Expert: Griff Ruby - 10/28/2004

Question
I am interested to hear your perspective on how Catholics and Protestants differ theologically.  Be as specific or general as you want, but in my opinion, the more detail and direction you provide the better for my understanding.  Thanks for your time!


Answer
To me, the most fundamental difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is the question of whether Jesus Christ came to form a real Church, that is a clearly defined and visible institution, a "city built on a hill" that everyone can conspicuously recognize (whatever one thinks of it), or not.  If He did not create such a Church, then just anyone can and should just pick up a Bible from somewhere and make of it whatever they will.  But if He did create such a Church, then there is only one it could possibly be, since there is only one that goes back to the very beginning.
I think the real difference is pride.  We want to be independant of the Church, of having to go somewhere, to someone, and ask forgiveness and for the other Sacraments.  In the Protestant world, "just you and your Bible" is all you need.  In the Catholic world (as it also was for the Biblical era Jews), one must return to the Temple of God on a regular basis, no matter how long the trip or how difficult.  This is humbling as we are therefore dependant upon the priests of the Church.  And then those priests not only also depend upon each other, but who must sacrifice much to be permitted to attain their role, wife, family, offspring, any and all sexual gratification.  A theme of personal sacrifice runs through all the warp and woof of Catholicism.
Anyway, from that simple (and seemingly superficial) organizational difference stems all other differences.  If there is a Church, then it is the infallible guide, and the Bible need not discuss every doctrine of Christ, just whatever ones came up in the times it recounts.  If there is no such Church, then the Bible alone must have been just left on some altar somewhere as a group of golden plates by an angel.  Anything not mentioned therein (theologically, such as Mary's sinlessness or purgatory or any of a plethora of other such distinctively "Catholic" doctrines) is nothing and does not exist.  And any difficult passages (some of which hint of these "Catholic" teachings) were not meant to be understood, or at least not very important, and could be chopped out of the Bible with no loss.  Protestantism barely accepts the Trinity, since it seems to have been universally believed, and does seem rather clearly hinted at in the Bible, but that is its one concession to Tradition.  One could in fact legitimately read the Bible in a non-Trinitarian light, and also arrive at a differing yet cohesive "understanding" of what it all means.  Of course, another result of having only the Bible and no other source of continuity (an eternal Church) is that things change, doctrinally speaking.
Protestants of today have a markedly different religion from what Protestants of only a hundred years ago had.  A hundred years ago, all Protestants accepted that such things as divorce, abortion, self-abuse, and contraception were absolutely unacceptible for Christians, but today, divorce, even of pastors and seminary presidents, is readily tolerated, abortion, though frowned upon (certain fundamentalist Protestants have not yet changed much on this issue), is often deemphasized in favor of "other" issues.  Today, Protestant youth are almost never warned about the sinfulness of self-abuse ("masturbation is God's gift to singles" one famous Protestant pastor wrote in his million-selling book only a few years ago) and the opposition to contreception is treated as an exclusively "Catholic" matter.  A hundred years ago, most Protestants still had something of a liturgy, even stripped down as it was in comparison to the Catholic liturgy, but today, only the declining ranks of "mainstream" Protestants even bother anymore.  As for the rest, they get together once a week to sing "Jesus-rock" songs, hear sermons, and say casual prayers that go like this:  "Hey God, How ya doin' today?  I'm feelin' kind-a down..."  And the sermons:  A hundred years ago the sermons would be about such things as the choice of friends, the use of time, gluttony, fire and brimstone, the wearing out of knees (in prayer), and the sinfulness of alcohol and smoking.  People dressed up for Church.  Now it's "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" and it's "come as you are."  A hundred years ago, Protestants were serious about making sure you were baptized.  Today many don't even bother to mention it, will do it only if asked (if even then), and baptism goes unmentioned, apart from some symbolic sense that never once has anyone actually making contact with any actual literal water at any point.  The entire 12-volume Left Behind series goes its full length without so much as mentioning baptism in any context whatsoever, and scarecly a single Protestant reader ever even noticed.  Given what has happened so far, what will the "Protestantism" of a hundred years hence be like?  Will it even have anything of a Christian identity at all?  Perhaps at that time someone like me will be saying "you used to hear about Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross for us, but now that's pretty much treated like a dead letter:  "Hey, your sins are forgiven (the notion of their having been "paid for" already having gone the way of Mary's sinlessness and purgatory), so why even think about that anymore?  Just go get yourself a nice life and be happy; that's all god (whatever that is) wants!"
Catholicism (real Catholicism today) on the other hand is rock stable, being the same thing today as it was a hundred years ago, or a thousand, or almost two thousand.  Not even the confusion spread by the resources of the Church having been practically hijacked by the enemies of Faith could ever stop there from being Catholics today who believe and practice what Catholics have always believed and practiced from the beginning.  The Latin Mass said today by authentic Catholic priests is the same all around the world and in all eras clear back to the beginning.  God gave His Church what is perfect and God forbid that any of us would ever have the supreme pride and arrogance to think we could improve on it.
I hope this helps.  God bless!