Gary Atencio-Leaving the Catholic Church-Edited

8/6/2019 Gary Atencio-Leaving the Catholic Church-Edited

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 2

Chapter ILeaving. 5

Chapter II Peter.. 9

Chapter IIIPaul..1 2

Chapter IV The Bible1 5

Chapter VWarnings1 8

Chapter VI Closing ..20


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INTRODUCTION

Hello, my name is Gary Atencio. The reason you have received this booklet isbecause you probably have a friend or family member that has left the CatholicChurch or maybe you are possibly thinking about leaving the church or youpossibly already left. Well, we are hoping you will take the next 60 minutes,

just one hour, to stop for a moment and look into the church that you are nowleaving, the Catholic Church.

We must first agree on one thing and that is hopefully, that it is worth yourtime to study the history, the foundation and the reasons for the CatholicChurch. So what are you searching for, are we looking for fun or worship,friendlier people, maybe more support or emotion, well maybe. But when onesearches and leaves his security of where they are at, well that is often a very

courageous and sometimes risky venture.You see, I believe the real reason is that we are seeking the truth. The truth is

what we are after, so before we disagree on anything we must first agree on oneabsolute and that is there is an absolute. You see there is a truth and Goddoes not bless the gray area. In the Bible he says He will take the lukewarmand spew it from His mouth. He also says that the light does not mix with thedark.

You see on issues folks, we are either going to be right or we are going to be wrong. And you see the devil's area is that gray area and that is where he

deceives. He knows we are not smart enough to jump head first into the darkbut instead it is that gray darkness that we sometimes dabble in. This idea of an absolute, well it is not a secular view, as a matter of fact it is not a popularview. Heck, it is not even an American view.

In America we live and let live, we are a democracy. And the definition of relativism is that there is no absolute, because there are so manycircumstances that can change that truth. But as Christians we know Godhas always taught that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that there isno other way except through Him, Jesus. You see, God never said He would

judge us on the truth, that we create only on the ones that He has given us.

We will be judged on what we know of this truth and we will be heldaccountable for what we know.

So as Christians we do agree that there is one truth. So now that is something worth searching for and risking and leaving the comfort of the Church you arein. You see, that is the reason others have left the Church also. So maybe you


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are thinking of leaving in search of the truth. You see, in your confusion youseek an absolute and in your questions you seek an answer.

But before we explore this internal search for truth let's take a look at some of the externals. At first glance, why does one leave the Church? First of all,

more uplifting music, more updated music. Heck, they have high techsurround sounds in a lot of the churches today, be really exciting. Maybefriendlier people. I don't know, but does it seem like the other churches whenit comes to fellowship, just seems like they have really got it down.

Then another reason people leave is this feeling of community. This feeling of being close together, when something goes wrong they all kind of chip in andhelp each other out, a real family of God. Another reason is a simpler faith.

The whole idea of Jesus alone, just a personal relationship with you and Jesus,that is what you really need, that is all you need. There are no visibledoctrines, there is no Catechism study and instead of, you get Bible study.

There's no Saints, no Mass for the Dead, no genuflecting, no offertory candles,no confession to a Priest, no classes for sacraments, yeah you know, on andon. Then, if you have heard it said once we have heard it a hundred times,"Gary, the reason I am leaving is I am just not being fed." And you know it iskind of true. Seems like we go to other churches, we hear some real relevanttopics. Things that really do apply to us. You hear topics like lust and greedand actually, they use that word, Satan, a few times.

I cannot say I have heard that too often in the Catholic Church. I think that isneeded because the Bible says, "For lack of knowledge, my people will parish."It is good to know what we are up against. And then you know, they have Biblestudies on the topics, on Tuesday nights and then Wednesday night supportgroups and it is not just Sunday Worship. And they really do feed.

They are definitely more welcoming, to make you a part of the celebration. If you have talents they actually talk with you in fellowship and find out that youcan play guitar or you can sing. Before you know it you are up on the altar.

What about problems, maybe you have some problems. Well, they have got alot of audio tapes, video tapes and support groups to take care of little thingsthat we deal with. Maybe it is just your whole way of life. Maybe you aredivorced; they can be definitely welcoming, if you are divorced.

Then you hear the parents always talking about you know, "the reason that Iam leaving is not so much for me, but for my kids." I mean Gary; "these kidsare fired up for Christ. That is what I want my kids to be. And they haveprograms for the youth, they have youth Ministers." Heck, "they even have


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organized daycare on Sunday." And then you have another reason, it isdefinitely a positive gospel. It is nice to go listen to something and get reallyuplifted, you know.

You find out that when we are close to Jesus we have got power. And you hear

about this Health/Wealth gospel, you find out that Jesus not only wants yourich and abundant in your family life, but He wants you rich also in yourpocketbook. Boy that is appealing. If you are close to Jesus, they teach youthat there really is no suffering; we can overcome all of that.

And then definitely the last reason I think people just get up and leave ispersonal problems. They just want a new start, maybe they had a problem

with somebody in the Church and they just leave. So they go to anotherchurch and they are usually very quick to come back and share with us and letus know that they found Jesus. Yeah, they found Jesus; you have to come tothis church because we found Him.

They get in an argument with the church leader and a lot of times the churchleaders have this authority and they sometimes abuse it. But instead of takingit out on them they take it out on the church and well, they just leave. I mean,these are real issues aren't they? I probably could do a recording on each oneof these real issues but instead of focusing on these external issues, let's goback for a minute to the internal search for truth.

Once this internal truth is satisfied well maybe, just maybe, we can deal withthese external issues with a more spiritual maturity.


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LEAVING

So what is the truth?

Where do we find the truth?

What is the foundation of truth?

Well, in I Timothy 3:15, it says, "The pillar and foundation of the truth is theBible." NO, it actually does not say that but you know, a lot of Pastors outthere would have you believe that is the way that they look at the Bible, fortheir truth. The Bible actually says, "The pillar and foundation of truth is theChurch." Hmm, okay the Church, that's where we are to find the truth?

What church is Paul talking about here to Timothy? Surely God knows whatchurch. But He would also knows it takes a lifetime to study every leader,every doctrine and every teaching out there of every church out there. Thereare 25,000 different denominations available today. There is one starting upevery five days and who starts these churches? By what authority does oneneed to start a church? Last time we checked it was a $25.00 fee down at theCourt House.

You see, I quoted Paul from the Bible, "The foundation of truth is the Church."Okay, so all these 25,000 different churches, they use the same tool for thetruth and that is the Bible, so they all must teach truth, right? That's wrong,because the reason there are so many is that none of them can agree on whatthe truth is.

Wow - talk about a collection of 25,000 different opinions, now that is onecomplicated gray area, talk about confusion. You know, Satan loves confusion,God loves Unity. Jesus prayed for Unity in John 17:17 and Jesus said thereare one shepherd and one flock in John 10:16. He also said that they areeither for us or against us.

See, now people say if God didn't want this variety of worship I don't think He would allow it. Wrong. God allows abortion, greed, lust and all the otherdetestable sins, but that doesn't mean He condones it. It is us who choose sinand confusion. He allows our free will.

So let's go back to the time when Paul first wrote this to Timothy. Would ithave made more sense back then with just Paul saying, "The pillar andfoundation of truth is the Church?" What I'm saying is, was it easier to findthat church back then or was there 25,000 to choose from?


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Well, let's work backwards, from right now, present day, until back then. Inthis 25,000 Christian denomination confusion, who is this new kid on theblock? Who is still wet behind the ears, who is just now finding and feeding onthe milk of Jesus and His teachings and maybe not yet ready for the meat of

Christ's teachings, whose church history is still in the infant stage? Who, likea runner, they are totally on fire, they are peaked with energy - and it is all forgood reason they are still in the starting blocks.

Maybe they too have just found Jesus. I mean, we could point modern day toleaders like Koresh or religious group like Heaven's Gate. There are so many of them now. But instead, let's focus on the major players at this time. One

would think that a minor precaution of just doing a little background historyon the founder of the church you may be looking at could save you a lot of timein discovering the actual belief's and teachings of that church before it is toolate.

Quite frequently a lot of the beliefs are not apparent in the weekly Sunday worship and questions may not arise until way later, when one is already so farremoved from the flock that there is a feeling of uneasiness to return.

Throughout this recording I am going to ask you to ask yourself many aquestion. And I would hope you would take the time to write these thingsdown and ask yourself or the Pastor of another church.

So for the first question, what man or woman started the church you arelooking at? Please keep in mind the following stats can be found virtually inany encyclopedia in any library in your hometown. So let's call upon historyfirst.

If you are leaving for the Vineyard Christian Fellowship , your denomination was started by Kenn Gulliksen and Keith Green in Santa Monica, California in1974.

If you are leaving for the Calvary Chapel, Chuck Smith began yourcongregation in Costa Mesa, California in 1965.

If you are thinking of going with the Church of Scientology, while its origins to L.Ron Hubbard in Washington, DC in 1952.

If you are going to the Iglesia de Dios , Felix Manalo instituted your sect in thePhilippines in 1914.

If you are thinking of going with the Assembly of God or any of their splinterPentecostal Groups, your religion is one of the hundreds of new sects founded


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by men in the 20th Century and you could actually trace it all the back toDecember 31, 1900 in Topeka, Kansas by a man named Charles Fox Parham.

And if you are thinking of Christian Scientists, your organization was broughtinto existence by Mrs. Baker Eddy in 1879.

If you are leaving for Jehovah Witness, your church was established by Charles Taze Russell in Pennsylvania in 1879.

If you are leaving for the Seventh Day Adventist, it was Mrs. Ellen Gould-White.She inaugurated your group in the United States 1860.

If you are leaving to be a Mormon, or otherwise Latter-day Saints, your religion was organized in New York by Joseph Smith in 1830.

If you are leaving to be a Methodist , while your form of Protestantism traces it

back to John Wesley in London in 1738.

If you are leaving to be a Baptist, you can look to John Smith as the originatorof your institution in Amsterdam in 1609.

If you are leaving to be a Presbyterian , John Calvin is credited with initiating your congregation in Switzerland in 1555.

If you are thinking of being inherent to the Anglican or Episcopalian Church your religion dates back to King Henry VIII in England in 1533.

If you are leaving for Lutheranism , well we know Martin Luther formulated yourreligious beliefs in Germany in 1517.

And if you are thinking of becoming a member of the Orthodox Church, andthere are quite a few, there is Russian and Eastern or Greek. Your church

went into the Schism in 1054.

If you are thinking about staying a Roman Catholic or becoming a Roman Catholic , your church was founded in Jerusalem by Jesus Christ in the year 33AD.

Wow - sometimes the Truth is blatant, you see, in this history lesson itdefinitely is. Folks, it's true. The Catholic Church is the only ChristianChurch that can trace its beginnings all the way back to the one and only Kingof Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.


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I asked my six year old daughter for Christmas why she was a Catholic and shesaid, "Because Jesus started our Church, Daddy." And then I asked her whostarted all the other churches out there and she just said, "Some guy or somelady." Wow, some guy, some lady, compared to Jesus Christ, what adifference.

See, unfortunately what my daughter was taught at an early age, mostCatholics I know have not been taught that. Either that or they learn muchlater in life when sometimes it is too late. Well having been taught that andhad they been taught, we might not have this need for this recording at all.

Well folks, historically speaking, most Theologians and Historians can agree onthis first Truth. That the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ in 33AD. It is no wonder that all the Apostles are buried under a Catholic Churchsomewhere.


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PETER

So historically we can check out our past. And thanks to the Bible we can alsocheck it out scripturally.

What about scripturally? If you have a Bible handy let's go to Matthew 16:13.Matthew 16:13 says, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi ,He asked His disciples saying, "Who do men say I am." So they said, "Somesay John the Baptist; some Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of theprophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peteranswered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesusanswered and said to him, "Blessed are you Simon Br-jn, for flesh andblood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven." And I alsosay to you, "That you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church and thegates of Haiti shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of thekingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven;and whatever you loose on earth loosed in heaven."

Wow - So let's take a look at this. Here is Jesus along with His apostles andfollowers and it seems like no one really knows who He is. I mean, they walked

with Him and talked with Him and then up until now no one has to say who Heis. So out of all of them there, who stands up but Peter. He stands up andsays, "You are the Christ, son of the living God." And then Jesus goes on tobless Peter, which only happens a couple of times in the Bible. Then Jesusgoes on to say, "Upon this rock I will build my Church." You will notice Hedidn't say churches. You will notice He changed Peter's name from Simon toPeter. Simon which means like a reed that blows in the wind compared toPeter which is kefus; a rock.

So He blesses Peter and He says He is going to build His Church upon Peter,the rock. He also goes on to say that the gates of Haiti, which is hell, shall notprevail against it. Talk about divine insurance. Then if that wasn't enough Hegoes on to say to Peter, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven."Man, can you imagine Peter's surprise, receiving the keys to the kingdom of heaven directly from Jesus. And if that wasn't enough, Jesus goes on to say,

"Whatever you bind I will bind. Whatever you loose I will loose. And so He isbasically saying whatever you say I will say.

Wow, so this really answers the question about us Catholics being Christians.You see folks, not only are we Christians we are the first Christians found by

Jesus himself. So scripturally we see that Jesus did start a church and beforeHe left that church He set up that authority figure to act in His place, Peter.


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Okay, so let's follow scripture and see how this authority position affectedPeter. First, in Luke 22:32 the night before Jesus died, we see Jesus tell Peterthat He had prayed for him against Satan's snare, so that Peter would bestrengthened and be able to turn back and strengthen his brothers. Then in

Mark 16:7 we hear the angel who appeared to Mary Magdalene at the tomb.He instructed her to go tell Peter and the disciples about the tomb.

Then in Luke 24:34 Jesus and the disciples, they are talking about how Jesushad already appeared to Peter first. Then in John 21:17 we see Jesusappearing to seven of the disciples on the shore. Then He goes and singles outPeter and He tells him, "Feed my lambs, tend my sheep." He actually tells himthis three times.

So here Jesus is confirming His leadership position again. I think Peter couldhave possibly needed a confirmation, because after all, he had denied our Lord

three times. In the books of Acts the scriptures give us an insight into whatthe early church was like. That is, after Jesus left them. So let's look at Actsand see if Peter's authority is evident in this early church.

First we take a look at the primacy of Peter, see if it is evident. In Matthew16:18 we talked about how "upon this rock Jesus built his church", but nowlet's look at Acts. Act's 1:13, it was Peter who headed the meeting whichelected Mathias. In Acts 2:14, it was Peter who led the apostles in preachingon Pentecost. In Acts 2:41, it was Peter who received the converts into thechurch and Acts 3:6, it is Peter again who performed the first miracle afterPentecost.

In Acts 5:1, it was Peter who inflicted the first punishment on Ananias andSapphira. In Acts 8:21, it was Peter who excommunicated the first haritic,Simon Magnus. In Acts 10:44, it is Peter who received the revelation to admitthe gentiles into the church and in Acts 15, it is Peter who led the first counselin Jerusalem and then in Acts 15:17, it is Peter who pronounces the firstdogmatic decision.

So, throughout the scriptures the disciples are referred to as Peter and hiscompanions. Peter's name was always at the head of the apostles. Actually, inscriptures Peter's name is mentioned 195 times, which is more than all theother apostles combined. And if Acts is the early church history, we can seePeter is the only apostle who actually speaks at all, in the whole Book of Acts,so when it comes leadership and authority, we can easily see that Peter is theman.


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You know, it is interesting that God has always left us a man to speak of Histeachings. He left Abraham, He left Moses, left Peter and now our currentleader Pope John Paul II. You see, Saint Peter was the first Catholic Pope. Thefirst 30 some Pope's were killed for their deep faith in Jesus.

Think about it, Peter and the apostles are the first Bishops of the CatholicChurch. And did you know that every Priest can trace their succession all the way back to those first 12 Apostles. Wow talk about authority.

Okay, so scriptures say it all too clear. Peter is definitely the leader of theChurch.


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PAUL

What about Paul? Didn't he write most of the New Testament?

In Galatians 1:8, with Kefus, also known as Peter. Even thought Paul got histeaching by the spirit of Jesus himself, he would still check with Peter on histeachings.

Going back to what Paul said, if the Church is the foundation and the pillar of truth well now, now that we know there was an actual church to turn to, thestatement now makes a lot more sense. What else does the scripture tell usabout the church and the authority given to Peter and his apostles? I wouldencourage you to check out these scriptures one-by-one at your leisure, to fullyunderstand how Catholic these scriptures really are.

There are four points that we are going to be making about the church.Number one, is the church must be one. In John 10:16, it says, "there shall beone fold and one shepherd." In Ephesians 4:3 says, "there is one Lord, onefaith, one baptism, one God and Father." In Romans 16:17, it says "to avoidthose that create dissentions." In I Corinthians 1:10, it says, "I urge that therebe no divisions among you." In Philippians 2:2, it says, "to be of the samemind, united in heart, thinking one thing."

Then Romans 15:5, it says "God grant you to think in harmony with oneanother." In John 17:17, says "I pray they be one as we are one." In John17:23, it says, "that they may be brought to perfection as one." In ICorinthians 12:13, it says "in one spirit we were baptized into one body." InRomans 12:5, it says "we though many are one body in Christ." In Ephesians4:4, it says "one body, one spirit called to one hope." In Colossians 3:15, "thepeace into which you were called in one body." So we see that the Churchmust be one. So this idea of division is definitely mans idea.

Second, we see that the Church is apostolic. In John 15:16, Jesus chosespecial men to be his apostles. In John 20:21, Jesus gave the apostles his ownmission. Then in Luke 22:30, Jesus gave them a kingdom. In Matthew 16:18,is where Jesus built the Church on Peter; the rock. In John 10:16, it talks

again about one shepherd to shepherd Christ's sheep. In Luke 22:32 and alsoin John 21:17, Peter is appointed to be the chief shepherd. In I Timothy 3:1,3:8 and 5:17, they go on to identify the roles of the Bishops, the Priests and theDeacons.

Then in Titus 1:5, they have the commissioning for the Bishops to OrdainedPriests. So we see that the church is apostolic.


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Third, we see that the Church is infallible. Scriptures say that in John 16:13, you will be guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth. In John 14:26, the HolySpirit will teach and remind them of everything. In Luke 10:16, is to speak

with Christ's own voice. I Timothy 3:15, is where the church is called the Pillar

and Foundation of Truth. In I John 2:27, is the anointing of the Holy Spiritremains in you. Then in Acts 15:28, the Apostles speak with a voice of theHoly Spirit. In Matthew 28:20, He says "I am with you always" So the Churchis infallible.

And lastly, the Church we see will last until the end of time. In the scripturesit tells us it will be a perpetual church. In Isaiah 9:6, it says "Of Christ'sgovernment there will be no end." In Daniel 2:44, it says "God's Kingdom shallstand forever." In Daniel 7:14, it says "His Kingdom shall not be destroyed." InLuke 1:32, says "No end to Christ's Kingdom." In Matthew 7:24, Jesus is like a

wise man who built His house on a rock. Then in Matthew 13:24, it said "To

let the wheat and the weeds grow together until harvest." In Matthew 16:18, is where Jesus says "The gates of hell will never prevail against Christ's Church."In John 14:16, "The Holy Spirit will be with you always." In Matthew 28:19, Hesays "I am with you all days."

As one can see, the Church of Jesus Christ, the church that he founded andstarted, it is filled with unity, truth and divinely instituted to stand the test of time. Because the time on this recording will not permit us to examine all thedifferent references to the church, what Paul spoke of often, we can also usehis analogy.

He frequently said, in Colossians 1:18, "That Jesus is the head of the body, theChurch." You see, Paul understood the church was the body of Christ. Healso referred to the church as the bridegroom of Christ. Over 100 times Paulreferred to the church as the bridegroom of Christ. To separate the bride fromthe bridegroom, would be spiritual divorce. And to have Jesus without hischurch is like the head without the body. It's a spiritual dismemberment.

You see, other Christians outside the Catholic church, they experience Christas our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. But we as Catholics, weexperience Christ in His fullness. Paul understood the importance of thechurch, after all think about it, was Paul actually persecuting Jesus? No, he

was persecuting Jesus' church and yet Jesus said to Paul on the road toDamascus, "Paul, why do you persecute me?" This could have been the reasonPaul believed that Jesus and the Church he established were one in the same.


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In I Corinthians, Chapter 15 verse 5, Paul explains how Jesus was seen afterthe resurrection first by Peter, then by 500 brethren once and then by James.

Then in verse 8 he goes on to say, "Then last of all He was seen by me also andone born out of due time. For I am the least of the Apostles whom am not

worthy to be called an Apostle because I persecuted the Church of God."


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The Bible

So if the Catholic Church has the Pope to protect and guard the truths taughtby Jesus, then how do the other churches find their truth? What do they useto base their teachings and guidance on? Well, the simple answer is the Bible.And the complete answer is their interpretation of the Bible.

Now they all use the same Bible so they all teach the same truths, right? See,unfortunately we know the answer to that. If you give ten men a verse to readin the Bible, chances are you are going to get ten different interpretations. Are

you starting to see why we have 25,000 different denominations? Are youstarting to see why we have confusion, arguing and disunity in the body of Christ?

You see, when Americans wrote the Constitution even they knew, although wecan all read the Constitution, it doesn't really mean we can all correctlyinterpret it. That's why they established the Supreme Court. As Catholics, wehave the successor of Peter to interpret the Bible and areas of doctrine andmoral teachings.

As a church outside of the Catholic faith, well they have their Pastor. Inessence the Pastor, he is the Pope, he is the Bishop, he is the Cardinal, he isthe whole magisterium just rolled into one man. So you can see why a Pastortakes this personal choice approach on difficult questions regarding moralityby simply advising their questioning church member to, well pray about it orthat's a personal choice.

I've heard of a Pastor saying abortion is a personal choice. Jesus and theChurch that He established, they're very clear on such issues, even asdisturbing and convicting as that might be to us sinners. So let me ask, isthat how the Bible was intended to be used, as a reference book? A how tostart your own church book. If you were to ask any Pastor of a non-denominational church if his church is Bible based, he's going to be proud tosay yes. But is the Catholic Church Bible based?

Well, the answers no. You see, we are Church based because historically our

church was founded before the New Testament Bible. I urge you to check thisnot so apparent fact out for yourself. But it was actually the church who gaveus the Bible and not the Bible to give us a bunch of churches. I mean, that'sright, the whole New Testament was compiled by the church under theleadership of Pope St. Innocent 1, in the year 405 AD.


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Now, here is another question for you. How can Christians put their trust inthe Bible and yet not put their trust in the Pope who declared it to be theBible? I mean, it does not make sense. But I suppose that is why it isconfusion.

Any theologian today would agree that if it was not for the Catholic Church we would have no Bible today, period. The Christian world today has a greatindebtedness to the Catholic Church for protecting and preserving sacredscripture so that you and I can read it today. But instead of being thankful for

what we are seeing, there are Pastors out there actually using the Bible tocondemn the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Folks, that is like stealing somebody's arm and then beating them with it. TheBible is a Catholic book, written by Catholics, to Catholics, for Catholics. Anddo not be afraid to share your Catholic book with other denominations.Although many of them have memorized exact verses and they can tell you

where the locations are, remember folks, we are not going to be judged on that.

See on the last day, instead we were are going to be judged on how we appliedand how we were obedient to what we read. Pastors today rely so heavily onscripture alone, which is sola scriptura and they would have you think that aperson could not find Jesus without the Bible. And yet what did they do forthose first flourishing 400 years of Christianity? If a pagan wanted to be aChristian in those early days did they send him home with a Bible under hisarm? No, they probably sent him to worship in Holy Mass and the breaking of bread in an early Catholic Church.

The Church was the foundation of truth in those days and it still is today. Thetruth does not change. As Catholics we hold the Bible up in the highestrespect. It is the word of God. And as a Catholic it is also our family heirloom.It was handed down generation-to-generation, from Catholics-to-Catholic and

was printed by a Catholic man name Gutenberg on his first press.

You see folks, the Bible was never intended to be used like a recipe book formoral teachings on every issue. If it had been, there would have been an indexin the back with exact issues like abortion, divorce, contraception,masturbation, breast implants, horoscopes, sacraments and the trinity. Yousee, that is why we have Catechism of the Catholic faith. That is a book withan index of such topics. Make no mistake, the Catechism was not written forchildren.

Pick one up, read it. You will see that it was written for us, the adult layaty.We have to understand this view of the Bible alone to guide us. It is not evenfound in the Bible itself. In fact, the Bible tells us we need more than the Bible


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alone. In John 21:25, the Bible confirms not everything Jesus said and did isrecorded in the scriptures. Instead, scriptures tell us we should hold fast tothe oral tradition, in other words, spoken, passed on, preached word of God.And you will find that in I Corinthians 11:2 and II Thessalonians 2:15 and alsoI Peter 1:5. While you are at it, check out II Peter 3:15 and see what the

scriptures tell us about untaught men interpreting scripture. Talk about a warning. This whole Bible alone view is actually pretty new. No wonder it is not scriptural. The theory was man made in the 1500's. You see,II Timothy 3:16 said, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and isprofitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction inrighteousness."

You see, the Bible says it is helpful in all those areas but it does not limit us to just the Bible. Nowhere does it say the Bible alone.


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Warnings

Okay, so now we may be saying that obviously God does not approve of usbreaking away from the Church that He founded for us, but couldn't He have

warned us of all this that might happen? Somewhere in scriptures?

Well, let's take a look. In Romans 16:17, Paul urges us to avoid those whocause division, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. He goes on tosay, "Those who teach other doctrines do not serve the Lord but their ownbellies by using smooth words and flattering speech. They deceive the hearts of the simple."

So there is one warning. Instead of being the simple and learn, it sounds like we need to learn more about our faith. In II Timothy 3:1, Paul says in the lastdays, "People will be self centered, lovers of money, irreligious, hating what isgood as they make a pretense of religion but denying it's power." He warns toreject them. And in II Timothy 4:3, Paul says, "For the time will come whenthey will not endorse sound doctrine but according to their own desires,because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers andthey will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables."

In Galatians Paul also says in Chapter 1 verse 8, "But even if we or an angelfrom heaven preach any other gospel to you, then what we have preached to

you let him be a cursed." So we see some real warnings there.

So, while there are many other churches out there preaching thisHealth/Wealth gospel, I mean, remembering Christ we are empowered but wemust also be willing to take up our cross and follow Him. See, in Matthew10:38, Jesus said, "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not

worthy of me." Romans 18:16 says, "We are heirs of Christ if only we are willing to suffer with Him."

I've been to other churches and I have actually heard Pastors saying if you aresuffering you need to get closer to God. Well, that is amazing because Jesusactually would say you cannot get closer to Him than when you are suffering.So while these new gospels they tickle our ears and appeal to our earthly

desires for a life of no suffering, what Jesus taught was quite the opposite. Imean, check out I Peter 2:19.

Well, when studying the history and scripture many churches now agree thatthe Catholic Church was the church founded 2,000 years ago. But a lot of them feel somewhere along the way in the first century, the Catholic Churchfailed.


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If the Catholic Church failed Christ failed. And because that would mean Helied in Matthew 28:19 when He said "He would be with us always," it wouldalso mean He lied when He said "the gates of hell would not prevail against HisChurch," in Matthew 16:18 and lastly, that would say Jesus didn't build Hisown church upon the rock of Peter, but instead on a sandy foundation that

eventually gave way.Now the Church Jesus founded is the same in truth today, yesterday andforever. He promised it.


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CLOSING

In closing, I would hope this short study into the foundation of the Catholicfaith is not an end but a beginning. A beginning into a stronger search into

your faith. Not only the scriptures history and the Catechism of the churchshed light on the truths left by Christ, but I would hope that you would alsostudy the writings of the early church Fathers. These are the early churchleaders who studied sometimes directly under the guidance of the apostlesthemselves.

After all, it is the church father St. Ignatius who gave us our earliest evidenceof the word Catholic, as a title for the church. This word Catholic written allthe way back around the year 110 AD. So if you still believe the Bible aloneshould be our sole foundation for pillar of truth, and not the Church, I willleave you with a few more last questions. Please take these questions to yourfamily, your friends, to your Pastor.

Let me ask you, why is it you don't read the gospel of Peter or the gospel of James? They do exist. It is because the Catholic Church told you what theactual gospels are.

Why is it that you believe in the Trinity? It is nowhere in the Bible. It isbecause the Catholic Church gave you the doctrine of the Trinity.

Why is it you worship on Sunday instead of Saturday like the Old Testamentteaches? Because once again it is the Catholic Church that told you when theresurrection day to worship God is.

See, these are just a few of the things that the Catholic Church has taught us,not because it exists to make up new laws, no instead it exists to protecteverything that Christ has already taught.

So who is your authority, who is your Pope? If your Pastor interprets thescriptures and shares those opinions on the pulpit and you decide how to live

your life and your children's life on his teachings, well then he is your Pope. If you yourself interpret the scriptures and make up the rights and wrongs of

morality in your own head and you are the type to just say you are going to allthese different churches but you just go to worship. Well, then you are yourown Pope.

If you rely on the authority left by Jesus to His Apostle Peter, and hissuccessors then your Pope is John Paul II. Now common sense begs the last of


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the questions. Folks, can any man have a better plan than Jesus in startingand sustaining a Church?

So what do you give up by becoming Catholic, by being Catholic or by stayingCatholic? Well, you give up one thing, you give up the search. You see, in the

Catholic Church there are absolutes, she is a teaching church but are weobedient fully to Jesus and are we teachable? When the student is ready, theteacher will appear.

So let's glance back to those real issues back at the beginning, remember?Better music, simpler faith, positive gospel, fired up youth. You see folks, weneed our separated brothers and sisters in Christ to share with us their joy infinding Jesus. But in following Jesus in His fullness they need His Church.

If you were to meet our Lord tonight with any of these external excuses wouldany of them be good enough to give Him for leaving His Church. Or would your

faith be deeper than that. I mean, possibly deep enough not to ask the Lord,Lord how do I want to worship you? But instead to ask the Lord, how do you want to be worshiped?

If you would like more of these external beauties of the Catholic faith like Mary,Confession, the real presence of the Eucharist, statues, infant baptism, theever virgin, communion of saints or any other Catholic issue, please contactthe person who gave you this recording and they can direct you to someone

who would love to share the faith with you.

May God Bless You and leave you with the knowledge that we are accountablefor what we know.

God Bless.

Gary Atencio-Leaving the Catholic Church-Edited

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