I will dive a little deeper into the
Catholic rationale behind their contentious practices and highlight a few of the
prevalent contentious practices of the non-Catholics that negate their
seemingly superior theological advantage.
Catholic theologians, I believe, didn’t
innovate random practices contrary to the Bible, but have read the Bible and
subsequently implemented and supported these practices according to their
interpretations. The essence of many of these contentious practices is to draw
closer to Christ. The ‘means’ may be faulty but not the ‘end.’ The same applies
to the contentious practices of the non-Catholic churches.
For example, the Catholic and the
non-Catholic understanding of ‘grace’ is quite different. A non-Catholic would
define ‘grace’ as God’s goodness towards those who deserve punishment. In other
words, grace is “unmerited favor” that is freely given, never obligated, and cannot
be earned. The only human attitude that is appropriate to receiving such a
grace is ‘faith.’ 1
Now examine ‘grace’ within the Catholic
comprehension. “The meaning of the word
grace is primarily favor: but it is used especially of that act of favor by
which God finally salvages his creation
from man’s mismanagement and salvages it
through men…” (emphasis mine).2 The phrase ‘God finally
salvages his creation from man’s mismanagement,’ emphasizes God’s act, but in
the next few words it emphasizes man’s role while stating ‘and salvages it
through men.’
Moreover, please read these words, “…there occurs a distinction between two
so-called effects of grace: it works in
us to justify or vindicate or redeem, and it works with us to reward our cooperation. For grace is a gift to our cooperation so to speak…”
(emphasis mine).3 The emphasis that God’s grace works ‘in us’
implies God’s act, whereas ‘with us’ implies man’s role in appropriating God’s
grace. So grace is not merely a gift from God, it is a gift to our cooperation.
This emphasizes man’s role. Thus the Catholic hermeneutics of the Bible causes ‘salvation
by works’ theology. However the Catholic theologians do emphasize grace as a
free gift as well. Please read the footnote for relevant quotations.
Therefore, it is my belief that the
Catholic theology should not be ridiculed at the applicational realm of its
contentious practices; instead it should be debated at the exegetical realm of its
Biblical hermeneutics.
On a different note, one could argue
that the theology of the ‘Christian Universalists’ are a similar outcome of a
faulty biblical interpretation. On the contrary, I believe that the christian universalists
are a product of an eisegetical interpretation of the Bible. ‘Eisegesis’ or ‘to
eisegete’ is to express the interpreter’s own ideas – thoughts that are not
present in the text.4 Therefore, it would be even (un)fair to term
the christian universalists as a cult, but the Catholics cannot be grouped as a
cult. If you ask me whether christian universalists would go to heaven despite
their false understanding, I would respond in the affirmative. (By the way, the
Catholic leaders are guilty of universalistic teaching as well).
When non-Catholic christians slam their Catholic
brothers and sisters, it is the case of “pot calling kettle black.” There are
contentious practices within the non-Catholic church, and one should
acknowledge that. Moreover, when we denounce or throw mud at another, we not
only get our hands dirty but are losing ground from beneath our feet.5
Here is an introductory bird’s-eye view
of a few similarities in the contentious practices existing in both the
Catholic and the non-Catholic churches.
#
|
Contentious Catholic Practice / Teaching
|
Scriptural Violation
|
Equivalent Contentious Non-Catholic Practice / Teaching
|
1
|
Salvation
– Baptismal and Sacramental
|
Ephesians
2: 8-10; Titus 3: 5
|
Baptismal
salvation & Gift based (Tongues, Prophecy etc)
|
2
|
Baptism
mandated
|
Romans
10: 13
|
Baptism
mandated
|
3
|
Worshiping
Mary & Saints
|
Exodus
20: 3; John 14: 6
|
Worshiping
gifted people – divine healers, preachers, pastors etc.
Praying
through some “supposedly-righteous” people
|
4
|
Idol
Worship
|
Exodus
20: 4-6
|
Idols
worship: Building, Images of cross, Bible
|
5
|
Sacraments
Priesthood
– distinction
|
Ephesians
2: 8-10; John 1: 12; Romans 3: 20
John
13: 14; 1 Peter 2:9
|
Speaking
in tongues, prophesying, school for “signs and wonders” etc.
Similar
practice exists
|
If the Catholic church teaches only a
baptized believer will be saved, then some non-Catholic denominations are
guilty of the same practice. If baptism is mandatory for salvation, then let us
not scream about being saved by grace alone. If we are only saved by grace through
faith, then baptism isn’t a factor in our salvation.
If the Catholic church teaches that Mary
and the saints ought to be worshipped, then the non-Catholics worship gifted
people in Christendom. These gifted people may be divine healers, powerful
preachers, pastors etc.
There is a distinction between respect
and worship. To respect is to esteem or honor. To worship is to respect, honor
and, more importantly, to submit - all our faculties to the object of worship.
It is admirable to respect people, but we ought to be diligent while
integrating everything that is poured into our domain. The thoughts, words and
deeds of man should be examined in the light of God’s Word. We ought to submit
to God and worship HIM alone. When we agree with man’s perspective, our
conscious submission or worship is only to God, and not man, who is merely the
channel of God. From this perspective, no human being is infallible, neither the
Pastor nor the Pope!
If Catholics are guilty of idolatry, the
non-Catholics are also equally guilty. Buildings, images of cross and bible
verses, and even the Bible are idolized. The Bible by our side will not heal us
(nor would the image of cross). These objects do not make one a disciple of the
Lord. The Bible does no magic by its mere presence. The word of God when believed,
read, integrated and spoken, keeps evil out and brings healing (cf. Matthew 4:
4, 7, 10).
If a Catholic is to practice his
Sacraments (sacred signs), then there are innovative ‘Sacraments’ from the
non-Catholic church. Some non-Catholic churches insist on speaking in tongues
or the ability to prophecy or heal. There are schools that apparently impart
these gifts. To the best of my knowledge, these are gifts of the Holy Spirit,
given by God as HE pleases and chooses. I am unsure how man can supersede God
in imparting these gifts. (A counter argument would be that God gifted that man
the gift of gift-impartation, but anything taken to the realm of subjective
will suffer the lack of objective verification, hence disputable.)
The reformation rebelled against the
contentious practices of the Catholic church and empowered the ordinary
christian to discern and apply the right and discard the wrong. Unfortunately,
it is the “reformed church” (used generically, not denominationally) that is
guilty of propagating the same contentious practice, even in a diluted form. I
do see an application of this verse in the lives of the non-Catholic churches, “From everyone who has been given much, much
will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the
more” (Luke 12: 47-48, NASB).
If christians from the catholic church
are going to hell based on their contentious practices, then the christians
from the much-knowing non-Catholic churches should also go to hell for
practicing similar contentious practices. In a nutshell, the doctrine of
salvation by grace through faith crumbles into dust.
It is not about which denomination is
better or worse, it is all about sincerely loving Christ our Lord and obeying God’s
Word. May the good Lord bless us with the much needed enlightenment of HIS Word
to drive out the imperfection that plagues us, and lead us towards HIS perfect
presence. Amen.
Notes and References:
1 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p
200-201.
2 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Law
& Grace, p 278. (Quote from ‘Introductory Comment’ of the editor, Timothy
McDermott).
3Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Law
& Grace, p 279. (Quote from ‘Introductory Comment’ of the editor, Timothy
McDermott).
4 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eisegesis
5 Ravi Zacharias’ statement
Quotes of
Thomas Aquinas from Summa Theologiae:
Thomas Aquinas on Grace as a free &
earned gift of God:
(ST: Summa
Theologiae)
“Grace
then is a disposition presupposed to instilled virtues as their origin and
root. And since by grace we are reborn as sons of God, grace must modify our
very nature in some way: it is presupposed to virtues, so affects what is
presupposed to every ability of the soul, namely its nature.” ST, Law & Grace, 110.3
“Grace
does five things: first it heals our soul, so that secondly we will to do good,
thirdly actually do the good we will, fourthly persevere in doing good, and
finally come to glory.”
ST, Law & Grace, 111.3
“Only
God can give grace, since it surpasses the abilities of any created nature, and
shares in the nature of God.”
ST, Law & Grace, 112.1.
“Grace
is given to every man in the measure Christ gives it, for perfecting the saints
and building up Christ’s body.”
ST, Law & Grace, 111.4.
“The end that grace moves towards is eternal
life, and the movement develops by growth in charity and grace. So growth in
grace can also be earned commensurately…So perseverance in glory (which is the
end in question) can be earned. But perseverarance in grace throughout life
cannot be earned, since it depends only on God’s movement, the source of all
earning.” ST, Law &
Grace, 114.8,9.
Thomas Aquinas on Sacraments with its
focus in Christ:
“The
Sacraments are signs of all three: commemorating Christ’s past sufferings,
demonstrating the grace those sufferings are presently producing in us, and
foretelling the future glory. Because a sacrament is a sign of the sanctifying
cause as sanctifying, it must be a sign of the effect produced.” ST, Living in Christ, 60.3.
“The
patriarchs were saved through faith in a Christ to come; we are saved through
faith in a Christ who has already been born and suffered. Sacraments are signs
expressing the faith by which we are saved, and it is right to have different
signs for what is future, past or present.” ST, Living in Christ, 61.4
Thomas Aquinas on the need for
Sacraments:
“You cant unite men in a religion unless
they share visible symbols or sacraments keeping them together.” (Aquinas quoting St. Augustine, ST,
Living in Christ, 61.1)
The fact that God after Christ’s coming
instituted different Sacraments doesn’t show change in God; the earlier were
suitable for prefiguring grace, the later showed grace present.” ST, Living in Christ, 61.4
Thomas Aquinas on Transubstantiation:
The
conversion of bread into the body of Christ is similar in some ways both to
creation and to natural change yet different in others. Common to all three is
a certain order: after this, that. In creation after non-existence existence,
in this sacrament after the substance of bread the body of Christ, in natural
change after black white, or after air fire. (Aquinas’ Aristotelian basis for transubstantiation. ST,
Living in Christ, 75:8)
“Whatever
is true of natural change because of the shared subject must be denied of
transubstantiation: we can say that what is white could be black but we cant
say that what is non-existent could be existent or that what is bread could be
the body of Christ. Nor can we properly say that existence is made out of
non-existence of the body of Christ out of bread, nor that the bread will be
the body or becomes the body, though because the properties do remain we use
some of these ways of speaking in a sort of analogous way, not meaning by bread
the substance of bread, but using it as a general term for what underlies the
properties of bread , though that is at first bread could be the body of Christ
because of the possibility of its conversion is not founded on some
potentiality to become in the bread, but on a power to convert in the Creator.”
ST, Living in Christ, 75.8.
Christians
would be rewarded differently in heaven, “Christians will be offered varying
rewards in heaven (cf. Daniel 12:3; 1 Corinthians 3:14-15). The Bible says all
Christians will stand before the judgment seat of God and each of us will give
an account of himself to God (Romans 14:10,12). Apostle Paul writing to the
church in Corinth tells the Corinthians, “For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he
has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10; cf. Luke
19:17,19)... Even though there will be degrees of reward in heaven,
the joy of each person will be full and complete for eternity. If we think that
those with greater rewards or higher status would be more joyful in heaven, we
are mistaken. For if those with higher status would be more joyful, the
apostles and the heavenly creatures would be more joyful than the others. In a
state of perfection, this disparity does not seem plausible.”1
