By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
May 1, 2011 ─ In scenes evoking old Bela Lugosi vampire movies and trampling the blood of Christ underfoot, Pope Benedict XVI, along with officials of the Roman Catholic church-state and a crowd of 1.5 million, worshipped the body, blood, and images of Pope John Paul II during beatification ceremonies at the Vatican. More than fifty heads of state were present for the ceremony. At the end of this article are pictures of the macabre ritual.
The Worship of Saints
The ceremony marked a major step in the Vatican’s move to confer the status of “sainthood” on the dead Pope. Roman Catholicism practices what it calls the veneration of saints. In Roman Catholic terminology it is called “the cult of the saints”. Rome encourages a level of devotion to so-called saints that can truly be called worship, and in fact Roman Catholic literature speaks of the worship of saints.
The false teachings of Roman Catholicism say that these 10,000 (and counting) designated saints are “special friends of God.” They can be asked to intercede for those still on earth. In Roman Catholic doctrine, a saint can be designated as the patron saint of a particular activity or profession. A saint can be prayed to in order to prevent disasters or heal illnesses.
There are many parallels between the Roman Catholic doctrine of saints and the ancient pagan Greek and Roman belief in a pantheon of many gods who had special powers in specific areas of life. Each one was to be prayed to, and devotion shown to him (or her) through various acts of veneration, in order to gain each god’s favor as needed. The Roman Catholic doctrine of sainthood is one of many areas in which the Roman church has blended elements of paganism, both old and new, into its false version of Christianity.
Power in the Blood of the Pope?
In the case of John Paul II, the Vatican is teaching that his blood has special power. Housed in an elaborate reliquary, some of the blood of John Paul, collected during medical tests while he was alive and subsequently preserved, was held aloft for the worship of the crowd. The container of blood was prominently displayed during the beatification Mass, and was kissed by Pope Benedict XVI and other worshipping priests.
Such macabre idolatry is common Vatican practice. In order to be consecrated for service, every altar of a Roman Catholic church must contain such a relic of some dead “saint”. The Roman Catholic church holds tens of thousands of body parts, and containers of bodily fluids of the dead, in its collection of so-called relics of the saints. These include what are alleged to be the hair and breast milk of Mary the mother of Jesus, pieces of John the Baptist’s head, and Peter’s brain and teeth. All are worshipped by the Catholic faithful. John Calvin mentions all of these and many more horrors in his Treatise on Relics. Revulsion against the worship of such relics was also a significant factor in Martin Luther’s break with Rome.
Doctrines of Demons
Dear friends, this sad spectacle is nothing less than “giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). The Bible tells us that there is no power in the blood of bulls and goats (Hebrews 9:13, 10:4), much less in that of a sinful man whose soul is now in Hell. The pagan practice of worshipping the dead, and attempts to communicate with the dead, are forbidden by Scripture in the strongest possible terms (Leviticus 19:27-31, 20:6, 20:27; Deuteronomy 14:1, 18:11; Psalm 106:27; Isaiah 65:4; Ezekiel 43:7-9).
The Lord sums this up in Isaiah 8:19 ─ “Should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead of behalf of the living?”
Power Only in the Blood of Christ
There is power only in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. True Christians worship not His blood, but His person, because He alone is our God, our Savior, our Mediator before the Father, and Head of the Church:
Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:12-18)
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified [i.e., by which he professes to be sanctified] a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ” ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Hebrews 10:29)
So that no one will think we exaggerate Rome’s ghoulish idolatry, we include these pictures of the ghastly ceremony.
| Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone worships the reliquary containing the blood of late Pope John Paul II during the beatification mass. |  |
| Pope Benedict XVI kisses the reliquary containing the blood of John Paul II. |  |
| John Paul’s blood held aloft for the worship of the crowd. |   |
| Cardinals kissing the coffin of John Paul II. |  |
| Priests worshipping statue of John Paul II. |  |
| Statues of John Paul II on sale at the ceremony. |  |
| The crowd of 1.5 million at the Vatican. |  |
Source http://www.teachingtheword.org/articles_view.asp?columnid=5444&articleid=74556
Note : Articles placed or written on this blog are generally the position held by, and in agreement with, the blog administrators’ opinions. Further commentary by the administrators of this blog will therefore be limited. Public comments which do appear in response to the articles on this blog, are not necessarily representative of the opinion of the administrators of this blog or to be regarded as necessarily Biblically correct.
For the Love of His Truth 
This article is the most preposterous bearing of false witness that I can imagine. It is one thing to disagree with Catholic practice and theology. It is another thing to blatantly misrepresent it. The distinction between latria, the worship or adoration given to God alone, and doulia, the veneration or honour given to the saints, is well established in Catholic (and Orthodox) theology and can be found in greater detail here. You might disagree with that, but at least be honest about what you’re disagreeing with.
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I totally disagree with Idol worshiping. 🙂
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I’m just curious: did you actually delete the link that I gave to the Catholic Encyclopedia, or did I just make a mistake putting it in. If the former, it would just seem to confirm that you’re not interested in knowing what Catholics actually believe and whether your characterisation of them is accurate or not. So much for the truth. Of course it could be the latter (me making a mistake) in which case it wouldn’t be the first time.
For the record, I’m actually not Catholic and have my own issues with aspects of their teaching and praxis. But I find it absurd to attack what is clearly a caricature of the truth.
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Macrina Walker
you say :
We know what Catholics believe and because we know, we will keep on heeding the warning bells. I suggest you read the article about it HERE.
You also say :
The article by Dr Paul Elliot is not an “attack” as you put but it is purely heeding warning bells against a false religion and false believe system. The Word clearly says we are to test everything to see whether it is from God. 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Jesus Himself warned against false religions too:
Mat 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.
Mat 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.
Mat 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Mat 24:8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
Mat 24:9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
Mat 24:12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
Mat 24:13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Mat 24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
Lastly to answer your 1st question. The link you placed was deleted as we do not want to mislead people reading here by supplying links to false religions.
Further please read the About page.
Please read the about page 🙂
Note : Articles placed or written on this blog are generally the position held by, and in agreement with, the blog administrators’ opinions. Further commentary by the administrators of this blog will therefore be limited. Public comments which do appear in response to the articles on this blog, are not necessarily representative of the opinion of the administrators of this blog or to be regarded as necessarily Biblically correct.
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By placing a link to that which is clearly not the truth, would certainly not be in keeping with that which the authors of this blog attempt to proclaim.
There are many young and impressionable Christians who may read the contents of this blog. If we were to place a link to the Catholic Encyclopedia, we could be responsible, in a small way, for making that which is not the truth seem acceptable.
If the authors were to place a link to the Catholic Encyclopedia, should they not, in all “fairness” then also provide links to the Islamic Quran, the Book of Sacred Jewish Practices, The Zend Avesta of the Zoroastrians, Wicca/Witchcraft handbooks, Healing Mantras of Hinduism, some Atheist handbooks, The Analects of Confucius, The gospel of Buddha, The Kojiki of the Shinto religion, The Tao-Te Ching and all other false religions as well?
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Grant, I did not object to the post disagreeing with Catholic theology and practice, but rather to its misrepresentation of it. And I posted the link not to promote a Catholic view (although as an Orthodox Christian I largely agree with it, give or take some nuances) but rather to provide evidence that you had totally misrepresented Catholic teaching.
I don’t expect you to promote views that you disagree with. But I do expect a willingness to deal be open about the evidence when that contradicts (on a purely factual level) what you are claiming.
If I were to post something arguing, for example, that Islam is polytheistic or that John Calvin was a serial adulterer or any other absurd idea that I might suck out of my thumb, I should be open to evidence that calls such ideas into question. (And, in that case, I should be open to people pointing me to the Quran, or the Life of Calvin, or whatever). That is all I was doing by linking to the Catholic Encyclopedia: enabling people to see what the Catholic Church actually teaches, as opposed to the blatant misrepresentation found in this post.
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I appreciate your stance on misrepresentation of facts and I do agree, but not necessarily in reference to our own personal varied and fallible interpretation of those facts. I also do understand the nature of your objection toward certain content and that your objection is not directed toward the subject but rather toward certain detail in the article, which you feel is incorrect.
However, notwithstanding that fact, I hope you can appreciate that it would be more irresponsible of this blog to link to any false representation of Christ or biblical Christianity, such as the Catholic Encyclopedia or any of the other sacred religious books I have mentioned.
The same could be said for making available through this blog detailed information pertaining to any non-Christian religion or gods, such detailed information as is available in the Catholic Encyclopedia. Information of that nature is available with ever increasing ease of accessibility and those seeking such information are free to access it elsewhere and through their own efforts.
Would it really make any difference to the truth if, after the fact, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf was referenced by those who would seek to justify certain atrocities committed during his dictatorship? Similarly, it would make no difference to the Truth, irrespective of whether the falsehoods contained in the Catholic Encyclopedia are referenced or not.
Catholic teaching by and large, misrepresents God and mankind and is inexcusable and unjustifiable by any means. That is the important message.
(The article in question was written by Dr. Paul M. Elliott. He added the following at the end of the article: …”So that no one will think we exaggerate Rome’s ghoulish idolatry, we include these pictures of the ghastly ceremony”.)
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Grant says
I cannot agree more with you more !! The fact is fact………………and as Dr Elliot says at the end of the article you quoted from ” ghoulish idolatry……” indeed it was a ghastly ceremony to see aired on the world wide television stations.
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God bless you Grant! You are soooooooo right!!! Thank you for contending for “the faith” once for all delivered to the saints………
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