Catholic traditions

Much is being said about The Da Vinci Code. It lies about Jesus; supposedly he is not God, he was married to Mary Magdalene and even had a child!

The film, the protests and discussions will soon be forgotten. The Roman Catholic Church has issued a booklet about the subject, but I'm afraid it will not strengthen the faith of Catholics. Throughout the centuries, Rome has introduced traditions undermining the true faith taught by Jesus and his apostles.

For instance, infant baptism is not mentioned in the Bible. Nor is the Holy Spirit received by baptism, for the spirit leads people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ when they hear the Gospel message, apart from ritual cleansing. When God gives new life to a soul, that person becomes willing to obey God's Word, including the command to be baptised with water as a testimony to his faith in Christ.

Or consider priestly absolution. Did the Lord ever teach his disciples to confess to a priest? No, he simply taught us to pray to the Father to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

It is true, of course, that the Lord gave authority to the apostles to forgive and retain sin, but this they did, according to the New Testament record, by the preaching of the Gospel and not by the confessional. The apostles preached forgiveness through faith in Jesus and assured believers that their sins are forgiven, while unbelievers remain lost.

John the Evangelist taught this about divine forgiveness: "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1, 2). Jesus Christ, not personal penance and purgatory, atones for sin! Penance and purgatory are religious inventions - an insult to our Lord because they imply that his sacrifice on the cross was insufficient to save.

Moreover, Christ's sacrifice is not daily renewed in the Mass, for the Bible declares: "And by that will of Jesus we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Where there is forgiveness of these sins, there is no longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews 10:10, 18).

The apostles taught that Jesus is the only mediator between God and men. "Jesus is able for all to save those who draw near through Jesus, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7 :25).

Why then are Catholics encouraged to seek the intercession of Mary and the saints for their salvation? Is not Christ sufficient?

These and other human traditions have brought spiritual confusion and much weakness among us. I write as an evangelical Christian; I speak because I care for the Maltese people. May God give us the courage to return to the spring of living water, the Lord Jesus Christ, as presented in the Holy Scriptures.