Seeking the Gospel Truth

Growing up Catholic, there were pictures of the  Virgin Mary everywhere. I had bookmarks, and there were statues and  pictures. We even had a fake “ Pieta ” — the classic Michelangelo  sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus. Mom later made a grotto in  her yard in Puerto Rico for a statue of Mary. Before I get into everything that’s wrong with how the Catholic  Church...

Today I’m tackling two touchy subjects:  Replacement Theology and Antisemitism. Why? Because they are tied  together and unfortunately, tied to the Catholic Church. This is what  happens when you start digging, you never know what you’ll uncover  whether good or bad. Here it seems to be all bad. A few years ago when I owned my own house, I was into watching many  of the ho...

False teachings go all the way back to the first century. We were warned  by Jesus, Paul, Peter and other Apostles to trust the Holy Spirit for  the truth — discernment. In my quest to uncover where the Catholic  Church started going wrong — away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ — I  had no idea, I’d uncover so much blasphemy and heresy. The Roman  Catholic Church claims to...

One of the main points of conflict that Martin Luther had with the Catholic Church in 1517 was the sale of indulgences — basically money for grace. In other words, people supposedly could buy their way out of purgatory . They could purchase an indulgence for themselves or a loved one, living or dead. Yesterday, I wrote about penance being one of the 7 Sacraments that a Catholic believer has to go...

Heaven — that’s where we all want to end up, right? Well, most of us  anyway. Those of us that do believe there is a God and that’s where He  resides. How we get there is the debate of all the religions of the  world. Growing up Catholic ,  as a kid, I was taught from the Catechism book. I did find mine at my  mom’s house a few years ago, but I seem to have misplaced it. M...

Would you like to know where the phrase " hocus pocus " came  from? It sounds Latin. Well, it is derived from a Latin phrase, but  you'll be shocked when you hear/read the truth. Holy Communion or the  celebration of the Eucharist, is celebrated weekly (sometimes daily) by  most Christian churches. Growing up Catholic, we went to Mass once a  week on Sundays or on a rare o...

Continuing the series: Where the Roman Catholic Church Went Wrong: Tracking where church leaders strayed from the Gospel Truth Today answer the question, "Was Peter the Pope?" Peter first heard about Jesus from his brother Andrew, who heard about  Him from John the Baptist. Even so, it wasn’t until Jesus performed a  miracle involving fish that caught Peter's attention and urged Him to &...

Continuing my series on “Where the Roman Catholic Church Went Wrong:  Tracking Where Church Leaders Strayed from the Gospel Truth”, brings me  to confession. I remember as a kid going every Saturday with my mom (dad  only went to church for a wedding or funeral) to confession. We did  this so that we could receive Communion in Mass on Sunday. It was a  weekly ritual. Probl...

If purgatory exists, then Jesus suffered, sacrificed His life and died  for nothing. The truth is that purgatory does not exist! It is an  invention of the Roman Catholic Church and it has been exploited for  centuries. I remember when my dad passed away in 1993 and I went to Puerto Rico  to be with my mom. We went to visit his older half-sister and she said  to us, “I’m p...

As I continue tracking where church leaders strayed from the Gospel  Truth or God's Word, we have to look at the Roman Catholic Church in two  lights: Pre-Reformation and Post-Reformation. I started with Infant Baptism because that didn't seem to have a specific start date. But, it stemmed  back to even pre-Constantine times. When Roman Emperor Constantine came  on the scene, t...

I was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church when I was 6 months old. When I was in my 30s and decided I wanted to go back to church ,  the first church I was taken to in Miami was a huge Baptist church. I  went to the singles ministry Sunday school and they kept asking me,  “When was I baptized?” I said, “As a baby.” “You need to be baptized again.” They would reply quickly. However...

Paul’s 2 letters to his apprentice, Timothy, are  quite appropriate as a bridge to my next series. In these letters —  which some believe were the last letters Paul ever wrote — he gives  valuable advice, speaks the Gospel Truth and warns Timothy of all the  unholy times to come. What is amazing is that what Paul was warning  Timothy back then — c. 67-69 AD, probably while...

The city of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico is heavily fortified. Its “El Morro” Fortress dates back to 1650 when the Spanish government ordered the city to be surrounded .  The picture above is of one of its “garritas” or sentry towers where  guards were posted 24/7. Their job was to warn the fortress officers if  they saw any enemy ships approaching. I imagine they would then rally &n...

I recently did a series on the Apostles’ Creed as the foundation of what Christians profess to believe. The Apostle  Paul gave us another “creed” in 1 Corinthians 15 where he proves, beyond  a reasonable doubt, that Jesus died, was resurrected and is now in  God’s Glory with the Father in Heaven. Let’s go through it. Paul writes… Continue reading in my blog where there are links to...

A few months ago, someone asked me on Quora ,  "What is the Glory of God and what is its purpose?" At that time, I  couldn't answer it, so I passed on the question. After doing more  studying to provide material for this blog and podcast, I can now answer  the question and it's an important one.... Keep reading in my blog.... there are links to more resources... If you truly wa...

Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden , Satan has been in a battle with God for mankind. Shortly after the scene in the garden, Cain committed the first murder . Here we we had anger, envy, jealousy and greed. In Genesis 6 God stated… 5 The Lord observed the  extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything  they thought or imagined was consistently and...

When I first started studying the Bible, I used to get Galatians and Ephesians mixed up. Where’s the “ Fruit of the Spirit”? That’s Galatians 5 .  Where’s the “Armor of God”? That’s Ephesians 6. And that’s where we are  today. I’m going to defer the beginning of Ephesians 6 to Pastor Kris  Langham in the free Bible app – ThroughTheWord.org . I’m skipping over the parenting and busin...

In Ephesians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul continues his sermon on what it looks like to live as a Child of God. When we are born again , we are made new. It's up to us, with the help of God's Word -- the Bible -- and the Holy Spirit -- to imitate God. That's sanctification and it's not easy. That's why Paul wrote all his letters. He heard that all the churches he started all over Europe were having...

The more you read the Bible, the more grounded you become in your faith.  In the 4th chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul tells us how to "walk  the walk". It's one thing calling yourself or professing to be  Christian. Another thing is proving it by your actions and behaviors --  or your "walk". The whole idea of becoming a Christian is leaving your  old, sinful life be...

One of my favorite statues of Jesus is Christ  the Redeemer in Rio de Janero, Brazil. I’ve always wanted to go there,  but alas, I’ll have to enjoy it online for now. The statue shows Jesus  with His arms stretched out, but He’s not on the cross. It reminds me of  a couple of Bible passages. One is from the Psalms which is a prophetic  one considering it’s in the Psalms ta...

We need Jesus, because we need LIFE! God gave us life and the devil  wants to take it away. Satan is clever. He’s the wolf dressed up in  sheep’s clothing. He doesn’t look like the devil. He’s either very  charismatic or could even be sweet and gentle like a “wise man” or  priest. Lost sheep can easily be led astray. Coming from both a Catholic  and a Progressive backgroun...

I heard it said that knowledge is knowing that a  tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. The Bible  is full of wisdom — especially the books of Ecclesiastes, Psalms and  Proverbs. Today we start a study of spiritual wisdom to help combat  spiritual warfare in the Book of Ephesians.... Keep reading in my blog... There's a link to a video in another post on...

Confident hope! That is what keeps born-again Christians going each day. We know. We are certain that this world with  all its misery, evil, sin, pain, suffering and death is not all there  is. It’s what gives us joy and peace even though the earth around us is  in turmoil. It’s the Good News of the Salvation of Jesus Christ! Keep reading in my blog where I've got links to a special...

This next phrase in the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed is where churches  differ in doctrine. Who’s right? Here’s where you need to go to the  Gospel and seek the truth for yourself. Don’t rely on the teachings of  one church. We were warned by Jesus, Paul, John, Jude and Peter many  times to beware of false teachers. Most of the time they come across as  very believable, but t...

This next line in the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed  is one that gets confusing especially for Protestants. I know it was for  me when I started attending a Protestant church in Miami and they  recited the creed every Sunday. Why were we saying we believed in the  “Catholic Church”? The Apostles’ Creed cont.  I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Apostles’ Cre...