised. 53:14 She is our hope. We can be saved by Mary's merits. 53:17 She is the rainbow of promise. 53:19 She died, her body saw no corruption, she resurrected, 53:23 and ascended on the third day. 53:26 What do you think? 53:32 And yet Protestants today are saying, Let's all just 53:35 join together and forget about our doctrinal differences. 53:39 Are Protestants willing to come to the point where they say 53:44 that we should confess our sins to a priest? 53:46 Are Protestants at the point where they say that a human 53:50 being can give you an indulgence for sin? 53:53 Our Protestants ready to say that without Mary there would 53:57 have been no plan of salvation? 53:58 That she's co-redeemer, and she's our mediator? 54:01 And that she has to mediate between us, and Jesus, 54:04 and then Jesus goes to the Father. 54:05 But she has to mediate with Jesus first. 54:07 Are they willing to accept that the apocrypha 54:12 belonged to scripture? 54:13 I mean are Protestants willing to cast aside all of these 54:17 differences, theological differences, which many have 54:20 to do with salvation, and simply sweep them under 54:24 the rug and say, Oh let's just all unite, and let's get along. 54:27 That's what Protestantism is doing today, 54:31 because we live in a post-modern world where truth 54:33 no longer matters. 54:34 Doctrine no longer matters. 54:37 Belief no longer matters. 54:39 But let me tell you, your beliefs soon 54:41 become your practice. 54:42 Your belief system becomes your practice. 54:45 And so what we believe is very important in our lives. 54:50 So the final issue is going to be, what is your authority? 54:54 Is your authority the word, the written word of God, 54:58 as it's found in Scripture, or is your authority tradition? 55:03 Are Protestants, like Tony Palmer and others, 55:08 willing to reach the point where they say, Oh it doesn't really 55:12 matter whether the Roman Catholic Church teaches that 55:15 there's a purgatory, and that there's a limbo, 55:17 and there's an eternally burning hell. 55:20 It doesn't matter if the Roman Catholic Church says that 55:23 Sunday is the day of rest. 55:24 None of that really matters. 55:26 Lets just do what Jesus said, That they may all be one, 55:30 even as You and I are one. 55:31 Well, it's interesting. 55:32 Do you think that God the Father, and God the Son 55:35 have conflicting theologies? 55:38 Do you think the Father and Son have a different belief system, 55:42 and different practices? 55:44 No! They're one because they're on the same page. 55:47 So Jesus prayed, I want all of My people to be one, 55:52 as I and My Father are one. 55:54 Now if there wasn't any discrepancy between the Father 55:57 and the Son, in their practice and belief system, why should we 56:00 say, Oh, let's unite even if we have conflicting points of view? 56:05 That's not unity at all. 56:06 In fact, unity that is not based on the word of God is meant 56:12 ultimately to crumble to pieces. 56:15 And that will be the last topic that we're going to study, 56:18 the man who built his house upon the rock. 56:20 When the flood came, and when the winds came, 56:24 the house remained firm because it was built on the rock. 56:27 And the Rock is Christ and His Word. 56:29 But the individual who built on the sand? 56:32 That's human traditions and human speculations, 56:34 like the scribes and the Pharisees. 56:36 When the winds of strife came, and when the floods of 56:39 persecution came, the house fell because it was not 56:43 built upon the rock of God's word. 56:46 Ellen White wrote a chapter in The Great Controversy titled, 56:51 Our Only Safeguard. 56:53 Everybody should read that chapter in 56:55 The Great Controversy. 56:56 The only safeguard of God's people in the end time is found 57:00 in taking God strictly at His word as it is written 57:05 in His holy book. Not adding or taking away, or twisting, 57:10 or giving our own interpretation, but by living 57:13 by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 57:16 God's people have to live simply by a thus saith the Lord. |
Revised 2014-12-17