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The Time of the Three Concurrent Popes: the Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism
One of the central doctrines in the Catholic Church is that of the papacy—a belief that has shaped Catholic Christianity for centuries. Catholics assert that the pope is the direct successor of Saint Peter, forming a continuous chain of apostolic succession. Although I think it can be argued that the papacy should not even be considered Christian, minimally, we should recognize that the papacy is plagued with the failings of human ambition and political maneuvering. For evangelicals who hold Scripture as the final authority in the life of the church, the dramatic events of the Avignon Papacy offer a clear illustration of the corruption of the papacy. The Catholic Problem: The Papal Claim of Divine Authority Catholics have long maintained that each pope inherits “the totality and supremacy of the power Christ left on earth for the building up of the kingdom of God.” This claim of divine empowerment is used…
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What is the Catholic View of Salvation?
A question I occasionally get is what the difference is between the Catholic Church and the Evangelical church. Isn’t the Catholic Church just another option for where to go to church, based on the preference of the individual? To many people it is. However, the Catholic Church officially holds to beliefs which do not align with what the Bible teaches, and therefore it is not a true church. In fact, the Catholic Church is a pseudo-church which is leading millions of people to hell. Whoa now, is that a little strong? Now, I have many friends and relatives who go to the Catholic Church. So I don’t write this without knowing friends who are in the Catholic Church. But that personal experience does not affect what is objectively true—the fact that the Catholic Church teaches a different way of salvation. The Catholic View of Salvation In Catholic belief, one must enter into…
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Who is the Queen of Heaven in Jeremiah?
Those who are willing to read through the lengthy prophet Jeremiah will come across a phrase which is not mentioned elsewhere—the queen of heaven (cf. Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19, 25). Although the Queen of Heaven is mentioned in Catholic writings, it is used there as a reference to Mary, mother of Jesus. Catholics do not wish to equate their usage of “Queen of Heaven” with the book of Jeremiah. However, one cannot miss the subtle irony that the phrase queen of heaven in Jeremiah is a clear reference to idolatry, which is the very same charge leveled against Catholicism and their veneration of Mary. However, our interest in the queen of heaven is not related to Catholicism. Rather, we want to explore the usage in Scripture. Yet, there is not much known about the queen of heaven from Scripture. Since Jeremiah is the only biblical record of the existence of this…