I’ve posted these comparison on a forum more that a year ago. Here you’ll see the difference between the doctrines adhered to and practiced by the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) and the Roman Catholic church and how they compare to teachings found in the bible. Here we go:

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 [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]

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” is day when Catholics receive a mark of ashes on their forehead, supposedly as a token of penitence.

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 [...]]]>
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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?

The Roman Catholic Church, in its pagan form, unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called “miraculous conversion” to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius [...]]]> [ad#inline-ad-in-article]
John Beardsly on his blog wrote,

The Roman Catholic Church, in its pagan form, unofficially came into being in 312 A.D., at the time of the so-called “miraculous conversion” to Christianity of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 A.D., Constantine, from 312 A.D. until his death in 337, was engaged in the process of simultaneously building pagan temples and Christian churches, and was slowly turning over the reigns of his pagan priesthood to the Bishop of Rome.

Catholic Idols

Catholics, admitting that the Catholic church did in fact adopted, renamed and redesigned pagan practices, explain this as such:

The truth of history is the fact that the Church replaced these pagan things with Christian ones. The Church did not in corporate such pagan practices, but replaced the same with Christian ones.

Replacement is different from adoption, or from adaptation, or from immersion. The former totally abolishes every thing that is before it.

Does the Church have the right to replace pagan festivals, things, and practices with Christian ones?

We must answer in the affirmative, for the God of Christianity is God not only of Christians, but of the whole world and whole humanity, be they Christians, pagan, atheists, or not.

As such, His Church here on earth has the divine ordination, authority, power, and jurisdiction to replace those pagan festivals, things, and practices with Christian ones.

Some Catholic teachings copied from pagan practices

• Pagan Worship of Mary as Queen of Heaven

Prayer to Mary, Queen of Heaven

Mary Queen of Heaven

Queen of heaven, rejoice. Alleluia. The Son whom you were privileged to bear, Alleluia, has risen as he said, Alleluia. Pray to God for us, Alleluia. Rejoice and be glad, Virgin Mary, Alleluia. For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia.

O God, it was by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that you brought joy to the world. Grant that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joy of eternal life. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Catholic Virgin Mary was copied from pagan Ashtoreth, Queen of Heaven

Encyclopedia Britannica:
“Through her identification with the Greek Aphrodite and the Roman Venus, Inanna-Ishtar, the queen of heaven, still survives in Roman Catholic iconography – e.g., as the Virgin Mary standing on the moon.”

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1894:
“Queen of Heaven with the ancient Phoenicians, was Astarte; Greeks, Hera; Romans, Juno; Trivia, Hecate, Diana, the Egyptian Isis, etc., were all so called; but with the Roman Catholics it is the Virgin Mary.”

• The head of the church

Part of the apostasy brought about by the adoption of pagan practices was the blatant disregard of the importance of Christ.

Question: Who is the head of Church of Christ?

Catholic answer: the Pope. The term “Pope” signifies the *HEAD* Bishop of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider Peter the first Bishop of the Catholic Church. The pope also uses the title Vicar(Instead) of Christ.

What does the bible say: Col 1:18 Christ is the head of the church, which is his body

ARCHBISHOP JEAN-LOUIS TAURAN, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue admitted that the head of the catholic church is the pope. He said [quote]“It is interesting to note that the personal recognition granted to the Pope (who in this period was still a temporal sovereign) was prompted by the fact that he was first and foremost the Spiritual Head of the Catholic Church”[/quote]

Catholic claim the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, or more simply Christ here on earth. My question is, if this “Christ” on earth, the Pople, teaches things that are different from the teachings of the real Christ, wouldn’t that make the Pope the anti-Christ?

• Pagan Roman Catholic Church celebrates Easter

Ester, a Catholic festival comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.

Easter, celebrated by the ancient Saxons for the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime.

Constantine, a pagan emperor, issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.

• Holloween

Jack o-Lantern

Britannica says “Hallowe’en long antedates Christianity. History shows that the main celebrations of Hallowe’en were purely Druidical [ancient Britain]. The Druids believed in the calling together of certain wicked souls on Hallowe’en by Saman, lord of death. Upon the Druidic ceremonies were grafted some of the characteristics of the Roman festival in honor of Pomona [pagan Italian goddess of fruits and gardens] held about November 1st, in which nuts and apples, representing the winter store of fruits, played an important part.

Catholic.org says “It should be noted that Halloween is a Catholic holiday. Pope Gregory IV in 835 made it the universal practice in the Roman Catholic Church to celebrate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1. All Souls’ Day follows the next day as the commemoration of all of the faithful who have departed.”

• Flagellation – Pagan ritual practiced by Catholics

Flagellation (usually with whips) has been associated with religious fervor from pagan times. In ancient Egypt devotees of the goddess Isis scourged themselves at an annual festival. According to Pausanias, women were flogged in the temple of Dionysus. Plutarch states that the priests of Cybele were flogged in the temple of the goddess.

In the Catholic religion, flagellation found many rationalizations. It was used as an official punishment for priests and monks, a self-inflicted penance, and a dramatization of the sufferings of Christ. There was an epidemic of flagellant sects in Europe during the tenth and fourteenth centuries, associated with perceived penance and supposed love of Christ, and the Catholic authorities took extreme measures to suppress what they considered a morbid enthusiasm for the act. In Latin American countries, flagellation still occurs at religious processions of penitentes. In the Philippines, they are called penitensias.

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