All posts by Timothy F. Kauffman

I am a former Roman Catholic, and now I am a believer in salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. I was once a follower of the visions of Mary at Fatima, Guadalupe and Lourdes, among others, but I no longer believe those visions were from God. My passion is to warn Christ's sheep of the danger of Roman Catholicism, and to equip them to defend the faith and refute Rome's many errors.
Epistemology, Mary, Sola Ecclesia, Sola Scriptura, Sola Verbum Dei, Tradition

All the Way Back

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St. Paul icon
St. Paul still holds out the written Word of God to His people.

The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Word of God is transmitted to the Church by Tradition, the Scriptures and the Magisterium (i.e., popes, councils, etc…). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (81),

Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching.

Christians hold to Sola Scriptura (the written Word of God alone) while Roman Catholics hold to Sola Verbum Dei (the Word of God alone), as transmitted by Tradition, etc… Roman Catholic apologist, Scott Hahn, makes this point nicely in his book, Rome Sweet Home (p. 74). The Roman Catholic Church sees “Tradition” as part of the Word of God, and thus, it makes little sense (to Roman Catholics) when Christians say that Rome’s “Tradition” goes against “the Word of God.” Tradition, to them, is the Word of God.

Therefore, to the Roman apologist, there is no tension when Tradition includes doctrines not explicitly included in the Bible. Tradition merely helps us understand what Scripture means. This leads to some interesting arguments, like this one from Roman apologist Robert Sungenis, who says, if Roman Catholic teachings are in the Bible, then I should be able to find them somewhere else. Continue reading All the Way Back →

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Mariolatry, Mary

Is God in debt to Mary?

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Is God in debt to Mary?
Roman Catholic tradition has God morally bound to discharge a debt He owes to Mary.

Let us first answer the question with an emphatic, No! The Scripture says that God owes no man anything, and He has no need of anything that man may offer or produce. The reason is that He already owns everything. What does He need from us that is not already His for the taking?

“The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalms 24:1)

“For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.” (Psalms 50:10-12)

Despite this, Roman Catholic tradition has God in Mary’s debt Continue reading Is God in debt to Mary? →

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Apparitions, Idolatry, Mariolatry, Mary, Transubstantiation

The Apparition of Mary at La Laus, France (1664)

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Our Lady of Laus
Statues depicting the apparition of Mary to Benoite Rencurel at La Laus, France.

One of the most fervent forms of devotion in Roman Catholicism is to the visions of Mary, commonly called “apparitions.” For many centuries, in many locations around the world, Mary is alleged to have appeared to visionaries of the Roman Catholic Church. These visionaries typically report conversations with Mary, and the apparition of Mary has many times delivered messages that have been documented through the official channels of the Roman Catholic Church. There have been many hundreds of alleged apparitions throughout history, but only a few have been approved officially by the Roman Catholic Church. These few are considered to be actual bodily appearances of Mary,  and therefore “worthy of belief.” Among them are the Apparitions of Mary at Guadalupe, Mexico (1531); Paris, France (1830); La Salette, France (1846); Lourdes, France (1858); and Fatima, Portugal (1917).

The approval process for an alleged apparition can take many years, and it is rare for one to be elevated formally to the same level as those listed above. When that approval becomes official, it provides a tremendous amount of insight into the visions of Mary themselves because interviews with the visionaries are meticulously inspected, and the vision’s messages and teachings are rigorously documented through the approval process. It also provides tremendous insight into the Roman Catholic Church, because the teachings of approved apparitions are consistent with Roman Catholic teaching—otherwise they would not have been approved.

The recent approval of the Apparitions of Mary in La Laus, France is significant Continue reading The Apparition of Mary at La Laus, France (1664) →

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Justification by faith, Justification by works

From the heart

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I became a believer in 1990, and because I was saved out of Roman Catholicism, and into Christianity, I just assumed all of my fellow Protestants understood why Roman Catholicism was out of accord with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that will offend some people, but let’s be honest. The debate over the true church took place 500 years ago, and both sides—Protestant and Roman Catholic—concluded that the other side was in error. There have been many failed attempts since then to gloss over the differences, but those attempts always fail because one side believes in justification by faith + works, and the other believes in justification by faith alone. The two positions are irreconcilable. Continue reading From the heart →

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