Refuting the Plagiarized Lies of Mr. Anon Nymous PART 2

An example of Indulgence proclaimed by the Catholic Church

(on Indulgences)

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[Anon Nymous March 25, 2014 at 11:36 PM

Catholic False Doctrine 2 

The Roman Catholic Church SELLS THE GOSPEL through Indulgences. 

"The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead ... An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin. Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead." (Catholic Catechism) 

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that after death, everyone who has sinned will go to "purgatory", where they will face punishment for their sins. After this they are then allowed into the heavenly kingdom, once they have "PAID" for their sins. But with an indulgence, you can pay the church some money and you will receive an indulgence which will either reduce your time in "purgatory" or erase it all together. By the way, the Vatican was built on indulgences, and Martin Luther exposed the error of indulgences back in the 1500's with his 95 Thesis. 

Now anyone who knows the Bible will see that there is grave error in this teaching, because not only is the grace of God a FREE GIFT to anyone, but Christ Jesus PAID the FULL PRICE for our sins. 

And what did Simon Magus, the Pagan sorcerer try to do? He tried to BUY the gift of God WITH MONEY, and the apostle Peter sharply rebuked him in very strong words, telling him that his money will die with him! 

Ephesians 2:8 ...'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.' 

Have you ever heard of a free gift that you had to pay for? So why does the Catholic Church do this? So they can line their pockets with filthy money. And did you know that the Vatican was built from the selling of indulgences? Yes, it was not only built upon a Pagan burial site. It was built from SELLING the gospel!]

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REPLY:

It has been proven from the previous part that this heretic hiding under the alias of Mr. Anon Nymous is guilty of PLAGIARISM and is caught in the act of spreading gossips and lies about the Church. He perhaps forgot what the Holy Scripture tells us about this anachronistic act:

Proverbs 19:5 [emphasis added] 

A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.

Regarding his second set of what he called as "Catholic False Doctrine," let us once again expose the glaring errors of MR. ANON NYMOUS.

He said:

Catholic False Doctrine 2

The Roman Catholic Church SELLS THE GOSPEL through Indulgences. 

"The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead ... An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin. Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead." (Catholic Catechism)

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that after death, everyone who has sinned will go to "purgatory", where they will face punishment for their sins. After this they are then allowed into the heavenly kingdom, once they have "PAID" for their sins.  

Aside from its banal title and incomplete citation, both the original author and our featured blog visitor display their gross ignorance of catholic position on Indulgences in quoting these passages purportedly taken from the "Catholic Catechism."

The Church does not and will never "SELL THE GOSPEL through INDULGENCES" or by any means!

Surprisingly, neither the quoted passage nor any of the existing official Church documents allowed this blasphemous practice. Instead of supporting the title of his plagiarized comment, what we can notice above is the emphasis on "almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead " followed by Catholic distinctions between "partial and plenary indulgences." There is no mention of selling the gospel (otherwise please notify me if I'm mistaken, perhaps its time to change my eyeglasses), thus his argument is invalid.

The catholic practice of doing sacrifices "on behalf of the dead" is deeply rooted in the Holy Bible. As we can read in the Old Testament times, Jews pray for the dead:

2 Maccabees 12:42-45  [emphasis added] 

Judas Maccabeus

and they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.

This deuterocanonical book, although considered apocryphal by our protestant counterparts, reveals the Jewish practice of praying for the dead just like what we catholics used to do. It is also important to note that the protocanonical book of Prophet Nehemiah tells the same thing.

Nehemiah 1:6 Good News Translation [emphasis added]

Look at me, Lord, and hear my prayer, as I pray day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess that we, the people of Israel, have sinned. My ancestors and I have sinned.

and

Nehemiah 2:5 Good News Translation [emphasis added]

and then I said to the emperor, “If Your Majesty is pleased with me and is willing to grant my request, let me go to the land of Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild the city.”

Relating these two passages, it is very clear that Prophet Nehemiah prayed for his DEAD ANCESTORS. Likewise, the second book of Samuel accounts the sacrifices made by the Jews for those "killed in the battle:" 

2 Samuel 1:12 Good News Translation [emphasis added]

They grieved and mourned and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan and for Israel, the people of the Lord, because so many had been killed in battle.

We are all aware that grieving and mourning are both common practices of the bereaved family, relatives and friends when their loved ones dies. But now we have read that they also fasted--fasting directed for the dead--another evidence that sacrifices on behalf of the dead are biblically and historically correct.

There is also an instance when St. Paul prayed for the dead:

2 Timothy 1:16-18  [emphasis added]

May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain; when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me—may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus.

Here we read St. Paul commending Onesiphorus on the mercy of the Lord. Even protestant writers regard these passages as an early example of christian prayer for the dead. Read their remarks here.

Now, concerning the"partial and plenary indulgences" (for the living and the dead), we believe that it can be basically explained by discussing two major catholic teachings: the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE and the PURGATORY.


on the Sacrament of Penance:

Matthew 16:19 [emphasis added]

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 18:18 [emphasis added]

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

John 20:23 [emphasis added]

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

These passages form the biblical foundation of the Authority to forgive sins [absolution] delegated to the Church first to St. Peter then to the rest of the apostles and then later to their successors [the Pope and all the clergy]. It is significant to note that Jesus himself gave them the power to "bind and loose" which is perfectly executed in the case of the Sacrament of Penance where it includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin.

The Bible then distinguishes between MORTAL and VENIAL SINS:

1 John 5:16-17 [emphasis added]

If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.

and  teaches us about the Ministry of Reconciliation entrusted to the Church:

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 [emphasis added]

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

James 5:13-16 [emphasis added]

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

Clearly, the CHURCH received the Holy Spirit, commissioned to proclaim the Gospel, baptize all nations and entrusted with the Ministry of Reconciliation. If one cannot be included in the people of God without the Church, how can he return to God in repentance without the Church?

on Purgatory:

The most direct allusion to purgatory can be found in the first Pauline Epistle to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 3:10-17  [emphasis added]

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—  the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.  If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

In summary:

VERSE 14- Heaven; where man will receive his reward
VERSE 15- Purgatory; where man, though assured of his salvation, will undergo purging
VERSE 17- Hell; where man will be condemned into eternal damnation

Since we are called in ONE BODY [cf. Eph 4:4; Rom. 12:5] in Christ which cannot be separated even by DEATH [cf. Rom 8:35-39], the Church calls us to "build up one another" [cf. 1Thess 5:11],"bear one another's burdens" [cf. Gal 6:2] and of course, "pray for one another" [cf. Jms 5:16]. If the Holy Scriptures tell us that we are in communion with each other including our departed brothers and sisters in faith, who are we to exclude them in our christian duties as prescribed by the apostles?

This must be true in the case of Indulgences. We do sacrifices [acts of penance] as not only reparation for our own sins but also for our departed loved so that they may be freed from consequences of their sins.  As the Church taught us, Acts of Penance first before gaining Indulgences.

(For more detailed discussion on Plenary and Partial Indulgences, click here.)

Now, this is becoming ridiculous and absurd. To subscribe in the notion that "everyone who has sinned will go to purgatory" is to deny the very existence of eternal damnation, meaning HELL reserved for those who died in the state of mortal sin. But clearly, this is not what the Catholic Church really teaches to its members. We firmly believe in the existence of heaven, purgatory and hell. Even the Catechism devoted a long article to discuss this belief  [Art. 12, Chap. 3, Sec. 2, Part 1 CCC].

on Heaven:

Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face... 

1023, Catechism of the Catholic Church [emphasis added]

on Purgatory:

All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. 

1030, Catechism of the Catholic Church [emphasis added]

on Hell:

The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs. 

1035, Catechism of the Catholic Church [emphasis added]

We must concede that it is true that after final purification [purgatory] "they are then allowed into the heavenly kingdom, once they have "PAID" for their sins":

1 Corinthians 3:15 [emphasis added]

If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.

for we know that no unclean will enter the heaven:

Revelation 21:27 [emphasis added]

But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

But Mr. Anon Nymous once again made a fool out of himself when he mentioned another myth on Indulgences:

But with an indulgence, you can pay the church some money and you will receive an indulgence which will either reduce your time in "purgatory" or erase it all together. 

Catholic Answers, the largest catholic apologetic ministry in the US, in response to this attack wrote on their website:

The definition of indulgences presupposes that forgiveness has already taken place: "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven" (Indulgentarium Doctrina 1, emphasis added). Indulgences in no way forgive sins. They deal only with punishments left after sins have been forgiven.

The number of days which used to be attached to indulgences were references to the period of penance one might undergo during life on earth. The Catholic Church does not claim to know anything about how long or short purgatory is in general, much less in a specific person’s case. 

The Council of Trent instituted severe reforms in the practice of granting indulgences, and, because of prior abuses, "in 1567 Pope Pius V canceled all grants of indulgences involving any fees or other financial transactions" (Catholic Encyclopedia). This act proved the Church’s seriousness about removing abuses from indulgences.

 Excerpts retrieved from: http://www.catholic.com/tracts/myths-about-indulgences

So the allegations of Mr. Anon Nymous holds no water at all. He is just merely barking at the wrong tree.

He then add another half-truth-ergo-a-lie trivia about the Vatican:

 By the way, the Vatican was built on indulgences, and Martin Luther exposed the error of indulgences back in the 1500's with his 95 Thesis. 

Actually, in medieval times, the Pope or bishops granted indulgences for people who will support catholic charity works or building of churches [including the St. Peter's Basilica located at the Vatican Hill] provided that they satisfied the conditions set by the Church (approach the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist).

However, the problem is not on "indulgences" but on local priests who abused their power and emphasized only almsgiving, but not true penance. This is historically personified by John Tetzel, a german priest, who although proclaimed certified catholic teaching on INDULGENCES FOR THE LIVING, taught his unorthodox doctrine of INDULGENCES FOR THE DEAD which held nothing but offering of money without any question of contrition nor confession. And as noted above, this abuse was already condemned by the Church.

The "error" that stirred Martin Luther to revolt is attributed in his objections first to the abuses then to the traditional scriptural foundations of Indulgences. He then pioneered the blasphemous protestant legacy of rejecting the deuterocanonical books (particularly the Maccabean book cited above as prooftext for alms giving and prayer for the dead). And then the rest is history.

Finally, Mr. Anon Nymous tried to wrapped up his case through a conclusion drawn from his purely baseless and pathetic understanding of Indulgences:

Now anyone who knows the Bible will see that there is grave error in this teaching, because not only is the grace of God a FREE GIFT to anyone, but Christ Jesus PAID the FULL PRICE for our sins. 

And what did Simon Magus, the Pagan sorcerer try to do? He tried to BUY the gift of God WITH MONEY, and the apostle Peter sharply rebuked him in very strong words, telling him that his money will die with him! 

Ephesians 2:8 ...'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.' 

The Church agrees that "the grace of God a FREE GIFT to anyone" and " Christ Jesus PAID the FULL PRICE for our sins." It is for this reason that the Church, in defining INDULGENCE, mentions the "merits of  Christ." 

An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity.

1478, Catechism of the Catholic Church [emphasis added] 

To set the facts straight, an indulgence is not an instant ticket to heaven that you can buy in wholesale to avoid Purgatory or maybe HELL. The Church teaches that INDULGENCE is granted only as the "“remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven" (CCC 1471) which is derived from the treasury of the merits Christ and the saints. In other words, one can only received indulgence provided that he satisfied his works of penance. It can also be gained for the dead since they are part of the Church [communion of the saints] but cannot help themselves.

Indulgences in no way adds nor subtracts anything from the efficacy of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. But instead, it derives itself from the very truth that Jesus sufferings have infinite power to free every man from sin and remove its temporal punishments through the CHURCH which is the 'dispenser' of God's grace on every soul.

The big question for now is: why "merits of Christ and the saints"?

Some see these as a sort of blasphemy since it seemingly connotes equality of the merits of the saints and that of Christ. However, the Church stress the fact that Christians share in Christ redemptive sufferings:

Colossians 1:24 [emphasis added]

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.

Clearly, Paul is suffering for the sake of the CHURCH. So if we can share in the redemptive sufferings of Christ, we also contribute our own merits to that of Christ for the good of the CHURCH. A good allusion on  how the debt for sin can be made up for another especially for the souls of the departed.

Moreover, James Akin once wrote regarding "merits":

Humans can't earn anything from God, though by His grace they can please him in a way He chooses to reward. Picturing the saints' acts under a single, collective metaphor (such as a treasury) is biblical: "It was granted her [the Bride] to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure" (Revelation 19:8). John tells us, "For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints." Here the righteous deeds of the saints are pictured under the collective metaphor of clothing on the bride of Christ, the Church. Jewish theology also recognizes a treasury of merits. Jewish theologians speak of "the merits of the fathers" – the idea being that the patriarchs pleased God and inherited certain promises as a reward. God fulfills these promises and ends up treating later Jews more gently than they would have been treated. The idea of "the merits of the fathers" is essentially the same as the Catholic concept of the "treasury of merits." Both postulate a class of individuals, the Old Testament patriarchs on the one hand and Christ and the saints on the other, who have pleased God and whom God chooses to reward in a way involving lesser temporal punishments on others.

Source: A Primer on Indulgences, James Akin, This Rock Magazine, November 1994 issue 

We do sacrifices [not only in the form of money, although alms giving is praiseworthy] on behalf of them as prescribed by the Church and gain indulgences for them so that they may be removed from their attachments to their old sins.

He ended his comment with malicious accusations about the Church:

Have you ever heard of a free gift that you had to pay for? So why does the Catholic Church do this? So they can line their pockets with filthy money. And did you know that the Vatican was built from the selling of indulgences? Yes, it was not only built upon a Pagan burial site. It was built from SELLING the gospel!

Having read these, the best thing to do now is to commend him to the Holy Spirit who alone can enlighten his mind regarding the truth in the Catholic Church.

We also challenge Mr. Anon Nymous to do more research, produce/cite credible sources that will support his allegations without conforming on old hearsays and myth.

+Pax Christi!    

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*Unless otherwise stated, all scriptural verses cited by the author of the blog are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.