Heresies Exposed
HERESIES EXPOSED A Brief Critical Examination in the Light of the Holy Scriptures of some of the Prevailing Heresies and False Teachings of Today
Compiled by
WM. C. IRVINE Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot
New York First Edition, 1917 - Fifteenth Edition 1944 Roman Catholicism By Wm. C. Irvine
WE ARE desirous in this article of proving from Rome’s own statements that her system of teaching is both unscriptural and false. Let her own mouth condemn her, "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matthew 12:37).
Idolatry Our first charge is that she is an IDOLATROUS CHURCH. But it may be asked, Does Rome really teach the worship of idols? Archdeacon Sinclair, writing on Image Worship, said:- The twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent decrees that the images of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and of the other saints, are especially to be had and retained in the churches, and that honor and veneration are to be paid to them. From the Protestant Alliance Magazine, July, 1922, we cull the following:- The Creed of Pope Pius IV teaches thus:-
"I most firmly assert that the image of the Christ, of the Mother of God, ever Virgin, and also of the other saints ought to be had and retained, and that due honor and veneration are to be given them." The Catechism of the Council of Trent says:- "It is lawful to have images in the church, and to give honor and worship unto them,"
"Images of the saints are put in churches as well, that they may be worshipped."
Rome and the Bible Our next charge is that Rome is HOSTILE to the BIBLE, and both prohibits, and when unable to do that, discourages the reading of the Scriptures among her adherents.
Pope Pius VII, in 1816, denounced Bible Societies as "a crafty device by which the very foundations of religion are undermined, a pestilence which must be remedied and abolished." The authorized Catholic Dictionary records, with apparent satisfaction, that Leo XII, Pius VIII, and Pius IX have likewise, in their turn, warned Catholics against the Protestant Bible Societies. Leo XIII, in 1897, prohibited "all versions in any vernacular language made by non-Catholics, and specially those published by the Bible Societies." In the same document, he altogether prohibited "vernacular versions even by Catholics, unless approved by the Holy See or published under the vigilant care of the bishops, with annotations." Rome knows that an open Bible, without Notes, spells her ruin. For no Scripture teaches anything about Purgatory, the worship of Mary or the saints, or upholds the Confessional, the Mass and the priesthood. (Quoted in The Indian Christian, November, 1922).
(Rev.) Dr. Cahill declared that "he would rather the Catholic should read the worst books of immorality than the Protestant Bible-that forgery of God’s Word, that slander of Christ." - (Roman Catholic Tablet, December 17, 1853, p. 804).
"Do you allow your flock to read the Bible at all?" said a writer in the Contemporary Review to a friend of his, a parish priest. "No, sir, I do not; you forget that I am a physician, not a poisoner of souls."-April, 1894, p. 576.
Rome’s greatest enemy is God’s Word. Rome’s hostility to the free circulation of the Bible is a matter of history. Even to this day in Roman Catholic countries, the Bible is almost unknown, and the public burning of Bibles (sent out by the Bible Societies) in South America is an object lesson how she still seeks to binder the circulation of God’s own Book whenever she has the power. Bibles were burnt in Rome as recently as 1923, in the public street.
Rome’s Blasphemous Claims
Further, the Church of Rome makes BLASPHEMOUS CLAIMS for her priests and particularly for the Popes of Rome. Pope Pius X uttered the following words:- The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but He is Jesus Christ Himself, hidden under the veil of the flesh. Does the Pope speak? It is Jesus Christ that speaks. Does the Pope accord a favor or pronounce an anathema? It is Jesus Christ who pronounces the anathema Or accords the favor. (Protestant Alliance Magazine, March, 1922).
Further, from the same Magazine of February, 1922, We read:- OUR LORD GOD THE POPE.-These words appeared in the Roman Canon Law: "To believe that our Lord God the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical.-I?i the Gloss "Extravagantes" o.f Pope John XXII Cum inter, Tit. XIV, Cap. IV. Ad Callem Sexti Decretalium, Paris, 1685.
LORD GOD THE POPE.-Father A. Pereira says: "It is quite certain that Popes have never approved or rejected this title ’Lord God the Pope,’ for the passage in the gloss referred to appears in the edition of the Canon Law published in Rome in 1580 by Gregory XIII." THE POPE AND GOD THE SAME.-Writers on the Canon Law say, "The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in heaven and earth."- Barclay Cap. XXVII, p. 218. Cities Petrus Bertrandus, Pius V. - Cardinal Cusa supports his statement. THE POPE, BEING GOD, CANNOT BE JUDGED.-Pope Nicholas I declared that "the appellation of God had been confirmed by Constantine on the Pope, who, being God, cannot be judged by man." - Labb IX Dist.: 96 Song of Solomon 7:1-13, Satis evidentur, Decret Gratian Primer Para. The horrible blasphemy of all this may well shock the reader. Much more evidence of the kind is easily produced to show that Popes, priests and people of this apostate church actually dare to claim these preposterous pretensions. Her Intermediaries Not only, as seen above, does this apostate church claim for a mere man an equality with God, but, despite the clear word of Scripture: "THERE IS ONE GOD, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5), she claims for a MERE WOMAN this POSITION which belongs to Christ alone. In "Glories of Mary" by Liguori, whose writings at the time of his canonization were declared to be absolutely free from error, he teaches that Mary is not only to be appealed to as Advocate and Mediator, but actually teaches that she is more merciful than our blessed Lord Himself. He writes:-
He who is under the protection of Mary will be saved; he who is not will be lost . . . O immaculate Virgin, we are under thy protection, and therefore we have recourse, to thee alone, and we beseech thee to prevent thy beloved Son, who is irritated by our sins, from abandoning us to the power of the devil. - . . Thou (Mary) art my only hope. . . . Lady in heaven, we have but one advocate, and that is thyself, and thou alone art truly loving and solicitous for our salvation ... My Queen and my Advocate with thy Son, whom I dare not approach (From Judge Fairly, p. 5). With equal truth may it be also affirmed that, by the will of God, Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ. Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother. Pope’s Encyclical dated 1891, as published in the Tablet, October 10, 1891. (Quoted in The Claims of Rome, p. 61).
We cull the following from an excellent article in the Evangelical Quarterly, by Dr. W. Graham Scroggie, which is very much to the point:-
There is no truth more dear to Protestants than that of the direct access of the soul to God. Yet such a privilege Romanism both forbids and denies. Rome does not forbid access to God, but denies that it can be direct, and so introduces a host of intermediaries, chief among whom are the Virgin Mary, the departed Saints, the Officials of the Roman Church: Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, and Priests; not to speak of the Mass, Images, and Pictures.
Such teaching and practice are a plain denial of the revealed will of God for men; but it is much worse, for no one can invoke the Virgin or the Saints without investing them with Divine attributes and them in the place of God Himself and His Son Jesus Christ. That Romanists do this they do not deny ...
Never for a moment must we allow either the Blessed Virgin, or Departed Saints, or Popes, or Cardinals, or Bishops, or Priests, or Masses, or Images, or Pictures, or Cardinals, or Traditions, or Indulgences, or Sacraments, or Confessionals, Monasteries, or Nunneries, or Pilgrimages, or Purgatory to stand between our souls and God. The prodigal can come straight to the Father, and the sinner to the Saviour. It is because we believe this, experience this, and preach this, that we are Protestants.
We will now glance briefly at three of Rome’s most characteristic teachings, all of which are in direct conflict with the revealed will of God in the Scriptures. No wonder Rome burns Bibles! The Mass In the most uncompromising language the Roman Catholic Church deliberately teaches, despite the statement of Scripture to the contrary, that in the sacrifice of the MASS the priest makes a PROPITIATORY SACRIFICE FOR THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE. The Scripture says:-
"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Hebrews 9:28) ; "But this Man after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12) ; "For by one offering He hath perfected for ever those that are sanctified" (v. 14)--see also Hebrews 7:26, Hebrews 7:27. The tremendous significance of these passages is, if possible, strengthened when we remember that the Epistle to the Hebrews is the one and only book in Scripture that unfolds the glorious work of Christ, as our Great High Priest, in the heavenlies.
Now let us see what Rome teaches:- The Council of Trent at its twenty-second session in A.D. 1562 had the Mass for its subject of consideration, and passed a decree containing nine explanatory chapters, and nine canons.
Pope Pius IV confirmed the decree of the Council of Trent at the conclusion of their sessions, and in these words he summed up the doctrine of the Mass:-
"I profess that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, proper and propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the living and the dead"! This same Pope was the author of The Tridentine Canons, which contain the following:
"If any man shall say that in the Mass there is not offered to God a true and proper sacrifice, let him be accursed." (From The Advent Witness).
Surely such language brings its own curse on the head of him who dares to utter it. For Paul the Apostle, who was made a minister "to fulfil the Word of God" (Colossians 1:25)) wrote to the Galatians: "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:9). The Confessional
"It is a significant fact that the confessional in the present form was not instituted and forced upon the people -until after the vow of perpetual celibacy was forced upon the clergy. It was in A.D. 1215, during the darkest ages of the Church, at the 4th Council of Lateran that Pope Innocent III made auricular confession an article of faith in the Church s fact is conclusive proof not only of the worthlessness of the institution, but of its evils and dangers" [Truths You Should Know, Jovinian, p. 41]. And yet the result of not using the confessional is taught be eternal punishment! In Catholic Dogma, by Father Müller, C.S.S.R., the following catechism is found on p.67:-
Q. Are Protestants willing to confess their sins to a Catholic bishop or priest, who alone has power from Christ to forgive sins?
A. No, for they generally have an aversion to confession, their sins will not be forgiven them throughout all eternity.
Q. What follows from this?
A. That they die in their sins and are damned. The dangers of the Confessional to the priest are widely by Catholic dignitaries themselves. Liguori says: -
Oh, how many confessors have lost their own souls and those of their penitents on account of some negligence in hearing confession of women! ... Oh, how many priests who before were innocent of similar transactions which began in the spirit (what spirit?-Ed.) have lost God and their own souls" [Tom. ix p. 145 n. 93, Cap. x and p. 104, Mechlin Edition. 1845. Who is to blame? Why, obviously the system that compels celebate priests to hear confessions from women, young and old. Give ear to what an ex-priest has to say of how a priest is prepared for the confessional:- The most shameless libertines could not read without blushing the filth which is contained in the books of moral theology; and it is upon these books that the education of the young clergy in the seminaries is founded . . . after four years devoted to the study of all possible and imaginary indecencies, in the flower of youth, they find themselves all alone with a beautiful girl, with a young bride who lays open her heart and entrusts such youths with all her weaknesses? Unhappy victims of the Confessional! It is for you to answer. [Confession:a Doctrinal and Historical Essay, pp. 111,112.] And what shall be said for their methods, learned from their textbooks? Here is a sample:- The prudent Confessor will endeavor, as much as possible, to induce his (the penitent’s) confidence by kind words, and then proceed from general to particular questions-from less shameful to more shameful things: not beginning from external acts, but from thoughts, such as, Has not the penitent been troubled, inadvertently as it were, with improper cogitations? Of what kind was the thought indulged? Did he experience any unlawful sensations? [Bailly in The Confessional Exposed, by G. E. A. Watling]. And so on . . .
Good Confessors, says Liguori, begin to investigate the cause and seriousness of the disease by interrogating concerning the habit of sinning-the occasion-the time-the place-the persons with whom-the combination of circumstances (Prax. Conf. 6). Is it surprising that confessional boxes have been called "spider parlors full of senseless flies," "priestly spider dens," "sinks of iniquity"?
Purgatory We again make use of Dr. Scroggie’s article:- The Doctrine of Purgatory, for which there is in Scripture not the slightest warrant, is one of the most abhorrent doctrines of the Roman Church. The priest, summoned to the bed of a dying man, administers to him extreme unction, and solemnly pronounces full and final absolution; and yet, after the man is dead, money is cruelly extracted from his mourning relatives and friends to pay for masses to be said in order to shorten the period of his torment in Purgatory.
Anything more utterly absurd and wicked could not be imagined. How different is the Protestant teaching, that at death the spirit of the believer, relying entirely on the merits of Christ, goes immediately into the Divine Presence, and is for ever with the Lord.
Paul declares that to depart is, to be with Christ, which is far better: A Voice from Heaven says, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord;" and the Master Himself says to the faithful servant, "Well done, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Perversion to Rome We will now give the oath which all converts to the Roman Catholic Church have to take:-
I (name), having before my eyes the Holy Gospels, which I touch with my hand, and knowing that no one can be saved without that faith which the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church holds, believes and teaches: against which I grieve that I have greatly erred, inasmuch as I have held and believed doctrines opposed to her teaching;
I now, by the help of God’s grace, profess that I believe the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Roman Church, to be the only true Church established on earth by Jesus Christ, to which I submit myself with my whole heart. I firmly believe all the articles which she proposes to my belief, and I reject and condemn all that she rejects and condemns, and I am ready to observe all that she commands me.
What slave-mentality!
Cardinal Wiseman writes thus of converts to Protestantism:- The history of every case is simply this: that the individual by some chance or other, probably through the influence of some pious person, became possessed of the Word of God, the Bible; that he perused this Book; that he could not find in it Transubstantiation, or Auricular Confession; that he could not discover in it one word on Purgatory or on worshipping images. He perhaps goes to the priest, and tells him that he cannot find these doctrines in the Bible. His priest argues with him, and endeavors to convince him that he should shut up the Book that is leading him astray. . . . But he perseveres; he abandons the communion of the Church of Rome-that is, as it is commonly expressed, the errors of the Church-and becomes Protestant. (See Isaacson’s "Road from Rome," page 248).
Space forbids us to, say anything of the debasing and immoral practices of Praying for the Dead, of Rome’s cruel treatment of "Heretics," of her belief that unbaptized infants go straight to Hell, of the immoral and blasphemous sale of Indulgences, etc., etc., all of which form part of her propaganda, and are utterly contrary to the express teaching of Holy Writ.
Yet there are some "Protestants" who are seeking Union with Rome!
Dr. Scroggie has well said: "Rome, too, wants a re-united Christendom, but only by the capitulation of all the Churches to herself. The fox has no objection to the geese, provided they are all inside her. But a re-united Christendom on these terms would be the greatest blunder and crime in the history of religion."