Expanded Version
Context:
Young woman (20) had been reading books about the Catholic Church, watching EWTN Catholic television, and attended several RCIA classes (inguiry classes), yet kept the matter quiet because she knew certain family members would be against such matters. When her family addressed the issue that she should finally get baptized she expressed her concern due to her interest in The Church and wanting first to know what the Church teaches. It was then that her mother began to "confuse" her with her misconceptions and critical attack on Catholics as individuals. She says what really holds her back is her mother adamant view that, "it doesn't matter what denomination you belong to and you just go with what you feel is right" as well as her mothers attitide, "...and the way she talks about some things and how she reacts like she's so disgusted or skeptical or something, makes it seem so wrong." My heart went out to her, and thus I gave my below response.
Response:
Rachel,
My conversion story is a good example of going from the confusion of family influence to the stability of the Christian faith as provided by the Church that Jesus Christ told us He would build (not a man-made "denomination").
Seventh-day Adventism is one of the most anti-Catholic denominations of all Protestant groups because it is part of its "interpretation/theology" that the Catholic Church is the "whore of Babylon" of the Book of Revelation. This was what I was taught when I began studying Adventist theology and so I believed it. That was my father's faith background. His parents (my grandparents) are the hard-core Seventh-day Adventist. Ironically, they used to be Catholic back in the 1950s. And yet my mother's faith background was Lutheran, and so although I believed some things (that pushed me away from the Catholic Church), because of my recognition of the various "churches" I didn't know where to go for baptism as an adult. (I discuss all this in my upcoming book this fall Praying Made Me Catholic: With the Biblical and Historical Reasons I Must Remain Catholic).
So how could one holding such hard-core anti-Catholic "convictions" come to the opposite view of the Catholic Church as the Church that Jesus Christ said, "I will build my church" (Matt 16:18)? Several clear objective issues and one personal.
First the Subjective (Personal):
Several answered prayers led me to discover the claims of the Catholic Church and learn that what I was taught about the Church - by my family - were misconceptions based on "interpretations". There are MANY!
The Objective Issues:
Historical evidence concerning the issues of Christian authority and Christian unity; the work and promises of Christ; the bad fruit of division resulting from the Protestant idea of "Scripture Alone"; the bad fruit of immorality resulting from the Protestant idea of "Faith Alone."
A good historical perception of Christian
history is essential in clearing up confusion.
Historical Evidence of Christian Authority through Apostolic Succession:
The Christian practice of Apostolic Succession of bishops is a tangible and historical mode of perpetuating the Christian doctrines. They are clear in the ancient Christian writings of the first Christian leaders chosen by the Apostles (the Apostolic Fathers) and later Christian leader (bishops) chosen by such Apostolic Fathers (the Early Church Fathers). This was obviously practical, especially in the first 350 years after Christ's Ascension, as there was yet no "New Testament" until the Catholic bishops compiled it as authoritative books around 390 A.D.! In other words, since there was no New Testament for the first four hundred years, the teaching function of the bishops was clearly necessary (not to mention the fact that books were expensive and most commoners were illiterate).
Ever since the first century the Catholic Church was recognized as founded by the Apostles with particular major communities ("Apostolic Sees"). In fact, the Catholic Church was the ONLY Christian "Church" for the first 1,500 years after the Ascension until the Protestant Reformation at about 1520. The Eastern Orthodox are included as a part of "the Church" (even though technically in schism) due to having valid Apostolic Succession of bishops.
Though some call their leaders "bishops," no Protestant denomination has historically valid bishops through valid succession. This is a theological matter concerning the "laying on of hands" and the divine work of the Holy Spirit in guiding The Church (John 16:13).
There is even biblical illustrations of Apostolic Succession: In Practice (Acts 1:20-26) when the Apostles choose Matthias to replace the "office" of Judas the betrayer. In Instruction to Timothy and Titus Saint Paul instructs them concerning the installation of "bishops" (KJV) in every community.
This leads us to our next point:
Historical Evidence of Christian Unity through Church Councils:
Ever since the model of Church Council in Acts 15 the bishops of the Catholic Church have held Church Councils to settle disputed matters to preserve Christian unity. Disunity and error have always come by way of those who are filled with such arrogant pride that they suppose they know better than the authoritative office of the Church that Christ said He would build.
Biblical scholars show that the Apostle Peter was clearly given an especially significant responsibility among the rest of the Apostles due to Christ's the King commissioning him with the "keys of the kingdom" (Matt 16:19). This was an allusion to the Old Testament system of the king of Israel giving the key of the kingdom to his chief steward to govern it while he was away. Now Christ is the King of the Church and Saint Peter and his successiors (who were established by Peter in Rome right before he was martyred) are the Chief Stewards of His Church while He is away in His Ascension in Heaven until He comes again.
We must always remember that even though the Church is filled with imperfect humans, our Lord Jesus Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the Church. The authority of the Church gives us the confidence that Christ had enough foresight as to provide Christians with a means of knowing what was true religious belief in every century. The Church Council just mentioned were most often called into session to clarify a theological matter that certain influential individuals were causing confusion about. For example, the first several Church Councils are often referred to as the "Christological Councils" (Councils concerning the theology of who and what Christ was). Some taught that Jesus was the greatest "creature" of all creation; others taught that He was in fact God who became man in order to save us Himself. Who was to know for certain? The Holy Spirit!
This brings us to the next point:
The Work and Promises of Christ:
God is truly wise indeed, knowing the fallen nature of man and our tendency of division and quarreling. Thus God's gift of the Holy Spirit is key in our salvation, not only in restoring humanity to its original glory at the Resurrection for those who allow Him to transform them, but also in the perpetual work of Christ's Church - His "Body" as Paul calls It. The Church is Christ's "body" as it is humans filled with the Holy Spirit working as an extension of Christ in the world. Early on called "catholic" or "universal" as a distinction from that which was "local" and "man-made," the Church is the ultimate work of Christ - those who are being saved in Him.
Christ promised the leadership of His Church that whatever they would bind "on earth would be bound in heaven" (Matt 16:19, 18:18) and that the Holy Spirit would guide them into "all the truth" (John 16:13). The Church Councils have displayed the work of the Holy Spirit through Christ's Church throughout the last 2,000 years with 21 Church Councils.
The Bad Fruit of Disunity from "Scripture Alone":
In the Protestant idea of "Scripture Alone," which Martin Luther used to justify his own interpretation of Saint Paul's writing concerning his interpretation of "Faith Alone," the principle authority in NOT really "Scripture," but actually the reader of Scripture, since Scripture need "interpretation." Thus Catholic theologians point out that "Scripture Alone" really promotes "private interpretations," of which there can be literally thousands. AND SO there are!
When it comes to the Church giving its "interpretation" of Scripture, it is more rightly called "teaching," since it is the same Holy Spirit that both guided the sacred authors to write Scripture, as well as guide the Church into "all the truth." Thus it is the Holy Spirit guided Church - the original historical Church that Christ said He would build - that appropriately provides the teaching of Scripture. This should be obvious especially of the New Testament, since the Church (Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, etc.) wrote the New Testament.
The Bad Fruit of Immorality from "Faith Alone":
Even in his own day, after advancing his idea of "Faith Alone," Martin Luther commented on the moral decline of the German peasantry. For the main principle governing his idea was that all one needed was faith in Jesus Christ to gain salvation and that no good they could do had any bearing upon it. He preached that if a Christian sinned, all they had to do was to rely on God's forgiveness. This issue of course only added to divisions, quarrels, and immoral presumptuousness of a salvation free of having one's deeds judged.
Yet, Scripture teaches the same Catholic teaching of the judgment of one's works (Rom 2:2-8; 2 Cor 5:10, 11:15; Col 3:24-25; 1 Pet 1:17; Rev 20:12-13) and the need to do good works (Matt 7:21, 19:16-17; John 14:21; Gal 5:4-6; Eph 2:8-10; Phil 2:12-13; James 2:14-24). In other words, the good works of a Christian manifest the "good fruit" as evidence that Christ is working within the individual. The idea that "faith alone" saves someone very often leads many to a lax or "fruitless" faith life.
So where did Luther go wrong in reading Saint Paul? By equating "works of the law" (the Jewish ceremonial law) with that of all works, including the "good works" of Christians. Yet, in Catholic theology it is still recognized that we are saved by faith and not our own doing, HOWEVER, one must "activate" one's faith, so to speak, by allowing Christ to work through him/her.
Again, a good historical perception of Christian
history is essential in clearing up confusion.
It is for such reasons that a Seventh-day Adventist can come to see the foundations of his own family's denomination for what it is - another division as a result of the "Scripture Alone" idea and the "interpretations" of its founders (Ellen White, Joseph Bates, and Hiram Edson). My grandfather is well versed in the interpretations of Seventh-day Adventism and is very convincing, especially before I had a strong perception of Church History. Not so surprisingly, he never had, and thus I have come to humbly appreciate why he was able to be led out of Christ's historical Church into a "denomination."
Hope This Helps.
Justin S. Steele
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Rachel's Response to My Post:
Justin: Wow thanks! The part The Bad Fruit of Disunity from "Scripture Alone": was especially helpful.