Identity Theft by Ron Cantor

Islam of today.”
    “You’re so right,” exclaimed Shimon. “Religion is religion no matter what name you give it. It is easier to get people to fight for your cause if they are willing to die, and it is a lot easier to get them to be willing to die if you promise them paradise on the other side—plus something extra to appeal to their carnal lusts, like seventy-two virgins. For a destitute, uneducated Arab teenager who doesn’t see much of a future ahead of him, this promise is very attractive.”
    “It was the same with a lot of the Crusaders you showed me, right Ariel? Many of them were poor peasants who suddenly found purpose and identity through fighting for the Church, even if it was misguided.”
    “You are catching on quickly, David,” responded the angel.
    “Another pope, Stephen VI,” Ariel was not to be distracted, “had the body of a previous pope exhumed and dressed in his Episcopal robes so he could stand trial. He was found guilty. This mock trial also declared all of Pope Formosus’s ordinations to be invalid. Apparently he was not as infallible as once thought.”
    “This is crazy!” I maintained. “How can this be true? I see the Pope on TV and he hardly seems capable of such things.”
    “Fortunately the Catholic Church has changed—for the better, I might add—over the years. And to be clear David, there have always been true followers of Yeshua in the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the bishops throughout the centuries truly loved Yeshua and sought to serve Him. In fact, there were several popes who genuinely sought to serve the Lord, but this sad history, one that most Roman Catholics don’t even know, did indeed take place. And David, it is important that I prepare you for your future task ahead and that requires taking an honest look at history.”
    “Okay guys, I’ve already heard this, so I’m going to leave now. David, it was an honor to meet you.” And he was gone.
Future task ahead? An honor to meet me?
I wasn’t even sure if I believed any of this was happening—and here was Peter of the Bible telling me that he was honored to meet me!
    Ariel interrupted my reflections, “Now concerning Peter or Kefa and the belief that he was the first pope…” suddenly on my tablet opposite the Scriptures, under the heading, “Notes” were listed four points.
    “Read those out loud please,” Ariel requested.
    “Number 1. While it is clear from the early chapters of Acts that Peter—that is, Kefa—was the greater among equals, the senior leader among the apostles, it is also clear that Kefa gave himself to traveling ministry (Acts 8, Acts 10) and turned over this responsibility to James…”
    “Actually, his name was Jacob,” Ariel interrupted me, “but we will come to that later.” I continued reading.
    “…The brother of Yeshua, as he was clearly the one in charge in later chapters, both in Acts 15 where Shimon Kefa testified and in Acts 21 when Paul visited Jerusalem. Furthermore, in Galatians 2, Paul writes ‘When certain men came from James to Antioch where Peter was,’ proving both that Peter was sent out to Antioch from Jerusalem and that Jerusalem was the headquarters.
    “Who is Paul? You mentioned him earlier,” I asked.
    “Soon, David, just keep reading.”
    “Number 2. Peter clearly wasn’t infallible as we see in that same Galatians 2 passage. Here Paul rebukes Peter publicly for his hypocrisy in refusing to eat with Gentiles when certain men came from Jerusalem, though he freely ate with them before these men arrived. The tradition of the elders, which would become the oral law, forbade Jews to eat with Gentiles. This was not a biblical issue, but one of tradition—a bad tradition.
    “Number 3. There is no record in the New Covenant, or in history, of Peter ever being the bishop of Rome.
    “Number 4. And last, while there is evidence Peter visited Rome, we never see him portrayed as the Bishop of Rome. And even if he had possessed this position,