I am going to list five questions that Protestants should consider when thinking about their faith and whether their churches reflect the truth.
- Without the Bible, how did the earliest Christians follow “Sola Scriptura?”
Martin Luther understood Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) to mean that the Bible is the only infallible authority for Christian doctrine and that all teachings of the Church must be judged according to Scripture. However, Luther did not believe that Christians should reject all tradition, Church councils, or historical interpretations. He believed Scripture is the final authority, scripture interprets scripture, the church is subject to the Word of God, and Scripture is the only infallible rule of Christian doctrine.
Luther considered the 7 “apocryphal” books (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, and 1st and 2nd Maccabees and parts of Daniel and Esther) to be worthy of reading, yet lower status. Catholics refer to these as the Deuterocanonical books. They and the other 66 books of the Bible were affirmed by the Catholic Church at the early councils in the 4th and 5th centuries: Council of Rome, Carthage, and Hippo. They were further affirmed at the Council of Florence between 1438 and 1445 and the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563. In other words, the Catholic Church brought us the 73 books of the Bible. The original King James Bible of 1611 included these books. They were not removed until 1826 when the British and Foreign Bible society removed them.
The earliest Christians had the Gospels and letters to the Catholic churches in various locations, but these were not compiled and canonized until the 4th century.
- How should Protestants interpret what Ignatius of Antioch said in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans around 107 A.D. about the involvement of the bishop in the sacraments and the hierarchy of the church? Many Protestant churches have very little, if any, hierarchy, let alone a bishop. Note that Ignatius knew the Apostle John.
“See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.”
St. Paul referred to bishops, presbyters, and deacons in Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus 1:5-9. Bishops are the overseers from Acts 20:28 who were appointed by the Holy Spirit. They have authority 1 Timothy 5:17. They are given the authority by the laying on of hands, as in the sacrament of Holy Orders (2 Timothy 2:2).
- In John 6, Jesus said “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life within you. He showed us how we can do this through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. He took the bread, lifted it, and said “this is my body.” Then he took the cup of wine, lifted it, and said “this is my blood.” How can Protestants do this? Jesus did not say “this is a symbol of my body and blood.”
In his letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ignatius of Antioch confirmed that this sacrament needed to be performed under the oversight of a bishop. He further affirmed what we believe was what the earliest Christians believed on the Eucharist: “They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion [of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved. But avoid all divisions, as the beginning of evils.”
- How can any Protestant churches not condemn abortion, which is clearly a violation of one of the ten commandments?
Going back to the first century, the apostles condemned abortion in the Didache: And the second commandment of the Teaching; You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, Exodus 20:13-14 you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, Exodus 20:15 you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten. You shall not covet the things of your neighbour, Exodus 20:17 you shall not forswear yourself, Matthew 5:34 you shall not bear false witness, Exodus 20:16 you shall not speak evil, you shall bear no grudge. You shall not be double-minded nor double-tongued; for to be double-tongued is a snare of death. Your speech shall not be false, nor empty, but fulfilled by deed. You shall not be covetous, nor rapacious, nor a hypocrite, nor evil disposed, nor haughty. You shall not take evil counsel against your neighbour. You shall not hate any man; but some you shall reprove, and concerning some you shall pray, and some you shall love more than your own life.”
The Catholic Church has always and will always condemn abortion. Catholics have five “non-negotiables.” The first is abortion, which is considered a pre-eminent priority as it directly attacks human life and slaughters a conceived soul. The next are euthanasia and assisted suicide; embryonic stem cell research; human cloning; and homosexual “marriage.” Jesus said a marriage is between one man and one woman. Pope Benedict XVI outlined foundational principles that are non-negotiable: protection of life from conception to natural death, including opposition to genocide, torture, and unjust war; the family and the recognition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman; and religious liberty and education, which is the right of parents to educate their children and freedom of conscience.
- When the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary and referred to her as “fully graced” (Chaire Kecharitomene,) he told her she would conceive. This was in fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 (a virgin would conceive). Her response was “How can this be, since I know not man” or in another translation “since I am a virgin.” Protestants: why would she ask this when betrothed to Joseph? She was a young woman and would certainly know exactly how this could be. But she had taken a vow of perpetual virginity. Why do Protestants side with ancient heretics like Helvidius rather than saints like Jerome who wrote “Against Helvidius” to protest Helvidius’ heretical views on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Protestants will refer to the verse that says Joseph did not consummate the marriage “until” Jesus was born, however the Greek word for “until,” “heos,” does not require a change of condition. Jesus also said he would be with us until the end of the age.
Protestants will refer to passages suggesting Jesus had brothers and sisters, yet the Greek word used to describe them, “adelphoi,” could also refer to cousins or relatives. James and Joseph were the sons of the “other Mary.”
I converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism when I married my Lutheran husband in 2003. In 2011, I converted to the Baptist faith. But in 2022, after years of study into the early church fathers, Mother Mary, and church history, I felt I had no choice but to be honest with myself and revert to the one true church – the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, which was founded by Jesus on the rock of St. Peter. Jesus gave Peter the keys to the church, saying that whatever he bound on earth would be bound in heaven – and whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. My husband and I convalidated our marriage in the Catholic Church in 2023.
SJ Thomason is a Christian wife, mom, and university administrator and professor.
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