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Revised 8/25/2015
The word "Catholic," in the title "Roman Catholic Church," means universal. It can be traced back to the Greek word katholikos which means universal or general. The inclusion of "Catholic" in the name of the church is a not-so-subtle claim to be the true church worldwide and thus the only legitimate church.
It may have been legitimate to apply the adjective "universal" to the Christian church during the earliest period of its history, when those who called themselves Christians enjoyed unity, at least far greater unity than we observe today. But unity did not last long. Divisions soon appeared in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10-17), and Paul's various exhortations to Christians in other locations regarding unity (Galatians 5:13-15; Ephesians 4:3; Philippians 2:3-4, 14-15: Colossians 3:13-14) testify to the common tendency to disagree and divide. Certainly, today it is inappropriate for any single organization of Christians to claim to be the only true church.
Whenever a group divides, a question naturally arises. Which one of the resulting groups can legitimately claim to be a continuation of the original? A question also arises regarding what the determining factor should be – size, organizational continuity, length of survival, lineage of leaders, power and influence, etc. But because of the nature of the Christian church, none of these factors is acceptable. Even before the formation of the church on the day of Pentecost, Jesus prayed regarding those who in the future would believe in him through his followers' message (John 17:20). Remember that Christ's parting commands to his followers, his church, were to spread the message about himself by being his witnesses in all the nations and thus make disciples, baptize them, and teach them everything he had commanded (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). This was not a commission primarily to grow in size, nor to be organized a certain way, nor to pass leadership titles from one generation to the next, nor to wield power. Rather, it was a commission that revolved around the spread of a message – the truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ and his teachings.
This fact makes it relatively easy to test the Roman Catholic Church (or any other group claiming to be the true church), for the gospel of Jesus Christ and his teachings have been preserved for us in the Bible. In this book we adopt the conservative view of the Bible which holds that the deeds and teachings of Jesus were faithfully recorded in the gospels under divine inspiration. We reject the speculation that the New Testament writers invented stories to support their personal beliefs.
Thus, this book is a comparison of Roman Catholic teachings with biblical teachings. It is not a comparison of Roman Catholic teachings with those of Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or any other denomination or organization.
This book focuses on those issues which are most relevant to individual salvation. Thus, some aspects of Roman Catholicism are not discussed at length, including the celibacy of clergy, the perpetual virginity of Mary, veneration of and prayer to saints, confirmation, holy orders, the hundreds of religious orders (such as the Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, etc.), the sacrament of marriage, the sacrament of anointing the sick (extreme unction or last rites), the rosary, and the place of relics.
The subject at hand can be very personal, emotional, and even offensive, particularly for those who have been part of the Roman Catholic Church and faithfully supported it over many years. It is not my intent to offend, but rather to honestly and objectively deal with the claims of the Roman Catholic Church in light of the biblical and historical evidence. I only ask you as reader to do the same.
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations in this book are from the New American Bible, available online at vatican.va/archive/index.htm (select "THE BIBLE"). This Bible was translated by Catholic scholars (Old Testament copyright 1970, New Testament copyright 1986). The New American Bible has been published in various printed editions including the Saint Joseph Edition noted below.
Most other quotations also come from Roman Catholic sources. Due to the frequent use of certain sources, the documentation is abbreviated as follows:
"Vatican II" = The Documents of Vatican II: All Sixteen Official Texts Promulgated by the Ecumenical Council 1963-1965 Translated from the Latin. Walter M. Abbott, S.J., general editor (America Press, 1966). Available online at vatican.va/archive/index.htm (select "II VATICAN COUNCIL"). Vatican II is the most recent general council called by the Roman Catholic Church, occurring from 1962-1965.
"1994 Catechism" = Catechism of the Catholic Church (Liguori Publications, Latin text and English translation 1994) Available online at vatican.va/archive/index.htm (select "CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH"). The 1994 Catechism is the most recent general catechism issued by the Roman Catholic Church. It is intended to form the basis for other regional and specialized catechisms. (A second edition was published by Doubleday in 2003.)
"Saint Joseph Bible" = Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible (a catholic study Bible published by the Catholic Book Publishing Co. of New York, 1987).
"Trigilio" = John Trigilio and Kenneth Brighenti, Catholicism for Dummies, Wiley Publications, 2003 (written by two Roman Catholic priests, editors, and TV hosts)
All the above sources carry the "nihil obstat" and the "imprimatur" implying approval by the Roman Catholic censors and bishops. Such declarations are usually found immediately after the title page. "Nihil obstat" is Latin for "nothing hinders," an indication that the censor finds nothing objectionable in the book that would hinder it from being printed. "Imprimatur" is Latin for "let it be printed," an indication that a bishop has "signed off" on the book. It is quite curious that some catholic sources contain, on the same page as the nihil obstat and imprimatur, both an explanation of these two "stamps" of approval and a self-contradictory disclaimer similar to the following:
The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed. (A Concise Companion & Commentary for The New Catholic Catechism, Fr. James Tolhurst, Gracewing Christian Classics, 1994)