ENEMIES

CHAPTER V

RACKETEERS

A RACKET is a scheme, plan, dodge or trick used for selfish gain and which deceives and works injury to others. A perversion of the truth for the purpose of inducing another in reliance upon it to part with something valuable is a racket. A false scheme or misrepresentation or suppression of the truth, which results in injury to others, and for pecuniary gain to the schemer, is a racket. A deception intentionally practiced, with a view to gain, is a racket.

A racketeer is a schemer who is artful, wily and cunning and who uses his plan or scheme to gain an unfair advantage over others. The racketeer gains an undue advantage over others, and then uses his scheme or plan to rob or pillage others, and this he does for real or supposed gain to himself. All racketeers are public enemies and enemies of honest persons, and are the enemies of God. Rackets, practiced by racketeers, work injury to those upon whom the trick is practiced.

Men who are engaged in traffic that is unlawful and that works injury to the people are racketeers and public enemies. The stealing of

children or persons and holding them for ransom is a racket, and the stealer or kidnaper is a public enemy. Men who engage in the white-slave trade are racketeers and public enemies. Real estate promoters who operate schemes to defraud others are racketeers and public enemies. Those who operate a scheme by offering prizes to induce persons to buy or sell worthless goods, wares and merchandise are racketeers. Men who engage in robbery, stealing and murder for personal gain are racketeers and public enemies. The man who engages in the scheme of blackmail and thereby obtains money is a racketeer and a public enemy. All such public enemies either put the people in fear or fraudulently overreach them. Men who engage in political schemes misrepresenting the facts in order to induce the people to support them that they may thereby reap a personal or pecuniary gain are racketeers and public enemies. Commercial men or corporations operating a scheme or schemes that result in injury to the people are racketeers and public enemies. Those who engage in any kind of fraudulent scheme that results in loss or injury to others are racketeers and public enemies. Men who use motion pictures to mislead the people, and thereby gain any kind of profit in name, money or influence, are racketeers. All racketeers are agents of the Devil, whether they realize that fact or not. All wrongful schemes originate with the Devil, and that great enemy induces and influences men to use such rackets to do injury to others and to bring reproach upon the name of the

Almighty God. Such is a general description of rackets and racketeers.

GREATEST RACKET

Put aside now preconceived opinions, and with an unbiased mind examine the facts concerning the greatest of all rackets that has ever been practiced under the sun, to understand the truth of which is for your own personal welfare. Honest persons have some means of protecting themselves against many public enemies because they are warned against such enemies, can see how the enemies operate, and can take steps to safeguard their own interests. The most dangerous and destructive kind of racketeering is that which has the appearance of honesty but which is operated in such a subtle, deceptive manner as to blind the people to the real truth. The credulous and unsuspecting are caught unawares in the enemy's trap and find it almost impossible to extricate themselves therefrom.

The greatest racket ever invented and practiced is that of religion. The most cruel and seductive public enemy is that which employs religion to carry on the racket, and by which means the people are deceived and the name of Almighty God is reproached. There are numerous systems of religion, but the most subtle, fraudulent and injurious to humankind is that which is generally labeled the "Christian religion", because it has the appearance of a worshipful devotion to the Supreme Being, and

thereby easily misleads many honest and sincere persons. Strange as it may seem, the two words "Christian" and "religion" are diametrically opposed one to the other. Most persons in the land called "Christendom" have been led to believe that the two words mean one and the same thing, and through lack of knowledge of the truth great injury is done to the people. The greatest public enemy is that which operates with a righteous appearance but which is fraudulent, brings reproach upon God's name, misrepresents his purpose, and thereby robs the people of their money, their peace of mind, their liberty of speech and thought, and the opportunity of life everlasting.

Under the practice of the so-called "Christian religion" the world at the present time has reached that period described in the Bible in these words: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." — 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 8, 9.

Do not confuse "Christianity" with the so-called "Christian religion". The latter operates in the name of God and Christ but is wholly against Christ and his kingdom, which is the only hope of the human race. Religion labeled "the Christian religion" is a racket invented by the Devil to defame the name of Almighty God and is practiced by men, some of whom are honest and practice it because they have been induced to believe it is right, while others know that they are wrong and are working a fraud upon the people. The latter are doubly dangerous to the interests of the human race. Because the name of Christ has been and is used to work a great fraud upon the people, the racket thus practiced is the greatest of all. There are many sincere and honest persons in organizations known as "religious" or "church organizations", and it is with the hope of helping such to see the truth that this publication is put forth. What is here published is not an attack upon men, but is an attack upon the most subtle and devilish kind of frauds that ever existed. Those who desire to know the truth will be pleased to now carefully consider the origin of the so-called "Christian religion" and how it has progressed in the earth.

Christ Jesus is the Head or beginning of Christianity, because he leads and others follow in obeying God's commandments. Christ means Anointed of God, the One who is commissioned to carry out God's purpose. Christ is not and never was for one moment a religionist. He always strictly obeys the commandments of the

Almighty God. He instructed his faithful disciples in the Word and purpose of Jehovah God. After the resurrection of Jesus from the dead the holy spirit, which is the invisible power of God, came upon the faithful apostles and they understood the truth as it was not possible for them to understand it before that time. Those faithful men, in the name of Christ, went about "from house to house" (Acts 20:20), teaching the people and preaching to them that the shed blood of Christ Jesus provides the redemptive price for man from condemnation, and that it is the purpose of Jehovah God to give life to those who believe on Christ and follow in his steps. Because those men were freely telling the truth to the people concerning Christ, the religionists amongst the Jews assaulted the apostles, brought them into the courts, demanding: "By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?" One of those faithful apostles of Jesus Christ replied in these words: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This [Christ] is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." — Acts 4:10-12.

During the remainder of the earthly career of the apostles they continued to preach to the

people Christ Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection, and the coming of his kingdom as the only hope of mankind, and many of the common people heard and believed. To offset the work of the apostles of Christ, Satan the Devil began to build an anti-Christ organization, into which latter organization many people were drawn. Ambitious men assumed the leadership amongst those who started to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and those ambitious and selfish men became the teachers and leaders of the organization (Acts 20:29,30), and then was the organization labeled as "the Christian church", and the doctrines and practices thereof were from that time forward called "the Christian religion". The Lord had warned his disciples of the coming of the anti-Christ, that is, those who should deceive the people in the name of Christ. (2 John 7) Such deceivers were manifesting themselves even in the days of the apostles. (2 Thessalonians 2:7) In this day (1937) the religious organization that has its headquarters at Vatican City, Italy, and which calls itself "the Christian church" or "Christian religion", dominates the religion of the nations called "Christendom".

As heretofore shown, religious organizations began with Babylon and extended to all parts of the earth. When Rome became a world power, and which is known as Pagan Rome, that world power practiced the Devil religion; and in time Pagan Rome blossomed into what is known as Papal Rome, which from then till now practices what is called the "Christian religion". The fol-

lowing indisputable historical facts should be read with real interest, since they disclose that Rome completely fell under the Devil religion.

The quotations following are from The Encyclopedia Americana:

ROMAN RELIGION. From the time that the Roman religion appears within the pale of traditional and recorded history it seems to have been constantly and progressively subjected to varying influences, both internal and external, and to have passed through many changes. . . . Fundamentally the primitive religious ideas of all the Indo-European peoples were quite similar. Even the Roman religion, in the days when Rome was governed by kings and had already begun to evolve complicated rituals and complex myths, still retained a suggestive similarity to that of India. . . . The early Roman gods were the personification of the elements of nature. The old Roman deities and supernatural beings of their nomadic life, the patrons of the chase and the guardian spirits of the mountains, the rivers, the earth, the sky and the upper heavens gradually assumed more definite attributes . . . The deities and religious customs and practices of all the tribes of Italy of Indo-European origin, which were quite similar, gradually became domesticated in Rome. Naturally as the Roman Empire broadened and became more cosmopolitan, its religious system also became broader and more all-embracing. Having absorbed the deities of the Italic Peninsula, the habit of absorption became, with Rome, all-impelling, and the pantheon of the Imperial City, reaching out its octopus arms in every direction throughout the already wide confines of the rapidly extending Roman domain, and even beyond it, brought new creeds, new deities and new religious philosophies into Rome. Under such con-

ditions as these little or no religious dogma could exist; nor did it. ... Thus ecclesiastical Rome became as cosmopolitan and eclectic as the Roman Empire itself. This is but another way of saying, however, that the religious life of the Roman community was constantly shifting as the process of broadening continued.

. . . Diana, the moon goddess, under one name or another and with somewhat varying attributes, the favorite deity of so many nomadic peoples given to the chase, and in all probability the chief deity of the nomadic Romans, gave place to the earth mother, the producer, the characteristic deity of an agricultural people. . . . Jupiter, the god of the sky, of the upper regions and of thunder, usurped the foremost place primitively held by Diana, the moon mother, becoming the titular deity of the Romans and the supreme god of the Latin races united under the imperial sway of Rome. . . .

... Juno, the female counterpart of the supreme deity [Jupiter] himself, and the definition of the supposed female qualities of the sky. In other words, she is but a subdivision of Jupiter himself, whose sister and wife she is represented, in Roman mythology, to be. ...

Next to Jupiter and Juno, his regal consort, the greatest of the Roman state gods, was Mars, . . . the patron of war, . . . Mars, who was especially honored in March and October, was the patron of the opening and closing of the war campaigns and of the sports connected therewith. . . .

... At this early period in the life of the Roman people, the superior priesthood seem to have been almost inseparably connected with the nobility and the kingly rulers, the latter of whom had already begun to lay claim to descent from the gods. The seeds of ancestor worship had also already been planted, a custom which was later

on to deify kings and emperors, as the legal and de facto representatives of the gods upon earth. . . .

... It looked very much as if the old religion were about to go by the board when the establishment of the [Roman] empire saved it for the time being. The emperors claiming to rule by divine right and direct descent from the gods, it was very much to their interest to uphold a state religion; which they did on a magnificent scale, bringing into the national church all the officers, employees and dependents of the government. The state church, at this latter stage, was an immense fraternity, all the members of which were bound, by virtue of their office, to support it. This revival of the ancient Roman religion was, therefore, less religious than political . . . Babylonian, Greek, Assyrian, Egyptian and Eastern religious ideas found welcome in Rome. The Great Earth Mother of Asia Minor [therefore of Babylon] and Isis, the mother goddess of Egypt, were not only introduced into Rome but their worship, which was accompanied with elaborate ritual and ceremonial, became almost universal throughout the Roman Empire; and such a firm root did it take among the masses of the Roman people and the Eastern nations under the domination of Rome that the early Christian missionaries found great difficulty in eradicating it.

. . . This craze for foreign deities went to unheard-of extremes, going so far afield as Persia, from which was introduced the great sun god, Mithras, with his elaborate mystical worship, which became very popular in the Imperial City itself. . . . Thus Rome, bathed in philosophy, scepticism, mysticism, emotionalism and stoicism, with nothing solid to which to anchor, drifted upon the rocks of national religious shipwreck. In this condition

she was found . . . for the development of the Catholic faith.

The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 23, pages 641-645.

The "gods" mentioned in the foregoing are Gog and the wicked demons, which inhabit what is known in the Scriptures as "the land of Magog". The faithful apostles of Jesus Christ saw the anti-Christ religion advancing in their day and forewarned the people against it. Soon after they passed from the earth the Devil saw to it that what began as the Christian organization was corrupted and turned into what has since been called the "Christian religion", and which has since operated in the earth under the name of the Roman Catholic religious system'. The following historical facts, taken from Lord's Old Roman World, are here appropriate:

"In the First Century not many wise or noble were called. . . .In the Second Century... It was a disgrace to be a Christian in the eye of fashion or power. ... the church . . . was a small body of pure and blameless men, who did not aspire to control society. But they had attracted the notice of the government and were of sufficient consequence to be persecuted." During the second century "bishops had become influential, not in society, but among the Christians". Then "ecclesiastical centralization commenced; . . . The Church was thus laying the foundation of its future polity and power".

It is certain that the Lord God had not marked out such a policy. It is equally certain that it was the Devil who was planting and cultivating

the seeds of selfishness to accomplish his wicked purpose.

The historian above mentioned continues: "The Third Century saw the Church more powerful as an institution. . . . doctrines were systematized [into creeds and confusion].... great bishops ruled the growing church. . . . The Church was rapidly advancing to a position which extorted the attention of mankind [the world, to be sure]. It was not till the Fourth Century — when imperial persecution had stopped; when Constantine [the emperor of Pagan Rome] was converted; when the Church was allied with the State; when the early faith was itself corrupted; when superstition and vain philosophy [prompted by the Devil] had entered the ranks of the faithful; . . . when synods were brought under political influence; . . . when politics and dogmatics went hand in hand,. .. that men of rank entered the church. When Christianity became the religion of the court and of the fashionable classes, it was used to support the very evils against which it originally protested. The Church was not only impregnated with the errors of Pagan philosophy, but it adopted many of the ceremonies of oriental [Devil] worship, . . . The clergy, ambitious and worldly, sought rank and distinction.... They became lazy, arrogant, and independent. The people were shut out of the government of the Church. The bishop became a grand personage who controlled and appointed his clergy. . . . The mission of the [true] Church was lost sight of in a degrading alliance with the State."

SUBTLE SCHEME

The Lord God gives warning to men in these words: "The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." (Proverbs 29:25) The man who fears that he may lose some honor or other thing that he regards as valuable unless he pursues a compromising course is certain to fall into Satan's trap. Ambitious men are easily led into Satan's trap. No doubt the early leaders in what is known as the Catholic Church organization were sincere, but some of them, particularly being ambitious for honor amongst men, and fearing they might lose what they had, quickly fell to the flattery of the Devil, who saw to it that they had plenty of it. About 400 years after the death of the apostle Peter the Roman Catholic "Hierarchy of Jurisdiction" was organized. After still further centuries had passed, and the people had been kept in ignorance of the truth, it was then an easy matter to induce the living ones to believe that a man whom they had been taught to honor as pope and the head of the Hierarchy is the successor of the apostle Peter. The people were thus induced to believe a great and injurious falsehood.

There is no reason to say anything about the man who fills the office of pope, and therefore nothing is here intended to apply to an individual, but what is said is against the office. That office of pope had no existence in the days of the apostles. It was created by men at the instance of Satan, and the first man elected to that office was elected in the year 440 (A.D.).

 — McClintock & Strong's Cyclopædia, Vol. 7, page 629.

The Catholic Church did not exist until long centuries after the days of the apostles of Jesus Christ, and yet that organization today claims to be the church of Christ, and millions of sincere persons believe that falsehood. Neither Christ nor any of his apostles had anything whatsoever to do with bringing into existence the Catholic organization. Only the Devil could conceive the idea of organizing a great religious system and labeling it the "Christian Church"; and his purpose, in keeping with his name, was and is to deceive the people and keep them in ignorance of the truth concerning the church of God. The church of God, of which Christ Jesus is the Head, is the only true church, and the names of those who are in it are written in heaven and not on earth. (Hebrews 12: 23) Because that religious organization assumed the name of Christ and stealthily and gradually put forth its false doctrines, it has become the most far-reaching and destructive racketeer that has ever been in existence, and works to the greatest injury to the people and to the defamation of God's name. It operates upon false pretenses and false teachings.

PRETENSES

A pretense is the act of laying claim to something or holding out to others some teaching or doctrine to induce such others to take a course consistent with such pretense. The Catholic organization, commonly called the "Catholic

church", is made up of the pope, bishops, cardinals, priests and others called "clergymen"; and all those who support that organization or who are adherents thereof are known as the "Catholic population", but which "Catholic population" are not members of the church. In the Catholic organization there are the high and the low clergymen, that is to say, the Hierarchy of authority, composed of men in high positions; while there are many humbler men in the priesthood who obey the commands of the higher-ups. The Catholic organization has long held out and continues to hold out to the people certain claims or doctrines for the manifest purpose of inducing people to become adherents to or "children" of that organization. Among the doctrines so taught and held out is this one, to wit: That the Roman Catholic Church is the one true and only church. The following quotation is from the well-known Catholic authority: "The true Church must be Apostolical. Hence in the Creed framed in the first Ecumenical Council of Nicæa, in the year 325, we find these words: I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.'" —The Faith of Our Fathers (Gibbons), page 38.

Credulous persons, who hear this claim and rely upon the same, are induced to act, and therefore millions of sincere persons have been induced to believe that the Roman Catholic organization is the Church of God, and for that reason they have submitted themselves to the organization which is ruled by the Hierarchy. If the claims or pretenses made by the Catholic

organization are false, then it must be conceded that the people are being imposed upon to their injury and that those who are responsible for such pretenses or false claims are therefore racketeers. By what rule shall these claims be measured to determine whether or not they are true or false? The sincere person who believes in God and in Christ, and who is of good will toward God, will quickly answer this question in these words: "The Word of God is the only true guide by which we must determine the truth or falsity of such claims."

Is the Roman Catholic Church organization the true church of the living God? The answer must be, No. Refer now to the foregoing chapter four of this book, wherein are given the scriptures showing that the true church is the temple or organization of Jehovah God and that the one and true Foundation Stone or Rock thereof is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Head and Lord of the church; and that all others in the temple or church are members of his body and that such must be transformed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ, faithfully following in his steps, and that these are the witnesses of Jehovah God, who are commissioned to bear testimony to his holy name. The office and mission of the church of God under Christ Jesus, compared with that of the Roman Catholic organization, show that the two take exactly opposite courses. The Roman Catholic organization is now and for centuries has been engaged in religion, politics and com-

merce for gain, and is therefore the enemy of God and the enemy of all men.

In the Scriptures a "tree" is used as a symbol of a creature or of an organization composed of creatures, and the fruits borne by that tree symbolically stand for what creatures or organizations hold before the people as spiritual food for their sustenance and growth. Jesus, speaking of the same, says: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. . . . Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." — Matthew 7:18-23.

Jehovah God has covenanted to give to Christ Jesus and his faithful ones who follow him, and who are made members of his church, his kingdom, which kingdom shall in time rule in righteousness and minister blessings to the people. (Luke 22: 28-30) The kingdom of God has nothing that is commercial, and has nothing in common with the harsh, cruel and wicked system that rules the world now and which present rule is under the Devil and his representatives. Concerning this world Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36) "The prince of this world [Satan] . . . hath nothing in me." (John 14: 30) The Scriptures then show that Christ Jesus takes his kingdom and rules at the time of his second coming, at which time he gathers unto himself his church. — 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:1.

Jesus addresses himself to religionists of his time and of the present time, and to them he says: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Matthew 21:43) The Roman Catholic church organization has never at any time brought to the people the fruit or message of God's kingdom, but, on the contrary, that organization has at all times co-operated with politicians, militarists, commercial giants, and other gangsters to rule and control the nations of the earth. Instead of bearing before the people the fruits of God's Word, which sustain them, that is, the fruits of God's kingdom, the Catholic organization has bitterly opposed the kingdom under Christ. Every religious organization on the earth indulges in politics and in commerce, more or less, contrary to the will of God, and all these organizations ill-treat and persecute the men and women who bear the message or fruits of and concerning the kingdom of God before the people.

INCONSISTENT

The Scriptures lay down the unchangeable rule that everyone who is made a member of the church of God faithfully follows in the footsteps of Jesus, and therefore must do as Jesus does. "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:21,22) Again Jesus says: "Every one that is of the truth heareth my

voice." (John 18:37) All such must obey his commandments or else suffer destruction. (John 14:15; Acts 3: 23) To lay claim to the high office of the representative on earth of Jesus Christ, and then to take the course exactly opposite to what Jesus took, is wholly inconsistent and shows that the claims or pretenses of the Catholic organization are false. Consider now the well-known facts in the light of the above and supporting scriptures, and by such scriptures determine the truth or falsity of the claims of the Catholic organization.

Neither Jesus nor his apostles owned any real estate, houses or other property. Of Jesus it is written: "[He] hath not where to lay his head." (Luke 9:58) Jesus and his apostles did not build cathedrals and draw the people into them to serve them, but the Lord and his apostles went about "from house to house" preaching the truth to the people and instructing them in the way of God. (Matthew 10: 5-15) All true followers of Christ Jesus have ever pursued the same course. Constantine, the politician and emperor of Rome, who was a pagan or heathen, claimed to adopt "Christianity". He became a "Catholic". Constantine was rich and doubtless had been induced to believe that he could buy his salvation.

The following is quoted from Cardinal Gibbons' The Faith of Our Fathers, page 134: "Constantine gave to the Roman Church munificent donations of money and real estate, which were augmented by additional grants contributed by subsequent emperors. Hence the patrimony of

the Roman Pontiffs soon became very considerable." From that time onward the Roman Catholic Church organization became very rich in material things. Thus it is seen that it pursued a course wholly inconsistent with that pursued by Christ Jesus. The religious organization, in the Fourth Century, had bishops and rulers, many of them, and then the bishop of Rome was elected to the office of pope. That was the real beginning of popedom, and was more than 300 years after the days of the apostles.  — See The Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 2, Page 81.

Soon thereafter the pope, as the head of the Roman Church organization, began to exercise political or temporal power. Pepin, king of France, after defeating the Lombards in the war, placed the pope as temporal ruler of the conquered provinces. Thus the pope came into existence as a temporal power by means of a war of conquest; which is contrary to the Word of God. Says Cardinal Gibbons: "Charlemagne, the successor of Pepin, not only confirms the grant of his father, but increases the temporal domain of the Pope by donating him some additional provinces. This small piece of territory the Roman Pontiffs continued to govern from that time till 1870, with the exception of brief intervals of foreign usurpation." — The Faith of Our Fathers, page 137.

In the exercise of his political power the pope has maintained his ambassadors at the courts of almost all the nations of "Christendom". Such a course is entirely inconsistent with and at

variance with Christ Jesus, the Head of the church of God, who declares that he has nothing whatsoever to do with the political affairs of this world because Satan controls them.

From 1870 till 1919 the pope was almost completely shorn of his temporal power, as will appear from the historical facts subsequently set forth herein. (See pages 254-262.) During the period of time from 1848 to 1919 the Roman Catholic Church organization continued to dabble in the politics of the world, however, and to seek to gain political recognition and power amongst the nations of the earth. Immediately following the World War the pope sought a seat at the conference of the League of Nations that he might engage in dividing up Europe when the League of Nations was formed. The pope was prevented from gaining a seat at that conference; but after the League of Nations was formed and began to operate, the Devil saw to it that the papal organization got on top of the League, and it has been riding it ever since. Mussolini became a friend of the pope, and since then they have operated together. "In 1929 the Lateran Treaty adjusted the relations of church and state in Italy. Shortly thereafter Mussolini and the Pope, strong characters both, clashed over the education of Fascist youth; in 1932 the Duce went to the Vatican, knelt in prayer, and, it is believed, took holy communion. He was an avowed atheist, like his father, in youth; latterly he has become very religious."  — Inside Europe, page 195.

The ambition of Mussolini is to become a great war lord and to rule the whole world by force. The Roman Catholic organization, working with him, fully supports his ambition. When Mussolini began and carried on his bloody conquest against the poor blacks of Abyssinia, and in which war many lives were destroyed, the pope and the Catholic organization backed up Mussolini and "blessed" his murderous assaults. Now the dictator of Italy attempts to compel men and women to breed like dumb beasts for the purpose of producing men to be later sacrificed in war, and in this the pope backs up Mussolini. A press dispatch from Rome, published by the United Press and broadcast over many radio stations, under date of March 4, 1937, says: 'Italy's Fascist leaders agreed today on a vigorous effort to increase the birth rate and provide more soldiers for the army of the future. A seven-point program was adopted for immediate application by the Fascist grand council, supreme advisory body, in another of its closely guarded night sessions under Premier Benito Mussolini.... It was reported that Pope Pius would instruct Roman Catholic clergymen to give full support."

Such a course is clearly in violation of God's everlasting covenant concerning human life, and the so-called Roman Catholic "Church" is guilty under God's law. (Genesis 9:8-13) Does it appear that such an organization represents God and Christ, or that such organization fraudulently uses the name of God and Christ as a

camouflage behind which it carries on its devilish anti-Kingdom work?

The scarecrow held up throughout the lands now is that of Communism, and it is the papacy that is behind that scarecrow movement. Everyone who dares tell the truth about the Roman Hierarchy is by that organization denounced as a Communist. The facts are that Communism has been encouraged by the Jesuits, the secret order of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, and then used as a camouflage or scarecrow to frighten the people to unite in a movement contrary thereto, and which latter movement is clearly controlled by the papacy. In this manner the Nazis of Germany, with Hitler as the leader, were organized and now carry on a ruthless, cruel and murderous rule in that land; and which class of Nazis delight to persecute those who faithfully represent God and Christ and who bear the fruits of his kingdom before the people. Many of Jehovah's witnesses in Germany have recently been put to death, and thousands of others imprisoned, merely because they had in their possession Bibles and books explaining the Bible, which enable the people to see God's provision for suffering humanity. The Hitler government is in full accord with the Vatican of Rome. Would the Lord Jesus Christ approve such as the rule of Hitler? Certainly not; and since the Roman Church backs up Hitler, that is persuasive evidence that the Roman Catholic organization represents the Devil and is the enemy of God and Christ.

At one time the Roman Catholic Hierarchy controlled Spain, during which time she prosecuted the wicked Inquisition, compelling people to become Catholics or suffer cruel torture. The people rebelled against the highhanded racketeers of Catholicism and organized a republic. Then the Roman Catholic militarists began prosecuting a rebellion against the republic of Spain, carrying on a cruel and vicious war for the purpose of again placing the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in control of that country. The Hierarchy wrongfully obtained possession of millions of money obligations of the Spanish government, concealed the same in their cathedrals, and used it to prosecute a rebellious war, in which hundreds of thousands of persons have been cruelly murdered, many of them lulled by Catholic priests. Mussolini and Hitler have supported the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in the prosecution of that rebellious war. Surely no representative of God and Christ on earth could engage in such a warfare, which is in open violation of God's everlasting covenant concerning the sanctity of human life.

Since the World War, and since the Roman Catholic organization has regained temporal power, she has become bold and aggressive as never before. A person would have to be mentally blind who does not now see that the purpose of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is to gain control of the political affairs of the world and rule the people with dictators. The papacy has made an alliance with the political rulers of Japan, who make no pretense of being Chris-

tians, and she there prosecutes a campaign to silence everybody that speaks the truth against Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Hierarchy is vigorously pushing its campaign to gain control of the offices and political affairs of the British Commonwealth of Nations, but her greatest effort is now put forth to gain control of the United States of America. A book published in 1935 by a former Roman Catholic Jesuit, who manifestly was sick of the duplicity practiced by the rulers in that wicked religious organization, amongst other things says:

In theory, Catholic Action is the work and service of lay Catholics in the cause of religion, tinder the guidance of the bishops. In practice it is the Catholic group fighting their way to control America. . . .

There was a time — it is now past — when only pious Catholics took part in the work of the Church. But today many Catholics who cannot qualify as pious are busy about Catholic Action. Catholicism, in America at least, has ceased to be a matter of religious observance. Catholicism now is something that partakes of clannish-ness, and that is constituted in large part by social and political and "club" affiliations. Among the hundreds of Catholic leaders who are outstanding for their loyalty to the cause are to be found quite a few who have little if any regard for Catholic doctrines or observances. Catholic Action would be a far less serious factor in this country were its only agents pious and devout Catholics. The starting point of the wave of Catholic Action in this country may be traced back to the inauguration of the National Catholic Welfare Conference in 1921. On that occasion Archbishop Hanna declared: "We have co-ordinated and united the Catholic power of this country.

It now knows where and when to act and is encouraged by the consciousness of its unity. We feel ourselves powerful because our reunion has become visible." From that day Catholic strength has grown apace, and Catholic organizations have multiplied. . . .

New organizations spring into existence every month. Only last May (1935) a "Catholic War Veterans Association" was established under the patronage of Bishop Molloy of Brooklyn. Already it has several "posts" and it aims at becoming not only a nation-wide but an international organization. Women auxiliaries are attached to the "posts" under the snappy name of "Yeomanettes". "I am sure," announced the chaplain, Father Higgins, "that we will have the holy backing of Cardinal Hayes and that the entire hierarchy will likewise approve." Contemporaneously with the Catholic War Veterans, the Catholic College Graduates felt inspired to do more than they were doing for Catholic Action and to set up a new organization, so that their leadership in Catholic life might become more effective. Father Parsons S.J., explaining the new move, writes: " . . . Organize! Pool the intellects and the wills of as many of the graduates as can be got together. Give them a common objective. Fire their imaginations with the vision of a great movement which takes its roots from deep within the traditions that formed our Western civilization. Let them be daring. Let them be even revolutionary if the need be for that."

. . . "Catholic men," he said, "should unite in order to be able to tell legislatures that they must not introduce bills which are inimical to the ideals of the family or the ideals of the Catholic Church. They should organize so as to be strong enough to insist that school

teachers who teach 'pernicious doctrines' be removed."  — Rome Stoops to Conquer, pages 15-18.

Space will not permit to call attention here to the divers means employed politically and otherwise to push forward "Catholic Action", and thereby gain control of America and other nations. The purpose here is to call attention to the fact that a religious organization that indulges in such political, commercial, military and other wicked methods as those employed by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy could not possibly be the representative of Christ on earth, and that therefore the claims or pretenses of the Roman Catholic organization concerning its being the church of God are wholly fraudulent and false. Such alone should be sufficient to prove to every honest and sincere person that the Roman Catholic organization is the instrument of the Devil and therefore inimical to the welfare of humankind. If a person desires to jeopardize his eternal welfare by holding on to and supporting that wicked organization, which is the enemy of God and man, such is his privilege; but this is a warning, that he may have no excuse for later saying that he did not know the organization represented the Devil. The purpose of this publication is to aid honest and sincere persons, whether Catholic or otherwise, to see the truth, that they may seek and find the only place of security.

The Roman Catholic Hierarchy church organization is the most perfectly organized political body on earth and is the most powerful one of all organizations. The British Commonwealth of

Nations holds the distinction of being the greatest world power that ever existed. Its claim is that its possessions are so far flung that the sun shines on some part thereof at all times. Made up of many peoples, kindreds and tongues, the British Commonwealth of Nations is truly cosmopolitan. Many good people of England are beginning to see the great danger that now threatens the Commonwealth and that such danger is the Roman Catholic Hierarchy.

In practically all of the colonies or subordinate portions of the Commonwealth, Roman Catholic officials are in control, and those officials utterly disregard the rights of any non-Catholics. In both Northern and Southern Rhodesia, in West Africa, in the Fiji Islands, in Quebec and many other parts of the Commonwealth, political, religious Roman Catholics under the domination of the Vatican control the public offices. They manifest an outward allegiance to the British Commonwealth, but at heart those Catholic officials are loyal only to the Vatican. They suppress the truth and forbid the importation of publications that would enlighten the people in these colonies, particularly the natives, and thus keep them in ignorance. If the people perchance get into possession of literature that enlightens them concerning God's Word and his kingdom, Roman Catholic officials take immediate steps to prevent the further publication of such literature and the promulgation of the truth. Those Catholic officials do not hesitate to promulgate lies, charging true Christians with crimes, which per-

sons are in no wise guilty. Such lies are told to furnish an excuse to prohibit the people from possessing anything that explains to them the Word of God, which Word of God exposes the duplicity and crookedness of the Roman Catholic organization.

From the subordinate parts of the Commonwealth pressure is being brought to bear, on England in particular, and it is only a question of time, and that a short time, until the British Commonwealth of Nations will be dominated and controlled by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Such a course of action is wholly inconsistent with that of true followers of Christ, and these facts are cited here to prove that the Roman Catholic organization does not represent God and Christ but represents the Devil.

NUMBERS AND WEALTH

In the United States alone, it is claimed, there are twenty million of the Catholic laity, that is, "children of the church" or "Catholic population", which population is dominated by thirty thousand clergymen. The Catholic Church organization in America holds title to property valued at more than two billion dollars. The Encyclopedia Americana, in an article published in 1927, shows that at that time the Catholic church had within its organization throughout the earth 294,583,000 persons. The material wealth of the Catholic organization is to be found in great sums on every continent and country of the earth, aggregating many billions. Whence does its tremendous wealth come? What

representations and claims have been made by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy to induce the people to put themselves under the dominating control of that organization and to so greatly enrich that religious, political organization?

PURGATORY

Without a doubt the source of revenue of the Roman Catholic church organization, that which has brought the greatest amount of money into the coffers of the Vatican, is the doctrine of "purgatory". Millions of persons have put their trust in the clergymen and by the clergymen have been induced to believe that when a man dies it is only the body that dies, but that the soul of that man continues to live and that every soul goes immediately to one of three places, that is, the righteous to heaven, the willfully wicked to eternal torment or hell, and those who have died in venial sin and who have not been cleaned up go to "purgatory", there to remain for an indefinite period of time, the duration of which may be shortened by money contributed by living friends and paid into the hands of priests of the Catholic Church to say prayers on behalf of the dead. Also it is represented the money thus contributed results beneficially to those who are living and that after death their time in "purgatory" might be shortened.

Sincere people, believing such representations to be true, have rushed into the Catholic organization and have freely given up their money, hoping thereby to gain for themselves and their

beloved dead great benefits and to relieve their dead friends from suffering the "fires of purgatory". The result has been and is that billions of dollars of money have been poured into the Roman Catholic organization's treasury, which has been used and is being used by the Hierarchy, to carry forward its ambitious and cruel purpose, and for the "higher-up priests" to live wantonly and fare sumptuously daily, while the common people suffer for the necessities of life. If the Catholic doctrine of "purgatory" is false, then it must be considered by every honest person that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is operating the greatest racket ever known, by which racket the people are robbed of their money, their peace of mind, and their prospects of a knowledge of God's purpose; and this alone brands the Catholic organization as the instrument of the Devil and the enemy of God and of man. It is also further proof that the claim made that the Catholic church is the church of God is another of the Devil's lies, told for the purpose of deceiving the people and turning them away from Jehovah God.

That no one may have reason to say, as many Catholic priests have said, that their doctrine of "purgatory" is misrepresented to the people, the following is quoted from the book of Cardinal Gibbons, a renowned Catholic authority: "The Catholic Church teaches that, . . . there exists in the next life a middle state of temporary punishment, allotted for those who have died in venial sin, or who have not satisfied the justice of God for sins already forgiven.

She also teaches us that, although the souls consigned to this intermediate state, commonly called purgatory, cannot help themselves, they may be aided by the [prayers] of the faithful on earth. The existence of purgatory naturally implies the correlative dogma — the utility of praying for the dead — for the souls consigned to this middle state have not reached the term of their journey. They are still exiles from heaven and fit subjects for Divine clemency.

"... His soul will be ultimately saved, but he shall suffer, for a temporary duration, in the purifying flames of Purgatory. This interpretation is not mine. It is the unanimous voice of the Fathers of Christendom." — The Faith of Our Fathers, pages 205-208.

This is a plain statement that the doctrine of "purgatory" is based upon tradition and not upon the Word of God, and according to the rule laid down by Jesus this doctrine makes void the Word of God, because it is false. (Matthew 15:3, 6) For the purpose of laying the foundation for the doctrine of "purgatory" the same authority, on page 217, says this: "For what is death? A mere separation of body and soul. The body, indeed, dies, but the soul 'lives [on] . . . ' It continues after death, as before, to think, to remember, to love."

Such is the teaching of men in the Catholic Church organization, handed down for generations by tradition. You may choose to believe tradition or the Bible. Which are you willing to believe? The Bible proof is now here submitted, showing that the "purgatory" doctrine

is wholly false and therefore of the Devil. The Douay is the Catholic Version of the Bible, and has the full endorsement of the Hierarchy. That Version says concerning the soul: "The soul that sinneth, the same shall die." (Ezechiel 18:4, Douay) By their own version of the Bible the Catholic doctrine of "purgatory" is proved false. What is the soul? It is a living, breathing creature. Every man is a soul, but no man possesses a soul. In Genesis 2:17 it is written: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." By what authority is the claim made that death is merely the separation of the body and soul and that the soul lives on? That claim is based wholly on the Devil's lie. God declared that man should die if he sinned. The Devil says there is no death; and Jesus says the Devil is a liar. (Genesis 3:4; John 8:44) "All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul." —Psalm 22: 29.

Catholic tradition says: 'The dead continue to remember, to think and to love.' The Catholic Bible says: "For there is no one in death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell [the grave (Auth. Ver.)]?" (Psalm 6: 6, Douay) This same scripture in the Authorized Version says: "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" (Psalm 6: 5) "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." (Psalm 115:17) "For the living

know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing more, neither have they a reward any more: for the memory of them is forgotten. . . . Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly: for neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge shall be in hell [the grave], whither thou art hastening."  — Ecclesiastes 9: 5,10, Catholic Douay Version.

Seeing that the Scriptures conclusively prove that the dead are not conscious anywhere and not undergoing punishment or suffering in "purgatory", it is clear that the "purgatory" doctrine is another of the Devil's lies employed by men to deceive and to rob the people, and to turn them away from God, and to carry on the most subtle, devilish racket on earth. Note now, the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has always invoked the rule that the common people must not study the Bible by themselves but must receive only whatsoever the Catholic Church teaches. See The Faith of Our Fathers, page 74, where it is said that "God never intended the Bible to be the Christian's rule of faith, independently of the ... authority of the [Catholic] Church". On the contrary, the Scriptures, written in the Bible at the command of Almighty God, were written to be man's true and unfailing guide that the man of God might be fully equipped. (2 Timothy 3:16,17) There is no text in the Bible that supports the theory of "purgatory"; and, knowing this to be true, the clergy of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy tell the people that they must not attempt to study the Bible independently, but must take the interpretation of

the priests. "Purgatory" is a religious doctrine, invented by the enemy of God and man for the purpose of turning men away from God.

Any kind of scheme or trick that is operated to cause others to unwittingly part with their money is a racket. Three-card monte, the shell game, the lightning-rod scheme, the real estate schemes, or the prize-contest scheme, or any other scheme that is used to improperly take away from the people their money, is a racket. Inducing people to invest their money in lottery schemes or suchlike is a racket; all of which are bad and are strictly avoided by honest and careful persons. When a man or organization gains the confidence of others and then takes advantage of such others and thereby wrongfully causes them to give up their money, that is a vicious racket, because the one robbed has no way of protecting himself. When a man or organization induces the people to believe that their dead friends are conscious and suffering in a place called "purgatory" and that contribution of money by the living can help such suffering ones, and the people are thereby induced to part with their money to the priests, such is the meanest, crookedest, most damnable racket that could be practiced. No man has ever received the slightest benefit for money given over to priests to say prayers for the dead or for the living; therefore the obtaining of money by the priests or clergymen upon the claim that they can benefit the dead is obtaining money under false pretenses and should be punished like all other similar crimes.

The Catholic Hierarchy makes it a regular business to call upon the Catholic population for money to supply what is called the "purgatorial purse" and suggests the contribution of specific sums for each person for whom prayers are made. The amount received for each name submitted is almost always suggested according to the ability of those who contribute. Twenty-five cents a name is sometimes used, and sometimes far greater sums. But suppose twenty-five cents per name is contributed by each of the twenty million "Catholic population" in America, and that this contribution is made once a week, that makes a very large sum of money that is wrongfully extracted from the pockets of the people. But suppose the amount is a dollar a week per person, on the average; that would mean for twenty million persons one billion and forty million dollars per year. Persons of moderate means or much means, who are permitted to have an audience with the "august" clergy, contribute much more than a dollar per week each. The claim is made that the Catholic population of the world today is upward of 300,000,000, and if each of these is held up for twenty-five cents per week for the "purgatorial purse", that alone would amount to the enormous sum of $3,900,000,000 per year. Add to that the other contributions that are regularly made to the Hierarchy, and, too, the weekly collections that are gathered in by the nuns from the laboring class, and it appears that there is a fabulous sum of money that continues to flow into the coffers of the

Hierarchy as a result of the operation of the great racket, a racket that is greater than all other rackets combined.

CONTRAST

Radio stations frequently broadcast programs calling attention to the various rackets or fakes that are now being imposed upon the people, by which large sums of money are collected from people who are credulous. For instance, a puzzle scheme is advertised by which the public are told that those who successfully solve the puzzle will receive so many votes, and thereafter, by expending more money, they may draw a very large prize. By this racket great sums of money are collected, and the prize is never paid; and then the police make a raid on the racketeers and arrest them. The United States post-office department issues an order prohibiting the use of the mails to carry on such a racket, and properly so. Contrast this with the "purgatory" racket. A Catholic priest publishes a letter telling Catholics that by contributing so much money they can aid their suffering dead in "purgatory". This letter advises the people that for each name submitted a certain sum should be contributed. The money is sent in regularly, paid over as a result of a false* and fraudulent representation that it will result beneficially to the people. The United States government has a Roman Catholic as postmaster general and in control of the post-office department, and who is in fact an agent and representative of the Vatican. Has anyone ever

heard of his issuing an order forbidding the use of the United States mails to carry on a racket of collecting money from the people upon the representation that it is for the benefit of the dead?

The "purgatory" racket is much more reprehensible than the prize racket above mentioned, because the people know they are gambling on the prize racket. As to the "purgatory" racket the credulous are taken advantage of, kept in ignorance of what the Scriptures teach, and prevented by the racketeers from knowing the truth, and then they are robbed of millions of money, and the post-office department piously folds its hands and says: 'This is doing a good work.' Does any sane and honest person believe that an organization or religious system that carries on such a racket could at the same time be the representative of God and Christ on earth? The proof is overwhelming that the claims and pretenses made by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy organization that it is the church of God are a monstrous lie, a great defamation of the name of Almighty God, and that the same are made for the purpose of robbing the people and turning them away from God.

REMISSION OF SINS

Another erroneous doctrine of the Roman Catholic church system is that the clergy of that system can forgive sins. The credulous Catholic population believe that the priest possesses such power from God, and, so believing, they go to the priest at regular intervals and

confess their sins that they may receive remission or absolution. One who commits the most heinous crime may do that and then straightway go out and commit another crime. A striking example is that of Mussolini. Until he made peace with the Roman Catholic Hierarchy he was an avowed atheist and a common gangster, but afterwards he went to the Vatican and made an alliance with the papal system and then went forth and committed greater crimes than ever before. He carried on a cruel war of conquest of Abyssinia in utter violation of God's law, and no doubt received what the papacy calls "absolution" from the pope, because that "august official" attempted to "bless" Mussolini's war activities. Men who believe that the pope or the priests have power to forgive sins embrace and practice that religion to ease their conscience and to steel their conscience for further crime. Says the Catholic authority: "It follows, first, that the forgiving power was not restricted to the Apostles, but extended to their successors in the ministry unto all times and places. The forgiveness of sin was to continue while sin lasted in the world; and as sin, alas! will always be in the world, so will the remedy for sin be always in the Church. The medicine will co-exist with the disease." — The Faith of Our Fathers, page 333.

The Roman Catholic church system has assumed to perform this great act of forgiving of sins for a money consideration, and still does so. The foregoing authority further says: "Nor did the Pope exceed his legitimate powers

in promising to the pious donors spiritual favors in exchange for their donations. For if our sins can be redeemed by alms to the poor, as the Scripture tells us, why not as well by offerings in the cause of religion?" — Page 370.

"And the Church having power to remit the greater obstacle, which is sin, has power also to remove the smaller obstacle, which is the temporal punishment due on account of it." — Page 365.

Every person familiar with the Papal history needs only to have it called to his mind that one John Tetzel, a Dominican monk, became famous through Germany and other parts of Europe by reason of the fact that he sold indulgences for large sums of money whereby the purchaser was authorized to commit any or all kinds of crime with impunity. This racket has been carried on for so long a time that even the priests are convinced it is their inherent right to receive donations of money from the poor and from the rich upon the pretext that the priests have power to grant absolution or forgiveness for the commission of sin.

It is not at all surprising that the political and commercial ruling element of Italy, Germany, Austria and many other countries are supporters of the Vatican. Those men are steeped in crime, and they must have something to ease their conscience, and they are willing to pay for it. They are induced to believe that regardless of the crime committed they may receive absolution from the Papal Hierarchy. This racket, practiced by the Papal

Hierarchy, has brought millions of money into the coffers of the Vatican; particularly the politicians are induced to believe that they must do their part by liberally contributing to the Catholic purse. It is not surprising that many of the officials of the ruling element and the commercial giants of Great Britain and America are adherents of the Catholic religion and that they pay large sums of money in the nature of insurance premiums against loss by reason of their deliberate wickedness. Thus it is seen that the racket enlarges and that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has no real competitors anywhere in the field of racketeering. If the priests or clergymen of that system have no power to forgive sins, then their course is nothing else than a subtle scheme to filch money from the pockets of others and to bring reproaches upon the name of Almighty God. Now let us look at the real authority and see who can forgive sins.

The Scriptures show that God alone, through Christ Jesus' merit, can forgive sins. If a man does not believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and that his shed blood is the basis for the forgiveness of sins, then God will not hear his prayer or forgive him, but the wrath of God continues to abide upon that person, as it is plainly stated in John 3: 36. It is written: "The blood of Jesus Christ his [God's] Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7) "Without shedding of blood [the blood of Jesus Christ] is no remission [of sin]." (Hebrews 9: 22) Again it is written: "In whom we have redemption through his [Jesus'] blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

(Colossians 1:14) Jesus conferred upon his faithful apostles specific authority concerning remission of sins, as stated in these words: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John 20:23) This authority, however, is limited only to those faithful apostles, and applies to no one else before or after. — 1 John 1:9; 2:1, 2.

No wonder the Roman Catholic Hierarchy advise the "Catholic population" to refrain from reading the Bible, but to take only what "the church" says. When honest and sincere people know the Word of God, they will break away from the Catholic system; and the racketeers know that, and when that happens their racket is done. The claim that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy priests have power to forgive sins is extremely blasphemous and is another part of their racket or scheme. Surely this racket could not be carried on with sensible and reasonable people if they were first informed in the Scriptures and believed in God and Christ Jesus. This is further and conclusive proof that the Roman Catholic church system is not the church of God, but that it is a Devil religious organization, carried on to the reproach of God's holy name, and works great injury to the people.

CEREMONIES

The Roman Catholic religious organization performs certain ceremonies or mere formalisms. On entering the cathedral the finger is dipped in what is called "holy water", and the

people are induced to believe that, even if that water had been pumped out of a pond, some man could make it holy. Then the man entering makes the sign of a cross upon himself; the priest then sprinkles the congregation with the same kind of water, reciting at the time parts of the Fiftieth Psalm, or some other scripture; then he proceeds according to the mass book (but not according to the Bible) by saying or repeating certain words in Latin, which probably no one present can understand. While doing this the priest wears peculiar clothing and continues to perform other acts, such as the above. Such is a religious practice, wholly unauthorized by the Scriptures, and a reproach upon God's name, but another means to induce the credulous to believe here is where they get their protection and salvation.

Hoping to find some authority for these senseless ceremonies the Roman Catholic Hierarchy cite the ceremonies performed by the Israelites in connection with the tabernacle. They ignore entirely, however, the Bible statement that those ceremonies performed by the Israelites were merely moving or living pictures performed under the direction of Jehovah, particularly foretelling things to come to pass in the future. (Hebrews 10:1; 1 Corinthians 10:11) Such types performed by the Jews were no authority for anybody to perform those ceremonies afterwards, because they pertained to the law and Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and nailed it to his tree. (Colossians 2:14) The ceremonies performed in connection with the tabernacle in the

wilderness particularly foretold the coming of Christ Jesus and his great sacrifice to provide the ransom price for the remission of the sins of men, and the presentation of his blood in the Most Holy, that is, in heaven itself, there to make satisfaction for the sins of the people.  — Hebrews 9:20-24.

Christ having fulfilled the law, then the Devil institutes a ceremony in mockery of what the Lord has done, and causes his agents, the clergy, to carry on senseless ceremonies to overawe the people, falsely claiming the same find authority in the ceremonies performed in Israel. He puts it in the mind of selfish and sinful men to arrogate to themselves the power to do what Jesus alone had authority to do. When Christ Jesus came and performed his work, all such ceremonies as were practiced in God's law to Moses ended with His crucifixion. "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." (Galatians 3:24) "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." — Romans 10:4.

Those ceremonies performed by the Hierarchy priests result in great reproach to the name of the Lord God and in furthering the practice of their racketeering upon the people. Neither Jesus nor his apostles after him indulged in any kind of formalism or ceremonies. Jesus instituted the Memorial of his death, which is celebrated once each year as a reminder that those who have covenanted with God to follow in the footsteps of Jesus must be broken with

him and suffer as he suffered (1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 10:16,17); and then the Catholic priests blasphemously attempt to change the emblems of wine and bread into the actual blood and body of Christ, and to induce the credulous ones to believe it, to the end that they may be further overawed and submit themselves to racketeering schemes.

Fixed and formal ceremony is entirely contrary to what Jesus instituted with his disciples. Such formalism is what the prophet of God referred to and what Jesus subsequently repeated, to wit: "Ye hypocrites! well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matthew 15:7-9) This is further proof that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy organization is not the church of God, but represents God's enemy.

IMAGES

In the ceremonies performed by the Roman Catholic organization they employ images. A Catholic authority says: "The Christian religion [not the Bible] has allowed the use of [images] statues and paintings to represent the incarnate Son of God, the saints, and angels, and these images are a legitimate aid to devotion." (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12) This practice of the Catholic church is diametrically opposed to God's law. Jehovah God expressly commanded that no image shall be made

and used. (Exodus 20:3-5) The use of images by the Hierarchy, therefore, further shows that the Catholic organization is not the church of God, because His church does not openly violate God's law. Jesus always obeyed God's commandments, and the members of his church must do likewise. To his people God gives this commandment: "Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish." (Jeremiah 10:14,15) Of course, the Hierarchy would not wish the Catholic population to know that these texts are in the Bible, because that knowledge would ruin their racket.

But one says, 'How about the statue showing Jesus Christ being crucified on the cross? Should not we have that kind of statue in our place of worship?' Jesus was not crucified on a cross. God's law provided that the accursed sinner should be hanged upon a tree. The Catholic priests know this, because their Bible so states. (See Galatians 3:13, Douay Version.) (Deuteronomy 21:22,23) Jesus died in the place and stead of a sinner, and therefore as a sinner, although holy, pure and undefiled; and his death complied with God's law, and therefore must take place by his being nailed to a tree, and the facts show he was so nailed to the tree. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written,

Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."  — Galatians 3:13.

The wooden cross and shrines were used in the practice of religion by the heathen long before the birth or death of "the man Christ Jesus". The practice of the Catholic system in connection with a cross was borrowed from the pagans. A well-known authority says:

The cross was worshipped by the Pagan Celts long before the [birth] and death of Christ. "It is a fact," says Maurice, "not less remarkable than well-attested, that the Druids in their groves were accustomed to select the most stately and beautiful tree as an emblem of the deity they adored, and having cut the side branches, they affixed two of the largest of them to the highest part of the trunk, in such a manner that those branches extended on each side like the arms of a man, and, together with the body, presented the appearance of a HUGE CROSS, and on the bark, in several places, was also inscribed the letter Thau [Greek]." It was worshipped in Mexico for ages before the Roman Catholic missionaries set foot there, large stone crosses being erected, probably to the "god of rain." The cross thus widely worshipped, or regarded as a sacred emblem, was the unequivocal symbol of Bacchus, the Babylonian Messiah, for he was represented with a head-band covered with crosses. This symbol of the Babylonian god is reverenced at this day in all the wide wastes of Tartary, where Buddhism prevails. — The Two Babylons, page 199.

"The adoration of the statues of the Buddha and of his relics is the chief external ceremony of the religion. . . . The central object in a Buddhist temple, corresponding to the altar in a Roman Catholic church, is an image of the Buddha, or a dagoba or shrine con-

taining his relics." . . . The form of religious worship contains many points (veneration of relics, auricular confession, beads, processions, etc.) which bear a striking resemblance to practices of the Roman Church, acknowledged by all, but explained differently. ... In the land of its birth, India, Buddhism had to endure a long-continued persecution, and was at last entirely driven out, after it had flourished there about twelve hundred years. The time of its introduction into the other countries is as uncertain as its early history in general. — McClintock & Strong's Cyclopædia, Vol. I, pages 907-910.

To bow before an image made of a cross is contrary to the Word of God, in violation of his law above cited, and is further proof that the Catholic church organization is not the church of God. Why pray publicly before an image of Christ and pretend you are praying to Jesus, when Jesus himself is fully alive in heaven? Teaching his followers to pray, he said: "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 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 6:6,7) Jesus then proceeds to outline a model prayer. (Verses 9-13) But the Hierarchy does not wish the common people to follow that.

The followers of Christ Jesus, who are of the church of God, therefore pray to God in the name of Christ Jesus, their Lord and Head, as directed by the Lord. (Matthew 6:9; John

14:13,14) "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7) Praying with beads and before statues and images is false worship. God is pleased with those who "worship him in spirit and in truth". (John 4: 23, 24) Religionists are the enemies of God, because they have forms of pretended worship of God but they have no real devotion to God and to his kingdom. What is here said is not an attack upon men, but an expose of a devilish system, created and put in operation by God's enemies, which reproach his name and work injury to the people.

The foregoing evidence proves conclusively that religion is a racket and that those who practice it for gain are racketeers, and that the chief ones among all racketeers are those who make up and form the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, who rob the people of their money, take away their liberty of thought and action, and put in jeopardy their lives. It is against such deceivers of the people that God speaks these words: "The wicked worketh a deceitful work." (Proverbs 11:18) The wicked are those who once had God's favor by being placed in a position to know his Word, and who then employed what knowledge they gained to use for selfish or pecuniary gain. Since Satan's world has reached its climax, the time has come for the people to have a chance to know the truth and to determine whether or not they want to follow their worst enemies or render themselves in obedience to the great God of the universe.

The nation of Israel had God's favor because they were his covenant people, and that nation departed from the commandments of God, and their clergy taught them religion instead of God's commandments. Likewise in the early days following the death of the apostles of Jesus Christ, men who learned of God's purpose were greatly favored by him with some knowledge of his truth. It was then that ambitious men in the organization departed from the commandments of God and adopted and taught the doctrines of men and formed what is now called "the Christian religion", used and practiced in the nations called "Christendom". Within such religious organizations, and particularly within the Catholic organization or under it, there are many persons who desire to know and to serve God faithfully; and God will now give them an opportunity.

By his prophets Jehovah foretold the conditions which now exist and the record of which appears in the Catholic Douay Version of the Bible, and a part of it in that Bible reads: "For among my people are found wicked men, that lie in wait as fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men." (Jeremias 5:26, Douay) These words of the Lord specifically describe the Roman Catholic "Hierarchy of Jurisdiction", which rules the underpriests and the "Catholic population", and which Hierarchy lays claim to being God's people. The honest people under the Hierarchy must now hear the truth, that they may flee from that wicked organization and find refuge under Christ Jesus, the Head of

Jehovah's organization. For that reason Jehovah sees to it that all such persons of good will, who desire to know and to obey him, shall have an opportunity to hear the truth.

Further describing those selfish, arrogant, boastful, cruel clergymen, the racketeers in the organization (or "house") which they rule, the Lord says to them: "Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men, that lie in wait as fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men. As a net is full of birds, so their houses are full of deceit: therefore are they become great and enriched. They are grown gross and fat: and have most wickedly transgressed my words. They have not judged the cause of the widow, they have not managed the cause of the fatherless, and they have not judged the judgment of the poor." — Jeremias 5: 25-28, Douay.

The Roman Catholic Hierarchy have "houses" all over the earth within which they practice fraud and deceit, carrying on their racket, and by which the credulous, honest, sincere people are induced to wrongfully give up large sums of money, which has greatly enriched that organization. The money, therefore, has been obtained by fraud and in the name of God. Aside from the honest and sincere people of good will under the Catholic organization, there are millions of others claiming to be Christians, but who are not, and who use their religion for selfish gain. These include priests, politicians and other racketeers and prognosticates of what shall come

to pass. Those men indulge in what is a horrible abomination unto God, and therefore he continues to say to them: "Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? or shall not my soul take revenge on such a nation? Astonishing and wonderful things have been done in the land. The prophets prophesied falsehood, and the priests clapped their hands: and my people [my pretended people, who practice religion for gain] loved such things: what then shall be done in the end thereof?" — Jeremias 5: 29-31, Douay.

The Roman Catholic Hierarchy have told the common people, or the "Catholic population", that they must not read the Bible; and clearly such is for the purpose of keeping the people in ignorance. It must now be apparent, to all honest people of earth who have any knowledge, that the Roman Catholic organization is a religious political organization, indulging in a selfish work, which blasphemes the name of Almighty God, falsely and fraudulently represents him, carries on a racket in the name of Christ, and is the great enemy of God and of the people. Carefully now consider what follows, and the Scriptures in support of the same, by which the Almighty God foretold exactly the conditions existing in this very day showing how the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is a selfish and devilish organization, operating under the misleading title of "Christian religion", and desperately attempting to gain control over all the peoples of the earth in order to satisfy its selfish and ambitious desires.