Why do protestants regard our Gospel as different from theirs?

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What makes us different and what makes us right? Please cite sources if there’s any. Thank you and God Bless!
 
It’s not all Protestants, by any means. Only Calvinists, I think. “The Gospel of Geneva” vs. “the Gospel of Rome.” And it’s not the Gospel in the sense of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The expression seems to mean something like “the Christian faith in its specifically Calvinist form.”
 
Because it is, otherwise they would be Catholics. Granted, depending on the Protestant, we have more or less things in common, but not 100%. Obviously, as Catholics we hold ours to be the true Gospel of Jesus and the Protestant proposal to be novel in certain points, but of course each Protestant community believes theirs is the true one based on their reading of Scripture alone. Obviously, we can also “define Gospel” very broadly and generally in a way in which we all agree, but Protestant communities will vary on how much the subsequent divergences actually matter.
 
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Senyorico said:
What makes us different and what makes us right? Please cite sources if there’s any. Thank you and God Bless!
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Basically, four heretical doctrines invented by Martin Luther.

Faith alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone and Grace alone.

In order to justify his desire to shake off the authority of the Catholic Church, Martin Luther invented doctrines which he said were taught in Scripture and which contradicted the Teachings of the Catholic Church.

The first and most important of these is “Justification by faith alone”. Wherein he says that men are credited with righteousness, by God, because they believe in Him. No works are necessary.

The Catholic Church Teaches that men must keep the Ten Commandments and begin to live righteous lives before God will wash them of their sins and “justify” them in Baptism.

Romans 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

cont’d
 
cont’d

The second and most influential is the idea that Scripture alone is the rule of faith. I believe that Martin Luther made this up in order to get the Church off his back. With this idea, he could argue that the Church had no authority, that all authority was based in Scripture and thus, anyone reading Scripture was essentially, his own pope. This idea has led many to believe that they can literally make up their own religion by taking up the bible and reading it.

The Catholic Church Teaches that Jesus Christ established the Church and gave the Church authority to Teach what He commanded:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

And that it is the Church which Teaches the Word of God:

Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Saved by Christ alone. I don’t know if Luther came up with this one, but the Protestants embraced this because it justifies getting rid of priests, Bishops and any good deeds which one might have to do otherwise. This says that only Christ’s works are important for our salvation.

The Catholic Church, of course, Teaches obedience to Christ and keeping the Ten Commandments. And does not deny the authority of the Bishops and Priests.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

1 Timothy 4:16Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

and finally, Grace alone. This is a much misunderstood doctrine. Many Catholics believe that the Catholic Church teaches this doctrine. But the Catholic Church does not. We can only agree with this doctrine when the other party denies “monergism” for salvation. And almost 99% of Protestants embrace the idea that God neither expects nor wants our cooperation to save us. The Catholic Church Teaches “synergism”. That we must “cooperate with grace” in order to be saved.

Eph 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

I hope that helps.
 
I always hear them saying the Church preaches the Gospel of works - I did not understand what they meant as we read the same Gospels. I think they mean is the 7 sacraments that they are the works of the Catholic Church - following them is considered works Communion - Confession are required as a Catholics we believe they bring grace. Sometimes you hear on the forum is all you have to do is follow the rules of the church and you will go to heaven - they would consider it works.

What else could they mean? Its a mystery to me.
 
  1. They have been taught that the Sacraments are not in scripture, are not needed, or both.
  2. Since the grand European split, the movement has developed substantially different terms to describe essentially the same things. This alone has lead to much confusion.
  3. The unlimited license granted by bible alone has lead to theological diffusion - entropy if you will.
  4. Catholics and Orthodox willingly obey central Church authority. Bible Christians obey the self or their pastors. Baptists, for example, are not required to agree on various beliefs. For this reason and others, denomination hopping is quite frequent.
  5. The dismissal of Sacred Tradition has cut the chain to their anchor. Thus, we see endless debate over dictionary terms, Greek vs. Hebrew etc.
The list can go on and on, but bless them for the good that they do!
 
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I don’t know if there isn’t a cultural thing at play here (European, living in a country, Switzerland, famous for its consensus culture, and in a context where ecumenism is key and where I can only think of one single person I know who is anti-Catholic), but I, and we as a church, certainly do not regard “our” Gospel as different from “yours” (putting in quotation marks here because I really dislike these possessive pronouns).

If you ask me to define “Gospel”, I’d say the Gospel is, literally, the Good News of the salvation through Christ, in whom God’s revelation is carried to its fulness.

The way Catholics and Protestants think the implications this has and the way they live it out do differ. But this is not quite the same thing. Saying we have a different Gospel is dangerously close to saying that Protestants are not Christians, or that Catholics are not Christians, depending on who says that.

(And before someone jumps as me to say how critical the implications and the living out are, and indeed determine our faithfulness to the Gospel, I know. I’m not converting for nothing 😉)
 
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Really? I must say that this is news to me - and I’m a cradle Reformed Christian (Ok - yes, I’m a Calvinist). Can you please point me to where I might find out more about this concept (seriously)? Thanks.
 
I have never knowingly met a Calvinist face to face, only on the internet, where they sometimes use this formula. I never attempted to trace it back to its origins. I never even asked them what they meant, since it seems self- explanatory.
 
Yes, I know. I am the #leper of the Forum. That means you all have to be nice to me though 🙂

And where in the world is @Johan when I need him?
 
TULIPed said:
Yes, I know. I am the #leper of the Forum. That means you all have to be nice to me though 🙂
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I know a guy who actually lived in a real-life leper colony in Louisiana for a bit. Wrote a book about it, “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts.” Grew up going to church with him.

But they weren’t Calvinists, so we don’t shun them.
 
And by the way - I literally laughed out loud when I read this. I still am.
 
So you were predestined to not be predestined.

I can do this all day. Which is one of the reasons I’m shunned around here. Moderators have mercy on me. 🙂
 
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TULIPed said:
So you were predestined to not be predestined.

I can do this all day. Which is one of the reasons I’m shunned around here. Moderators have mercy on me. 🙂
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Didn’t you used to be in the Lounge? Miss you there.
 
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