The Curse Of Catholicism?
Let me start by saying that I spent my formative Christian years in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. It was a rather happy mix of evangelical fervor and catholic (small 'c') ritual. I came to know the Lord in this setting, and learned the richness of catholic symbolism.But that being said, in my early twenties I left the Lutheran church seeking a setting with more emphasis on God's Word and less emphasis on liturgies and rituals. My pendulum swung me all the way over to a conservative Baptist seminary, where I trained for ministry. I have long since settled into the Evangelical Free Church of Canada, where I have pastored for many years. But I tell you all this because I have a soft spot in my heart for the catholic movement.
However, I've long been concerned about the growing desire within evangelical circles to repatriate our Protestant flag into the Catholic camp in the name of spiritual unity. Some very good men (e.g. Chuck Colson, J.I. Packer, the late Bill Bright) have been promoting this union for over a decade now, and while they shun the notion of a common church polity, they are open to shared doctrines and purposes. I think this could be a slippery slope.
This morning while I was reading God's Word I was reminded again of the great error of Catholicism which led to the Protestant Reformation. Christ was rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees for adding traditions and new precepts to God's Word. This, of course, has long been the practice of catholicism, and we should not take it lightly. Christ got pretty hot under the collar when He was faced with a church system that "taught as doctrines the precepts of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition." (Mark 7:8-9)
Just a cursory look at the the past and present history of Catholicism reveals the same mistake entrenched in their system. Like the Scribes and Pharisees they have long maintained that the papal edicts and decrees issued to their Church through the centuries have been God-given interpretations and additions to God's Word, even though they often contradict it. This, as well as the old practice of hiding God's Word in Latin so the people can't read it, has led to great distortion and misunderstanding of the heart of God among Catholic people.
And lest we think this is a thing of the past, let me tell you about the summer class I took at a Catholic seminary for extra credit. I was the only Protestant in a room full of Catholic "priest-wannabes". I felt a little like a sheep among the wolves. Our teacher (himself a priest) knew that I was a Baptist and so took great delight in highlighting my position. In fairness, he was a kind and generous man, not malicious at all, and he was trying to get his seminary students to understand some of the advantages that we Protestants had when it came to personal Bible study. But I will never forget the day when several of the Catholic students protested vigorously that lay people should not be allowed to study God's Word on their own, and that permitting this in the local church was a very dangerous practice. I was then confronted about it again in the hallway after class. These men were incensed that we Protestants were so "careless" with God's Word. I was a little stunned, since I thought these attitudes in Catholicism had changed somewhat since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Guess I was wrong.
Yes, the curse of Catholicism remains: it is still an organization that neglects and/or trumps God's Word by relying on the traditions of men. We must be careful not to join hands with this.
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