Is Catholic Tradition Equal To The Bible?
| In receiving lots of e-mails from Catholics I get a pulse
on the latest misinformation they are receiving from their apologists. The
issue of oral tradition is one such error. Catholics are being told that the
early church passed things down orally that are not in our Bible--so we
gotta listen to the Catholic religion.
In typical style they are given some Bible verses to tenuously support this false doctrine. Well, we are going to bring it all out in the open. The light of the word maketh manifest, you know. We are going to examine the following: Does the Bible support Catholic tradition? Is the "Sin of Presumption" supported by the Bible? Did Jesus appoint a multi-billion dollar organization to be boss? Did the Catholic religion give me the scriptures? Is the Bible enough for me to know God and His will? Can tradition and the Bible both be true? Why does the Catholic Religion emphasize tradition so much? I'll answer that with another question: How could they support its heretical doctrines using the scripture as the sole rule of authority?
Take practically any Catholic practice and it will fit in here. What is Catholic tradition supposed to mean anyway? I'll let one of our Catholic readers explain:
Oh, so there is a whole bunch of stuff I CAN'T know from the Bible because it was only given orally and the Catholic religion has somehow been able to get this spoken word from somewhere and tell me what it was. I see and I reject this nonsense. First let's see what Jesus says about man's tradition (I love the word of God, it just illuminates everything). |
What does Jesus say about Tradition?
What else does Jesus say about Tradition?
THIS is the Scripture passage that Catholics desperately need to read! But alas, instead they listen to their apologists and try to support their man-made traditions with the Book they once burned and outlawed! Does the Bible support Catholic tradition like they say it does? Now, they have the nerve to go to THE BIBLE for proof of their tradition. What scriptures do they give as biblical proof of Catholic Tradition? Let's look at some of them... |
| 1 Corinthians 15:3, 11 For I delivered unto you first of all that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures;
Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. |
Where does it say, "Listen to Catholic Tradition?" Relevance please? Where does it say this was passed down by oral tradition? |
| 2 Tim 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. | Where does it say, "Listen to Catholic Tradition?" Relevance please? Where does it say this is oral tradition? |
| John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the 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. | Relevance please? This does not commend us to the Traditions of the Catholic religion. Where does it say this is oral tradition? |
| The Catholic "Sin of Presumption" says it is a sin to say that you have eternal life. They say that you simply can't know for sure. But what does the Bible say?
The Catholic religion calls the Bible a lie. The "Sin of Presumption" tradition says that it is a sin to say that you know FOR SURE that you are going to heaven--but didn't we just read a Bible verse GURANTEEING HEAVEN to the believer? More verses that the Catholic religion uses to support their heretical traditions.
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| 1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. | Where does it say, "Listen to Catholic Tradition?" Relevance please? |
| 2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. | Where does it say, "Listen to Catholic Tradition?" Relevance please? |
| 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. | Where does it say, "Listen to Catholic Tradition?" Relevance please? Paul is instructing people who heard him and his fellowlaborers. |
| Did Jesus say some big multi-BILLION dollar organization would lord over the believer? Negative, my friend. The pope has got the nerve to claim that he not only has spiritual control over the whole world but that he has temporal sovereignty--that means he is over top of everybody--the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of England--he is everybody's boss! "You gotta do this, you can't that, you can't interpret that, you gotta pay money to get her out of purgatory, you gotta listen to me, me, me!" Catholics scream, "The pope gotta tell us what God wants! We can't know it for ourselves, we're too blind! We need an earthly vicar of Christ to tell us what to believe." But what did the meek Jesus say? Jesus said that true believers would never lord over other believers. He didn't just say it one time in the scriptures either--He said it three times:
Do Catholics even care about Jesus? He's been left out of the equation. They've replaced Him with "His (un)Holiness, the pope." Lord have mercy, Jesus. If the pope was a man of God, what would he do? Instead of bossing everybody around and telling them how to disobey the scriptures, he'd agree with Paul by saying...
Hallelujah and thank you Jesus for laying it all out in your word! You are the Word (John 1:1)! Jesus never sanctioned the organization of the Catholic religion, in fact He hates it. |
| True believers have ALWAYS
had the Scriptures
One Catholic reader said this...
I must admit no such thing. The written word of God, the scriptures, have always been available to true believers. Not only that, the written word has always been operative in God's dealing with mankind. The Ten Commandments were written in stone! It wasn't this memory business. The Jewish people were the careful custodians of the written scriptures:
Most of us know how carefully the written word was kept by God's chosen people, Israel. God has always emphasized the importance of keeping His written word:
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and it is ALL about the importance of knowing the scriptures. But what about in the New Testament? Jesus read from the BOOK Isaiah in the synagogue:
Paul read the gospel of JESUS IN THE WRITTEN WORD! Listen:
We know Timothy had the WRITTEN word of the gospel as a child:
The Bereans didn't just listen to what the apostles said, but they compared their teaching to the SCRIPTURES to see if those things were so.
We are told in the New Testament to study the word and RIGHTLY divide it. That means don't be misinterpreting! Tell the truth about the Bible, not lies:
Well, what is the truth? Jesus told us:
I could go on and on examining this issue of us true believers always having the scriptures...
Did the Catholic religion give me the scriptures? I can't believe they are even forming their mouths to say this. The Catholic religion hates the Bible. The Catholic religion killed upwards of 50 MILLION PEOPLE because they wanted to stop the reading of the Bible. What gall they have to mention this thing about giving me the scriptures. They BURNED the scriptures. Do not be under the false assumption that there was ever a time when the Catholic religion had control of all Christendom. True Bible believers have always been around living, growing and thriving in isolated areas--people like the Waldensians and the Lollardsands. Is the Bible enough? The Catholic religion says, "No, the Bible is not enough. You have to keep it in perspective." But the Bible says something entirely different. Revelation says the BIBLE IS COMPLETE. That means the Bible ain't missin' nothin! There is nothing to be added and nothing to be taken away.
If you are a Catholic person teaching people to believe in Tradition, you need to re-evaluate what you are doing. Not only do you follow a false gospel, you add to and subtract from God's word. You might want to read the above again and consider what you are doing. I've compiled a list of every New Testament reference to the word "scripture". NO WHERE will you find it say that the scriptures are not sufficient for everything that we need. One Catholic told me,
Of course this is not true, but the larger question is this: Where does the Bible say that it is NOT the sole rule of faith? If what you believe is supposed to be based on the Bible, then logically speaking, there must be a place that specifically sanctions the Catholic religion and its traditions. You won't find it. The burden of proof rests on the Catholic, not the Bible believer. What does Tradition mean to the Catholic? How does the Catholic reliance on the Traditions of men manifest itself? They quote men like they quote the Bible! In fact, they are commanded to believe 100% of everything that Tradition says and they MUST EQUATE TRADITION with the Bible, the word of God! Catholic quotes:
Catholics quote MEN just like they are quoting the Word of God and believe EVERYTHING men say! But doesn't the Bible say, "Let God be true and EVERY man a liar?" They believe lies! They teach lies! They have committed their very souls to liars. Open your eyes and see Catholic reader. An example of tradition in action. Let's take an example of one of their grievous errors--their worship of Mary. It simply CANNOT be justified through the scriptures. It simply CANNOT be done. But it can be REFUTED from the Bible! That's why they are alway bringing up a "sola scriptura" mumbo-jumbo mix and want to fuss with you about it. The ONLY way that you can assert that Mary was a "perpetual virgin" is through Catholic Traditions. You CANNOT find this error in the Bible. You cannot. It is same thing with practically everything else they believe. Conclusion Either you believe the written word or you'll believe what MEN tell you about the written word. Catholics will tell you, "I believe the Bible is 100% true and I believe that Catholic Tradition is 100% true." I've got news for you, two contradictory documents cannot both be 100% true. It is logically impossible. God will not accept your worship based on a lie. |