We want to use a little common sense and a philosophy that can be assimilated by any man or woman of ordinary intelligence.
The Bible does not relate in any verse or chapter that any one can reach the point of infallibility during life. Now, is not this true? And if it is, then the claim of Catholicism that the Pope of Rome is infallible is a lie, woven in the devil's loom.
We want to prove to our readers that this claim is one founded upon fallacious grounds, as the Pope of Rome is elected by the cardinals of the Catholic Church, who are human and who are often as immoral as the devil; therefore the infallibility of the Pope rests in human hands, for it is by these cardinals that the Pope is created, therefore you will see that by the ballot of these cardinals the Pope derives his infallibility, and not from any power of God Almighty, consequently this proclaimed infallibility of the Pope rests in the hands of these cardinals.
Now, to illustrate this damnable doctrine and show it up in its rabid ignorance, we will suppose that when Pope Pius X was elected Pope of Rome that if some other priest had received a majority of one of the votes of the cardinals, Pope Pius X would never have had this blessing from God, but he would only have missed it one vote, therefore you will see that this infallibility which was about to rest on Pope Pius X, but did not, would have been snatched from him by the failure of one cardinal to vote for him.
Now, any man or woman of ordinary "horse sense" can see that God Almighty has nothing whatever to do with filling the office of the Pope, and this infallibility rests altogether with the pulling power that the candidate for Pope exercises over the cardinals, as it is an indisputable fact that there is as much political chicanery in the election of a Pope as there is in the election of a justice of the peace at a township election.
We want to learn just how far this infallibility of the Pope goes. If a man is infallible he can not make a mistake, and I can prove by every man of broadmindedness and intelligence that the Popes of Rome, for centuries past, have made nothing but mistakes, and their mistakes have been not only ruinous to those whom they profess to teach, but their mistakes have had a tendency to paralyze the righteous ambitions of every nation to which their influence has extended. If the claim of Catholicism is true that her Popes are infallible, then we must acknowledge that this great gift was received from God Almighty, and we cannot believe such nonsense when we are aware of the fact that these Popes are elected by the cardinals, and the election of a Pope depends upon the tactics and schemes of these cardinals; then, pray, tell us how any man who has been raised up under the arch-light of Protestantism, or who has had the searchlight of Protestant intelligence penetrate his soul, can for a moment believe in the infallibility of the Pope?
I sincerely believe, in fact, I know that there are millions who believe this damnable doctrine, as I can honestly say that I at one time believed it myself. But those who do believe it are those who have been raised beneath the dark shadows of superstition, and my mission in writing this book is to brush the cobwebs of ignorance from these dwarfed minds and help to point them to "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world," and if I can be instrumental in this mission I will not only open the eyes of the followers of Catholicism, but I will put stiffening into the backbone of Protestantism and help them to brand this idolatrous doctrine of Catholicism wherever she may dare to rear her abominable head.
The great danger in teaching that the Pope is infallible is in making thieves and murderers of our citizens, for if Catholicism is right in teaching her followers that the Pope of Rome is infallible, this doctrine is bound to have an influence that is awful in its effect, for whenever a man or woman believes in the infallibility of the Pope they are bound to believe in the infallibility of all things that he creates; therefore you will see that this doctrine is far-reaching in its effects, for if a Pope is infallible the bishops which he creates are infallible, and if the bishops which he creates are infallible, the priests which they create are infallible, and whenever we teach a nation this abomination we have a nation of people which believes that there is no sin so heinous which they may commit but which may be forgiven by the priesthood, as they have learned to believe that all things created by the Pope are infallible, simply because they have been created by the Pope, and whenever you preach a doctrine that has such effect upon the inhabitants of any country you will have a set of inhabitants who will commit crime without hesitation, as they are assured that by paying a few dollars into the coffers of the priest they can have their sins pardoned, and whenever you cause a nation to believe this, you at once have a nation of criminals.
It is, in my estimation, absolutely impossible for an individual who believes in such a damnable doctrine to become a pure, patriotic American citizen. Now, this may seem to the reader a very broad assertion and one that may appear too broad to be substantiated, but I propose to demonstrate to you that it is only a natural consequence, and if we fail to make this point clear to the reader's mind we will not ask them to believe it.
In the first place, we desire to say that the Catholic religion—if religion it can be termed—is founded upon the rock of superstition. Every code of their church doctrine teaches that the Pope is infallible and cannot err, which is absurd, and not only absurd, but a festering lie, for no man or woman who believes in the teachings of the Holy Bible can believe in such a doctrine, and whenever a man or woman does believe in the infallibility of the Pope and believes that the Pope cannot err, he or she believes that the Pope is superhuman, and such we know cannot be the case as long as there is life in the body, as we are all liable to the Adamic sin, as the world at large was cursed with the Adamic sin in the Garden of Eden.