September 2005

How much do you know about the Catholic Church and the followers of Catholicism? Most people are aware that Mary (the mother of Jesus) is on a very high pedestal, that Catholics go to mass every Sunday (the "good"  ones, anyway), go to confession at least once a year, and take the Eucharist when at mass. That"s about all I knew as of 2 years ago, until I moved to Mexico - a VERY Catholic country.

About 95% of the people in the town I live (of approx. 150,000) are Catholic. The rest are protestant, Jehovah’s Witness, or Mormon. It was quite an eye-opener when I observed and understood the rituals and sacraments that the Catholic people put themselves through. Being very religious people, they believe the church - the CATHOLIC church - is the only true way to God. They believe in Jesus Christ as God's Son, they believe in the Holy Spirit, they believe a lot of what I believe. In fact, their Bible is very similar to mine. I have a Spanish Bible of the Reina Valera version (like King James version) and I have compared the Latin America Catholic Bible to that version. In John 14:6 of the Catholic Bible, Jesus says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by me."  Also I Timothy 2:5 of the Catholic Bible says that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. When I asked Catholic people I know about some of the verses in their bible, each time the answer was "We don’t read the Bible. Why should we? We have The Church."  So they believe what the church has taught them - Mary is the mother of God, Mary is still a virgin and she was ascended into heaven (as Jesus was), Mary is also seen in the form of other idols: Guadalupe, Carmelita, Fatima, etc. (they wear different outfits, but they are all Mary). There are many rituals at Christmas that people are extremely involved in. Some of these rituals cost money; i.e. buying clothes for the "Hijo de Dios"  (Son of God), a baby doll that must be put to bed and awakened at intervals (every few days) to change clothes.

The above paragraph gives you a glimpse of what Catholic people will do to ensure that they are "saved" , as followers of a church, NOT followers of Christ. What does this have to do with purpose-driven, you ask? Before I moved to Mexico, I was struck by the PD program as being very "catholic"  - do A, B, and C and you are on your way to heaven. Go through all the "rituals"  and everyone will disregard what’s inside your heart. Signing the covenants is quite important in a PD church. In the PD church I was very involved with, as a staff-member, cell/small group leader, singles coordinator, we (the whole church) were told to complete the bases (101, 201, 301, 401), sign the covenants, and then we were set, ready to go out and bring others into the church. Some of the people who had completed the bases were cell/small group leaders or ministry leaders and were NOT Christians! It was quite disheartening to see what was happening in that church.

Once I moved to Mexico, and saw first-hand the deception and control that the Catholic church wields toward its followers, purpose-driven started looking more Catholic by the day! PD changes people's mindset, making them believe that the church is everything. Don't try to convert people on your own, bring them to the church so it can be done "right".

"The church" has replaced God

And then this: I found a page on the official PD site that lists Catholic churches with Protestant churches, listing the Catholic churches using the PD program. Catholics don’t even believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God! How can they use purpose-driven?? But the answer is easy: the PD program does NOT state what to believe, only what the beliefs are "based"  on. So any church (Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Unitarian, etc.) can use PD as a means to bring more unsuspecting "sheep"  into their belief system. What happened to the Bible as the only resource for doctrine?? Tossed out like dusty, musty trash!

Purpose Driven Catholics

"Helpful"  Catholic Links

What is the difference between Christianity and Catholicism?
There is a very simple difference:

Christians believe that JESUS CHRIST is the only Way to God, according to the doctrines outlined in the Bible.

Catholics believe the way to god is through sacraments, priests, Mary, and, above all, the Catholic Church.

What does Rick Warren think is the difference?
" ...when it comes to the basics, [the beliefs] are pretty much the same."

Read about The Secret and the Word/Faith teaching

Simplicity In Christ