One cannot talk of the Roman Catholic Church as a cult for long without being leveled with the charge of being divisive and/or mean-spirited.
This is an "ad hominem" attack.
An "ad hominem" attack is when an argument is responded to by attacking the person or the character of the person making the argument, rather than by answering the objections of the argument.
The following is an exaggerated example of an "ad hominem" attack for the purpose of illustration:
Mary tells Bob that she thinks that space exploration is a good idea because it leads to new scientific discoveries, is good for the economy, and inspires a whole nation. Bob responds that Mary only thinks that because her dad works for NASA.
It may be the case that Mary's dad works for NASA, but Bob did not address the legitimate points that were raised. The fact that Mary's dad may or may not work for NASA has no bearing on whether or not space exploration indeed leads to new scientific discoveries, is good for the economy, and inspires a nation.
In the same way, this essay has brought to light major points of doctrinal division between the Roman Catholic Church's official teachings and those of the Bible. These charges must be addressed, and it is an ad hominem fallacy to counter these legitimate objections by labeling this essay "divisive" or "mean spirited."
As Keith Green said:
We are not attacking, but examining. We are not angry, but deeply concerned. We are not on the "war-path", but on the path of the search for what is right. And we are not out to divide anything but to "divide accurately the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15.) [237]
John MacArthur astutely pointed out:
In a time like this of tolerance... false teaching will always cry "intolerance!" It'll always say, "You're being divisive," "you're being unloving," "you're being ungracious," because it can only survive when it doesn't get scrutinized. And so it cries against any intolerance, it cries against any examination, any scrutiny, "just let's embrace each other," "let's love each other," "let's put all that behind us." False doctrine cries the loudest about unity. And listen carefully when you hear the cry for unity, because it may be the cover of false doctrine encroaching, and if ever we should follow 1 Thessalonians 5 and examine everything carefully, it's when someone is crying "unity, love, and acceptance." [238]
The Apostle Paul no doubt was accused of being intolerant in his day, else he would not have said to the Galatian church, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16).
The fact is that we are commanded in scripture to "contend for the faith" (Jude 3).
"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 3-4).
The context shows that the reason we must "contend for the faith" is because of false teachers!
It was not unloving or divisive of Paul to lovingly point out the errors of the Galatian church, or the Pagans at Mars Hill, or for Jesus to show the errors of the Pharisees.
The loving thing is to correct/warn/rebuke.
This document written to the glory of God.
© 2006, Mark Edward Sohmer. Please feel free to quote from it in context, and distribute it in its entirety without profit.
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