I have read with anguish your recent outburst against Catholics. I understand where you are coming from. Life is complex and when we meet with what we don’t understand, it is a lot easier to demonize it, castigate it and even reject it. I am sorry to tell you that none of these will make the Church go away.
Darkness can only be dispelled by light, hatred by love, falsehood by truth. Since it is obvious that your are still in the dark about Catholic doctrines and way of life, I am inviting you to our religious class and I hope in humility you will submit yourself to this process of education so that you will not continue to grope in the darkness of your ignorance.
In the past, the argument was that Catholics don’t read Bible, but that argument has fizzled away when Catholics themselves have risen to the occasion to show that having been instrumental in the collection of the books into the unit we now call Bible, having been blessed with veritable tradition of great men and women who have studied the bible down through the ages, Catholics are indeed well versed in the Bible and probably better grounded than many other people.
The Catholic Church is rooted in the bible so are her doctrines… Mary, that extraordinary creature of God is at the same time the mother of my God and hopefully yours as well. As one Saint puts it, “If Mary is not your mother, then the Devil must be your father”. Do you really count yourself among the generation of people that will call her blessed? (Luke 2 ) Can you be numbered among those who will be privileged to behold Mary as their mother? “Woman, behold your son, Son, behold your mother”
The accusations of Chris Okotie are spurious… “Catholics bow to idols! How many people in his own life has he bowed to? How many people bow to him? Is he worshiping them or do they worship him?
The most outrageous claim is his denial of Jesus in the Eucharist. Thank God he knows that Catholics believe and profess strongly their belief in Jesus in the Eucharist. That belief is not man-made; it is based on Christ’s teaching. For the avoidance of doubt, readers should read John 6 in its entirety. I will give a bit of summary here. “I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Jn 6:51. Later Jesus went on to say that “In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” Jn 6:53 If Pastor Chris does not practice this veritable injunction of Christ, how can he say he is a true Christian? This doctrine and practice that is central to Catholicism has always been a hard teaching, even when Jesus said it, many could not accept it and left him. It seems Pastor Chris is one of those who could not accept the teaching of Jesus. Let him simply go out on his own without leading other astray.
It is therefore imperative for me to invite those who are currently denied the opportunity in their Churches to come to the Catholic Church and see how faithful the Church is to this great teaching of Christ. Christ meant it; the Catholics have celebrated it for more than 2000 years. There is no alternative to it. You are either for Christ or against it. Otherwise, if you deny the practice, then you make Christ a liar.
My dear Pastor Chris, Catholics are destined for heaven for it is their main goal in life…. To know God, to love God, to serve God in this life so as to be happy with him forever in heaven. However based on God’s words, we know some people need purification and trusting in God’s love and mercy, we know these people will not be rejected for all eternity. This is a truth based on God’s word. Please read 1 Cor 3:10-15
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
The passage obviously talks about purification that Catholics refer to in the doctrine of purgatory. Even after death, the All-powerful God is still able to save some people. His ways are not our ways. So leave God to be God and do his work. Then in 1 John 5:15-17 we read that some sins do not lead to death and people with these will be saved… of course after purification by God himself.
To the general readers, especially those who attend Pastor Chris’s church read what scripture says “We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 1 John 5:9-10 do not just believe because Pastor Chris tells u so… search the Scripture and the truth will set you free. God bless you as you make your way back home…to mother Church, the Catholic Church.
