My husband, three girls, and I are born-again christians, but in our Hispanic heritage, most of our family is still Catholic.  Please let us know what the deal is with their belief system because to us, it seems that the ends don’t meet… and that a lot of what their religion entails is clearly wrong and contradicts what we are learning in the Bible and what we feel and discern as we walk in the Lord.  My husband and I were specifically discussing the topic of “The Virgin of Guadalupe”.  Did she really appear in the shroud in Mexico?  Is that name made up?  Is she the same as the Virgin Mary?  And why do Catholics (our family included) worship the Mother of Jesus more so than Jesus Himself?  I don’t like that at all… doesn’t Jesus prefer for us to love Him before all things and people?  I grew up Catholic, but I never ever felt this serious and passionate about loving our Lord and God, neither did I feel such a hunger for knowing everything about Him!  I’m so glad I am finally saved and know it!!!   Praise be to Him always and forever!  If you can help us with this curiosity, thanks…

Sincerely,
A Disciple

Dear A Disciple,

Congratulations on making such a bold move to make the Bible as the guide for your life.  That commitment to biblical integrity is what sets you apart from your Catholic extended family.  Catholicism places the pope as the head of the church; Christianity places Christ as the head of the church (Eph 5:23).  All Catholic practices exist because the papal hierarchy believes them to be right; sometimes those beliefs agree with the Bible, but many times they don’t.  Catholicism tells priests to not marry, and it forbids certain foods – practices specifically condemned by Paul as false teaching (1 Tim 4:1-3).  Catholics are taught to call their religious leaders ‘father’, but the Bible says that is wrong (Matt 23:9).  Catholic practices like infant baptism (and the teaching that children are born sinful), Vatican councils, cardinal vs. venial sins, etc. have no foundation in the Bible.

Worshipping various Catholic “saints” is a practice that is (as you know) very common in Catholicism, but God tells us that we should worship only Him (Matt 4:10).  In fact, Peter was rebuked when he offered to make a monument to honor Moses and Elijah on an equal level with Jesus (Matt 17:4-6).  Various Catholic monuments, shrouds, relics, etc. are unsubstantiated items that have no Biblical bearing.  Simply put, those items are only “holy” because the Catholic church says they are.  We derive our authority from the Bible, and that is where faith starts (Rom 10:17).

As for worshipping Mary… Jesus is the only mediator between man and God (1 Tim 2:5).  We pray to the Father through Jesus… not through Mary or any other Catholic figure.  We are told to confidently approach God directly (Heb 4:16).  We should ask of God and pray to Him through the name of Jesus (Jhn 14:13-14).  Praying to (or through) Catholic saints is wrong.  As you said, Jesus wants our love before all things and all people.

Catholicism is so deeply rooted in many Hispanic communities that you will find it a constant part of your job as a christian to give Bible answers in hopes of freeing them from this false religion (1 Pet 3:15).  What an opportunity to shine your light for the glory of God (Matt 5:16)!

(This question is a follow-up to “Happy Humbug”)

I received your answer and thank you.  My question… you said there is nothing wrong with celebrating christmas as a family holiday, but it is wrong to teach it as a biblical holiday.  If it’s wrong to teach it as a biblical tradition, then why would God approve of it?  Also, if this is a tradition that the Romans made because they worship the god of Saturn, then I know God would not approve because He is a jealous God and says not to worship any other gods but Him (Ex 20:3).

Did you know that more people commit suicide around christmas than any other holiday… because people are afraid that they will not have the right present or won’t have enough money to buy one?  And every year, your family expects you to get them a gift or material of some sort, and if you don’t, they get mad and angry at you.  Christmas is not about Jesus; it’s all about money and profit.  When people get up on December 25^th to celebrate Christmas, the first thing they do is run to the presents and materials.  They don’t bow down and thank God for what they already have.  This is a holiday that brings more hate than it does love.  Why?  Because God does not approve of it.

Sincerely,
The Grinch

Dear The Grinch,

We have many holidays that don’t have biblical origins.  Memorial day, Valentine’s Day, and Thanksgiving are all examples of non-biblical holidays.  If Christmas is treated as a voluntary holiday with presents, jovial family get-togethers, etc. – then there is nothing wrong with it.

However, if people are using Christmas to worship Saturn (which is highly unlikely nowadays) or treating it as a biblical necessity, then it is certainly wrong.  Your other concerns about Christmas are issues of greed and love.  God makes it clear that He hates it when we are fixated with material things (Lk 16:13).  The way many people treat the holidays is indicative of a growing dysfunction in our culture.  Many people forget that our lives consist of more than our possessions (Lk 12:15).

Why does the church not teach when Christmas first started?  They only teach that it’s Jesus’ birthday.  But they don’t teach who actually started Christmas.  Everything that I have been studying about Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus; it’s all about money.  When I type ‘what is Christmas’ into a search engine, Santa Claus is the first thing that is shown, not Jesus.  Congress was actually started on December 25^th, 1870, and America decided to make that the Christmas federal holiday.  Jesus was never born around December.  All my life, I have been told lies about Christmas.  Can someone out there tell me the truth about Christmas?

Sincerely,
The Grinch

Dear The Grinch,

Many people believe Christmas to be a spiritual holiday, but the Bible never commands us to celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25^th (the truth is, no one knows when Jesus was born, but it was most likely in the spring or summer because the shepherds were out – Lk 2:15).  Christians are commanded to remember Jesus’ death every first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 11:24-25)… we are never commanded to remember His birth on an annual basis.  Christmas is not a biblical holiday.  There is nothing wrong with celebrating it as a family holiday, but it is wrong to teach that there is a biblical foundation to it.

Christmas can be traced back to the Roman pagan holiday of Winter Solstice (also known as ‘Saturnalia’ because it was in worship of the god, Saturn).  As Catholicism tried to integrate itself into a pagan Roman world, Christmas was instituted by Pope Julius I on December 25^th as a way to assimilate the pagans into a Catholic worldview.  In short, Christmas has never been a truly biblical holiday; it is a manmade tradition with no bearings upon your salvation.

I grew up in a Catholic home.  I was raised mostly by my paternal aunt and my uncle (her husband).  I did grow up with my birth mother from ages 10-15.  I became rebellious with my birthmother and left home with my boyfriend (at the time) because of his constant verbal and physical abuse.  I gave birth to my first daughter at seventeen.  During this time, my birthmother found Jesus and was converted.  She forgave me, and she and I have never been closer.  I was also converted into Christianity, and I have successfully grown in the Lord.  However, when I left my abusive relationship, I didn’t return to my mother’s house.  I went back to my aunt’s house with my daughter.  I have remarried, and my husband and I have two more girls.  We live at my aunt’s house.  They like us living here, and we are happy, thanks to the Lord.  We are extremely blessed.

I love my aunt and uncle who have tirelessly helped us in so many ways.  They appreciate the new attitude and our family’s fruits as christians, but they try to avoid us when we try to share the good food of the gospel with them.

My question is as follows: what should we do?  I feel like they are good people, but they are better Catholics; they worship all kinds of “saints” and speak of the Virgin Mary more than our Lord Jesus.  They never read their Bibles, and they misunderstand a lot of “scriptures” (the few that the priest reads at their church).  A lot of things they believe in are not right.  I know this is wrong, but what do we do??

Sincerely,
Nice Niece

Dear Nice Niece,

The greatest impact you can make is to live your life and let Christ’s Word speak through your actions.  People have to want Christ to come into their lives for the gospel to take root (Rev 3:14).  We cannot force anyone to change; Christianity is a voluntary religion.  The first century church was marked by its kindhearted and godly reputation… and it affected those around them (Acts 5:13-14).  Family is traditionally the most difficult evangelism project – even Jesus admitted that His hometown was the least likely to listen to Him (Mk 6:4).  Don’t shy away from spiritual conversations with your aunt and uncle, but don’t force them either.  Live authentically, and they will notice and consider.  Jesus said that letting our lights shine brings glory to God (Matt 5:16).

How do we know Christianity is the one and only true religion?

Sincerely,
Sweetly Broken

Dear Sweetly Broken,

Why? Christianity forces us to choose.  Many of today’s religions allow tolerance for multiple belief systems, but the Bible isn’t one of them.  If we believe in the Bible and Jesus (read “Who Wrote The Bible?” for proof that the Bible is written by God), then we can’t accept other religions as well because the Bible condemns all other religions (Ex 34:14, Lk 16:13).  Jesus claims to be the only way to heaven (Jhn 14:6).  A common myth today is that we can believe in Jesus and also accept other religions, but Jesus strictly condemns that lifestyle.  We are told that there is only one way to heaven (Eph 4:4-6).  Either Jesus is the Messiah or He isn’t.  There is no room for plurality in Christianity.  Christ is an all-or-nothing Savior.

In short, if we accept the Bible as true, we must accept all other religions as false.  If we accept other religions as true, we must accept that the Bible is false.  There is no in-between.  The Bible is accurate, time-tested, consistent, contains supernatural information, and holds specific and fulfilled prophecies… no other book can make those claims.  The Bible stands alone – and it likes it that way.

So, I recently started a conversation about God with a friend who is an atheist, and I’m having some trouble putting words together.  I’m starting to get a little fired up, and I know that’s only going to result in anger and misspoken points.  I’m posting the last bit of our conversation:

FRIEND: How can one be sure?  An eternity is endless, meaning that all things will come to pass.  Consider this; if you believe in this eternal place, all things WILL happen there.  Will you not one day go mad with boredom?  To say you will never want for more or tire of the same is impossible: you are faced with the dilemma of eternity.  Even if you believe that god is responsible for time itself, do you believe any person is suited to last forever?  I most certainly haven’t met any, by god’s ten standards or my own.

ME: Who is to say that there has to be an end or that new things won’t be created?  And I believe that every person has been suited to last forever, either in heaven or hell.  It is only by God’s grace that we as humans have the ability to live eternally one way or another.

FRIEND:  So god is responsible for our creation.  So people must be doomed to hell at their creation?  Isn’t the fault of the individual on god’s hand, not on the person?  If suited such, the person has no say in their destiny and is damned to hell for simply being as god himself created him.  So, by god’s grace (in this example, I will choose some infidel off the top of my head, hmmm… let’s say… don’t know… myself, for example) – I am dammed to hell because god made me so.  Tell me, my friend, do you believe I am suited for an eternity of hell?  You think your god made me just to hurt me?  Isn’t that evil?  Isn’t that twisted and sick?  Imagine I was made just for pain.  Now look at your god and look at his creation and tell him he is good and pure; tell him you have never questioned him and his righteousness.  Just don’t forget about those he created who cannot believe.  Then, once you have done that, I beg you to tell me that I am suited for hell for eternity.  I will laugh and go with a smile.  What other use do I have?  I was damned at creation, an eternal dog for him to beat.  Haven’t you asked yourself these same questions?

I need help figuring out a good response to his last message.  You guys popped into my head the moment I read this, so I thought I’d ask.  Thank you so much!

Sincerely,
The Debater

Dear The Debater,

Right now your friend is framing the debate by asking you to explain whether or not you like the way God is (he is wrong on a lot of these points, but, for now, dealing with every misspoken word would be more of a distraction… however, it might be worth pointing out that God doesn’t make anyone sinful – everyone is born free from sin and has the freedom to choose their own destiny; take a look at “Enough Love To Let Us Choose”).  The best defense is a good offense… it’s time to turn the tables on him.  The important question isn’t whether or not we like the way God is – the important question is: “Is there a God?”  If you can prove that there is a God, then regardless of whether you like Him, you have to deal with Him.  It is no different than having your tire go flat on the freeway – even if you don’t like it, you are still stuck!  We recommend that you tell your friend that you can present evidence that God really does exist.  Make the debate about truth, and you will win every time; this will also throw him off guard because most atheists try and flaunt that they are the intellectually honest ones.

The first thing you will need to do is prove that God exists.  Our articles “God Is Alive?” and “Does God Exist?” should help with that situation.  Something never comes from nothing, and life never comes from non-life.

The second thing is to prove that the Bible is a supernaturally written book.  The Bible is unlike any other printed material on this planet.  It contains detailed prophecies that have been documented by history as being fulfilled.  It also was scientifically accurate long before mankind understood modern science, and it has shown consistency throughout thousands of years of its existence.  Read “Who Wrote The Bible?” for an in-depth look at why the Bible had to be authored by God.

These two subjects are the beginning for all debate with an atheist.  Until we can agree that God exists and the Bible is His Word… we simply can’t go any further in the conversation.  Start there and see where it goes.  And if in doubt, dare them to askyourpreacher.org!