Our Spiritual Soul.

[Magdala]

In Gen. 2:7, we read, "God formed the man of dust of the earth [...]". What are bones? A proof of the power of God Who made man with dust, but nothing else. Therefore, it's the physical body that returns to dust (Gen. 3:19, Ecc. 3:20).

Gen. 2:7 goes on to say, "[...] and breathed upon his face the breath of life [...]". The act of having "breathed the breath of life upon" indicates giving man something. In Jn. 4:24, we read, "God is Spirit", and thus the "breath of life" is the breath of God which is the soul, the soul as life. It is the breath of the Spirit of God that becomes a living spirit in man: God's image and likeness (Gen. 1:26). This wonderful thing which is a soul, a thing created by God to give man His image and likeness as an unquestionable sign of His Most Holy Paternity, shows signs of the qualities characteristic of Him Who creates it. It is therefore intelligent, spiritual, free, immortal, and so on, like the Father Who created it.

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: as the spirit [soul] shall return to God Who gave it" (Ecc. 12:7)

"They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit [soul]!'” (Ac. 7:59)

A spirit, e.g., the soul, etc., is incorporeal, and thus is not subject to the limits of physical death, which is the definition of the word "immortal" [Note: While all spirits are immortal, the only Spirit Who is eternal, as in "without beginning or end", is God.] Eve's and Adam's first act of disobedience (sin) is what brought death into the world, not just physical death of the body, but a spiritual death of the soul which is separation from God (Rom. 5:12), and thus Satan did lie when he told them that they would not die.

With God's sacrifice, Heaven was reopened to mankind, and all just souls past, present and future live with Him eternally in Heaven, and the unjust souls undergo a spiritual death, which means living in eternal separation from God in Hell, of their own free will. Therefore, upon the death of our physical body, our immortal soul will go on and receive judgement. Upon Jesus's Second Coming, our physical body will be resurrected and reunited with our soul, where we will then receive our final judgement (Ezek. 18:4;5;17, Matt. 25: 31:46, I Cor. 15:35-58).

Now, you can form your own opinion, but in my belief, the following is additional information about the soul, either spoken by Jesus during His three-year ministry, as seen and heard by Maria Valtorta via visions, or dictated by Jesus to Maria Valtorta directly:

Part I

What distinguishes animal-man from animal-brute?
"The soul" (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

"Well, what makes you a man is your soul. Without it you would be nothing more than a speaking animal." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

Where does the soul of each man come from?
"From God and they belong to Him, but not even He violates the freedom of the soul, which is thus free to give itself or not." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

What is a soul? Why did God give man a soul?
"The breath of God is the soul, the soul as life. It is the breath of the Spirit of God that becomes a living spirit in man." (The Notebooks: 1945-1950)

"It is what makes a god of man and not an animal. Vice and sin kill it, and once it is killed, man becomes a repulsive animal." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"Every man has a soul and it is the thing that distinguishes men from animals." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"It has no body. But it exists. It is in you. It comes from Him Who created the world and goes back to Him after the death of the body. From the only, one, eternal, supreme God, Lord and Creator of the universe."

"Also a poor soldier, and his soul will have God as a Friend, if it was always good, or God as a Punisher, if it was bad." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"It is the true nobility of man, because of his soul, there is the blood of God, because a soul is the spiritual blood—as God is a Most Pure Spirit— of the Creator of man: of the eternal, Almighty Holy God. Because of the soul, which is in him, and which is alive as long as it is united to God, man is eternal, powerful, and holy. It is naturally inclined to worship because it remembers the One Who created it: God." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

"This wonderful thing which is a soul, a thing created by God to give man His image and likeness as an unquestionable sign of His Most Holy Paternity, shows signs of the qualities characteristic of Him Who creates it. It is therefore intelligent, spiritual, free, immortal, like the Father Who created it. It is perfect when it originates from the divine thought and in the instant of its creation it is identical, for a thousandth of instant, with the soul of the first man: a perfection which understands the Truth through free gift. A thousandth of an instant. Then, once it is formed, it is stained by original sin. To make it clearer for you I will say that it is as if God were pregnant with the soul which He creates and the creature, in being born, were wounded by an indelible mark." This means while it is thought it is perfect. The creating thought lasts a thousandth of an instant. The thought then becomes actual fact, and the fact is subject to the law brought about by sin." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. III)

"A soul becomes thus incarnate in a human body, bringing with it the memory of the Creator, that is of the Truth, as a secret gem in the mystery of its spiritual being. A baby is born. It may become good, very good, or wicked. It may become anything because it is endowed with free will. The angelical ministry throws light on its 'memories' and the tempter darkness. If man craves after light and thus for a greater and greater virtue, making his soul the master of his being, the faculty of remembering increases in the soul, as if virtue made the wall interposed between soul and God thinner and thinner. That is why virtuous people in every country perceive the Truth, not in a perfect way, as they are dulled by contrasting doctrines or by lethal ignorance, but in a sufficient manner to give pages of moral perfection to the peoples to whom they belong. This means the religion of virtue practiced heroically predisposes the soul to the true Religion and to the knowledge of God." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. III)

Tags:
@Hobie
@Grailhunter
@APAK

 

[Magdala]

Part II

When does one receive their soul? Where is one’s soul?
"The soul is infused into the embryo when the latter is sufficiently formed to receive it." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

"It is in the whole of man. It contains you and is contained within you. When it leaves you, you become a corpse. When it is killed by a crime that man commits against himself, you are damned, separated from God forever. Our body was created by God to be the temple of the soul, which is the temple of God. It must, therefore, be kept honest, otherwise the soul will be robbed of God's friendship and of eternal life." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

What does a soul in Grace possess?
"Love, and by possessing love it possesses God, that is the Father Who preserves it, the Son Who teaches it, the Spirit Who illuminates it. It therefore possesses Knowledge, Science, Wisdom, Light." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"I would like to be the Source of Grace for everybody. But too many among you do not want Grace. You ask for "graces", but with a soul devoid of Grace. How can Grace succour you if you are Her enemies?" (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

What removes Grace from one’s soul?
"Original sin and the mortal one." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

Additional information about the soul:

"[...] your soul that makes you like God, Who is a spirit, as your soul is a spirit." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"Man was created in the image and likeness of God. One of the likenesses is the capability, for the soul, of remembering, seeing and foreseeing. This explains the faculty for reading into the future. This faculty sometimes comes directly, by God's will, sometimes it is a power of recollection, that rises like the sun in the morning, illuminating a point on the horizon of centuries, already seen in the vision of God. Such mysteries are too deep to be fully understood by you. But consider. Can the Supreme Intelligence, the Mind that knows everything, the Sight that sees everything, give you something different from Himself, having created you by an act of His will and a breath of His infinite love, and having made you His children both by your origin and your destination? He gives you it in an infinitesimal part, as the creature cannot contain the Creator. But that part is perfect and complete, although infinitesimal." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"I say that it is an article of faith. The immortality of the soul, that is the immortality of the superior part of man is the most certain and most comforting mystery to believe. It is the one that assures us of where we come from, where we go, who we are, and it removes all the bitterness of every separation." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

"The living soul of inferior creatures mentioned by Genesis, is not the same as the soul of man. It is life, simply life, that is, being sensitive to real things, both material and emotional. When an animal dies it becomes insensitive because death is its real end. There is no future for it. But while it lives it suffers cold, hunger, fatigue, it is subject to injuries, to pain, to joy, to love, to hatred, to diseases and to death. And man, in remembrance of God, Who gave him such means to make his exile on the Earth less difficult, must be humane towards animals, his inferior servants." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. IV)

Dictations about the soul by Jesus:

The Notebooks: 1943
May 31st, 1943 (pp. 18-19)
June 4th, 1943 (pp. 22-23)
June 6th, 1943 (p. 25)
June 21st, 1943 (pp. 43-44)
June 22nd, 1943 (p. 44)
July 1st, 1943 (p. 54)
July 16th, 1943 (pp. 73-74)
August 6th, 1943 (94-95)
August 22nd, 1943 (p. 114)

The Notebooks: 1944
A vision received by Maria Valtorta, followed by a dictation by Jesus, on January 29th, 1944 (pp. 60-65)
March 5th, 1944 (pp. 148-154)
June 15th, 1944, (pp. 314-319)

The Notebooks: 1945-1950
January 28th, 1947 (pp. 324-343)
April 2nd, 1947 (pp. 379-383)

 

[Grailhunter]

Part II

When does one receive their soul? Where is one’s soul?
"The soul is infused into the embryo when the latter is sufficiently formed to receive it." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

"It is in the whole of man. It contains you and is contained within you. When it leaves you, you become a corpse. When it is killed by a crime that man commits against himself, you are damned, separated from God forever. Our body was created by God to be the temple of the soul, which is the temple of God. It must, therefore, be kept honest, otherwise the soul will be robbed of God's friendship and of eternal life." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

What does a soul in Grace possess?
"Love, and by possessing love it possesses God, that is the Father Who preserves it, the Son Who teaches it, the Spirit Who illuminates it. It therefore possesses Knowledge, Science, Wisdom, Light." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"I would like to be the Source of Grace for everybody. But too many among you do not want Grace. You ask for "graces", but with a soul devoid of Grace. How can Grace succour you if you are Her enemies?" (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"Man was created in the image and likeness of God. One of the likenesses is the capability, for the soul, of remembering, seeing and foreseeing. This explains the faculty for reading into the future. This faculty sometimes comes directly, by God's will, sometimes it is a power of recollection, that rises like the sun in the morning, illuminating a point on the horizon of centuries, already seen in the vision of God. Such mysteries are too deep to be fully understood by you. But consider. Can the Supreme Intelligence, the Mind that knows everything, the Sight that sees everything, give you something different from Himself, having created you by an act of His will and a breath of His infinite love, and having made you His children both by your origin and your destination? He gives you it in an infinitesimal part, as the creature cannot contain the Creator. But that part is perfect and complete, although infinitesimal." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

What removes Grace from one’s soul?
"Original sin and the mortal one." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

Additional information about the soul:

"I say that it is an article of faith. The immortality of the soul, that is the immortality of the superior part of man is the most certain and most comforting mystery to believe. It is the one that assures us of where we come from, where we go, who we are, and it removes all the bitterness of every separation." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

"The living soul of inferior creatures mentioned by Genesis, is not the same as the soul of man. It is life, simply life, that is, being sensitive to real things, both material and emotional. When an animal dies it becomes insensitive because death is its real end. There is no future for it. But while it lives it suffers cold, hunger, fatigue, it is subject to injuries, to pain, to joy, to love, to hatred, to diseases and to death. And man, in remembrance of God, Who gave him such means to make his exile on the Earth less difficult, must be humane towards animals, his inferior servants." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. IV)

"Man was created in the image and likeness of God. One of the likenesses is the capability, for the soul, of remembering, seeing and foreseeing. This explains the faculty for reading into the future. This faculty sometimes comes directly, by God's will, sometimes it is a power of recollection, that rises like the sun in the morning, illuminating a point on the horizon of centuries, already seen in the vision of God." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

"[...] your soul that makes you like God, Who is a spirit, as your soul is a spirit." (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. I)

Dictations about the soul by Jesus:

The Notebooks: 1943
May 31st, 1943 (pp. 18-19)
June 4th, 1943 (pp. 22-23)
June 6th, 1943 (p. 25)
June 21st, 1943 (pp. 43-44)
June 22nd, 1943 (p. 44)
July 1st, 1943 (p. 54)
July 16th, 1943 (pp. 73-74)
August 6th, 1943 (94-95)
August 22nd, 1943 (p. 114)

The Notebooks: 1944
A vision received by Maria Valtorta, followed by a dictation by Jesus, on January 29th, 1944 (pp. 60-65)
March 5th, 1944 (pp. 148-154)
June 15th, 1944, (pp. 314-319)

The Notebooks: 1945-1950
January 28th, 1947 (pp. 324-343)
April 2nd, 1947 (pp. 379-383)

Love it...Thank You

 

[Magdala]

Love it...Thank You

My pleasure

 

[Webers_Home]

.
According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However;
though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by
divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily
simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give
it either a thumb up or a thumb down.
_

 

[Dan Clarkston]

"The soul" (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II)

Posting a link to blah blah from the catholic cult is not a good thing ya know... it deceives people in to turn to catholic cult doctrine which is false doctrine

 

[Dan Clarkston]

According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However;
though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by
divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily
simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give
it either a thumb up or a thumb down.

False doctrine

 

[Grailhunter]

.
According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However;
though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by
divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily
simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give
it either a thumb up or a thumb down.
_

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

And throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:50

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Revelations 14:11

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Matthew 23:33

I am wondering do destroyed souls scream in agony in Hell forever and ever or just weep and gnash their teeth? Smoke of their torment….forever and ever.

Boy are you in for big surprise....

 

[Runningman]

.
According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However;
though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by
divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily
simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give
it either a thumb up or a thumb down.
_

God probably isn't one to make idle threats. If He can do it then I suppose He will. I see no reason to not take it seriously and literally.

 

[Magdala]

.
According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However;
though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by
divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily
simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give
it either a thumb up or a thumb down.
_

As I explained, the body dies a physical death, whereas the soul is immortal because it can't die a physical death, but it can die a spiritual death, which means living in eternal separation from God.

 

[Magdala]

Posting a link to blah blah from the catholic cult is not a good thing ya know... it deceives people in to turn to catholic cult doctrine which is false doctrine

What's not a good thing is making unsubstantiated assertions like you just did.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

What's not a good thing is making unsubstantiated assertions like you just did.

OK, let's start you off with something really easy....

Please show me from the Bible where Jesus and/or Hiss Apostles said to pray the rosary.

This should be interesting!

 

[Magdala]

OK, let's start you off with something really easy....

Please show me from the Bible where Jesus and/or Hiss Apostles said to pray the rosary.

This should be interesting! View attachment 59585

Why are you asking me to show you where something is in Scripture that I never said was there in the first place? What you should've done is ask, "Do you believe the rosary prayer was first introduced in the New Testament? If so, please show where."

If you had done that, I would've informed you that, according to tradition, Mary first mentioned the rosary prayer to Saint Dominic around 1208, giving him the devotion as a spiritual weapon to combat heresy, particularly Albigensianism, which was prevalent in France at the time, and encouraging him to share it with others. This interaction between Mary and St. Dominic took place after the existence of the apostles and their disciples, so it wouldn't have been written about by any of them.

I don't know about you, but I believe in the living God, Who is of the living, as Scripture says. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and Mary are alive in Heaven. They aren't confined to the pages of Scripture, though you try to keep Them there, and in vain. They have never stopped interacting with humanity and will never stop, and thus Scripture doesn't contain all information of all that They will do in the future. For this reason, your saying, "That's not in Scripture so it's automatically false" is one of the most lazy, weak and asinine arguments that I've ever heard.

 

[Dan Clarkston]

Why are you asking me to show you where something is in Scripture that I never said was there in the first place?

That's right.... false catholic cult doctrine is not taught in God's Word because it's not of God.

Do you believe the rosary prayer was first introduced in the New Testament

It's not in the New Testament... unless one is reading a fake bible.

There's only one mediator between God and man and that is.... Jesus Christ. see 1 Timothy 2:5

Mary is no longer involved after having been used fore Jesus to be born in a physical body and taking care of Him until He became of age in His teens where He took care of Himself.

Sorry to hear you have been duped by the catholic cult. It's too bad, really.

according to tradition, Mary first mentioned the rosary prayer to Saint Dominic around 1208

Still... as I stated earlier.... Jesus and His Apostles (biblical writers) never prayed to mary and never taught anybody to pray to mary so this is not heard by the Lord or acceptable to Him.... one may as well be praying to a pine tree!

This interaction between Mary and St. Dominic took place after the existence of the apostles and their disciples, so it wouldn't have been written about by any of them.

Praying to mary was introduced by satan and is in fact idolatry that leads people into darkness.

They aren't confined to the pages of Scripture

Yeah.... Adam and Eve refused to accept God's Word too.... and the result was separation from God.

Once cannot get to Heaven thru mary or the catholic so called "church"

If folks involved in this false religion don't REPENT and turn away from the false teaching that are walking in, they will not be spending eternity with the Lord sadly.

 

[Webers_Home]

.
● Gen 2:7d . . and man became a living soul.

The Hebrew word translated "soul" is nephesh (neh'-fesh) which isn't unique
to human life. Its first appearance is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to aqua
creatures and winged creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz:
cattle, creepy crawlies, and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human
creature; and yet again at Gen 9:10 to classify every living thing aboard
Noah's ark.

Soul is somewhat ambiguous. It can be said that creatures are souls and
also that they have souls. Although I've yet to discover a passage in the
Bible saying God is a soul, I have run across several saying He at least has
a soul. (Lev 26:11, Lev 26:30, Judg 10:16, Isa 42:1, Jer 32:41, Zech 11:8)

Anyway; my point is: Without a soul, man wouldn't be a sentient being, viz:
without a soul, man would be a vegetable, so to speak.

Now, according to Luke 16:19-31 folks on track for hades will retain their
sentience when they pass on. But the hell spoken of in Matt 10:28 isn't
hades, rather, it's a place called geena, which I think safe to assume is the
lake of fire spoken of by Rev 20:11-15. That place is far more devastating
than hades, i.e. geena destroys souls, which strongly suggests to me that
folks on track for the lake of fire will exist there as mindless vegetables
which, though an inconvenient existence, it is certainly preferable to existing
there as sentient beings.
_

 

[Webers_Home]

.
I was baptized an infant into the Roman Catholic Church and in time became
competent enough with elementary catechism to complete First Holy
Communion and Confirmation. I remained on Rome's path 24 years so I
know for myself just how difficult it is to attain Heaven by means of that
religion's faith and practices.

As a young Catholic, I sincerely believed I needed Mary's assistance; but what I
eventually found out is that what I desperately needed, and didn't know it, was a
Passover lamb.

When the Lord journeyed thru the land of Egypt during the original Passover
described in the 12th chapter of Exodus; He wasn't looking for piety, nor
repentance, nor charity, nor faith, nor religion, nor perseverance, nor
courage, nor confession, nor kindness, nor tithing, nor weeping, nor prayers,
nor morality, nor baptism, nor gender, nor age, nor ethnic identity, nor
would it have mattered if people inside some of the homes didn't taste their
lamb because the Lord was looking for only one thing: the blood.

Now as long as the blood was applied as directed; even the Wiccans, the
Voodoo priests, the mediums, the terrorists, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, the
Syrians, the Palestinians, the LGBT, and North Korea's Kim family dynasty
would've been safe inside those homes because the people's personal
conduct was unimportant that night.

● 1 Cor 5:7 . . Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.

FAQ: How might someone participate in Christ's Passover?

REPLY: I suggest an RSVP

Find a quiet spot, anyplace will do, even a stall in the men's room.

Cover your face with your hands for a sense of connection and tell God, in
your own words, out loud or under your breath, that you thus far haven't
measured up to His standards and you're pretty sure you never will. Tell Him
you'd like to take advantage of His son's crucifixion to protect yourself from
retribution.

People need speak up like that only once and never again because Christ's
crucifixion is very much superior to the Levitical atonement system.

For example: the great day of atonement, a.k.a. Yom Kippur, is always
catching up; it can't even keep up, let alone get ahead. The moment the
annual ritual ends, people begin accumulating sins towards the next Yom
Kippur; which is a whole year away.

In contrast, Jesus' crucifixion atoned for the people's entire lifetime-- their
past life, their current life, and tomorrow's life. Consequently those who take
advantage of his crucifixion to protect themselves from retribution are
guaranteed to be passed over at the great white throne event depicted by
Rev 20:11-15 where people that are unprotected will be slammed with a mode
of death akin to a foundry worker falling into a kettle of molten iron.
_

 

[Magdala]

false [...] doctrine is not taught in God's Word [...]

And, since you believe only what's explicitly mentioned in Scripture, I expect your following statement to be scriptural:

Mary is no longer involved after having been used fore Jesus to be born in a physical body and taking care of Him until He became of age in His teens where He took care of Himself.

So, where's that said in Scripture?

There's only one mediator between God and man and that is.... Jesus Christ. see 1 Timothy 2:5

Correct. And?

Praying to mary was introduced by satan and is in fact idolatry that leads people into darkness.

So, someone taught you that Catholics worship Mary as a god and ask Her to answer prayers? Well, they were wrong and now you are as well, because Catholics worship the one true God, and God alone answers prayers. Certain prayers, such as the "Hail Mary" and "Memorare", are called "intercessory prayers". An intercessory prayer to Mary is a request for Her to bring a prayer to Jesus on behalf of the person praying. Mary is considered a powerful intercessor because she is the Mother of Jesus and has a special relationship with Him. Even you pray and ask for intercessory prayers, for example, when you ask someone to pray for you, that is an intercessory prayer because you are asking them to pray on your behalf, acting as an intercessor between you and God.

Still...as I stated earlier...Jesus and His Apostles (biblical writers) never prayed to mary and never taught anybody to pray to mary so this is not heard by the Lord or acceptable to Him....

Firstly, the four Evangelists, or "biblical writers", weren't all Apostles. Only two of the four were Apostles: Matthew and John.

Secondly, "Jesus and His Apostles (biblical writers) never prayed to mary and never taught anybody to pray to mary [...]" isn't what you stated earlier, but rather, "Please show me from the Bible where Jesus and/or His Apostles said to pray the rosary". Again, according to tradition, one of the earliest times Mary first mentioned the rosary prayer was to Saint Dominic around 1208, giving him the devotion as a spiritual weapon to combat heresy, particularly Albigensianism, which was prevalent in France at the time, and encouraging him to share it with others. This interaction between Mary and St. Dominic took place after the existence of the apostles and their disciples, so it wouldn't have been written about by any of them.

Thirdly, where in Scripture do you read that intercessory prayer is not heard and acceptable to God? And if it's not, then are you going to stop praying for others, and asking family, friends, and strangers to pray for you, or another, etc., because those are intercessory prayers as well?

Fourthly, do you want a list of examples of intercessory prayer in Scripture?

Sorry to hear you have been duped by the catholic cult. It's too bad, really.

You're only saying that because you've been mislead by anti-Catholics and anti-Catholic polemics, and you're not the only one. You can do something about that though, if you wanted to, by taking the time to learn the truth about Catholicism.