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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1995031-An-Open-Letter-To-Le-Vatican
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Rated: ASR · Other · Religious · #1995031
A letter of rebuke to the catholic church. Nonhateful and from a biblical point of view.
An opening statment

If you support any group that actively teaches that WE the believers in Jesus the Christ as God's one true son and savior of the world, and who promised that anyone who called on him would be saved and that he would not leave the world without a gift (the holy spirit). If you support any group that says these people (believers) cannot understand the very word they profess to believe in, but that only certain people can; how can you limit the power of God like this?
Do you really propose to know what is good for God and what is not? For as Jesus taught "we are the body of Christ" and if the body cannot tell a foot from a hand then what good is it? No the catholic Church is wrong for this in the same way that the Jews (I speak of the pharisees) tried to deprive the gentiles of God. For Jesus is the living word, and if you deny that word to the people, you deny Christ.
Also "by faith are we saved, and not by works alone, less anyone should boast"
This verse explains itself. It's truth is self evident. So I ask you, why are you still preaching that you can be guaranteed salvation though works when it is clearly in direct opposition to the word of God?
A rebuke

Why do you propose to pray to Mary? yes we know she was a special women chosen by God to bare his son, but again scripture is clear, Very clear on this. All the instances in the Bible when people prayed, they never once. not even once prayed to an angel or an ancestor or a person, no always it was to God. Furthermore when the disciples asked Jesus to show them how to pray, nothing in his showing told them or even suggested they pray to anyone but the father. No you will not find any point any verse and person ever in all the history that prayed to anyone in the bible except God. the only time you hear of anyone doing anything else is when the bible speaks of unbelievers and those that worshiped and prayed to false idols.
I site this verse "John 3:13). The saints wait in their graves for the resurrection to occur at Jesus' return"
So in effect any person you pray to Mary or otherwise is as dead, asleep. so in effect when you pray to Mary or any other person who has died, you are praying to the dead which is an ancient heathen custom and has no basis in the Word of God.
As for praying to angels, we are told that Jesus intercedes for us, but never once that angels do this. So if it sounds strange that you first pray to an angel that then tells it to Jesus (scripture is clear that God already knows our hearts desire and our thoughts before we even pray them) then you might be on to something. No I would say that based on all the scripture I have sited, that there is no reason we should be praying to anyone but Jesus.
Yes we have guardian angels but they follow Gods orders, and he is wiser then the angels. Who would you rather be making decisions on your life based on your prayers and needs? God? all knowing all powerful all present; or a angels who have been known in the past to have faults and make mistakes (satan exc.)?
A prayer of Conviction

Catholic church; how I love you, I pray for you day and night, my heart cries out for you. When will you lift your eyes to the Lord, when will you free your people?
When will you join the family of God? How long will God wait on you?
Or will you be cut off?
Like Moses I cry out to the lord, my burden is that he not cut you off, for I know that where you to just give the reins to God, to see the light, to find that good thing . . .you would be my family, and I would not have to see you perish with all those poor souls you have lead astray.

Reiteration in scripture

A lot of this could be said is a philosophical argument, but I say with the exception of particular verses that are clear and hold no metaphors.

Rom. 3:28-30, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one."

Rom. 4:5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,"

Rom. 5:1, "therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

Rom. 9:30, "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith."

Rom. 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

Rom. 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

Gal. 2:16, "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."

Gal. 2:21, I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.

Gal. 3:5-6, "Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."

Gal. 3:24, "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith."

Eph. 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. 9 Not by works, lest any man should boast."

Phil. 3:9, "and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."

It is at this point that catholics will say something along the lines of "but what about    James 2:24, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone."

to which I say all you need to do is look at the context. 
James chapter 2 has 26 verses: verses 1-7 tell us not to show favoritism and verses 8-13 are comments on the Law while verses 14-26 are about the relationship between faith and works.

James begins this section by using the example of someone who says he has faith but has no works, "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14).  In other words, James is addressing the issue of a dead faith, a faith that is nothing more than a verbal.

I am saddened that many catholics do just this. they go to church, donate some money to the coffers and go home thinking they are good to go.
Yeah there are many non catholics that do the same. But when the church actively teaches that you can get to heaven by works alone, and bases it off from a  interpretation of a single verse, verses a plethora of others that say otherwise. You naturally get a church full of people with a dead faith and no salvation.
Addressing common arguments

But then one might say to me something like "but aha! you see it really is just a matter of interpretation then"  to which I answer; The bible never contradicts itself . So either my 'interpretation' is correct and the word of God remains true, or the catholics interpretation is correct and God is a liar.

If you have actually read this ridiculously long wall of text to this point, and your next comment is going to be something along the lines of "I believe only some of the Bible" then I will have to ask you to forgive me when I say that we have nothing further to discuss. Either the Bible is 100% true or it is not.
Final thoughts

I can tell you that if you have a clear conscience, you need to study the word more.
No person is perfect. Being saved is not a "get out of jail free card". Being saved is just saying "Jesus, I recognize my need for you, please help". So every day we confess our sins, we feel guilty when we have done wrong, but we feel great and grateful when we have finally conquered a sin in our lives through the power of God's redeeming grace.
If you truly love Jesus, you will feel guilty for more things than before your salvation.
But thankfully his love, his sacrifice covers it all. And his gift of the holy spirit continually works in us constantly to make us sharper and sharper tools for his glory.
If you look back on your life to before your salvation, and then to after. Sure you will see where you still continue to struggle, but more importantly you will see where you have succeeded. where satan has been defeated. and with the knowledge that you are yet still fighting those inner demons, and have not given up the battle.
God's love makes us perfect despite our sins, but our love of God makes us repent anyways. And God knows that there is no greater motivator for a human to change his ways, then to show love to them, even in the face of that person continually insulting them.
There is a truth to the age old saying you catch more flies with honey. but thankfully God values us much more then flies, and has prepared a place in heaven for those willing to accept Jesus as there personal savor from sin.

Credits to by Matt Slick for providing a lot of the verses.
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