Misunderstanding
Today I was watching two YouTube videos of Baptist ministers who were preaching against the Catholic Church. Then I began to read comments that many people had made in regards to these videos. One thing that stands out to me the most is how wrong these ministers are in their preaching. They preach what they think the Catholic Church teaches and the truth is that what they preach is not what our Church teaches.
On one video there is a Baptist Minister who has a statue of St. Therese of Lisieux and calls it Mary. He then begins to speak how Catholic worship the statue and how the statue is thought to have special powers. Then to prove his point that the statue does nothing he destroys it with a hammer. How sad that he believes that Catholic's worship statues. Statues are not for worship they are to point us in the direction of Heaven. Every Saint that lived, and that were proclaimed a Saint by the church, is because they lived virtuous lives in service of God and His people. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT STATUES ARE LIVING! What we do believe is that these images are like family pictures of those that have passed on to their eternal rest. These statues remind us of those who surpassed us. Destroying an image of a Saint would be equivalent to destroying a picture of your grandmother or any other loved one. We believe that our God is the God of the living, not of the dead. Therefore, we believe that all who have died are alive, whether in heaven or not is a different story, for only GOD can judge and place anyone where He sees fit. I think it is very unwise to preach on something one does not fully know or understand. As a seminarian we are encouraged to study and understand the beliefs of others because that will allow us to have educated conversations.
The other thing that was preached about by the Baptist minister was how it is all about salvation through faith. He also says that what the Catholic Church teaches is not necessarily found in scripture, but where does in scripture does it say that only through faith can one be saved. St. James says that faith without works is a dead faith. So, that means that our faith should lead us to works. Yes, we believe that we are saved through the grace of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that we are not responsible for the well being of others.
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - James 2:26 (KJV). "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" - James 2:14 (KJV).
You see St. James makes it very clear that one cannot be saved by faith alone.
Finally is Sola Scriptura. Many ministers preach that all teaching is found solely in scripture. But where does the bible say that? There isn't anywhere in scripture that says that everything should come from scripture alone. As a matter of fact, St. Peter says, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" - 2 Peter 1:20 and St. John, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." - John 21:25.
May God Bless you with his infinite blessings. May Mother Mary lead you to a deeper faith and relationship in Jesus Christ. AMEN
On one video there is a Baptist Minister who has a statue of St. Therese of Lisieux and calls it Mary. He then begins to speak how Catholic worship the statue and how the statue is thought to have special powers. Then to prove his point that the statue does nothing he destroys it with a hammer. How sad that he believes that Catholic's worship statues. Statues are not for worship they are to point us in the direction of Heaven. Every Saint that lived, and that were proclaimed a Saint by the church, is because they lived virtuous lives in service of God and His people. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT STATUES ARE LIVING! What we do believe is that these images are like family pictures of those that have passed on to their eternal rest. These statues remind us of those who surpassed us. Destroying an image of a Saint would be equivalent to destroying a picture of your grandmother or any other loved one. We believe that our God is the God of the living, not of the dead. Therefore, we believe that all who have died are alive, whether in heaven or not is a different story, for only GOD can judge and place anyone where He sees fit. I think it is very unwise to preach on something one does not fully know or understand. As a seminarian we are encouraged to study and understand the beliefs of others because that will allow us to have educated conversations.
The other thing that was preached about by the Baptist minister was how it is all about salvation through faith. He also says that what the Catholic Church teaches is not necessarily found in scripture, but where does in scripture does it say that only through faith can one be saved. St. James says that faith without works is a dead faith. So, that means that our faith should lead us to works. Yes, we believe that we are saved through the grace of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean that we are not responsible for the well being of others.
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." - James 2:26 (KJV). "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" - James 2:14 (KJV).
You see St. James makes it very clear that one cannot be saved by faith alone.
Finally is Sola Scriptura. Many ministers preach that all teaching is found solely in scripture. But where does the bible say that? There isn't anywhere in scripture that says that everything should come from scripture alone. As a matter of fact, St. Peter says, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" - 2 Peter 1:20 and St. John, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." - John 21:25.
May God Bless you with his infinite blessings. May Mother Mary lead you to a deeper faith and relationship in Jesus Christ. AMEN
Very well said Henry!
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