I first want to say HAPPY EASTER. May God bless you and your families!
Do the two go together? They sure do. Not just any religion though. I know this for a fact because I have watched one politician in specific, Former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich. He just recently converted to Catholicism from Protestant. Why do you ask? Because he is going to make a huge run for President of the United States in 2012. Catholicism plays a huge role in Politics. I want to challenge you to be careful though when it comes to religions. But because we are talking about Catholicism here and now allow me to just through a few points out there as to why this religion is indeed the wrong religion to play with:
Catholicism is and has always been a "Worldly" Religion. Since the Roman Empire was ever in existence it has been around.
Catholicism(Catholics) or the Catholic Church killed at least 150 million "Christians"(Protestants). One just has to read the book "Foxes book of Martyrs"
Catholics believe that its OK to pray to Mary. Mary was only the mother of Jesus, she deserves to be thanked but not prayed to.
Catholics believe its OK to pray to idols. They have idols of Mary, St.Peter, St.Matthew etc... God when He gave the 10 commandments to Moses told them "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me" "Thou shalt not make unto me ANY graven images"
Catholics believe in three separate deities. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. They believe that each are separate.
Catholics believe in Purgatory, which in their very own encyclopedia they admit that they have no idea that this place exist but they believe it anyway!!
Catholics have introduced a lot of stuff into their religion but most of it goes against everything the Bible teaches us. Of coarse a church needs a leader but the Catholic church takes it to a whole new level. The pope is the highest and again their own encyclopedia claims that the pope is INFALLIBLE with GOD. There is NOBODY that is equal or even close to God, not even the pope.
Their religion has been pushed so much on all the people that today it happens to be the largest religion in the world. It is the religion of the world and if you are not Catholic you are seen as an outcast. The Catholic religion is wrong, it does not teach the truth and has led millions of people astray. The Catholic priests have gone astray too becoming gay. Why is this? Because the Catholic Church says that you must lead a life of celibacy. Jesus said that it is good that a Man take a Wife, the Bible also goes on to say that a man should leave his house and take a wife. Because of this isolation that the Catholic Church has brought to the world this has caused a huge back lashing. Priests have lost their trust, they have preyed upon our children and a lot of people are now speaking out.
Priests? Yes, these are suppose to be the "pastors" of the church. There should be no more priests. Why? Well because in Bible days the Priest was the only person that was allowed inside the vail, the temple. The Priest represented the 12 tribes of Israel. When Jesus bore the pain of the world and was crucified everything was completed. Everything. When Jesus was crucified he forgave us of our sins and welcomed us into the light. It then was OUR own responsibility to ask for forgiveness of sins. It was up to us if we wanted to ask for salvation. Each and every person became responsible for his or her own actions. The Catholic church see's it different, in order to ask for forgiveness you have to go to the church, go to this little booth, spill your guts and then the Priest will act on behalf of Jesus and grant you forgivness. WHAT? This goes completely against ever teaching of the Church.
I could go on and on and on. I wont though, this will be another study for another day that I am working on and will reveal it soon. I challenge you on this day of Easter to remember that Jesus was sent by God. Jesus is a name that is above any and all names. His name simply means "God with us". Jesus was God made manifest in the flesh. When you say God you mean Jesus, when you say Jesus, you mean God. The Holy Ghost was sent as a comforter to us, all three are one. Paul said in colossians 2:9, "For in him(Jesus) dwelleth the Godhead bodily". The Catholic Church does not belive this, for if they did they would teach it. They dont.
Finally I say all that to say this, Religion my friends will only lead us into bondage. Religion wants us to believe what they have said is the truth. This is wrong, you should believe what the Scriptures say, not what man teaches. If somene tells you something then challenge it, take it to the word of God and see if what that man sayeth is true. This is why there are so many religions in the world because someone disagreed and said well I will just start my own religion. Now, I will tell you that I was raised United Pentecostal. I enjoyed being part of that church, however being the closest religion to the truth, they dont exactly preach the entire truth. Again they are a religion telling you what you should be believe. Keep your Bible handy, listen to what is being taught and challenge it and make sure that what you are being taught is indeed the truth.
Catholicism is not the way. It is the wrong religion, it does not teach the truth and never will. Folks that start studying the Catholic Religion to become Catholic are overwhelmed with this non-truth and once they get into it its hard to get out. I am thankful that I was able to study about Catholicism and not get sucked in and blinde that I could not see the truth. The truth is there, its staring at you right in the eyes. Take hold and listen and see.