The protestant reformation and roman catholicism
Around this time of the year, we tend to think about why the Reformation happened and whether it still makes sense today, 503 years later, to speak about the Protestant Reformation. And it was precisely this time ago that an Augustinian Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther had a revelation about what in the Bible means justification (the way in which man becomes just before God).
He realized that it was not works (in particular indulgences, which was the Roman Catholic practice of offering money to buy years out of purgatory) the means of salvation, but only faith in Christ, who by the grace of God offered himself in sacrifice for sin. This is what the Scriptures teach, and Luther argued that the Scriptures are the only source of authority in matters of God’s character and will for mankind.
For that he was expelled from the Church: but we must not forget that Luther was a Roman Catholic, and he wanted to remain a Roman Catholic — however, the Church was not willing to give the Word of God the primacy. So, at the same time as we celebrate the Reformation movement, we cry because we would prefer that this movement did not have to happen and that we could all be one Church, based solely on the Christ revealed in the Word of God. But unfortunately that is not the reality.
In his 95 theses against indulgences, which he nailed at the door of a church in Wittenberg, Martin Luther rebels against a practice that began in the 10th century, and which remains today, 10 centuries later.
In fact, all the last popes have promoted indulgences and the last example was Pope Francis having announced a special holy year in 2016, the Jubilee year dedicated to the theme of Mercy, where he presented a variety of ways in which pilgrims would receive indulgences. Francis decreed that during the jubilee year, not only pilgrims who passed through the special sacred door in St. Peter’s Basilica or other Roman churches would obtain an indulgence.
But for the first time, every diocese around the world would also have a sacred door in one or more churches to facilitate people who cannot travel to obtain an indulgence.
Essentially, indulgences buy partial or total time outside purgatory and in his 95 theses, Martin Luther asks an interesting question: if the Pope can empty purgatory, why doesn’t he do so out of love? And with the indulgences doctrine as a starting point, Luther calls into question the whole of the Catholic doctrine on salvation, which Luther argued the Bible taught was only by faith and not by works.
At this point the question stands: is the Reformation still necessary and relevant today?
We have already seen that what gave rise to the Protestant Reformation movement, the indulgences, continues to be practiced today, without any doctrinal changes although with some practical changes. But many people think that talking about Protestant reform no longer makes sense because the Roman Catholic Church (from here referred to as RCC) is very different than it was, and that we must be united and ignore doctrinal differences.
We can argue that this belief is at least partly due to the idea that doctrines do not matter much, that theology does not matter much, and that the main thing is the way we live and we should be together despite our differences.
But the idea that doctrinal ideas don’t matter much is in itself a doctrine, and a dangerous one at that, because ideas have consequences — and bad ideas have serious consequences. If I tell my son that he can cross the street without looking both ways or outside the treadmill, and he adopts that conviction, what consequences could this have? They won’t be good for sure.
The thesis in this article is that there is no way to understand the Protestant Reformation and its relevance without understanding what the RCC really is and being aware of its fundamentals. Do we understand the depth of the differences, or are we just focused on what looks similar? The use of the expression “looks similar” is purposeful, because we can often use the same words and mean completely different things — and this is what happens with many of the terms we share with Roman Catholic theology — although we undeniably have a lot in common too.
But at this time of the celebration of the anniversary of the Reformation (and not only at this time) it is very useful and important to reflect a little on what ICAR really is: even because, as Portuguese, we live in a country with a Roman Catholic matrix, and we are surrounded by people who identify themselves as Roman Catholics — and how important is it for people who want to have a significant presence in the world to know the identity of those around them? It seems extremely important, especially when those people who must have a significant presence in the world are called to be salt and light in the world, presenting the Good News of Jesus to EVERYONE.
But this reflection is also useful for Protestants to reflect on their own identity: as we know this reality, we are more aware of why we are not Roman Catholics. This is the question that many ask today (explicitly or between the lines): are why are we not Roman Catholics after all?
Are we only Protestants by chance or because of aesthetics, or because we belong to churches that have small denominational differences with Roman Catholicism? More and more evangelicals seem to think so. There is an important caveat before we enter into a reflection on the nature of ICAR and its differences with the Protestant faith: there are many Roman Catholics who, by the grace of God, have a genuine faith, even though it may contain errors. But it is also important to say that even these, being de facto Catholics, and often living and promoting a biblical faith, are within a system that in essence and as a whole, does not in any way promote a biblical faith.
Given this word of caution, let us then think in a very superficial way what Catholicism is and what are essentially the differences that separate us as Protestants from our Catholic counterparts. We will leave a lot out, and there would be much more to say about each of the things we mention. But if this is the starting point for further reflection, the objective of this article will be achieved.
Let’s start our reflection thinking about RCC as a building that has two foundations: the Roman foundation and the Catholic foundation.
1) The Roman foundation: the Roman Catholic church is a political state that has its origin in an empire, the Roman empire.
And the RCC reproduces the hierarchical structure of the Roman empire, with the Pope at the top instead of the emperor and the laity at the bottom, instead of the slaves — with the cardinals who are the equivalent of the imperial Senate, and the priests, who are the equivalent of Roman citizens.
The RCC was then born in and from the Roman empire: in the 4th century, Emperor Constantine made the Christian religion the official religion of the Roman empire, and this mixture of faith and state never dissolved in the Roman Catholic system.
Historically, ICAR owned territories and the popes were rulers and often warriors who fought to defend those territories. Today, the RCC is a sovereign state, the Vatican, with a state guard, ambassadors, and political administration typical of any country.
This mix between politics and religion at the RCC is actually in its DNA, and it is as solid today as it ever was (in fact, it is even stronger than in many moments in history). And this mixture ties the RCC to political power, and maintains an extremely solid political structure that has been in place for 16 centuries. The Pope, for example, has a lot of power, but he also has a great hierarchical structure that governs the whole church, starting with the Curia (the administrative organ of the Holy See, made up of the authorities that coordinate and organize the functioning of the ICAR), and containing many movements within the structure that give it a lot of diversity, while never ceasing to be integrated into the structure.
As with all political structures in the world, games of power, interests, manipulation, schemes, and corruption are an integral part of that structure. This happens in all human organizations, and the RCC is no exception.
For example, how do 3000 clergy get to be accused of sexual abuse after 50 years? Again, abuses and atrocities happen in any human structure. But here we are talking about a religious structure that claims to be Christian, and that for decades, in silence, shelters thousands of abusers in all parts of the world.
This is because abuse is hushed up in a closed structure, and as Margaret Smith, a researcher at the John Jay Institute for Criminal Justice, says, “can only be changed by a regime change, a change at the top, because the Vatican model is one authoritarian approach to Catholicism, and priests simply absorb that approach. “
In the political structure of the RCC, the problem is not a stain on the fabric, it is the fabric itself; the problem is not a leaky roof, it is the foundation of the building! For some reason Jesus said that his Kingdom was not of this world, and rejected any commitment to the political structures of his time.
There would be much more to say about this first foundation, but let’s move on to the second.
2) The religious foundation: the Roman Catholic church is not only a sovereign and political state; it is a religious system, with a theological foundation, and which claims to be Christian.
And from this spiritual foundation (which is mixed with the political foundation as water mixes with cement to make concrete), two pillars emerge that serve as the basis for all Catholic doctrines.
This idea of the pillars is proposed by Leonardo de Chirico, theologian and scholar of Roman Catholicism, and before we enter into the reflection on this first pillar (or axiom, which is the word used by de Chirico), let’s read a passage from the Bible that will follow during this brief study.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
- Ephesians 2:1–10 (ESV)
2.1 The first pillar is called by Chirico the interdependence nature-grace.
Nature refers to creation and grace is the action of God, and the two depend on each other. In the Roman Catholic theological system, nature is seen as a channel of grace, and grace must elevate or perfect nature. For example, water (in the field of nature) is able to receive and become a channel of grace when, consecrated by the RCC , it is used in the sacrament of baptism, which confers grace on the salvation of those who receive it.
The assumption here is that nature’s materials, when sanctified by the Church have spiritual power and can function as channels of grace.
This is evident both in Catholic sacramental practices and in practices that involve veneration of material objects or places (objects such as relics or statues of saints, and places as destinations for pilgrimages) as well as influencing key doctrines of the Christian faith.
It is quite visible in the sacraments, and as an example we can refer to the sacrament of penance, as we have said about indulgences, which can be obtained by going through a door; another example is the water of baptism, which is “holy”, without sin, giving grace; or else the host and the wine of the Eucharist, which are seen to be literally the body and blood of Christ, not just symbols, but elements that contain the fullness of Christ.
This view also provides a basis for and is the source of key doctrines in Roman Catholicism. Let’s see some of them:
The view of man: according to Catholicism, man, in his natural state, maintains the ability to collaborate with God; says the Catechism (CCC 36):
Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason
But what did we read earlier in the Ephesians passage?
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
- Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)
This passage makes it evident that, contrary to what ICAR defends, man cannot know God for his reason, being completely dominated by his bad desires and buried under your crimes and sins.
This view of man is related to another key doctrine:
The view of sin: according to Roman Catholicism, sin does not prevent human nature from retaining the ability to cooperate with grace (as in the case of atheists or other “goodwill” people who, even though they do not believe in the God of the Bible , are considered capable of attaining the favor of God through their good works.
Muslims, for example, who do not believe in Christ, are referred to in the catechism as people who “worship the true God with us” (CCC 841)
But what do we read in Ephesians? That we can only find salvation in Christ.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 2:4–7 (ESV)
There can be no salvation outside of Christ, least of all those who openly deny Christ’s lordship. But in Roman Catholic doctrine it is possible, because both atheists and people of goodwill from other religions (it is not clear what “goodwill” means) can connect with God through their natural life and convictions of conscience.
As Pope Francis said several times, everyone is by nature a child of God — but it is clearly read in Ephesians that only together with Christ can we have life (v5) and in the Gospel of John the Scripture is clear that only those who receive Jesus receive the power to be made a child of God (John 1:12). However, in Roman Catholicism, human nature is not completely spoiled by sin, and can know God by reason and be saved by a pious life.
This view of man and sin, in turn, directly influences the view of Roman Catholicism on another key doctrine: the doctrine of salvation.
The vision of salvation: according to the catechism, salvation is entirely God’s initiative, but the maintenance of salvation, sanctification, and the attainment of eternal life, are the result of a collaboration between man and God.
Let’s see what the catechism has to say on this topic (CCC 2010):
Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God’s wisdom.
In short, in Roman Catholicism, man can deserve the useful graces for sanctification and for obtaining eternal life.
Let us return to the passage of Ephesians:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
— Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)
There is no merit (v8), either before salvation or after salvation, because salvation is only by the grace of God, and nobody has anything to boast about (v9).
We are the work of the hands of God and created in Christ so that after we are saved we can do works — not to deserve anything, but because God has prepared them for us.
What conclusion can we then draw about the Roman Catholic pillar of nature-grace interdependence?
We have seen that nature cannot do anything by itself to lead to grace — creation is too corrupted. Only God can supernaturally lead to grace, and it is not from natural things that we take power, but from spiritual things — and it is faith that links us to God’s gift of salvation in Christ.
We could talk about many other doctrinal issues that come from this idea of nature-grace interdependence, but let’s move on to the second pillar that comes from the theological foundation of the RCC: the Christ-Church interconnection.
This pillar is linked to the first, because, in the Roman Catholic system, someone has to mediate between nature and grace.
First, Christ comes to mediate, but after Christ is no longer physically in the world, this mediation has to be done in another way. And in the Roman Catholic system, the Church is the mediator, who is an extension of Christ on earth.
This and its implications must be well understood: in the Roman Catholic system, the Church is not merely a representative of Christ on earth; the Church is Christ Himself on earth. The Church is then a mediator of divine grace, as important as Christ, because it is his true body (the expression used is alter persona Christi (which means another — or a second — person of Christ).
On the other hand, the Protestant understanding holds that when Paul says that the Church is the body of Christ and Christ is the head, he is not saying that the church and Christ are of equal importance.
Let us pay attention to a text that will help us in our reflection on this idea of the Christ-Church interconnection:
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of jthe invisible God, kthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, lin heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
- Colossians 1:14–20
It is true that the Church is the body of Christ, and it is true that Christ gave the church its authority and its power; but as we clearly read in this passage, Christ is always the head, the first in everything (v16–18). We must conclude then that the Church cannot have the same authority as Christ, but must instead submit completely to Christ.
However, in the Roman Catholic system, the interpretation that is made of this passage has the practical consequence of equating the church with Christ himself.
Let’s now consider three doctrinal consequences of this idea of the Christ — Church interconnection (in addition to the most obvious and immediate consequence that places Christ on the same level of authority and power as the church and that therefore diminishes Christ).
The view of Scripture: as the RCC believes it is Christ on earth, it sees itself with exactly the same authority as Christ, so the RCC sees itself as having authority to define the canon of Scripture
In Protestantism, we see the Scriptures as something we must submit to and receive from God, not as something the Church constructed. Furthermore, the Old Testament Scriptures already existed before the church, and the New Testament was written over and from the Old, not “invented” by the Church.
But the RCC sees not only Scripture as something that the Church has determined, but it sees itself as having the same authority as Scripture: through Tradition (the teachings of the Church that are passed down from generation to generation) and the Magisterium of the Church (the ministry that teaches and promulgates Tradition, making it the official doctrine of ICAR).
Because of this view of Scripture in Roman Catholicism, as being determined by the Church and being on the same level of authority as Tradition and the Magisterium, we can have:
- dogmas like the dogma of the infallibility of a man, the Pope: when he speaks ex-cathedra (“from Peter’s chair”), the Pope’s word is received as having the same weight as the Scriptures;
- ministries such as the priesthood — priests, as substitutes for Christ (“taking the place of Christ” in the liturgy), become mediators of grace between men and God;
- doctrines without any biblical basis, such as that of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which is a pure invention of the RCC, and which has become dogma or official doctrine — indeed, about Mary, the Catechism designates her without reservation as a mediator: “Therefore, the Most Holy Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Lawyer, Helper, Benefactor and Mediator. “ (CCC 969)
The view of the Holy Spirit: if the Church is the total presence of Christ on earth, where is the Holy Spirit?
If Christ is fully present in the world through the RCC, as it defends (the Christ-Church interconnection), the Holy Spirit seems to be relegated to an accessory role, or at least undefined in relation to Christ. But from the Scriptures it is quite obvious that for Jesus, the role of the Holy Spirit was decisive, since he would take his place on earth after ascending into heaven.
In John 16: 7 we read: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
It is the Holy Spirit, then, the total presence of Christ on earth, and not the Church, which, despite having the important vocation of being the body of Christ and of being the representation of Christ on earth, cannot take the place of sovereignty and authority that only belongs to the Holy Spirit.
The view of faith: the Roman Catholic view of faith has many similarities with faith according to Protestantism, meaning: it happens through a personal and free adhesion (it cannot be coerced), it is a disposition of trust, it is linked to the intellect, it is necessary for salvation, and is addressed to God as his object and one to whom believers are united in a personal relationship (CCC 93–100).
But because of the Christ-Church interconnection, man, in the Roman Catholic system, needs the Church to have faith, that is, faith does not come by hearing the Word, but by being in communion with the Church.
This has serious implications in terms of what is asked of believers: not primarily that they hear the Word and convert, but that they are linked to the church, which tries to nourish them by faith.
As the catechism says, “It is the Church that first believes, and thus supports, nourishes and sustains my faith.” (CCC 168). And nowhere is the nature of faith in the Roman Catholic system more evident than in the sacrament of baptism.
To the child being baptized, the Church grants faith. To the adult who is ready to be baptized, the priest asks the following question: “What do you ask of the Church of God?” The right answer for the RCC? Faith.
What conclusions can we draw from this short reflection? We cannot deny that we have many things in common, but we see that even the things we have in common have different bases and translate into a different faith. Because the Christian faith is based on knowledge and correct thinking about Jesus: the knowledge that he is the only and true God, the only Lord and Savior of mankind, having primacy over all things.
It is true that both Protestants and Roman Catholics believe that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the world, the Son of God; but when the RCC speaks of Jesus, it speaks of a son of God who is on the same level of authority as his Church, effectively taking away his primacy. It replaces Jesus as the sole mediator of God’s grace, and places itself in a position of depository of faith, when faith in reality comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) — the Scriptures, then affirm themselves they are the only source of objective revelation about who Jesus really is and how to obtain salvation by faith (1 Timothy 3: 15–17).
The Protestant response to Roman Catholicism, through the voice of Martin Luther, is as follows:
Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.
The Protestant response must be, in addition to the Truth of the Word boldly affirmed, Christian love. A love for Roman Catholics, who are inside a building that’s seriously compromised in its foundations. A humble love, which is aware that it is subject to the same fallibility and errors, and that if it has any revelation of the truth, it is not by its own merit, but by the grace of God from whom everything comes.
Let us pray for our Roman Catholic friends, who are inside that building, and who believe that leaving that building is the same as abandoning their faith in Jesus. And although they may have good intentions, they are generally far from understanding the biblical Gospel, and from receiving for free the salvation that ICAR teaches that, although received free of charge, it must be operated according to a merit system.
No system is perfect, and the people who make up the systems are always far from perfect; but the Roman Catholic system is corrupted in its two foundations — the political and religious, the latter with its theological pillars that distort the Bible, contaminate the entire structure, and manifest themselves in doctrines that are very far from what the Bible teaches.
Let us then pray for Roman Catholics, who make up 80% of the Portuguese population, most of whom are unaware of the Gospel and are bound by an empty human system of religiosity and tradition.
And let us pray for us Protestants, who are not immune from mistakes — as the reformers were not immune — and we need, both as individuals, and as churches and organizations, to be constantly in the process of Reformation.
Above all, we need to remember that we only have one chance to survive spiritually: to be based only on Christ, revealed fully in Scripture only, being saved only by the grace of God, receiving this salvation only through faith, and giving only to God glory for everything.
