Expert: Griff Ruby - 4/20/2007

Question
1)Why do Catholics believe in seven sacraments, while Protestants believe in only two?
2) Why do Catholics worship Mary as though she were a goddess, when it is clear in Scripture that she was not a supernatural being?
3) Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints when Sacred Scripture states that there is one Mediator between God and man--Christ Jesus? (2 Tim. 2:5).
4) Why do Catholics repeat the same prayer over and over again when they pray the Rosary? Is this not the vain repetition condemned by Christ in Matthew 6:7?
5) Why do Catholics confess their sins to priests? What makes them think that priests can absolve them of the guilt of their sins? Why don't they confess their sins directly to God as Protestants do?
6) Why are Catholic lay people usually given Holy Communion only under the one form of bread? By not giving the consecrated bread and wine, isn't the Catholic Church depriving its people of the full benefit of Holy Communion?
7) Why do Catholics call their priests ``Father'' despite the fact that Christ said: ``Call no man on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven''! (Matt. 23:9).
8) Why don't Catholic priests marry? The Bible says that a bishop should be ``blameless, the husband of one wife'' (1 Tim. 3:2), which certainly indicates that Christ approves of marriage for the Christian clergy.
9)The Bible says that after Christ was baptized He ``came out of the water'' (Matt. 3:16), indicating that He was baptized by total immersion. Why doesn't the Catholic Church also baptize by total immersion instead of by pouring on the head?
10)Why does the Catholic Church baptize infants, who have no understanding of what is taking place?
11) Why must Catholics pay money for a Mass that is offered up for deceased relatives and friends when the Bible states that the gift of God is not to be purchased with money? (Acts 8:20).
12) What does the Bible say about the virgin Mary?
13) Is prayer to saints or Mary Biblical?
14)Is worship of saints / Mary Biblical?
15)Are apparitions of Mary, such as Lady Fatima, true messages from God?where is it written in bible?
16) What does the Bible say about being a God-parent?
17) Sign of the cross - what is the meaning? Should Christians perform the sign of the cross?
18) Is praying the rosary Scriptural?  

Answer
So many questions!  Each one alone could require quite a response from me, so I hope you will understand if some of my responses are fairly short:
1)  It is inappropriate to say that Protestants believe in only two sacraments.  There is no one comprehensive Protestant "belief" about the sacraments, since Protestant differs from Protestant depending upon denominational and even at times, personal boundaries.  Some of the "High Church "Anglo-Catholic" Anglicans and Episcopalians believe in 7 just as Catholics (and East Orthodox as well) believe.  Somewhat less liturgical Protestants such as Methodists or Lutherans might well believe in two, while still others reject the idea of sacraments (in some cases even while still performing some of them!).  Each Protestant has his or her own reason for believing in whatever number, if any, of sacraments he or she chooses to believe in.  Catholics believe in 7 because that was what was known to the early Church and has been taught ever since.  Baptism we know, and the "Lord's Supper" (called the Eucharist in the early writings and by the Catholics) is another, Marriage is also called a sacrament (faultily translated "mystery" in Protestant Bibles), the laying on of hands to ordain a person is a sacrament, Extreme Unction (in which the sick are prayed over and anointed with oil) is a sacrament that brings healing, the filling of the Holy Ghost (confirmation) is a sacrament, though many misread the applicable passages to think they refer to "speaking in tongues" and similar such "Pentecostal" phenomena, and finally the forgiveness of sins ("Whose sins you forgive are forgiven by Heaven, but whose sins you retain are retained by Heaven" - in the confessional) is also a sacrament.  Each of these sacraments are a very specific kind of transaction between Heaven and the individual soul here on earth.  Each one of these sets up its own covenantal relation with God, baptism committing us to God in the first place, Confirmation commissioning us to be soldiers of Christ to bring others to Him, Ordination commissioning us to be undershepherds to the Great Shepherd, with a responsibility to mind the flock, Marriage commissioning us to come together as man and wife to make and raise children in the Faith, the Eucharist in which Christ pledges to be personally and literally our "Daily Bread" to feed and nourish us in our growth in Him, Confession in order that we may go our way and "sin no more" and Extreme Unction that God may heal us of all infirmities of soul and body.
And of course these are not the only contact we have with God, since of course there is always prayer, but prayer is to these actions what a conversation with a friend is to signing some contract with him.  It is obviously a good thing, but more is needed.  A man and a woman can talk and talk and get to know each other well and become fast friends, but no amount of that will of itself "marry" them, they have to get married to be married.
2) No Catholic has ever claimed that Mary is a supernatural being, apart from whatever sense we all become supernatural beings when we enter Heaven.  Protestants have a rather limited and flawed view of worship.  Sing songs?  Shout "Praise the Lord!"  Songs can be sung for and to our fellow creations, be it nations (patriotic songs) or even loved ones (ever heard of love songs?), and real praise is merely speaking well of something or someone.  One can even "pray" to one's fellow human being, for example when begging leniency from a judge.  All of these things are equally appropriate with the saints in Heaven, including Mary.  But God is worthy of so much more, and Protestants have no conception of that "more."  True worship, such as belongs exclusively to God alone, requires far more than any or even all of these things.  It requires ritual sacrifice.  Ever read the Biblical book of Leviticus?  Practically the whole thing is numerous and detailed requirements of how, exactly, God is meant to be worshipped, with the sacrifices of animals, grain, wine, and so forth, burnt offerings.  What kind of temple to do it in, what kind of altar, even which particular stones in what configuration the High Priest is expected to adorn his vestments with.  You think all that detail became irrelevant and moot merely because the perfect Sacrifice which is Christ finally came along?  Sacrifice is still a part of true worship, with all as much attention to detail as ever before, only that the details now serve to join us to that one great Sacrifice.  Notice also how all the Sacraments tie us not to Mary or any saint, but directly to God, who alone can give them the power to effect the Graces and Forgiveness they impart.
3) We do not get to God through the saints, like someone in this life getting to a high level manager through a medium level manager, but if anything it is the other way around.  it is God Himself who gives us the ability to communicate to any saint.  One could say with perfect appropriateness "God, could you please convey this message to saint So-and-So?"  Because that is precisely how any saint ever hears us.  But have you ever noticed that prayer can be powerful, and not only one's own prayer regarding one's own situation, but also on behalf of others?  Have you ever heard of intercessory prayer?  Even most Protestants are aware of this concept, especially the enormous power of a praying grandmother.  But saints in Heaven don't stop existing just because they are in Heaven, and their prayers also amount to much, even more than the praying grandmothers of the world.  There is therefore nothing inappropriate about requesting their prayers, and that is "prayer to the saints" is all about.
4) Jesus prayed his famous John 17 prayer three times, and there is nothing wrong with that.  And when we pray, do we not persist in prayer, as did the woman to the unjust judge in the parable?  We are lonely and we pray "God send me a wife" "God send me a husband" and have we not prayed that many many times?  When we are unemployed do we not pray "God, help me find a job"  When someone we care about is sick, do we not pray "God, please help them to get well"  and we pray these things not just once, but many many times.  So the problem is not repetition, but rather that prayers are vain.  A prayer that is in vain is that done for mere show ("look how religious I am!") or even baser motives.  And in the case of such "prayers," even once is a "vain repetition."  The mouth is muttering, but the heart has nothing to say to God.  Have you memorized the Psalms, all 150 of them?  Probably not, as neither have I.  The Rosary has 150 "Hail Mary's" in it, one for each Psalm.  That is why it is sometimes called our Lady's Psalter.  How many times have you (or have you seen someone) hold up a Bible and say that this is God's word?  But it is closed, and all one sees is the title on the cover, "Holy Bible."  But everyone accepts that what is meant is not that mere book cover, but rather all that is written inside it.  A "Hail Mary" given for a Psalm is like that Bible cover held up for all to see.  It is a powerful and awesome prayer, second only to that of our Lord, the "Our Father."  it cannot be vain if we truly mean it.
5) Not men, but the Church.  After His resurrection, Jesus gathered with His disciples in an upper room with a locked door and breathed the Holy Ghost upon them, with the declaration that "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained."  That is an authority He meant to impart to His Church, in particular the undershepherds of the Church, and not to the flock at large.  For if it had been to the flock at large, then all it would take to damn you is one fellow Christian who holds a grudge against you, no matter how unjustly.  No, it was meant to be a juridical authority imparted to the Church to apply God's forgiveness to a sinning soul.  And again, this is not an alternative to talking to God, or any mere going to some intermediary between Man and God.  If one sins, one must confess to God at once, and then the confession and absolution by the priest follow after.  Going back to my illustration above about the sacraments, all the talk in the world is just that, talk.  It is the sacrament that enacts what one was talking about.  Talk of marriage all one likes, but one is not married until the wedding.  Have all the proper sorrow for sin, and that is a good thing, but the official consequences of forgiveness apply when one is absolved.  All the loving feelings in the world will not impart to the couple the right to set up housekeeping together and begin to attempt to make children, only the wedding imparts those rights and responsibilities.  Likewise, sorrow for sin (and this would include prayer to God for forgiveness for it), though of itself a good thing, but the right to the sacraments, such as the Eucharist, is only imparted with the priest's absolution.  Same thing.
6) The "bread" is the Body of Christ, ("For this is My Body," He said) and the cup contains the Blood of Christ, ("For this is the chalice of my blood of the new and eternal testament: the mystery of faith: which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins," He said), but the Body and Blood of our Lord are united, so that where one is, the other is also.  Even with literal flesh and blood, does not all flesh have at least some blood left in it?  And does not blood have solid "fleshly" components in it (red and white corpuscles, platelets, etc.) such that it too contains flesh?  When one receives one they receive the other, so there is no need to have both, and there are practical reasons why the Blood is not commonly given out, namely that it could be spilled and that would be a great sacrilege.
7) Have you never called your literal earthly male parent a "father"?  And for that matter there are places where the various Apostles did describe themselves as "fathers" over the flock.  It was not the honorific He was decrying, but the human respect which He did not seek for Himself.  To be called "Father" in the sense that Jesus criticized was to be entitled to all manner of human respect, to be given the prominent place in the synagogue near the Eastern wall, to be accorded a respect that those so called in His day were altogether unworthy of.
8) This is in imitation of our Divine Master who also did not marry, because He was already wedded to his flock the Church.  And a true shepherd ought do likewise.  It is true that several Biblical Apostles (including Peter) were married, but, as Paul wrote, you must come as you are called, and those who are called must remain in their calling, and also that one who is married will give attention to their spouse, but the single will give their attention to God.  It is not an absolute requirement to be single, but exceptions are understandably intended to be rare and singular, and even in the Eastern Rites (and East Orthodox, for that matter), where married priests are more common, only the single, often having come up from a monastery, get chosen to be bishops.  The passage about a bishop being with one wife was not about requiring that he have a wife, but rather forbidding that he be the sort who goes from wife to wife, for such a one would as readily go from serving the Church and the Lord to serving Mammon.  The admonition is about selecting only one who is stable, not flighty, not flaky, to be a bishop, for such is a position of great authority and responsibility.  A more accurate translation of that passage would be "the kind of man who would marry only once for all time, or who could stay at one job his whole life, or be content to till the same plot of land all his life."
9) It is an early documented practice that it is sufficient for baptism for the water to cover the forehead.  The application of water beyond that point, though perhaps of some symbolic interest, is not necessary to the sacrament, and this is amply documented from the earliest centuries onward, though not in the Bible itself which does not describe how baptizing is required to be done, but merely describes several actual baptisms, and in the Old Testament, even the priest's washing of his hands is considered a "baptism" despite the fact that only his hands get wet.
10) The same reason those of the Jewish Covenant circumcised eight-day old infants who similarly had no opportunity to make a choice to be of the Jewish faith.  Adults got circumcised when they converted as adults (e. g. Abraham himself), just as adults got baptized in the New Testament when they converted as adults, but the next generation never had to wait to be officially brought into the Kingdom of God.
11) The gift of God is salvation, and indeed everything we have, but we pay for the services of men, be it those who grow our food or those who build our cars and houses, and so forth.  "The worker is worthy of his hire" teaches the Bible, and Mass stipends are purely nominal charges for the time and effort it takes to perform a lengthy and detailed ceremony, using the sacrament of the Eucharist in the Mass, as prayer and worship to God, requesting a special favor.
12) She is a descendant of King David, through his son Nathan (where Joseph is through King Solomon), who was betrothed (more than engaged, but less than married, a common state in Biblical times that has unaccountably fallen into disuse since then) to Joseph when the Angel came to her and announced that she was to be the mother of the messiah, after which she visited her relative Elizabeth.  She often spoke in psalms of praise, one of which she spoke when informed of baby John's leaping for joy in the womb of Elizabeth, she was told that a sword would penetrate her heart by the man who recognized the baby Jesus as the Lord's salvation of Israel.
By the angel's word, we know her to be the one and only person spoken of as being "full of grace," that is to say that there is no room for anything else, since only grace fills her being, from head to toe, from fingertips to fingertips, from front to back and from the beginning of her existence at conception to her furthest future existence, there is no room for sin.  And we know she was a consecrated virgin from her response to the angel.  She did not say, as some would heretically have it "I have not known man," but "I do not know man."  To understand the difference, compare saying "I have not voted" with "I do not vote," or "I have not drank" versus "I do not drink."  She does not know man, and that is why it is such a mystery to her that she could be the mother of anyone, let alone the messiah.
13) Hebrews mentions that so great a cloud of witnesses surrounds us, having praised many Old Testament saint examples, and they are not mere history, but meant to spur us on to victory as only those who are alive in God can.  All of that implies some communication, not of a "spiritistic" sort, but of Divine encouragement and prayer, and the communion of the saints.  you can have no communion with someone without a bond of love and relationship.  The saints are not dead heroes to venerate but living personages to honor.  While there is little in the way of Biblical example showing prayer to saints, there is nothing to discourage it whatsoever and much to recommend it.
14) Worship is an altogether different thing, and no Catholic worships any saint (see 2 above)
15) They are messages from the saint, not new revelation, as though there are new truths to be taught or that there is anything incomplete about the revelation as given in scripture, but there would be prophets (as for example Agabus in Scripture) whose simple "revelations" about practical matters (as his was about an upcoming famine) are useful to the Church, but in no way any "addition" to the revealed truths of God.  The Bible does teach that one must "test the spirits" and that amply applies to any supposed apparition, and it is the duty of the Church to do so, and what few have indeed passed the test are so recognized.
16) If you have children whom you wish to raise in the Faith, and something happens to you, who will see to it that they are still raised in the Faith?  This is the duty of Godparents.  While I don't know of anything in the Bible that expressly creates such an office, it does obviously fulfill an obvious and valid need, wouldn't you say?  It is therefore right for the Church to have instituted this practice.
17) With the sign of the Cross we remind ourselves to carry our own cross that our Lord has appointed to us.  "Pick up your Cross and take it with you," He said.  And we say "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen" because it is to God that we so dedicate ourselves and for Him that we take up our own crosses.  If it is proper to salute a flag, which merely represents a human creation known as a nation, how much more appropriate it is to salute our Creator in the manner pleasing to Him?
18) covered above in (4).

That is a lot of questions and I am not obliged to answer more than one a day.  I have allotted myself that in order to give each question the attention it deserves, that I may help the questioner on his or her way to God.  By putting 18 questions in one I think you have bypassed that, so I hope you can understand why I must content myself with such short answeres.  But in the future I think it is best to address only one question from you at a time.