CATHOLICISM AND PROTESTANTISM.
A DEFENDER of the Roman Catholic Church, the Rev. Henry A. Stimson, D.D., of New York City, has an article in The Independent of September 1. The particular subject is “Spain and the Catholic Church.” Dr. Stimson admits that as to Spain “there is no country in which the Catholic Church has had such unlimited control for more than a thousand years. It is true that the pope has found frequent and recent pleasure in sending there his Golden Rose as to his ‘most Christian adherent.’” But the defense put forth for that church is that it has changed. Mr. S. continues:— But it is, nevertheless, entirely unjust to speak of the Catholic Church to-day as the church of Alva and Philip II. It would be no more true to characterize the various branches of the Protestant church as the church of Laud; or of the Anabaptist fanatics, or of Calvin and Servetus, or of Oliver Cromwell and the men who hung witches. Herein the writer, like many others, utterly fails to see the difference in principle between Roman Catholicism and true Protestantism. One of the bases of authority, in fact the basis of authority, of the Roman Catholic Church is tradition, as taught by an “infallible church.” We know that it is often said that it is Scripture AND tradition, but tradition rules; for the Scripture is always authoritatively interpreted by the traditions and decrees of the continuous ecclesiastical body. To admit the fallibility of the “infallible” decrees and decisions of the church would on the part of the church be fatal to her claim. And every logical Roman Catholic knows it. For that reason we are told repeatedly that that church never changes, that she can not change. Her policy may change. She may proclaim herself a monarchist to-day and a republican to-morrow, but her doctrines remain unchanged. Not so with true Protestantism. Its inherent principles are thus well and truly stated by D’Aubigné, the great historian of the Reformation:— The Reformation was accomplished in the name of a spiritual principle. It had proclaimed for its teacher the Word of God; for salvation, Faith; for king, Jesus Christ; for arms, the Holy Ghost; and had by these very means rejected all worldly elements. . . . The Gospel of the Reformers had nothing to do with the world and with politics. . . . The Reformation was destined to exercise no other influence over princes and people than that which proceeds from the Gospel of peace.—Hist. Ref., bk. 14, chap. 1. The principles contained in this celebrated protest [of Spain] of the 19th of April, 1529, constitute the very essence of Protestantism. Now this protest opposes two abuses in matters of faith; the first is the intrusion of the civil magistrate, and the second is the arbitrary authority of the church. Instead of these two abuses, Protestantism sets up above the magistrate the power of conscience; and above the visible church, the authority of the Word of God. It declines, in the first place, the civil power in divine things, and says, with the prophets and apostles, “We must obey God rather than man.” In the presence of the crown of Charles the Fifth, it uplifts the crown of Jesus Christ. But it goes further: it lays down the principle that all human teaching should be subordinate to the oracles of God. . . . Protestantism rejected the authority of man solely to place Jesus Christ on the throne of the church, and His Word in the pulpit.—Id., bk. 13, chap. 6. These are the principles of Protestantism, the principles of Biblical Christianity. It is just to hold Roman Catholics responsible for the past, because they make those who formed the church, promulgated the decrees, and did the deeds, their “fathers.” They count the church which was responsible for the teaching and the religious persecutions of the medieval ages, the time of Philip and Alva, the time of the Roman and Spanish Inquisitions, the true, infallible, unchanging church. Indorsing the teaching and deeds of the “church” and “fathers,” they become responsible therefor. Roman Catholics would not for a moment admit that the Catholic Church of to-day was not the Catholic Church of the whole Christian era. It is their contention that the Catholic Church is one and unchangeable from Peter down. But not so with true Protestantism. A true Protestant may regret the differences between Luther and Carlstadt, between Luther and Zwingle; he may regret Zwingle’s appeal to the sword and Luther’s roughness and grossness; he may regret the union of the feeble Protestant church with the State in England and elsewhere; he may deplore the connection with it of Henry the Eighth; but in not one of these particulars does he hold himself responsible for the deeds or errors or faults of the men or times. He praises God that the Reformers held so much truth amid the errors imbibed from the traditions of the past. He looks upon their errors as “times of ignorance” which God winked at; for their faith was demonstrated, not so much on account of theological error discarded or truth accepted, but by the fact that the little truth they did see was accepted with the whole heart, and changed and dominated their lives, despite their error. A true Protestant Baptist will never seek to defend a religious dogma or practise by the customs of the Baptist “fathers.” Neither will a true Protestant or Christian anywhere. What did Jesus Christ practise? What does the Word of God teach? These are the vital questions of His creed. It is no evidence of the truth of a theory or the scripturalness of a creed that good men have held it in the past. Neither because the “fathers” did not know it is it evidence of the falseness of a thing. That clearer, fuller light shines from the Word upon our pathway to-day is evidence of God’s leading. But let us be sure that it shines from the Word. To turn from the light of that Word, however new and strange it may seem, to the centuries of tradition-blinded eyes, is to adopt the principles of Catholicism. And is not the great professed Protestant Church doing these very things to-day? Is it not because of this that we find so many apologists for Roman Catholicism? Roman Catholicism changes not; she is the same to-day as in 1492. Therefore be not deceived. If you wish to apologize for her past deeds, do so; if you wish to become of her fold, do that; but in either case do it with eyes wide open, that you may know what you are doing: that when you apologize for the church of the medieval ages, you are apologizing for the same church of the modern age; and when you defend the church of Leo XIII., you are defending the church of Innocent III. and Leo. X. You need not apologize for the sake of the true Protestant. He needs not your commiseration nor pity. His creed is the Word of God; his Teacher and King, Jesus Christ; his power, the Holy Spirit. Men may stumble and bear false witness; he mourns their fall, but pauses not, falters not. He does not serve men, but God, the living God, who is ever revealing more and more of His living Word in and through the fruit-bearing life of faith.