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1. There's no Scripture to back up our OPINIONS about whom God would deny entrance into heaven. As a matter of fact, the article to which you are referring says: Although we have no way of backing this Scripturally, we truly believe that our Creator would NOT send to hell anyone who has NEVER heard of Him, because as He says in the Bible, He wants no one to perish. (Romans 2 explains in detail the impartiality of God.)
2. Is Pope John Paul in Hell? No one can answer that except for God. There's no doubt that the Pope had a heart for God, but as a supposed "learned" man, he should have been able to QUESTION things that didn't line up with the Bible. But, people hardly ever do; they simply accept what's been passed down, including the Catholic idea that "the Bible needs outside books and interpretations in order to be understood." (Same reasoning as the Orthodox Jews and their Talmud!)
The thing is, Catholics are idolators, despite the fact that the Second Commandment prohibits idols. Catholics have statues all over the place and they pray to them - when God clearly said not to make an image of Him, much less make images of "the mother of Christ" whom the Bible never suggested we deify or in any way place above Yeshua/Jesus!
Deuteronomy 4:15-16 - "So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female....
The Catholics started worshiping Mary because of twisted Scripture. Here's what a Catholic man once tried to tell The Refiner's Fire:
"Sister Emmanuel has told us that Jesus is the one intercessor between God and Man but he chooses to use his mother as our Advocate, as our Spiritual mother. He gave us to her on the cross when he said "son this is the mother". He also said Woman, this is the son."
The Messianic response: In other words, the Catholic idea that "Jesus needs an advocate" renders useless the Deity of our Savior! Please see the top half of our article Challenging Catholicism.
"Behold THE mother" doesn't make any sense! And even if the word had been "THE", it would NOT mean that Mary somehow became omnipotent and somebody to be worshiped by every single person in the world. She didn't give birth to ALL of us; therefore, she's not our "mother". We have ONE mother, and that's the one who gave birth to us. Rather than to take the word of "Sister Emmanuel" perhaps Catholics should check with the REST of the Bibles, especially ones that are translated directly from Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek by SCHOLARS, such as the Complete Jewish Bible by Dr. David Stern which says:
John 19: 26 Therefore when Yeshua saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour, the disciple took her to his own home.
3. You asked, "Do Christian marriage ceremonies today have any pagan roots? How did christians come up with the ritual things that happen, like saying "I do", and being in front of a priest?"
We don't think they are necessarily pagan; they're just tradition. We don't really know that much about that subject, and you can look it up on the internet just as well as we can.
4. Is it a sin to eat pork? God clearly outlined in the Book of Leviticus what was food and what wasn't. In our Open Letter to Christians, we explain:
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Did Rav Sha'ul (Apostle Paul) actually say that, since Yeshua's death, we can eat whatever we want, meaning there is no more "Kosher"?
1 Timothy 4: 1 The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron. 3 They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, 5 because the word of God and prayer make it holy.
The answer is "No". First of all we have to remember that Paul was talking to the Jews - who were KOSHER. They wouldn't dream of going against what God said in Leviticus about what He considered to be food. Kosher Law is still God's Law, and Paul actually confirming this. Here, he warns against doctrines of demons, which say you can't have certain foods which God has said is good to eat. Every creature is good and not to be refused IF it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer (thanksgiving). The Word of God in Leviticus tells us what is holy and not holy. That is what Kosher means, because it comes from the same root as kodesh, meaning holy.
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The website Judaism 101 explains the rules about kosher eating.
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