Untitled article by C. M. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Nov 26, 1914

“Rome Never Changes”—No. 3

By C. M. S.

In the preceding articles it was shown conclusively that in at least three very striking particulars Rome has changed. She has changed on the question of the Pope’s infallibility, on the question of “who is the authoritative teacher in the church,” and on the question of the worship of the Virgin Mary. In this article we shall endeavor to show that upon another question of most vital importance Rome has made a complete and very radical change.

The most important thing in the life of the Christian is his attitude toward God. All that comes to him in eternity comes as a result of the attitude he has maintained toward his Maker during his lifetime. That attitude is very clearly expressed in his worship. If his worship has been of Jehovah alone, untinctured with any other worship, he is counted as a faithful follower of God and is given a part in the eternal inheritance of

saints. If he has worshiped other things, — self, man, images, idols,—and has died without repudiating such worship, he is counted as unworthy of eternal life, and meets the punishment of the unfaithful and impenitent, which is eternal death.

In order that man might not rush blindly into the worship of those things that make one unworthy of eternal life, God has given due warning in his Word:—

“Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing loving-kindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.” Ex. 20: 4-6.

That is Jehovah’s warning to every son and daughter of Adam — a plain prohibition with no exceptions, and a faithful pronouncement of what the result of disobedience will be. “Thou shalt not,” is Jehovah’s mandate concerning the worship of anything that human hands have made or of anything that Jehovah himself has made.

“And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, . . . Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am Jehovah your God.” Lev. 19: 1-4.

We have this record concerning one of Israel’s kings, and it is left for the admonition of God’s people in all generations since that day:—

“But there was none like unto Ahab, who did sell himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.” 1 Kings 21: 25, 26.

That is God’s estimate of an idol worshiper. God cast the Amorites and other heathen nations out of their land because they were worshipers of images, and put his people in their place, who were positively forbidden to make or to worship images or idols. Surrounded with heathen nations, the Israelites were continually tempted to adopt their idolatrous customs; and the records of their yieldings, God’s solemn appeals and warnings, and the terrible results of their frequent adoption of idolatry, make up a very large portion of the Bible.

In the New Testament as well as in the Old the child of God is taught the attitude of God toward the worshiping of images. Speaking of the heathen world, Inspiration says:—

“Knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves: for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions.” Rom. 1: 21-26.

The danger of adopting idolatry in the earliest days of the Christian church was a very real one. Therefore John the Beloved, in the last sentence of his first epistle says:—

“My little children, guard yourselves from idols.” 1 John 5: 21.

In the early years of the Christian church idolatry was looked upon with abhorrence. In the fifteenth chapter of Acts (verse 20) the decision of the church was that the Gentiles should be admonished to “abstain from the pollutions of idols.” In verse 29 they are admonished even to “abstain from things sacrificed to idols.”

We next take the testimony of some of the early “fathers” of the Catholic Church.

St. Irenæus (A. D. 120-190) mentions the use of images of Christ, with religious honor done to them, as a peculiarity of the Carpocratian heretics, distinguishing them from Catholic Christians. See “Contra Hereticos,” i. 25.

Minucius Felix (A. D. 220) bears this testimony: “Crosses, moreover, we neither worship nor wish for. You [heathen], who consecrate wooden gods, do worship wooden crosses, perhaps as parts of your gods; for your very standards, as well as your banners and ensigns of your camp, what are they but crosses gilt and decked?”—“Octavius,” xxix.

Origen (A. D. 230) testifies to this effect: “We say that those are the most untaught who are not ashamed to address lifeless objects, . . . and though some may say these objects are not their gods, but imitations and symbols of real ones, nevertheless they are untaught, and slavish, and ignorant, who imagine that the hands of low mechanics can fashion likenesses of Divinity; for we assert that the very lowest amongst us (Christians) have been set free from this ignorance and want of knowledge.”—“Contra Celsus,” vi. 14.

“What sensible man can refrain from smiling when he sees that one who has learned from philosophy such profound and noble sentiments about God or the gods, turns straightway to images, and offers to them his prayers, or imagines that by gazing on these natural things he can ascend from the visible symbol to that which is spiritual and immaterial?”—“Contra Celsus,” vii. 44.

Lactantius (A. D. 300) says: “It is indisputable that wherever there is an image, there is no religion. . . . Images are outside of religion, because there can be nothing heavenly in what is made from the earth; . . . thus there is no religion in images, but a mimicry of religion.”—“Divinarum Institutionum Libri Septem,” ii. 19.

St. Ambrose (A. D. 370): “They talk about God, they worship an image.”—Epist. xviii ad Valentinianum.

St. Augustine (A. D. 430) speaks as follows: “‘Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols.’ But some disputant, who thinks himself learned, comes forward and says, ‘I do not worship a stone, nor that image which is without feeling; for it is not possible that your prophets should have known that they have eyes and see not, and I be ignorant that the image in question has no soul, and sees not with its eyes, nor hears with its ears. I do not worship that; but I bow before (adoro) what I see, and serve him whom I do not see.’ Who is he? ‘Some invisible power,’ he replies, ‘which presides over that image.’ By giving this sort of explanation of their images, they think themselves very clever, as not worshipers of idols.”—Enarr. in Ps. xcvi. ii.

In A. D. 595 and 600 Pope Gregory the Great wrote letters to Serenus, Bishop of Marseilles, taking the bishop to task for destroying certain pictures and images which the people had superstitiously begun to worship. The Pope said: “We praise you for having been zealous lest anything made with hands should be adored, but we are of opinion that you ought not to have broken those images; . . . you ought to have preserved them, and have prohibited the people from worshiping them.”—Ep. vii. ii. 3. The bishop chose not to restore the pictures and images, and received a second letter from the Pope, in which he said: “In so far as you forbade their [the pictures and images] being worshiped, we entirely praised you, but we blamed you for breaking them. . . . In every possible way avoid worshiping images, . . . and let the people humbly prostrate themselves in honor of the Almighty and Holy Trinity alone.”—Ep. ix. iv. 9.

In the Council of Constantinople (A. D. 754) the worship of images was condemned, but in the Seventh General Council held at Nice in 787 the worship of images had its first formal authorization.

Alongside of St. Augustine’s denunciation of the worship of idols and alongside of Pope Gregory’s declaration in reference to the worship of pictures and images, place the following from the

Council of Trent (Conc. Trid. sess. xxv):—

The images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and of the saints, are to be had and retained, especially in churches, and due honor and veneration to be paid to them, . . . because the honor which is exhibited to them is referred to the prototypes which they represent; so that through the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover our heads and lie prostrate, we adore Christ and pay veneration to the saints, whose likenesses the images bear.

It will be noticed that the very same excuse for image worship which St. Augustine denounces in the heathen is given here by the Council of Trent in its authorization of image worship. It will be noted also that up until the time of Pope Gregory the Great and the Nicene Council of 787 image worship was a prohibited practice, denounced and forbidden by the “fathers,” by the Pope, and by the council. Nevertheless the practice gradually came into the church, and was finally sanctioned and authorized by the Seventh General Council of Nice, and later by the Council of Trent during its deliberations from 1545 to 1564.

This was surely a change — a very striking and very radical change — in the belief and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. It would be difficult to conceive of a greater change than this. That which had been denounced and forbidden is now authorized and encouraged.

This change carries with it disastrous consequences; for God, who does not change, maintains the same attitude toward the worship of images that he has always maintained. What he condemned in ages gone by he condemns today; and the same judgment which he pronounced upon idolatry then he pronounces upon it today. Says the inspired Word:—

“Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Cor. 6: 9, 10.

We read again:—

“But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” Rev. 21: 8.

Rome does change, and the changes that she has made have not been for the best.

C. M. S.