The fundamental reason for the vast gulf between Christianity and Catholicism is our respective authorities:

• Christianity teaches that inspired Scripture is the sole infallible rule of faith (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Not the only rule of faith - as is sometimes slanderously alleged - the only infallible rule of faith.
• Catholicism teaches that the Roman Church's judgment of Scripture and Tradition is the sole infallible rule of faith.

This Roman Catholic (and to a lesser, more disorganized degree, Eastern Orthodox) doctrine of Sola Ecclesia has led to many accretions in their religion, which no one reading the Bible, and practicing any meaningful form of exegesis, would ever get from the text.

With Biblical doctrine, we can show a chapter and verse in inspired Scripture that clearly states what we are trying to prove. Allusion isn't good enough. Symbology is not good enough. We build our theology on clear statements, from what we know is God-breathed. That is how we avoid developments (accretions), and heresy.

In contrast, the case for these Roman Catholic doctrines is established on taking a verse of Scripture, which does not at all, in context, state their doctrine, or anything like their doctrine, and then immediately running to the traditions of non-inspired sinners, and selectively citing what they said, in order to arrive at the fully fleshed-out Roman Catholic doctrine.

They are working from the assertion that these traditions are directly from the Apostles themselves, and therefore, represent authoritative elements of the faith outside of Scripture. There are two evident issues with this theory:

• Not everything an Apostle did or taught was correct, or inspired (Galatians 2:11-14, Acts 16:1-3)
• No direct Apostolic link can be established for any of these dogmas

The first instance that we have in the history of the Christian Church of someone claiming to have a direct Apostolic basis for a doctrine is Irenaeus (130-202 AD), in his work Against Heresies, stating that Jesus was over 40 years old when He died. No one on earth believes that today. Everyone agrees that he was teaching false doctrine. And, he is one of the earliest Christian writers. "An Apostle told me", isn't good enough.

And, not even the most basic questions about any of these supposedly Apostolic traditions can be answered, such as - which Apostle? Who did he tell it to? When did he say it? Where was he? Is the person who he supposedly told it to reliable? Is each person in the chain of transmitters after him reliable? These basic questions, whose answers should be forthcoming if the tradition was legitimate, cannot be answered for even a single one of any of these traditions.

Therefore, when reading Tradition, the writers are subject to the same scrutiny that writers today are subject to, namely, "Where did you get that from?". If a statement has been made, fine - anyone can make a statement. Why should I believe it? Because you are a sinner living in the 3rd century, versus a sinner living in the 21st century? There were people teaching lies, and creating false doctrine, while the New Testament itself was being written (John 21:21-23, Acts 20:28-31: 2 Corinthians 2:17, Galatians 1:6-7: 2 Peter 3:16). Age isn't good enough. "We all believe it", isn't good enough. I need inspired proof for anything that anyone tries to bind to my conscience, and that should be the testimony of every truth-concerned person reading this.

With that said, the following is a list of Roman Catholic accretions - doctrines for which I do not find any basis for whatsoever in Scripture. If there are any verses of Scripture which I believe directly contradict the doctrine, they will be listed below as well:

• Peter was designated to rule all churches in the world, and he can pass this authority on to the Bishop of Rome
  • Luke 22:24-26: 1 Peter 5:1-3: 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 (Cephas is Peter)
• Peter was the first Bishop of Rome
  • Romans 11:13 with Galatians 2:8, Romans 15:20, Romans 16:1-15 (27 names, no mention of Peter)
• The Bishop of Rome is able to issue infallible statements
• The titles used for the Bishop of Rome, taking the place of each Member of the Trinity
  • God the Father - "Holy Father"
    • Matthew 23:9, John 17:11
  • Jesus Christ - "Alter Christus" (Another Christ) - name taken by every priest at their ordination
    • Matthew 24:5, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8
  • The Holy Spirit - "Vicar of Christ"
    • John 14:16-18, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7
• Repeating the same prayers over and over again, i.e., the Rosary
  • Matthew 6:7-8
• Prayers to saints, and angels
  • 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:15-16
• Veneration of images of Jesus, saints, and angels to honor their prototypes
  • Veneration explicitly forbidden - Acts 10:25-26, Revelation 19:10, 22:8-9
  • Venerative iconography forbidden on the basis that it has no life, which is true of all Catholic and Orthodox iconography - Deuteronomy 4:14-28, Psalm 115:4-8, 135:15-18, Isaiah 44:9, Jeremiah 10:14-15, 51:17-18, Habakkuk 2:18-19
  • Other - Colossians 2:18, Acts 17:29-30, Exodus 20:4-6, 34:14, Deuteronomy 5:8-10, 16:22, 27:15, Judges 17:1-6
• Veneration and enshrinement of relics from the bodies of dead saints, and requiring the use of relics to consecrate a new church (2nd Council of Nicaea, 787 AD)
• Holy adornments, i.e., the Miraculous Medal, the Brown Scapular, the Medal of St. Christopher, etc.
• Transubstantiation, and the Mass as an unbloody propitiatory sacrifice for sin
  • Hebrews 9:9-12, 9:22-28, 10:1-18
• Historically, restricting the drinking of the wine at Communion to the priest only (Council of Constance, 1418 AD)
  • Matthew 26:27, Mark 14:23, Luke 22:17: 1 Corinthians 11:25-28
• For centuries, mandating that the Mass be in Latin, even in many countries that had no understanding of Latin whatsoever
  • 1 Corinthians 14:7-11, 14:19
• Abolishing the death penalty
  • Genesis 9:5-6
  • Romans 13:1-6 with Acts 25:11
  • Numbers 35:30-34 and Deuteronomy 19:11-13 with Revelation 6:9-10
• Purgatory, and prayers for the dead in Purgatory
  • Romans 4:4-8, 5:1, 8:33, etc., etc.
• Indulgences, and the Treasury of Merit
  • Hebrews 9:22, Titus 3:5, Galatians 2:16, etc.
• The classification of sin into Mortal and Venial sin, Mortal Sins being those that make one lose their Salvation
  • Romans 6:23 with James 2:10-11, Galatians 2:16, 3:24, John 6:47, etc., etc.
• A class of "Saints", in distinction from ordinary believers
  • Acts 26:18, Romans 16:15, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 4:21-22, etc.
• The College of Cardinals, consisting of elevated bishops who will elect the Bishop of Rome
• The office of sacerdotal priest, in distinction from laity, under the authority of a bishop
  • Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45: 1 Peter 2:5-9, Revelation 1:6, 5:10, Hebrews 7:23-24
• Teaching that the office of elder is distinct from the office of bishop, and designating the elders to be sacerdotal priests
  • Titus 1:5-7 - Bishop and elder used interchangeably
  • Acts 20:17 with Acts 20:28 - Elders are called what is translated "overseers", but is the same Greek word translated bishop everywhere else
  • 1 Peter 5:1-2 - Elders are exhorted to "exercise oversight" - this is the verb form of bishop
• Auricular confession to a priest as a requirement for forgiveness of sins, and the concept of Penance as atonement
  • Auricular Confession - 1 John 1:9, Matthew 6:9-12, Luke 11:2-4, 18:13-14, Hebrews 4:14-16, Psalm 32:5, 51:1-9, Proverbs 28:13, Ezra 10:11
  • Penance as Atonement - Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:12, 10:14, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:9, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14: 1 Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 1:5
• Limiting positions of Church leadership only to those who have sworn to celibacy
  • 1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12, 4:3, Titus 1:6, Mark 1:30, Luke 4:38: 1 Corinthians 9:5
• Monasticism, and asceticism
  • Colossians 2:18-23: 1 Timothy 4:1-3
• Commanding fasting on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and every Friday in Lent. Lent itself
  • Romans 14:5-6, Colossians 2:14-16, Galatians 4:9-11
  • Ash Wednesday particularly - Matthew 6:16-18
• Designating every Friday as penitential, and forbidding meat on that day
  • Romans 14:5-6: 1 Timothy 4:1-3, Galatians 4:9-11
• Designating every Sunday as a Holy Day of Obligation, on which refusing to go to church is a Mortal Sin, and the designation of other such days throughout the year
  • Romans 14:5-6, Galatians 4:9-11
• Mary's Immaculate Conception
  • Luke 1:46-47, Luke 2:22-24 with Leviticus 12:6-8
• Mary's Assumption
• Mary's Perpetual Virginity, "even in the act of giving birth" (CCC 499), which fundamentally attacks the Incarnation, as she did not really give birth at all
  • Matthew 1:18, 1:24-25, Luke 2:7: 1 Corinthians 7:4-5, Psalm 69:8-9 with John 7:5 and John 2:17
  • Jesus's siblings explicitly mentioned - Matthew 12:46-50, 13:55-56, Mark 3:31, 6:3, Luke 8:19, John 2:12, 7:3, Acts 1:14: 1 Corinthians 9:5, Galatians 1:19
• Mary's exalted role as Queen of Heaven, Mediatrix of all graces, etc.
  • Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21, 11:27-28
• Infant baptism
  • Acts 2:41, 8:36-37
• The way that the priest, bishops, and other clergy dress
  • Mark 12:38-40, Matthew 23:5
• Calling priests, bishops, and others "father", and designating every priest to be an "Alter Christus" (another Christ) at their ordination
  • Matthew 23:9, Matthew 24:5, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8
• The classification of Ordination, Marriage, Reconciliation, Communion, Confirmation, Baptism, and Extreme Unction as Sacraments. Confirmation itself
• Inclusion of some books from the intertestamental Deuterocanon, also known as the Apocrypha, as Scripture
  • Romans 3:1-2

Many of the above are declared to be De Fide - to be believed by all of the faithful, under penalty of Anathema. The Roman Catholic Church has no inspired basis for any of the above doctrines, yet condemns people to Hell if they do not believe them. This is adding to the Gospel, in violation of Galatians 1:6-9, and binding to men's souls something that God never commanded them to believe.

Conclusion

No Christian is bound to believe any unbiblical accretion, regardless of how often those who hold them try to threaten them with Hell. Never allow someone to try to inspire ecclesiastical anxiety in you, by binding burdens to you that Christ never did, and adding to His Word:

Mark 7:6-7

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.