Lucas Banzoli<\/a>\u00a0is a very active Brazilian anti-Catholic polemicist, who holds to basically a\u00a0Seventh-day Adventist theology<\/a>, whereby there is\u00a0no such thing as a soul<\/a>\u00a0that consciously exists outside of a body, and\u00a0no hell<\/a>\u00a0(soul sleep and annihilationism). This leads him to a Christology which is\u00a0deficient and heterodox<\/a>\u00a0in terms of Christ\u2019s human nature after His death.\u00a0He has a Master\u2019s degree in theology, a degree and postgraduate work in history, a license in letters, and is a history teacher, author of 27 self-published books, as well as blogmaster for six blogs. He\u00a0has many videos on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is my\u00a066th refutation<\/a>\u00a0of Banzoli\u2019s writings. From 25 May until 12 November 2022 he wrote\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0one single<\/em>\u00a0word<\/em>\u00a0in reply, claiming that my articles were\u00a0\u201cwithout exception poor, superficial and weak\u201d<\/span>\u00a0and that\u00a0\u201conly a severely cognitively impaired person\u201d<\/span>\u00a0would take\u00a0them\u00a0\u201cseriously.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Nevertheless, he found them so\u00a0\u201centertaining\u201d<\/span>\u00a0that after almost six months of inaction he resolved to\u00a0\u201cmake a point of rebutting\u201d<\/span>\u00a0them\u00a0\u201cone by one\u201d<\/span>;\u00a0this effort being his\u00a0\u201cnew favorite sport.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He has now replied to me\u00a016 times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(the last one\u00a0dated 2-20-23<\/a>). I disposed of the main themes of his numberless slanders in several Facebook posts under his name on my\u00a0Anti-Catholicism page<\/a>\u00a0(where all my replies to him are listed). I shall try, by God\u2019s grace, to ignore his innumerable insults henceforth, and heartily thank him for all these blessings and extra rewards in heaven (Matthew 5:11-12).<\/p>\n Google Translate is utilized to render Lucas\u2019 Portugese into English. Occasionally I slightly modify clearly inadequate translations, so that his words will read more smoothly and meaningfully in English. I use the RSV for both my Bible citations and Banzoli\u2019s. His words will be in\u00a0blue<\/span>.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n This is a reply to Lucas Banzoli\u2019s article, \u201cA B\u00edblia dos sonhos dos cat\u00f3licos\u201d<\/a> [The Catholic Dream Bible<\/em>] (10-18-13).<\/p>\n Here, Banzoli engages in a very poor attempt at satire or sarcasm. Such humor involves exaggerating for effect and a non-literal presentation (I\u2019ve done them many times, and love satire). Effective, well-done satire, however, has to be grounded in the truth<\/em>. Enough truth has to be presented for the satire to \u201ctake\u201d and \u201cwork.\u201d Otherwise, it\u2019s simply slanderous misrepresentation. And of course Banzoli\u2019s pathetic display is wholly of the latter sort. He doesn\u2019t know<\/em> enough about Catholicism (i.e., its true nature) to be able<\/em> to satirize it. First things first. He\u2019s ignorant and misinformed (and I dare say, not immune to deliberate lying, either). Having refuted him now 65 times, I can speak to such things from firsthand knowledge. So he ends up warring against straw men of his own making.<\/p>\n This article of his offers a golden opportunity to prove that this is the case: over and over again. He submits \u201cBible passages\u201d that he thinks<\/em> are what Catholics believe or how they would rewrite the Bible if they could. But in each case it\u2019s a lie. Nowhere are his distortions and sophistries more evident. I will present each passage as it appears (RSV), then give Banzoli\u2019s \u201cCatholic Dream Bible\u201d so-called speculation about what Catholics would supposedly love for each Bible verse to say. Then I will present actual authoritative Catholic teaching, to illustrate how Banzoli is engaged in his own pipe-dreams and fanciful imagination: what amounts to an ongoing lie.<\/p>\n I\u2019m tired of these Protestants who are persecuting the Catholic Church, the only Church of Christ, saying that their doctrines are nowhere in the Bible.<\/span><\/span> If you Catholics are tired of this gratuitous accusation, of saying that the Roman Church is an apostate church just because its doctrines have nothing in common with the Bible, and that it contradicts, misrepresents and distorts it, the time has come to present the most<\/span><\/span> new \u201cbiblical\u201d version that will revolutionize the world of debates, so that no Catholic can be refuted by any evangelical, on any topic or biblical passage.<\/span><\/span> Now, when one of these \u201cheretics\u201d and \u201csons of Luther\u201d asks \u201cwhere is it in the Bible?\u201d, you no longer need to invent an \u201coral tradition\u201d or despise the Bible. Just quote these verses from the BSC (\u201cBible<\/span><\/span> of Catholic Dreams\u201d\/ \u201cB\u00edblia dos Sonhos dos Cat\u00f3licos\u201d).<\/span><\/span> Below are some verses translated by BSC theologians, bishops and scholars:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n John 3:16<\/strong> For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> \u201cFor God so loved the world, that he gave us Mary, our Advocate, Help, Intercessor, Protector, Mediatrix, Mother of the Church, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Supplicant Almighty in Heaven, so that whoever believes in her may not<\/span><\/span> perish, but have the rosary\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The passage is entirely about Jesus, and says nothing about Mary. For Banzoli to imply that Catholics would twist and distort such a passage, making it all about Mary, is simply equal parts ludicrous and laughable. In fact, the following is what the Catholic Church actually<\/em> teaches about Mary, in relation to her Son, in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church<\/em>\u00a0(Lumen Gentium<\/em><\/a>), from the Second Vatican Council (21 November 1964), chapter VIII:<\/p>\n 60. There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the apostle, \u201cfor there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all\u201d. The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it. In no way does it impede, but rather does it foster the immediate union of the faithful with Christ.<\/p>\n 62. This maternity of Mary in the order of grace . . . is to be so understood that it neither takes away from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficaciousness of Christ the one Mediator.<\/p>\n For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer. Just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by the ministers and by the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is really communicated in different ways to His creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.<\/p>\n The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary.<\/p>\n 67. . . . the duties and privileges of the Blessed Virgin . . . always look to Christ, the source of all truth, sanctity and piety.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This essential subordination to Jesus Christ is repeatedly taught and stressed even in the Catholic work that anti-Catholics love the most (because of what they falsely believe<\/em>\u00a0it teaches): The Glories of Mary<\/em>, by St. Alphonus de Liguori. All excerpts below are taken from The Glories of Mary<\/i>, by St. Alphonsus de Liguori \u2014 a Doctor of the Catholic Church \u2013, edited by Rev. Eugene Grimm, Two Volumes in One, Fourth Reprint Revised, Brooklyn: Redemptorist Fathers, 1931:<\/p>\n And now, to say all in a few words: God<\/span>, to glorify the Mother of the Redeemer,\u00a0has so determined and disposed<\/span>\u00a0that of her great charity she should\u00a0intercede<\/span>\u00a0on behalf of all those for whom\u00a0his divine Son paid and offered the superabundant price of his precious blood in which alone is our salvation, life, and resurrection.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n On this doctrine, and on all that is in accordance with it, I ground my propositions . . . the plenitude of all grace which is in Christ as the Head, from which it flows, as from its source; and in Mary, as in the neck through which it flows.<\/span>\u00a0(p. 26)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The very analogies and language make it impossible for Mary to be \u201cabove God.\u201d God \u201cdetermined\u201d that she would\u00a0intercede<\/i>\u00a0for those \u201cblood-bought\u201d by Jesus\u2019 death on the cross, in Whose precious blood \u201calone is our salvation.\u201d The grace flows from the \u201cHead,\u201d Jesus, through the neck, Mary. A neck is not a head. The Body of Christ has one divine Head, Jesus. A neck is under a head, and it isn\u2019t the control center, so to speak. Etc., etc. It is clearer than the sun at high noon on a clear day that Mary cannot be equal to God at all in this scenario. She is merely a creature and a vessel, albeit highly exalted and venerated and honored. Every prophet served the same function to a lesser degree. St. Paul played a profound role in salvation and Church history. That doesn\u2019t make him God. Nor is Mary God. Catholics know this, but our critics oftentimes don\u2019t \u201cget\u201d it.<\/p>\n [I]t is one thing to say that God cannot<\/span>, and another that he\u00a0will not, grant graces<\/span>\u00a0without the intercession of Mary. We willingly admit that\u00a0God is the source of every good, and the absolute master of all graces; and that Mary is only a pure creature, who receives whatever she obtains as a pure favor from God<\/span>\u00a0. . . We most readily admit that\u00a0Jesus Christ is the only Mediator of justice\u00a0<\/span>. . . and that\u00a0by his merits he obtains us all graces and salvation;<\/span> but we say that Mary is the mediatress of grace; and that\u00a0receiving all she obtains through Jesus Christ<\/span>, and because she prays and asks for it\u00a0in the name of Jesus Christ<\/span>\u00a0. . . (pp. 156-157)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n [W]hen these saints and authors tell us in such terms that all graces come to us through Mary, they do not simply mean to say that we \u201creceived Jesus Christ, the source of every good, through Mary,\u201d as the before-named writer pretends; but that they assure us that God, who gave us Jesus Christ, wills that all graces that have been, that are, and will be dispensed to men to the end of the world through the merits of Christ, should be dispensed by the hands and through the intercession of Mary<\/span>\u00a0. . . [this is] necessary, . . . not with an absolute necessity; for\u00a0the mediation of Christ alone is absolutely necessary<\/span>; but with a moral necessity . . . (p. 162)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jesus now in heaven sits at the right hand of the Father . . . He has supreme dominion\u00a0over all, and also over Mary<\/span>\u00a0. . . (p. 179)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cBe comforted, O unfortunate soul, who hast lost thy God,\u201d says St. Bernard; \u201cthy Lord himself has provided thee with\u00a0a mediator, and this is his Son Jesus, who can obtain for thee all that thou desirest. He has given thee Jesus for a mediator;<\/span> and what is there that such a son cannot obtain from the Father?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If your fear arises from having offended God, know that Jesus has fastened all your sins on the cross with his own lacerated hands, and having satisfied divine justice for them by his death, he has already effaced them from your souls . . . \u201d . . . What do you fear, O ye of little faith?\u00a0<\/span>. . . But if by chance,\u201d adds the saint, \u201cthou fearest to have recourse to Jesus Christ because the majesty of God in him overawes thee \u2014 for though he became man, he did not cease to be God \u2014 and thou desirest another advocate with this divine mediator, go to Mary, for\u00a0she will intercede for thee with the Son, who will most certainly hear her; and then he will intercede with the Father, who can deny nothing to such a son.<\/span>\u201d (pp. 200-201)<\/p>\n [For much more on this, see:\u00a0St. Alphonsus de Liguori: Mary-Worshiper & Idolater?<\/a> (8-9-02)]<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n 1 Timothy 2:5 <\/b>For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC<\/strong>: For there is one God and several mediators between God and men, like Mary, the angels and all the saints, including Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n The Catholic Church agrees that there is one unique, preeminent, super-abundant mediator, Jesus Christ, per 1 Timothy 2:5, and as reiterated in Lumen Gentium, 60 (see above). At the same time, God desires to utilize human beings in accomplishing His purposes, so that we often function as \u201cmini-mediators\u201d in an entirely secondary, essentially lesser fashion (intercessory prayer is the most immediate and obvious manifestation of this). This is true even regarding salvation and distribution of grace<\/a>, according to many biblical passages: particularly from St. Paul. As for grace, he refers to \u201cthe stewardship of God\u2019s grace that was given to me for you\u201d (Eph 3:2), and states that good, edifying words can \u201cimpart grace to those who hear\u201d (Eph 4:29), and that he and his helpers were \u201cstewards of the mysteries of God\u201d (1 Cor 4:1). St. Peter adds that all<\/em> serious Christians are potentially \u201cstewards of God\u2019s varied grace\u201d (1 Pet 4:10). If all<\/em> Christians can do this, clearly, so can Mary<\/em>, if God so wills it.<\/p>\n St. Paul teaches many times, in many different ways that believers help to save people as well. Paul said that he could \u201csave some of\u201d his fellow Jews (Rom 11:14), and that God, \u201cthrough\u201d his preaching, would \u201csave those who believe\u201d (1 Cor 1:21), that he was God\u2019s servant \u201cthrough whom\u201d people \u201cbelieved\u201d (1 Cor 3:5), that spouses could \u201csave\u201d each other (1 Cor 7:16). He was willing to \u201cbecome all things to all men, that\u201d he \u201cmight by all means save some\u201d (1 Cor 9:22); he\u2019s \u201cafflicted\u201d for the sake of others\u2019 \u201csalvation\u201d (2 Cor 1:6); he says that \u201cI endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation\u201d (2 Tim 2:10). James likewise states that \u201cwhoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul\u201d (Jas 5:20); and Peter observes that some husbands \u201cmay be won without a word by the behavior of their wives\u201d (1 Pet 3:1). So the notion that Mary also<\/em> helps save people (even if it is all<\/em> people, as a worker with God: see the next section) is also totally in line with the above passages.<\/p>\n God is so interested in working directly with human beings, to save souls and impart His grace, that Scripture refers to a profound joint working relationship several times: \u201cthe Lord worked with them\u201d (Mk 16:20), \u201cwe are God\u2019s fellow workers\u201d (1 Cor 3:9), \u201cI worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me\u201d (1 Cor 15:10), \u201calways abounding in the work of the Lord\u201d (1 Cor 15:58), \u201cwe are ambassadors for Christ\u201d (2 Cor 5:20), \u201cWorking together with him\u201d (2 Cor 6:1), \u201cit is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me\u201d (Gal 2:20), \u201cfor God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure\u201d (Phil 2:13). Mary is one of those who does this, as the mother of God the Son; God in the flesh (a thing only one human being has ever done).<\/p>\n John 14:6<\/strong> Jesus said to him, \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> Jesus said to them: Rome is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through her.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether one is saved through the Church or not (as a secondary agent of God) is a separate question from the fact that we are ultimately saved by the redeeming blood of Christ and by His sacrifice on the cross. No one denies that. As to the necessity of the Church (whatever it is construed to be), for salvation, that\u2019s not solely a \u201cCatholic\u201d thing at all. John Calvin (no lover of the Catholic Church), taught it many times:<\/p>\n [T]here is no other means of entering into life unless she conceive us in the womb and give us birth, unless she nourish us at her breasts, and, in short, keep us under her charge and government, until, divested of mortal flesh, we become like the angels (Mt. 22:30). For our weakness does not permit us to leave the school until we have spent our whole lives as scholars. Moreover, beyond the pale of the Church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for, as Isaiah and Joel testify (Isa. 37:32; Joel 2:32). . . . the abandonment of the Church is always fatal. (Institutes of the Christian Religion<\/em>, IV, 1:4)<\/p>\n The knowledge of his body, inasmuch as he knew it to be more necessary for our salvation, he has made known to us by surer marks. (IV, 1:8)<\/p>\n God has been pleased to preserve the pure preaching of his word by her instrumentality, . . . while he feeds us with spiritual nourishment, and provides whatever is conducive to our salvation. (IV, 1:10)<\/p>\n Accordingly, in the Creed forgiveness of sins is appropriately subjoined to belief as to the Church, because none obtain forgiveness but those who are citizens, and of the household of the Church, as we read in the Prophet (Is. 33:24). The first place, therefore, should be given to the building of the heavenly Jerusalem, in which God afterwards is pleased to wipe away the iniquity of all who betake themselves to it. I say, however, that the Church must first be built; not that there can be any church without forgiveness of sins, but because the Lord has not promised his mercy save in the communion of saints. (IV, 1:20)<\/p>\n Three things are here to be observed. First, Whatever be the holiness which the children of God possess, it is always under the condition, that so long as they dwell in a mortal body, they cannot stand before God without forgiveness of sins. Secondly, This benefit is so peculiar to the Church, that we cannot enjoy it unless we continue in the communion of the Church. Thirdly, It is dispensed to us by the ministers and pastors of the Church, either in the preaching of the Gospel or the administration of the Sacraments, and herein is especially manifested the power of the keys, which the Lord has bestowed on the company of the faithful. Accordingly, let each of us consider it to be his duty to seek forgiveness of sins only where the Lord has placed it. Of the public reconciliation which relates to discipline, we shall speak at the proper place. (IV, 1:22)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The question then becomes, \u201cwhat is the Church; where is it found\u201d? That\u2019s a huge discussion itself, and (trust me) Protestants are in no good position to provide a feasible alternative to the Catholic Church (being hopelessly split amongst themselves). But the Church as a means of salvation is biblical teaching, which is why Calvin holds to it as strongly as Catholics do.<\/p>\n Mark 10:42<\/strong> And Jesus called them to him and said to them, \u201cYou know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> You know that those who are rulers of nations dominate them, and important people exercise power over them.<\/span><\/span><\/span> And so it will be with you, who will be led by Peter, the Supreme Pontiff, Prince of the Apostles, Head of the Church, Head of Christians, Universal Bishop and Bishop of Bishops.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I guess it\u2019s because the Christian Church was to have no leader<\/em> \u2014 so Banzoli absurdly pontificates \u2014 explains why Peter alone<\/em> was told by Jesus that he was the rock upon which He would build His Church (Mt 16:18), why He gave Peter alone<\/em> the \u201ckeys of the kingdom of heaven\u201d (Mt 16:19), why Peter is specified by an angel as the leader and representative of the apostles (Mk 16:7), and why the Jews (Acts 4:1-13) and the common people (Acts 2:37-41; 5:15) thought the same, why he was the first Christian to \u201cpreach the gospel\u201d in the Church era (Acts 2:14-36), and the one who performed the first miracle of the Church Age, healing a capital punishment (Acts 5:2-11).<\/p>\n It obviously explains why Cornelius was told by an angel to seek out Peter for instruction in Christianity (Acts 10:1-6), and why Peter was the first to receive the Gentiles, after a revelation from God (Acts 10:9-48), why\u00a0Peter is often spoken of as distinct among apostles (Mk 1:36; Lk 9:28, 32; Acts 2:37; 5:29; 1 Cor 9:5), and is often spokesman for the others (Mk 8:29; Mt 18:21; Lk 9:5; 12:41; Jn 6:67 ff.), why Peter\u2019s name is mentioned more than anyone else<\/a> in the NT; even more than Paul (191 to 184), why he led the first recorded mass baptism (Acts 2:41), why he was the first traveling missionary, and first exercised what would now be called \u201cvisitation of the churches\u201d (Acts 9:32-38, 43), why Paul went to Jerusalem specifically to see Peter for fifteen days in the beginning of his ministry (Gal 1:18) . . . Yes, all of this is clearly explained by the fact that there is no leader of Christianity<\/em>, according to Pope Lucas Banzoli.<\/p>\n 1 Peter 5:1<\/strong> So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> Therefore, I appeal to the presbyters among you, and I do so in the capacity of universal pope, of Supreme Pontiff and bishop of all bishops and witness of the sufferings of Christ\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, just as Jesus (infinitely above all men, as God) called His disciples \u201cfriends\u201d (Jn 15:15) and said that \u201cHe who receives you receives me\u201d (Mt 10:40), and was obedient to mere creatures (\u201cAnd he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them\u201d: Lk 2:51).<\/p>\n Hebrews 8:1<\/strong> Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> We have two Supreme Pontiffs: one is the earthly Pontiff, who is Peter, and the other is seated at the right hand of the throne of the divine Majesty in heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n As the text is about the high priest, not the pope, Banzoli\u2019s comment is irrelevant. But it doesn\u2019t overcome or contradict the leadership of Peter (and by extension his successors), explained above with much Scripture. The Bible teaches that Peter is a rock in one sense and that Jesus is in another<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ezekiel 18:4<\/strong> Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> The soul that sins will live forever because it is immortal.<\/span><\/p>\n I refuted Banzoli\u2019s heretical views on souls sleep and annihilationism in 17 parts<\/a>. That Ezekiel 18:4, 20 refer to spiritual death<\/em>\u00a0(i.e.,\u00a0separation<\/i>\u00a0from God, not annihilation) is obvious from immediate context, too, since 18:21 declares:<\/p>\n But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Since all men die physically, this must be talking about the spiritual, or \u201csecond\u201d death. So much for\u00a0this<\/em>\u00a0\u201cproof\u201d . . .<\/p>\n Ecclesiastes 9:10<\/strong> Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> Whatever comes to your hand to do, do as you wish, because in the beyond, where you are going, there are also works and projects, there is knowledge and wisdom, prayers and intercessions for the living.<\/span><\/p>\n The context of 9:6 (\u201cthey have no more for ever any share in all that is done under the sun\u201d)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is crucial in order to understand and properly exegete the passage. It places the \u201cvantage-point\u201d of the larger passage (9:5-6, 10) as \u201cunder the sun.\u201d The dead (at least the unrighteous dead) \u201cknow nothing\u201d about or have any \u201cshare\u201d in the things of the earth<\/em>.<\/p>\n Acts 10:25-26<\/strong> When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. [26] But Peter lifted him up, saying, \u201cStand up; I too am a man.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n BSC:<\/strong> As Peter was about to enter the house, Cornelius went up to him and fell at his feet, worshiping him.<\/span><\/span> And Pedro said: you did very well;<\/span><\/span> after all, I\u2019m dad.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2023\/03\/HeadDesk2.jpg\")
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