Refuting the Plagiarized Lies of Mr. Anon Nymous PART 1

(ON THE CHURCH AND THE POPE’S AUTHORITY and SOLA SCRIPTURA)

One heretic, probably an Adventist commented on our article entitled “ISANG TANONG, MALING SAGOT NG MGA BORN AGAIN”. He brought his allegations against the Catholic Church in our blog revealing to us his beliefs about Catholic doctrines which according to him are false. Well, we had examined his accusations and all we found out is that, MR. ANON NYMOUS HAD JUST COPIED THIS FROM ADVENTIST WEBSITE WITHOUT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGING HIS RESOURCES MAKING IT A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF PLAGIARISM. BEFORE WE GO ON, ALLOW US TO EXPLAIN WHAT PLAGIARISM IS.

“PLAGIARISM” or “PLAGIARIZE” ACCORDING TO MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY IS:

“to commit LITERARY THEFT :  present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”

or

“TO STEAL and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own :  use (another's production) without crediting the source” 

source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize

THIS EXPLAINS WHY IN OUR WORK ETHICS ESPECIALLY IN MANY PAPERWORKS, DEBATES, FORUMS, ETC, WE ARE REALLY FORBIDDEN TO COMMIT LITERARY THEFT OR PLAGIARISM. To avoid plagiarism, one must recognize his reference materials he has used in citing such ideas he borrowed. And since many considered it as a “Theft” or a sort of “Robbery” therefore it can be considered as a sin. God said; 

Exodus 20:15 RSV 

 “YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK READERS? Is Mr. Anon Nymous guilty on this?

One thing we cannot really comprehend is that, instead of making it a little bit harder to copy all the texts on that particular website, why didn’t he try to give us the website (http://www.end-times-prophecy.org/catholic-church-false-doctrine.html)? Much easier, isn’t it? 

Now let’s try to refute these plagiarized lies of Mr. Anon nymous.

Mr. Anon Nymous through his plagiarism said:

"The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ. The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense with the command of Christ." (Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. (The pope can modify divine law) Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary)”

This must be a misrepresented quote since I cannot find any sort of evidence that authenticates this distorted and perverted quote just to say that Pope is equal to God and can therefore change laws by his authority. The Church never taught anything about the absolute monarchy inside the Church being the Pope as equal to Christ. But the Church being infallible is the sole authority here on Earth to define Christian dogmas and ethics NOT TO BECOME AS EQUAL TO GOD. THE AUTHORITY OF POPE DOES NOT MEAN HE CAN CHANGE LAWS, THAT’S WHY IN THE SAME BOOK YOU HAD QUOTED WHICH IS ALSO READABLE IN ONE CATHOLIC WEBSITE. IT SAYS:

“Q. Can anyone change the doctrine of Jesus Christ, or the articles of faith, the commandments, or the sacraments? 

A. TO THINK SO AND TO ATTEMPT TO DO SO WOULD BE AS FOOLISH as it would be for one to attempt to reform the visible world and the laws which God has established to preserve and maintain it.”

Source: "Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine”.Rev, Muller, Michael. Benzinger Brothers, 1876

Readable at Lesson VIII, “What Cannot And What Can Be Reformed In The Church” in the same book at website: http://www.catholicapologetics.info/thechurch/catechism/familiar.htm

Therefore, the Infallibility and the Authority of the Pope did not give him the power to invent doctrines or to change something but instead IT GIVES HIM POWER TO AFFIRM AND DEFINE IT JUST LIKE THE WAY IT WAS TAUGHT IN THE PAST EVEN AT THE EARLY AGE OF CHRISTIANITY.

AND BY THE WAY, THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “FERRARIS’ ECCLESIASTICAL DICTIONARY WRITTEN IN ENGLISH BECAUSE ALL I KNOW IS HIS LATIN BOOK ENTITLED “PROMPTA BIBLIOTHECA CANONICA WHICH IS WRITTEN IN LATIN AND NOT IN ENGLISH. Tell me, where did Ferraris learn his English skills? Hmm?? We smell something fishy. Again, Mr. Anon Nymous through his plagiarism said:

"The authority of the Church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the church had changed the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by it's own authority." (Canon and Tradition. page 263)

This is a LIE again because the Church did not change the Sabbath instead, the Catechism teaches that it is the fulfilment of the old Sabbath:

CCC 2175-2176

2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, SUNDAY FULFILLS THE SPIRITUAL TRUTH OF THE JEWISH SABBATH AND ANNOUNCES MAN’S ETERNAL REST IN GOD. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:¹⁰⁷Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.(  St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Magn. 9,1:SCh 10,88.)

2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."¹⁰⁹ SUNDAY WORSHIP FULFILLS THE MORAL COMMAND OF THE OLD COVENANT, TAKING UP ITS RHYTHM AND SPIRIT IN THE WEEKLY CELEBRATION OF THE CREATOR AND REDEEMER OF HIS PEOPLE.

Source: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a3.htm

Therefore, it is not a change but rather a “FULFILMENT of the Old, being Christians as new creation living in new hope”. I am not familiar on what he had quoted but it seems it might be ANOTHER PERVERTED QUOTE GIVEN BY MR. ANON NYMOUS BY HIS PLAGIARISM. (the topic about Sabbath will be tackled and explained on the next part of this series)
Mr. Anon nymous through his plagiarism also said:

"The doctrines of the Catholic Church are entirely independent of Holy Scripture." (Familiar Explanation of Catholic Doctrine. Rev. M Muller, page 151)

Unfortunately for our unknown visitor, Mr. Anon nymous who hides at that account misses something very important. He/She misses the point that people like us cannot be easily fooled by just stating some quotes from Catholic books to point out that it is really being taught. I am very familiar with this tactic and maybe he/she had learned it from Ellen 666 White or from Manalistas of INC. Now, let’s try to see the page 151 of the book I have also used earlier:

p.151 of Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine (please click the image)

Readers and also Mr. Anon nymous, CAN YOU SEE THE EXACT SENTENCE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT??? well read it again in American libraries online archive: https://archive.org/details/familiarexplana00mlgoog

REMEMBER, COMMITTING A LIE IS A GRIEVOUS SIN:

Exodus 20:16 KJV 

“ Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”

THE QUESTION IS, IS IT TRUE?? OF COURSE ANOTHER PLAGIARIZED LIE. JOSEPH DE LA TORRE, A CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN SAID IN HIS BOOK;

“Revelation contained holy Scripture- written word and Sacred Tradition... BOTH SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION MAKEUP A SINGLE, INSEPARABLE SOURCE, TRANSMITTED AND INTERPRETED INFALLIBLY BY THE CHURCH.”

Source: p.13, Christian Philosophy. Dela Torre, Joseph

FOR US CATHOLICS, we are not basing our faith by Bible alone and we are not basing our faith by Tradition alone, instead, we are making these two inseparable things as our basis of faith and morals. This affirms what the Bible states when Saint Paul said:

2 Thessalonians 2:15-DRV [emphasis added] 

Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and HOLD THE TRADITIONS WHICH YOU HAVE LEARNED, WHETHER BY WORD, OR BY OUR EPISTLE.

Lastly, Mr. Anon Nymous through his plagiarism also said:

Matthew 4:4 ...'But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.' 

1 Peter 1:25 ...'But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.' 

Hebrews 4:12 .....'For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'

This is very clear. We are to live by the Word of God ALONE. Which means no man or church has been given the authority to change God's Word. Is the word of the pope able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart? No, only God is able to do this. Therefore the pope CANNOT have any authority over God's Word in the Bible.

If Mr. Anon Nymous was a keen reader, then it is no use for him to comment this since it has been thoroughly explained in our blog but since he included the issue again about man-made doctrine of Scripture Alone, so be it.

Unfortunately, all of verses he used against us are not strong enough to support his delusions and fantasies. It is very clear that the phrase “word of God “ALONE”” is not present in Matthew 4:4, 1 Peter 1:25 or in Heb. 4:12. Just like Saint Paul said, we must hold the traditions we have learned WHETHER BY WORD WHICH MEANS ORAL TRADITION OR BY EPISTLE WHICH MEANS SCRIPTURE.

THE WORD SOLA SCRIPTURA CAN NEVER BE FOUND IN THE BIBLE AND ITS ORIGIN CANNOT BE DATED BACK FARTHER THAN 16^TH CENTURY. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE INSEPARABLE TRADITION AND SCRIPTURE HAS BEEN TAUGHT BY THE CHURCH EVER SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED BY CHRIST.  The Bible never said that it is sufficient enough to tell all truth but IT HAS BEEN CONSTANTLY SAYING that THE CHURCH IS THE BULWARK OF TRUTH;

1 Timothy 3:15 NRSVCE [emphasis added]

“if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, THE PILLAR AND BULWARK OF THE TRUTH.”

THE CHURCH IN FACT IS THE BASIS OF TRUTH AND NOT THE BIBLE. THE CHURCH BEING THE BEARER OF TRUTH AND LIGHT, JESUS CHRIST, THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH IS THE SOURCE OF TRUTH. THAT’S WHY IN HISTORY OF THE BIBLE, THE CHURCH IS CREDITED IN ITS COMPILATION, PRESERVATION AND ITS CANONIZATION. THE CHURCH GAVE BIRTH TO THE BIBLE NOT THE BIBLE GAVE BIRTH TO THE CHURCH.

“By about 200 AD, the church canon included most of today’s New Testament. In AD 367, the content of New Testament was first listed exactly as we know it.”(p.284, World Book Vol.2(2008))

what Church is it by the way? Is it your church or MY CHURCH?

Now, does our Pope have an authority over the Bible? The answer is yes. Let us understand that The Bible cannot stand on itself by just interpreting it privately on our own. Christ gave us Ministerial Priests to interpret our Scriptures accordingly and this is being led by the Pope, the Successor of Saint Peter who received the “keys of heaven” and the power of “binding and loosing” (Matthew 16:18). Bishops also have this power of binding and loosing making them an authority over the correct interpretation of Scripture. Christ gave his apostles an authority when He said;

Luke 10:16 NRSVCE [emphasis added] 

“WHOEVER LISTENS TO YOU LISTENS TO ME, AND WHOEVER REJECTS YOU REJECTS ME, AND WHOEVER REJECTS ME REJECTS THE ONE WHO SENT ME.”

It is also clear that the Bible is not directly given to us by God from heaven. Even Jesus Christ did not say that “this Bible is your sole authority”. God used the Church to compile it, to write the NT writings and to preserve it.  Even today that we have Bibles, we are not asked to subscribe alone in the Bible but we are asked to subscribe to the One who made it, The Church, the mystical body of Christ, the PILLAR AND BULWARK OF TRUTH.

Now, maybe it is common for some heretics to use 2 Timothy 3:16 saying that all Scripture is God-breathed. Unfortunately, the verse never used “alone”. Even it is God-breathed, it cannot be directly produced by God. It is God-breathed because its authors and its compilers are divinely inspired.

JESUS CHRIST DID NOT BREATHE ON THE BIBLE, HE BREATHED ON HIS APOSTLES;

John 20:22 NRSVCE [emphasis added] “When he had said this, HE BREATHED ON THEM AND SAID TO THEM, “RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

IF APOSTLES ARE GOD-BREATHED, THEN THEIR SUCCESORS ARE GOD-BREATHED TOO, MAKING THEM AUTHORITATIVE WHEN IT COMES TO SCRIPTURE. AND SINCE THEY WERE THE ONES WHO WROTE, COMPILED AND CANONIZED THE BIBLE, THEN THE BIBLE MUST BE CONSIDERED GOD-BREATHED TOO.

THE QUESTION IS, IS ELLEN WHITE GOD-BREATHED TOO?? O BAKA BAD BREATH?? I DO NOT WANT TO MAKE IT LONG. JUST WAIT FOR THE PART 2 OF OUR REBUTTAL.