The Stupid Papacy
"Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14)
(Note: This is a Biblical analysis of the Papacy through the centuries, and is not a criticism of the entire Roman Catholic church, per se or of Roman Catholics in general. It represents the historical views of Martin Luther and other reformers of the Christian church of the Reformation. It is not necessarily an indictment of any one Pope. There have quite likely some true Christian Popes through the centuries. All criticisms in this book are directed at the false doctrines of the Papacy, and this book does not attempt to judge the heart of anyone who may have held that position either currently, or in the past. It is the aim of this article, to point out the false teachings and practices of the Papacy through the centuries. We welcome any criticisms, comments or suggestions at ross@holywordofgod.org).
In this article, we will investigate the claims of the legitimacy of the Papacy in its claim to be the "Vicar of Christ," and we will investigate the Historical Doctrines of the Papacy, including the following historical issues: The infallibility of the Pope, the teaching of justification by works as well as faith, the worship (praying to Saints), the selling of indulgences during the Middle Ages, the practice of Holy Communion as a re-enactment of the Sacrifice of Christ and the withholding of wine in Communion, the Inquisition, and the Prophecy of the Bible concerning the Institution of the Papacy as the eventual Institution of the Anti-Christ on earth.
Introduction
The institution of the Papacy, which is the institution of the Bishop of Rome, is known as the "Pope." This institution, "The Papacy" has claimed the position of the Pope to be the "Vicar of Christ" or God's foremost representative on earth. Here, for example, is a quotation from the Catechism of the (Roman) Catholic Church concerning their view concerning the Pope: "she [the Church of Christ] continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of bishops, "assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor." There is no Scriptural reason to call Peter the "Church's supreme pastor." We will prove this below:
This claim is based on Matthew 16:13-20: "Now when Jesus came into the district of Daesare'a Philipppi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do men say that the Son of man is?' And they said, "some say John the Baptist, others say Elija, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ."
On the basis of this passage, the Papacy has claimed that Peter was the original Bishop of Rome and was given exclusively the "Keys." to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Papacy furthermore asserts that all the succeeding Bishops have, somehow, the same authority of Peter, as they interpret Peter's authority.
This interpretation is totally flawed, for a number of reasons. There is no question that Peter has a very great honor and importance in the church due to his recognition that Christ is the Son of God. He was the first of the Apostles or disciples to make this confession of faith, although a general confession had early been made.. As St. Paul points out, only someone who has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, can make this confession. Since the Apostles and the saints are compared to stones throughout Scripture, in the building of the church, it is certainly true that Peter is the first "stone" to be put in place, and on this basis it is true that: "I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and powers of death shall not prevail against it." This is Peter's great honor and privilege.
However, this does not mean that the Keys to the Kingdom were given only to Peter and his successors and to no one else. This is the major mistake of the interpretation of the Papacy. The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, were certainly given to Peter. I do not deny this, and Peter was the first to possess this power of the Keys, because Christ said, that "whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." However, there are many examples where Christ gave authority to His other followers and successors.
Here are some examples: The Mission of the Seventy, Luke 10:1-20: "After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse nor bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town." After the 70 returned to Christ they expressed how amazed they were that: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!' And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tred upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you."
From this passage, alone, it is evident that Christ gave authority to 82 followers, (including the Apostles), to exercise the Power of the Keys, or authority over Satan. It can then be said, that Christ instituted in addition to Peter, 81 others to be "stones" who would form the foundation of the church at that time. But it is certainly true that Peter was the first. His being the first, however, does not give him any authority necessarily over the others.
Peter, for example, did not exercise any authority over St. Paul, but it was actually the reverse: St. Paul had no interest in those who were supposed to be of "repute" in the church, for : "But because of false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage -- to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)." (Galatians 2:3-6)
Here is where St. Paul exercises his authority over Peter, and it is clearly evident that the authority was dependent on whoever had the correct teaching and understanding of the Word of God: "But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For when certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas, before them all, ( This is really an incredible event, the two foremost Apostles of the Christian faith are now in confrontation to determine the direction of the Christian faith, truly an historic and remarkable event!) "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. (Galatians 2:11-16)
Peter is just an extremely fascinating Apostle. Probably, the most fascinating Apostle of all. First of all, he was called by Christ to be an Apostle in an extremely interesting way. Simon Peter, or Cephas, was called through the witnessing of a miracle: "While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of god, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!' But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; saying, henceforth you will be catching men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11)
He was the Apostle in the boat, who, when he saw Christ walking on water and almost like a child, asked Christ that he should also walk on water, and then when he did, he soon lost faith, began to sink, and had to rescued by Christ. He was the first to confess Christ as the Son of God, along with the general confession in Matthew 14:33. Shortly after this confession, he is severely admonished by Christ: "But he (Christ) turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." Matthew 16:23. And then Peter is the one who uses a sword to protect Christ from the soldiers who had come to imprison him: "Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's slave and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malthus. Jesus said to Peter, 'Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?' John 18:10-11)
Peter promised to Christ that he would never betray Christ, and then he betrayed Him three times.
When Jesus was resurrected, He had a special concern for Simon Peter: "When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" (referring to fired fish). He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.' He said to him 'Feed my lambs.' A second time he said to him, ' Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Tend my sheep.' He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me'. And he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go. (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, 'Follow me."
This scene is so full of pathos. Jesus is speaking to one of his most loved Apostles, Peter. They had experienced so much together. What they had been through, only the imagination can conceive. The first calling, the miracles, the teachings, the persecutions, the Witness of God on the mountain. The betrayal, the denial, the resurrection, and now this, Christ's final farewell. Here Christ, Lord of the Universe, seems almost lonely and desperate to find out about Peter's love, and whether Peter really loves Him. He asks Peter three times if he loves him. This just shows how human Jesus was. Full of human emotions and compassion. Words really fail to explain these things and no one can ever know them, unless he has experienced them. But it just shows the love, emotion and compassion of two human beings who have been in one hell of a lot together, and the bonding that must have taken place between them, in spite of the flaws in Simon Peter. And then the emotion that Christ must have experienced when he prophesied Peter's death and the way in which he would glorify God. It is just truly an amazing event, which no one can explain. Amen.
And now Christ leaves His beloved Apostles and ascends into Heaven.
Without any doubt, Peter is an amazing Saint and Apostle. He was the first of the Apostles to express his faith in Jesus as the Son of God. He was a zealous, although human, advocate for Jesus. He was full of human flaws, and actually, very likeable, because he reminds us of the flaws in all of us: impetuous and human. Simon Peter had a heart of gold. And this is why Luther calls the First Letter of Peter, The "Golden Epistle" It is clear from what Scripture says about Peter, that he was in no way infallible. Peter, according to the Papacy is supposed to be the greatest of all Popes. Yet he was fallible. So how can the Papacy have ever claimed infallibility?
Therefore, we highly regard and esteem St. Peter as a very great Apostle. However, there is no evidence in Scripture that he was established in the Christian Church to have any authority over the other Apostles or that his successors would perpetually have this authority over the church.
Here is another example of where Christ gave the Keys of Kingdom to others: "And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics." (Mark 6:7-9)
Here is another description of this event: "And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure disease, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal." (Luke 9:1-2)
These passages should suffice to show that not only Peter was given the Keys to the Kingdom, but also 81 others of Christ's followers at the time. There is no reason for the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) to claim that he in anyway is superior to the others, and their successors.
In brief, Christ sent two missions. The first was the twelve Apostles, and after this the "70 others:" "After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore that Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!'. And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you." (Luke 10:1-6)
These 82 people, including the Apostles, constitute the earliest Foundation of the Church. From these first 82 disciples and Apostles, (or stones), including Peter, the First Stone, the Church was established by Christ Himself. The history and the result of these two missions are probably only known to God. I don't think that there is any way to trace the Church, completely, as it was established from this first beginning.
The Papacy claims infallibility, and yet the foremost Pope they claim, Peter, was not infallible. He was very human, and very fallible. Furthermore, he was married, in spite of the Papacy's prohibition against marriage: "And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and served him. (Matt 8:14-15)
The next great problem that the Papacy has, in addition to the "Keys," is the mission of Peter as given to him by God. It was not to serve the Gentiles, or the Roman Catholic Church, but rather the Jews: ". . . when they saw that I (St. Paul) had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles), and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised; (Galatians 2:7-9)
If Peter, by God's command, had been sent to the circumcised, it is highly unlikely that he would have ended in up in Rome in a ministerial capacity. But it is highly likely that St. Paul (or what is more likely, one of his disciples) would have ended up in Rome, since he was sent specifically to the Gentiles. Peter was most likely the Bishop of Jerusalem or some other Christian church among the Jews. He would certainly not be called by God to be Bishop among the the Gentiles. It is possible that Peter was captured by the Romans and sent to Roman to be executed. So, some of these traditions could be correct.
On the basis of Holy Scripture itself, Peter was not given the Keys exclusively, and was not sent to the Gentiles, but to the Jews. He could not have been the first Pope, or Bishop of Rome with hegemony over the rest of the Church. Whoever is honest should acknowledge this.
Celibacy and the Priesthood
Since the issue of the Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and his marriage to Maria Sung is currently in the news and as of this date, August 18, 2001, Maria Sung is now claiming that "she fears her husband is being held against his will by the church and is under the influence of drugs." (AP 8/18/01), this issue must be addressed first in this Bible Study.
First of all, celibacy is a very unique and individual Gift from God. Not all men or women can receive it as Jesus said: "Not all men can receive this precept, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this let him receive it." (Matthew 19:11-12)
St. Paul later described the matters relating to celibacy and Christians in this general analysis of the issues concerning sex, faith and marriage. This analysis is to be found in 1 Corinthians 7:1-24. This will be an analysis of the entire issue:
"Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It is well for a man not to touch a woman. But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not rule over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not rule over his own body, but the wife does. Do no refuse on another except perhaps by agreement for a season, that you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come together again, lest Satan tempt you through lack of self-control. I say this by way of concession, not of command. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own special gift from God, one of kind and one of another.
To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. But if they cannot exercise self control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.
The Papacy and the Anti-Christ
It is the official position of the Lutheran Church in the Book of Concord that the Institution of the Papacy is the institution of the Anti-Christ on earth and it will ultimately a Pope who will be the ultimate Anti-Christ. In this article we will investigate the Biblical teachings about the antichrist and why the Lutheran Church, as well as other Protestant churches take this position.
Luther is perhaps the first known person in the world to recognize that the Institution of the Papacy fit all the descriptions in the Bible concerning the Anti-Christ. As we will show in the following analysis, the Bible reveals that the Anti-Christ (and the spirit of the Anti-Christ) will dwell among Christians, and in fact, as in Revelation and elsewhere, be a leader in the Christian faith. He will bring in false teachings. He will be anti-marriage. He will set himself up over "every other god." Not only does the Institution of the Papacy meet these descriptions, but the organization of the Papacy, including Cardinals, Bishops and Priest are amazingly similar to the organization called the Pharisees in the Jewish religion at the time of Christ. And many of the criticisms that Christ had of the Pharisees can be equally applied to the Cardinals, Bishops, and Priests of the Roman Catholic Church.
Certainly, as with the Jewish Church at the time of Christ, this did not mean that all of these people were evil. For example, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Christ (albeit at dark when no one could see him) and then later was helpful in Christ's burial (John 19:39).
And even though the Roman Catholic church may be led and guided by these people, the followers in the church can still be saved insofar as they have faith in Jesus Christ for Salvation. Even if a church is run by the Anti-Christ himself, a person may still be saved as long as he depends of faith alone. God will bring him through, and this is the way God has always preserved His Church, no matter how evil its leaders have become. We see a good illustration of this in the Pharisees.
So then, let us go into an analysis of the Scriptural passages.
The first passage we will investigate is John 2:18-23:
"Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be plain that they all are not of us. . Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:18-23)
The last hour, or the last times, must be understood in this sense: The New Testament which Christ ushered in is the last hour, and the last time. Which means that there will be no other revelation or religion beyond what Christ Himself has brought us. We truly live in the Last Days, and the Last Times. And here John warns us: "you have heard that the antichrist is coming so now many antichrists have come." And John goes on to say that "they went out from us, but they were not of us." He furthermore points out that the spirit of the antichrist denies Jesus Christ. Here it is evident that the Anti-Christ pretends to be among Christians, but denies who Jesus is. This is what the Pope and the Institution of the Papacy does. It may not be in so many words, but in the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church it can be found.
Satan, and those he inspires are quite shrewd and sometimes a person must look quite deeply into what is their true intent. According to the Superstitions of the Roman Catholic Church, in their Catechism, those who call themselves Christians, but who "have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter" (Paragraph 838) are some sort of "imperfect" Christians.
Then in the next paragraphs 839 through 848, it goes on to teach the following anti-Christian teachings:
1. Muslims are saved on account of their faith (see our analysis of the Muslim religion)
2. The Jews are save on account of their faith. The Jews rejected Jesus Christ and those Jews who continue to reject their own Messiah in the Person of Jesus Christ cannot be saved. Jesus Christ said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me."
3. People of other religions are saved insofar as they "try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience." (Paragraph 847) This statement simply cannot be proven in Scripture. It cannot be asserted as an Article of Faith in the Christian Church. Christ said, "he who believes and is baptized will be saved, he who does not believe, will be condemned." (We are hoping to have a further examination of this on this web-site soon.)
All of these statements together pretty much do away with the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. The Muslims are saved, (their Koran teaches against Christ), the Jews are saved, even thought the Jews rejected Jesus Christ, and everyone else basically is saved because they had good intentions, and did not specifically reject Jesus Christ. The end result of these teachings in the Roman Catholic Church is to deny Christ, and that is the work, according to Scripture, of the Anti-Christ.
The next passage we wish to examine is John 4:1-6:
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prphets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, or which you heard that it was, and now it is in the world already. Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listsens to them. We are of God. Whoever know God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."
From this passage it is clear that the spirit of the antichrist (Satan) was already in the world in the earliest history of the Church. This is why we must understand all the passages concerning the Anti-Christ in terms of current world history, as well as in light of the events which will also happen at the very end of history, concerning the Final Tribulation, and the destruction of the world with fire.
The first passage in the New Testament that speaks of Anti-Christ is Matthew 24:15:
"So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand. . . "
The desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place will be a particularly evil person or institution in the "holy place," which of course would be the holy Christian Church. Therefore, this first passage concerning the Anti-Christ indicates that he will be found within the Christian Church itself. It will be a particularly evil person who becomes a part of the church and as revealed in Daniel, he will be a very powerful leader (Daniel 11:36-40) As is indicated also in the book of Daniel, he will be a military leader or governmental leader. These passages in Daniel also reveal that Anti-Christ will set himself above every god, including the One True God. Therefore he will be wont to issue decrees edicts and laws which contravene God's Word.
The next passage is in Mark 13:14: But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be, (let the reader understand). . ." Once again, the "desolating sacrilege where it ought not to be" would be a particularly evil person or institution within it the church itself (the place where "it ought not to be").
Also, in this same chapter of Mark it indicates that it will be a time when "False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect." (Mark14:22). So, therefore, the world will be plagued by false teachings in the name of Christianity which will attempt to lead the true believers away from Christianity.
(TO BE CONTINUED)