Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 4/27/24

Above: Trees are blooming along the Erie Canal in Pittsford, NY

• Catholic charismatic renewal creates ‘church on fire’ with God’s love, says Catholic bishop

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal got its start on the weekend of February 17-19, 1967 when a group of Catholic Duquesne University students who were curious about the Pentecostalism movement that was making inroads into mainline Protestant denominations under the banner of charismaticism gathered at the nearby Ark and Dove Retreat House eagerly hoping to manifest the Pentecostal gifts. Over the past 57 years, the CCR movement has grown to 160 million members, including tens of thousands of priests and nuns. CCR followers tout charismaticism (aka receiving the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” resulting in speaking glossolalia and other Pentecostal practices) as a higher/fuller form of the “Christian experience.” The incongruity that Pentecostals and Protestant charismatics generally avoid is that CCR members continue to hold to the RCC’s false gospel of salvation by sacramentalism and merit. They are not born-again. Catholic prelates initially viewed CCR with great skepticism, but eventually embraced it as a useful tool for ecumenism. Neither pope Francis nor any previous pope has manifested glossolalia or other Pentecostal practices.

• No Bias Found in F.B.I. Report on Catholic Extremists

There are many hardcore, far-right radicals in the traditionalist Catholic movement and the F.B.I. is doing its due diligence by keeping an eye on it.

• Kentucky Catholics say Pope Francis can be ‘ambiguous’ in his teaching

One of conservative Catholicism’s most cherished tenets is absolute fealty to the pope. With progressive pope Francis’ ongoing bending of doctrine, conservative Catholics are caught in a Catch-22. Many conservative Catholics consider Bergoglio to be a heretic, but they carefully couch their criticism and displeasure in such terms as “the pope is ambiguous in his teaching” or “the pope is causing confusion.” Of course, Francis is calculatingly shifting the RCC from doctrinalism to amorphous pastoralism in the effort to stanch disaffection among the general membership and to better poise the RCC as the leader in the world religion umbrella.

• Candace Owens joins the Catholic Church

Angry conservative political pundit and nominal Protestant, Candace Owens, recently converted to Roman Catholicism. We could see this train coming down the tracks back when Owens limply “moderated” a debate between her traditionalist Catholic husband, George Farmer, and her evangelical friend, Allie Beth Stuckey. Who would voluntarily choose the Roman Catholic shackles of salvation by merit? A person who doesn’t understand the Good News! of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

• DeSantis says Satanists can’t be part of school chaplain program; Satanic Temple responds

As I reported in a previous roundup, Florida (c)hristian politicos have concocted a plan to fund “chaplains” in public schools. Satanists want to participate in the program, but Catholic governor Ron DeSantis is attempting to exclude them. Taxpayer-funded government institutions have no business promoting a particular religion or religion in general. Let the church be the church and let the government be the government.

• God’s Word Shines Brightly at the Museum of the Bible

The Museum of the Bible, funded by the Hobby Lobby Green family, pays tribute to the Bible, but also works closely with the Vatican and has staged several exhibits promoting the Roman Catholic church, including “Treasures of the Vatican,” “Basilica Sancti Petri,” a history of St. Peter’s basilica, and “A Journey of Faith: The Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.” The Roman Catholic church acknowledges the Bible as Scripture, yet undermines the Bible with its spurious “sacred oral traditions.”

Brother Lawrence Dangerous Contemplative Mysticism Warnings / The Chosen / Joni Eareckson Tada (Doreen Virtue)

Below is a recent post from T.R. over at her excellent blog, Inside Cup, that’s well-worth-reading. T.R. raises a red flag regarding Joni Eareckson Tada’s new book, “The Practice of the Presence of Jesus” (photo above), with its unqualified recommendations of 17th-century Catholic cleric and mystic, Brother Lawrence, and Catholic Contemplative Prayer. Attached is an informative 17-minute video on the topic from Doreen Virtue. Regrettably, many evangelicals are getting sucked into this Catholic Contemplative Prayer movement at the behest of their Rome-friendly pastors and Christian celebrities. This isn’t the first time Eareckson Tada has advocated for Roman Catholicism to her readers and listeners.

Brother Lawrence Dangerous Contemplative Mysticism Warnings / The Chosen / Joni Eareckson Tada (Doreen Virtue)

A Blue Collar Answer to Protestantism, #11: Verses Versus Verses

Thanks for joining us today as we continue our Friday series examining Catholic apologist, John Martignoni’s book, “A Blue Collar Answer to Protestantism: Catholic Questions Protestants Can’t Answer” (2023). This week, Martignoni continues his “Problems with Protestantism” section with Problem #11, Verses Versus Verses.

Problems with Protestantism #11, Verses Versus Verses

Martignoni identifies the problem in this Verses Versus Verses chapter as Protestantism’s lack of an “authoritative” interpreter of Scripture. The chapters in Martignoni’s Part 1 section are typically around five pages in length, but this chapter totals a lengthy fourteen pages. Much of Martignoni’s argument is redundant and superfluous, so I will attempt to summarize it as briefly as possible.

Martignoni’s Argument

Martignoni’s argument proceeds as follows:

A. “According to Protestant theology, every person has the right to read and interpret the Bible on his own as he feels led by the Holy Spirit.”

B. “In a Protestant theological framework, there is no way to ultimately and authoritatively resolve disputes on doctrinal and moral issues.”

C. “Since Protestants are indeed fallible in their interpretation of Scripture, then by definition their interpretations of Scripture, which are the sole basis of their theological system, could be wrong.”

D. “There is a lot of evidence (historical, scriptural, logical)” that the Roman Catholic church “was founded by Jesus Christ and is guided by the Holy Spirit and operates with the authority of Jesus Christ which He Himself gave to it.”

E. Conclusion: “If the Catholic Church was indeed founded by Jesus Christ and is indeed guided by the Holy Spirit, then my theological system is indeed without error (my emphasis – Tom) . . . The Protestant relies on himself. I rely on the Church.”

My Rebuttal

The ascendant Roman Catholic church consolidated its power by elevating its magisterium (the teaching office of the pope in union with his bishops) to co-equality with Sacred Scripture. Untethered from the constraints of Scripture, the RC magisterium introduced multifarious extra-biblical and even anti-biblical beliefs and practices under the mantle of “sacred oral tradition” and veered from the New Testament Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, to a false gospel of salvation by sacramentalism and merit.

The Head of the genuine church is Jesus Christ and His work is done through the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The unsaved/natural man, which includes Roman Catholics, cannot conceive of a religious institution without an authoritative human hierarchy, yet it was the RC hierarchy which broke from authoritative Scripture and fabricated “oral traditions” and practices that have no basis in God’s Word. As Dr. Leonardo De Chirico has ably pointed out, one of the two basic theological constructs of the RCC is the Christ-Church Interconnection whereby the RC church usurped the offices of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.¹

Gospel Christians cling to Scripture/the Bible/God’s Word as our sole rule for faith and practice. Within the patchwork quilt of Gospel Christianity, with no hierarchy and no central authority, is where the Holy Spirit does His work and souls are saved.

“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. – Matthew 20:25-26

Historical Roman Catholicism was/is the antithesis of Matthew 20:25-26

If any Roman Catholics are saved, they are saved in spite of their church. By trusting in his church’s magisterium rather than Scripture, Martignoni is one of the blind following the blind (Matthew 15:14).

In contrast, God’s Word commends the Bereans for comparing Apostle Paul’s preaching with the divine standard of Holy Scripture.

“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” – Acts 17:11

Martignoni boasts of the RC magisterium being the only authoritative interpreter of Scripture. There is disagreement among Catholic Bible scholars on the exact number of Scripture verses that have been infallibly interpreted by the magisterium, however, the number appears to be less than ten.² Hence, Martignoni’s claim of infallible interpretation is hollow.

Catholics blindly follow the RC magisterium, but Gospel Christians follow God’s Word and God’s Word alone.

With the current controversial papacy of progressive Francis, many of Montignoni’s conservative EWTN peers have gone silent with claims about the RCC being inerrant, indefectible, and infallible. Maybe Montignoni hasn’t gotten the message? Or more probably he’s guilefully shielding his readers from the ongoing jousting between conservative Catholics and pope Francis and his progressive allies.³

While Montignoni continues to boast chapter after chapter of the inerrant, indefectible, and infallible authority of the Roman Catholic magisterium, we have presented many examples in our previous posts in this series demonstrating its errancy, defectibility, and fallibility. Rather than re-present the same examples, I found the informative and revealing articles below from Keith Piper at gospeloutreach.net.

Errors of the Roman Catholic Church, Part 1
https://www.gospeloutreach.net/romanerr1.html

Errors of the Roman Catholic Church, Part 2
https://www.gospeloutreach.net/romanerr2.html

1. Leonardo De Chirico, “Christ unfurled or the Roman Catholic Christ – Church interconnection” ↩︎
2. Matt Slick, “Infallibility, Fallibility, and the Roman Catholic Church” ↩︎
3. “Letter signed by more than 1,500 accuses Pope Francis of the ‘canonical delict of heresy.” This is just one of many examples of conservative Catholic opposition to pope Francis. ↩︎

Next week: Protestant Problem #12: They Don’t Even Make the Claim

Throwback Thursday: “10 Reasons I Love Being a Christian”

Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on July 2, 2017 and has been revised.

A few people have written to me asking why I critically examine Roman Catholicism. They advise that I should expound only on the positives about my faith in the Lord and attract people to Christ that way.

But God’s Word commands us to mark false teachers and false teaching (Romans 16:17) and as one who was raised in Catholicism, accepted Christ in my late-twenties, and then read extensively on the differences between Scripture and Catholicism, I have a perspective that many don’t.

However, contrary to what some may think, I don’t sit around all day long cogitating on the errors of Roman Catholicism. I have a sweet relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which is daily becoming sweeter through Him. I love the Lord, Jesus. I love being a Christian. I’m so grateful to Jesus my Savior.

Here’s “10 Reasons I Love Being a Christian” by Will Graham over at Evangelical Focus, which I can say a hearty “Amen” to and I hope blesses you as well. Thank you, Jesus!

1.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I can enjoy a relationship with God Almighty.

2.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I know Jesus has forgiven me.

3.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because the Holy Spirit abides within me.

4.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I have a whole new world-wide spiritual family.

5.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I’ve got an exciting mission to carry out on earth.

6.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I’m free to live in truth and holiness.

7.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I can use my gifts and talents for God’s glory.

8.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I’ve always got a reason to smile.

9.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I know I’m never alone.

10.- I’m glad I’m a Christian because I live with the hope of coming glory.

10 Reasons I Love Being a Christian
http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/2645/10_Reasons_I_Love_Being_a_Christian

Jehovah’s Witnesses 2

Jehovah’s Witnesses
By Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
Zondervan, Cults & Religious Movements series,1995, 88 pp.

I recently borrowed an introduction to the Jehovah’s Witnesses by academic, George D. Chryssides, from the library and reviewed it a couple of weeks ago, here. Chryssides’ objective was to write an impartial overview, but by embedding himself within several Kingdom Hall congregations for research purposes, he ended up compromising his integrity and presented a sympathetic analysis.

I desired to read a summary of the JWs from an evangelical perspective and found this one at the library. Author Robert M. Bowman Jr., executive director of the Institute for Religious Research, put together this booklet, which is part of Zondervan’s Cults and Religious Movements series. The publication is written in outline form, which is a little cumbersome. The bulk of the booklet (54 of 88 pages) is devoted to comparing the major doctrinal differences between The Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society and Gospel Christianity. Bowman presents the JW positions using various Watch Tower publications and the JWs’ New World Translation Bible. He counters with Scripture passages from the NIV.

While I was hoping for an introduction to the Watch Tower, this book is intended more for people who are already familiar with the JWs and are looking for good debate/discussion strategies.

It’s interesting that Zondervan put together this Cults and Religious Movements series featuring booklets focusing on thirteen groups/movements, including the JWs (20M members), of course, and the Mormons (17M members). I checked Zondervan’s website and their only book “critiquing” Roman Catholicism is “Talking with Catholics about the Gospel” by Chris Castaldo, a bottom-line ecumenist who accepts the RCC as a Christian institution. I checked Bowman’s Institute for Religious Research website and while there’s a lot of information on the JWs and Mormons, there’s nothing about the Roman Catholic church (1.4B members) and its false gospel of salvation by sacramental grace and merit. It’s revealing that Gospel Christians focus on the JWs and Mormons, whose combined membership is only 3% of Roman Catholicism’s lost souls, but give the RCC a pass. Ecumenical Judases (Graham, Colson, Geisler, Packer, Stott, Craig, Strobel, etc.) have definitely had an impact.

Sorry, I don’t mean to get off-track. This book’s chapters are listed below:

• Part 1: Introduction
  • I. Historical Background
  • II. Distinctive Practices
  • III. Vital Statistics
• Part II: Theology
  • I. Authority
  • II. The Trinity and the Deity of Christ
  • III. Death, the Soul, and Hell
  • IV. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
  • V. Salvation
  • VI. Christ’s Return
• Part III: Witnessing Tips
  • I. Suggested Approaches to Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • II. Approaches to Avoid When Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Part IV: Selected Bibliography
  • I. Works Written by Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • II. Works Written About Jehovah’s Witnesses by Non-Witnesses
• Part V: Parallel Comparison Chart (JW vs. Bible)

Sunday video shorts with Dr. Leonardo De Chirico, #3: What does Catholicism believe about the Word of God?

Welcome to our Sunday video shorts series featuring Dr. Leonardo De Chirico, Director of the Reformanda Initiative.

In this 2:16-minute video-short, Dr. De Chirico discusses what Catholicism believes about the Word of God.

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Below is a link to the Reformanda Initiative website.

The Reformanda Initiative
https://www.reformandainitiative.org/

Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 4/20/24

• Majority of U.S. Catholics Express Favorable View of Pope Francis

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 75% of U.S. Catholics view pope Francis favorably. That’s down 15 points from his peak favorability rating of 90% in early 2015. There’s no doubt that many conservative Catholics are fed up with Bergoglio’s doctrine-bending, progressive reforms. While it’s significant that a sizable percentage of U.S. Catholics don’t like their current “Vicar of Christ,” we note that the genuine Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone can’t be found in either conservative or progressive Catholic camps. The survey also revealed 6 in 10 U.S. adult Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

• Catholics show lowest attendance of any US faith in survey

Roman Catholics are obligated to attend mass every single Sunday under threat of eternal damnation. However, a recent Gallup poll revealed 50% of U.S. Catholics seldom or never attend Sunday mass. Only about 1 in 4 U.S. Catholic adults attend mass each and every Sunday as they’re required to. Truant Catholics ask themselves why they should adhere to the Sunday mass obligation when the pope and the rest of the Catholic clergy teach that all non-Catholic religionists and even “moral” atheists can also hopefully merit Heaven if they are “good.” Credulous Catholics rave about the transformational experience and ecstasy of consuming the “transubstantiated” Jesus wafer. One would think 100% of Catholics would be queued up at the church door at 6 a.m. on Sunday mornings to “receive Jesus.” But the vast majority of Catholics stay home. They know a mass-produced bread wafer when they eat one.

• Pope Francis recovers the title “Patriarch of the West”

This article states, “Pope Francis reinstated the title ‘Patriarch of the West’ for the first time since 2006 as an ecumenical gesture to the Orthodox Church…In the Orthodox Church, the pope is seen as just one more among the patriarchs, rather than a superior figurehead.” Pope Francis is constantly working towards reunification with the Eastern Orthodox and undiscerning Protestants.

• Anti-Semitism on the rise among conservative/traditionalist Catholics

This revealing article from a Catholic source notes that conservative/traditionalist Catholics are becoming increasingly enamored with the anti-Semitic vitriol of Irish Catholic priest, Denis Fahey (1883–1954).

• Chuck Swindoll stepping down as senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church

Decades ago, Chuck Swindoll was one of the leading personalities on Christian radio with his popular “Insight for Living” show. Swindoll was an outspoken admirer of Catholic priest/mystic Henry Nouwen and a passionate advocate of Catholic Contemplative Prayer (see here). Other popular “evangelical Protestant” pastors who pushed Catholic Contemplative Prayer were Rick Warren and Tim Keller.

A Blue Collar Answer to Protestantism, #10: Teach No Other Doctrine

Thanks for joining us today as we continue our Friday series examining Catholic apologist, John Martignoni’s book, “A Blue Collar Answer to Protestantism: Catholic Questions Protestants Can’t Answer” (2023). This week, Martignoni continues his “Problems with Protestantism” section with problem #10, Teach No Other Doctrine.

Problems with Protestantism, #10, Teach No Other Doctrine

In this installment, Martignoni strangely presents pretty much the same “the Catholic church is the only legitimate church” arguments using the exact same proof-text that he did back in problem #4, There is No Protestant Catechism (Part 1). Because of the redundancy, I will be presenting some arguments and information in my rebuttal that I have used previously.

Martignoni’s Argument

Martignoni’s argument proceeds as follows:

A. In 1 Timothy 1:3, Apostle Paul urges Timothy to “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.” By this, Paul is implying that there is a correct set of doctrines to be taught.

B. Protestantism, with its “tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of denominations and nondenominations, teaches all sorts of different doctrines.” Within Protestantism, there are conflicting views on the following:

Salvation by faith alone	The Rapture	Divorce and remarriage
Once saved, always saved	Sacraments	Abortion
The Trinity	Bishops and priests	Same-sex relations
Infant baptism	Baptismal regeneration	Contraception
Soul sleep	Total annihilation

C. Because Protestant denominations have conflicting doctrinal views, Paul could not be referring to Protestantism in his exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:3 to instruct/hold others responsible to teach the correct set of doctrines.

D. Roman Catholicism has one central authority and one set of official teachings.

E. Therefore, only Roman Catholicism with its authoritative set of doctrines corresponds to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:3 to instruct/hold others responsible to teach the correct set of doctrines.

My Rebuttal

“Protestantism” is a wide umbrella under which Catholics like Martignoni are happy to include several old mainline denominations that have drifted into Bible-denying liberalism and aberrant sects that never did preach the Gospel. Evangelical Gospel Christianity holds to Scripture as the sole authority for faith and practice (Sola scriptura). While evangelicals do disagree on some secondary doctrines, we are united in Jesus Christ and the Good News! of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

Martignoni would have the reader believe that the Roman Catholic church has propagated a monolithic theology under the guidance of a succession of popes, all in harmonious, historical accord. Let’s briefly examine some aspects of RCC history and see if Martignoni’s claims are true.

• After Christianity was legalized and then adopted as the Roman state religion, the church became increasingly institutionalized and the ascendant clergy class consolidated its power and control by substituting sacramentalism for the genuine Gospel. Access to the Bible was increasingly restricted.^{1 2}

• The RCC elevated its magisterium (the teaching office of the pope in union with his bishops) to a level of co-equality with Scripture. Under the guise of “sacred oral tradition,” popes introduced multifarious extra-biblical and contra-biblical doctrines. Sacred oral tradition was also elevated to co-equal status with Scripture.

• RC doctrine has changed over the centuries. At one time it was taught that only Catholics in union with the pope could possibly merit Heaven (Unam Sanctam, pope Boniface VIII, 1302).³ The RCC now teaches that all non-Catholic religionists and even atheists may also possibly merit salvation.⁴ Just in my own lifetime, I have seen popes rescind or alter the following supposedly salvation-impacting doctrines: 1) year-round compulsory abstention of meat on Fridays (limited to only Lenten Fridays), 2) ban on cremation, 3) post-midnight fasting for communion (shortened to one-hour), 4) ban on the burial of unbaptized infants in Catholic cemeteries.

• Some popes have been condemned as heretical. Pope Honorius I (d. 638) supported the heresy of monothelitism.⁵ Pope Stephen VI ordered the exhumation of his predecessor, pope Formosus (d. 896), in order for his corpse to stand trial for various charges, ultimately resulting in his post-mortem excommunication.⁶ During the Western Schism (1378-1417), three popes ruled simultaneously. The Council of Constance renunciated two of the competing popes and excommunicated the third.⁷

• Recent popes beginning with John Paul II have apologized for abuses sanctioned by popes of bygone eras, including the church’s bloody persecution of Jews and Protestants and its involvement in the slave trade.^{8 9}

• With pope Francis’ radical alterations of traditional doctrine – the absolute ban of capital punishment in 2013, the lifting of the ban on sacraments for remarried divorcees, Amoris Laetitia, 2016, the gradual elimination of the Latin mass, Traditionis Custodes, 2021, and the authorization of priestly blessings for same-sex couples, Fiducia Supplicans, 2023 – many conservative Catholics, including some of those associated with Martignoni’s EWTN, consider pope Francis a heretic.

• A 2022 Gallup poll revealed that only 15% of U.S. Catholic laypersons believe the Bible is literally true. It’s not unreasonable to assume a similar percentage of Catholic priests believe the same.¹⁰

Martignoni guilefully withholds all of the very damaging information above from his readers.

Gospel Christians hold to the Holy Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice. We preach the same Gospel that the Apostle Paul entrusted to Timothy. There is some disagreement among Gospel Christians on secondary doctrines, but it’s abundantly clear that Roman Catholic theology has very little in common with the theology Apostle Paul entrusted to Timothy.

1. Ferris, Matthew E. Evangelicals Adrift, 2015 ↩︎
2. Kee, Alistair. Constantine Versus Christ, 1982. ↩︎
3. Unum Sanctum, Wikipedia article ↩︎
4. Nostra Aetate, 1965 ↩︎
5. Pope Honorius I, Wikipedia article ↩︎
6. Pope Stephen VI, Wikipedia article ↩︎
7. Western Schism, Wikipedia article ↩︎
8. List of apologies made by Pope John Paul II, Wikipedia article ↩︎
9. Pope asks pardon from Waldensian Protestants for past persecution, Reuters, 2015 ↩︎
10. Fewer in U.S. Now See Bible as Literal Word of God, Gallup, 2022 ↩︎

Next week: Protestant Problem #11: Verses Versus Verses

Throwback Thursday: Giant homoerotic mural “decorates” church of high-ranking Vatican prelate

Welcome to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” installment. Today we’re going to revisit a post that was originally published back on July 12, 2017 and has been revised.

A previous weekend news roundup included a story detailing a police drug bust that interrupted a gay orgy in the Vatican apartment of an unnamed, high-ranking clerical bureaucrat, later determined to be monsignor Luigi Capozzi. See here.

This week there’s been several followup stories reporting on the shocking level of deviancy within the walls of Vatican City, including the Life Site (conservative Catholic) report far below (“Top Vatican official: Gay sex in Vatican ‘never been worse’ than under Francis”).

A couple of other Life Site articles directed readers to a glaring example of the gay culture that pervades the Roman hierarchy; the giant homoerotic mural at the cathedral of the Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia in Umbria, central Italy. Commissioned in 2007 by archbishop Vincenzo Paglia (above photo, left), who currently holds the influential Vatican position of president of the Pontifical Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, the giant mural supposedly depicts “Jesus carrying nets to heaven filled with naked and semi-nude homosexuals, transsexuals, prostitutes, and drug dealers, jumbled together in erotic interactions.” The partially-clothed figure of Paglia in the embrace of another semi-nude male is included in the mural (above photo right).

Sigh.

This is in a supposed church, folks. Imagine the apostles Peter and Paul walking into this “church” with this sickening homoerotic mural.

For the sordid details, see the articles below. 

⚠️ Caution: Many will find the images and descriptions included in the articles below to be offensive and blasphemous, but remember, this huge mural is prominently displayed in a Catholic “cathedral.”

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Vatican archbishop featured in homoerotic painting he commissioned
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/leading-vatican-archbishop-featured-in-homoerotic-painting-he-commissioned

Vatican archbishop defends cathedral’s pornographic, homoerotic mural as ‘evangelizing’ tool
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-archbishop-defends-cathedrals-x-rated-mural-as-evangelizing-tool

Top Vatican official: Gay sex in Vatican ‘never been worse’ than under Francis
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/top-vatican-official-gay-sex-in-vatican-never-been-worse-than-under-francis

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“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” – Romans 1:24-27

Bottom line: These reports of gay orgies and indecent and blasphemous church “artwork” are certainly alarming, yet the most disturbing thing about the Roman Catholic church continues to be the propagation of its false gospel of salvation by sacramentalism and merit.

A few short Odds and a lengthier End

I’ve accumulated several “Odds and Ends” topics in my in-basket, so it’s time to clear the deck! I’ll be publishing a more whimsical “Odds and Ends” post on my other blog, “Tom’s Other Topics,” tomorrow.

St. Peter at the Pearly Gates

There’s a category of jokes that’s been circulating out there for ages that reference Apostle Peter as being the guardian of the gates of heaven with the responsibility of judging whether a person was good enough to enter therein, e.g., “A man died and approached the Pearly Gates. St. Peter told him heaven was getting crowded so he had to test people with the point system . . .” These jokes imply the Catholic teachings that salvation is through the Roman Catholic church as symbolized by Peter (and his alleged papal successors) and that salvation is by merit. Sadly, I have even heard evangelicals who “should” know better undiscerningly parrot these anti-Gospel jokes. In contrast, God’s Holy Word teaches salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

The Psalms vs. Praying to Mary and the “Saints”

I’m currently reading through the Psalms. My, what a contrast the Psalms are, with all of the praise, worship, thanksgiving, and supplication directed towards God alone, compared to Roman Catholicism with its devotions and supplications to Mary and the canonized “saints.”

Deadwood

I worked for Eastman Kodak and Kodak Alaris for a combined 43 years until I was laid off in 2019. The company was in steep decline for the last 34 of those 43 years. I can remember when the layoffs started in earnest in 1985. Managers tried to calm anxious employees by stating, “Good employees needn’t worry. The company is just getting rid of some of the deadwood.” Of course, Kodak’s problems were much deeper than that. But the deadwood reference always stuck in my head and brought to mind Jesus’ message about the pruning of the vines in John 15:1-17. We have a huge hydrangea plant in our front garden and every spring I prune out/remove the plentiful deadwood, which brings to mind the Bible passage and the Kodak managers from yesteryear.

Believers’ – ancient and modern – experiences the same?

I normally don’t make it a point to post on the differences between cessationism and continuationism, but others feel free to advance their view, which is their prerogative, so I’ll post just a few thoughts expressing my own. I will attempt to present my position as honestly as I see it, without personal malice. I’m a cessationist when it comes to the apostolic sign gifts: healing the sick, speaking genuine languages without previous knowledge, raising people from the dead, drinking poisons and surviving, etc. Those gifts demonstrated the authority of the apostles and I believe they generally ceased when the apostolic age ended, although God is obviously able to perform miracles whenever He wills. Pentecostalism began with Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas in 1901 and has been steadily gaining adherents. Pentecostals and their theological cousins, charismatics, hold to the opposing, continuationist position, that the apostolic sign gifts continue, and often cite Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” as a proof-text for their faith-healings, extra-biblical “I have a word from the Lord” prophesying, and incoherent glossolalia (aka speaking in tongues). However, Bible readers knows that God manifested Himself in different ways in different eras. In 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, we read of God’s Shekinah (Hebrew: dwelling or presence) glory filling the newly constructed temple in Jerusalem. Peter, James, and John also witnessed the Shekinah glory at the Transfiguration of Christ (Matthew 17:1-8), and Paul witnessed the Shekinah glory at his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). However, we don’t see God’s Shekinah glory being manifested at Pentecostal or charismatic services. What about the phenomenon of hundreds of people speaking glossolalia at a Pentecostal or charismatic service? Glossolalia is not the speaking of actual languages that’s referred to in Acts 2:4-13, but the expression of ecstatic utterances. Practitioners of glossolalia learn by example and many are even coached on how to demonstrate this “gift.” Ex-continuationists testify to the heavy group/social pressure they were under to manifest glossolalia (see a relevant video here). We note that glossolalia is not unique to Pentecostal/charismatic churches. Many pagan religions practice some form of ecstatic utterances. People are susceptible to group think and forms of group hysteria.* For example, there were the 70,000 alleged witnesses who testified to the “miracle of the sun” allegedly dancing in the sky over Fatima, Portugal on October 13, 1917 in connection with the supposed apparition of Mary. A local, non-religious case comes to mind where eighteen teenage female classmates at LeRoy (NY) Junior-Senior High School simultaneously developed uncontrollable twitching and verbal tics in October, 2011. Parents feared some type of environmental toxin at the school, but the phenomenon was proven to be “mass psychogenic illness” aka mass hysteria (see here). Peer pressure and the power of suggestion are potent. For me, one of the weightiest arguments against continuationism is the 160 million member Catholic Charismatic Renewal. CCR members claim to manifest the Pentecostal/charismatic gifts, yet still hold to the RCC’s false gospel of salvation by sacramentalism and merit. They manifest the Pentecostal/charismatic gifts although they are unsaved. For more information on cessationism vs. continuationism, see the Got Questions article, “What was the purpose of the biblical sign gifts?” here. For more on the origins of Pentecostalism, see here.

*The term, hysteria, has a very negative connotation in our culture, but the definition of the word includes “exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement.”