After church services one Sunday morning, in the spring of 1999, I met a man named Phil and we began to talk. We learned that we had both been raised in Italian families, as Roman Catholics. We soon were laughing loudly as we exchanged stories of what had been said to us by some of our relatives when they learned of our leaving the Roman Catholic religion. Our reason for doing so was the same. We had, by faith alone, come to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

Phil had a brother, who was a Roman Catholic priest. His brother, needless to say, became very upset to learn of Phil’s new biblical beliefs which conflicted with Roman Catholic teachings and traditions. Phil told me that his mother was surprised to learn that all of the apostles were Jewish, not Italians, and that the Lord Jesus Christ was never a Roman Catholic. She, like most Roman Catholics, and those of other religions, had never read or studied the Holy Bible. Thus, Phil’s mother did not know many of the fundamental biblical doctrines and truths it contained.

While walking to my car, after talking with Phil, I began to wonder what a conversation would sound like between a man and his mother, after he told her of his new found biblical belief that the Lord Jesus Christ had paid in full, the penalty due for all of the sins he would be guilty of throughout his life on earth. I am so thankful to God that I had a mother with whom I could talk openly and honestly about all things, as in the following three “Mother and Son talks.”

I loved writing the dialogue in these three “talks” because it allowed me to not only expose a number of false teachings peculiar to the Roman Catholic Church, but to explain from where they had come and why they were not “biblically” true. All “manmade” religions have spiritual teachings that are in conflict with the Holy Bible! It is due to a lack of historical and biblical knowledge, along with a refusal to believe the Holy Bible to be the infallible “Word of God,” that enables “manmade” religions to deceive their “faithful” members. What all “manmade” religions have in common is that none of them have ever been able to support their traditions or doctrines by the sole use of the Holy Bible! Thus, all “manmade” religions must have “extra-biblical revelations,” and writings from their “spiritual” leaders or “self-professed” prophets, that supplant the clear teachings of the holy Scriptures. 

It should be noted that much of what is shared in these three “Mother and Son Talks” is applicable to all  “manmade” religions.  I hope that all  who read these three  “talks” will compare sthe doctrines of their own “manmade” religion with those of the Holy Bible to learn whether they are in agreement or not. Unfortunately, few people will attempt to do an in-depth examination of the history, teachings, and traditions of the “manmade” religion in which they are raised. It usually isn’t until an individual has been “born from above” (Mt. 18:3; Jn. 3:5-8), and have disengaged themselves from the “manmade” religion in which they were raised, that they will then make an effort to do so.

Biblical Christianity encourages all people to question, challenge and require evidence to support what they are told or have been taught. In contrast, there has never been a “manmade” religion that has ever encouraged their adherents to ask questions, to challenge its doctrines and traditions, or to require evidence to support what they are told. All of which is necessary to do, of course, for anyone to correctly determine what is false and what is true. The importance to do so cannot be over emphasized since, according to the Holy Bible, their immortal spirit will spend eternity either in Heaven or in the “lake of fire” based on whether they have done the “will” of the God of the Holy Bible.

The questions that must be answered by every man and woman are, “Who and what am I going to trust for my eternal destiny?” Will it be the teachings and revelations of a “manmade” religion or the teachings and revelations that are recorded in the Holy Bible? If there is a conflict between the teachings of a “manmade” religion and the clear teachings of the Holy Bible, whose teachings are to be believed? The answers given to these questions will determine which way is being taken by each man and woman! The “broad way” or the “narrow way” (Mt. 7:13-14; Jn. 14:6).

My mother’s name was Marie but she was always called Dolly because she was so small, weighing only two pounds, at birth. She was all that a woman and mother should be. My mom was, is, and will always be, my only hero. She went to Heaven on January 5, 2002. I cannot express in words how much I am really looking forward to seeing her again at the “Rapture.” These “mother and son talks” include many things that actually happened to me and some of the things that were said to me. I hope and pray that these “talks” will be a blessing to those who read them. Amen!