Refuting a Protestant Copypasta

Refuting a Protestant Copypasta

I have seen this image copy and pasted everywhere in Catholic comment sections. So I thought I would refute all of their anti-Catholic claims in as few words as possible as a fun challenge I guess. These copypastas are normally found randomly, but this one I found in the replies to a man talking about how he's converting to Catholicism. So it seems this Protestant thought these were his/her best evidences to give to that "misled" Catholic. I've blurred his/her channel name:



Their Mistakes

Every number displayed below corresponds directly to the number in the Protestant's comment. Some responses have been taken from other articles that I have written, but they are all still my own words.

1. First, sin offerings in the Bible had to do with ritual uncleanliness, not actual sin. Mary was just fulfilling the law. Second, Catholics agree Mary needed a Savior, but she needed one to prevent her from sinning, not save her from her sin (preventing me from falling in a ditch and rescuing me out of a ditch is still making you a savior). This is in line with Jude 1:24-25 which states Jesus is still our Savior if he prevents us from sinning.

2. Not all priests have to be celibate, this tradition wasn't always the case and some Catholic rites can still have married priests. So this isn't an issue at all.

3. The Greek word for brothers, ἀδελφός (adelphos), and "sister", αδελφη (adelphe), is not always used for blood siblings, but can refer to cousins, nephews, or even fellow believers. Jesus' response in Mark 6:4 confirms this (see my article titled, "Mary's Virginity - A Biblical Defense").

4. When confessing to a priest you're confessing to Jesus Christ. The priest is just "in persona Christi" or "in the person of Christ" meaning when you confess to a priest, you're confessing to Jesus. The Bible does talk about confessing our sins to other people (James 5:16), so it's fine to have other men, specifically priests, take our confessions.

5. The wine we drink in mass truly becomes the blood of Christ, only because Jesus said so in John 6:53. The accidents of his blood in mass stay as wine, but the essence is still Christ's blood. So we aren't violating any of these laws considering the outward appearance of the wine stays the same, even though it has been miraculously transformed.

6. Contacting the dead is vehemently condemned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 2110, 2113, 2115, 2116, and 2117. What we have to keep in mind, is that praying to the saints in heaven is not the same as "consulting the dead" through pagan rituals like necromancy. For example in Luke 9:29-31 Jesus talks with Moses and Elijah who both had already died. Or even Revelation 7:13-14 where John talks with an elder who is in heaven. This is not an occult practice.

7. Graven images refer only to idols, not religious statues. We know this because God used religious statues many times (Numbers 21:9, 1 Kings 6:23-28, 1 Kings 7:23-39, and Exodus 25:18).

8. The use of holy water in Numbers 5:17 has no meaning on whether it is still something good to be used. Thus, even if it was used to test adulterous women, it still shows how holy water can bring blessings.

9. In Acts chapter 1, Peter helps find a successor for Judas. He quotes Psalm 109:8 which uses the Greek word "bishopric" meaning bishop. So if Judas needed a bishop as his successor, surely the leader of the apostles (Peter) would also. This is why all Catholic popes can trace their succession to Peter and every Catholic bishop can do the same to the apostles. Second, the Bible does not say Peter was "just" a leader. It never makes such a claim and thus this is an unbiblical view.

10. The seat of Peter refers to whoever is holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Because Peter had the keys, he was in the seat. Jesus' statement to not "lord over others" is from Luke 22:24-27, which actually helps prove the papacy. Notice how Jesus never says, "Have no leader" but rather gives instructions for whoever is the leader. Jesus is simply saying that the greatest is the humblest, aka Himself. Which doesn’t at all contradict the Catholic Church. This is why among the many titles of the pope is “Servus Servorum Dei” or “Servant of the Servants of God”. The pope is called to serve the Christian people.

11. Hebrews 7:27 says Jesus was the final sacrifice and thus we don't need high priests to make sacrifices for sins. Catholics agree. Hebrews 9:12 says nothing about clergy not being needed and neither does Hebrews 10:10. The priesthood is a reference to ordained men being able to administer the sacraments. The apostles, then, were just like priests when they were told to forgive sins (John 20:23) and baptize (Matthew 28:19).

12. The Catholic church has never said you have to partake in all sacraments; only baptism and confession. The Catholic Church also never said you have to devote yourself to Mary to be saved. Lastly, the Bible never teaches that faith alone is enough to be saved (James 2:24). Doing good works are just a part of being a Christian, but God can reward them with eternal life after we have been justified (Romans 2:6-7). This doesn't mean we have earned heaven, as we don't deserve the reward, but God can make salvation in the form of a reward only because of His grace.

13. Penance is not needed to atone for your sins. It is just something that is advised after one gives a confession. Unless you are referring to penance as "The Sacrament of Penance" aka "Confession", then yes it is needed. Because we must reconcile ourselves to God after falling away from His grace (Romans 5:10).

14. Original sin brought death unto the world, thus because Mary was free from sin (See Luke 1:28 and my article titled, "The Immaculate Conception") it was appropriate she wouldn't die.

15. That's because both Islam and Christianity claim to believe in the Abrahamic God. We just have very different theologies surrounding this God's natures and attributes.

Alright, well that's about as concise as I can get with these. Almost all of those points he made could be turned into whole articles, but some weren't that long. It's fascinating how arguments like, "Catholics say you need Mary to be saved", "Catholics bowing down to statues is idol worship", and "Mary offered a sin offering" are still arguments being used. Just a few minutes of research will make them fall apart.

Regardless, those are my concise responses.