Signs & Wonders Blog

Growing up Lutheran, I was unfamiliar with what Catholics believe until committing my life to Christ years later. I was 14 when two popes died within 33 days of each other in 1978. I hated it when their funerals preempted some of my favorite TV programs. I remember saying in frustration to my mother, “The Pope is a dope.” Since becoming a street evangelist, I’ve learned how to compassionately minister the gospel to Catholics. Instead of criticizing tenets of Catholicism that conflict with Scripture , I aim to find common ground with them, such as their belief that Jesus is the Son of God and He died on the cross for our sins. I recall only one witnessing incident when the Pope was brought up. I had lunch with an aunt and uncle, who professed to be Christians despite going to church only on Easter and Christmas. Although my aunt isn’t Catholic, I was surprised to hear her suddenly defend the Pope as a great person.  I believe it’s okay to honor the Pope as a politician since he...

An objection some people bring up regarding Christianity is there are different denominations. Splits have occurred in other religions. Nevertheless, many church groups claim theirs is the only “true church” such as this meme circulating on social media. I have friends who are Catholic. So my intent here is not taking potshots at their church. Still, I felt inspired to write this rebuttal: 1.  “The only Church founded by Jesus Christ.” Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The “rock” is not Peter according to Catholic tradition but the revelation he had that Jesus Christ is the Son of God . It’s also worth noting churches couldn’t legally meet in the Roman Empire until Christianity was made the state religion three centuries after Christ’s ascension. 2.  “The only Church that gave the world the Bible.” Jeremiah 1:12 (ESV) says that God ...

This past week Pope Francis declared the late Mother Teresa would be elevated to sainthood. It reminded me of a Yahoo video I watched in 2011 called “The Four Steps to Becoming a Saint”, which claimed the late Pope John Paul II was one step away from sainthood. Immediately I thought how unbiblical that was. Had the pontiff obeyed Romans 10:13 ( “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” ) before he died, then he already took the only step needed. The Catholic Church teaches that for a person to be considered for sainthood, he or she must have been dead for at least five years. There are many Scriptures proving a person cannot become a saint after they die. Revelation 22:11 says, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” Once a sinner passes through the gates of hell, he or she cannot become holy by the actions of another person inclu...