LIST OF HERESIES

And HUMAN TRADITIONS ADOPTED and
PERPETUATED by the ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH IN THE COURSE OF 1600 YEARS

(Compiled by Rev. Stephen L. Testa).


"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free."
  Jesus in John 8:32

   Notice:--These dates are in many cases approximate.
Many of these heresies had been current in the Church
years before, but only when they were officially adopted by
a Church council and proclaimed by the pope as dogma of
faith, did they become binding on Catholics.

   And doctrine to be true must conform to the Word of
God.   "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them."
  (Isaiah 8:20)

   At the Reformation in the 16th Century these heresies
were repudiated as having no part in the Religion of Jesus
as taught in the New Testament.


A.D.

 1. OF ALL THE HUMAN TRADITIONS taught and prac-
ticed by the Roman Catholic Church, which are contrary to
the Bible, the most ancient are the prayers for the dead
and the sign of the Cross.   Both began 300 years after
Christ .. 310

 2. Wax Candles introduced in church about .. 320

 3. Veneration of angels and dead saints about .. 375

 4. The Mass, as a daily celebration, adopted .. 394

 5. The worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the use
of the term, "Mother of God", as applied to her, origi-
nated in the Council of Ephesus in .. 431

 6. Priests began to dress differently from the laity in 500

 7. The doctrine of Purgatory was first established by
Gregory the Great about the year .. 593

 8. The Latin language, as the language of prayer and
worship in churches, was also imposed by Pope Gregory I,
600 years after Christ .. 600

   The Word of God forbids praying and teaching in an
unknown tongue.   (I Cor. 14:9).

 9. The Bible teaches that we pray to God alone.   In the
primitive church never were prayers directed to Mary, or
to dead saints.   This practice began in the Roman Church
about .. 600
        (Matt. 11:28; Luke 1:46; Acts 10:25-26; 14:14-18)

 10. The Papacy is of pagan origin.   The title of pope or
universal bishop, was first given to the bishop of Rome by
the wicked emperor Phocas, in the year .. 610

   This he did to spite Bishop Ciriacus of Constantinople,
who had justly excommunicated him for his having caused
the assassination of his predecessor emperor Mauritius.
Gregory 1, then bishop of Rome, refused the title, but his
successor, Boniface III, first assumed title "pope."

   Jesus did not appoint Peter to the headship of the
apostles and forbade any such notion.   (Lk. 22:24-26; Eph.
1:22-23; Col. 1:18; I Cor. 3:11).

   Note:--Nor is there any mention in Scripture, nor in
history, that Peter ever was in Rome, much less that he
was pope there for 25 years; Clement, 3rd bishop of Rome,
remarks that there is no real 1st century evidence that
Peter ever was in Rome."

 11. The kissing of the Pope's feet began in .. 709

   It had been a pagan custom to kiss the feet of emperors.
The Word of God forbids such practices.   (Read Acts
10:25-26; Rev. 19:10; 22:9).

 12. The Temporal power of the Popes began .. 750

   When Pepin, the usurper of the throne of France,
descended into Italy, called by Pope Stephen II, to war
against the Italian Lombards, he defeated them and gave
the city of Rome and surrounding territory to the pope.
Jesus expressly forbade such a thing, and He Himself
refused worldly kingship.   (Read Matt. 4:8-9; 20:25-26;
John 18:38).

 13. Worship of the cross, of images and relics was

authorized in .. 788

   This was by order of Dowager Empress Irene of
Constantinople, who first caused to pluck the eyes of her
own son, Constantine VI, and then called a church council
at the request of Hadrian I, pope of Rome at that time.

   Such practice is called simply IDOLATRY in the Bible,
and is severely condemned.   (Read Ex. 20:4; 3:17; Deut.
27:15; Psalm 115).

 14. Holy Water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed
by the priest, was authorized in .. 850

 15. The veneration of St. Joseph began in .. 890

 16. The baptism of bells was instituted by Pope John
XIV, in the year .. 965

 17. Canonization of dead saints, first by Pope John XV
in .. 995

   Every believer and follower of Christ is called saint in
the Bible.   (Read Rom. 1:7; I Cor. 1:2).

 18. Fasting on Fridays and during Lent were imposed in
the year .. 998

   Imposed by popes said to be interested in the commerce
of fish.   (Bull, or permit to eat meat), some authorities say,
began in the year 700.   This is against the plain teaching of
the Bible.   (Read Matt. 15:10; I Cor. 10:25; I Tim. 4:1-3).

 19. The Mass was developed gradually as a sacrifice;
attendance made obligatory in the 11th century.

   The Bible teaches that the sacrifice of Christ was offered
once and for all, and is not to be repeated, but only
commemorated in the Lord's Supper.   (Read Heb. 7:27;
9:26-28; 10:10-14).

 20. The celibacy of the priesthood was decreed by Pope
Hildebrand, Boniface VII, in the year .. 1079

   Jesus imposed no such rule, nor did any of the apostles.
On the contrary, St. Peter was a married man, and St. Paul
says that bishops were to have wife and children.   (Read I
Tim. 3:2,5, and 12; Matt. 8:14-15).

 21. The Rosary, or prayer beads was introduced by Peter
the Hermit, in the year 1090.   Copied from Hindus and
Mohammedans .. 1090

   The counting of prayers is a pagan practice and is
expressly condemned by Christ.   (Matt. 6:5-13).

 22. The Inquisition of heretics was instituted by the
Council of Verona in the year 1184.   Jesus never taught the
use of force to spread His religion .. 1184

 23. The sale of Indulgences, commonly regarded as a
purchase of forgiveness and a permit to indulge in sin,
began in the year .. 1190

   Christianity, as taught in the Bible, condemns such a
traffic, and it was the protest against this traffic that

brought on the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

 24. The dogma of Transubstantiation was decreed by
Pope Innocent III, in the year .. 1215

   By this doctrine the priest pretends to perform a daily
miracle by changing a wafer into the body of Christ, and
then he pretends to eat Him alive in the presence of his
people during Mass.   The Bible condemns such absurdi-
ties; for the Lord's Supper is simply a memorial of the
sacrifice of Christ.   The spiritual presence of Christ is
implied in the Lord's Supper.   (Read Luke 22:19-20; John
6:35; I Cor. 11:26).

 25. Confession of sins to the priest at least once a year
was instituted by Pope Innocent III, in the Lateran
Council, in the year .. 1215

   The Bible commands us to confess our sins direct to
God.   (Read Psa. 51:1-10; Luke 7:48; 15:21; I John 1:8-9).

 26. The adoration of the wafer (Host), was decreed by
Pope Honorius in the year .. 1220

   So the Roman Church worships a God made by human
hands.   This is plain idolatry and absolutely contrary to the
spirit of the Gospel.   (Read John 4:24).

 27. The Bible forbidden to laymen and placed in the
Index of forbidden books by the Council of Valencia in 1229

   Jesus commanded that the Scriptures should be read by
all.   (John 5:39; I Tim. 3:15-17).

 28. The Scapular was invented by Simon Stock, an
English monk, in the year .. 1287

   It is a piece of brown cloth, with the picture of the Virgin
and supposed to contain supernatural virtue to protect
from all dangers those who wear it on naked skin.   This is
fetishism.

 29. The Roman Church forbade the cup to the laity, by
instituting the communion of one kind in the Council of
Constance in .. 1414

   The Bible commands us to celebrate the Lord's Supper
with unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine.   (Read
Matt. 26:27; I Cor. 11:26-29).

 30. The doctrine of Purgatory was proclaimed as a
dogma of faith by Council of Florence in .. 1439

   There is not one word in the Bible that would teach the
purgatory of priests.   The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
us from all sins.   (Read I John 1:7-9; 2:1-2; John 5:24;
Rom. 8:1).

 31. The doctrine of 7 Sacraments affirmed in .. 1439

   The Bible says that Christ instituted only two
ordinances, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.   (Read Matt.
28:19-20; 26:26-28).

 32. The Ave Maria, part of the last half in .. 1508

   It was completed 50 years afterward and finally approv-
ed by Pope Sixtus V, at the end of the 16th century.

 33. The Council of Trent, held in the year 1545, declared
that Tradition is of equal authority with the Bible ..... 1545

   By tradition is meant human teachings.   The Pharisees
believed the same way, and Jesus bitterly condemned
them, for by teaching human tradition, they nullified the
commandments of God.   (Read Mark 7:7-13; Col. 2:8;
Rev. 22:18).

 34. The apocryphal books were added to the Bible also by
the Council of Trent in .. 1546

   These books were not recognized as canonical by the
Jewish Church.   (See Rev. 22:8-9).

 35. The Creed of Pope Plus IV was imposed as the official
creed 1560 years after Christ and the apostles, in .... 1560

   True Christians retain the Holy Scriptures as their
creed.   Hence their creed is 1500 years older than the creed
of Roman Catholics.   (Read Gal. 1:8).

 36. The Immaculate Conception of the virgin Mary was
proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in the year .. 1854

   The Bible states that all men, with the sole exception of
Christ, are sinners.   Mary herself had need of a Saviour.
(Read Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Psa. 51:5; Luke 1:30,46,47).

 37. In the year 1870 after Christ, Pope Pius IX proclaim-
ed the dogma of Papal Infallibility .. 1870

   This is a blasphemy and the sign of the apostasy and of
the anti-christ predicted by St. Paul.   (Read II Thess.
2:2-12; Rev. 17:1-9; 13:5-8,18).
   Many Bible students see the number of the beast (Rev.
13:18), 666 in the Roman letters of the Pope's title:
"VICARIVS FILII DEI." --V-5, I-1; C-100, I-1; V- 5, I-1;
L-50, I-1; I-1; D-500, I-1--Total, 666.

 38. Pope Pius X, in the year 1907, condemned together
with "Modernism", all the discoveries of modern science
which are not approved by the Church .. 1907

   Pius IX had done the same thing in the Syllabus of 1864.

 39. In the year 1930 Pius XI, condemned the Public
Schools
.. 1930

 40. In the year 1931 the same pope Pius XI, reaffirmed
the doctrine that Mary is "the Mother of God" ....... 1931

   This doctrine was first invented by the Council of
Ephesus in the year 431.   This is a heresy contrary by
Mary's own words.   (Read Luke 1:46-49; John 2:1-5).

 41. In the year 1950 the last dogma was proclaimed by
Pope Pius XII, the Assumption of the virgin Mary .... 1950

CONCLUSION

   What will be the next invention?   The Roman Church

says it never changes; yet, it has done nothing else but
invent new doctrines which are contrary to the Bible, and
has practiced rites and ceremonies taken bodily from
paganism.   Some scholar has found that 75% of the rites
and ceremonies of the Roman Church are of pagan origin.

   Note:--Cardinal Newman, in his book, "The Develop-
ment of the Christian Religion,"
admits that ...
"Temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water,
holidays and season of devotions, processions, blessing of
fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests and
monks and nuns), images ... are all of pagan origin..."

                                                                  (Page 359).
   HERESIES are those doctrines and practices which are
contrary to the Bible.   They are also called "human trad-
tions"
or "doctrines of men".   Both Peter and Paul pre-
dicted and warned that in the later times "false teachers"
would rise within the Church and bring in "damnable
heresies"
and "doctrines of devils".
  (Read II Peter 2:1-3,
and I Tim. 3:2-5).   Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, for they
transgressed the commandments of God by keeping their
traditions.   "In vain," He said, "they worship me by
keeping for doctrines the commandments of men"
(Matt.
15:3,9).

   The real heretics therefore, are the Roman Catholics and
the true orthodox are the Evangelical Christians.
   BRETHREN! The Word of God commands us to get out
of Babylon, saying: "Come out of her, my people, that ye
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues."
  (Rev. 18:4).   All true Christians will remain
faithful to the religion of Christ as taught in the Bible, and
heed the warning of the Apostle Paul, who said: "But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto
you, let him be accursed."
  (Gal. 1:8).

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