Pope John Paul II practiced the medieval act of self-flagellation according to a new book by a Polish priest called, "Why He's a Saint." The Associated Press reported today that author Monsignor Slawomir Oder gathered the testimonies of 114 witnesses and documentation of the life of the late pope in an attempt to expedite his road to sainthood.
The news that Pope John Paul II kept a belt in his closet to beat himself on the back and slept on the cold hard floor for the mortification of the flesh was revealed the day after the History Channel examined this medieval practice in a documentary called, "The Plague." A scene in the film showed monks walking in circles, backs bared, scourging themselves with whips until they bled. The Fourteenth Century mystics hoped their blood bath would placate an angry God during the deadliest plague in history: the Black Death. Nearly half the population of Europe succumbed to the pandemic.
Pope Benedict has waived the usual waiting period of five years to open the case for sainthood for the late pontiff as was also done on behalf of Mother Teresa. It was reported by her biographer that in her later life she underwent an exorcism and felt abandoned by God.
These reports on both would-be Catholic saints seem to point to their spiritually lost state rather than what the Roman church would refer to as "the state of grace." To any discerning Christian who believes the Bible to be the word of God, the thought of a demon possessing someone or the practice of abusing the body which the New Testament says is the temple of the Holy Spirit, would be seen as a bad testimony to their lives.
One Christian evangelist noted, "his self flagellation could not atone for one sin. It is of course only by Christ's stripes we are healed. The fact that he beat himself proves he had no saving faith in the suffering of Christ."
Another minister added, "it is interesting how Islam also practices flagellation. I still recall the people in the streets of Iran marching through the streets, all ages, young and old, beating their heads bloody; blood everywhere; a frenzy of blood. This is the natural outcome of a human centered works religious system. When all else fails, beat yourself. Beat yourself to impress 'God' or Allah. Beat yourself to impress others. If you’re religiously sincere, beat yourself in an attempt to beat the sin out. The Pope’s use of flagellation is a testament to the futility of his false religious system. What he practiced wasn’t working. All he could do was beat himself out of frustration."
Traditional Catholics on the other hand interpret these reports of the late pope's acts of penance as a sign of saintliness. A woman responding to the news of the pontiff's fast track to canonization in the Bay Area Catholic news service commented, "I pray constantly to Pope John Paul."
The next step in Pope John Paul II's beatification process is for miracles to be attributed to him. Although the Bible gives no precedence in praying to the dead, and in fact condemns the practice, the only way to attribute a so-called miracle to the pontiff, and not to God, is to connect the miracle to such a petition.
Superstition and macabre traditions of the Dark Ages are still alive in the modern Roman Catholic Church. Canonization by any religious community does not make a sinner a saint.
Comments
You are absolutely right on target! My heart goes out to these people who are trapped within this false religion and yet think it to be right and in fact the ONLY way to heaven! It's a shame that most of them evidently don't even READ the Bible; not to mention study it. It's sad. There are so many false doctrines within the Catholic church. The solution is so simple. Just read the "Book" and discover the Truth and then repent and be saved (born all over again). A fresh start! God is so merciful and full of grace. Not to negate that He is also a holy and righteous God who demands holiness and right living from his own. We need to pray to God (NOT to Pope John Paul II or Mary or anyone else) that these misguided people will come to the saving knowledge of Christ and truly be born again. There but for fortune (and God's grace and mercy) go I! I was lost for the first 38 years of my life too. But, thank God, no longer! I am not ashamed of the gospel (the true gospel)!
If it did'nt work for the prophets of Baal, or the prophets of the groves; why would they believe it would do them any good?
Good article.
When you look at the Catholic doctrines/traditions and compare them to Scripture, you see they have a false Jesus Christ and a false Gospel. God gave us His Living Word so that we would Know the Truth that will set us free.
This is not a good article because it does not present both sides. This is clearly written from a Protestant perspective about Catholicism so it is not credible. Protestant ministers were interviewed, Catholic ones were not. It is biblical to "Bring our bodies under subjection", but the Catholic church does not condone or recommend ascetic practices such as abusing our bodies. This is a personal choice that is done not to "save" ourselves or to "impress" God, but to join in the sorrow and suffering of Christ who suffers daily at the thought of his children sinning and turning away from him. Pope John Paul is not here to defend this personal and private way of life that he chose, so why don't we look at the wonderful and good things that he did for all of Christ's children, regardless of faith. As for praying to him, Catholics believe that we can, through God only, ask (which is what the word pray means) holy men and women or family members to pray for our needs, even after death.
Stacey, where is that last statement you made mentioned in the Bible? The statement about praying (or asking) to holy men and women or family members to pray for our needs, even after death. Where does it say that in the actual Bible? It doesn't. That is a totally unbiblical statement. Just because Catholics BELIEVE this or the pope says this, does not make it right. The Bible itself is our ONLY source of reliable, True information regarding God. We are to pray ONLY to God (through His Son, Jesus) and no one else. Read and study the entire Bible yourself. That is the only place where you can find the total Truth. Do not rely on others (priests, popes, etc.) to teach you things. You need to learn how to study the Bible yourself.
Where in the Bible does it say to pray to the saints? Catholics practice their own traditions that have nothing to do with the real truth that is in the Bible. Don't be deceived!
As a practicing Catholic I can honestly attest to the fact that practicing Catholics do not pray TO anyone other than God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. When we ask Mary and the Saints to pray for us, it is similar to asking a close family member or friend to pray for us. Have any of you ever asked that of someone? It is neither an unusual nor an uncommon practice. And furthermore, if a person were to participate in daily Mass for three years in succession, that person would have listened to and read the entire Holy Bible, cover to cover, within those three years. I assure you, practicing Catholics do read the Bible. "The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech." ~Romans 8:26
looks like catholic S&M from this angle, whipping himself like a whipping boy. instead of someone else.
It is utterly laughable how people such as this author search for ways to defame anyone holding differing beliefs but their own.
Comments such as "You are absolutely right on target!" speak of a group of extremists who truly have no care for the truth - save for the the truths that exists within their sects.
It is clear this author is simply out to defame the Catholic faith by whatever means possible - hardly a credible article. If you find yourself saying "Wow, Catholics are full of baloney, right on, Author" then you are doing yourself a disservice to the truth and only functioning to narrow your gaze in such a way that serves your needs alone.
This article is largely blasphemous.
Very ignorant and poorly balanced article (and some of the comments). Inexcusable that the author would not seek comment from someone associated with the Catholic Church. Very sad commentary on the paper and your readers.
Yes we pray for Catholics to come out of the darkness of Catholic religion. I am grateful that the true Jesus called me out of the Catholic church with the Scripture verse, Come unto me all you who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
the article was specifically addressing a topic of the mentioned book . I don't believe it was meant as a research type article. There are many ancient practices still being performed today. Just visit any country in latin america and realize that people do still practicing medieval rituals. God does not like self mutilation because Jesus' sacrifice is already perfect so as to give us one sacrifice and one shed of blood. Christians should not perform vain sacrifices animal or human because we appeal to one great sacrifice, the last sacrifice that was ever needed for the attonement of sins. The reality is that many christians still have a medieval frame of mind and they practice some sort of self sacrifice/mutilation thinking it will achieve some higher level of holiness. The fact is that we are made holy through Jesus and not by personal sacrifices. Sacrifices are accepted by God only in the context of obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice. And self mutilation is not obedience.
Jesus is our only "Daysman" or mediator for us with the Father. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Praying to the dead, even if they are with the Lord in heaven is not biblical..period. The dead didn't die for your sins and they certainly did not rise again and walk on the earth like Jesus did. Why in the world should I pray to my dead godly Grandmother or a "saint" when all I need is my beloved Jesus? If God wants to give me favor for my house to sell, I certainly do not need to bury a statue of some dead "saint" upside down in my yard. The thousands upon thousands of dollars spent to canonize a dead catholic could be spent feeding the poor. BTW, Mary, God's blessed mother, is not the co-redeemer.Stop praying to her. Jesus is ALL you need
Well said Janet Hagen.
To quote the Apostle Paul, "We make up in our own sufferings for lack in the sufferings of Christ." Christ's salvific act does not preclude joining our sufferings to His for the sake of furthering his work of salvation. That is what "the priesthood of all believers" is about; priests offer sacrifices to God. You quote Scripture without understanding Scripture. You can't believe in something, i.e. the Bible, you don't even understand.
Certainly our sufferings in this life work towards our sanctification process so that we are more compassionate on others, but to self-inflict abuse upon ourselves is condemned by the following scripture:
"Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." - Col. 2:23
Austinkir & Kris: Please show specific Bible verses that condones self flagellation as done by the Pope (no such title in the Bible by the way!) or any Catholic? Your carp on this article as not being fair but show otherwise. The Eucharist, confession booths, Mary Worship, Purgatory, Rosary beads and other non Bible practices do not get anyone in heaven or near to God's son Jesus Christ. It is by faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh. Nothing else. If the Pope was to say a thousand Hail Marys specifically for you, it would be simply wasted breaths. If you had the stigmata every day and saw nightly visions of Mary, it is idolatry. If you took the Eucharist every day and thought it was the transubstantion of Christ, you would be deluded. None of those practices are in the Word of God. NONE OF THEM...SO, WHY DO THEM?
Repent and believe the Gospel! Seek to follow no man made nonsense but what is in the Word of God and that only.
Exactly Lafe! Exactly!
For those who believe in sola scriptura.. where did God go after the book of revelation... did he cease to exist? didn't He send us the holy spirit? God is alive... there is nothing wrong with God revealing himself in the lives of His followers throught the 2000 years after the book of revelation
What Every Catholic Should Know Play List - http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E1CB721E3CA65D76
by Richard Bennett former Catholic priest
I pray for the unity of all Christian faiths, but I thought I would respond to Lafe and others who are unsure of Catholic teachings:
Re: The title "Pope" not being in the Bible. The words "trinity" and "incarnation" are not directly mentioned in the Bible. Not all Christian teachings are directly mentioned in the Bible.
Since you want specific Bible verse, I'll provide them:
Re: The Eucharist- John 6:53-56. If he was speaking in a figurative manner, how does 1Cor. 11:27, 29 make sense?
Re: Confession- Matthew 9:6 and 9:8, Jesus gave his authority to forgive sins to men.
Re: Mary worship- Catholics do not worship Mary. We pray for her intercession See Rev 5:8, as the Saints present our prayers to God. That's all we're doing.
Re: Purgatory- See Rev 21:27, showing nothing unclean can enter heaven, and then read 1 Cor 3:15, showing a cleansing fire that shows we can be saved through fire after death. The cleansing fire of purgatory. Remember, the word purgatory isn't mentioned, but neither is Trinity.
Re: the Rosary- This prayer is nothing more than a meditation on the Gospel. This is a pure exercise in Scripture for Catholics. The prayers simply help us empty our mind to focus on the Lord.
Ask yourself this, where does the Bible come from? It was compilled by the Catholic Church, which was founded by Jesus Christ and given Authority from him. If you accept the Bible, you accept the Church's Authority in some way.
Don't forget
Sorry, two posts. Don't forget 1 Timothy 3:15, the pillar and bullwork of the Truth is the Church.
Come home to the Sacraments.
I realize that mainstream "Christians" do not have the same view of Christianity that Catholics, and Greek Orthodox Christians have, but what I need to tell you Jackie, is that you simply do not comprehend WHY people do self-mortification. Most "born-again" Christians have this idea that because Jesus suffered the Crucifixion, that if we believe in Him, we are "saved, and that is the end of the story". But people who practice mortification with LOVE and not some sort of masochistic tendencies, are in effect helping Jesus to "save souls", who might otherwise not be saved...unbelieving sinners, agnostics, atheists, etc. Did not Jesus Himself say, "while the Bridegroom is present my disciples will eat, but when He is gone, they will fast." And truly ALL the apostles practiced much mortifications after Jesus ascended, and even gave their lives and their bodies to be brutally hurt and ultimately killed "for the sake of love of Jesus and the love of sinners." You simply do not understand the "why" of it. If you did, you would not say what you are saying.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own?
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