Why I Cannot Be a Catholic
by Pastor Coleman
There is a natural tendency and desire for people to feel a part of, or to fit in with other people; so while I have many friends and a few distant relatives who are Catholic, and would therefore love to be a Catholic for the sake of the sense of belonging, it so happens that I was taught to value the Word of God as the final authority in all matters of doctrine, and to use my brain as I read the Bible, and not just go along to get along.
For those reasons and others, I write this article, not as a denunciation of Catholic doctrine, but as a plain, honest, simple explanation as to the reasons that I, after reading the Bible many times over (pretty much every day for my entire 57 years of life up to the point of my writing this article) cannot be a Catholic because of the clear teaching of the Bible and the honest use of the brain God gave me. I hope it may be a help to anyone who honestly desires "truth in the inward parts" (Psalm 51:6), who happens to read this.
The reasons given below are not in any particular order of importance, just reasons as they come to my mind from knowledge of and comparison to the Scriptures over the years.
For those reasons and others, I write this article, not as a denunciation of Catholic doctrine, but as a plain, honest, simple explanation as to the reasons that I, after reading the Bible many times over (pretty much every day for my entire 57 years of life up to the point of my writing this article) cannot be a Catholic because of the clear teaching of the Bible and the honest use of the brain God gave me. I hope it may be a help to anyone who honestly desires "truth in the inward parts" (Psalm 51:6), who happens to read this.
The reasons given below are not in any particular order of importance, just reasons as they come to my mind from knowledge of and comparison to the Scriptures over the years.
Reason #1 - I cannot belong to a religious system that promotes and allows, without a direct, clear denunciation of it, the practice of making, selling and praying to or even showing veneration to statues of people or graven images of any kind.
A big part of Catholic tradition is the use of statues of "saints", "apostles", "Jesus", "Mary", "Joseph", the cross, etc. Every Catholic religious building I have ever seen has images/statues as those just mentioned.
The Bible is very clear about this, both in the ten commandments and other places in Scripture.
Exodus 20:4-5 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God...
Leviticus 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
The defense of many Catholics I have known through the years is that they do not worship the statues as gods, but merely as helpful aids in picturing people in the Bible, particularly Jesus and Mary. However, such an argument is rendered utterly weak when viewed in light of the direct commands of the Lord Himself.
History, both biblical and non-biblical, reveals that the prectice of worshipping images, statues and idols was a common practice through virtually all generations. Pagan people have been known to have a variety of gods which they worship and attempt to appease for the sake of receiving blessings and protection from evil.
A big part of Catholic tradition is the use of statues of "saints", "apostles", "Jesus", "Mary", "Joseph", the cross, etc. Every Catholic religious building I have ever seen has images/statues as those just mentioned.
The Bible is very clear about this, both in the ten commandments and other places in Scripture.
Exodus 20:4-5 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God...
Leviticus 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
The defense of many Catholics I have known through the years is that they do not worship the statues as gods, but merely as helpful aids in picturing people in the Bible, particularly Jesus and Mary. However, such an argument is rendered utterly weak when viewed in light of the direct commands of the Lord Himself.
History, both biblical and non-biblical, reveals that the prectice of worshipping images, statues and idols was a common practice through virtually all generations. Pagan people have been known to have a variety of gods which they worship and attempt to appease for the sake of receiving blessings and protection from evil.