What doctrine allows for the 'veneration of Saints'...?
Response to comment [from a Catholic]: [Mt 16:19]
And I will give unto thee
the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven [Matt.
16:19].
"What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? Were they given only to
Simon Peter? No, Jesus gives them to those who make the same confession
made by Peter, those who know Christ as Savior. If you are a child of
God, you have the keys as well as any person has the keys. The keys were
the badge of authority of the office of the scribes who interpreted the
Scriptures to the people (see
Neh. 8:2–8).
Every Christian today has the Scriptures and, therefore, the keys. If we
withhold the Word, we “bind on earth”; if we give the Word, we “loose on
earth.” No man or individual church has the keys—to the exclusion of all
other believers. We have a responsibility today to give out the gospel
because it is the only thing that can save people. This is a tremendous
revelation. Who is sufficient for these things? You and I have a
responsibility that is awesome indeed!" McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible
Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S.
4:92-93
[Marks of an Effective Personal Ministry, Part 1 Grace to You]
"...All Christians are saints. There are no special ones.
All of us are saints. I am not less than any other man. I am not less
than Peter. I am not less than Paul in the eyes of God. I am equal,
because I am in Christ. And so when I pray, I do not need to pray to
them. That would be redundant. They're no different than men..." Full
text:
Marks of an Effective Personal Ministry, Part 1
Col 1:21
See:
A Scriptural Response to: Biblical Evidence or Catholics St. Joseph
Communication
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "Many of my relatives are devout Catholics. Those whose business is farming pray to their patron saint called Saint Isidore the Laborer. They hold an annual feast for this saint every 15th of May. Yes, it is idolatry. When the elements of darkness could not stop the spread of Christianity in the early centuries after the resurrection of Christ, they simply devised a fake Christianity. There is a saying, "if you cannot kill all of them, steal their name and identity"."
Ga 5:9 Do they have a picture of the
Pope on their wall?
Eze 14:3,4
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "...[W]hat is worse is the church was warned against the pagan worship of these 'saints' time after time..."
Idolatry in all of its forms is
forbidden (Ex
20:2,3;
Deut 5:7).
They reject God's word (Jer
8:5).
When you believe men
over God's word (Ac
5:29),
you will loose every time (Isa
8:20;
1 Jn 4:1).
When one becomes a Christian,
he renounces idolatry (1
Th 1:9).
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "....[Catholics] just invented a concept, and a word for it, to allow them to skirt the real issue and not own up to what they are really doing."
Their doctrines are false (Ga 1:6-8). They are:
destructive to faith (2 Ti 2:18), hateful to God (Re 2:14,15),
unprofitable and vain (Tit 3:9; Heb 13:9). They will be punished (Mic
3:6,7; 2 Pe 2:1,3).
"You nullify the Word of God by your traditions that you have handed
down (Mk 7:13)."
See:
Roman Catholic Traditions
