In a forum I proposed the following debate to find out what Roman Catholics and Orthodox think of the title “one holy catholic church”. Who owns that title? Here’s the proposed debate:

First debate

Resolve that the Orthodox church is the one holy catholic church.

Affirmative: Orthodox church
Negative: RCC

Resolve that the Roman Catholic church is the one holy catholic church.

Affirmative: RCC
Negative: Orthodox church

Second debate

Resolve that the Orthodox church is heretical by not submitting to the primacy of the Pope, Bishop of Rome

Affirmative: RCC
Negative: Orthodox church

Resolve that the RCC is heretical by adding the Filioque to the Nicene Creed

Affirmative: Orthodox church
Negative: RCC

Sad to say not one Roman Catholic nor Orthodox was willing to participate.  Knowing maybe that with the topics are they are now they both know neither will win and both will lose and proving at the same time that they are now the church that Christ built?

“The Council (of Nicaea) could not agree and after two years, impatient at the delay, the Emperor Constantine appeared and addressed the assembly, ordering them to agree on the divinity of Christ”

Challenge of a Liberal Faith
George N Marshall
page 60

info courtesy of Ang Tamang Daan/Gemnet.tv

A pagan emperor! Not even remotely connected to the Apostles forced a doctrine to a church that is totally opposite the Apostles and the Lord Jesus himself preached about himself, and God. Look at these verses and be astonished.

I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man

Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God;

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

It cannot be any clearer or plain. People and churches who believe that there is a God other than the Father in heaven are sadly mistaken.

CBCP to P. Noy: Abandon ‘contraceptive mentality’
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 07/15/2010 11:45 PM | Updated as of 07/15/2010 11:45 PM

MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wants President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to abandon the “contraceptive mentality” as a response to fighting poverty.

In a statement made after the CBCP’s 101st Plenary Assembly, CBCP President and Tandag Bishop Nereo P. Ondimar said “poverty cannot be solved by promoting contraceptive education and programs. Education does not merely deal with knowledge and skills; rather it must promote values that are inherent to us as Filipinos.”

He added “parents have the primary right to educate their children and sex education is properly to be done in the family.”

CBCP has always been vocal about its opposition to the use of contraceptives and the implementation of the sex education program.

This time, the CBCP is pinning its hopes on the new administration.

“With the new government, we, Bishops, join the Filipino people in the hope that there will be changes that will truly bring good governance to the country,” Ondimar said.

The 2-day plenary assembly was attended by around 90 archbishops and bishops.

Among those who attended the plenary assembly were Archbishops Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales of Manila, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu, Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato and Fernando Capalla of Davao.

These are bad times. The economy is in a downturn and business are suffering. All kinds of business endeavor are suffering including the oldest among them, the Roman Catholic church. Business newspaper reported the church is running a deficit!

Vatican Reports $5.1 Million Deficit on Communication Costs

July 10, 2010, 11:32 AM EDT

By Lorenzo Totaro

July 10 (Bloomberg) — The Vatican reported a budget deficit of 4.2 million euros ($5.1 million) last year as expenses to fund its radio station and other media projects more than offset revenue from investments and donations.

The Holy See, the central administration for the Roman Catholic Church, had revenue of 250.1 million euros and expenses of 254.3 million euros, its press office said today in a statement. While the Vatican didn’t publish year-earlier figures today, it reported a 2008 deficit of 911,500 euros in July 2009.

The Holy See relies on earnings from investments in stocks, bonds and real estate to supplement donations from Catholics around the world. Its main expenses last year related to communication costs, including running the Vatican Radio, the statement said. The Vatican, home to Pope Benedict XVI and located across Rome’s Tiber River, has 2,762 employees

source:businessweek.com

And it even protects itself the way business do! By committing fraud, that is claiming and filing for bankruptcy when it has millions in the bank!

Multi-Billionaire church hides money to avoid paying victims!

---

‘Dan Rather Reports’ Exposes Coordinated Effort by the Catholic Church to Protect Assets From Abuse Victims

* Posted by Rosalie Makar on June 24, 2010 at 5:32pm in Atheist News

‘Dan Rather Reports’ Exposes Coordinated Effort by the Catholic Chu…

Next week, “Dan Rather Reports” investigates how the Roman Catholic Church has been hiding and shielding assets from victims of priest abuse. Some say the Church is behaving more like a big corporation than a sacred institution.

From the Vatican on down, the church has vowed to make peace with hundreds of victims of a decades-long epidemic of sex abuse by its priests. But “Dan Rather Reports” found evidence that the church has done just the opposite: Wealthy U.S. Dioceses from California to Delaware have claimed to be broke and have filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying damages; Bishops have exploited arcane corporate laws to shield church assets from liability; and, in San Diego, parish priests have been caught literally hiding money in safes, according to court records.

“If you or I did what the Diocese of San Diego did in that bankruptcy, we’d be charged with bankruptcy fraud, and we’d probably be in prison,” said attorney John Manly, who has represented dozens of priest abuse victims in lawsuits across the country.

“Dan Rather Reports” found evidence that some high in the church hierarchy have provided guidance.

“One of the comments that came from one of the bankruptcy attorneys is that, ‘These guys make Enron look like altar boys.’ Pardon the pun,” said Don McLean, who was abused as a 10-year-old altar boy, and sought damages from the San Diego diocese.

And there you go. Your friendly neighborhood catholic church is just another one big failing business.

Catholic church dragged into public works scandal that has sent shockwaves through Italian government

* Tom Kington in Rome
* guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 June 2010 22.24 BST

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe The archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, delivered a fiery sermon after hearing of the investigation. Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

A senior Vatican cardinal is under investigation for corruption, dragging the Catholic church into a public works scandal that has sent shockwaves through the Italian government.

Italian media reported today that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, was suspected of striking cosy deals while head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Vatican congregation that uses proceeds from a property empire including 2,000 Rome apartments to fund missionary efforts.

Sepe allegedly oversaw the sale in 2004 of a building in Rome to the then transport minister, Pietro Lunardi, for the suspiciously low price of €4.16m, newspapers reported, adding that magistrates wanted to know why Lunardi then freed up €2.5m in state funding the following year for the congregation to create a museum in its headquarters, and why that museum never opened.

Magistrates are reportedly looking into Sepe’s links to builder Diego Anemone and former public works official Angelo Balducci, both suspected of being at the centre of a web of alleged kickbacks and corrupt state construction contracting.

Italy’s industry minister, Claudio Scajola, has already resigned after claims that Anemone paid €900,000 to subsidise the purchase of his luxury Rome flat.

Newspapers said magistrates suspected Sepe and Anemone were involved in furnishing accommodation on Rome’s Via Giulia to Guido Bertolaso, Italy’s powerful civil protection chief.

The case has shed light on the links between Roman politics and the Vatican.

Balducci was a papal usher but was dismissed when the corruption inquiry brought to light his suspected involvement with a Vatican chorister in a male prostitution ring. The Vatican said it hoped the investigation could be wrapped up fast “to eliminate any shadows, be they on the person [Sepe] or church institutions”.

Goddess worship

Goddess worshipping religions were mostly based on being fertile and its relationship to nature. Crops yield bountifully(read fertile) because the “Mother” provided. This belief honors the females “power” to produce or “create new life”. Nature, and the earth in particular is itself a “mother” which produces bounty.

Goddess worship is found in almost all the pagan religions throughout history, including the ancient middle east countries, Egypt, Sumeria and Canaan not to mention India, Europe and Africa. The Goddess has a long history as proven by stone statuettes indicating Goddess worship as early as the Paleolithic ages.

By the time of Jesus’ ministry, the worship of Goddesses such as Artemis and Aphrodite was prevalent in the Middle East, Greece and Rome. The pagan goddess Cybele, or the “Earth Mother/Magna Mater” was brought to Rome to “protect it” from foreign foes. It was also for Cybele where the tradition of procession was observed when the statue was brought from Pessinos to Rome. Under Emperor Augustus, Cybele’s prominence so much so that the emperor restored her temple on Palatine hill, the centermost of the seven hills of Rome. The Basilica di Santa Maria now occupies the spot.

Cybele, also known as Kubile, worship spread from Phrygia now modern day Turkey (think Constantinople) and well into Greece, Rome and neighboring countries. Like the Ephesian Artemis (see Acts 19) Cybele was worshiped in the Roman Empire until the 4th Century well after the death of Christ’s Apostles. Her full Roman name was “Mother of the Gods”. She was deified as a great single parent not only of gods but also of human beings. In 431 at the Council of Ephesus, the devotion tot he Virgin Mary was formally sanctioned by the Catholic church. It was through this council that Mary was declared the “Mother of God”.

Stephen Benko specializes in early Christianity in its pagan environment. In The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology, he traces the development of the cult of Mary from Greek and Roman mythology through to recent times. Benko avoids anti-Catholic polemics and is sympathetic to the place of the “queen of heaven” in Christianity. That said, he unerringly traces Mary’s roots to the pagan, pre-Christian heavenly queens of Greece, Rome and the wider Mediterranean—those mutable goddesses whose ranks include Artemis, Astarte, Celeste, Ceres, Cybele, Demeter, Diana, Ishtar, Isis and Selene.

It is interesting to know that the first basilica dedicated to Mary is located in Ephesus where the ancient pagan goddess of Artemis was worshiped.

The Plaza de Cibeles is a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures with fountains that has become an iconic symbol for the city of Madrid. The fountain of Cibeles is found in the part of Madrid commonly called the Paseo de Recoletos. It depicts the goddess Cibeles (Cybele), the Phrygian goddess of fertility, sitting on a chariot pulled by two lions.

Cibeles(Cybele) the Phrygian goddess of fertility

The mere title Mater Dei, then coming ito frequent use, would instantly provoke a comparison with Mater Deum, and the formal vewtowal of the former title on the Virgin (Mary) in council in 430 A.D. might well have seemed in the eyes of pagans like despoiling their fallen goddess (Cybele) of even her title. The temple of the Mother in Cyzicus was converted into a church of the Virgin (Mary), a fate likely to have befallen every temple of the goddess not destroyed by the zeal of fanatics. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore was supposed to have arisen on the ruins of anther temple, and the Santa Maria Rotunda, the mediaeval Pantheon, was long supposed to have been originally a sanctuary of the Mother (Cybele).
source: The Great Mother of the Gods, showerman, 1901

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday] was taken from Roman paganism, which took it from Vedic India. Ashes were called the seed of the fire god Agni, with power to forgive sins. Ashes were said to were a symbol for the purifying blood of Shiva, in which, one could bathe away sins. During Rome’s New Year Feast of Atonement in March, people wore sackcloth and bathed in ashes to atone for their sins. As the dying god of March, Mars took his worshippers sins with him into death. The carnival fell on dies martis, the Day of Mars. In English, this was Tuesday, because Mars was identified with the Saxon god Tiw. In French the carnival day was Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday,” the day of merrymaking before Ash Wednesday.(illuminati-news.com)

What do Catholics say about Ash Wednesday? According to americancatholic.org

Although Ash Wednesday is not a Catholic holy day of obligation, it is an important part of the season of Lent. The first clear evidence of Ash Wednesday is around 960, and in the 12th century people began using palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday for ashes.

the use of ashes in the Church left only a few records in the first millennium of Church history. Thomas Talley, an expert on the history of the liturgical year, says that the first clearly datable liturgy for Ash Wednesday that provides for sprinkling ashes is in the Romano-Germanic pontifical of 960. Before that time, ashes had been used as a sign of admission to the Order of Penitents. As early as the sixth century, the Spanish Mozarabic rite calls for signing the forehead with ashes when admitting a gravely ill person to the Order of Penitents. At the beginning of the 11th century, Abbot Aelfric notes that it was customary for all the faithful to take part in a ceremony on the Wednesday before Lent that included the imposition of ashes. Near the end of that century, Pope Urban II called for the general use of ashes on that day. Only later did this day come to be called Ash Wednesday.

At first, clerics and men had ashes sprinkled on their heads, while women had the sign of the cross made with ashes on their foreheads. Eventually, of course, the ritual used with women came to be used for men as well.

In the 12th century the rule developed that the ashes were to be created by burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. Many parishes today invite parishioners to bring such palms to church before Lent begins and have a ritual burning of the palms after Mass.

source:americancatholic.org

There is no mention of Ash Wednesday, the practice of it or even a semblance of it in the bible. This is also true with Lent of which Ash Wednesday is supposed to be a preparation for.

So ask yourself this: if you’re a Christian, a true Christian would you practice something not taught by Jesus Christ or his Apostles?

Is It True That the Miter of the Pope and Bishops Is Patterned After Egyptian Paganism?

To which he proudly answered this:

ANSWER: DEFINITENLY NOT! THE EPISCOPAL MITER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS TAKEN FROM THE HOLY GARMENTS WORN BY THE HIGH RANKING MINISTERS OF GOD IN THE TEMPLE AND THE MEETING TENT OF ISRAEL:

He then proceeded to quote bible verses from the book of Exodus that seemed to say that indeed the mitre was used by God’s ancient servants. The verses talked about ceremonies in which the priest wore a headgear. The verses he quoted from the book of Exodus were: 28:4. 28:37, 39:31, 28:39, 29:6, 39:28.

So the assertions of Mr Arganiosa on his blog are:

1. The mitre used by the Catholic church is based on God’s ancient peoples, specifically ancient Israel.
2. The mitre was used by the ancient people of God, ancient Israel.

Let examine Mr Arganiosa’s claims and see if they have some substance.

Abe Arganiosa

A casual check of the verses he quoted revealed that not all bible version render the verse to say “mitre”! Actually a good majority of bible versions render the headgear as “turban”. So, the second assertion of Mr Arganiosa that the people of God in the time of Moses wore a mitre is on a shaky foundation. He should have consulted other versions of the bible to make sure he is right but he obviously did not do this and now he’s in danger of being inadequate in his research. Or maybe he did to intentionally mislead?

The Turban, wound as a "Mitznefet" (left) for the Kohen Gadol and as a "Migba'at" (right) for the ordinary Kohen

What exactly is in the Hebrew rendition of the verses he quoted? Again a cursory check of the bible reveals that the Hebrew word which was translated to both mitre and turban by different version is “mitsnepheth“. Mitsnepheth means a piece of cloth woven around the head.  One has to agree that even today, people in the middle east wear some sort of headgear wrapped around their head to keep the sun and heat away. So it won’t be too far fetched to think that a turban is the most likely headgear used by the early inhabitants of the Middle East. In fact, some Hebrew websites describe the apparel of ancient Hebrews to include a turban.

Clearly, even common sense dictates that the “mitre” quoted by Mr Arganiosa is a turban similar to the graphic at right and is a long piece of cloth wrapped around the head. Now let’s compare this to the mitre used by the Catholic church.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (newadvent.org):

Mitre of the Catholic Church

The mitre is a kind of folding-cap. It consists of two like parts, each stiffened by a lining and risingto a peak; these are sewn together on the sides, but are united above by a piece of material that can fold together. Two lappets trimmed on the ends with fringe hang down from the back. The mitre is, theoretically, always supposed to be white. The official “Cæremoniale Romanum” distinguishes three kinds of mitres: the mitra pretiosa, auriphrygiata, and simplex. The first two differ from each other only in the greater or less richness of the ornamentation; the mitra simplex, or simple mitre, is one of white silk or white linen entirely without ornament. The fringe on the lappets at the back should be red.

Origin

The pontifical mitre is of Roman origin: it is derived from a non-liturgical head-covering distinctive of the pope, the camelaucum, to which also the tiara is to be traced. The camelaucum was worn as early as the beginning of the eighth century, as is shown by the biography of Pope Constantine I (708- 815) in the “Liber Pontificalis”. The same headcovering is also mentioned in the so-called “Donation of Constantine”. The Ninth Ordo states that the camelaucum was made of white stuff and shaped like a helmet. The coins of Sergius III (904-11) and of Benedict VII (974-83), on which St. Peter is portrayed wearing a camelaucum, give the cap the form of a cone, the original shape of the mitre. The camelaucum was worn by the pope principally during solemn processions. The mitre developed from the camelaucum in this way: in the course of the tenth century the pope began to wear this head-covering not merely during processions to the church, but also during the subsequent church service. Whether any influence was exerted by the recollection of the sacerdotal head-ornament of the high-priest of the Old Testament is not known, but probably not—at least there is no trace of any such influence. It was not until the mitre was universally worn by bishops that it was called an imitation of the Jewish sacerdotal head-ornament.

source: newadvent.org

Need I say more? A folding cap is not at all similar to a long piece of linen cloth wrapped around the head. The Catholic encyclopedia has more than enough information contradicting Mr Arganiosa’s claims. Too bad that Mr Arganiosa seems to not even know the history of his own religion.

To recap, we’ve just established that both of Mr Arganiosa’s claim are not true and also established the following:

1. The mitre used by the Catholic church is not based on the turban used by the ancient people of God.
2. A turban was used by the ancient people of God.

But then we’re still left by the question posed to Mr Arganiosa, which is

Is It True That the Miter of the Pope and Bishops Is Patterned After Egyptian Paganism?

"St". Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, wearing a mitre

As is stated by the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Pope’s mitre is of Roman origin! Read again, Roman origin, NOT Christian origin. It is derived from camelaucum. What is a camelaucum?  Again, the Catholic encyclopedia tells us that the camelaucum was first used  by Pope Constantine during his reign in the 8th century and was part of the supposed donation of Emperor Constantine.

Suffice it to say, we can safely assert with much authority that Mr Arganiosa doesn’t know what he’s talking about and that the mitre used by the Catholic church is of pagan influence.

Ask yourself this: do you think a supposedly Christian religion is well justified in using a pagan instrument in its practices?

Abe Arganiosa

The Roman Catholic priest Abe Arganiosa is a big disappointment. One would expect so much more from a supposedly “learned”, “schooled”, “educated” person. And yet, judging from his blog entries, Mr Arganiosa is all show and no substance. For a view of this amazing let down, read on:

Misinterpretation of Scriptures

He was talking about bible interpretation and claimed the the church, his church the Roman Catholic church is the official interpreter of the bible. Yeah right! To be honest and blunt, there’s not a single Roman Catholic doctrine that is based on the teachings of the bible, let alone the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only are the doctrines of the Roman Catholic church NOT biblical, they go against teachings written in the bible. I’ve already enumerated a few in this blog which have not been refuted by any catholic defender. Let’s name a few:

• Bowing and worshiping idols
• Forbidding to marry
• Commanding to abstain from eating meat

And who can forget the biggest snow job in the history of mankind, the doctrine of the trinity! Their own websites admit and confirm that the trinity doctrine is not biblical, therefore it is an addition and replacement to the teachings of the Apostles.

In Scripture there is as yet no single term by which the Three Divine Persons are denoted together. The word trias (of which the Latin trinitas is a translation) is first found in Theophilus of Antioch about A.D. 180. He speaks of “the Trinity of God [the Father], His Word and His Wisdom (To Autolycus II.15). The term may, of course, have been in use before his time. Afterwards it appears in its Latin form of trinitas in Tertullian (On Pudicity 21). In the next century the word is in general use. It is found in many passages of Origen (“In Ps. xvii”, 15). The first creed in which it appears is that of Origen’s pupil, Gregory Thaumaturgus. In his Ekthesis tes pisteos composed between 260 and 270

newadvent.org

Why the need for saints?

Canonization Ceremony

First, let’s define who saints are and what makes them saints. In particular, catholic “saints”. Catholic saints are another form of a money making scheme developed by the Roman Catholic saints. It one would look into how someone becomes a saint it would be evident that it involves money. A lot of money and this money goes to the Vatican. So basically if you’re foreign to the Vatican Hierarchy, you need to have a lot of money and are willing to spent it if you wanted to be “sainted”. Miguel Arroyo, the Philippine presidents husband is now in the process of making one of his aunts a saint. Let’s hope it doesn’t involve government money intended for the poverty stricken flood victims. I digress.

Mr Arganiosa mentioned a few names whom he said were saints and said these are not to be set aside. Curious thing is that he did not provide any basis as to why these names are saints and that their role is in the worship of God. Again let’s consult newadvent.org, a catholic website. It says:

Patron Saints – A patron is one who has been assigned by a venerable tradition, or chosen by election, as a special intercessor with God

You read it right! Catholic saints are supposedly “special intercessor” with God, or another “mediator”! A special one at that! Does this agree with the bible? Absolutely not! Here:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

As you can read, there is only ONE mediator between God and men, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ. Can anyone be more special than the Saviour? Ask Abe that.

God created Himself?

This has to be the most absurd statement ever made. Mr Arganiosa claims God made himself into a man. This is so wrong in so many points so let’s point out a few of them for Mr Arganiosa’s benefit.

• God will not be man because He said so Himself.
• Jesus Christ, whom catholic claim is also God said there is ONLY ONE God the Father in Heaven. So to even think that God became Jesus is absurd.
• Jesus Christ died on the cross. God is immortal

Here you go. A few things to answer Abe Arganiosa’s preposterous claims. I sure hope he learns something.

Sumerian Trinity, Ishtar, Namakh, Marduk

The Trinity doctrine is the single greatest snow job ever conceived. Even if it cannot be explained even by the leader its greatest proponent, the Roman Catholic Church, this elaborate misrepresentation of God is believed and adhered to by over a billion people. The roman pontiff will simply say, “it’s a mystery” and be quick to dismiss you. And this roman doctrine is not limited to Roman Catholics as it is the central doctrine of many denominations today.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about the trinity doctrine:

245 The apostolic faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical council at Constantinople (381): “The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son“

Is this biblical? Certainly not! For in the Old Testament this is clearly stated:

“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

Clear as day. God the Father Himself said He has no equal. So for mere men to say that God has an equal is the highest form of blasphemy! Supporters of the trinity doctrine will surely and quickly point out this verse:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God

Saying that this particular verse clearly states Jesus is equal to God. Well, take your pick. We have two verses that seems to contradict each other. Which verse holds true and which one becomes a case of wrong interpretation, erroneous translation, careless paraphrasing or all three. This verse puts this argument to rest:

This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah.

Swedish tapestry depicting Odin, Thor and Freyr

Is it not a big deal to say let alone teach something that is totally opposite what God said? In the first book of the Bible, Genesis is recorded another instance where some entity deceived man by saying something totally opposite what God had said. God said:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

A very simple instruction. And what did God’s adversary said that is totally opposite? And who is this adversary?

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

So be careful friends. Question your own understanding of what is being taught by your religious organization.

Is this teaching of a triune God, promulgated by so called “church fathers” at the council at Constantinople in 381 AD agreed to by the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles? Far from it. Here’s the teachings of the Apostles:

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God

Here’s another. The “God the Father” and “God the Son” of the Roman Catholics being co-equal gods clearly contradicts this verse:

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

So here, the Lord Jesus states that he has a God and it’s the same God as those he was speaking to. How then can a god have a co-equal god?!  Preposterous!

Here’s another. Roman Catholics claim they have one god which has three persons, but all three are gods. This is another absurd claim because if that was true then following verse has the two persons next to each other! How can two next to each other be one?!

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God

Figuratively and literally, no two entities who are NEXT to each other can be one and same.