@NeedGodnet Finale

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]After five episodes, one pattern keeps repeating. Ancient Christianity gets called corruption because modern assumptions redefine Christianity itself. And if Jesus only meant the Eucharist symbolically, why did so many disciples leave him over it? All that and more today. Welcome back everybody to the final part of this week-long response series to needgod.net's 10 reasons not to be Catholic. Over the last several episodes, we've covered salvation, authority, the papacy, Mary, confession, purgatory, sacramental Christianity, and today we finish with the Eucharist, Catholic tradition, and man-made rules. And the final pattern hiding underneath almost every anti-Catholic argument that Ryan makes.

[00:00:32]And honestly, if you understand this episode, you understand the entire debate because this is the real issue underneath almost everything that Ryan says. Should Christianity look like historic sacramental Christianity, or should it look more like modern low church evangelicalism? This is the real argument.

[00:00:48]>> The Catholic Catechism says that the mass is a truly propitiatory sacrifice and that it applies for business of sins for people here or for also people who have died. But none of that is biblical.

[00:00:53]And not only that, most Catholics will only usually have the Eucharist in the form of the bread rather than the bread and drinking from the cup. Even though that verse says, "Often as you eat this bread and drink And the disciples had both the bread and what was in the cup.

[00:01:01]They didn't just have one. In fact, at an ecumenical council, the Council of Constance, they said it was illegal or wrong for a priest to serve both the bread and what was in the cup to somebody who wasn't a priest. It says in session 13 that no priest, under pain of excommunication, so you're going to be excommunicated if you do this, may communicate the people under the forms of both bread and wine. So, as in you cannot give both elements to the people.

[00:01:16]So, the very thing that Jesus says that you should do, the Catholic Church at this ecumenical council said you're not allowed to do otherwise you'll be excommunicated. So, shouldn't that be another reason why we say yeah, those councils, they're not infallible, but God's word is. God's word is unchanging.

[00:01:25]>> Now, Ryan argues that Catholics added unbiblical traditions and ritual practices over time. Now, before Catholics get defensive, let's say something clearly. Not every Catholic custom is dogma. Discipline can change.

[00:01:36]Fasting rules can change. Clerical celibacy disciplines have changed.

[00:01:40]Administrative practices can change.

[00:01:42]Catholics already know that the Church distinguishes between doctrine, discipline, and devotional practice.

[00:01:47]Ryan repeatedly flattens all three into one category, and that matters because when Protestants see Catholic practice they dislike, they often immediately assume Catholics think this is equal to scripture. And no, that's not true. The church itself distinguishes level of authority and practice. And honestly, Protestants have traditions, too. Sunday morning altar calls, youth pastors, modern worship bands, vacation Bible school, Wednesday night Bible study formats. None of those are directly commanded in scripture. The existence of tradition itself is not the issue. The question is, does the tradition contradict apostolic Christianity? And that's the real issue. And scripture itself commands Christians to hold fast to apostolic traditions. 2 Thessalonians 2:15, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught either by word of mouth or by letter. Again, not just letter, word of mouth or letter.

[00:02:30]And honestly, one of the strangest things in modern Christianity is how many people claim, "I just follow the Bible." while practicing dozens of inherited traditions they never even think about. The issue is not whether you have traditions. The issue is whether your traditions are rooted in apostolic Christianity.

[00:02:42]>> Don't be swayed with people saying, "I feel so amazing when I'm eating God."

[00:02:44]They think they have a new God in a loaf of bread. But what they don't realize is that if you put your trust in Jesus, you have God inside of you. The Holy Spirit lives inside of you. So, don't be swayed by any sort of smells and bells that Rome may offer you.

[00:02:52]>> Now, let's move into the Eucharist because this is the heart of Catholicism. But honestly, this is probably the most important topic in the entire series. Ryan argues that the Eucharist is symbolic. But when you actually read John 6 carefully, that interpretation becomes extremely difficult. Jesus says, "My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." And the crowd reacts with shock. Many disciples leave him. And notice, Jesus does not stop them and say, "Wait, guys, I'm I'm speaking symbolically here." He doubles down. And before someone says, "Well, Jesus spoke symbolically elsewhere." Yes, but people did not abandon him en masse over obvious metaphors. When Jesus said, "I am the door." nobody thought he was made of wood. But in John 6, the audience understands him literally enough to be scandalized. And he lets them leave, and that matters. Now, pair this with the Last Supper. Jesus does not say, "This represents my body." He says, "This is my body." And Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 gives warning about receiving the Eucharist unworthily. Why would improperly receiving a symbol bring judgment? Because the Eucharist is not ordinary bread alone.

[00:03:47]Now, here's where history becomes devastating for the symbolic only position. The earliest Christians overwhelmingly believed in the real presence. St. Ignatius of Antioch around 107 condemned the heretics who denied the Eucharist was truly the flesh of Christ, and that is insanely early. St. Justin Martyr, "We do not receive these as common bread and common drink." St. Irenaeus describes the Eucharist becoming Christ's blood and body. St. Cyril of Jerusalem explicitly teaches, "Do not regard the bread and wine as simply that." This is not medieval Catholicism. This is ancient Christianity.

[00:04:14]And this is the part that modern Christianity has to wrestle with.

[00:04:18]Honestly, if the earliest Christians overwhelmingly believe baptism regenerates, bishops possess authority, confession exists, the Eucharist is truly Christ's body and blood, then maybe the question is not how did Catholics become Catholic? The question is when did Christianity become modern Protestantism? Now, Ryan also attacks Catholic rules and practices as burdensome additions. Again, we need distinctions. The church authority to establish disciplines for the good order of the Christian life. Matthew 16 and 18 both include binding and loosing authority. Acts 15 shows the church establishing practical obligations for believers. Christianity has never functioned as no authority, no discipline, no structure. That idea is foreign to history. And honestly, modern people hate discipline. We live in a culture that says anything restricted must be oppression. Fasting is biblical.

[00:04:59]Self-denial is biblical. Spiritual discipline is biblical. Jesus himself fasted. Paul speaks repeatedly about disciplining the body. Now, are Catholics sometimes inconsistent? Sure.

[00:05:08]Can church members abuse authority?

[00:05:10]Absolutely. Can Catholics misunderstand their own faith? Of course. But abuse does not invalidate a truth. That distinction matters enormously because Ryan repeatedly points to abuses or misunderstandings as if they automatically destroy the doctrine itself. That logic would destroy every Christian denomination on Earth.

[00:05:26]>> Number 10, the Catholic Church is not immune to liberalism. Despite its claim of unchanging doctrine, modern Roman Catholicism has shown it's not immune to theological drift and moral compromise.

[00:05:32]There are now so-called LGBT pride masses held in Catholic parishes along with priests who openly support lifestyles that scripture condemns. And the Vatican does not do anything about it. What a massive compromise and a drift toward ecumenicalism. Even the Second Vatican Council taught that the Church respects Muslims because they worship the same God as Christians. And in Fiducia Supplicans, Pope Francis authorized blessings for same-sex couples and those in irregular unions.

[00:05:49]Even in 2018, he said that an atheist can go to heaven since he had a good heart. The Catholic Church is not that pillar that's unchanging. It's being pulled by the culture and going into many false beliefs. And so, whatever you may feel attracted to in Catholicism, maybe because of issues in your current church, and you're thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, let me tell you, it's not. But, you might say that Catholicism looks more ancient.

[00:06:01]It's not. So many of their beliefs and practices are not found in the Bible.

[00:06:04]Church fathers and church councils are far too new compared to the ancient beliefs found in the Old and New Testaments. You have a more ancient faith if you base your beliefs only on the Bible. But, you might be thinking, "But, my church has a lot of problems."

[00:06:12]So does the Catholic Church, too.

[00:06:13]>> So, let's talk about the underlying thing in the entire series we've done.

[00:06:17]Notice what keeps happening. Anything sacramental, historical, liturgical, hierarchical, incarnational, visible, ancient gets labeled corruption. Why?

[00:06:24]Because modern evangelical assumptions quietly redefine what Christianity is supposed to look like. But, Christianity was never just me, my Bible, and personal interpretation. From the beginning, Christianity looked like bishops, sacraments, liturgy, visible authority, apostolic succession, Eucharistic worship, communal life.

[00:06:39]Everything was there, and the historical reality makes modern arguments against Catholicism much harder to sustain. Now, before I close this series, I want to say something clearly. Catholics are not saved because they are Catholic. People are saved because of Jesus Christ. The goal is not win arguments online. The goal is truth, repentance, holiness, union with Christ. And honestly, some Protestants watching this series probably expected angry Catholic rage or shallow internet dunking. And that is not my goal. My goal is to challenge people who actually examine what the earliest Christians believed instead of assuming Christianity began with the 1500s or with modern internet theology.

[00:07:11]Because once you honestly study church history, the Eucharist, apostolic authority, sacramental theology, and the visible church become very difficult to explain away. And that wraps up this five-part series responding to needgod.net's 10 reasons not to be Catholic. And honestly, if you've watched all five parts, I hope one thing becomes clear. Catholicism is not simply extra traditions added to Christianity.

[00:07:31]Catholicism claims to be the historic continuation of the apostolic Christianity itself. And that's the actual debate. So, if the Christians closest to the apostles believed in sacramental worship, apostolic authority, the real presence, confessions, and liturgical Christianity, then what evidence convince you that modern low church Protestant Christianity is actually closer to the original church? Well, let me know in the comments. Thank you for watching all week, and God bless.