The distinctions between Biblical Christianity and Catholicism are vast and irreconcilable.
1. The Mass as a continuing perpetual sacrifice of Jesus is unBiblical (John 19:30, Hebrews 9:25-28, Rev 1:18)...And the heresy of "receiving Christ" through "Holy Communion," believing that a priest has the POWER to yank the Lord Jesus Christ out of heaven and put him into a wafer (Transubstantiation)
Faithful Catholics believe in the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; Body & Blood, Soul and Divinity. Out of love for mankind Jesus instituted this sacrament at the Last Supper - Matthew 26: 26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 21:17-20. The command to partake in the Body and Blood of Christ was clearly established by Christ in the passage John 6:52-58
2. Works added to faith for salvation is not Biblical (Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5-8, Galations 2:16, Romans 4:4-5
Works are generally understood to be a fruit of our personal faith, not a means of achieving salvation in the absence of faith. Refer to James 2: 14-20. I'm not aware of any Catholic doctrine that states a person is saved by their works alone. So on this point we are in agreement.
3. Infant Baptism: From John the Baptist through the book of Acts, only believers are baptized, no exception.
The concept of infant baptism is admittedly not firmly rooted in Scripture. From my understanding, it was St. Augustine and other leading theologians of his time that advocated for infant baptism to address the issue of souls perishing without the saving grace of Baptism. Catholic Church teaching on this matter is that parents have responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of their children, to instruct them in the faith, etc. The Sacrament of Confirmation is when a young person re-affirms their faith as a Christian and receives the grace of the Holy Spirit to live out the Christian witness. Confirmation is ultimately derived from the descent of the Holy Spirit to apostles at the First Pentecost; whereby the apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit and were empowered to lay hands and transmit these gifts to other believers.
4. Peter as the first 'pope,' the 'rock' on which Christ allegedly established his church: Acts 4:8-12, 1 Peter 2:6-9, Deut 32:3-4, Ps 18:1-2, 1 Cor 3:11. (The 'rock' in Matt 16:18 is found in v 16b - it's the proclamation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God)
Peter was initially known as Simon, and his name "Peter" is derived from the Greek word for rock "Petros". Throughout the Gospels, Peter is clearly the leader of the 12 apostles, confirmed in the passage of Matthew 16:16 you quoted, and culminating in the command from Jesus to Peter to "Feed my lambs" (John 21:15-18). When Peter was martyred, what was the early church to do? The leaders of the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit discerned St. Linus to take his place. Ultimately, the Catholic Church can ultimately trace its lineage back to Jesus himself.
5. Priests vs. priesthood of the believer: 1 Peter 2:9, Rev 1:6, Heb 7:25, Heb 4:14-16
The priesthood is another Sacrament of the Church, instituted by the early church fathers to be Altus Christus (Another Christ),to celebrate the Eucharist, forgive sins in the name of Christ, etc. That said, I agree we all have a personal priesthood to bring the witness of Christ into the world.
Additionally, Catholics pray to idols and to Mary, and the Bible is explicit about whom to pray to: God alone.
Catholics ask Mary to pray them; to seek her intercession for her son Jesus. Per the passage in John 19:25-27, Jesus gave his mother to the Church in person of St. John, and gave the Church to his mother. Catholics praying to idols is absolutely false. Furthermore, prayer for the dead borders dangerously close to necromancy (see Revelation 22:8-9)
John was seeking to pray to an angel in this passage, not to a dead person. Catholic prayers for the deceased are essentially a prayer of trust for God to have mercy on that person’s soul.
I never see Catholics caring enough about others to actually share something about their faith.
I and my fellow Catholics share our faith with each other and those around us, and I assure you we want others to share in our gospel joy. Could we do better? Absolutely. Perhaps you spend too much time in your theological bubble, or perhaps your apparent anti-Catholic prejudice prevents you from seeing anything positive about the Catholic faith. But in the Bible, Jesus says an amazing thing..."Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." And..."I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
I agree with this….
The official Catholic position, proclaimed by all the popes for the last 1,000 years, is that salvation is found only in the Catholic church, through the sacraments, by the priests, under the cardinals and pope.
Catholic teaching has recently evolved (somewhat) in this matter. Here is the most recent position on this topic I could find, from Section 846 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/226/#zoom=z
But the Bible says that salvation is only in Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter said... "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved."
I agree with this….
Saved from what? Judgment is coming - for you and me - and Jesus preached that most people are on their way to hell...the broad road to destruction. And that the road to life and heaven is narrow and few find it.
OK, I agree with this also.
