What is Roman Catholicism?

I have already tried to point out that every one of these names seems to be significant. Thyatira is perhaps the most difficult of all to define. Scholars tell us that it comes from two words, one meaning a sacrifice, or an incense-offering; the other, that which goes on continually. A suggested interpretation, therefore, is "continual sacrifice." And this is very significant, because Thyatira undoubtedly sets forth the period which was the result of the union of church and State, already noticed. It was in the 7th century that the Bishop of Rome was first regularly recognized as Christ's vicegerent, and visible head of the church. This was, properly speaking, the beginning of the papacy. There was no Roman Catholic church, in the full sense, until the Pope was the acknowledged head of Christendom. It is important for Protestants to keep this in mind. You will often hear papists say, "You know the first church was the Roman Catholic church, and all the different branches of the Protestant church have simply broken off from Rome. There was no Protestant church until the days of Luther." That is an absolute sophistry. There was no such thing as the papacy until the 7th century of the Christian era. For six centuries before that, the church was becoming more and more corrupt -- had been drifting further away from the Word of God until, in the 7th century men professing themselves to be servants of God were ready to acknowledge the Pope as head of all Christendom. A Roman Catholic once asked a bright Protestant school-girl, "Where was your church before the days of Henry VIII?" "Why, sir, where yours never was, in the Bible," was her sensible and correct reply. It is a far cry from the simplicity of early Christians, when in the 7th century they were ready to own the pretensions of the bishop of Rome.

The intolerant attitude of the Vatican towards it is not surprising either. The Roman Catholic faith stands for a conception of things with which the new spirit can have nothing in common. The one recognises authority, the other the rejection of it. The nature of the authority in question can be taken into account later, but the present point is that Rome is based upon the recognition of an authoritative standard of truth, upon dogma, to use a common phrase. A famous statement of Harnack "Dogmatic Christianity, in the strict sense of the word, is Catholic" — would be just as true were the first and last terms transposed. Newman, the convert to Rome, became such, no doubt, because dominated by the thought that external authority was absolutely essential, and assuming that an infallible church provided it. "Dogma was the fundamental principle of my religion. I could enter into no other sort of religion." There is this in common then between Latin Christianity and true Christianity, that in each, truth is conceived to be absolute and unchangeable, capable of being presented in complete and perfect objective form. Wherein they differ is that true believers find this objective testimony presented to their faith in the divinely inspired Scriptures, which are perfect and sufficient in themselves, through the Holy Spirit's power, to reveal God's mind and will; whereas Rome teaches that in addition to the Bible the magisterium, or teaching authority of the church is needed, not only to interpret the Scriptures, assuming them to be obscure, but also to authenticate them to us, denying their authority, apart from the sanction of "the pillar and ground of the truth."

By such arguments the church of Rome established her right to govern the universal church. She maintained that Peter was primate amongst the apostles, and that his primacy is inherited by the bishops of Rome. But it may be well to notice here, the twofold aspect of Romanism — ecclesiastical and political. In both characters she claimed supremacy. Ecclesiastically she maintained, 1, that the bishop of Rome is the infallible judge in all questions of doctrine; 2, that he has the inherent right to supreme government in assembling general councils, and presiding over them: 3, that the right of making ecclesiastical appointments belongs to him; 4, that separation from the communion of the church of Rome involves the guilt of schism. Politically she claimed, she aspired to, and gained preeminence and power over all European society as well as all European governments. We shall see abundant proof of these particulars in the course of her well-defined history, which we will now go on with.

Catholics claim that Scripture and "Sacred Tradition" are equal in authority." Protestants say the Bible is the sole guide for faith and practice (see 2 Tim. 3:16,17; 1 John 5:13). Rome says the magisterium (teaching authority of the Roman Church) has been entrusted to interpret the Bible for Catholics, who are not to interpret it for themselves. Protestants say that individual Christians can trust the Holy Spirit for guidance as they read and interpret the Bible for themselves (see John 5:39; 14:26). Catholicism teaches that Peter was the first pope, and that through apostolic succession other popes have succeeded him, each serving as "vicar of Christ"; Protestants insist the apostles had equal authority and there was no "pope," a word not found in the New Testament (see Matt. 18:18; John 20:23). Catholics teach that the pope is infallible when he speaks "ex cathedra" (lit. "from the chair" or with authority) on matters of faith and morals; Protestants reply that no human being is infallible, and only Christ is head of the Church (see Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18).

During Vatican Council II (1962‑1965), the claims of Trent were simply upheld in a little different form. Among the Vatican Council II documents is the "Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation" (Dei Verbum). A careful reading of the Del Verbum shows that the Roman Catholic Church believes that the apostles passed on their authority to succeeding bishops in the churches of the first century and the centuries that followed. As the years went by, the Church added certain teachings based on what it calls Sacred Tradition. Because the bishops supposedly possessed the same apostolic insight and wisdom as the apostles, the traditions they began to pass on were given equal weight with Scripture. Instead of sola scriptura (the Bible alone), the Catholic Church assumed and claimed the correct approach to be Scripture plus tradition.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Jesus named Peter the "rock" of his Church, gave him the keys and made him shepherd of the whole flock. "This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church's very foundation and is continued by the bish­ops under the primacy of the Pope who as Vicar of Christ and as pas­tor of the entire Church has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.

Building on its claim to be the only infallible authority as to what Scripture really means, the Catholic Church has understandably been rather subjective in interpreting various passages of Scripture to make the Bible fit or support its traditions. It is incorrect to say Roman Catholics have no scriptural base for their teachings. They find scriptural base either by directly interpreting certain passages to mean what they believe the passages mean or by finding their doctrines to be implicitly taught in Scripture. In other words, dogmas such as the immaculate conception, the bodily assumption of Mary, and papal infallibility are implied in Scripture and, when viewed according to the teachings of the papacy, they make perfectly good sense to Roman Catholics.

Another important doctrine held by Roman Catholics (and the Eastern Orthodox Church) is apostolic succession. This view grew out of the Church's move toward an episcopal type of government in the first and second centuries due to its fear of heresy and other concerns. Bishops became the most important officials in the Church and by the late second century were considered the supposed successors to the apostles, complete with their powers, authority and wisdom.

Just as Protestants rely on sola scriptura (the Bible alone) for a source of final authority and truth, they rely on sola fide (faith alone) for their source of salvation. The Catholic, however, believes that the Christian must rely on faith plus "good works" and God's grace mediated through the Seven Sacraments. These are:

Baptism (see Matt. 28:19), for infants or adults, imparts sanctifying grace and erases original sin. The Catholic believer keeps sanctifying grace only through "spiritual battle" (following the program of good works). Confirmation (see John 14:26) is the completion of baptism, the giving of the Holy Spirit in a fuller outpouring. Children who have been baptized are confirmed at age 12. The Holy Eucharist (see Matt. 26:26‑28; John 6:35‑58) is also called Holy Communion and is the most important sacrament of the Catholic Church. During Mass, through the miracle of transubstantiation, Christ is re‑presented as an unbloody sacrifice for sins. Penance (confession or reconciliation) (see John 20:19‑23) is how a Roman Catholic is forgiven by God - through the ministry of a priest - for the sins he commits after baptism. Anointing of the Sick (see Jas. 5:14,15) was formerly called Extreme Unction. In performing this sacrament, the priest lays hands on the sick or dying believer, prays over him or her in the faith of the Church, and anoints the believer with oil blessed, if possible, by the bishop. Holy Orders (see I Tim. 3: 1; 2 Tim. 1:6; Titus 2: 15) is the sacrament through which Catholic ministers are ordained at three levels: bishops, presbyters (priests) and deacons. Only bishops can confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders." Matrimony (see Gen. 2:18, 21‑25; Eph. 5:22,33) is the sacrament in which Christ joins a Christian man and woman in a grace - giving, lifelong union. Divorce and remarriage cut the Catholic off from eucharistic communion but not from the Church.

Of the Seven Sacraments, the two most significant concerning doctrinal differences with Protestants are the Holy Eucharist and Penance. Roman Catholics believe that when the priest consecrates the bread and wine during the Mass, these elements are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ. Catholics call this transubstantiation.

Mass is offered daily in every Catholic parish, and many Catholics take part daily or several times a week. The Catechism states that the Eucharist is a memorial of Christ's passover but also a sacrifice. Christ gives participants in Eucharist the very body that He gave up for mankind on the cross and the very blood that He poured out for the forgiveness of sins. [.]

When the Catechism speaks of Christ being "offered in an unbloody manner," it means that during the Mass, Christ is not suffering and dying again. [.] Instead, His great moment of sacrifice is re‑presented so that Catholic believers can be part of it.

We cannot do better than to take the definition of Transubstantiation given by the Council of Trent; that "This holy Synod now anew declares, that by the consecration of the bread and wine, conversion of the whole substance into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord takes place, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood. Which conversion is conveniently and properly called by the holy Catholic Church, "Transubstantiation." An anathema is pronounced against anyone who denies "that in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist are contained truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently a whole Christ." The catechism of the same Council declares that, "Not only the true body of Christ, and whatever belongs to the true body, as bones and nerves, but also a whole Christ," is contained in the sacrament. It is said that the whole substance of the bread is converted into the body, and the whole substance of the wine into the blood; only the forms of bread and wine remaining, and it is to be adored with divine worship.

The Roman Catholics hold that after the priest has pronounced certain words over the bread and wine, they become changed into the actual body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is called transubstantiation. They also hold that both the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread which alone is given to the recipient, who thus partakes of the body and blood of Christ altogether independently of whether he has faith or not.