Hi to all my Forum Friends,
In a recent TimesDaily Religion Forum discussion titled "Death Bed Conversion Traditional Catholic" begun by a Roman Catholic Friend who had copy/pasted a statement from a recent Roman Catholic church bulletin which makes the claim that my Friend, Anthony "Tony" Pezzotta, who recently passed away -- had a death bed conversion BACK INTO Roman Catholicism.
If you recall, I have written about Father Anthony Pezzotta, who was educated in Roman Catholic seminaries in England, Germany, Spain, and Rome, and served as Director of Roman Catholic Schools and Seminaries, as well as a Rector of Local Salesian Communities, in Manila for ten years before leaving Roman Catholicism.
His testimony was included in the book "Far From Rome, Near To God" and he published his own book "Truth Encounter, Catholicism and the Holy Scripture." These are two books I have highly recommended to both my Roman Catholic and Protestant Friends.
Today, my Roman Catholic Forum Friend copy/pasted from that recent church bulletin from the Roman Catholic church in Littleton, Colorado. In it, he found this announcement: http://www.olmcfssp.org/cms/im...s/OLMC_3.30_.14_.pdf
- A kind and zealous lady who works at Cherreyln Nursing home called me on Wednesday afternoon asking if I could come over to give extreme unction to an old gentleman who was dying and had requested it. She said he had been out of the Church for a long time, and might be more familiar with the traditional rite than the new one. Right before I anointed him she mentioned that he was a priest who had married a Filipino lady outside the Church, and became a Baptist missionary to the Philippines. He was ordained for the Salesians in 1961, and apostatized in 1974, then studied here in town at Denver seminary. He has published many books against the Catholic Faith and is rather famous. At the 11th hour he returned. Do pray for him. His books are distorted and false, and will continue to do damage long after his death.
It is sad that a man who wears the robes of a priest in this church would have written, or blessed, that statement to be included in their official church bulletin. Tony Pezzotta could not have consciously requested a priest come and attend to him -- for Tony has been suffering from an Alzheimer's type disease for several years. That is why he and his wife, Zita, were in Denver, living with their son.
If this lady at the nursing home did ask a priest to come -- it was to an unknowing Tony Pezzotta -- and was unknown to his family. Could an over-zealous Roman Catholic lady in the nursing home have made this mistake? I suppose she could have; but, it would have been against the wishes of Tony or his family, and done without their knowledge. I do know that Tony's daughter, Marie, checked out this nursing home thoroughly before they admitted him. And, she found that it fit their needs in respect to their Christian faith. But, as with any organization, a lone over-zealous person could have slipped through the crack.
If this is, in fact, true -- then the Pezzotta family should consider sue the nursing home for allowing that to happen without the conscious knowledge and consent of Tony Pezzotta or his family. I hope that, when they read this, they will consider taking that action.
Looking at this church bulletin statement, the first part, that a misguided lady in the nursing home could have called the priest, I can believe that could have happened. However, when the priest ends his statement by declaring about Tony Pezzotta, "His books are distorted and false, and will continue to do damage long after his death" -- I have to question ALL that this man might write.
It is one thing to believe that the writings of another are false and distorted, and possibly to even share that thinking orally among contemporaries. But, to put that into writing -- in a church bulletin -- without offering any proof, makes me question all that this man would write or say.
In the Religion Forum discussion "Death Bed Conversion Traditional Catholic" I tell my Forum Friend:
We know that the real reason for the priestly exodus from Roman Catholicism (written about in the book "Far From Rome, Near To God") -- is the erroneous teachings and doctrines which undergird that church. As Jesus Christ taught, the house that is built upon the sand -- is washed away by the Truth of the Bible.
And, my Roman Catholic Forum Friend asks me, "So where in the Bible is this talk of sand..? Matt 7:26 tells me you're the fool."
I will allow Jesus Christ Himself to answer his question:
Matthew 7:24-25, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
Matthew 7:26-27, "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell -- and great was its fall."
My Friend, I believe that Roman Catholicism is built upon sand because it depends upon resources outside the Bible to give it credence and credibility. A church, i.e., a fellowship of local believers, and its theology MUST be built solely upon the Written Word of God, the Bible. If it requires any proof outside the Bible -- to that degree it is built upon sand.
If any church cannot stand upon God's Written Word alone, if it needs other books, writings, and man-made traditions and rituals to survive -- then its foundation is built upon sand.
Then, he continues, "Remember, you told me,'Yes, I lied. But because I couldn't afford to be wrong.' You can do your little "show me" dance all you want and it doesn't matter. What matters is (that) you realize God overheard all of it."
My Friend, Please show all of us where I wrote that. When you make false statements such as that, your actions are just as I suggested above regarding the priest. When he, in his church bulletin statement said of Tony Pezzotta, "His books are distorted and false, and will continue to do damage long after his death" -- all credibility is lost.
Why? Through his making such a statement without offering any peer-provided proof. And, you, my Friend, when you make up such things, then claim that I, or another person, have written this eruption from your confused mind, you have lost all credibility.
Then, my Friend rambles on, "Christ created my Christian Church and taught my Christian beliefs before the Bible was written."
What we commonly refer to as the Bible, God's Written Word, first began to be written by Moses. You know, the guy who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote the first five books of the Bible. After that, various other men chosen and inspired by God continued to write the other 34 books of the Old Testament.
THEN, Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, came to bring us from under the Law and into His Grace.
My Forum Friend continues, "The Church was built on those teachings in compliance with the Bible. The Church is the word of God, the Bible is the hard copy. That's why there's only one Church, one word of God. One Bible, one meaning. Disprove that and you can be god."
My simple Friend, the"church" is the worldwide body of believers. It is not an organization; it is not a building; and it most certainly is not the Vatican, nor any of its inhabitants.
There truly is only one "church" -- the body of Christ, His followers worldwide who will be Raptured into heaven when He comes for us. And, considering the unthinking rhetoric such as you have offered -- that cannot come too soon.
My Friend, in English it is "Word" and in Greek it is "Logos." Check in your Bible concordance for the word "logos" and you will find it used two ways -- as the Written Word of God, the Bible -- and as the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. Let me share with you from a Bible Study Guide I wrote a few years ago:
In John 1:1, the apostle John is declaring the deity of Jesus Christ beyond any doubt. The New Testament was written in the Greek language and John, seeking the most powerful way to describe Jesus chose the Greek word “logos.” The Greek word logos doesn’t mean just a written word --- it means a dynamic, active, living word.
● “In the beginning was the Word . . .” (en archē ēn ho logos). In the “beginning” of what? “In the beginning” refers to the creation. This is saying that, at the creation of our universe and our world, the Word (Logos), Jesus Christ, already existed. It is saying that He already was when the world was created; it is saying that He is eternal, therefore He is God.
In the Septuagint, which is the Old Testament translated from Hebrew and Aramaic into the Greek language (about 300 BC), the verse Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” also uses the same Greek phrase “en archē” to write “in the beginning.”
● “. . . and the Word was with God . . .” (kai ho logos ēn pros theon). Jesus was with God the Father throughout eternity. The Greek phrase for “with God” is “pros theos” and this wording in the Greek language implies an equality, a close association. In other words, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Father are equal in deity, equal in divinity, equal in Godly attributes -- and They are very close. They, with the Holy Spirit, are the Godhead. Jesus was with God the Father throughout eternity; He was and is eternally God the Son.
This also tells us that Jesus Christ, the Word (Logos), the Son of God, is a separate and distinct being from God the Father, yet one with Him in the Godhead. Elohim, the triune God, created the heavens and the earth. Elohim is plural for El, the Hebrew name for God. Elohim is plural in nature, signifying the Trinity -- yet, it is used in the Bible in the singular nature. In other words, it is used with a singular verb or adjective (“Bill has” is singular; “they have” is plural). This is telling us that there is ONE God (singular), comprised of THREE distinct, different persons (plural).
God the Father laid the plans, He was the architect (Genesis 1:1); God the Son was the mediator, He was the contractor (John 1:3); and God the Holy Spirit executed the divine plans, He was the builder (Genesis 1:2). Each one separate and distinct, yet each one an integral part of the Godhead.
Genesis 1:1: ”In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
● “. . . and the Word was God.” (kai theos ēn ho logos). This phrase leaves no doubt that Jesus Christ is deity, He is God! In the Greek language this phrase is literally saying, “and God was the Word” -- theos (God) ēn (was) ho (the) logos (Word) --- God was the Word!
So, no, my Friend, "The Church is NOT the word of God." The "church" is the worldwide body of believers who have put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ (John 19:30), in His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:4) and His ascension back into heaven (Acts 1:9) to be our one and only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
And we have faith in our Blessed Hope, knowing that He WILL come again to Rapture His church out of this world (Acts 1:11, John 14:1-3) -- and that at His Second Coming in Glory to establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth (Revelation 19:11ff) -- we, the church, His Bride, will return with Him. Praise God for this Blessed Hope which all Christian believers can claim.
My Friend, I pray that I have sufficiently corrected your misconceptions -- and that you can move forward through putting your faith in the true Word of God, both Living and Written.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill