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How and When Did the Roman
Catholic Church Cease to
Be Christian?
IN the latest issue of his paper, Mr. Windle
1 says—
Watson here admits that the “Roman Catholic
Church (Hierarchy) was once Christian.” This
was in the beginning, when according to his for
mer admission “their faith was Christian.’’ This
being true, neither the Church, nor the faith of
its adherents had their origin, (beginning) in
Paganism. Could any Catholic theologian prove
more than Watson admits? Thus Watson com
pels us to reject his “proof” concerning the
“Pagan origin of Catholicism,” as a mass of ab
surd fabrications.
Now that Tom has placed himself on a red-hot
gridiron, watch him squirm.
A familiar trick in sophistry is, to mis
state your adversary's position, and then de
molish the mis-statement.
Ihe sophist makes his own man of straw,
and then knocks it to pieces.
I have never said that the Roman Catholic
hierarchy was once Christian.
Windle slips the word “hierarchy” into the
quotation, and thus entirely changes the
proposition.
The Roman Catholic hierarchy followed
the usurpation of the Roman bishop, and was
not in existence, as we now know it, until after
the bishop had tortuously, criminally, and
un-Christ ianly, made himself the Pope.
Both the “church" and the “faith” of Rome
“was once Christian.”
The Apostle Paul founded the Roman
church, and if he and his immediate converts
were not Christians, there never were any.
True the church and the Christians at Jeru
salem came first; and there were a number of
Eastern churches and Christians in life, be,-
fore Paul went to Rome.
All the Eastern churches, of the primitive
age, antedate that of Rome; and the Nesto
rians of the Russian Empire, as well as the
Greek Catholic churches, and the Armenians
are of more ancient origin than that which
arrogates to itself the title of Mother Church.
The Roman Christians began to wander
away from Bible Christianity when they made
the historic political “deal” with Constan
tine.
Christ plainly taught that Caesar’s affairs
were one thing and God's affairs, quite an
other, in the sense that religion should be
kept‘separate from politics. »
If Christ ever uttered a word about politics
and civil government, that word is not on
record.
But the ambitious, worldly and greedy
bishop of Rome reached out for temporal
power, for wealth, and for dominion over all
other churches.
In doing this, he split the Christian world
into fragments, which time has never been
able to bring together again. The Eastern
• churches refused to follow Rome into pagan
Popedom, and pagan forms of worship, and
therefore the great schism.
When were the church and the faith at
Rome “once Christian?”
It was when all the members of the church
were equals and elected {heir own pastor,
deacons, etc. It was when the Lord’s Supper
was a commemorative meal, eaten at the table,
with bread, fish and wine on the table, as
shown in the rude line-pictures drawn by
these early Christians on the walls of the
co laconics.
It was when the Roman Christians wor
shipped God and looked to Christ as their
mediator, instead of worshipping Mary, and
looking to her as their mediatrix.
It was when the Roman Christians re
garded all the Disciples as equal, and truly
believed that Peter meant what he said, when
he wrote to the elders of the Eastern churches!,
that he himself was an elder LIKE THEM
SELVES!
Peter wrote, “I, also am an elder.”
THE JEFFERSONIAN
Peter wrote to his brother-elders, “Feed
the flock of God . . . not for filthy lucre
. . . neither as being lords over God's
heritage., but as being ehsamples to the flock.'’
Peter difl not know that he was an infallible
Pope.
Peter did not know that he was Christ on
earth, with power to rule the universe; open
and close the gates of hell; give and take
away the bliss of Heaven; and to order every
body killed, who would not join his church/
The Roman church was Christian when it
did not believe in cannibalism, when it did
not .believe the priest could make God, and
that the congregation could eat God.
The Roman church was Christian when it
did not makes images, and did not bow down
to them.
The Roman church was Christian when it
did not use nasty old bones to work miracles,
and when it made no war upon science and
human progress.
The Roman church was Christian when its
ministers followed the example of the Dis
ciples and early bishops by taking wives and
begetting children, that could be reared as
legitimate ofi'spring.
It was Christian when it did not instruct
the priest to disrobe women with nasty ques
tions in the confessional box—and then use
the knowledge thus obtained to seduce the
women.
The Roman church was Christian long be
fore it invented purgatory, and forged the
Isidorean Decretals upon which the mon
strous usurpations and impostures of the Ital
ian Pope have been reared.
The- Papacy as we now know it is pagan:
the priests themselves admit the fact in pri
vate conversation.
The word Pope, is pagan; the College of
Cardinals, is pagan; the order of nuns and
the whole monastic scheme, are pagan: the
bells, candles, incense, holy water, beads,
images, altars, wafers, the sales
of pardons for sin.— all these are pagan.
None of these things can be found in the
Bible, and that’s why the priests do not urge
their dupes to “search the Scriptures.'’
The Roman Catholic hierarchy, as we now
see it, is pagan for the simple reason that it.
is patterned after the ancient system of pagan
Home, which had been in existence a thousand
years before Christ.
The Roman Catholic faith, as we now see
it in practise, is pagan, because it substitutes
the worship of a woman, for that of God;
because it prays to Joseph and other Saints;
becaues it teaches that men can forgive sin;
because it commands priests to stay single,
when the Bible tells them to marry;.because
it teaches that Christ can be continually sacri
ficed, on the altar, by every jack-leg priest
who can mumble six Latin words over a thin
cake of bread.
The Bible teaches that Christ was sacrificed
once, and for all; and when he was dying his
last words were,
is finished!"
The long day’s work was done!
The. long endurance of the ways of men,
was over!
The march of the bleeding feet, was ended!
The agony that had brought the sweat of
blood, had passed!
“77 r IS FINISHED!"
So said the dying Christ, and Peter was
not even there to hear it.
But John was there and heard it; and the
words come on down the ages, commanding
infinite sympathy and respect, excepting in
the Roman Catholic church, of today.
The Roman priests make Christ out a liar!
They say the sacrifice was not finished.
They say—-with horrible blasphemy! that
they can compel Christ to leave the throne in
Heaven, and come down upon their candle-lit
altars, in their idol-furnished churches, to be
sacrificed, again and again, ten thousand
times over! 1
They say that six Latin words mumbled by
their lips makes a God out of a piece
of pan-cake, and that the broken cake which
the kneeling Catholics eat, is not bread, but
Jesus Christ!
The priests make Jesus Christ, AND THE
CONGEGATION EATS HIM!!!
That is paganism: it is the ancient sacrifice
of the Greeks, of the Egyptians, of the Baby
lonians.
The altars themselves are the ancient pagan
altars.
Protestant Dentistry Unpopular
At Rome.
l HER C. A . 8188, as a penance for
his sins, took to the lecture-platform.
I can testify from personal experience that
such a penance is severe.
Did it get Brother Bibb out of the bonds of
iniquity ?
Not by any means.
On the contrary, the pains of hell gat hold
upon him. in truly Old Testament style, for
the Philistines fell upon him, and smote him
sorely.
It was like this:
Brother Bibb had a picture made, in which
a Romanist lay back in a dental chair, with
his mouth open, and his teeth exposed: and
over the suffering Romanist stood a
Protestant Dentist, with the usual instru
ment of torture in his hand; and he was pull
ing away—a strong, a long pull, and a pull
altogether—at the sufferer's snaggle fangs.
Illis was bad enough, heaven knows, but
Bibb did not stop there.
He went on to use type beneath the picture,
and to say in this tvpe that his lecture would
be for “MEN ONLY."
What made it worse, he used big letters.
Rome could stand no more. Rome, then
and there, howled. Rome rose in her wrath,
and struck a bee-line for the police depart
ment.
Rome had the Chief of Police to take the
job in hand, and—but the rest of it is told by
Bibb himself:
Dear Sir: Ido not know of any man who has
had occasion to develop sympathy for the man who
has been arrested and placed in jail more than
you.
I now feel that I am entitled to join your class
at the foot of the class to be sure.
On the 13th inst. I was called on to go to Red
Wing, Minn., to deliver a lecture on Romanism,
I arrived in that city at about 5 P. M.» went to
my hotel and took my dinner, having registered
just like the ordinary American citizen. After I
had my dinner I went to my room and was medi
tating the subject, “Can a Papist be an American
Citizen,” when a knock at my door disturbed my
reverie.
Behold! I faced the Chief of Police who ner
vously informed me that he had a warrant for
my arrest.
J frankly informed him that my Southern car
cass 'was at his service and grabbing a copy of
“Jesuitism Unveiled,” I went with him to the
jail and like a lamb before its shearers, I entered
the cell protected by those cold, chilled, prison
bars, such as protect the nuns anti the houses of
the Good Shepherd from the rude intrusion of
burglars. On my rude cot I sat reading of how
the Jesuits had wrought havoc with families, gov
ernments, nations and peoples, for some hours,
when my thoughts were disturbed by a friend,’
who said I could go out a free man again in thia
land of the brave and home of the free, if I had
$;»0 to put up as a bond. By borrowing some
dollars I got the price and once more went out
to enjoy American free speech. Bless heaven,
I was in time to go on the platform at the armory
of Red Wing, Minn., and tell the story of Rome
and her Inquisition. The next day I was before
the court to plead not guilty and put up SIOO
bond to appear Dec. ] 4th to be tried on the
charge sworn out by a pin-head lawyer, disgrac
ing the very word Protestant, one F. M. Wilson,
that I circulated obscene literature in that city
till his acute sense of morals was most rudely
shocked. lam now on my way to Buffalo, N. Y.»
where I lecture 8 times, thence to Dunkirk. N. Y*
When I get home I will pay some attention to
the Roman Catholic mayor of Red Wing and the
pin-had attorney, one F. M. Wilson.
Yours truly,
Chicago, 111. C. W. 8188.
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