Now there is someone who the Bible says that Jesus did give authority to, and who is the actual leader of the Christian Church. Care to hazard a guess whom that might be? Let the Bible speak
"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:" 2 Peter 1:1 (KJV)
Official teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church boldly declares that the Christian Church is built, not on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but on Peter! This is what they teach:
Because of the faith he confessed Peter will remain the unshakable rock of the Church. His mission will be to keep this faith from every lapse and to strengthen his brothers in it.
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But the Bible knows nothing about Peter being the "rock" of the Christian Church, not one bit. The Bible says that Jesus the "rock and cornerstone" upon which the entire Christian Church is built and on which it rests. And in what has to be an ironic twist for the Catholic Church, Peter himself says that Jesus is "the rock", and not him.
"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." 1 Peter 1:5,6 (KJV)
Every Christian that ever lived, including all of the apostles, are seen in scripture as 'lively stones' who are servants of "the Rock" that is the Lord Jesus. Not only that, after the collapse of the Kingdom Age in Acts 7, Jesus raises up Saul who became Paul to be the actual leader of the Christian Church. The apostle Paul, you may remember, not only is given leadership of the Church, Paul rebukes Peter for his hypocrisy in Galatians.
"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" Galatians 2:11-14 (KJV)
What is this? The person that the Catholic Church teaches is the "rock" of the Church gets publicly rebuked by Paul for being a hypocrite? You can search all day and all night, and you won't find that little nugget lurking in the Catholic Catechism.
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As the old commercial from the 1970's used to say, "but wait, there's more!"
Now there is someone who the Bible says that Jesus did give authority to, and who isthe actual leader of the Christian Church. Care to hazard a guess whom that might be? Let the Bible speak.
"At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:" Acts 26:13-19 (KJV)
Yep, you guessed it. Paul. The very same Paul that the Catholic Church in no wise acknowledges as the leader of the Church, and whom they place as subservient to Peter. Official Catholic teaching states that Peter was the "first pope", and that all the Catholic popes are his successors.
So let's take a quick bullet point look at how no Catholic pope was ever like the apostle Peter.
- PETER WAS MARRIED: Official Catholic doctrine stating that all priests must be celibate, and every pope that ever lived started out first as a Catholic priest. But Simon Peter was married, as were many of the other apostles. "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them."Matthew 8:14,15 (KJV). If the Catholic Church is 'following Peter' as they claim, why then are their leaders forbidden to marry? Paul tells us why. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." 1 Timothy 4:1-3 (KJV). As someone who was a Catholic for 30 years before getting saved, I immediately recognized in those verses from Paul that he was describing to a "T" the Roman Catholic counterfeit. Abstaining from meats? I was told to do that every Friday during Lent. Forbidding to marry? Never yet met a Catholic priest who was married. As usual, Paul nails it.
- PETER SUBMITTED TO THE RULE OF THE KING: The apostle Peter wrote that all Christians should submit themselves to the earthly rule of "kings and governors" in accordance with the will of God for our lives. "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:" 1 Peter 2:13-15 (KJV). But Catholic popes do not see themselves this way. When foreign leaders visit the Vatican, they kiss the ring of the pope. The pope bows to no one, and submits himself to no human authority other than his own.
- PETER TAUGHT THAT CHURCH LEADERS WERE NOT LORDS: Peter's own writings found in 1 Peter clearly show that Church leaders were to be "humble servants" who were no better than those in their congregations they were leading. Peter said he was an "elder", just like many of the other elders in the Church. "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Peter 5:1-4 (KJV). But it is not so in the Catholic Church where the pope declares that he is sitting in the place of Jesus Christ on this Earth! "For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered." CCC Article 9, Paragraph 4 882
So as usual, the fixed gulf between what the Bible teaches and what the Catholic Church teaches is a chasm so wide as it beggars description and boggles the mind and imagination. This is why, when Roman declared Christianity to be the "official state religion" in the early 300's and took over the actual Christian Church, the first thing they did was to remove the scriptures from the hand of the average Christian so they would be intentionally kept ignorant of what the truth was. Schools used to teach this period of time, roughly from the early 400's to the 1400's, as t
he Dark Ages.
"Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?" Ecclesiastes 8:4 (KJV)
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