In recent years, two words have permeated society: “Fake News”. As tribalism in the political realm increases, the need for an individual’s argument to be right also increases. This can also be translated to the Christian and religious realm. Dialogue, learning, and understanding become the enemy of the argument. As a result, some turn to what can be described as arguments of convenience. An argument of convenience does not have to be true or factual. It only needs to conveniently present a person’s argument as correct. In other words, if you say it enough, it becomes true whether it is or is not. To be fair, just because something is declared “fake news”, does not automatically mean that it is. What is lacking in both instances is a dedication to the truth and, perhaps more importantly, a willingness to do the work to determine for oneself what is or is not true or fake.
It may seem odd for an article in the 3-page Catholic series to be titled “Rejecting Catholicism”. The premise is that if a person is going to reject Catholicism, which is of course their prerogative, then they should at least reject the truth of Catholicism and not reject the distorted caricature, the myths, and the fake news, of what people incorrectly say or teach about the Church. More times than not, however, the myths come from a lack of knowledge, or from someone simply passing on what he or she has heard about the Church without dedicating the time, energy, and effort to determine the truth for themselves.
Typically, the more vehement a person is against the Church, the more they fall on the side of lack of self-acquired knowledge. They may be simply repeating what they have heard or perhaps they have difficulty in articulating their objection in a specific way. In the kindest sense of the word, they can be ignorant of what the Church teaches. This can lead to “surface” arguments against the Church. That is in no way to imply that acquiring that knowledge will automatically make someone agree with the Church and want to become Catholic. Of course not. It might mean that by acquiring the information, they become even more set in their non-Catholic beliefs. Either way, the decision should be informed by truth and history, not fake news, or arguments of convenience. That applies to both Catholics and non-Catholics.
In my own history, prior to becoming Catholic, I would find myself discussing Protestantism vs Catholicism. Over time it occurred to me that I, like so many others I know, spent most of the discussion telling the Catholic why they were wrong, while the Catholic simply told me what the Church truly teaches. Those are two very different positions. There are many non-Catholics that will tell you that all Catholics are going straight to hell because, as one example, we don’t believe in Jesus. While that is so preposterous that it doesn’t warrant comment, a Catholic will tell that same person that if they have received a valid baptism in any Christian faith, then we consider them our brother or sister in faith and members of the one Mystical Body of Christ. While they are in communion with the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, they are not in full communion because of the foundational doctrine of the Protestant denominations, of which there are thousands each teaching a different version of the “truth”.
Bishop Fulton Sheen eloquently said, “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” That is why is so important for you to know what you are truly rejecting if, in fact, you reject Catholicism. While touching on a couple of examples, this article will look at how these misrepresentations developed and how they can be resolved with the time, energy, and effort of acquiring knowledge from a historical and scriptural basis.
Broadly speaking, Protestants believe that the one true Church established by Christ was somehow hijacked over time by Catholics and grossly distorted until 1517 when Martin Luther single handedly saved the Church and restored it back to its original form and doctrine. The period prior to the reformation is sometimes referred to as the time of the “hidden church”. On face value, this is contrary to what Christ said when He told the apostles in Matthew 5:14-16 that they are to be like a light to everyone, to shine before others and be seen so that they can glorify God. The Church, from the moment of its establishment by Christ, has been a visible Church. Jesus never instructed the Church to “go dark” for 1517 years.
Most Protestants believe that modern Catholicism and first-centuries Christianity look nothing alike. Many of the most significant arguments against the Church stem from the incorrect understanding about what the Church has taught regarding doctrine, literally, from the time of Christ and the apostles. There is no way to make an informed decision without knowing some history of the Church. There are some that will go so far as to say that much of the current Church doctrine was added by men somewhere in the Middle Ages. In other words, what they consider as Catholic heresy just creeped in over the course of history while the “real” church remained hidden. Ironically, a review of history shows that it was the non-Catholic doctrine that was added, by men with no apostolic authority, during the reformation while the Catholic Church had spent the earlier 1500 years being the visible Church.
Paul, himself, tells us in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.” Please read that scripture again. Paul was prophetic as to what was to occur 1517 years later.
So, the question becomes, how do we know what is true and what is fake news? The easiest way to begin is to simply look at history and the consistency of what Christ taught the apostles, and what the apostles taught their successors all the way to present day. Nowhere in scripture are we directed to reject scriptural interpretations handed down from Christ through the apostles, and the apostles through future generations in favor of new and multiple interpretations of men with no direct line of connection to the apostles.
Christ taught the apostles, and the apostles taught their disciples, some of whom became their successors as bishops of the Church, which continues today. Some of the disciples of the apostles were instrumental in their writings and confirmed that what the Church teaches today is what Christ taught and what Christians practiced as far back as the first century. These people are known as the Church Fathers. For example, Christ taught John, John taught Polycarp, Polycarp taught Irenaeus, etc. From the first to eighth centuries, the Church Fathers wrote about Christian doctrine. Remember, prior to the reformation, there was only one faith of Christianity, the Catholic faith. The doctrine being upheld by the Church then, and now, are the very doctrine non-Catholics claim didn’t exist until much later. These would include, for example, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, reverence to Mary, Mass and worship, Purgatory, Morality, Sacraments, and many more.
The following examples of names of the first five centuries of Church Fathers serves to lay the foundation that the doctrine of the Catholic Church is what has been taught from the very earliest days. First Century: Clement, Polycarp, and Ignatius; Second Century: Tatian and Clement of Alexandria; Third Century: Origen, Tertullian, and Cyprian; Fourth Century: Eusebius, Athanasius, and Ambrose; Fifth Century: Jerome, Augustine, and John Chrysostom. These great men and their writings serve to help protect the teachings of Christ then, and now.
If you ask a Protestant if they can trace a specific doctrine, “faith alone” for example, all the way back to the time of Christ, the apostles, and the Church Fathers, they would be able to trace it back as far as the 16th century and the time of the reformation. At no time prior to the reformation was “faith alone” even a topic of writing by the Church Fathers because from the time of Christ, it was never considered to be the truth as revealed by God. It was “Luther’s truth” to the point of his “conveniently” adding words to the bible, and it began during the reformation.
We can see examples of the consistency and understanding of Christ’s doctrine by looking at examples of writings of the Church Fathers. The dates of their writings completely refute the “heresies of the Middle Ages” arguments of convenience against the Church.
The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: “…the food that has been made into the Eucharist by the eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of the incarnated Jesus.” St. Justin Martyr A.D. 151
Purgatory: “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice [Job 1:5], why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.” St. John Chrysostom A.D. 392
Honoring, not worshipping, Mary: “…so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless still a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race. Thus, the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosed through faith. St. Irenaeus A.D. 189
Confession: “It is necessary to confess our sins to those to whom the dispensation of God’s mysteries has been entrusted [priests]”. St. Basil A.D. 375
Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) is one of the most influential theologians of the relatively modern era. He was a former Anglican priest whose search for the truth not only led him to the Catholic Church, but also led him to be completely rejected by his family. Cardinal Newman once said, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant."
The point is that for those decerning the Catholic faith, it is important to understand why those who encourage you to be Catholic do so, and why those who encourage you not to be Catholic do so. Are the reasons for rejecting the Church formed in history and the understanding of the truth of what the Church has taught from the time of Christ and confirmed by the Church Fathers and successors of the apostles, or are the reasons based on a distortion and myths that have grown since the 1500’s regarding what the Church teaches?
Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to protect the Church from false teachings and doctrine regarding faith and morals. What the Church teaches today is what Christ taught then and what has been taught throughout the ages including today.
There cannot be conflicting truths as it pertains to God’s revelation. As you discern accepting or rejecting Catholicism, truly, the only voice that matters is that of the Holy Spirit and where He is calling you to be. Inform yourself as to the truth and pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you to the truth and grant you peace.