Clarification, The Catholic Church - Part 4
Well Dear Readers it's time to close this subject. But before I do I'd like to remind everyone (especially the Protestants) that regardless as to what you've been told or taught The Holy Bible is a "Catholic Book".
After 400 years of teaching about Jesus from the authority given to her by God, the Catholic Church found it necessary in the fourth century to authorize a written word to aid her in this effort. The Church diligently sifted through all the available manuscripts, picked out the ones that they considered to be truly inspired and discarded the ones that they thought were not. They then incorporated the already written Old Testament five books of Moses (The Torah) with additional holy writings, put them all together *as they saw fit* and in one sweeping *FIAT* pronounced to the world:
"THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD!"
And to this day the entire Christian world depends on the Biblical accuracy and fidelity of the Roman Catholic Church in its religious statements about Jesus in the Bible for their salvation.
Logically, the church with the authority to determine the infallible Word of God, *must* have the infallible authority and guidance of the Holy Spirit right? Apart from the declarations of the Catholic Church, we have absolutely *NO* guarantee that what is in the Bible is the genuine Word of God. To trust the Bible is to admit to the authority of the Catholic Church who alone guarantees the Bible.
How is it that Protestants can accept the Bible and still reject the authority of the Catholic Church? Please let us reason together, am I being "clear" here?
Many religious scholars have said over the centuries that Protestants should not quote the Bible at all, because they have no way of knowing whether it's the *Word of God* or the *Word of the Devil* unless of course they accept the teaching authority of the Catholic church.
"Sola Scriptura" (Bible Only) is only part of the teachings of the Catholic Church. One also needs the teachings of the "Traditions" of the Church. However, in order to experience these teachings your church must *have* a tradition, and since all Protestant Church's have not existed long enough to have one (they are all "horizontal or recent" church's) they have a Church that's based only on a Catholic Book.
But many Protestants do not obey the Bible either! Jesus left very few direct commands a few are:
- Attend The Church of Peter. The Catholic Church (founded by Jesus) (Matt 16: 17-19)
- "Do this in memory of me" (take Holy Communion when you attend his Church) Communion is given at each Mass several times a day every day, 365 days a year! (Not just once or twice a year).
- If you do not take Holy Communion (often) you will *not* be a part of The Body of Christ. (Luke 22; 19)
Remember:
For you "Bible Thumpers", Jesus never read the Bible. Jesus never told anyone to read the Bible. The Bible was "put together" by the Catholic Church for its teaching purposes. What if the Church never gave Protestants the Bible? (As-Salaam-Alaikum?)
Protestants gather at a meeting place (Church) where they believe that whoever can "memorize" this Catholic Book best is somehow qualified to take the members of the meeting place to heaven. Catholics do likewise, but for the main purpose of following Jesus' directive to take Communion. ("Do this in memory of me" Luke 22:19). However, they both supply wonderful humanitarian services to the community. Now I'm not trying to say that being Catholic rather than Protestant makes some kind of a great big difference to God. The answer to that question I have *no way* of knowing, (and neither does anyone else). Of course, those of you who do not believe in God (like most of the scientists in my field) may have little interest in this answer. These facts are for your scrutiny and possibly your "Comparative Religion" file.
Conclusion:
I once saw a painting that had a title that said *NO RELIGION*, and underneath it were drawings that represented perhaps ">Millions?" of buried cadavers climbing out of their graves. What a statement!
This is what Jesus tried to prevent by giving precise directions to his sheep. But alas, this is what happens when everyone goes his/her own way and believes that he is the sole possessor of truth and then goes out and "Founds" his own church in an effort to prove it. This happens often in the African American community. Of the 68 million Catholics in the United States, slightly less than 3 million are African American. Also, many Black Catholics in America are Caribbean and African born. Of the 406,411 Catholic Priests, more than 98% of them are not pedophiles, and most of them have more than one advanced degree. Pedophilia exists in all professions but is mainly concentrated in fields that give the pedophile access to children. (Boy and Girl Scouts, Athletic Coaching, etc.) It is therefore "over-represented" in most religious faiths, and in similar percentages. Celibacy has nothing to do with pedophilia as they are not celibate. Due to its size, age, and reputation, the Catholic Church is often held to higher standards than many other faiths, and herein lies much of the problem. Catholicism, or any of the other "Great" religious faiths does not cause this psychopathic disorder, but is (as is the society in general) too often the victim of individuals with this illness. It is historically documented that the Founder of one of these "Great" religions (not Christianity) did marry a six-year old girl. This was one of the customs that was allowed in his country at the time. (I believe it still is allowed) The marriage however, was not consummated until she was nine years old. But before some of you get all "bent out of shape" with feelings of superiority, anger, or remorse, throughout most of the 19th century, the minimum age of consent for sexual intercourse in most American states was just 10 years old. In Delaware it was only 7! As late as 1930 twelve states allowed girls as young as 12 years old to marry. And these were Protestant societies. I could go on and discuss similar tendencies in other faiths, but I do not have time and space here. While controversy in organizations the size of the Catholic Church is unavoidable, one glaring fact stands out, they are populated by people, and therefore....all are guilty of sin. It seems that the Bhagavad-Gita, Torah, Buddhist Catechism, Bible, and Quran have had only minimal effect on the sexual appetites of men throughout their history.
Hinduism is the world's oldest universally recognized religion. It may date back as far as "prehistoric" times, but is recordable from 5500-2600 BCE, (Before Common Era). There are very few African American Hindu's, (perhaps less than 766) the most prominent being Alice Coltrane, wife of the late musician John Coltrane.
Judaism (from the time of Moses) is about 3,300 yrs. old. Somewhere between 20,000 and 200,000 American Jews are African American.
Buddhism is about 2,600 yrs. old. It is believed that about 60,000 adherents are African American.
Christianity is over 2,000 yrs. old. Roman Catholicism closely shares historical beginning dates with the Orthodox. Protestantism came about 1500 yrs. later. Most African Americans are Protestant Christians, with Baptists (12 million) and Methodists (6 million) representing the largest denominations.
Islam is about 1,400 yrs. old and is therefore the youngest of the "Great Religions" of the world, and has approximately 2 million African American followers.
Whether or not you adhere to, or practice one of these religions or are an Agnostic, Atheist, or undecided, and whether you are Black, White, Brown, or "other" your life is affected by one or more of these religions, more or less on a daily basis.
*Suggestion*
Print these articles, you'll never find these facts all together in one place again. When you get older and realize that you don't know quite as much as you thought you knew when you were 20, you may look for this kind of information.
About The Author of These Articles:
They say that I am an accomplished Chemist and Microbiologist with many scientific achievements and awards, but this is not that kind of article. In reference to religion, I was an Ordained Baptist Minister. I not only officiated at marriages and funerals but also had a Sunday morning radio program titled "Message of Hope" which ran for over 14 years. For this I received two awards from the NAACP's then Director Dr. Benjamin Hooks for excellence in radio and community service. I was also invited to Chicago to supper with The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan shortly after the assassination of Malcolm X for discussions about the state of affairs in the religious life of Black America.
On July 7th, 1985, I delivered a radio sermon/lecture on "Message of Hope" titled "The Word Black = Sin". I was suggesting the use of the term "African American" in place of the then current term "Black" (and I explained why). This lecture was sent to many of the most influential African American leaders (at that time). Within about two weeks, some of these leaders (you would "instantly" recognize their names) were out in public calling for the use of the term "African American" to describe American people with African roots. The term "African American" was soon accepted and its usage became rapidly universal. I firmly believe it was this sermon that "tipped" the scale and brought this term to prominence. Stay well.
All The Best,
Henri W. Tartt
Supervising Chemist, and Chief of Microbiology, (Retired)
City of Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Email: henri@henriwtartt.com
Website: *Tartt's Scientific Approach* www.henriwtartt.com