THE CHURCH
THE (Holly Roman Catholic) CHURCH
Christendom et al.
(All “Christian” Churches came out of the Holly Roman Catholic Church)
(Most Christian Churches claim The Bible -King James version- as their basis of Authority)
I have been asked:
… and is my message aimed at undermining the church? No, it is not the aim of my message.
Is it a consequence or side effect? Yes, it would seem so.
RECITLES: The Church
The Tools of the Church
(We know this, no surprises here)
Faith: I believe this Priest must really know what he is talking about, so I will believe too.
Guilt: I should, or shouldn’t be doing; and the “Jesus died for you”, etc.
Fear: What if I don’t, or can’t always do, or not do those things; what will happen to me
Judgment: Fear of the final condemnation for not living “righteously” enough
Eternal Damnation: The almost certain outcome for most of us.
The Bible: The manipulated authoritative foundation for most of what the church does.
THE POWER OF THE CHURCH
(Probably lots of surprises here)
Organizational precepts Why is it called the “Holly Roman Catholic Church?” Because it was developed and organized under the direction of Constantine I, Emperor of the Roman Empire (306-337AD). The church was used to increase his personal power as emperor and in an attempt to unify the Roman Empire under a single religion (as most all Empires do).
The structure of the church was modeled after the Roman Empire itself; with an Emperor (Pope), High ranking Lords (Bishops, Cardinals, Archbishops), lesser Lords - which also make-up the first defenses and have actual day-to-day contact with the common people (Priests, Nuns).
The new Roman church would need laws in order to control and subdue its people. The “Holy Bible” was put together through a process which considered many, many writings which were circulating in that day (early 4th Cent. AD). The writings which were chosen for the Bible had to be acceptable to the many different Christian leaders (Bishops), who had many different ideas, beliefs and practices, and who were all now under the scrutiny of the Powerful Emperor (1st Council of Nicaea, 325 AD). Those who would not agree on new, standardized structures and practices, or would not accept edited and rewritten versions of the [Bible] Writings, and those who wouldn’t practice the correct Christianity (according to the Emperor and his Church) were either exiled or put to death (see section on The Bible).
Much of the very basic dogma for the new Roman Church was borrowed from the religion of the Great Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism*, which predates Christianity by at least 1000 years (one God - all good, in heaven and one Devil - all bad, in hell; Great final judgment; A God who is Omnipresent and Omnipotent; The Virgin Birth, Resurrection, etc.). Most of which was inserted into the Writings which would become the Bible.
The Emperor wanted His Church and he got it. He spread it through out the Roman Empire – Italy, Spain, France, England, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, parts of Russia & Saudi Arabia, and more.
So the Roman church was everywhere in the Empire. Wright or wrong, this church, and its practices of religion, was basically the only church available in the Western World for the next 1000 years.
* Zoroastrianism: The religion was founded by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia -- modern-day Iran (about 1200 BC). It was the world's first monotheistic faith (one God). It was once the official religion of the Persian Empire, but has since been reduced in numbers to fewer than 200,000 today. The vast majority of religious historians believe that the Jewish, Christian and Muslim beliefs concerning God and Satan, the soul, heaven and hell, the virgin birth of the savior, slaughter of the innocents, resurrection, the final judgment, etc. were all derived from Zoroastrianism.
Historical political position: Because of the geographical spread of the Church through out all the countries of the Roman Empire, and its basis in “other-worldly” authority the Church was poised to outlast the political and geographical lives of governments, countries, empires, kings and warlords – and it did (has).
As the power and authority of the Church grew it became more and more involved in the politics of nations and in the accumulation of wealth; influencing, even dictating national policy to the many kings, queens and emperors through out the history of the Western world. Eventually the power of the Church equaled or even surpassed the power of nations as the Pope was sometimes able to dethrone and/or install kings & queens, and even cause wars (the Crusades) and the Inquisitions (trials) through which the execution of thousands and thousands of innocent people the Church called “Infidels” (non-believers) were carried out.
What would Jesus say?
In the Papal Bull (Pope's Bulletin) of March 25th, 1199 Pope Innocent III declared "anyone who attempted to construe a personal view of god which conflicted with the church dogma must be burned without pity."
Legal basis for inquisitorial activity came from Pope Innocent IV's papal bull Ad exstirpanda of 1252, which authorized and regulated the use of torture in investigating heresy.
A 1578 Roman Catholic handbook for inquisitors spelled out the purpose of inquisitorial penalties: ... quoniam punitio non refertur primo & per se in correctionem & bonum eius qui punitur, sed in bonum publicum ut alij terreantur, & a malis committendis avocentur. [Translation from the Latin: "... for punishment does not take place primarily and per se for the correction and good of the person being punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit."]. ?What would Jesus say?
Look at this guy....
Pope Benedictus XVI 2008
Jesus couldn’t stand stuff like this, and warned us away from this kind of religious leader during his lifetime: Robes of fine threads with wide borders; Crowns of Gold; Sitting on thrones, in high places; Praying in front of an audience just to be seen doing so; and so on. Hypocrites.... (see Matthew 23:1-15).
The Pope is really less of a “man of God” than he is a King who uses God as a basis for power. The Pope is a king with a kingdom (about 1.2 billion subjects); which has an army; probably trillions of dollars worth of Treasure, cash, stock investments & real estate (all the stuff Jesus told us to accumulate).
From the King James Bible:
Jesus has been speaking to a young ruler who is very rich. The young ruler tells Jesus that he has lived according to the commandments his entire life....
LUKE 18:22 “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”
MATTHEW 19:21 “Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
You can guess what this young Wealthy Powerful ruler did...... he walked away; not willing to give up his great earthly wealth. What do you think the Catholic Pope would do if asked the same thing?
