My 101 Reasons for Leaving the Catholic Church:
What it is:
In the mountain valleys of France dwelt a people who, because of the mountainous country surrounding them, lived in relative seclusion from the rest of civilization during the rise of the Catholic Church in Rome. They have been known as the Albigenses, or Waldenses. This simple people served God in the ancient purity of worship, and never submitted to the Roman Catholic Church. The beliefs of these people appear to be similar to Protestant teaching. According to Catholic writers, they were known for the remarkable strictness of their life (especially in comparison to the profigacy displayed by the Papacy), for their charity, and for their other Christian virtues. In the south of France, the number of congregations who followed the teachings of the Albigenses were numerous and increasing. This drew the attention of the Catholic Church, especially their unwillingness to submit to the teaching and temporal authority of the Pope. In 1207, Pope Innocent III proclaimed a crusade against this people. He ordered the King of France to use force. INDULGENCES were offered to all who would take part in the destruction of the Christians who desired to live with freedom of conscience. Under the military leadership of Simon de Montfort, hundreds of thousands of men took part in the persecution and plundering of the Albigenses. Many of the Albigenses were burned at the stake, or struck down with the sword. They were also tortured in the hopes that they would deny their beliefs and submit to the Pope. Their villages were destroyed, along with all their records. When the town of Beziers was told to surrender, it refused, and approximately 60,000 people were slaughtered, including the Catholic population. It is claimed that the papal legate, when told of the presence of the Catholics in Beziers, proclaimed "Slay all; God will know his own." Simon de Montfort continued the war, and was appointed lord over all the territory by the Council of Montpellier in 1215. At the death of Simon, his son Amalric inherited the region, which was then ultimately ceded to the King of France. The Council of Toulouse (1229) entrusted the INQUISITION into the hands of the Dominicans, beginning in 1233. Thus, the Albigenses were rooted out, and their "heresy disappeared." [Only to resurface in the Reformation]. How it came about:
It is often argued that the Roman Catholic Church must be the true church because of its antiquity, and the promise of Christ in Matthew 16:18 "upon this rock (Peter?) I will build my church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." But in every age there have been groups of simple Christians who trusted in Christ alone for their salvation. They abhorred the idolatrous worship of Catholicism, the blasphemy of the Pope, and the corruption of true worship. For example, when the veneration of images was first brought into the Church, there were many who opposed it and held out against it. Catholic writers admit that there were always people who did not submit to the Church of Rome. Speaking of the faith of the Waldensians, one writer states that it is just the continuation of the oldest heresy in the world. To justify the persecution, Catholic writers created a fictitious belief system for the Albigenses, even stating that they promoted celibacy to the detriment of the human race. But despite all the efforts of the Inquisition, truly the gates of Hades could not overcome these believers. The blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the faith. Why it is wrong:
1) ...because it is abominable for those who claim the name of Christ to sanction the slaughter of those with opposing views; 2) ...because of the fiction propagated that because a Church is old and large it is the true church; 3) ...because of the false accusations which were promoted to discredit the faith of the Albigenses by the papacy; 4) ...because of the denial of freedom of conscience for all peoples that results from the threat of persecution, the TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL suffered. Such persecution sullies the reputation of the church in the eyes of the world. It brings dishonor to the true head of the Church, Christ.
Warnings from Scripture: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful" 2 Cor 10:4 "I [Paul] know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them." Acts 20:29-30, and "But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman [the church], so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished fo a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent." Rev. 12:14 "I [the apostle John] wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and forbid those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church." "You who boast in the law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For, 'The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,' just as it is written." Rom. 2:23-24
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