From the book, “What People Ask About The Church,” by Dale A. Robbins — 40 — Although both Protestants and Roman Catholics share the common
ground of being founded upon faith in Jesus Christ, there are significant differences
between the two groups. From general observation, one can see contrasts in everything from
the way that their clergymen dress, to the way their services are conducted. Unlike most
Protestant churches, Catholic masses are conducted in a liturgical fashion, with much
emphasis upon symbols, rituals and ceremony. In Addition, the Catholic church has traditionally regulated the
type of Bible translation used in the church. For centuries, the only version authorized
for use was the Latin Vulgate, a translation from the original languages by Jerome, in
around 400 A.D. This Bible reads very similar to Protestant translations, however with a
major exception. The Catholic version contains the Apocrypha, a collection of seven
complete books and a few additions to others. These are considered non-inspired writings
written between the period of the Old and New Testaments. Only one is actually dated. Two
books, Judith and Tobit tell of the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions. Two more, 1st and
2nd Maccabees record the Jewish war of independence of around 165 B.C. Two more,
Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom of Solomon, are considered books of wisdom. Another is an
addendum to Jeremiah, and there are short additions to Esther and Daniel. The Protestants
do not include them because they have never met the criteria for divine inspiration.
Further, the writings of Jewish historian Josephus (in 90 A.D.) indicated that the Jews
did not accept the books of the Apocrypha as a part of their scriptures, and although
Jesus and the Apostles quoted frequently and accurately from almost every other Old
Testament book, never once did they quote from the Apocrypha. Even if accepted, it would
not alter the message of the New Testament, and it doesn't appear that much, if any, of
the doctrines of the Catholic church had any foundation from the Apocrypha As we have said, there are many differences worth noting between
Protestants and Catholics. However, the main distinction that sets them apart is the
authority to which they look for their core beliefs. To help you understand this, let's
first explain some of the detail about their origin in church history. Catholic comes from the Greek, KATHOLIKOS, which means
"throughout the whole, or universal," and was used as a general reference to the
entire Christian church until the reformation period. However, as early as the fourth
century, the Catholic church began adopting traditions and beliefs which were never a part
of original Christianity as seen in the New Testament. It appears that many of these new
ideas first emerged from the era of the Roman Emperor, Constantine who ruled from 313 to
337 A.D. In contrast to his predecessor, Diocletian, who had vowed to destroy
Christianity in 303, Constantine claimed a conversion to Christianity and virtually
instituted it as the empire's religion by his Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. This proclamation
of religious freedom brought about many positive changes for the church, and was certainly
a much welcomed turnabout from the years of brutal persecution. But instead of converting
completely from the old practices of paganism, this and the new Christian religion were
somewhat mingled together. Since an Emperor was viewed as a god by pagan standards, and he
already held the lifelong position of "Pontifex Maximus," chief priest of the
pagan state religion, Constantine felt it only proper that he should also claim a high
position of leadership in the church — he also authorized many of his secular
officials as church leaders. This merger of a pagan, Christian and political hierarchy,
produced a diluted spiritual leadership for the church, and its beliefs and doctrines
thereafter became increasingly infected with a strange combination of traditions and pagan
beliefs. The Christian creed adopted at the Council of Nicaea in 325 (called
for and presided over by Constantine) was theologically encouraging, but it was also in
this era that the church first accepted such unscriptural ideas as praying for the dead,
the veneration of angels and dead saints, the use of images, and the celebration of daily
mass. This regression from scripture continued through the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.,
where the worship of Mary became an official doctrine of the church, referring to her as
the "Mother of God." And only nine years later in 440, Leo, bishop of Rome was
the first to declare himself the successor of St. Peter and laid claim to the role of
Universal Bishop, a forerunner of papal authority. While this was widely disputed, Leo
commanded that all should obey him on the false notion that he held the primacy of St.
Peter. Later, Leo's successor, Gregory I, was given the title of universal
"Pope" (Latin "papas" or father) by the wicked emperor Phocas in 604.
He refused the title, however his successor, Boniface III, did accept it and became the
first in a long line of successors to be recognized as Pope. Under the new papal authority
in the seventh century, many more new beliefs were added to the church, such as the
unbiblical doctrine of purgatory (593), the required use of Latin in prayer and worship
(600), and prayers said to Mary, dead saints and angels (600). One reason many of these strange ideas gained accepted credibility
was because the Bible was not readily available to the common people, either in print or
in translation. They had no idea what the Bible really taught. It was restricted only to
priests trained to interpret it as it pleased the church hierarchy. Further, the popes
claimed the authority to speak under the unique utterance of "Ex Cathedria,"
which in effect meant divine inspiration. Their proclamations and decrees carried supreme
authority to interpret or overrule Holy Scripture, and to invent whatever doctrines or
practices they wished. The next four hundred years saw many more new beliefs added to the
church: The ritual kissing of the Pope's foot (709), temporal (political) power granted to
the Pope (750), worship of the crucifix, images and relics (786), holy water mixed with a
pinch of salt and blessed by a priest (850), the worship of St. Joseph (890), the
establishment of the college of Cardinals to elect the popes (927), the baptism of bells
(965), the canonization of dead saints (995), and prescribed fastings on Fridays and
during lent (998). A break in the church occurred in 1054 over a relatively trivial
issue, when the eastern church condemned the western church for the use of unleavened
bread in the Eucharist. The dispute resulted in Rome's attempt to excommunicate Michael
Cerulararious, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who in turn, sought to excommunicate Pope
Leo IX of Rome. From that time, the western (Roman Catholic) church and the eastern (Greek
Orthodox) churches developed separately — each with their distinct traditions. A
classic example of a church split. As the Roman Catholic Church continued with new independence, it
added even more remarkable doctrines that were not taken from the Bible. In 1079, Pope
Gregory VII declared the shocking decree of celibacy for the priesthood. Peter the Hermit
invented the technique of praying with rosary beads in 1090. A few of the other beliefs
and practices authorized by the church were: The inquisition of alleged heretics (1184),
the sale of indulgences (1190), the doctrine of transubstantiation (1215), auricular
confession of sins to a priest instead of to God (1215), adoration of the wafer (1220),
the forbidding of Bible reading by laity (1229), the scapular (1251), the forbidding of
sharing the communion cup with laity (1414), the establishment of purgatory as an
irrefutable dogma (1439), and the composition of the "Ave Maria" (1508). Up to this point, the somewhat similar Roman Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox churches were the two main institutions representing Christianity. But in the
sixteenth century, events occurred which would bring a worldshaking reformation of
Christian thought. A Catholic monk and professor of theology named Martin Luther, became
convinced that the Bible was the only true authority in matters of spiritual instruction,
and sought to reform the church with this new insight and to expose its errant doctrines. Born in Eisleben in 1483, Luther first pursued studies in law at
Erfurt, but in 1505 he chose instead to join the Augustinian Hermits in Erfurt where he
studied theology. After his ordination in 1507, he was sent by his order to the university
of Wittenburg to teach moral theology, and in 1512 he became the professor of biblical
studies. Luther's ambitions of reformation emerged from his lifelong search
for spiritual conclusions in his personal life. After many years of studying the
scriptures, he came to reject all theology based only on tradition and embraced the idea
of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith. He believed that all our
actions stem from God and that He chose to forgive the sinner by His sovereign grace
— that we are justified not by our deeds, but by faith alone. In 1520, Luther wrote a
treatise to Pope Leo X, called "The Freedom of A Christian," which outlined the
conclusions of his study of scripture. In it, he made this famous statement: "The
word of God cannot be received and cherished by any works whatever, but only by faith.
Therefore it is clear that as the soul needs only the Word of God for its life and
righteousness, so it is justified by faith alone and not by works; for if it could be
justified by anything else, it would not need the Word and consequently, it would not need
faith." The move toward reformation began to emerge on the eve of All Saints
Day, October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther announced a disputation regarding the
indulgences of the church. He stated his argument in 95 theses which he posted on the
north door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg — an act not especially unusual as the
church doors were often used as a notice board. The 95 Theses were not originally intended to promote a reformation
movement. They were simply the proposal of an earnest university professor to discuss the
theology of indulgences in light of the errors and abuses that had grown over the
centuries. Although heavily academic in tone, news of them spread rapidly in Europe. All
were amazed how one obscure monk from a new and unknown university could stir the whole of
Europe. The sale of indulgences, which Luther opposed, was based upon a
common fear of purgatory, supposedly a painful place of temporal "purging" of
the soul after death to make the soul pure for entrance into Heaven. The people would pay
for the special indulgences of a priest to shorten their term in purgatory. Luther saw
that this trade in indulgences was completely unfounded by scripture, reason or tradition.
It was, in effect, directing attention away from God and His forgiveness and looking to
man for the absolving of sins. In December of 1517, the archbishop of Mainz complained to Rome
about Luther. Confronted with opposition, Luther's stand became even more determined. He
refused to recant his position, and fled town when summoned to Rome. In July 1519, during
a disputation at Leipzig with John Eck, his fiercest opponent, Luther denied the supremacy
of the Pope and the infallibility of general councils. He burned the papal bull which
threatened his excommunication, but nevertheless, the decree came from the Pope in 1520,
and he was subsequently outlawed by the Emperor Charles V at Worms in 1521. For his
safety, Luther was seized and taken to Wartburg Castle under the protection of Frederick
of Saxony. While there, he spent his time translating the New Testament into German so
that everyone might have access to the Bible. Eight months later in 1522, he returned to Wittenburg to begin the
reform of worship away from the rigid forms of Rome. Over the next 25 years, Luther
published many books in German, written to the common people so that they could judge for
themselves, his doctrines and disputes with Rome. As a result, his followers continued to
multiply. In 1529, at the Diet of Speyer, the Emperor Charles V attempted to
smother Luther's movement by force, but some of the German state princes stood up in
protest. Thus, because of their protest, the movement began to be known as the
"Protestants." What had originally been intended to bring reform to Catholicism
from within, was now an ousted reformation, forced to split from the original body. In 1530, Luther presented beliefs of the new movement at the Diet of
Augsburg, in a peace-seeking, non controversial attempt to explain their views. But as a
result, the division between the Catholic and Protestants remained and became more
distinct. New churches began to emerge referred to as "Evangelical" or
"Protestant." And from this came three other branches: The Lutherans (in Germany
and Scandinavia), the Zwinglian and Calvinists (in Switzerland, France, Holland and
Scotland), and the Church of England. Significant social, political and economic changes followed the
reformation, and in some ways helped to shape it further before Luther's death in 1546.
But besides exposing the errant beliefs of Catholicism, the reformation which produced the
Protestant church was primarily a rediscovery of the authority of God's Word and the
salvation which is by faith in the savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a brief explanation of the historical origin of Catholics and Protestants, and as you can see, the disparities are many. But in the simplest of terms, the basic difference between them is the authority they look to for their beliefs. The Protestant Church generally embraces the Bible as its sole source of authority and faith, while the Catholic Church views the post-biblical traditions of the church and its Popes to have more than equal authority with scripture. This article is copyrighted © by Dale A. Robbins, 1995, and is a publication of Victorious Publications, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Unless otherwise stated, all scripture references were taken from The New King James Bible, © Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.You may download for personal use as long as you retain credit to the author. Obtain permission before reproducing copies for any reason, by filling out our simple permission form. For media reproduction rights, or to obtain published quantities of this title, . |
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