By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM
Part 27
Something that not even Superman would be able to do is to give a clear and brief account of the thousands of variations which the original doctrines of Lutheran Protestantism have undergone. If he were to attempt it, it would be like fiddling with kryptonite to him.
Some liberal Protestant theologians even maintain that Christ did not found any Church at all, therefore, there is no unity of belief, morals, or government. In practice, you believe what you like, and that’s the end of the story. Religion, for these convoluted souls, has become a matter of make-believe. Whether what you believe is true or false, it does not matter. What matters is that you believe. . . . Their new (un)holy trinity is me, myself, and I. Private opinion, feeling, idea, whatever you think is satisfying, take it and make it your religion.
But let us move on: Next to the multiplicity of Protestant sects and churches and affiliations and cults and denominations and opinions and what else is there to say, you have the Church of England, both high and low (we must keep the variety of choices available, of course). High Church Anglicans retained a large number of Catholic practices and doctrines, except papal primacy of course, and infallibility is never mentioned (perish the thought!). Others are rationalists and the Low Church of evangelicals follows a milder form of Calvinism. So there are many choices for everyone!
Now comes the million-dollar question: Could Protestantism be the true Church of Jesus Christ? Yea? Or Nay?
To answer the question with both justice and charity, we must remember that “Protestantism” is not a “church” as such, but a multiplicity of churches and denominations of all sorts, colors, and flavors. It is rather the weakest doctrinal system ever proposed among the many heresies that opposed the Church. Moreover, it does not have one single mark that characterizes the Church of Jesus Christ as we have considered in previous lessons. It has no unity (“One”), it does not aim at holiness (“Holy”), it is not universal (“Catholic”), it does not stem from the apostles (“Apostolic”), etc. More concretely:
No unity: This mark is the most evident one, of course. The multiplicity of churches, denominations, etc., has absolutely no unity in government, faith, or worship. Its basic “dogma” whereby individual interpretation is the ultimate judge of truth and error brings about the total destruction of unity — and we know that the one Church founded by Jesus Christ is One in belief, worship, and government.
Holiness is not a primary goal: The Church of Christ aims to sanctify the people, has sacraments that impart grace, but Protestantism affirms the false principle of “faith alone” without good works. So, according to Luther himself, once you accept the salvation offered to you by Christ, you are saved! Sin at will, if you wish, because nothing will separate you from Him.
Protestants who sincerely aim to live upright lives do so because of their individual choice, and not because of their doctrinal principles. They do so in spite of Protestantism, not because of it. They follow the traditions inherited from Catholicism. Their founders, Luther, Elizabeth I, and Henry VIII did not live exemplary holy lives, to put it charitably.
Here we must never forget to remind our Protestant brethren that the essential foundations of Protestantism are per se false: sola Scriptura (Bible alone) and sola Fide (faith alone) are false, man-made principles, thoroughly unbiblical, unhistorical, unreasonable, and unworkable. We have seen these aspects in details in previous articles.
For the present moment, it suffices to show that the Bible, privately interpreted by each reader, has no foundation whatsoever in the Bible itself. This practice has brought about a cacophony of contradictory beliefs among those claiming to be “Christian” while following this false rule of Bible alone. It is a false belief that all truths necessary for salvation are in the Bible — simply because the Bible does not teach that! It is also a false principle that each individual Christian is able to interpret it by himself, as if the Holy Spirit gave the gift of infallibility to everyone!
This cannot be stressed often enough: St. Paul explicitly taught the precise opposite of Luther: The teachings we are called to hold fast to were not given to us written, but also given verbally, orally, by word of mouth. Here is his explicit teaching: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thess. 2:15).
To Timothy he refers to the teachings he imparted orally, in the presence of many people: “What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Heard, not read. Timothy did not learn those things by Bible reading, but by listening to Paul instead!
St. John the Evangelist goes even further than St. Paul and states that Jesus did so many things that, if an account of such deeds, teachings, examples, parables, etc., were to be written down, there would be no room in the world for all the books! Man alive! That’s a lot of books!
Even if we make allowances for the tendency to exaggerate things that is common in the Middle East way of speaking, the fact remains that the collection titled Teachings of Jesus — in Words and in Deeds would make a considerable library, say, the congressional and the Vatican libraries put together. Definitely impossible to be contained in the New Testament as we know it.
Two quotations suffice to demonstrate this point: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25; cf. 20:30). St. John later closes a letter, “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with you face to face” (2 John 12). At the end of his third epistle, he says the same again (3 John 1:3).
Moreover, how on earth do we know that the collection of 73 books bound together in a volume we call “The Bible” is truly the Word of God? The Bible does not say so! There is no inspired catalogue, either, to indicate which books are OK. Which authority guarantees that the Bible is the word of God? The Catholic Church!
As St. Augustine said, “I would not believe in the Gospel had not the authority of the Catholic Church moved me to do so.” Catholics and the Orthodox have several books in the Old Testament which Protestants exclude from theirs. Only a living authority can say whose list of books is correct.
Take it or leave it, folks, but the only authority to guarantee the authenticity of the bible is the Catholic Church!
Next article: More on the refutation of the false principle of sola Scriptura.
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Next article: Protestantism is not a “church,” but a loose network of loosely related denominations holding contradictory teachings: Therefore, it is not the Church of Christ.
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