This post is a reaction to and a commentary on an article by Joseph Green that appeared on the Historic Mysteries website.  (https://www.historicmysteries.com/catholicism-dogma/)

The article, "Dogma: Seven Central Tenets of Catholicism with Zero Biblical Support," compares practices in the Roman Catholic (RC) Church with appropriate scriptures which either clearly do not support the practices or which specifically condemn or contradict them.

The first practice which Green cites is the wearing of special and elaborate garments by clergy to impress the people:

Matthew 23:4-5

English Standard Version

4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.  They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 

These garments are said to glorify God but they only glorify the clerics who wear them.  This is a throwback, it seems, to the elaborate garb of the High Priest of Israel who was dressed according to the Hebrew Bible.

(Image:  https://visualunit.me/2010/05/04/high-priests-garments/)

One of Martin Luther's most vehement objections to the practices of the Church was the dogma that the people were required to speak with God through priests.

Luther was right. First Peter 2-5; 9, states that all Christians are part of a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood” and there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that all Christians cannot speak directly to God if they wish.  This, of course, diminishes the power of priests.


In the Catholic Church (and a few others) a priest is addressed as "Father."  The Bible specifically prohibits this. Matthew 23:9 states baldly: “do not call anyone on Earth your father; for One is your Father. He who is in heaven.”


Roman Catholic clergy are required to be celibate.  This is in direct disobedience to the rule as laid out in the Bible. First  Timothy, 3:2-5 recommends that a bishop be “the husband of one wife” (as opposed to many) “for if a man does not know how to rule in his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?”


The Roman Catholic Church for centuries has beatified people and made the saints.  

This practice is not Biblical in any way.  1 Corinthians 1:2 states clearly that “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus are called to be saints” and the message is clear: saints are all followers of Jesus.


The Church’s special veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the foundations of their faith and their religion. This veneration of Mary is almost on a par with God Himself, and for an outsider this would seem to be problematic: Mary is not a deity, after all.

The Bible authors saw this too, and showed additional foresight in worrying about cults forming around the mother of Christ and distracting from the main event.
In Luke 11:27-28 a woman listening to Jesus shouted out “Blessed is the Womb that bore you!” Jesus replied “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” So it would seem that 2,000 years of the adoration of Mary is "another castle built on sand."


From these and other sources, it is clear that the Roman Catholic Church has gone much farther than either Saul, the letter writer, or Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, likely intended in building up the power and wealth of the Holy Mother Church.  Succeeding generations have seen attacks, holy wars, inquisitions, crusades, and compromises, not to mention alterations, omissions, and additions to the scripture they inherited from the Gospel and letter writers who were writing long after the events described as having taken place.  

No part of the New Testament was written by an eyewitness of these events.


References cited in the original article:

Riggs, J, 2023. CATHOLIC DOCTRINE CONTRADICTS THE BIBLE, AND IS CONDEMNED IN THE BIBLE. Available at: http://oakridgechurch.com/riggs/bib-con.htm

Bible.ca, 2023. Overview of how Catholic faith contradicts the Bible. Available at: https://www.bible.ca/cath-overview-false-teaching.htm

Logos Herald, 2018. 8 Ways Catholicism Contradicts the Bible. Available at: https://logosherald.com/8-ways-catholicism-contradicts-the-bible/



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