Worshipping the same God, are all Christian churches the same?
A glimpse at some main similarities and differences between Catholic and Protestant churches
There are many similarities and differences between Catholic and Protestant churches. Both worship one same God yet their understanding of God differs from one another.
It is wishful thinking that there is only one religion for all Christians, the religion of Christianity. Unfortunately, Christianity is divided into many different denominations. Pray for the unity of all Christian churches and for ecumenism.
Here we will discuss the doctrine and its consequences in liturgy, sacraments and prayers. Structure and administration will follow these consequences.
I. Doctrine-Bible
Good news: Both Catholic and Protestant churches believe in the same God. They also believe in the Bible.
1. Definition of the Bible.
The Bible exists with first human beings telling one another about their experience of God. It is the story of God and His salvation to His people. The Bible grew out of a long process of God's people recounting the stories of their experience of God and God's relationship with them from generation to generation. It is called the Oral Tradition. From time to time, sometimes the details get confused as they passed from one to another person.
When some stories seem to threaten the faith heritage of the chosen people, some writers decided to write down the stories of faith to preserve them for all time. It is called written tradition. In the Middle East, these stories or books were written on the papyrus.
Over a period of time, when the papyrus were torn and damaged, trained scholars then collected various traditions, examined to see whether they are genuine or not, and grouped them in various categories. It is called edited tradition.
The Bible we are having now is the edited tradition or the record of stories of faith.
1A. Bible (Bible and traditions). The Protestants believe only in what is written in the Bible (edited tradition). Catholic Church also believes in the Bible. However, in the edited tradition, it did not record everything as John mentioned in 21: 25 "There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written." In another words, Catholic believes in the oral tradition "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (I Cor. 11:2) and " So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess. 2:15).
In addition, the Bible in the Protestant churches and Catholic Church is different in the number of the books and verses.
1B. Number of the volumes (or books). Both churches accepted the 27 books of the New Testament. However, Protestant Bible does not share the same verses as the Catholic Bible (e.g. John 20: 20 - 23).
The Catholic Bible has more volumes. The Protestant adapted the Hebrew canon (39 books), the Catholic adapted the Greek canon (46 books) (Old Testament: Book of Baruch, Maccabees I and II, Tobit, Judith, Sirach or Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom).
1C. Biblical comments and explanations. Some of the biblical verses shared by both denominations are explained similarly and differently. In Luke 22:19, "Do it in memory of me," the Protestants explain it as the memory, while the Catholics honor it as the real presence or action of the Lord, not as a memory. Why? The Catholic does not single out that verse alone; it is connected and related to other verses because they belong to the same Bible. Relating to Luke 22: 19 and John 6: 34 – 62, Jesus said whoever eats His body and drink His blood will have eternal life. (Even some of His disciples left Him because of that statement). The listeners understood that Jesus really talked about His real body and his real blood. Furthermore, during the last supper when He took the bread, He said: "This is my body;" and when He took the cup of wine "This is my blood." He did not say "This is the symbol of my body." (Cf. Luke 22: 19 - 21; 1Cor. 11: 23 -26; 11: 27).
2. Consequences:
From these differences, there are differences in sacraments, in honor due to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in worship and in the government.
Sacraments. Most Protestant Churches have one or two sacraments, the sacrament of baptism and of the Eucharist. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has 7 sacraments (see the excerpt from Wikipedia below http: www.wikipedia.sacraments).
2A. How many sacraments are there?
Wikipedia: The two most widely accepted sacraments are Baptism and the Eucharist; although several traditions include five others: Confirmation (Chrismation in the Orthodox tradition), ordination, Reconciliation of a Penitent (confession), Anointing of the Sick, and Matrimony. Taken together, these are the Seven Sacraments as recognized by churches in the High church tradition - notably Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Independent Catholic, Old Catholic and some Anglicans. Other denominations and traditions typically affirm only Baptism and Eucharist as sacraments.
2B. What is the meaning of the sacraments?
Wikipedia: (The churches of the Catholic tradition, as well as some among the Methodist, Lutheran, and Anglican confessions, hold that) sacraments are not mere symbols, but rather that they effect that which they signify, that is, the sacraments in and of themselves, rightly administered, are used by God as a means to communicate grace to faithful recipients, and for recipients to communicate praise and thanksgiving to God. As a communicative device, they thus constitute a specific form of prayer.
1. For the Catholic Church, sacrament is holy and unbreakable, instituted by Jesus.
E.g. The Sacrament of Marriage is unbreakable bond between a man and a woman, blessed by God through the priest and the Church. It is a forever agreement between a husband and a wife. There is no ground for divorce until a spouse dies.
Some Protestant Churches such as Baptist and Methodist do not believe in the Sacrament of Ordination, therefore no priest. Then, there are no other functions or "sacraments" performed by priest such as Sacraments of the Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, and Confirmation..
2. The sense of sin and sacrament of reconciliation.
The Protestants believe there is one kind of sin, thus, they do not make a distinction between venial and mortal sin. And because they do not believe in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there is no need for confession to a priest. If the repentant wants to make a confession, s/he would make it directly to God. It also means the precept of the Catholic Church " You shall confess your sins at least once a year" does not really oblige people to follow. Once again, the verse from John 20: 23 does not exist in some Protestant Bible.
3. The consequence of this difference causes another difference.
The Protestant does not believe in the difference between the purgatory and the hell. The Catholic believes that one commits venial sin goes to the purgatory. Once the individual is purified, s/he goes to heaven.
4. Eucharist.
The Protestant does not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. As mentioned earlier, the Eucharist is only the act of remembrance to them.
Thus, is the precept "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation" man made, and it does not require people to follow? It is important to remind that "keep your Sabbath " is one of the Ten Commandments from God.
5. Man is justified by faith (Roman 3: 21 - 31)
Luther is well known of this statement "Man is justified by faith alone". He recognized the sinful situation of man, and strongly focused on God's mercy and grace. Nothing is wrong with that statement but Luther overlooked another statement from St. James "a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2: 24) and " for just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2: 26). Faith must be expressed by works, by visible signs. This is why the Catholic Church asks her children to come to the Church and to do charity as their demonstration of faith.
6. Worships of the saints?
The Catholic Church makes a clear statement: they do not worship the saints. They worship only God.
The Bible is written about Jesus' life and mission, not about the life of any saint even of the apostles. The biggest difference between Catholic and Protestant Churches on how to honor the saints is about Mary. For Catholic, Mary has four roles, positions and titles:
•
6a. Mother of God: Luke 1: 43, 45 "And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?..blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Mary the virgin, Immaculate Conception and assumption are questionable for the Protestants. They say, there is no "clear sentences" in the Bible about these teachings. Though there are no clear sentences, there are theological and philosophical evidence of these beliefs.
6b. Mary the Virgin: Luke 1: 26 - 28, 34 wrote "the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man, and the virgin's name was Mary..; how can this be since I have no relations with a man?". (Also see Matthew 1: 23.) The Protestants argue that the gospels mention about Jesus' brethren, that means Mary was no longer a virgin after the birth of Jesus!!! It is noted that no paragraph in the Bible talks about the birth of any sibling of Jesus. Further, the term "brethren" in Asia and in Israel also means the first cousins. People should also understand that if Jesus has biological brothers/sisters why at the cross, he did not ask them to take care of Mary? Why he ask John, his disciple? (John 19: 25 - 27)
6c. Mary the Immaculate Conception: (Luke 1: 28.) What "full of grace" means if Mary has original sin? Then, can Jesus as God stay with sin, even it is the original sin?
6d. Mary and the Assumption. The Assumption of Mary is not in the Bible, however the Catholic Church maintains that a biblical allusion to the Assumption does exist in the Revelation, Apocalypse 12: 1 "A great sign appeared in the sky, woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Mary's assumption is the consequence of the above beliefs. If she has no sin, if she is the mother of God then what is next? Her assumption is also our future.
7. Should we pray to Mary?
Catholics have Marian devotion. They pray to Mary as one who conveys God's grace to people. Mary is never equal to God. There is only one God. The salvation comes from God and only from God, from Jesus. Remember in the litany when Catholics pray to Jesus, they say: "Have mercy"; to Mary and the saints "pray for us."
8. Who are the saints?
Everyone is called to holiness. Saints are those whose life is good before God. We can be a saint ourselves.
8a. Why do we need to pray to Mary or to the saints? Why not directly to Jesus?
We can pray directly to Jesus as Matthew 8: 1 – 4 indicated; however, remember the story at the wedding in Cana. Mary interceded for the newlyweds, and Jesus listened to her intercession though He clearly indicated that "my hour has not yet come" John 2:4.
8b. Another question: Can we and should we pray for other people?
Yes, we can and we should. Read the intercession of the centurion for his servant in Matthew 5: 1 - 13; for the official's daughter 9: 18 - 19; 23 - 16; the Canaanite woman's faith and her daughter 15: 21 - 28.
Miracles can be done by the prayers of the petitioner and friends, read Matthew, 9: 1 - 8; 9: 20 - 22; 15: 29 - 31.
So, praying to the saints means asking the saints to pray to God on our behalf.
8c. Should we pray for and to the souls in the purgatory. The Catholic Church believes that heaven, earth and purgatory are the three stages of the same Church. All of us are inter-related and inter-connected. We should and can pray to and for our parents, our ancestors. They intercede for us because they love us as we love them.
9. Sacramentals.
Sacramentals are the visible things that help Catholic to be in contact with divine presence and power. They include religious signs, symbols, public and private devotions, prayers, gestures, rituals, music, image, statues, natural or made objects. They are blessed and therefore, become sacred in the religious purpose and usage.
Through the sacramentals, the Catholic is identified. The earlier Christian sacramentals came out of the Jewish traditions when they were familiar features of religious life at that time such as bread, wine, purifying water, oil, laying of hands. Ritual words as Amen, Alleluia, Hosanna were borrowed. Catholic Church keeps vigilant- but not always successful- eye on superstitious attitudes related to the use of sacramentals.
The Protestant reformation challenged the validity of sacramentals, partially because of abuses.
Catholics wear medals and scapulars as their protector and evidence of their beliefs. At home, they say the rosaries, sprinkle holy water. They pray different prayers to Jesus, Mary and the saints. At church, they bless themselves with holy water and bow or genuflect when entering church. They kneel and pray before burning lights and votive lights. They make a sign of the cross often. Men tip their hat when passing a Church and women wear them in Church. They are faithful attending Mass on Sunday and novena service. They often attend the Eucharistic adoration, especially on the first Friday of the month. Holy pictures and statues are visible in the Church and at home. People are devoted to Mary, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Holy Family. They show their respect and love to the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. They visit grottoes and shrines whenever possible as Pilgrimage is highly encouraged.
The gestures and bodily positions are familiar with the Protestants are standing, sitting and bowing one's head during the prayer. More or less familiar are holding hands, lifting of the eyes and hands. Not familiar are prostrating, genuflecting, folding hands, striking the breast, doing the sign of the cross, sprinkling of holy water, lighting the votive and vigil candles..
10. Popular devotions.
Popular devotions are the rituals that help catholic to understand and to love God more. Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, Novena... are the popular devotion. Rosary are the quotations from the Bible: "Our Father" is taught by Jesus; "Hail Mary" is the greeting from the angel to Mary; "Holy Mary" is the petition to her, asking her to intercede for us; "Glory be" is the profession of faith in the Holy Trinity.
11. In addition to the reading of the Bible, should we pray?
As we see, the Bible provides a strong frame for guidance. We could and should express that frame by different and correct ways. Reading and praying the Bible are a very good way. Not all Catholic know how to pray with the Bible, however, God is not limited in the Bible. The Bible is the written love of God and to God. When we pray, we need also the dialogue, the conversation and the listening from God to us.
II. Differences in Administration and its consequences
1. Catholic Church's administration.
The Catholic Church is governed by the college of bishops with the bishop of Rome or the Pope. Catholic Church maintains a centralized authority, which means that almost every important and major decision has to be done through Rome. The Pope exercises full authority over the Church's teachings on morality and doctrine based on papal infallibility.
1A. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) wrote:
"Role and Position of the Pope: The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements of doctrine, including moral doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.
The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, as authentic teachers, preach to the People of God the faith which is to be believed and applied in moral life. It is also encumbent on them to pronounce on moral questions that fall within the natural law and reason."
Thus, not all people have the right to explain the Bible, its meaning, especially, the matters on faith and morality. These explanations belong to the Pope and the bishops. The Pope has authority over the whole universal Church, the bishop over his diocese.
1B. Hierarchy: Model of the Catholic Church is called hierarchical communion. This order consists of the following offices: pope, cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons. An unofficial hierarchy are the nuns, seminarians, lay professionals, and laity.
2. Independence of the Protestant Churches.
Meanwhile, Protestant Churches are not one and unique. There are many denominations and each denomination has many branches. Each branch has the right and responsibility to teach and explain the Bible, as well as to administer its government according to its knowledge and tradition. Let us take an example from the Baptist Protestant Church which has more parishioners than other Protestant churches and examine their branches.
2A. Inter-dependence of the Baptist Church.
There is one Baptist Church but that Church has nine Major organizations in the U.S. (Excerpted from wikipedia.org. The excerpt is in italic):
However these branches have the following acrostic acronyms, spelling BAPTIST, represents a useful summary of Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:
3. Then, the freedom and acrostic acronyms in the Baptist Church cause different doctrinal and moral consequences not only among different Baptist branches, but to other denominations including the Catholic church:
3A. Varied Doctrine.
Beliefs that vary among Baptists. Because of the importance of the priesthood of every believer, the centrality of the freedom of conscience a thought in Baptist theology, and due to the congregational style of church governance, doctrine varies greatly between one Baptist church and another (and among individual Baptists) especially on the following issues:
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Homosexuality: "The issue of Homosexuality within Christianity has become a matter of intense theological debate among some Christians, with ongoing argument over whether homosexuality, and specifically homosexual sex, is immoral or a sin.
Historically, Christian churches have regarded homosexual sex as sinful, based on particular interpretations of certain passages in the Bible. This position is today affirmed by most Christian groups, including the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the LDS Church and most Protestant denominations, especially among Evangelicals such as the Southern Baptist Convention. However, there has been a minority of interpreters who have advanced a different understanding of these passages and have argued that homosexuality can be seen as moral. This approach has been taken by a number of churches, notably the liberal congregations within United Church of Christ, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Moravian Church, the United Church of Canada, Friends General Conference, and the Anglican Church of Canada. A new denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church, has also come into existence specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community. Perhaps taking a cue from this trend, many mainline Protestant denominations in the United States have removed language in their bylaws which suggest that homosexuality is a sinful state of being. The Book of Order used by the PCUSA reflects this change. Similar modifications in position can also be seen in the ELCA and Disciples of Christ. It must be noted that many of these denominations continue to limit leadership and clergy roles for GLBT persons; however, acceptance of GLBT laity has increased in terms of actual practice and in terms of church law."
Ordination of women: "In Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Anglicanism, ordination is distinguished from religious or consecrated life and is the means by which one is included in one of the priestly orders: bishop, priest, or deacon. Roman Catholic and Orthodox priesthood is limited to men.
In Protestant Christian denominations that do not have a priesthood, ordination is understood more generally as the acceptance of one for pastoral work. Most other Protestant denominations ordain women for pastoral ministries except some very conservative denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and fundamentalist groups."
4. Precepts of the Catholic Church
Another big difference between Catholic and Protestant Church is seen in the Precepts of the Catholic Church. The Protestant churches do not require these precepts.
The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
Because religious traditions and precepts are a human dimension of faith, they are subject to change. Looking at the precepts above, the precept of "do not eat meat on Fridays” has been replaced by "You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence." Similarly, the precept "do not work on Sunday" is replaced by "You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation." The "The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities" is new. The need and culture of the present society always affect the Church.
Is there hope for ecumenism? Looking at the areas discussed in doctrine, the consequences in liturgy, sacraments and prayers, the structure and administration, it seems the future for ecumenism is dim. However, we rely on the role and grace of the Holy Spirit to assist us. Jesus prayed: "I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believed in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.." (John 18: 20 - 21). The standard for ecumenism is the commandment of Jesus before his death: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you" (John 15: 12). For Asian people of whom Jesus belongs, the commandment before death is the most important message. His followers must accomplish his will.
Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14: 6). In Him we have the Truth. He is the Way. On that way we have the Truth. He is the Life. In His Life we have the Truth and the Way. Finding the Truth, let us live in His Life and His Way.
A glimpse at some main similarities and differences between Catholic and Protestant churches
There are many similarities and differences between Catholic and Protestant churches. Both worship one same God yet their understanding of God differs from one another.
It is wishful thinking that there is only one religion for all Christians, the religion of Christianity. Unfortunately, Christianity is divided into many different denominations. Pray for the unity of all Christian churches and for ecumenism.
Here we will discuss the doctrine and its consequences in liturgy, sacraments and prayers. Structure and administration will follow these consequences.
I. Doctrine-Bible
Good news: Both Catholic and Protestant churches believe in the same God. They also believe in the Bible.
1. Definition of the Bible.
The Bible exists with first human beings telling one another about their experience of God. It is the story of God and His salvation to His people. The Bible grew out of a long process of God's people recounting the stories of their experience of God and God's relationship with them from generation to generation. It is called the Oral Tradition. From time to time, sometimes the details get confused as they passed from one to another person. When some stories seem to threaten the faith heritage of the chosen people, some writers decided to write down the stories of faith to preserve them for all time. It is called written tradition. In the Middle East, these stories or books were written on the papyrus.
Over a period of time, when the papyrus were torn and damaged, trained scholars then collected various traditions, examined to see whether they are genuine or not, and grouped them in various categories. It is called edited tradition.
The Bible we are having now is the edited tradition or the record of stories of faith.
1A. Bible (Bible and traditions). The Protestants believe only in what is written in the Bible (edited tradition). Catholic Church also believes in the Bible. However, in the edited tradition, it did not record everything as John mentioned in 21: 25 "There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written." In another words, Catholic believes in the oral tradition "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (I Cor. 11:2) and " So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess. 2:15).
In addition, the Bible in the Protestant churches and Catholic Church is different in the number of the books and verses.
1B. Number of the volumes (or books). Both churches accepted the 27 books of the New Testament. However, Protestant Bible does not share the same verses as the Catholic Bible (e.g. John 20: 20 - 23).
The Catholic Bible has more volumes. The Protestant adapted the Hebrew canon (39 books), the Catholic adapted the Greek canon (46 books) (Old Testament: Book of Baruch, Maccabees I and II, Tobit, Judith, Sirach or Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom).
1C. Biblical comments and explanations. Some of the biblical verses shared by both denominations are explained similarly and differently. In Luke 22:19, "Do it in memory of me," the Protestants explain it as the memory, while the Catholics honor it as the real presence or action of the Lord, not as a memory. Why? The Catholic does not single out that verse alone; it is connected and related to other verses because they belong to the same Bible. Relating to Luke 22: 19 and John 6: 34 – 62, Jesus said whoever eats His body and drink His blood will have eternal life. (Even some of His disciples left Him because of that statement). The listeners understood that Jesus really talked about His real body and his real blood. Furthermore, during the last supper when He took the bread, He said: "This is my body;" and when He took the cup of wine "This is my blood." He did not say "This is the symbol of my body." (Cf. Luke 22: 19 - 21; 1Cor. 11: 23 -26; 11: 27).
2. Consequences:
From these differences, there are differences in sacraments, in honor due to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in worship and in the government.
Sacraments. Most Protestant Churches have one or two sacraments, the sacrament of baptism and of the Eucharist. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has 7 sacraments (see the excerpt from Wikipedia below http: www.wikipedia.sacraments).
2A. How many sacraments are there?
Wikipedia: The two most widely accepted sacraments are Baptism and the Eucharist; although several traditions include five others: Confirmation (Chrismation in the Orthodox tradition), ordination, Reconciliation of a Penitent (confession), Anointing of the Sick, and Matrimony. Taken together, these are the Seven Sacraments as recognized by churches in the High church tradition - notably Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Independent Catholic, Old Catholic and some Anglicans. Other denominations and traditions typically affirm only Baptism and Eucharist as sacraments.
2B. What is the meaning of the sacraments?
Wikipedia: (The churches of the Catholic tradition, as well as some among the Methodist, Lutheran, and Anglican confessions, hold that) sacraments are not mere symbols, but rather that they effect that which they signify, that is, the sacraments in and of themselves, rightly administered, are used by God as a means to communicate grace to faithful recipients, and for recipients to communicate praise and thanksgiving to God. As a communicative device, they thus constitute a specific form of prayer.
1. For the Catholic Church, sacrament is holy and unbreakable, instituted by Jesus.
E.g. The Sacrament of Marriage is unbreakable bond between a man and a woman, blessed by God through the priest and the Church. It is a forever agreement between a husband and a wife. There is no ground for divorce until a spouse dies.
Some Protestant Churches such as Baptist and Methodist do not believe in the Sacrament of Ordination, therefore no priest. Then, there are no other functions or "sacraments" performed by priest such as Sacraments of the Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, and Confirmation..
2. The sense of sin and sacrament of reconciliation.
The Protestants believe there is one kind of sin, thus, they do not make a distinction between venial and mortal sin. And because they do not believe in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there is no need for confession to a priest. If the repentant wants to make a confession, s/he would make it directly to God. It also means the precept of the Catholic Church " You shall confess your sins at least once a year" does not really oblige people to follow. Once again, the verse from John 20: 23 does not exist in some Protestant Bible.
3. The consequence of this difference causes another difference.
The Protestant does not believe in the difference between the purgatory and the hell. The Catholic believes that one commits venial sin goes to the purgatory. Once the individual is purified, s/he goes to heaven.
4. Eucharist.
The Protestant does not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. As mentioned earlier, the Eucharist is only the act of remembrance to them.
Thus, is the precept "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation" man made, and it does not require people to follow? It is important to remind that "keep your Sabbath " is one of the Ten Commandments from God.
5. Man is justified by faith (Roman 3: 21 - 31)
Luther is well known of this statement "Man is justified by faith alone". He recognized the sinful situation of man, and strongly focused on God's mercy and grace. Nothing is wrong with that statement but Luther overlooked another statement from St. James "a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (James 2: 24) and " for just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2: 26). Faith must be expressed by works, by visible signs. This is why the Catholic Church asks her children to come to the Church and to do charity as their demonstration of faith.
6. Worships of the saints?
The Catholic Church makes a clear statement: they do not worship the saints. They worship only God.
The Bible is written about Jesus' life and mission, not about the life of any saint even of the apostles. The biggest difference between Catholic and Protestant Churches on how to honor the saints is about Mary. For Catholic, Mary has four roles, positions and titles:
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- Mother of God
- • Virgin
- • Immaculate
- • Assumption
6a. Mother of God: Luke 1: 43, 45 "And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?..blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Mary the virgin, Immaculate Conception and assumption are questionable for the Protestants. They say, there is no "clear sentences" in the Bible about these teachings. Though there are no clear sentences, there are theological and philosophical evidence of these beliefs.
6b. Mary the Virgin: Luke 1: 26 - 28, 34 wrote "the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man, and the virgin's name was Mary..; how can this be since I have no relations with a man?". (Also see Matthew 1: 23.) The Protestants argue that the gospels mention about Jesus' brethren, that means Mary was no longer a virgin after the birth of Jesus!!! It is noted that no paragraph in the Bible talks about the birth of any sibling of Jesus. Further, the term "brethren" in Asia and in Israel also means the first cousins. People should also understand that if Jesus has biological brothers/sisters why at the cross, he did not ask them to take care of Mary? Why he ask John, his disciple? (John 19: 25 - 27)
6c. Mary the Immaculate Conception: (Luke 1: 28.) What "full of grace" means if Mary has original sin? Then, can Jesus as God stay with sin, even it is the original sin?
6d. Mary and the Assumption. The Assumption of Mary is not in the Bible, however the Catholic Church maintains that a biblical allusion to the Assumption does exist in the Revelation, Apocalypse 12: 1 "A great sign appeared in the sky, woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Mary's assumption is the consequence of the above beliefs. If she has no sin, if she is the mother of God then what is next? Her assumption is also our future.
7. Should we pray to Mary?
Catholics have Marian devotion. They pray to Mary as one who conveys God's grace to people. Mary is never equal to God. There is only one God. The salvation comes from God and only from God, from Jesus. Remember in the litany when Catholics pray to Jesus, they say: "Have mercy"; to Mary and the saints "pray for us."
8. Who are the saints?
Everyone is called to holiness. Saints are those whose life is good before God. We can be a saint ourselves.
8a. Why do we need to pray to Mary or to the saints? Why not directly to Jesus?
We can pray directly to Jesus as Matthew 8: 1 – 4 indicated; however, remember the story at the wedding in Cana. Mary interceded for the newlyweds, and Jesus listened to her intercession though He clearly indicated that "my hour has not yet come" John 2:4.
8b. Another question: Can we and should we pray for other people?
Yes, we can and we should. Read the intercession of the centurion for his servant in Matthew 5: 1 - 13; for the official's daughter 9: 18 - 19; 23 - 16; the Canaanite woman's faith and her daughter 15: 21 - 28.
Miracles can be done by the prayers of the petitioner and friends, read Matthew, 9: 1 - 8; 9: 20 - 22; 15: 29 - 31.
So, praying to the saints means asking the saints to pray to God on our behalf.
8c. Should we pray for and to the souls in the purgatory. The Catholic Church believes that heaven, earth and purgatory are the three stages of the same Church. All of us are inter-related and inter-connected. We should and can pray to and for our parents, our ancestors. They intercede for us because they love us as we love them.
9. Sacramentals.
Sacramentals are the visible things that help Catholic to be in contact with divine presence and power. They include religious signs, symbols, public and private devotions, prayers, gestures, rituals, music, image, statues, natural or made objects. They are blessed and therefore, become sacred in the religious purpose and usage.
Through the sacramentals, the Catholic is identified. The earlier Christian sacramentals came out of the Jewish traditions when they were familiar features of religious life at that time such as bread, wine, purifying water, oil, laying of hands. Ritual words as Amen, Alleluia, Hosanna were borrowed. Catholic Church keeps vigilant- but not always successful- eye on superstitious attitudes related to the use of sacramentals.
The Protestant reformation challenged the validity of sacramentals, partially because of abuses.
Catholics wear medals and scapulars as their protector and evidence of their beliefs. At home, they say the rosaries, sprinkle holy water. They pray different prayers to Jesus, Mary and the saints. At church, they bless themselves with holy water and bow or genuflect when entering church. They kneel and pray before burning lights and votive lights. They make a sign of the cross often. Men tip their hat when passing a Church and women wear them in Church. They are faithful attending Mass on Sunday and novena service. They often attend the Eucharistic adoration, especially on the first Friday of the month. Holy pictures and statues are visible in the Church and at home. People are devoted to Mary, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Holy Family. They show their respect and love to the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle. They visit grottoes and shrines whenever possible as Pilgrimage is highly encouraged.
The gestures and bodily positions are familiar with the Protestants are standing, sitting and bowing one's head during the prayer. More or less familiar are holding hands, lifting of the eyes and hands. Not familiar are prostrating, genuflecting, folding hands, striking the breast, doing the sign of the cross, sprinkling of holy water, lighting the votive and vigil candles..
10. Popular devotions.
Popular devotions are the rituals that help catholic to understand and to love God more. Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, Novena... are the popular devotion. Rosary are the quotations from the Bible: "Our Father" is taught by Jesus; "Hail Mary" is the greeting from the angel to Mary; "Holy Mary" is the petition to her, asking her to intercede for us; "Glory be" is the profession of faith in the Holy Trinity.
11. In addition to the reading of the Bible, should we pray?
As we see, the Bible provides a strong frame for guidance. We could and should express that frame by different and correct ways. Reading and praying the Bible are a very good way. Not all Catholic know how to pray with the Bible, however, God is not limited in the Bible. The Bible is the written love of God and to God. When we pray, we need also the dialogue, the conversation and the listening from God to us.
II. Differences in Administration and its consequences
1. Catholic Church's administration.
The Catholic Church is governed by the college of bishops with the bishop of Rome or the Pope. Catholic Church maintains a centralized authority, which means that almost every important and major decision has to be done through Rome. The Pope exercises full authority over the Church's teachings on morality and doctrine based on papal infallibility.
1A. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) wrote:
"Role and Position of the Pope: The infallibility of the Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements of doctrine, including moral doctrine, without which the saving truths of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.
The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, as authentic teachers, preach to the People of God the faith which is to be believed and applied in moral life. It is also encumbent on them to pronounce on moral questions that fall within the natural law and reason."
Thus, not all people have the right to explain the Bible, its meaning, especially, the matters on faith and morality. These explanations belong to the Pope and the bishops. The Pope has authority over the whole universal Church, the bishop over his diocese.
1B. Hierarchy: Model of the Catholic Church is called hierarchical communion. This order consists of the following offices: pope, cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons. An unofficial hierarchy are the nuns, seminarians, lay professionals, and laity.
2. Independence of the Protestant Churches.
Meanwhile, Protestant Churches are not one and unique. There are many denominations and each denomination has many branches. Each branch has the right and responsibility to teach and explain the Bible, as well as to administer its government according to its knowledge and tradition. Let us take an example from the Baptist Protestant Church which has more parishioners than other Protestant churches and examine their branches.
2A. Inter-dependence of the Baptist Church.
There is one Baptist Church but that Church has nine Major organizations in the U.S. (Excerpted from wikipedia.org. The excerpt is in italic):
- o Alliance of Baptists
- o American Baptist Churches USA
- o Baptist General Conference
- o Conservative Baptist Association
- o Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
- o National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
- o National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
- o Progressive National Baptist Convention
- o Southern Baptist Convention
However these branches have the following acrostic acronyms, spelling BAPTIST, represents a useful summary of Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:
- • Biblical authority (Mat 24:35; 1Pet 1:23; 2Tim 3:16-17) Mt. 24: 35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away"
- • Autonomy of the local church (Mat 18:15-17; 1Cor 6:1-3) Mat. 18: 15 -17 "if your brother sins against you, go and tell him... if he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a gentile or a tax collector."
- • Priesthood of all believers (1Pet 2:5-9; 1Tim 5) 1 Pet. 2: 5-9 "and like living stones, let yourself be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ... but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you our of darkness into his wonderful light."
- • Two ordinances (believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper) (Acts 2:41-47; 1Cor 11:23-32)
- • Individual soul liberty (Rom 14:5-12) Rom. 14: 5 - 12 "..for if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord... so, each of us shall give an account of himself to God."
- • Separation of Church and State (Mat 22:15-22) (Mat. 22: 15 - 22... repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
- • Two offices of the church (pastor and deacon) (1Tim 3:1-13; Tit 1-2)
- • Soul freedom: the soul is competent before God, and capable of making decisions in matters of faith without coercion or compulsion by any larger religious or civil body
- • Church freedom: freedom of the local church from outside interference, whether government or civilian (subject only to the law where it does not interfere with the religious teachings and practices of the church)
- • Bible freedom: the individual is free to interpret the Bible for himself or herself, using the best tools of scholarship and biblical study available to the individual
- • Religious freedom: the individual is free to choose whether to practice their religion, another religion, or no religion; Separation of church and state is often called the "civil corollary" of religious freedom."
3. Then, the freedom and acrostic acronyms in the Baptist Church cause different doctrinal and moral consequences not only among different Baptist branches, but to other denominations including the Catholic church:
3A. Varied Doctrine.
Beliefs that vary among Baptists. Because of the importance of the priesthood of every believer, the centrality of the freedom of conscience a thought in Baptist theology, and due to the congregational style of church governance, doctrine varies greatly between one Baptist church and another (and among individual Baptists) especially on the following issues:
•
- Calvinism/Armenianism
- • Doctrine of separation
- • Eschatology
- • Hermeneutical method
- • Homosexuality
- • Ordination of women
- • The extent to which missionary boards should be used to support missionaries
- • The extent to which non-members may participate in communion services
- • The nature of Law and Gospel
Homosexuality: "The issue of Homosexuality within Christianity has become a matter of intense theological debate among some Christians, with ongoing argument over whether homosexuality, and specifically homosexual sex, is immoral or a sin.
Historically, Christian churches have regarded homosexual sex as sinful, based on particular interpretations of certain passages in the Bible. This position is today affirmed by most Christian groups, including the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the LDS Church and most Protestant denominations, especially among Evangelicals such as the Southern Baptist Convention. However, there has been a minority of interpreters who have advanced a different understanding of these passages and have argued that homosexuality can be seen as moral. This approach has been taken by a number of churches, notably the liberal congregations within United Church of Christ, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Moravian Church, the United Church of Canada, Friends General Conference, and the Anglican Church of Canada. A new denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church, has also come into existence specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community. Perhaps taking a cue from this trend, many mainline Protestant denominations in the United States have removed language in their bylaws which suggest that homosexuality is a sinful state of being. The Book of Order used by the PCUSA reflects this change. Similar modifications in position can also be seen in the ELCA and Disciples of Christ. It must be noted that many of these denominations continue to limit leadership and clergy roles for GLBT persons; however, acceptance of GLBT laity has increased in terms of actual practice and in terms of church law."
Ordination of women: "In Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Anglicanism, ordination is distinguished from religious or consecrated life and is the means by which one is included in one of the priestly orders: bishop, priest, or deacon. Roman Catholic and Orthodox priesthood is limited to men.
In Protestant Christian denominations that do not have a priesthood, ordination is understood more generally as the acceptance of one for pastoral work. Most other Protestant denominations ordain women for pastoral ministries except some very conservative denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and fundamentalist groups."
4. Precepts of the Catholic Church
Another big difference between Catholic and Protestant Church is seen in the Precepts of the Catholic Church. The Protestant churches do not require these precepts.
The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
- a. The first precept "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation" requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord, that means Sundays (and the holy days.)
- b. The second precept "You shall confess your sins at least once a year" helps the faithful to prepare for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation. This sacrament continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.
- c. The third precept "You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season" guarantees as a minimum, the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.
- d. The fourth precept "You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation" completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.
- e. The fifth precept "You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence" ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare the faithful for the liturgical feasts; fasting and abstinence help Catholics acquire mastery over their instincts and freedom of heart.
- f. The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Because religious traditions and precepts are a human dimension of faith, they are subject to change. Looking at the precepts above, the precept of "do not eat meat on Fridays” has been replaced by "You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence." Similarly, the precept "do not work on Sunday" is replaced by "You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation." The "The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities" is new. The need and culture of the present society always affect the Church.
Is there hope for ecumenism? Looking at the areas discussed in doctrine, the consequences in liturgy, sacraments and prayers, the structure and administration, it seems the future for ecumenism is dim. However, we rely on the role and grace of the Holy Spirit to assist us. Jesus prayed: "I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believed in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.." (John 18: 20 - 21). The standard for ecumenism is the commandment of Jesus before his death: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you" (John 15: 12). For Asian people of whom Jesus belongs, the commandment before death is the most important message. His followers must accomplish his will.
Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14: 6). In Him we have the Truth. He is the Way. On that way we have the Truth. He is the Life. In His Life we have the Truth and the Way. Finding the Truth, let us live in His Life and His Way.