What Do Protestants Believe?
Protestantism received its name from the fact that certain people protested against some of the doctrines and practices of the Church, the Catholic Church.
Chief among those protesting were Luther, an Augustinian priest, Calvin, a lawyer and Wesley, a defecting priest. King Henry the 8th of England in his struggle with the Papacy for a right to divorce his wife, defected from the Church, not on grounds of doctrine or practices - which he insisted upon enforcing - but on the grounds of personal pride and power. His defection led to formation of the Church of England/the Episcopal Church - while Luther formed the Lutheran Church, Calvin the Presbyterian Church - from which derived the Puritan and Baptist Churches - and Wesley, the Methodist Church. To answer the question above posed, it might be well to compare some basic beliefs of Protestantism with those of the Catholic Church.
Protestantism derided the Catholic belief that good works – a holy lifestyle of devotion to God combined with love of and support for one’s suffering neighbour – was necessary for salvation. Both Luther and Calvin proposed systems based upon the watchwords sola gratia (by grace alone), sola fide (through faith alone) and sola scriptura (scripture alone) that created a dysjunction between human actions and human salvation, leaving man free to make of the world what he would.
Man’s actions in this world, according to them, could not have any salvation consequences. As long as a person believes in Christ, as long as he is ‘born again’, he is assured of salvation regardless of his behaviour, his actions. This ‘sola fide’ belief is condemned by the Catholic Church as Presumption, defined as a ‘foolish expectation of salvation without making use of the necessary means to obtain it’.
“Sola fide’ rejects the words of St James the Apostle, who said
“As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith without good works is dead”.
“ So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”
“You see that man is justified by works and not by faith alone” ( James 2:18 and 2:25)
“ Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven”( Matt 7: 21)
Even the devils showed that they had faith. They showed their faith that Christ is God when they said “ What have you to do with us, O Son of God” (Matt 8; 28). Their faith was not enough. So, clearly, faith alone is not enough for us.
This Protestant rejection of the traditional doctrines of good works and merit and the resulting weakening of the fear of Hell and desire for Heaven created a new paradigm, a new civilization different from the long-standing Catholic civilization because if God does not care about man’s actions in this world, why should man care? This Protestant disbelief had an effect that, over time, followers of Protestantism could separate their public social and business actions from any significant feelings of restraint by moral considerations. The excesses of the Industrial Revolution and of unrestrained Capitalism since that revolution, are just some examples of bad effects resulting from this lack of restraint. The Catholic Church, mindful of the value and necessity of good works, was always in the forefront of efforts to promote social justice and the application of Christian principles to the workplace and the market-place. “As often as you did it to the least of my little ones, you did it to Me”
Catholic teaching also differs from Protestantism in that there is a central teaching authority in the Catholic Church - the Magisterium - headed by the reigning Pope. Catholic teachings in faith and morals originate with Revelation and the Holy Spirit Who directs and guides the Magisterium.
The bishops in their dioceses and the priests in the parishes are the local representatives and extension of the Magisterium, the central teaching authority in a monarchial, hierarchial Church. Bishops and priests are authorized and obligated to teach and reflect the expressed views of the Magisterium and never to express views opposing defined doctrine. The bishops and priests bear the responsibility to propagate, in a hierarchial manner, as one voice, defined Catholic teachings on faith and morals throughout the Universal Church.
In the Catholic Church, there is a body of doctrinal and moral law based upon Revelation which differs from the Revelation of Protestantism in that it recognises not only the truths of Scripture but also the Tradition of the Church over the centuries. The Catholic Magisterium has always claimed to possess infallibility when it defines and presents for the belief of its faithful, doctrines in faith and morals. The authority to so proclaim is based upon the words of Christ, its Founder, to the Church
“ Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I have said to you”(John 14: 25).
Jesus said “He that hears you hears Me: he that despises you, despises Me” (Luke 10:16). Surely this means that when the Pope, Peter’s direct successor, speaks on matters of faith or morals, Christ Himself is speaking.
Christ also said “ Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in Heaven” (Matt 16: 19). Is there not here a clear statement, a promise, that the Holy Spirit will give the Truth to the apostles and their descendants? .
Protestantism’s structure is democratic rather than hierarchical. In the area of catechesis, since scripture is to be interpreted by the individual Protestant believer based only on sola scriptura (scripture only) there is no truly integrated body of Protestant doctrine and the role of Protestant pastors is more a supportive one of encouraging congregations to abide by rules of belief and behaviour arrived at mostly by consensus and democratic means than by a central hierarchical, authoritative, guaranteed, code of belief and behaviour.
Disintegration of Protestantism into innumerable sects was inevitable because of this basic tenet that salvation was based only on Revelation by Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura). Protestantism held, despite the above quoted words of Christ, that no Church had the right to claim ultimate authority in the teaching of Revealed Truth and that the individual believer, under the private guidance of the Holy Spirit, was his own authority in scriptural interpretation. This is spiritual libertarianism.
Since the French Revolution, with its false belief that all men are equal in every respect, the principle of equality has been universally applied. If I hold a certain belief and you hold an opposite one, equality demands that we are both right, that my opinion is as reliable as yours. This, of course, is absurd as truth is absolute and contrary beliefs cannot be regarded as equally true. This in its essence is Relativism and is insupportable. Mankind, if it is to survive, must have a dependable source of absolute truth regarding such fundamental issues as faith and morality - man’s relationship with his Creator.
Since the formation of the Protestant Churches listed above, there has been a steady erosion of beliefs and disagreement on matters of faith and practice which led to breaking off of splinter Protestant churches that now total in the area of 20,000 worldwide. If Protestantism is the True Church, which of the 20,000 Protestant churches that vary so much in beliefs and practices, is the True Church? They can’t all be true as Truth is indivisable and does not tolerate contradiction. If one of them is false, why not they all?
Non-Episcopal Protestantism does not recognise the validity of the Eucharist while the Eucharist is the central tenet of the Catholic Faith.
In the Church of England/Episcopal churches, in their ‘High Church’sectors, a form of ‘Eucharist’ is observed but their Eucharist is invalid because, after Henry 8th, a new ordination ritual altered the matter and form of Priestly Ordination – the laying on of hands, - such that all their clergy since that time have been invalidly ordained. They no longer possessed direct sacramental continuity with the twelve apostles. Therefore their form of Eucharist has been and remains invalid.
Protestantism does not honor Mary and either ignores her or attacks her.
The Catholic Church greatly honours and reveres her as the Mother of God. Catholics do not adore or worship her since adoration or worship can only be given to God alone.
Protestantism does not have the Sacrament of Confession. Confession is one of the Catholic Church’s most important sacraments. Protestants hold that confession can only be direct to God and not to a mere man. They say as did the Pharisees “ Who can forgive sins but God alone”. They refuse to accept the Catholic belief that the priest in Confession is in the person of Christ : Confession is made to Christ, through the priest. Christ said
“ Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven” (Matt 13: 20)
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven”
(John 20: 23)
Baptism - if the right words are used while pouring the water over the head - is valid in Protestantism since baptism does not require a priest to officiate.
Any responsible person, acting in good faith, can be the minister.
Matrimony, likewise, is valid in Protestantism. The ceremony in general does not demand that a priest officiate for it to be valid since the minister in matrimony comprises the two contracting parties. For it to be a sacrament, however, requires both parties to be baptised.
The Catholic Church adheres to the words of Christ regarding the indissolubility of marriage, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery”.
Protestantism, especially in modern times, pays lip service to those words of Christ. His words are honored more in the breach than in the observance and no-fault divorce is widely tolerated.
Protestantism does not recognise any Sacrament of the Dying.
The Catholic Church does.
Chief among those protesting were Luther, an Augustinian priest, Calvin, a lawyer and Wesley, a defecting priest. King Henry the 8th of England in his struggle with the Papacy for a right to divorce his wife, defected from the Church, not on grounds of doctrine or practices - which he insisted upon enforcing - but on the grounds of personal pride and power. His defection led to formation of the Church of England/the Episcopal Church - while Luther formed the Lutheran Church, Calvin the Presbyterian Church - from which derived the Puritan and Baptist Churches - and Wesley, the Methodist Church. To answer the question above posed, it might be well to compare some basic beliefs of Protestantism with those of the Catholic Church.
Protestantism derided the Catholic belief that good works – a holy lifestyle of devotion to God combined with love of and support for one’s suffering neighbour – was necessary for salvation. Both Luther and Calvin proposed systems based upon the watchwords sola gratia (by grace alone), sola fide (through faith alone) and sola scriptura (scripture alone) that created a dysjunction between human actions and human salvation, leaving man free to make of the world what he would.
Man’s actions in this world, according to them, could not have any salvation consequences. As long as a person believes in Christ, as long as he is ‘born again’, he is assured of salvation regardless of his behaviour, his actions. This ‘sola fide’ belief is condemned by the Catholic Church as Presumption, defined as a ‘foolish expectation of salvation without making use of the necessary means to obtain it’.
“Sola fide’ rejects the words of St James the Apostle, who said
“As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith without good works is dead”.
“ So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead”
“You see that man is justified by works and not by faith alone” ( James 2:18 and 2:25)
“ Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven”( Matt 7: 21)
Even the devils showed that they had faith. They showed their faith that Christ is God when they said “ What have you to do with us, O Son of God” (Matt 8; 28). Their faith was not enough. So, clearly, faith alone is not enough for us.
This Protestant rejection of the traditional doctrines of good works and merit and the resulting weakening of the fear of Hell and desire for Heaven created a new paradigm, a new civilization different from the long-standing Catholic civilization because if God does not care about man’s actions in this world, why should man care? This Protestant disbelief had an effect that, over time, followers of Protestantism could separate their public social and business actions from any significant feelings of restraint by moral considerations. The excesses of the Industrial Revolution and of unrestrained Capitalism since that revolution, are just some examples of bad effects resulting from this lack of restraint. The Catholic Church, mindful of the value and necessity of good works, was always in the forefront of efforts to promote social justice and the application of Christian principles to the workplace and the market-place. “As often as you did it to the least of my little ones, you did it to Me”
Catholic teaching also differs from Protestantism in that there is a central teaching authority in the Catholic Church - the Magisterium - headed by the reigning Pope. Catholic teachings in faith and morals originate with Revelation and the Holy Spirit Who directs and guides the Magisterium.
The bishops in their dioceses and the priests in the parishes are the local representatives and extension of the Magisterium, the central teaching authority in a monarchial, hierarchial Church. Bishops and priests are authorized and obligated to teach and reflect the expressed views of the Magisterium and never to express views opposing defined doctrine. The bishops and priests bear the responsibility to propagate, in a hierarchial manner, as one voice, defined Catholic teachings on faith and morals throughout the Universal Church.
In the Catholic Church, there is a body of doctrinal and moral law based upon Revelation which differs from the Revelation of Protestantism in that it recognises not only the truths of Scripture but also the Tradition of the Church over the centuries. The Catholic Magisterium has always claimed to possess infallibility when it defines and presents for the belief of its faithful, doctrines in faith and morals. The authority to so proclaim is based upon the words of Christ, its Founder, to the Church
“ Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I have said to you”(John 14: 25).
Jesus said “He that hears you hears Me: he that despises you, despises Me” (Luke 10:16). Surely this means that when the Pope, Peter’s direct successor, speaks on matters of faith or morals, Christ Himself is speaking.
Christ also said “ Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in Heaven” (Matt 16: 19). Is there not here a clear statement, a promise, that the Holy Spirit will give the Truth to the apostles and their descendants? .
Protestantism’s structure is democratic rather than hierarchical. In the area of catechesis, since scripture is to be interpreted by the individual Protestant believer based only on sola scriptura (scripture only) there is no truly integrated body of Protestant doctrine and the role of Protestant pastors is more a supportive one of encouraging congregations to abide by rules of belief and behaviour arrived at mostly by consensus and democratic means than by a central hierarchical, authoritative, guaranteed, code of belief and behaviour.
Disintegration of Protestantism into innumerable sects was inevitable because of this basic tenet that salvation was based only on Revelation by Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura). Protestantism held, despite the above quoted words of Christ, that no Church had the right to claim ultimate authority in the teaching of Revealed Truth and that the individual believer, under the private guidance of the Holy Spirit, was his own authority in scriptural interpretation. This is spiritual libertarianism.
Since the French Revolution, with its false belief that all men are equal in every respect, the principle of equality has been universally applied. If I hold a certain belief and you hold an opposite one, equality demands that we are both right, that my opinion is as reliable as yours. This, of course, is absurd as truth is absolute and contrary beliefs cannot be regarded as equally true. This in its essence is Relativism and is insupportable. Mankind, if it is to survive, must have a dependable source of absolute truth regarding such fundamental issues as faith and morality - man’s relationship with his Creator.
Since the formation of the Protestant Churches listed above, there has been a steady erosion of beliefs and disagreement on matters of faith and practice which led to breaking off of splinter Protestant churches that now total in the area of 20,000 worldwide. If Protestantism is the True Church, which of the 20,000 Protestant churches that vary so much in beliefs and practices, is the True Church? They can’t all be true as Truth is indivisable and does not tolerate contradiction. If one of them is false, why not they all?
Non-Episcopal Protestantism does not recognise the validity of the Eucharist while the Eucharist is the central tenet of the Catholic Faith.
In the Church of England/Episcopal churches, in their ‘High Church’sectors, a form of ‘Eucharist’ is observed but their Eucharist is invalid because, after Henry 8th, a new ordination ritual altered the matter and form of Priestly Ordination – the laying on of hands, - such that all their clergy since that time have been invalidly ordained. They no longer possessed direct sacramental continuity with the twelve apostles. Therefore their form of Eucharist has been and remains invalid.
Protestantism does not honor Mary and either ignores her or attacks her.
The Catholic Church greatly honours and reveres her as the Mother of God. Catholics do not adore or worship her since adoration or worship can only be given to God alone.
Protestantism does not have the Sacrament of Confession. Confession is one of the Catholic Church’s most important sacraments. Protestants hold that confession can only be direct to God and not to a mere man. They say as did the Pharisees “ Who can forgive sins but God alone”. They refuse to accept the Catholic belief that the priest in Confession is in the person of Christ : Confession is made to Christ, through the priest. Christ said
“ Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven” (Matt 13: 20)
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven”
(John 20: 23)
Baptism - if the right words are used while pouring the water over the head - is valid in Protestantism since baptism does not require a priest to officiate.
Any responsible person, acting in good faith, can be the minister.
Matrimony, likewise, is valid in Protestantism. The ceremony in general does not demand that a priest officiate for it to be valid since the minister in matrimony comprises the two contracting parties. For it to be a sacrament, however, requires both parties to be baptised.
The Catholic Church adheres to the words of Christ regarding the indissolubility of marriage, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery”.
Protestantism, especially in modern times, pays lip service to those words of Christ. His words are honored more in the breach than in the observance and no-fault divorce is widely tolerated.
Protestantism does not recognise any Sacrament of the Dying.
The Catholic Church does.
posted by fergail at 10:24 AM
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