The Lost sheep
The Lost sheep is my blog series in an effort to explain why the world is full of vices and why the very people believing to follow certain principles and discipline like religion are more than lost.
One day sited next to a river bank after a cruel day, a thought came into my mind,
“why do we have so many people who deem to be good Christians are such hypocrites?”, I asked myself.
In search for the answer I started to read about the religions. I am no theologian but at least I tried to understand the emergence of churches, the origin of the beliefs and why we believe what we believe in. Being from a Christian background I decided to read about Christianity, Islam then Buddhism.
I got 80% of my answers and that’s when I noticed the heresies in the religions starting with Christianity. I also kept on asking myself why Muslims call Christians pagans. It dawned on me that they too know of the heresies in Christianity and idolatry in it.
I decided to research more and do this write up. In my summary I learnt that we human beings follow certain taboos, religion and beliefs simply because we were born in them. I realised many of us are christians because the fore fathers and people in our lineage were christians. Others are muslims for the same reasons - they were born in it. Others buddhist, hindus, mongolians, cults, etc.
We don’t seems to have a concrete reason, except we just follow like sheep.
The disclaimer
In our beliefs and religions, we are given an underlining disclaimer
“not to question matters of faith”
This is what makes everything complicated and ends getting fooled at the same time.
Paganism in christianity
The origin of all pagan practices and religion began in ancient Babylon. This mystery religion called paganism was begun by Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz. Satan receives his worship from humanity by deception. The paganism deeply rooted through sun worship and only a small minority willingly and knowingly worship satan.
Paganism encroached christianity through the first christian emperor of Rome known as Constantine. the first Christian church building was (established by Constantine around 325 AD) by convening council of Nicea which was designed to unify the doctrines of this new state religion of pagan Christianity. The enigma is, actually it was not built, it was a former pagan Roman heathen temple. They just painted over the pictures and painted on new pictures.
Constantine to acquire and grow more power, he merged pagan faction of his empire with christian faction of his empire. Pagans got to keep their traditions while christians retained their names and terminologies. The council of Nicea settled many issues such as the doctrine of the Trinity, the calendar, the Sabbath day, Christmas, Easter, and the renouncing of so called “Judaizers” as heretics.
The god of pagans was know as Mithras or the sun god. Pagan beliefs affirmed the divine right of the King by worshiping the King as a god himself among the other gods that they worshiped. Constantine combined church and state and he was the head of this new church/state structure. The Roman Empire then became the Holy Roman Empire. This system gradually evolved into what we know today as the Catholic Church. The protestant emerged from the system after reformation and opposing the church.
The heresies
Having learnt about the background and how paganism in church came about, let’s know look at the heresies that the church to date got swarmed in and many so called christians to date practise with no idea who they worship.
I will feature catholic church then protestants. Please note this is not to bash Catholics or protestants.
The Roman Catholicism heresies are deadliest. They belong to false religion judging from what they say about the bible, what they believe and what they advocate.
- Salvation
Roman Catholics believes salvation is through grace and merit, faith plus works, christ and other mediators, scripture plus traditions and glory to God and mary and saints while the bible explicitly declares its through God’s Grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, scriptures alone and Glory of God alone. 1 Cor. 15, Romans 11:6, Gal 5:4, Rom 3:24, Rom 3:28, Rom 1:17, Rom 5:1
Romans 11:6 King James Version (KJV)
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
2 Timothy 3:15 King James Version (KJV)
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The catholicism fatal gospel rejection of faith alone is they believe, salvation is through faith plus sacrament, mass, purgatory, indulgences and baptism, law keeping and good works.
The catholicism fatal gospel rejection of christ alone is rejection of the scriptures; 2 Cor 5:21 — Christ is the all sufficient saviour. Heb 7:25 — Christ save us forever, Heb 9:12 — Christ obtained external redemption.
Rome denies by priest sacrifice of the mass everyday that the work of redemption is carried everyday as priest represents Jesus as sacrificial offering for sin.
Rome denies Christ cancelled our external sin debt and has forgiven our transgression (Cor 2:13–14)
Rome denies Christ purified all our sins (1 John 1:17), denies Christ redeems from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13), denies Christ as the only sinless mediator (1 Tim 2:5) They preach another christ mary. Catholics have other mediators:
- The sacerdotal priesthood — its priest who causes regeneration and justification, hears confession and absolves sin, priest offers body and blood of Christ in Eucharist, priest imparts Holy Spirits in confirmation, priest gives last rites, priest offers mass for the souls suffering in purgatory.
- Saints
- mary
According to bible the Salvation is from God’s Glory alone — Salvation is:
- initiated by His choosing and calling
- offered by His grace, not of works (Eph 2:8–9)
- through faith in Christ alone (john 3:36)
- because of God’s Love and Mercy (Tit 3:5, Rom 5:8)
- only on the basis of Christ death and resurrection (1 Cor 15:1–4)
- occurs when God makes us alive in Christ (Eph 2:5)
2. Apostolic Succession
Apostles — These were witness of resurrected Jesus Christ.
No pope saw risen Christ as claimed by Roman catholics.
3. Papacy System
Papacy is the pope system of authority the Roman catholic church established. Some books such as Decretals of Gregory IX of 1234 of the papacy Book 1 chapter 3 said;
“The pope holdeth the place on earth, not simply of a man, but of a true god”
This is what we refer to as blasphemy of the highest order.
Pope Nicholas said;
“I am in all, and above all, so that god himself and I, the vicar of god, hath both one consistory and I am able to do almost all that god can do, i then above all… seems by this reason, to be above all gods”
This is a book Josiah Pratt, English evangelical clergyman, who wrote “The church Historian reformation period”, published 1856 page 159.
Referring to pope as his holiness this is blasphemy. No man is holy and contradicts the bible.
They also preserve the bodies dead pope to worship and pray to them in order to intercede for them. Really?????
Roman catholicism preserves the bodies of the dead, canonise them as saints and place them in display for worship and prayers.
They parade a human skull encased in gold on the streets honouring it. See image on left at St. Maximin las saint Baume in France.
3. The mass
Mass is another big heresy presented by Roman Catholicism.
4. Idol worship through mary
Even Mary worshipped and prayed to God through Jesus.
The heresies are many including idols in the place of worship, crossiers with dragons embedded, rosary beads necklace and its prayers, the mysteries like immaculate conception whereas Mary was born of flesh of sinful mankind the lineage of Adam and Eve and she was not holy conceived only Jesus was and NOT Mary.
The human beings following this as a belief are depiction of Lost sheep. It’s one segment of Christianity that does not follow the bible, defy God and does idol worshipping. I am going to cover the heresies in protestants in the next article.
Thank you for reading.