Renunciation of Catholic Idolatry (March 2025)

Thieleman J Van Braght included in his book’s introduction a quite lengthy renouncement of the Catholic concepts of Papal Supremacy as well as of infant baptism, or “pedo-baptism” as he sometimes calls it. In the interest of continuing this tradition, I will add my own critiques of Catholicism to his.

On the topic of Papal Supremacy, we must inevitably turn to Matthew 16:19 as TJVB has already done. He assembled a quite strong and quite decisive list of reasons why Peter was not meant to be the sole inheritor of the Christian faith, the head of the church. Also why he could not have been the bishop at Rome during his lifetime. Finally, why, if any head of the faith is to be had following the Ascension of Christ, it cannot be the Vatican Papacy. Etc. TJVB’s writing on this topic is quite beautiful and quite thorough. The only critical flaw I could find in my reading of it is this: that he plays chess with chickens. He “casts pearls before swine” (Matt 7:6) as Christ Himself would put it. Rather than “dusting off his shoes” (Matt 10:14) and going to the next town as we are told by Christ, he stays and adamantly debates his position with people who have firmly made up their minds before even engaging him in conversation. If reason why the Catholic view of Matthew 16:19 is wrong must be given, I would’ve been quite satisfied with a short, simple, and true statement such as this: “I make no claim to have a full or proper understanding of ‘binding and loosing’ as mentioned in the Scripture; I only know that if flawed, mortal humans are to be the final deciders of Salvation for each person by means of excommunication, etc, then both Heaven and Earth are in a very sorry state! God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit — the ones who can see into my heart with a clear and unobstructed view, the ones who can fully and accurately discern my true attitudes and intentions with less than a glance — will be the only and final judges of my Salvation. My hope, my thanks, and my praise remain in Christ. To pretend that any flawed, mortal human can ever hold that role, or is even qualified, is pure insult and heresy.”

Among other things, the Catholics do not allow married men to become priests. This practice has been going on for so long at my time of writing, that its origins have been forgotten and it is taken for granted as an artifact of tradition, left to be assumed that there was a Scriptural basis for this decision to begin with. The roots of this decision can be traced to the 11th century. There was a growing concern surrounding the budget of the Vatican and of various local churches. The cause of the concern was in large part this: widows and children of priests inheriting wealth and land. It is a heaven-mandated command for holy men to take wives and father children, see Jeremiah 29 and Genesis 2. It is only just and right that widows be left with a place to dwell and a means to survive following the death of their husbands. It is only just and right that children be allowed to inherit at least a portion of their parents’ worldly wealth and possessions. Nevertheless, the powers that be in the Vatican labored under the temptation of the spirit of secular greed, the voice of which whispered in their ears to simply cut those pesky widows and children out of the picture. Pope Urban II, the same Pope who was involved in the first crusade, made the final decisive act. With the stroke of a pen, he separated thousands wives from husbands, and children from fathers. It is common belief that they were sold into slavery, but historical documents are unclear as to what exactly that entailed. It seems likely that many of them were sent away to become servants in the Vatican, or in some other of the Catholic cathedrals. Thus the tradition started that not only were men of religion kept from bringing up children of their own, but elderly bachelors were to be looked up to for advice on marriage, parenting, and family matters; becoming authorities on things they have little or no firsthand experience with.

The problem with priesthood celibacy does, however, go much deeper than this. Lust is perhaps the most tempting snare that was ever crafted by Satan’s hands. Though we are called to be perfect as Christ is perfect, and holy men must show fortitude in resisting all temptation, humans are flawed by nature. Without wives to provide comfort and companionship, to moderate the sexual desires of men, and to provide sexual outlets for them, untold numbers of holy men fell to wicked temptation and sexually violated untold numbers of young boys and young girls over the course of centuries, stealing their innocence from them. Untold numbers of philandering wives have been debauched by these formerly holy men, and untold numbers of wayward men have been solicited for abominable acts. All these things were committed by men (sometimes even the pope himself, on occasions such as the “banquet of chestnuts”) who swore vows to a secular institution which has fooled billions over the centuries into believing that it is a holy one. True enough that writers in preceding centuries had already been playing with the idea of “marrying oneself to the Lord,” or dedicating one’s life entirely to theological study without family “distractions.” I say that those writers are woefully misguided. I say that Matthew 5:23–24 teaches us that right relationships (most of all with family) are of higher priority than even worship, tithing, or theological study. The parable of the good Samaritan reiterates this teaching, depending on the aspects of the story under focus. Also Matthew 12:11. Therefore it should be seen as sinful to treat family and children as distractions, or as a waste of time. I also say it is no coincidence that the time of the Vatican’s fiscal distress came hand-in-hand with the final declaration of priesthood celibacy, nor with the beginning of selling indulgences, also instituted by Urban II.

It would, however, be unfair to neglect mention of the untold number of holy men who have remained true to their vows despite the worst kinds of temptations which were needlessly put upon them. They need not have gone without families in order to remain in good standing with God. They should have rejected the ungodly command of ungodly popes, and, when they felt properly called to do so, taken wives and fathered children as the Israelites in Babylon were commanded to do.

Along with the ban on the procreation of holy men comes a sorrowful list of idolatrous habits. The first of these I will address is transubstantiation, or the belief that a piece of bread used in their weekly ritual changes its substance and becomes the literal Body of Christ, as was referred to in the Last Supper of Christ with the apostles. If that were all, I would not think the practice significant enough for inclusion in this introduction, but they take it further towards its logical conclusion. Catholic churches have designated “Eucharistic Adoration” times during the week, apart from their regular worship times. Members of the congregation who wish to partake may come to the worship area during this time and — what else? — adore the Eucharist. They sit for a time in prayer, their attention directed towards a piece of bread ornamented lavishly in worldly, corrupting gold. They worship an object as hollow and unmoving as the Babylonian carved gods, and decorated as richly as the golden calf in the time of Moses, as if it were a part of the literal human body of Jesus Christ. For my Catholic readers, I will direct you to the book of Baruch, a book which may be called a Catholic book, as it is one which has been hailed as being Spirit-inspired since the 4th century and earlier, but which Martin Luther during the Reformation declared to be “edifying but not Scriptural,” and thus has been largely forgotten by Protestants.

Baruch 6:3–5 NCB

3 In Babylon you will see people carrying upon their shoulders gods of silver and gold and wood, which inspire fear in the pagans. 4 Be careful not to imitate these pagans or to allow fear of these gods to overwhelm you 5 when you see the heathen crowds before and behind them, worshiping them. Rather, say in your hearts, “Only you, O Lord, are worthy of worship.”

Baruch 6:15–26 NCB

15 Just as a pot is of no further use once it is broken, 16 so are these gods enshrined in their temples. Dust raised up from the feet of those who enter fills their eyes. 17 Their courtyards are walled in like those of someone in prison and awaiting execution for an act against the king, so the priests attempt to make the temples secure, reinforcing them with doors and bars and bolts to guard against thievery. 18 The priests light more lamps for the gods than they do for themselves, yet not even one of these can the idols see. 19 The gods are like one of the temple beams, but, it is said, their hearts are eaten away, as insects crawl out of the ground to consume them and their garments without their even being aware of it. 20 Their faces are blackened by the smoke that rises in the temple. 21 Bats and swallows and birds of every species perch on their bodies and heads, and so do cats. 22 All this makes it abundantly clear that they are not gods. Therefore, have no fear of them. 23 Although they are adorned with a layer of gold, these idols will not gleam unless someone wipes off the tarnish. Even when they were being molded they did not feel anything. 24 They were purchased no matter what the cost, yet the breath of life is not in them. 25 Because of their lack of feet, they are borne on the shoulders of others, an indication to all of their true lack of worth. And those who serve them feel a sense of shame, 26 inasmuch as if one of them should fall to the ground, it cannot get up by itself. If anyone sets an idol upright, it cannot move by its own devices, and if it is tipped, it cannot straighten itself on its own.

This chapter goes on much longer in the same manner. I see little difference between the Eucharist and those Babylonian idols. I do not serve a dead idol carved from wood or stone, but a Living God. I do not serve a dead idol baked from flour, but a Living God. I serve a Creator whose glory can be seen in every sunrise and heard in every bird song. I serve a Savior whose power is declared by every sinner ever turned into a saint. The Church, or Body of my God is not a building constructed from wood or metal or concrete, but it consists of the beating hearts of every follower turned to Christ. Our primary attention should not be directed towards physical treasures stored on earth, even if those treasures are decorated in gold and have been called holy or sacred by some. Our attention should be on the treasures we have stored up in heaven. (Matt 6:19–21) That is why I do not pray to any physical earthly object, but to the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful God of the universe and all things.

The fact of our God being all-seeing and all-knowing leads us to the next point of idolatry practiced by Catholics. They have a concept of “Sainthood” which is different from the proper meaning. Rather than considering a “saint” to be a faithful believer in Christ, they have a structured process for designating certain individuals through history as being “Saints,” which individuals must meet certain criteria before being dubbed so. Again, I would not consider this practice to be significant enough to be listed here if that was the end of it. Many Catholics of older traditions collect the bones of these Saints and store them underneath their cathedral, church, and monastery buildings; regarding them as sacred objects, an act of idolatry which may be addressed by my above writing regarding the Eucharist. Yet not even this is the end of it. Seeming to believe that their prayers may be better heard by a Divine which is already all-seeing and all-knowing, if they simply increase the number of people praying, or that the all-powerful God Himself may be strong-armed into answering a prayer simply by increasing the number of flawed humans making the request, they make intercession a common practice. Such practice, living people asking their fellow believers to pray for each other, is common enough among Protestants as well, but the Catholics take it further still, combining it with their concept of Sainthood and praying to dead humans, asking those dead humans to speak to God or to Christ on their behalf, believing that those dead humans are capable of hearing and answering prayer in their own right, sometimes even asking them for protection or for the granting of requests rather than bringing those requests directly to God. Through this practice, the Saints begin to be viewed as divine beings in their own right.

There is a long list of Saints which they pray directly to, however they hold a special place of veneration for Mary, earthly mother of Jesus. Every day, a great multitude of pre-scripted prayers are recited to her specifically, and a great multitude of songs are sung to her. Not singing and praying with mention to her, as one might mention David or Moses or Elijah in song or prayer, but directing prayer and praise to her. While she is an admirable figure, she is not divine, and God is the only one who should be answering prayers.

The practice of praying to things (or in this case, people) which are indeed beautiful and edifying, yet not divine, is addressed by another of the books which Martin Luther labeled “edifying yet not Scriptural” but which the Catholics still use, and the Protestants have forgotten.

Sirach 13:1–9 GNT

1 Anyone who does not know God is simply foolish. Such people look at the good things around them and still fail to see the living God. They have studied the things he made, but they have not recognized the one who made them. 2 Instead, they suppose that the gods who rule the world are fire or wind or storm or the circling stars or rushing water or the heavenly bodies. 3 People were so delighted with the beauty of these things that they thought they must be gods, but they should have realized that these things have a master and that he is much greater than all of them, for he is the creator of beauty, and he created them. 4 Since people are amazed at the power of these things, and how they behave, they ought to learn from them that their maker is far more powerful. 5 When we realize how vast and beautiful the creation is, we are learning about the Creator at the same time. 6 But maybe we are too harsh with these people. After all, they may have really wanted to find God, but couldn’t. 7 Surrounded by God’s works, they keep on looking at them, until they are finally convinced that because the things they see are so beautiful, they must be gods. 8 But still, these people really have no excuse. 9 If they had enough intelligence to speculate about the nature of the universe, why did they never find the Lord of all things?

All this to reiterate a much shorter and simpler command which could not have been stated more clearly.

Exodus 20:4–6

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Nevertheless, the baby should not be thrown out with the bath water. There is one aspect of the Catholic concept of “Sainthood” which can be seen as good. It is well to study and remember Church history. In practice, their list of Saints amount to historical figures of virtue who can be learned about and looked up to. The story of each of their lives is a window to seeing and understanding a specific time and place. To this end, in the Catholic ritual of “Confirmation,” children are made to choose a Saint from the list and learn about them, then adopt their name as the child’s “Confirmation name.” Many Protestant groups would do well to have a similar practice while still recognizing the human nature of these individuals, and some do.

On the topic of infant baptism, TJVB has said plenty, and I need say only one small thing more. Amusingly, I’ve been told by my local priest that I am still a Catholic in good standing because of my infant baptism and my childhood Confirmation. If, after writing this, I am excommunicated by the Pope of the Vatican or by my local bishop, so be it. My hope remains in Christ! Not in any human.

“What’s right is right, even if everyone is against it. What’s wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

-William Penn

Before I conclude, I will soften my rebuke of the Catholic faith by giving some praise. In my time, I’ve known Catholics to be fierce and zealous defenders of Christianity as a whole, some of their tenants even overriding the most powerful of worldly cultural trends in the minds of their believers. In particular, I’ve known them to be the hard backbone of the pro-life movement in modern America. I personally know a young Catholic woman who, despite calling herself politically progressive (in the early 21st century meaning of the term), holds a pro-life stance, as incongruous as those two things may be. By some function which far surpasses my own understanding, I’ve known them to possess true faith despite the focus of the institution on material wealth. I’ve known them to be talented scholars despite the impersonal, mechanical, thought-numbing repetition in their prayer, which one may think would reduce God to a far-off, intangible concept rather than “Abba, Father.” There are very, very many good Catholics in the world. I simply disagree with the institution and its practices in the strongest of ways, and I think the majority of Catholic people have been taken in by the lies of the Vatican.