Menno Simons -1500's

[Floppyjoe]

Menno Simon's "The Papistic Belief"

THE PAPISTIC BELIEF.

It is true, the papists teach and believe, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he offered up his flesh, and shed his blood for us, but if we would enjoy them, and be partakers thereof, we must adhere to and obey the pope and his church, hear mass, receive the holy water, perform pilgrimages, call upon the mother of the Lord, and the departed saints, confess at least twice a year, receive papistic absolution, have our children baptized, and commemerate the holy days. The priests must vow chastity; the bread in the mass must be called the flesh, and the wine, the blood of Christ; besides all their other idolatry and abominations, which are daily practiced by them.

And all this is called, by these poor, ignorant people, the most holy christian faith, and the institution of the holy christian church. Although it is nothing but mere human opinion, self-chosen righteousness, seductive hypocrisy, manifest deception of the soul, ungodly, indecent bodily nourishment and gain of lazy priests, an accursed abomination, an incensing of God, a disgraceful blasphemy, an unworthy despising of the blood of Christ, a self-devised undertaking, and a disobedient contumacy to the devine word. In short, a false, offensive, divine worship, and open idolatry, of which Jesus Christ (to whom the Father points us) has not left or commanded us a single letter of all these things.

It does not suffice that they practice such abominations; they not only also despise as vain and useless all the true fruits of faith, commanded of God himself, the sincere, pure love and fear of God, the love and service of our neighbor, the true sacraments and divine service, &c., but they also revile them as damnable and heretical, and exterminate and persecute them. I think this may properly be called a sect.

Menno Simons Mennonite

[Jim]

Ignorant in the true walk with Jesus Christ and the light of the Holy Spirit in the revealing of sin and salvation, yes, but ignorant in doctrinal indoctrination, history, ecumenism, ecclesiastics, and church history, probably the most intelligent and informed religious people in the world.

Just look at the Jesuits

[Davo]

Yes, but we should love them, love them enough to share the gospel with them. Unfortunately, criticism of the catholic system, usually results in accusations of hating catholics.

Someone I knew met a young lady and when she said that she was a catholic, said "The Pope will be the first in the pit."

In spite of this strange and seemingly unhelpful introduction, they were married and have been for many years. They are now both Baptists.

[Davo]

Quote:Just look at the Jesuits

A friend of mine was brought up in a Roman Catholic orphanage in a remote part of Ireland, after his parents died when he was 1 year old.

He tells of physical, mental and sexual abuse, by monks. The monks carried a heavy leather strap, called a tawse, with which they beat the children. He describes the Jesuits as walking, almost gliding, through the orphanage in their black robes, with their heads bowed and each hand tucked in the opposite sleeve. He said that the Jesuits normally did not beat the children, but one one occasion saw 2 Jesuits beat a child to death. He said that the Jesuits used to ask the children questions on the catchecism, and you knew that if you did not answer correctly, a monk would soon come in and give you a beating. It was not that you gave a wrong answer, you had to remember the catchecism from the age of six. It was that you had not answered showing due deference to the Jesuits.

[George]

I don't know if any of you have watched any of the coverage of the pope's visit to the US but I have seen some of it. The primary reason I watched was to hear the US Army chorus sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

I saw something that made my skin crawl the other day. As the pope was tooling down the street in his pope mobile the TV people were interviewing the bystanders. They asked on young couple what they thought. The young lady made the statement that they had just seen "the holy father." (In this case I will not give the head of the papists the honor of capitalizing that name.)

Then the young man was constantly saying, "Oh my God, Oh my God."

Now here are two people who are supposedly Christians who don't have a clue they have been so indoctrinated. The young lady does not realize that there is but One Holy Father and that is our Father in heaven. Then the young man constantly took the Lord's name in vain.

I really don't understand how these folks can believe the garbage they are fed. Of course I do know some ex Roman Catholics who said that within three weeks of coming to a Baptist Church they learned more about the Bible then they had in their entire lives.

In Christ,
George