The Dark Side of Catholicism Preface

The book you are about to read is a compilation from many sources. It is not an indictment of Catholics as individuals but on the role of the papacy down through the ages as she (mis)guided the faithful deliberately or unknowingly in the path of (un)righteousness. As one living in a predominantly Catholic country, most of my friends and acquaintances are Catholics and many of them are ignorant of the unbiblical practices being taught by the magisterium. The fear imposed upon the faithful regarding conversation with other groups of Christians and the reading of books written by them makes it almost impossible reach them. Behind the many traditional practices are untold stories of lies and deceits whose only purpose was to lead the faithful astray.

Salvation is given to those who trust in the saving grace of God through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior when He died on the cross to save us from our sins. It is not by joining a church as Roman Catholic Church and other churches have taught. Many Catholics are not aware that they are being fed with beliefs and practices unsanctioned by God. Some of them are just plain heresy that could easily sway the undiscerning faithful as they follow unquestionably the teachings imposed on them.

Many Catholics given an opportunity to hear the gospel preached by orthodox Protestants find new understanding and often turn away from the Catholic faith. The Bible contains everything necessary to save souls without going through rituals as imposed by the Church. The Church even goes on to add new doctrines that are contrary to the Bible. The faithful are taught other elaborate ways which they need to do to gain salvation contrary to the simple truth taught by Jesus.

Most Catholics have no idea of how their religion has slowly developed from true orthodox Christianity based on the Bible into a religion that has some resemblance to the Bible teachings yet on closer study turns out to be quite different. This is because the Bible, especially the New Testament, had been deliberately distorted, extended, omitted, perverted, twisted and/or misinterpreted to make them mean whatever the Pope wants them to mean. She also refuses to accept and mend her ways in the light of a better understanding of the Bible. By proclaiming herself infallible, she puts herself into a bind that she cannot get out of. Now she is forced to continue the charade unmindful of the effects on the souls of the faithful. In all regions where she predominates, as she did during the Middle Ages, she is able to impose her will not only on her own faithful, but also on all others that refuse to adhere to her teachings. The Church is intolerant of anyone writing about her history and wrongdoings. History has shown that she will through great lengths to suppress anything that remotely resembles anything written against her. Even in this age of openness and free information, she finds it difficult to be enlightened to allow all views especially on the very important matter of individual salvation.

William Tyndale, when he was burning at the stake at Vilvorde cried out, Lord, open the King of England's eyes. This is the same problem being encountered by evangelical Christians as they try to open the eyes of Catholics. It is not helped by the Catholic Church which is unwilling to loosen her hold on the Catholic faithful. The truth must be said about her history and how she arrived at so many doctrines that many find unbiblical. Only by learning the truth of her history can the faithful understand the truth that leads to salvation. The Vatican, if she is so sure of being the only true Church should never fear the influx of other religious beliefs and their writings which may influence her faithful if it is truly the holy Church of Christ.

Many Catholics take for granted that their religion is the only true Church of Christ without bothering to go into the details. It may surprise them to find out the truth. The Church down through the ages has taught and imparted to the faithful that she alone holds the key to the salvation for mankind. Many are unaware that many things Catholics have adopted have deviated from the truth as found in the Bible. To understand how she arrived at her present beliefs, it is necessary to trace her history back to the time of the early Christianity.

Jesus, during his short ministry warned Christians that they would be persecuted for his namesake (Matthew 10:22; John 16:2). For the first three hundred years after his departure, Christians were persecuted until the coming of Constantine the Great, who adopted Christianity as his own religion. >From then on, a different kind of persecution arose. A new group of Christians calling themselves Catholics started to persecute people who refused to bow down to the new lord. It was reminiscent of the old persecutions of pagan Rome. Only this time, it gradually grew in cruelty and intolerance. How could this be? Have the Catholics become the persecutors of his followers as Jesus had foretold? It seems likely because at her height of power, many true Christians were to die for their faith in Christ, fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus.

Few Catholics are aware that the Church they had joined was not very different from earlier religions. The abuses may have been minimized because her power had been kept in check by the secular powers. This is not the case with her spiritual powers that deal with the very souls of each and every one of the faithful. This book will give readers an opportunity to know the truth about her history and judge whether she has changed for the better or had remained the same.

In my readings of the many historic books on Christianity, one thing that comes out prominently is the accusation by Catholics that others who do not accept her doctrines are heretics. I hope to show that the real heretics were the people high up in the Catholic Church hierarchy. By virtue of their autocratic theology, they had distorted the simple gospel of Jesus as found in the Bible into something quite unrecognizable.

PREFACE TO THIS EDITION

Since the first edition came out in 2002, there have been many new developments in the Catholic Church. Access to the Internet has made more information available that every Catholics should be made aware. For those who would like to be enlightened, this is the book for them. For those who blindly follow the errors of the teaching magisterium, they may be in for many surprises. In this updated book, I have included three new chapters, Clergy Sex Abuse, The Murder of Pope John Paul I, and The Antichrist. In addition, the last four of the five popes have been added to the list in chapter 13. In return I have deleted four chapters to make room for these chapters.

Two chapters are important issues confronting the world today. On the issue of clergy sex abuse, I hope this would open the eyes of parents who often put their children under the complete trusting hands of the clergy. They may be in for a rude awakening. There are many pedophiles and homosexuals operating inside the Catholic Church that it is prudent to be forewarned. I do not think the Church has done enough to eliminate the potential child abusers from its midst. It cannot afford to clean house, otherwise, it may find that there are not enough priests to run its vast network of dioceses scattered through the world.

We are fast racing toward the end of the world as the unfolding events around the world and within the Vatican is paving the way for the coming of the Antichrist and the second coming of Jesus. Technological advances have made it possible for many predictions to come true. The Internet has made it possible of spread the gospel as predicted in Matthew 24:14. The speed of travel and communication has improved so much, it is helping us speed toward the Great Tribulation.

The speculation as to the death of Pope John Paul I refused to die. Few people in this part of Asia know about the event that transpired on that fateful night of September 28, 1978 and the days that followed. Many questions remained unanswered and as long as they remained, doubt will always persist.

Little has been written by Catholic theologians about the end times and most books available are written by Protestant writers, sold in Protestant bookstores that are off limit to Catholics by virtue of canon laws and traditional practices.

At this late stage of the earth's history, knowledge must be freely shared for people to arrive at the truth. It has been mandated by God and predicted in the Bible. Not only should the gospel be preached to the world, it must be preached honestly and truthfully.