Truth Magazine

By Mark Reeves

I heard it on the news the other morning while listening to the radio. We were being informed that the Pope would be visiting Mount Nebo, the place where, according to tradition, Moses viewed the “Promised Land.” I must admit that I was very irritated when I heard it, and my anger had nothing to do with what was said about the Pope (not this time!).

It was that subtle phrase that the announcer slipped in, according to tradition.” I got to thinking, I wonder if I could get on the radio and announce, “According to tradition this country’s first president was named George Washington.” Or maybe I could declare that “according to tradition, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.”

I might not have been so incensed had it been an isolated case. Unfortunately it was announced on the same radio station a few weeks earlier that “Mount Sinai was the place where tradition has it that Moses received the Ten Commandments.”

Furthermore, if the announcer had been making the point that the site of Mt. Nebo was established only by tradition, then I would have had no quibble. We all would do well to recognize that many so called “holy sites” in Palestine are established largely by tradition, and may or may not be the actual place where a particular Bible event took place. This radio announcement did not speak of the Pope visiting the traditional site of Mt. Nebo, but rather by its wording, cast the shadow of “tradition” over Moses and the Bible event.

“How crafty is our adversary,” I thought to myself (John 8:44). There was no blatant statement that the Bible is a hoax or something equally defiant of God. Just a quiet, unobtrusive remark which referred to an historic account as merely a tradition. The insinuation of course is that the Bible record is tantamount to a fairy tale or a myth. The cunning strategy behind those godless men who control the media is to lower the Bible account to the level of any dubious belief that all cultures and peoples have. Satan wouldn’t mind if you and I came away thinking that the Bible account of Moses on Mount Nebo was no more real than the Bigfoot monster or the superstitions of some African tribe.

Once the Devil gets us accustomed to the word “tradition” in connection with references to the Bible, then it will be just a short hop over his next objective. According to modern thought, we should be tolerant of all cultural traditions and treat them with equal importance. Soon we will begin to believe that the Bible “tradition” is just as valid as the tradition presented in the Koran or the traditions of Buddhist philosophy.

I doubt that this one statement which I heard on a news broadcast is going to be solely responsible for the apostasy of some child of God. It is the steady erosion of our faith, like the constant dripping of water on a rock, that concerns me.

We write these things in the spirit of Paul who said, that “no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). Let us take advantage of these opportunities to point out to our children and our youth the fallacy of such statements. May none of us, while having our guard up against immorality and false doctrine, be brought down by a fiery dart of the Devil piercing from behind. 

3402 Karen Ave., Long Beach, California 90808-3005 markhreeves@juno.com

The beginning of the congregation was most unusual. It had its beginning about 1850. It was in a sleepy little town of about 100 people. They had a general store, a school, and a “Baptist Church.” One day a preacher rode into town on horseback. He asked if he could preach a few nights in the local church building. Permission was granted and the preacher preached nightly for about two weeks. The night the “Revival” came to an end, the congregation came out of the building and tore the sign, “Baptist Church” off the building. A day or two later a new sign went up which read, “Church Of Christ.” All other details of the event have been lost in time.

My association with the church began a little over 100 years later. However, when I rode in, I was riding a “Ford” not a horse. One hundred years later the town still numbered about 100 people. But, they had grown! At that point, they had added another grocery store and a feed mill. And, the church had also grown, averaging about 200 for Sunday morning services. 

By the time I arrived the church was in its second building. Originally it had been a typical one room auditorium. It was larger than most rural buildings with a seating capacity of well over 200. A few years before my arrival they had added a baptistry, two dressing rooms that doubled as classrooms and a furnace. However, two well built out houses still served as “rest rooms!” Cold in winter and hot in summer!

With the increased attendance, it was time to enlarge the building again. Plans were drawn up to add a basement with two class rooms and a ground level section with a cry room and two rest rooms. Yes, by that time the community was served by a rural water system, but we would have to put in our own septic.

The men had met several times to discuss the matter and they would carry the details home to their wives and children. Workmen were brought in and the addition began to take shape.

In the congregation there were two “old maids.” They had inherited their parents farm and had farmed the place as if they were men. They never owned an automobile and so they would walk the mile or two into town from time to time to get supplies. Since the church building was on the road into town, when they would walk by, they stopped to observe the construction work. During the basement construction little comments were made. Then it was time to frame the upper section. The carpenters laid off the rooms and the plumbers began to install the sewer pipes. That was the day the old sisters stopped by for another look. They were well into their 60s and had never known anything but outdoor toilets! When it dawned on them that there would be indoor rest rooms in the church building they were shocked! With anguish they discussed the matter at length and then wondered off down the road with the lament. “The next thing you know they will bring in the piano!” As they saw it, indoor rest rooms were the beginning of apostasy.

By Bill Reeves

I guess he was guilty of “e-gossiping,” judging by what he wrote in some of his e-pistles! Why he criticized poor Hymenaeus and Alexander; he surely learned them a lesson, according to 1 Timothy 1:20! In his second e-pistle “ole” Paul continued to gossip, this time running down Phygelus and Homogenized, uh, Hermogenes. You can read about this in the second e-pistle, 1:15. He insinuated that they were deserters! And, what’s more, in that same e-pistle, chapter 4:14, Paul took on Alexander the coppersmith; he really put him down! (I even have read about the apostle John engaging in e-gossip. Did you read what he said in one of his e-pistles about brother Diotrophes?)

Things haven’t changed much since the first century. They told us down at the Florida College Lectures this year that some today are engaging in that “e-gossip” business, really putting down some good brethren of fame in the brotherhood. (Why, these e-gossipers have the nerve to even call “false teachers” some of our preacher brothers who have such wonderful attitudes and character). They said that some of these bad guys are out there on the Internet putting some well-known brethren in the “electronic mail chair”! Can you believe it? Where has love and kindness and sweet-spiritedness all gone to? I thought that gossiping is sin!

But, I don’t worry; these teachers are also sending out their e-mails, and making their speeches, really letting these gossipers have it!

Why not just e-quarantine them?

By Dick Blackford

On March 12, 2000, Pope John Paul II made a sweeping confession of the sins of Catholics from antiquity to modern evils. Atrocities compiled in a nutshell what could be written in volumes, included wars of religion, abuses during the Crusades; the coercion of the Inquisition; disrespect for cultures and faiths in the course of evangelization; affronts to women, races and ethnic groups; and abuses of the rights of individuals and anti-Jewish prejudices which made Nazi persecution of the Jews easier while the church did not try to stop it.

There are some things we can learn from the pope’s apology.

We learn that these terrible atrocities really did happen. Rank and file Catholics have often denied that these things happened, but now none other than the pope, whom Catholics claim to be the Vicar of Christ on earth, has openly admitted it. Many people were persecuted (including Galileo), even burned at the stake for their refusal to be coerced to accept Catholic doctrine, including John Huss.

We learn that neither the pope nor the church were infallible during those times. The doctrine of papal infallibility is a relative new doctrine. It became the official position of the church at the Vatican Council of 1870. Bishop Joseph Georg Strossmayer of Diakovar, Bosnia, delivered a powerful speech against the doctrine of papal infallibility at that council and it has never been answered. The answer at that time was to shout him down and force him out of the pulpit (Bishop Strossmayer’s Speech in the Vatican Council of 1870, Agora Publishing Co.).

We learn that since the Catholic Church persecuted those who stood for truth even putting many to death, contrary to the nature of the  kingdom Jesus established, thereby removed any doubt that the Catholic Church is not the New Testament church. Jesus rebuked Peter, whom Catholics claim was the first pope, for trying to use physical violence to promote the Lord’s cause (John 18:10, 11). Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then my followers would have fought that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36, 37). By persecuting people for their religious beliefs the Catholic Church showed it was of this world and not the Lord’s kingdom. Paul had said, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not make war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful before God to the demolishing of strongholds)” (2 Cor. 10:4, 5).

We learn that if the church could have been so wrong as to do these horrible things, that it can still be wrong today. Jesus claimed to have all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). He ascended to heaven and took every bit of that authority with him. He is still the head of the church (Eph. 1:22, 23). For a man on earth to claim he is Christ’s visible representative possessing authority over the church is to usurp Christ’s position and to be guilty of blasphemy.

Other Doctrinal Errors

There are a number of doctrines on which the Catholic Church remains in error. A few are: (1) the worship of Mary when Jesus is the only mediator to the Father (1 Tim. 2:5; John 14:6). (2) The perpetual virginity of Mary, even though the Bible plainly teaches she had other children (Mark 6:3). (3) Calling a man “Father” as a religious title when Jesus specifically said don’t do it (Matt. 23:9). (4) That children inherit original sin from Adam, although Jesus taught that children were sinless (Matt. 18:1-3; 19:13-15). (6) That baptism is sprinkling when the Bible says it is a burial (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). (7) The pope continues to allow mere mortals to bow down and kiss his ring and call him “Holy Father.” When Cornelius tried to worship to Peter, Peter said, “Stand up. I myself also am a man.” No pope has ever done that.

In 1986 this same pope put his approval on rescinding the accusation that the Jews killed Christ (AP, April 14, 1986). The only reason why this should have been rescinded would be that it had been proven false. But who made the accusation? The apostle Peter, whom Catholics believe was the first pope (Acts 2:22, 23, 36; 3:12-15; 10:39)! If Peter was the first pope, which pope was infallible? The one who was bodily present and was an eyewitness to what happened, or the one who is nearly 2000 years removed from the events? Even Jesus accused the Jews of trying to kill him (John 8:37-40). What’s more, thousands of Jews admitted the charge and obeyed the gospel (Acts 2:36-41; 6:7). In addition, the pope contradicted the Catholic Bible which is an official document of the church. The introduction to The New Catholic Version bears the Imprimatur of the Holy Apostolic See. The first sentence says: there are three things about the Bible which Catholics must believe: that it has God as its author, that its various books are all inspired, — and that, because God is the author, no formal effort can be admitted with the sacred pages.

The pope and those responsible for “Nostra Aetate” join the ranks of skeptics who claim to know more about what happened than those who were there, including Simon Peter and Jesus! How can any conscientious person remain indifferent to such blasphemy and contradiction? The pope also contradicted the introduction to an official Catholic translation, which affirms the infallibility of the Scriptures. This must not be swept under the rug. Every Catholic should sit up and take notice of this glaring contradiction. Because the pope is popular and likeable, he gets away with some things which others might not.

We learn that one person really cannot repent for another. We cannot repent for the dead for “just as it is appointed unto men to die once and after this comes the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We cannot repent for the living, for each person is accountable for himself. God will “render to every man according to his works” (Rom. 2:6). “For we must all be made manifest before the tribunal of Christ; so that each one may receive what he has done through the body, according to his works, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10).

For an apology to be genuine it must come from the heart and lips of the perpetrators. Since the perpetrators have been dead for a long time, no one else can do for them what they refused to do while alive.

Conclusion
We appreciate the pope’s admission. He is one of the most likeable and lovable popes in a long time. We wish he would come all the way back to the Scriptures and renounce his man-made position and the Catholic church in particular.

(All scripture quotations are from the New Catholic Version)

P.0. Box 3032, State University Arkansas 72467 rlb612@aol.com