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BRIEF HISTORY
OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH




 

THE ATMOSPHERE FOR A REFORMATION - Part IV

[How the Catholic Church nurtured the seed of her destruction within her own womb.] 

Then a genius, reflecting the pure intelligence of the prince of darkness appeared in France. . .John Calvin. He would create a 'religion' that had nothing to do with Martin Luther but would satisfy every whim of the new businessmen. It was a religion patterned for businessmen who had enriched themselves on stolen Church property. Since the Reformation had been taken over by the businessmen with business motives, it would take this learning and, from hence forward, every Protestant sect would contain this Calvinistic element. It would be the force that would be the common trademark of Protestantism. All Protestant sects would have this Calvinistic element. And this would seal permanently the division of Christendom into the Catholic and Protestant sects.

Calvin's basic doctrine that would tickle the looters of the Church wass that man had a duty to grow rich. Suddenly every business practice, that had been  done by Catholics clandestinely because it was considered evil, was now allowed, encouraged and even considered as the most appropriate thing to do. Calvin's proposition was a financial proposition that tolerated every unethical business practice. Then he added a sprinkling of religiosity in his doctrine by stating that this fact of growing rich was a sign of predestination to heaven. It was a doctrine every corrupt person would embrace unquestioningly. It was like having your cake and eating it, too, sort of, having the world and heaven, too. Who can refuse that? With this obligation, good works or almsgiving, the singular mark of the Catholic Church was erased. Of course, if you indulged in almsgiving, you would never get rich. The concept of poverty was abrogated.

Calvin refined further his doctrine by removing rationality, i.e. the right to think and reason out, from Protestantism. He had to for if one reasoned too much, their error would be obvious. Calvin did this by introducing subjectivism; what one feels is right is right. What one feels is true is true. Who could make a mistake with that? He had to raise the authority of the subjective mind to counter the more reasonable authority of tradition or an outside source, i.e. the Pope and the Tradition of the Catholic Church. Without Tradition, the Protestant sect has no similarity whatsoever with the Church that Christ established, whose description is found in Tradition. Furthermore, it does not have the official interpretation of Scriptures which is also found in Tradition.

Then he introduced usury, charging of interest on an unproductive loan. Usury, once frowned upon by Christendom, was now legitimate business practice. With these, Calvinistic Europe became an economic giant; and through banking and trading would spur, what we call today, Industrial Capitalism. Sadly, Catholic nations would gradually adapt these unchristian business practices for their economic progress. What the Protestant Reformation could not do to the Catholic Church in the 16th century, it finally succeeded in the guise of Industrial Capitalism. Every Catholic today, in observance of Calvinistic doctrine, is trying to be rich. The only vestige of Catholicism left in them is the little almsgiving they give out of the abundance of their excesses. 

 

 

 

 

 

(12-05-02)

 

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                                                                                        - Teresa of Avila

 


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