500 Years Of Twisting Scripture

 On October 31st, Bergoglio ("Pope" Francis) and his Modernist minions at the erstwhile Vatican, will "celebrate" five centuries of Protestant heresy. The Protestants, of course, are the ideological forefathers of the Modernists. The intellectual, moral, and religious decline in the West began with Protestantism, then proceeded to Modernism, and finally it will culminate in atheism (either in its "pure" form, or a world-wide ecumenical sect where anything goes). According to a Pew Research poll, "Majorities or pluralities of adults (including Catholics (sic), Protestants and people with no religious affiliation) in all 15 countries surveyed across Western Europe say Catholics and Protestants today are 'religiously more similar than they are different.' Likewise in the United States, 57 percent of Protestants and 65 percent of Catholics (i.e., Vatican II sect)—believe the two are "more similar than different, religiously." No one could have seriously maintained that prior to Vatican II.

 Frankie said, "Lutherans and Catholics, Protestants, all of us agree on the doctrine of justification. On this point, which is very important, he [Luther] did not err." Really? Then Bergoglio is claiming that the Holy and Ecumenical Council of Trent erred! (Are you listening SSPX?). Martin Luther, the apostate priest, was mentally unbalanced, and an anti-Semite, yet sly as a fox. He combated the authority of the Church with the twisting of Scripture. No longer was the Bible one of the two sources of Revelation to be guarded and interpreted by the Magisterium, it was the "sole rule of faith."

 As I will demonstrate below, the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura ("Scripture alone") is the basis for all of the other errors which Luther and the so-called "reformers" devised. It is most aptly exhibited by the modern day Jehovah's Witnesses sect. First, you decide what you want to believe, then you twist the Bible to prove your point correct.

Luther Alone

 Martin Luther appealed to himself as the authority in the interpretation of Scripture. According to Philip Schaff's History of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, [1910] 7:362), when people protested Luther adding the word alone to his German translation of Romans 3:28 ("For we account a man to be justified by faith [alone], without the works of the law."), he responded by saying, "If your Papist makes much useless fuss about the word sola, allein, tell him at once: 'Dr. Martin Luther will have it so.'" 

 Hence, Luther attacks and twists various passages of the Bible to fit his heterodox ideas, and bases it on his own authority.

1. In Jesus' blessing of "the pure of heart" (St. Matthew 5:8) Luther attacks monasticism which he claims preaches a false view of such pureness of heart. He wrote: "And you should realize that when a monk in the monastery is sitting in deepest contemplation, excluding the world from his heart altogether, and thinking about the Lord God the way he himself paints and imagines Him, he is actually sitting--if you will pardon the expression--in the dung, not up to his knees, but up to his ears. For he is proceeding on his own ideas without the Word of God." 

2. In the parable of the Last Judgement found in St. Matthew 25: 31-46, we read:

 And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall He sit upon the seat of his majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left.Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in: Naked, and you covered Me: sick, and you visited Me: I was in prison, and you came to Me."

Then shall the just answer Him, saying: "Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and fed Thee; thirsty, and gave Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Or naked, and covered Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick or in prison, and came to Thee?" And the King answering, shall say to them: "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me." 

Then He shall say to them also that shall be on His left hand: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink.I was a stranger, and you took Me not in: naked, and you covered Me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me." Then they also shall answer Him, saying: "Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?" Then He shall answer them, saying: "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me." And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.

Here, Christ separates the sheep (good) from the goats (bad). Theologian Haydock comments on this passage as follows: "By setting forth to all the world the good works of His faithful servants, the Sovereign Judge silences the murmurs of the reprobate, who might otherwise object that they had it not in their power to do good...We may take notice that the wicked, at the Day of Judgement, are said to be condemned for having omitted to perform good works...however just a man may be, still he has many failings to atone for, on account of which the Kingdom of Heaven might be justly denied him: but because he has shewn mercy to his neighbors he deserves to have mercy shewn to him." (See The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with a Comprehensive Catholic Commentary, pgs. 1304-1305).

Luther changes this accepted meaning from the beginning of the Church to fit his perverse heresy of justification by faith alone. He writes, "Christ will say to the pious and God-fearing: 'You came to me (sic) and believed in me (sic)...I will not cast you out, and to the goats Christ will say:'You did not want me (sic) and did not belive in me (sic)." (See D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe (Weimar, 1898, 5: 407). The Church always taught this parable referred to good works, but now it refers to faith, according to Luther on his own (non-existent) authority.

3. The twisting of Scripture led to diverse interpretations. The "plain meaning" of the Bible isn't so plain, which led many Protestant leaders to claim that their interpretation was right based on some "inner prompting or illumination" from the Holy Ghost. Two problems quickly arise: (a) how does God contradict Himself, because if it were true, wouldn't everyone have the same "illumination"? (B) Even if the principle were correct, how do you determine the "true illumination" from the false? According to The World Christian Encyclopedia (NY: Oxford University Press, 1982, pg.292) there are over 28,000 distinct denominations (claiming to be Christian) in the world as of the early 1980s. I can only wonder how many more have sprung up in over 35 years!

Protestant Tradition?

While attacking Sacred Tradition as a source of Revelation, the Protestants all have a tradition even if they deny it. If a Calvinist were to interpret the Bible as meaning it is possible to fall from grace and eternal security, his fellow Calvinists would tell him his interpretation is wrong, based on the teachings of John Calvin. If a Baptist pastor interpreted the Bible as allowing for infant baptism, he would soon find himself out of a job. 

Finally, sola scriptura is not taught by the Bible and is therefore self-refuting. The classic passage cited is 2 Timothy 3: 15-17:  "And because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures, which can instruct thee to salvation, by the faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, that the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work." Since the Bible is good for all these things, they argue it must be good for everything as the sole rule of Faith. One does not logically follow from the other. The Bible is necessary but not sufficient for Revelation. To be "furnished for every good work," does not exclude other teaching from Sacred Tradition. If it did, St. Paul (and God, Who is the Author of Scripture) contradicted what was written. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 reads, "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter."

Conclusion

Nero fiddled while Rome burned down, and Bergoglio celebrates it. He celebrates the Eternal Rome burned to the ground in the wake of Vatican II. Martin Luther brought doctrinal and moral evil into the world as never before. He did it on the pretext of using the Bible. Of course he had to jettison the Magisterial authority of the Church, and the teachings of Her approved theologians. While no Traditionalist worth the name would fall for Protestantism, many fall for those who follow Luther's methods. The SSPX will decide which teachings of the so-called Magisterium they will accept, and which they will resist. Mike Bizzaro will tell you that the last pope was St. Pius X based on papal teachings purposefully pulled out of context to make it say something other than what it did. The Dimond brothers will interpret the teachings of the Church for you, especially in regard to Baptism of Desire and Baptism of Blood. Certain clerics will tell you what you MUST believe in matters never settled by the Church, and somehow their opinion has binding force on your conscience.

 These are the progeny of Luther. The methodology of twisting Scripture, and now applied to the Magisterial teachings of the Church during the Great Apostasy, continues after five centuries. Let's "hold fast to the traditions" of the One True Church and not waver from the teachings of Her approved theologians. To do otherwise is to imperil our souls.