st paul the apostle catholic church

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It is crystal clear here, as St. Paul wrote to the Galatians:
“I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” -Galatians 1:11-17

St. Paul was Saul of Tarsus, zealously persecuting Christians. (Acts 7:58-8:3)
Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9)
“Immediately”, St. Paul went and preached the Gospel. (Acts 9:20)

And as he himself testified in the Galatians verse above:
He preached a Gospel that was not according to man.
He did not receive it from man.
He was not taught it by man.
He did not confer with man.
He was not commissioned by man.

That is the Gospel was not according to, received from, taught by, or commission by the Catholic Church, a Pope, or St. Peter!

Jesus Christ revealed Himself to St. Paul; Jesus Christ commissioned St. Paul; Jesus Christ was St. Paul’s Leader and “Pope”, NOT St. Peter!

This is what St. Paul said about St. Peter being “Pope”:
“But from those who seemed to be something – whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man – for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.” -Galatians 2:6

St. Paul says that the so-called “Pope” St. Peter added “nothing” to him and made “no difference”. He also stated that God shows personal favoritism to “no man” – not even St. Peter!

So, Catholics: What about St. Paul? And what about all his letters that make up the New Testament?

If St. Paul didn’t claim St. Peter as his leader and “Pope”, then how could St. Paul be called a Catholic?
If St. Peter wasn’t St. Paul’s “Pope”, then to what human leader was St. Paul subject to?
Isn’t he disrespectful of your chief Pope, St. Peter?
Should you excommunicate St. Paul?
Should you tear out half of your New Testament – the 13-14 books/epistles that he wrote and burn them?

Or instead, is our only leader Jesus Christ – who revealed Himself to and commissioned St. Paul, just as He reveals Himself to and commissions His disciples today?

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michinok:
Absolutely not.
Carefully re-read my question, and you will see.
Catholics:
Here's an idea - how about answering my question rather than "attacking" Protestants with other random questions. If there is an answer, then answer it. I challenge Protestants all the time, and they answer...and the best ones give scripture to back up their answer. Let's deal with one issue at a time. If you have a completely seperate question, then ask it seperately. In case you weren't aware...that's how this "works". A person asks a question...desires an answer...and others answer it. Which part of this don't you understand?
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Here is the answer for Catholic claim of Peter or Paul or whoever:

1 Corinthians 3:
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
AND
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

Peter, Paul, Mary - sounds like candy or rock and roll - what it is is heresy.

A Christian is under the discipline of Christ and a Christian not a universalist.

Christ Jesus the Messiah and Anointed is the Head of the Church.

1Titus 2:5
For there is one God and one Mediator
between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

Ephesian 5:23-24
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Savior of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

In the very first words of many of Paul's letters and documents he states he is a servant, a slave, a bond servant of Jesus Christ.
Paul was under the direction of Jesus. fini

2007-12-12 12:21:46 by yachadhoo

Images of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Greensboro North Carolina to the tune of Phos Harilon by David Crowder Band

Please view that link below.

My question is this - and it is a question for today as well as even in ancient times - To what benefit does it bring to touch the remains or tomb of an apostle?

Does the apostle not do the work and deeds that were done THROUGH the Holy Spirit and not of himself? And isn't this very Holy Spirit the same Holy Spirit dwelling within those saved and born again today as well as the past?

From the article:
The decision to unearth it was made after pilgrims who came to Rome during the Roman Catholic Church's 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that the saint's tomb — buried under layers of plaster and further hidden by an iron grate — could not be visited or touched.

The top of the coffin has small openings — subsequently covered with mortar — because in ancient times Christians would insert offerings or try to touch the remains.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090628/ap_o n_re/eu_vatican_pope

I think Hebrews 11:1 & 6 says it all: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." If we had to have these relics of the past to prove what we believe, then where does faith come in? It's not the things that have once touched prophets that bring healing...it's the faith of the believer and God's grace that brings healing. The woman that was healed by touching Jesus' hem was made whole by her faith (Matthew 9:20-22). In all other instances of healing throughout the Bible, it was faith in the God of all healing that brought the healing. God did not mean for us to have faith in objects. The objects that were used were to point us towards God, Who is the Author of all healing. When we fix our faith on objects, we diminish the power of God to be the final source of healing. While we use medicines to do their work, it's God Who is the final healer. Deuteronomy 32:30 says, "See now that I, even I, AM He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand." Psalms 103:2-3 says, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases." Psalms 107:20 says, "He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Exodus 15:26 says, "And said (God speaking), If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and will hear His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I AM the LORD that heals you." Hosea 6:1 says, "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up." Matthew 10:1 says, "And when He (Jesus) had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." Acts 14:8-10 says, "And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from birth, who never had walked: He heard Paul speak: who steadfastly watching him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped and walked." And James 14-16 says, "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

The bottom line here is that God is our final healer. He uses prayer, medicine, and sometimes other things in the healing process, but He alone extends His grace as He sees fit. It's only through faith that healing is carried out, whether it's the faith of the one who's sick, or of the one who's praying (even from a distance). God showed many ways of His healing throughout Scripture, but it all was meant to focus our faith on Him, and draw us into a closer relationship with Him. Everything we need was given to us by God. We don't need a prophets bones to heal us, nor any other icon. Healing comes by faith, and that faith comes from God. We are to always seek the ways of God for every situation of our lives. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." When we seek His Word, we seek His thoughts & plans for our lives. That's where our faith belongs. Peace be unto your household. <*)))><

2009-06-29 11:06:54 by Gardener for God(dmd)

Price: $6.95

Sun Jun 28, 5:30 pm ET
ROME – The first-ever scientific tests on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul "seem to conclude" that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday.

Archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years has been believed by the faithful to be the tomb of St. Paul.

Benedict said scientists had conducted carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or second century.

"This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," Benedict said, announcing the findings at a service in the basilica to mark the end of the Vatican's Paoline year, in honor of the apostle.

Paul and Peter are the two main figures known for spreading the Christian faith after the death of Christ.

According to tradition, St. Paul, also known as the apostle of the Gentiles, was beheaded in Rome in the 1st century during the persecution of early Christians by Roman emperors. Popular belief holds that bone fragments from his head are in another Rome basilica, St. John Lateran, with his other remains inside the sarcophagus.

The pope said that when archaeologists opened the sarcophagus, they discovered alongside the bone fragments some grains of incense, a "precious" piece of purple linen with gold sequins and a blue fabric with linen filaments.

Vatican archaeologists in 2002 began excavating the 8-foot-long coffin, which dates from at least A.D. 390 and was buried under the basilica's main altar. The decision to unearth it was made after pilgrims who came to Rome during the Roman Catholic Church's 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that the saint's tomb — buried under layers of plaster and further hidden by an iron grate — could not be visited or touched.

The top of the coffin has small openings — subsequently covered with mortar — because in ancient times Christians would insert offerings or try to touch the remains.

The basilica stands at the site of two 4th-century churches — including one destroyed by a fire in 1823 that had left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt. After the fire, the crypt was filled with earth and covered by a new altar. A slab of cracked marble with the words "Paul apostle martyr" in Latin was also found embedded in the floor above the tomb.

Monday is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a major feast day for the Roman Catholic Church, during which the pope will bestow a woolen pallium, or scarf, on all the new archbishops he has recently named. The pallium is a band of white wool decorated with black crosses that is a sign of pastoral authority and a symbol of the archbishops' bond with the pope.

At the end of Sunday's service in the warm basilica, the 82-year-old Benedict lost his balance slightly as he slipped on a step on the altar, and was steadied by one of his assistants who was by his side.

Careful now. Don't get so hepped up over something with so little validity!

The big question here is, what proof is there that these are the bones of St Paul? The alleged bone from his beheading? At that time myriads of executions were conducted in Rome, and it is a known fact that there are more ancient bones still buried under the soil of Rome today than salt in the oceans.

Because the Church was, in those days, good at creating fallacies, it is highly probable that the poor soul that was executed was afterward put into a tomb and later the early Church extracted the bone from the tomb to serve in adulation ceremonies.

Then again, if he was executed by the reigning powers of that time (during the reign of Pagan emperors), why would they have placed the body in a tomb. They wouldn't have. Bodies of enemies of the state (or rulers) were interred in the nearest dump.

Remember, there are enough slivers of wood, which the Church claimed to be from the cucifix on which Christ was crucified, to create entire forests of trees. The same for slivers of bones from saints. It would have been no problem for them to have created yet another chimera. They had a good thing, in the form of a money-making and power-grabbing device, in this churchianity business. Anyone posing a threat would have been eliminated, and any fallacy needed would have been manufactured to keep it going.

The Catholic Church, a truly noble world leader for the best interests of humanity in the modern world (especially since Vatican II), was, in its early days,
the biggest counterfeitter and deceiver extant.
They were always creating false documents that would, they had hoped, affirm to the world, their teachings. One time they slipped up and entered stuff about the Trinity into some historical documents (I believe by Josephus.) The only problem was the concept of the Trinity did not exist at the time that Josephus was writing of. These fallacies were numerous and the Church often later admitted that they were counterfeit.

In the 1960s, archaeologists dug and searched for the bones of St. Peter, alledged to be buried under the altar of the Basilica. They dug, found, and the results were not announced to the world but were ignored in the hopes of their being forgotten. What the archs. found were bones allright --- bones of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens --- i.e., the bones of someone's meals from long ago.

2009-06-29 08:40:43 by Lord Sesshomaru Atheati Warlord

Price: $14.95

Christ gave the power to teach, to sanctify, and to rule the members of His Church to the Apostles, the first bishops of the Church.

St. Peter was the first Head. After a miraculous escape from prison in Jerusalem, he founded his See in Antioch; here the followers of Christ were first called Christians. Peter made frequent missionary journeys through Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Asia Minor, and probably even Greece. He finally fixed his See at Rome.

St. Peter presided at the Council of the Apostles in Jerusalem in the year 50 A. D. At the same time that St. Paul was beheaded, St. Peter was crucified head downwards, on Vatican Hill, Rome, 67 A. D.

St. John, the Beloved Disciple, lived at Ephesus and governed the Church in Asia Minor.

In the time of Trajan he was thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, but was miraculously preserved. Later he was banished to Patmos, where he had the revelations which we call the Apocalypse. He died at the age of about 100 years, the last of the Apostles, and the only one who did not die a martyr's death. He left his Gospel and Epistles.

St. James the Greater, St. John's brother, labored in Judea, and according to tradition, travelled as far as Spain.

He was the first of the Apostles to be martyred being beheaded in Jerusalem in the year 44, by Herod Agrippa.

St. Matthew preached among the Ethiopians, Persians, and Parthians, and was martyred in Parthia. He wrote the first of the four Gospels.

St. James the Less was Bishop of Jerusalem. He was cast down from the pinnacle of the Temple in 63 A. D. He left one Epistle.

St. Andrew, St. Peter's brother, preached along the lower Danube, and was crucified in Greece.

St. Thomas preached in Persia, Medea, and went as far as India. He was martyred in India, pierced with a lance at the command of the king.

St. Philip preached in Phrygia and Scythia, and was crucified at Hieropolis.

St. Bartholomew preached in India, Arabia,.and Assyria. He was flayed and crucified in Armenia.

St. Simon preached in North Africa, and was martyred in Persia.

St. Jude preached in Syria, and was martyred in Persia. He wrote the "Catholic Epistle".

St. Matthias, chosen to take the place of Judas, preached in Ethiopia, and was martyred in Sebastopolis.

St. Paul was converted miraculously (Acts 9) in the year 34. He of all the Apostles labored the most abundantly. He wrote many Epistles.

He is called the Apostle of the Gentiles, because he carried the Gospel to the pagan world. He travelled extensively and successively to Seleucia, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Phrygia, Galatia, Macedonia, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Miletus, and finally Rome. From Rome he went to Spain and the East, then returned to Rome, where he was martyred in 67 A. D.

Christ intended that this power should be exercised also by their successors, the bishops of the Church.

The Apostles first preached in Judea on the very first Christian Pentecost. Then they dispersed throughout the different countries of the then known world. Everywhere they preached, baptized, and ruled the Christian communities. They were the first bishops of the Church.

"As the Father has sent me, I also send you" (John 20:21).

The Apostles chose men to assist them, imparting to them greater or less powers. Before leaving a place, they chose a successor with full powers (Acts 14:22).

Those who received only a small part of the powers of the Apostles were called deacons. Those given greater power were the priests. Those appointed successors to rule in the place of the Apostles were the bishops.

Christ had given the Apostles full powers to choose successors, when He gave them the powers His Father had given Him (John 20:21)

It was His wish that the Apostles should have successors to continue the Church, which He said would last till the end of the world (Matt. 28:20). Without successors to the Apostles, the Church would have no rulers, and being unorganized would never have lasted.

If they admitted that, then they woould have to conclude that Jesus started the catholic Church and would have to become Catholic

2009-05-03 11:08:20 by

Jehovah's Witnesses got me thinking...



Jesus was condemning religious titles with his words below; how does the Catholic Church reconcile Jesus' instruction with its fondness for such titles and with "Father" in particular?

(Matt. 23:8,9, KJV) But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.


The apostles and early church leaders were largely married, although it seems St. Paul wasn't (St. Paul even wrote to recommend singleness for the Lord). Yet even St Paul wrote that the then-future apostasy would forbid ministers to marry. How does the Catholic Church reconcile this seeming indictment?

(1 Tim. 4:1-3, KJV) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry

Jesus was clearly discussing religious titles specifically, and not simply a mindset or attitude. The whole idea of divinity schools and seminaries conflicts with true Christianity.

(2 Corinthians 3:1-3) Are we starting again to recommend ourselves? Or do we, perhaps, like some men, need letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts and known and being read by all mankind. 3 For you are shown to be a letter of Christ written by us as ministers, inscribed not with ink but with spirit of a living God, not on stone tablets, but on fleshly tablets, on hearts.

(2 Corinthians 10:12) For we do not dare to class ourselves among some or compare ourselves with some who recommend themselves. Certainly they in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves have no understanding.

(Matthew 20:25-26) Jesus, calling them to him, said: “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them and the great men wield authority over them. 26 This is not the way among you

(2 Corinthians 1:24) Not that we are the masters over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy


The seeming Scriptural indictment at 1 Timothy 4:1-3 is interesting. Who else or what else has ever claimed to represent Christianity and also "forbidden to marry" if not the Catholic Church? Jehovah's Witnesses see no other fit for this Scripture, and Catholicism seems unable to suggest one.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/kn37/

2006-12-21 13:32:57 by Slick