Misunderstood - Series Part V

A recent conversation with cousin Mickie on Catholicism's teaching on baptism in comparison to what her church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) teaches on it - left me thinking about this Misunderstood Series I blogged about and if I completed the series. Turns out I forgot to post Part V!

St. Peter's Basilica

To read my previous posts on this Misunderstood Series including my intro post, please click here.

Misunderstanding Assumption V
"The Catholic Church teaches that unless you're Catholic, you can't be saved and have eternal life in Heaven."

My goodness, if that statement were true, the Catholic Church comes across very arrogant in my opinion. Unfortunately many non-Catholics hold this opinion because they believe this is what the Catholic Church teaches.

"The Early Church Fathers taught that those outside of the Catholic Church had no hope of salvation. That is, if they heard the gospel and knowingly rejected it. However, they made an allowance for those who, through no fault of their own, didn’t know any better. They didn’t see God as being legalistic. Rather they saw a merciful God who judged men by what they did with what they had. Or as Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 4:5, men will be judged by the purposes of their hearts."

So what about the number of times throughout Church history that this doctrine was brought up? For instance in 1302 when Pope Boniface VIII wrote the following in "Unum Sanctum:" "That there is one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church we are compelled by faith to believe and hold, and we firmly believe in her and sincerely confess her, outside of whom there is neither salvation nor remission of sins…. In her there is 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism'" (Ephesians 4:5) (no. 1). It sounds as if what is being taught and said is: only Catholics can go to heaven or that Catholics are better than everyone else. Not true, here is why...

Cousin Mickie made such an awesome point when her and I were discussing our faiths, she said: "To be perfectly honest with you, I believe that my church, as I am sure you believe as well with your church, is the one true church on the earth today. Of course why else would someone attend a church if they didn't believe that!". Finally, I come across a non-Catholic who understands that we all (no matter what faith) believe our church teaches the Truth in fullness - and if so wouldn't that mean then we also know and understand the complete plan of salvation? That is simply what the Church is claiming.

But what does this mean for non-Catholics and being saved, is the Church saying they are doomed for Hell? No. Vatican Council II addressed this point in its "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium)," "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation" (no. 16).

Many Bible Christians and Traditionalist believe God makes no exceptions. No allowances are made for people who don't know any better. The Catholic Church rightly portrays God as both just and merciful – as opposed to legalistic. We are not in a debtor/creditor relationship with God. He owes us nothing. Instead, we are in a Father/child covenant relationship with Him. He is just and merciful even to those who are affected by invincible ignorance.

St. Augustine's position is consistent with the Catholic Church,

"When we speak of within and without in relation to the Church, it is the position of the heart that we must consider, not that of the body…. All who are within [the Church] in heart are saved in the unity of the ark (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5:28 [39] [A.D. 394]).

So my final thoughts for this Misunderstood Series - I urge all those non-Catholics not to judge the Church's teachings on what they think the Church teaches. But really take the time to investigate with unbiased resources. We as Christians need to work at uniting, not dividing. Differences are often stemmed from misunderstanding. Humans are all searching for the Truth. If we believers in Christ unite and become one the world may believe that God sent Christ to save us. John 17:20-21 

Misunderstood - Series Part IV

Click here to read the intro to this Series.
Click here to read Part I of the Series.
Click here to read Part II of the Series.
Click here to read Part III of the Series.

Misunderstanding Assumption IV
"Catholics re-sacrifice Christ at Mass in the Eucharist (real presence - body and blood of Jesus Christ) showing that Calvary wasn't enough."

The Pope celebrating Mass during his UK visit last month.

Once again this misunderstanding stems from a misconception of what the Catholic Mass is. Mass is an offering—a new offering of the same sacrifice—not a a re-crucifixion of Christ. It's a celebration. It does not add to or take away from the work of Christ—it is the work of Christ. Because the Mass is a participation in one heavenly offering. While what happened on Calvary happened once, its effects continue through the ages. "Jesus is eternally a priest, and a priest’s very nature is to offer sacrifice. In the case of Christ, the eternal sacrifice that he offers is himself. This is why he appears in the book of Revelation as a lamb, standing as though he had been slain (Rev. 5:6). He appears in heaven in the state of a victim not because he still needs to suffer but because for all eternity he re-presents himself to God appealing to the work of the cross, interceding for us (Rom 8:34), and bringing the graces of Calvary to us."

The Catholic Church teaches the sacrifice of the Mass has scriptural evidence. During the Last Supper, the Lord said to his disciples, "Do this in memory of me." In Greek, this statement reads, "Touto poieite eis tan eman anamnesin." The phrase touto poieite can be translated as do this or as offer this. In the Old Testament, God commands the Israelites "you shall offer (poieseis) upon the altar two lambs" (Ex. 29:38). This use of poiein is translated as offer this or sacrifice this over seventy times in the Old Testament. So the same word that is used for the sacrifice under the Old Covenant is used for the sacrifice of the Mass in the New. Every time this word (anamnesis) appears it is within a sacrificial context (see, for example, Numbers 10:10).

It’s a common mistake to equate sacrifice with death. To understand the sacrifice of the Mass, it is essential that one understand the biblical picture of a sacrifice: It is always a gift; it is not always a killing. This is why Scripture can speak of a sacrifice of praise (Hos. 4:12) and the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 50:14).

Christ wants his salvific work to be present to each generation of those who come to God "since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). He surely has not abandoned us. Through the instrumentality of the priest, he is present again, demonstrating how he accomplished our salvation: "For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 1:11).

Madeline actually asked me for the first time about the Eucharist the other night before bed. She asked "what is it for and what does it mean". I thought to myself I beter answer my 6 year old in the most simplest of terms. I said that the Eucharist is a mystery of Christ, that Jesus instituted this sacrament of love for us to bond and unite with Him and be filled with His grace because He is really present in the Eucharist. So when we take this bread and wine we are unified with Him because it becomes divine food and He told us whoever eat and drink this divine food abides in Him and He in us. John 6:53-57. After I told this to Madeline she really pondered and tried to take it all in. She is begining to understand this beautiful sacrament. And next school year she will learn all about it and recieve this Holy sacrament.

A girl in Rome receives her First Holy Communion.

So with this post I hope I have cleared up that the Mass is not a re-crucifixion of Christ, but a celebration that partakes in the one, eternal sacrafice Christ made for us.

"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 47).

References:

http://www.catholic.com/

Misunderstood - Series part III

Click here to read the intro to this Series.
Click here to read Part I to this Series.

Click here to read Part II to this Series.

Misunderstanding Assumption III

"Catholics worship and pray to Mary and the Saints instead of God. They even worship statues!"

I just read this article with this quote that I believe says it all when it comes to the devotion Catholics give to Mary...

"It has to be one of the strangest things in the world: So many Christians who love Jesus with all their hearts recoil in fear at the mention of His mother’s name, while many who do love her find themselves tongue-tied when asked to explain why."

Many non-Catholic misconceive our devotion and admiration of Mary (and the Saints) as worship - when they fail to look into the teachings of the Church on Mary and the Saints to come to an accurate understanding of why we honor her and why we ask Mary and the Saints to intercede for us in prayer. "Do Catholics worship Mary?" isn't a question about Mary. It's concerned more with whether or not Catholics countenance idolatry and what the word "honor" means. Mary tells us, "Do whatever He tells you" (John 2:5). To many non-Catholics that could mean to them she refered them to Jesus and be done with it. So this may baffle many non-Catholics why the Church keeps referring us to her. This is what the Church believes and teaches: ""We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ" (Paul VI, CPG § 15). - CCC 975". Below is a short video clip that demonstrates through Scripture why the Church teaches that Mary is the new Eve.

Mary is the first and best model of a disciple of Jesus because she is the one who said and lived "Yes!" to God. This is why the Church, like the Gospels, has always called Mary our Mother: because Mom is the best model for training children. "Behold your mother" (John 19:27). I think the misunderstanding that non-Catholics hold of Catholics and their relationship with Mary is that "worship" and "honor" are defined differently by them. "Worship" comes from the Old English weorthscipe, which means the condition of being worthy of honor, respect, or dignity. For many centuries, the term worship simply meant showing respect or honor. However, the English term "worship" has been narrowed in scope to indicate only that supreme form of honor, reverence, and respect that is due to God. This change in usage is quite recent. "As the terminology of Christian theology developed, the Greek term latria came to be used to refer to the honor that is due to God alone, and the term dulia came to refer to the honor that is due to human beings, especially those who lived and died in God’s friendship—in other words, the saints. Scripture indicates that honor is due to these individuals (Matt. 10:41b). A special term was coined to refer to the special honor given to the Virgin Mary, who bore Jesus—God in the flesh—in her womb. This term, hyperdulia (huper [more than]+ dulia = "beyond dulia"), indicates that the honor due to her as Christ’s own Mother is more than the dulia given to other saints. It is greater in degree, but still of the same kind. However, since Mary is a finite creature, the honor she is due is fundamentally different in kind from the latria owed to the infinite Creator." Unfortunately, many non-Catholics have been so schooled in hostility toward the Church that they appear unable or unwilling to recognize these distinctions.

So why do Catholics pray the Rosary or pray to Saints? The Rosary consists of the Apostle's Creed, which is a statement of Christian belief, the Lord's prayer, which was uttered by Jesus in Luke 11:2-4, the Glory Be, which is a prayer that glorifies the Trinity, the Hail Mary, and the Mysteries. It is alleged that by praying to them we equate them with God. This is false. When we ask Mary and the Saints in Heaven to interecede and pray for us it is because we here on Earth and in Heaven are "all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13). We are to "bear one another's burdens" (Galatians 6:2), and to "pray for one another" (James 5:16). Origen wrote in the year 233, "But not the High Priest [Christ] alone prays for those who pray sincerely, but also the angels…as also the souls of the saints who have already fallen asleep" (On Prayer 11).


Lastly, what's with all the kneeling before statues!? Many non-Catholics mistake this for worship. The fact that someone kneels before a statue to pray does not mean that he is praying to the statue, just as the fact that someone kneels with a Bible in his hands to pray does not mean that he is worshiping the Bible. In Exodus 20:3-5 God is not prohibiting the making of pictures and statues, but the deifying and worshipping of them. Why did God ask that images be made for His Temple and the Ark of the Covenant? Do you suppose that He didn't understand His own commandment? Pictures and statues of saints are valued in the same way that pictures of friends and family are. They are not idols, but visible reminders of what they represent. For idolatry to exist, a person must worship something or think of it as if it were God. A man who kisses a picture of his wife and children is not practicing idolatry. He is merely expressing love for his family. The same applies to pictures and statues of saints. Idolatry is an interior disposition. It is wrong to judge interior motives by what we think we see. The lives of the saints are inspirational. Their images remind us of their testimony, which can encourage us in our own walk with God. In the early Church, when 99% of the people couldn't read and there were no readily available texts, statues, pictures and stained glass windows were the common man's Bible.

I hope and pray this post has cleared up the misunderstanding that Catholics worship Mary, the Saints and statues. Stay tuned for the next post in this series.

References:
http://www.catholic.com/
http://www.staycatholic.com/
http://www.catholiceducation.org/

Misunderstood - Series Part II

Click here to read the intro to this Series.
Click here to read Part I to this Series.


Misunderstanding Assumption II
'Catholics believe a man, the Pope, over the Word of God. Therefore many of it's teachings are unbiblical and just "man made-up" traditions.'



Photos on this post provided from the
Catholic Church Facebook "The Papal Visit to the UK" album.

 I've run into so many people whom are confused in their understanding of the Pope and the Catholic Church. Many think we worship and pray to him and not God. Many think we'll believe whatever he says or does. Many think he can just make up any tradition and Catholics will believe and do it. This is all completely false. If one would take the time to learn why the Catholic Church believes that Jesus the Great Shepherd entrusted us with an authoritative shepherd here on Earth to care for His lambs and sheep - one might understand better why Catholics love and honor our Pope. "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time He said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17)." 

Let me remind my blog readers again, the purpose of these series of posts is not to debate the Catholic Church's interpretation of Scripture because I realize there are many differing interpretations - the purpose is to clarify misconceptions people have about the Church and it's teachings. Like this banner that was proudly displayed by Catholic supporters in the UK during the Pope's visit last week, the Catholic Church bases their teaching about having an authoritative Pope upon the great amounts of Scripture that support the idea, including Matthew 16:15-19. I understand many other Christian denominations interpret these verses are about Peter's profession of faith or Christ Himself. But the Church is favorably sided by the Early Church Fathers to show that it was in fact Peter himself who Jesus gave a new role of power and authority and that Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not overcome His Church, and that He would be with us always, even until the end of the age (Matthew 16:18, 28:20). So because the Church interprets the Scriptures in this sense, we could never as Catholics believe that the Church became corrupt, that true Christianity was lost until a reformer came along, because then we would be calling Jesus a liar.

So why do Catholics honor the Pope which often gets misconceived as worshipping him? When one thinks of Jesus, a humble man comes to mind. So why then does the Pope wear such lavish attire, allow people to kiss his ring and bow to him? A good comparison would be an ambassador that is representing his country abroad - would you expect the ambassador to wear casual clothes (t-shirt, jeans) or to wear something dignified to represent his country? At official diplomatic ceremonies where marks of honor are given to the ambassador, are they for him personally or the country he represents? In like manner, the Pope is the primary ambassador for Christ and for the heavenly kingdom. Formal attire honors the dignity of his office and the Person he represents. Marks of honor given to the Pope are not for him personally but for Jesus, who he represents. Catholic also don't pray to the Pope in the same manner as praying to God, but they ask the Pope to pray and intercede for them just like we ask our family and friends to.

Many have this misconception that the Catholic Church teaches the Pope unlike the rest of men cannot sin or make mistakes, that he is infallible in everything he does, thinks and says. This is false. Papal infallibility means that the Pope is protected from error when he "proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals" (CCC 891). This does not mean that he is impeccable (incapable of sin) or inerrant (incapable of error). Papal infallibility does not involve any special revelation from God. A Pope learns about his faith in the same way that anyone else does--he studies. Infallibility cannot be used to change existing doctrines or proclaim new ones. It can only be used to confirm or clarify what has always been taught. The teachings of Christ cannot change. Infallibility is not something that endows a pope with divine powers, but rather it is a gift of the Holy Spirit that protects the Church from the human frailties of a Pope. The Catholic Church believes 1. Jesus requires that we obey all that He commanded (Matthew 28:20). 2. Jesus gives us the grace to obey all that He commanded (Philippians 4:13). 3. Jesus provides us a means (His authoritative Pope) of knowing what He commanded (Matthew 16:15-19).


See our Pope is a normal-baseball-cap-wearing-"man" just like you and I! :)



I thought this was such a beautiful photo, thousands of Catholic supporters there to greet the Pope last week in the UK all there to honor, serve and love God. I pray and hope this post has cleared up misconceptions that Catholics worship or believe a man, the Pope, over the Word of God - quite the contrary, we believe the Word of God teaches and is given to us without error by the protection of the Holy Spirit through these Apostolic successors, our Popes. That their infallibility does not give them the power to add to the Scriptures or proclaim anything new (i.e. man-made tradition). Stay tuned for Part III of this blog series!

Misunderstood - Series Part I

Click here to read the intro to this Series.

Misunderstanding Assumption I
'The Catholic Church's teachings are unbiblical on Salvation and Justification. It teaches that one has to earn/merit and work their own way to Heaven.'




photo from http://www.romeofthewest.com/

  Never has the Church taught that one can merit or earn their own way to Heaven. To say so would be a misrepresentation of the Church's teachings. Perhaps the reason people believe this assumption is because when many Catholics are asked how they are saved, many will give an explanation saying that as long as they have faith in Christ and do good they hope to have everlasting life in Heaven. Obviously this is not a clear explanation/representation of how the Church teaches one is justified and saved - but for many Catholics it's probably the easiest way to explain their belief. Let me try and clarify further. Every time a Catholic goes to Mass, we are reminded when we see that Crucifix front and center whose work redeemed us (and certainly no one will find a representation of themselves up on that crucifix!). We as Catholics looking at the Crucifix remember how incapable we are, and how infinitely fortunate we are to know Christ's love for us.
 
I believe the problem lies with when a Catholic says they are saved by faith and good works - the Church's interpretation of "faith" differs from a non-Catholics interpretation. The term "faith and good works" is used to explain a "formed faith", the faith St. Paul talks about = faith, hope, and charity. I feel that the Joint Declaration of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification explains pretty clearly how the Church teaches we are justified and saved.
 
"We confess together that all persons depend completely on the saving grace of God for their salvation . . . for as sinners they stand under God's judgment and are incapable of turning by themselves to God to seek deliverance, of meriting their justification before God, or of attaining salvation by their own abilities. Justification takes place solely by God's grace. . . . When Catholics say that persons 'cooperate' in preparing for and accepting justification . . . they see such personal consent as itself an effect of grace, not as an action arising from innate human abilities" (JD 19-20).
 
I purposely bold ed the last few statements. Many non-Catholics who believe this "Assumption I" back it up by saying the Church teaches that if you do not take "action" (merit/earn) and participate in the Holy Sacraments then you cannot be saved. They're implying that we Catholics believe it's our own action in addition to our faith that saves. But as you read in the JD above, the Church does not see this participation as "action of ourselves" but an effect of God's grace.
 
Not only does the Church's interpretation of the Scriptures on "faith" differ with non-Catholics but also it's interpretation of "grace" and how we receive His grace. The Church interprets that by the grace of Christ, we achieve the salvation God desires for us through perseverance in both faith and works - Matt. 10:22, 24:13; Mark 13:13. Obviously then it is of great importance to know how Jesus taught we receive His grace and how we must cooperate with His grace. The Church interprets the Scriptures to teach about Sanctifying Grace (grace that makes the soul holy and places you in perfect and absolute union with God) and Actual Grace (divine pushes, encouragement) as an answer to how we receive grace, again non-Catholics may differ in how they interpret the Scriptures to teach about grace.
 
So in conclusion I hope I've pointed out why this assumption is false and why it's wrong to misrepresent the Church's teachings with this misconception. I also made a point several times to recognize that non-Catholics may interpret the Scriptures differently, therefore our doctrines on these subjects will differ and disagree. But I'm not doing this Series of posts to debate over the interpretation - I'm doing them to hopefully clarify the Church's teachings and squash misconceptions and wrong assumptions of the Church. So to correct this "Misunderstanding Assumption I" I would say it's fair to say "the Catholic Church's teachings on Salvation and Justification is that a a person is justified by faith and works acting together (James 2:24) “faith working through love”, which comes solely from God’s divine grace."

Misunderstood - Series Introduction

On a previous blog post I had promised of doing a series of posts focusing on misunderstandings of Catholicism. As a Catholic myself I find it extremely important to spread the Truth of the Gospel, the Truth as I believe it to be found in the Catholic Church - therefore making sure others truly understand what the Church teaches. (In this series I will often refer to the Catholic Church as just "the Church" with a capitol "C".) I have many family and friends of other faiths including Protestant (i.e. Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel, Non-Denominational, Fundamentalist Evangelical), Mormon, Jewish, and even some who are non-believers, Atheists. I respect all of them and would never want to intentionally misrepresent whom they are and what they believe - even if I disagree with them. It would be wrong of me to do so. So I am hoping and praying this series of blog posts will in return bring me and my Faith the same respect, even if the person disagrees with them. I think it's very easy for all of us to jump to conclusions. I believe and feel the great divide between Catholics and non-Catholics stems from Authority. Who holds the Authority to rightly interpret the Scriptures and fully know what God is teaching us through His Word? Since many non-Catholics adhere to their own personal interpretation or that of their pastor or church they will come to a conclusion that the Catholic Church must be unbiblical and teach a false Gospel because it's interpretation differs from theirs. But is that a logical conclusion? I don't believe so - I believe it would be fair to come to a conclusion instead that both of us as Christians have arrived at different understandings of the Scriptures because they've been interpreted differently so therefore all we can say is that "we agree we disagree".

Below are five topics I will be blogging about for this series. All my non-Catholic blog readers, have any of you heard these assumptions about the Catholic Church?

Misunderstanding Assumption I (click here to read post)
The Catholic Church's teachings are unbiblical on Salvation and Justification. It teaches that one has to earn/merit and work their own way to Heaven.

Misunderstanding Assumption II (click here to read post)
Catholics believe a man, the Pope, over the Word of God. Therefore many of it's teachings are unbiblical and just "man made-up" traditions.

Misunderstanding Assumption III (click here to read post)
Catholics worship and pray to Mary and the Saints instead of God. They even worship statues!

Misunderstanding Assumption IV
Catholics re-sacrifice Christ at Mass in the Eucharist (real presence - body and blood of Jesus Christ) showing that Calvary wasn't enough.

Misunderstanding Assumption V
The Catholic Church teaches that unless you're Catholic, you can't be saved and have eternal life in Heaven.

Before starting on addressing these topics, I wanted to give my readers an opportunity to leave a comment with any other assumptions you have of the Church that you're not sure are true or not, or you have trouble understanding it. I will definitely do my best to add it to this series and answer.