If I go to confession, will I be completely forgiven of my sexual sins?

Question: I was raised Christian and am still a believer. When I was younger and more impressionable, I wanted to have sex with whatever girlfriends I had at the time. After being unsuccessful in losing my virginity a few times, and reading about it online, I decided to remain a virgin by choice. It became…

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Do you have pictures of the eight symbols of the Holy Spirit?

Question: Do you have pictures of the eight symbols of the Holy Spirit? Answer: The Bible does symbolically represent the Holy Spirit at times. For example, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove at Jesus’ baptism. “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to…

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Did you hear that the Catholics voted away limbo?

Question: I would just simply like to thank you for the time and research you put into studying what the Catholics believe and using Scripture to refute it.  I didn’t really know a lot about the Catholic religion until I attended an event where a Catholic man did some basketball tricks, talked about being a…

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How did your Bible come into existence?

Question: Could you please tell me how the Bible you currently have originally come into existence? Since we know that some of the apostles did not even start to write until about 50 AD, about 20 years after Christ ascended to heaven, we know with certainty that the apostles went out and established churches without…

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Why do I feel so disconnected after making the sign of the cross?

Question: When I make the “Sign of the Cross” before praying, I feel so blessed ‘opening’ and ‘connecting’ myself to God and all those in Heaven. It is very uplifting. However, when I make the “Sign of the Cross” finishing the prayer, I feel I’m closing myself off, away from God, until I pray, again.…

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Mardi Gras

by L. A. Stauffer in Biblical Insights, Vol. 6, No. 2, Feb. 2006 Neither Mardi Gras nor any of the practices of the lenten season are authorized by God in the Scriptures. Mardi Gras is a French term that means “Fat Tuesday” but generally refers to a three-day religious celebration that occurs immediately before Ash Wednesday.…

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The Roman Catholic Church and the Bible

by Jefferson David Tant A 44-page booklet is in my possession bearing the title “The Bible Is NOT Our Sole Guide.” It was published by the “Supreme Council, KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Religious Information Bureau.” It has the official approval of the church, as it carries the “Imprimatur: Joseph E. Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis.” That “Imprimatur”…

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Catholicism Against Itself: Cardinals’ Advice on Bible Reading

The following is an excerpt from an address by the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church in 1503 to Pope Pius III. “Of all the advice that we can offer, Your Holiness, we must open your eyes well and use all possible force in the matter, namely, to permit the reading of the gospel as…

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The Bible Condemns Catholic Doctrine

by David J. Riggs from Catholic Teaching Examined Why would Catholics want to defeat the Bible as the only authority? The answer is: it is their way of trying to justify their own traditions. How else would they justify them? Furthermore, the reason Catholics try to discredit the Bible as the sole authority is that it…

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Why did Catholicism start and when did it happen?

Question: Why did the religion Catholicism start and what year did Catholicism start? Answer: Why Catholicism started is fairly straightforward. Man has a difficult time leaving something alone. There is a strong desire to modify things with the goal of “improving” things. This tendency is encouraged by Satan who wants to destroy the works of…

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Catholicism

  I.         Brief history             A.        Catholicism as we know it today gradually developed over many centuries. Its roots can be traced back to digressions from the original church.                         1.         As a result, Catholics will claim that their church started in A.D. 30 on the day of Pentecost.                         2.         Most scholars, however, date its beginning when some of its major…

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Congregational Independence (Dark)

by Harris J. Dark via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 2, Dec. 1951. via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 3, Jan. 1952. (Note: The following was electrically recorded when delivered as a sermon by the author at the Chapel Avenue Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee in the spring of 1950 and is reproduced here…

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Further objections to the idea that Catholics worship Mary

Question: Your answers are generally very straightforward, and I assume that you appreciate straightforward responses, so I’ll get directly to the point: you’re not telling the truth about the Catholic Church and its teachings about Mary.  As someone who seems devoted to the Truth (though somewhat misled on several important points), I figured you’d like…

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An objection to the claim that Catholics worship Mary

Question: I was reading over your web site about Catholicism. I have had doubts about the Catholic Church before, and the one thing I knew to do was to pray. So I prayed and the next day God led me to a website. Since I read your web site, I ask that you may read…

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A Study in the Inquisition

by Clinton D. Hamilton via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 4, Feb. 1952 via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 5. Mar. 1952. A lemon growing on the limb of an oak tree is not in harmony with the biological law that everything brings forth after its kind. Upon seeing this or something similar, one knows…

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The Authority of the Church

 by Dan Gatlin   What is your attitude toward the church?  For many sectarians, a foundational belief is that the church has all authority.  Whatever the church says to believe and practice, that is what must be done without question.  This is the basic attitude of the vast majority of Roman Catholics.  They are taught…

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In the Words of the Pope and the Church

by Jefferson David Tant Most people are familiar with the Roman Catholic Church and the man who is its leader, the Pope of Rome. The history of this office can be traced at least back to around 600 AD when Boniface III assumed the title of Bishop or Pope. While some claim that the first…

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Are the objections to Catholicism without foundation?

Question: I’m a Catholic doing research for my Catholicism class and in order to back up my research, I wanted to get clear information from opposing views. I would appreciate if you are going to post negative comments regarding Catholic beliefs, that you thoroughly understand the beliefs. When you say: “Catholics, at least in the…

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Will Catholics go to hell?

Question: Will Catholics go to hell? Answer: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do…

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The Scriptures Alone?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Peter 1   I.         A fellow preacher received a question and he asked me what I thought about it.             A.        “Where in the Bible does it tell us that the Bible is the only or ultimate source of authority? I cannot find it anywhere! II Timothy 3:16 is the closest, but…

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The Deification of Mary

Text: Luke 11:27-28   I.         Many of the world’s denominations share common beliefs. They do not accept all beliefs; each has its own unique mix, but there are many common threads found in the denominational world.             A.        The Roman Catholics, largest of the world’s denominations, does have a belief that is unique to itself – the glory…

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Christianity by Force

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.         We live in a country where the choice of one’s religion is freely made.             A.        It is not that way in all countries, nor has it always been like this II.        The Catholic church had a long history of compelling membership             A.        In his book, WHAT LOVE IS THIS, Dave Hunt writes and quotes:…

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What’s the Weather? Should We Observe Lent?

by Steve A. Hamilton The television weatherman was forecasting a big snow. I happen to like snow. The news of snow was exciting to me. I turned the television station to another network to see what they were forecasting. That station was forecasting a small amount of snow. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.…

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Roman Catholic Quotes Regarding the Pope

It would of course be a monstrous anachronism were we to attribute a belief in papal infallibility to Ante-Nicene Fathers. [Addis and Arnold, Catholic Dictionary, The Catholic Publication Society, 1887, page 674] The Pope in himself is subject to error like other men; his infallibility comes from the Spirit of God, which on certain occasions protects…

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When a church splits, who is right?

Question: I am a Catholic. I understand that my religion is kind of looked down on by the church of Christ. I am wondering how many churches of Christ are doing what is being asked for in the Bible? Recently a church in my town split up over an issue and I can’t help but…

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Why did Jesus start Catholicism?

Question: Why did Jesus start Catholicism? Answer: The simple answer is that Jesus did not start Catholicism. Catholicism is a system of religion that gradually developed from the church started by Jesus, but Catholicism has long ago stopped resembling the original church. Jesus stated, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and…

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What proof is there that Mary was born without sin?

Question: What proof is there that Mary was born without sin? Answer: Every person in the world is born without sin. Catholicism and most forms of Protestantism teach that Adam and Eve’s fall brought sin into the world and that sin is passed down from generation to generation. This causes them a bit of difficulty.…

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What is wrong with Catholicism?

Question: What is the difference between Catholicism and Christianity? What is wrong with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church? Answer: This is a large subject on which many books have been written. I will not be able to address this question in detail, but perhaps giving an overview will help. Catholicism has its roots…

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The Glorification of Mary

Text:   I.         A notable difference between Roman Catholicism and other denominations is the veneration of Mary             A.        It is not a question of whether Mary existed or even her role in the birth of Jesus.             B.        The question more revolves around what honor Mary deserves. II.        Was Mary sinless?             A.        The Catholics teach that Mary was immaculately conceived, allowing…

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“The Passion of the Christ:” A Review

by Ethan R. Longhenry The Passion of the Christ, a movie recently released on the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ as portrayed by director Mel Gibson, has been the discussion of many in the world and also in the Lord’s Body itself. Many claims have been made about it, ranging from…

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Is the Bible the only source of authority?

Question: Where in the Bible does it tell us that the Bible is the only or ultimate source of authority? I cannot find it anywhere! II Timothy 3:16 is the closest, but it does not say only! Where in history, the Bible, or the writings of the early Church was this concept ever taught? Since the church did…

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The Lord’s Church: Means or Result of Salvation?

by Robert F. Turner via Plain Talk About God’s Church, pages 77-80 When followers of Christ are likened to a physical body, Christ is the head and the saints are the members of that body, the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). All who are in Christ are, by this figure, considered members of His body. We ignore priorities…

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John Clark’s Question

by Steve Moreland Brother John Clark will always remain in my memory for many reasons, the Gospel meetings he held, the graduate-level classes he taught at Florida College, etc. Perhaps the most memorable event was when I was a young preacher in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1979. The congregation was made up of a small group…

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Is There Salvation Outside of Christ?

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 4:1-14   I.         In the summer of 2002, Catholic theologians made the news.             A.        From an article by Alan Cooperman, Washington Post, August 18, 2002 A committee of the U.S. conference of Catholic Bishops has negated the death of Christ, and invalidated his declaration, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:3-7).…

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