Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Cold Catholicism
Hollywood is the vehicle of Satan. I don't think that is difficult to see. It pushes movies that are about violence, sex, hell, ghosts, demons, magic, murder and every evil thing you can think of. In recent years it pushes homosexuality to a point of practically shoving it down our throats.
If it is sinful, Hollywood pushes it. If it is holy, Hollywood shuns it. How often do you see movies about someone proclaiming to be a Christian and forgiving others for hurting them? As I considered this deeper, I realized something. Something I have noticed for many years but never fully grasped it.
Hollywood does put religion in many of its movies. It puts God in many of its stories. It even puts Christ into them. The thing I have always noticed was that it always did so through Catholicism.
Every time there is a need to make Christianity look cool or holy, it is through the Catholic church. Every time it wants to make Christianity look crazy or foolish, it uses Protestantism. That has always bothered me, but lately I have had to ask why?
Why is it that the devil's vehicle to push evil, will always make Protestants look stupid or crazy, but it always makes the Catholic church look holy? Why would the devil want to make anything truly holy, look holy?
I am not one who normally attacks Catholicism. I have argued with many Christians in defense of Catholics. I believe they are as saved as Protestants. The problem is not whether they teach true salvation, it is how little they teach a real personal relationship with Christ.
Consider sports if you will. When you have a favorite team, you typically have an arch rival. Often we hate that rival. Many of us, if we had the preference, we would want to see that rival die off. We would not want to see any players going to them. But we know that is not going to happen, so if we cant stop them from getting new players every year, we take the next best thing. We want them to get the crappiest players.
The devil knows he cannot stop people from turning to God. He knows he cannot stop people from accepting the gift of salvation. So if he cannot stop it, he is going to push the one form of Christianity where they will not serve the Lord to their fullest abilities.
It is the one reason why I would always advise Christians to go to protestant churches over Catholic. I would rather anyone go to a Catholic church than no church at all, because I do believe they do still teach true salvation. However, I would much rather them go to a protestant church that teaches its people how to have a closer personal relationship with Christ.
The Catholic church says it teaches people to have a relationship with God, but it really does not make that an important teaching. When you confess your sins, it doesn't teach you to confess them to your brother or to God directly. They teach you to confess them to a priest. To make it even more impersonal, they do it in a box that is divided so you are not face to face with him. Can a confession of sin be any less personal?
When Catholics pray, they do not pray directly to the Father as Jesus clearly tells us to do in the Lords Prayer. They teach them to pray to Mary and ask her to mediate for us. Even though the Bible clearly says that Jesus is the 'only' mediator between us and God. Again, they take our personal communication with God away and make it impersonal.
When was the last time you saw a scene where a priest or nun was hugging someone to comfort them? They always keep themselves reeled back and impersonal. Pastors of protestant churches will kneel and pray with someone, hugging them when they are done and showing them personal love.
Even the music in the churches are typically cold and impersonal sounding. The boy choirs are impossible to even understand the words they are singing. You cant really sing along with them. Some people love that music, but I simply do not see it as a personal music. It has always come across as cold to me.
I know plenty of protestant Christians who do not take their salvation serious. The reason is because they don't take their personal relationship with the Lord serious. But that aspect is far more common in the Catholic church. The vast majority of protestant Christians struggle in their relationship with the Lord. The vast majority of Catholics seem to not even have any relationship with the Lord.
Catholicism is not of the devil as some uninformed protestants like to believe. It is of God. The problem is that it is about believing in god and maybe serving God, but not about having a personal relationship with the Lord. Though they still teach salvation and they will go to heaven just as quick as any protestant, the vast majority will not receive very many rewards.
Most Christians today believe that we spend all eternity in heaven. Yet the Bible never says that. It tells us that we will be given a new earth. The new earth will need to be thousands of times larger than this one just to accommodate the New Jerusalem. A city God will place on the new earth that will be over 1,400 miles across in both directions and 1,400 miles high. The atmosphere of this earth only reaches 30 miles high.
We will make new nations and new cities and live new lives in glorified bodies. Nobody will ever get hurt or die or cry again. Another thing most Christians don't realize is that we will all have different positions and careers again. Those with greater rewards will receive better positions. Those with few rewards will receive lower status and lower positions. They might be servants or laborers. Others will be leaders and have servants waiting on them. Your status and position will depend on your rewards.
Those who work on their personal relationship with the Lord and spend their time serving him will gain greater rewards. Those who believe but never do much to build their relationship will receive fewer rewards. We will be judged on our deeds to decide our rewards.
The devil cannot stop salvation completely. So when support is needed to be shown, he shows it for the church that will have the fewest rewards given to its people because they don't teach them how to have a personal relationship.
I have seen so many Catholic services on TV. I shudder to imagine being a part of that. Yet most Catholics have no idea how amazing a protestant service can be. In a good church, you can truly feel the love of Christ moving during the service. Catholicism is not evil, but it can be so distant and cold.
I wish Catholics would at least try attending a protestant service sometime. Try a few different types. Give an evangelical church a try, then maybe a Baptist. Throw in a non-denominational church as well. Find out what it is like to worship and praise the Lord instead of just serve the Lord. If you don't want to take my word for it. Try watching more movies and let Hollywood show you what I am talking about.
If it is sinful, Hollywood pushes it. If it is holy, Hollywood shuns it. How often do you see movies about someone proclaiming to be a Christian and forgiving others for hurting them? As I considered this deeper, I realized something. Something I have noticed for many years but never fully grasped it.
Hollywood does put religion in many of its movies. It puts God in many of its stories. It even puts Christ into them. The thing I have always noticed was that it always did so through Catholicism.
Every time there is a need to make Christianity look cool or holy, it is through the Catholic church. Every time it wants to make Christianity look crazy or foolish, it uses Protestantism. That has always bothered me, but lately I have had to ask why?
Why is it that the devil's vehicle to push evil, will always make Protestants look stupid or crazy, but it always makes the Catholic church look holy? Why would the devil want to make anything truly holy, look holy?
I am not one who normally attacks Catholicism. I have argued with many Christians in defense of Catholics. I believe they are as saved as Protestants. The problem is not whether they teach true salvation, it is how little they teach a real personal relationship with Christ.
Consider sports if you will. When you have a favorite team, you typically have an arch rival. Often we hate that rival. Many of us, if we had the preference, we would want to see that rival die off. We would not want to see any players going to them. But we know that is not going to happen, so if we cant stop them from getting new players every year, we take the next best thing. We want them to get the crappiest players.
The devil knows he cannot stop people from turning to God. He knows he cannot stop people from accepting the gift of salvation. So if he cannot stop it, he is going to push the one form of Christianity where they will not serve the Lord to their fullest abilities.
It is the one reason why I would always advise Christians to go to protestant churches over Catholic. I would rather anyone go to a Catholic church than no church at all, because I do believe they do still teach true salvation. However, I would much rather them go to a protestant church that teaches its people how to have a closer personal relationship with Christ.
The Catholic church says it teaches people to have a relationship with God, but it really does not make that an important teaching. When you confess your sins, it doesn't teach you to confess them to your brother or to God directly. They teach you to confess them to a priest. To make it even more impersonal, they do it in a box that is divided so you are not face to face with him. Can a confession of sin be any less personal?
When Catholics pray, they do not pray directly to the Father as Jesus clearly tells us to do in the Lords Prayer. They teach them to pray to Mary and ask her to mediate for us. Even though the Bible clearly says that Jesus is the 'only' mediator between us and God. Again, they take our personal communication with God away and make it impersonal.
When was the last time you saw a scene where a priest or nun was hugging someone to comfort them? They always keep themselves reeled back and impersonal. Pastors of protestant churches will kneel and pray with someone, hugging them when they are done and showing them personal love.
Even the music in the churches are typically cold and impersonal sounding. The boy choirs are impossible to even understand the words they are singing. You cant really sing along with them. Some people love that music, but I simply do not see it as a personal music. It has always come across as cold to me.
I know plenty of protestant Christians who do not take their salvation serious. The reason is because they don't take their personal relationship with the Lord serious. But that aspect is far more common in the Catholic church. The vast majority of protestant Christians struggle in their relationship with the Lord. The vast majority of Catholics seem to not even have any relationship with the Lord.
Catholicism is not of the devil as some uninformed protestants like to believe. It is of God. The problem is that it is about believing in god and maybe serving God, but not about having a personal relationship with the Lord. Though they still teach salvation and they will go to heaven just as quick as any protestant, the vast majority will not receive very many rewards.
Most Christians today believe that we spend all eternity in heaven. Yet the Bible never says that. It tells us that we will be given a new earth. The new earth will need to be thousands of times larger than this one just to accommodate the New Jerusalem. A city God will place on the new earth that will be over 1,400 miles across in both directions and 1,400 miles high. The atmosphere of this earth only reaches 30 miles high.
We will make new nations and new cities and live new lives in glorified bodies. Nobody will ever get hurt or die or cry again. Another thing most Christians don't realize is that we will all have different positions and careers again. Those with greater rewards will receive better positions. Those with few rewards will receive lower status and lower positions. They might be servants or laborers. Others will be leaders and have servants waiting on them. Your status and position will depend on your rewards.
Those who work on their personal relationship with the Lord and spend their time serving him will gain greater rewards. Those who believe but never do much to build their relationship will receive fewer rewards. We will be judged on our deeds to decide our rewards.
The devil cannot stop salvation completely. So when support is needed to be shown, he shows it for the church that will have the fewest rewards given to its people because they don't teach them how to have a personal relationship.
I have seen so many Catholic services on TV. I shudder to imagine being a part of that. Yet most Catholics have no idea how amazing a protestant service can be. In a good church, you can truly feel the love of Christ moving during the service. Catholicism is not evil, but it can be so distant and cold.
I wish Catholics would at least try attending a protestant service sometime. Try a few different types. Give an evangelical church a try, then maybe a Baptist. Throw in a non-denominational church as well. Find out what it is like to worship and praise the Lord instead of just serve the Lord. If you don't want to take my word for it. Try watching more movies and let Hollywood show you what I am talking about.
