I remember an incident when I worked from morning till night while mowing the hay under a scorching sun. Then in the evening, exhausted and scorched by the sun, I would go to a lake that looked clear and blue, surrounded by shady trees. I took off my sweaty clothes and bathed in the refreshing waters that were like a fountain of youth, and then I felt like a new man. This is how I felt after I left the Roman Catholic Church, for which I had worked as a slave and sweated in her service. Now, free from the burdensome superstitions and false ornaments of servility, I had been cleansed in the living waters of Christ's love.
Thank God for His saving mercy! Now I understand much better the words that were written on the card I received on the occasion of my ordination: “You love Him, even though you have not seen Him; believe in Him, though you do not see Him now, and rejoice in Him with unspeakable and glorious joy ” (1 Peter 1: 8).
Priest and teacher
I was born in Lancashire County in the north of England and attended high school with the Jesuits.
I then continued my studies at Oxford University, where I graduated with a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Letters. I was also awarded the "Oxford Diploma of Education" which qualified me as a teacher. In preparation for the priesthood, I studied at the Catholic Institute in Paris and at the University of Louvain, Belgium, a renowned Catholic study center. There I graduated in theology. I was ordained a priest on April 30, 1930, by Bishop Paulinus Ladeuze, the rector of Leuven. At that time I hoped to be a missionary priest and apostle of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia, but my hopes were dashed because the Soviet regime did not allow such missionary priests to enter the country.
So it was that for the next twenty years I worked as a teacher at St. Paul's College. Bede from Manchester, England, where I became head of history, but also taught several modern languages. In this way I have met hundreds of students over the years and in addition I have traveled all over the north of England as a preacher for charitable purposes.
Later I took over a rural parish, so I was able to continue my studies. Among the works published by me are studies on st. Patrick and other early saints in the British Isles, as well as a paper on the history of my diocese.
Unnecessary repetitions
Later, my research in the field of history marked my thinking and way of looking at things, especially since I studied the Jansenist reformers, who made a reform in the 17th and 18th centuries within the Roman Catholic Church. I shared their love for the Bible and the Primary Church, and lamented the evolution that had taken place in theology and popular devotions since the Middle Ages. As a result, I could never boast in my sermons about the power, leadership, and infallibility of the popes, things I discovered that the well-known Christian martyr of the 3rd century, Cyprian of Carthage, had already fought. In addition, I have never been able to urge my parishioners to make rosaries, which consist of monotonous repetitions spoken aloud, contrary to the teaching of Christ:"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matthew 6: 7).
Another gospel
Then I discovered that many of the fourteen stops on the way to the cross depicting the walls of Roman Catholic churches, such as "Veronica wipes the face of Jesus," are not mentioned in the Gospels. Veronica is a fictional character, yet she is revered in almost every Roman Catholic church. We could not find any value in indulgences, which is distributed as a currency devalued by inflation. With a single short prayer one buys several days or months of penance. I found that medals, statuettes, and icons of saints, as well as scapulars, were used as pagan amulets and totems. The lighting of votive lamps and candles, as well as the sprinkling of holy water, seemed like acts unrelated to true religion.
Although we cherish the communion instituted by Christ as the Lord's Supper as a remembrance of His passions and sacrifice on the cross, there is certainly no justification in Scripture or in the early Church to make the bread of communion a white host to be worshiped. as an idol, to be incense and displayed in public processions, such as on Green Thursday (the day of the Body of the Lord). Christ used bread and wine as signs reminiscent of His body and blood, but over the centuries the Roman Catholic Church has replaced His body with a dry biscuit that would not be seen as food by even a man afflicted by hunger. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church made a tradition of what Christ instituted, a tradition he claims to be its sole legitimate guardian.
Salvation only through Christ
My studies have shown me that there is no biblical basis for doctrines such as the Immaculate Conception or the physical ascension of Mary into heaven. The Roman Catholic Church has yielded in this respect to a mad desire of the people, favored and stimulated to a large extent by the so-called apparitions of Lourdes and Fatima, which increasingly make Mary a supreme deity who rules heaven and earth. Many Catholic bishops and self-proclaimed Marian theologians hope to promote the doctrine that Mary saved the world — despite the apostle Paul's statements: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. This was the testimony given at the right time. "(1 Timothy 2: 5-6). This statement is also at odds with the intentions of some Catholic theologians who want to prove that only through Mary could we be blessed. However, Scripture makes it very clear that through Christ alone we have salvation: "There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Roman Catholic censorship
As one who has studied the Bible and the history of the Church, I have seen many things that are ignored by most Christians and many Roman Catholic priests. I could not publish such things because of Roman Catholic laws on censorship. When you see a book that is printed (a church permission to print that book), you cannot know if the content corresponds to the author's original thought and if the Catholic censors did not make corrections to ensure that everything is in accordance with the doctrine. . Should a book escape censorship, it could be placed on the list of forbidden books by decree of the Inquisition or the Congregation of the Holy Faith *against which no appeal can be lodged. The ruthless dictatorship exercised by the Inquisition, which still holds supreme power in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, is just one example of Rome's totalitarian and deeply unchristian methods. No one is safe from her spies, who work in every diocese. They have the mission to announce all those suspected of disobedience to the Church.
Abuse of power
What moved my soul about the abuse of power of the Roman Catholic Church is the way it tortured and burned at the stake people like Joan of Arc, hundreds of Albigensian martyrs in 12th century France, the Knights Templar, John Hus, the Dominicans Savonarola and Giordano Bruno, as well as the Anglican bishops Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer. The Inquisition staged at least two major massacres, that of thousands of Protestant Waldenses in northern Italy and that of thousands of Protestant Huguenots in France. More than 30,000 French Protestants from the upper strata of society were killed by the sword on the night of St. Bartholomew on August 24, 1572. When the pope heard the news, he proclaimed the celebration of the event, ordered a volley of cannons and demanded the singing of a Te Deumof gratitude. In addition, he ordered a special medal to be fought in commemoration of the glorious "victory." For a long time I celebrated the feast of St. Bartholomew as a day of special prayer and intercession for Protestants, as an act of love and reparation. "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered exceedingly" (Revelation 17: 6).
Only by grace
I thank God that he led things this way, that I came to read at the right time the writings of the great Lutheran professor F. Heiler. Prior to his conversion, Professor Heiler was a Roman Catholic priest. He taught me the value of faith in Jesus and salvation by grace alone. Heiler's work, Mysterium Caritatis , a wonderful collection of sermons, was the subject of my meditations for many years before the Spirit finally gave me the courage to put into practice what I had read for my own salvation. It was a hard struggle to leave the Church where I was born and where I had served my whole life, thus losing family and friends. This was possible only by the wonderful grace of God.
Some of my friends, who had already left the Roman Catholic priesthood and been received among the true brethren of Christ, had told me how different the atmosphere is in a Christian church that knows no intrigue, espionage, informing ecclesiastical authorities about others, and condemnations as they are practiced in the Roman Catholic system: "Therefore, according to their fruits, you will know them" [Current name of the Inquisition. The Inquisition Palace is located next to the Vatican. The former Grand Inquisitor is the current Pope Benedict XVI - tr.]
Rome must take responsibility before the tribunal of the history of this world and before the judgment seat of God on the other world because it has founded, promoted, and maintained to this day the shameful "Holy Inquisition." The same is true of the Jesuit order, which, although initially oppressed, was unfortunately raised to an even greater power.
The journey we took to the joy of Christ was a long, sometimes difficult one, but it was a well-deserved pilgrimage. I must record my gratitude that after working as a teacher in Washington, DC, and elsewhere in the United States, I experienced complete joy when I recognized Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and eternal Redeemer, and through it. I have had fellowship with truly Christian friends, gospel workers, and many faithful believers of all ages who have been a source of strength, help, and understanding.
Among these evangelical Christians, born again in the redeeming love of Christ through His perfect sacrifice, we have found mercy, joy, peace, patience, meekness, indulgence, and mutual trust. I found that simplicity of which Jesus Christ spoke: “The light of the body is the eye; if your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light ” (Matthew 6:22). This light, which comes from Christ, is the joyful light of truth that fills us, the redeemed and enlightened, with unspeakable and glorious joy.
For all these reasons I have entrusted myself to Jesus Christ as my all-sufficient Savior, and through Him I have passed from death to life:
"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5: 1-2) .
CharlesA. Bolton was born in England. While working in St. Louis, Missouri, he was assisted by Alex Dunlop, a converted priest in Havertown, Pennsylvania. He went to Havertown and received the biblical message of grace. For twenty years he worked as a teacher at Christian Missionary Alliance College in Nyack, New York. He is now with the Lord.
(Translator: Olimpiu S. Cosma)
[Source: https://bereanbeacon.org/ro/am-intrat-in-bucuria-lui-cristos/]
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