I find the introductory comment on this thread, as well as the tone of a number of the “one true church” commentators, frankly distressing.
I’m a baptized Lutheran, turned recently confirmed Roman Catholic. The first thing to be said is that Catholics tend to misunderstand the role of Martin Luther in Protestantism in general, and they have an unfortunate tendency to view (incorrectly) the various Protestant denominations as if they were junior versions of the Catholic Church, for the purpose of then making comparisons which are unfavorable to the Protestant denominations.
In the first place, Martin Luther is not the Protestant equivalent of St. Peter. Protestants don’t believe that Luther was granted any moral or teaching authority by Christ. Luther was not an apostle. Luther was not a Protestant version of a Pope. There is no St. Martin which Protestants venerate. Luther did not set out to start a new church, much less a new religion. He set out to reform the Catholic Church, which, at the time, was definitely in need of reformation, and, in fact, the Catholic Church shortly thereafter instituted internal reforms which would not have taken place in so timely a manner, had it not been for Luther. Luther didn’t leave the Church; he was excommunicated by the Church.
Luther was far from being a perfect man – arguably, he may not have even been a “good” man, by some objective standards. He was frankly a vicious anti-Semite, later in life. I personally try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he developed a form of Alzheimer’s. Perhaps he developed a brain tumor. I’m an oncologist and I’ve personally seen personality changes as a result of brain tumors (primary or metastatic) in patients. In any event, from the point of view of Protestantism, it doesn’t matter in the slightest what sort of person Luther was and what Luther believed. Luther was simply a reformer and a teacher. Popes may be infallible, but Protestants have never considered either reformers or teachers to be infallible.
The title of this thread is misleading. We haven’t had only 500 years of Protestantism – rather Protestantism has existed for 2,000 years, since the founding of the Roman Catholic Church. Protestantism has, at its core, the belief that there need be no middlemen between the believer and the Holy Trinity.
There have always been Catholics who have a profound belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are sincere in their prayers and are faithful in their devotion to the liturgy, yet do not, in their heart of hearts, believe in magisterial authority and cannot bring themselves to believe in every single Church dogma.
Outside of the Church, there are Protestants who are likewise sincere in their prayers and belief in the Holy Trinity, but who certainly don’t believe in magisterial authority. They choose their Protestant denomination on the basis of liturgy, community, and compatibility of beliefs regarding what I’d call the “ancillary” (non-foundational) aspects of Christianity. e.g. belief (or non-belief) in scriptural inerrancy, role of women, etc. etc. etc.
The liturgy of many Lutheran Churches is virtually identical to that of Catholic Churches. For nearly a year, I attended at Catholic mass (vigil) on Saturday afternoon and went to a Lutheran service on Sunday morning. Same readings from scripture. Same “order of the mass.” I will also say the same “communion,” although I don’t need to be scolded as to how Catholics would be offended to have a Catholic eucharist celebration equated with a Lutheran communion.
Now, let’s say that a given individual sincerely believes in the Holy Trinity, has a completely open heart, and tries to be open to all teachings of the Catholic Church, including magisterial authority, but, deep down inside, simply can’t believe that the Magisterium has the teaching AUTHORITY it claims. But said individual loves the liturgy and feels that the Catholic liturgy is effective at keeping said individual connected with God and leading a good and worthy life. Is such a person a Catholic in name only?
How different is that (Catholic in name only) person from a Lutheran (or other Protestant), who worships the same God and shares the same beliefs (including a lack of belief in magisterial authority)? Does God really view this individual differently than his Catholic counterpart? I think that Pope Francis would more understanding of the positions of both the Lutheran Protestant and the Catholic “Protestant” (the Catholic who has sincere belief and an open heart, but who can’t believe that the Pope has the authority to issue binding rulings on behalf of God in matters such as contraception and certain other doctrines).
The average Catholic family used to have more than a half dozen children. Today it’s right around two children. In the past, Catholics were less likely to present themselves for the eucharist without being in a state of grace through reconciliation than they are today. The point that I’m making is that there is massive disbelief in magisterial teaching authority today and that such individuals have, by definition, made the decision to take their chances with God, in following the dictates of their consciences, in much the same way that Luther did, 500 years ago, and as many faithful mass-attending Catholics have done for 2,000 years and continue to do.
I would simply make a plea for less derision when it comes to the sincere beliefs of members of other faithful and good Christian communities. I don’t think that God is pleased by an attitude which basically says “we’re number one! we’re number one!” and trash talks other Christian communities.
- Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach CA
) but I don’t think you’re getting my main point: Don’t Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, etc *want *to be called “Catholic”? I can completely understand how you/they might reluctantly give it up, as a courtesy to those of us who are in communion with Rome and feel very strongly about being called “Catholic”. I’ve been in some conversations like that … but more often than not the conversation seems to go more like this:
