Catholicism Explained in 7 New Testament Verses

 

Growing up in an Evangelical Church, I recall having the same view of Catholics as the Ancient Jews had of Samaritans: "They kind of have the same religion as ours, but not really." Where did the Bible mention a Pope? Why do they worship Mary? Weren't all of those statues a form of idolatry? Why are their priests forbidden to marry? My impression was that much of the Catholic Church's beliefs and practices were imported from Roman paganism after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, and subsequently the official State Church pushed the early Bible rooted Christians underground.  Only when I studied the history of the early Church from a secular point of view did I come to understand, and subsequently convert to Catholicism. That was certainly not the intentions of my professors, I assure you.

Holy Transfiguration Monastery Park (UP, Michigan)

So with that background and years of subsequent scripture study in mind, it occurred to me that there are seven verses in the Bible from which a Protestant could understand the Catholic theological world view. Not intended as an apologetics piece, rather this post is more a road map to an ecumenical bridge so that Protestants can better understand Catholic theology, and where our similarities and differences are. 

As for the pictures, they are from the Holy Transfiguration Monastery Park, a 2.5 circuit of 4 different, interconnecting trails, in the Upper-Peninsula of Michigan. It is named after the Byzantine Catholic monastery which owns the property. It is an Eastern Catholic community of 6 Benedictine monks with whom I had the privilege of staying with back in October. 

Anyway, without further ado, come join me on the trails as we begin this topic with one verse that nearly all self-identifying Christians agree on:

A. GOD

1. Matthew 28:19- "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,..."

Aside from establishing the practice of baptism, this verse provides the Christian basis for belief in the Trinity. Specifically, the belief in the Monotheistic God of the Old Testament, whose singular, divine nature is revealed in the New Testament to be made up of family of three divine persons. Namely the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are believed to be co-eternal and co-equal to God the Father, who is the Creator of the Universe. 

Christ of course, we believe came down from heaven and took human form, having been sent by God the Father and made incarnate in the Virgin Mary, as an offer of sacrafice for the redemption of sins and the salvation of humankind. The role of the Holy Spirit is understood as being the divine instrumentality which provides discernment for understanding God's will, Christ's teachings, and living the Christian life. 

 This understanding of the nature of the Trinity was formally established by the bishops of the early Church at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD (whose presence included St. Nicholas of Smyrna, who legend somehow morphed into Santa Clause). The overwhelming majority of Protestant Churches subsequently adopted and profess this belief up to this day. Interestingly enough, though nearly universally believed, this doctrine is not spelled out directly in the Bible. This fact provides the perfect transition for the next verse I will address:

B. TWO PILLARS OF FAITH: SACRED SCRIPTURE AND SACRED TRADITION 

2. 2nd Thessalonians 2:15- Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.

This verse provides the foundational roots of the biggest difference between Protestants and Catholics. Generally, Protestants profess a belief in a Bible-alone theology known as Sola Scriptura (Anglican and Lutheran Churches being limited exceptions), whereas Catholics (and those in Eastern Orthodox Churches) believe in the authority of Sacred Tradition.

In a nutshell, Sacred Tradition is understood as those doctrinal teachings that were handed down by the Apostles to their successors and are not in contradiction to Sacred Scripture. For example, the Bible is silent on the issue of baptizing infants, but the historical tradition of the Catholic Church has always been to baptize infants. Another example is the doctrine of the Trinity (see above), which the Church believes is rooted in the Bible and was taught by the Apostles, but needed interpretation and clarification to be properly understood. As Catholics, we believe this clarification was provided through the workings of the Holy Spirit, acting through the bishops at the Council of Nicaea.     

-So why don't Catholics believe in Sola Scriptura?

Catholics point to this verse and the historical development of the New Testament Canon of the Bible to support their belief in Sacred Tradition. As a matter of history, the first century Christian communities didn't have a Bible to rely on, but relied on the oral and written teachings of the Apostles, as illustrated in the above verse.

Throughout the first four hundred years of Christianity their was no consensus as to what the authoritative, divinely inspired Apostolic writings were. For example, there were Apostolically founded Churches which believed the Gospel of Peter was authentically written by Peter, and also many who doubted the authenticity of 2nd Peter and Revelations among others. 

The road to consensus on what constituted Sacred Scripture began with a widely circulated list of canonical books drafted by St. Athanasius the Great, a highly respected bishop from Alexandria, written at Easter in the Year 367. The list was subsequently adopted by regional Church Councils (ex: Rome 382 AD; Hippo 393 AD; Carthage 397), and a Papal pronouncement in 405 AD pronounced the New Testament Canon had been finalized. Hence, as Catholics we believe that the Holy Spirit worked though the Church to finalize the Biblical Canon, which is ultimately a product of "Sacred Tradition." 

 Finally, critical to understanding "Tradition" is to understand that there are big "T" traditions, such as infant baptism; then there are little "t" traditions that we acknowledge as rooted more within mere human tradition, such as a Priest's wearing purple vestments at Christmas. Next, let's turn to perhaps the most important Catholic belief of all, which is attributed to Sacred Tradition. 

C. THE EUCHARIST (i.e. The Body and Blood of Christ) 

3. John 6:56,57- "For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

As Catholics, the act of communion is understood as more than just a practice rooted in Christ's teaching at the Last Supper and performed as solemn memory, It is to actually have a mystical encounter with Christ! We believe that upon the Priest's blessing of the bread and wine at the Mass, the bread and wine transform into the body and blood of Christ, even though the physical properties of bread and wine remain. This is known as the doctrine of "Transubstantiation" and the bread and wine are referred to collectively as the "Eucharist" (An ancient Greek word for "Thanksgiving"). For Catholics, consumption of the Eucharist is the most solemn and important of the seven Sacraments (actions through which Christians are provided divine grace), all of which we believe Christ instituted in the Church (more on those in a future post).

To support this belief, Catholics rely upon the plain meaning of the words Christ spoke throughout Chapter 6 in the Gospel of John and at the Last Supper (ex: Luke 22: 14-21), the Epistles of Paul (Ex: 1st Corinthians 10:16-21), and the historical beliefs and practices of the Early Church. The earliest known references we have on the Eucharist comes from a first century document called The Didache, which gives instructions on praying over the Eucharist (Ch. 9), and early 2nd century letters from Bishop Ignatius of Antioch, who speaks of the Eucharist and describes it as "eating the flesh" and "drinking the blood" of Christ (Letter to the Philadelphians, Ch. 4:1). 

Finally, Catholics see their belief of Christ being present in the Eucharist as having been prefigured in the Old Testament. For instance, in John Ch. 6, Christ speaks of the "Manna from Heaven" that God fed the Israelites along their journey from Egypt, and refers to himself as "the Bread of Life" which is also to be physically eaten. Both the Manna and Jesus are believed to have been sent by God to be a source of nourishment for His people. Catholics also see Christ as the Lamb of a New Passover (i.e. Easter), who is prefigured by lambs slaughtered at the Temple in the Old Testament during Passover. The Old Testament Law required those lambs to be "unblemished males," who were "sacrificed" and whose "flesh" was eaten, for purposes of a "remembrance (See Exodus Ch. 12-13, and Deut. Ch. 16). 

Jacob's Creek Gorge 

Ultimately, Catholic Christians view the Jewish sacrifices offered to God as sin offerings during the Old Testament/Covenant period as having been "imperfect" sacrifices. Sacrifices which prefigured Christ's "perfect "sacrifice, that redeemed mankind from the sins of the world, and constituted a New Covenant between God and man (See Hebrews Chapters 8-10).

D. THE CHURCH & THE POPE

4. Matthew 16:18,19- "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Arnold Mine Ruins

From this verse Catholics discern Christ's intent of creating the institution of the Church. We believe at this moment in time, Christ founded the Church, and commissioned it with the mission of spreading the saving message of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Moreover, we believe that at this moment Christ created a Church that was to have a hierarchal structure, which included His appointing Peter as the Head of the Church. This is where the Catholic office of "Pope" finds it's biblical roots.

"How do we get there," You may ask. It's because of Christ's use of the phrase  giving Peter, "the keys to the kingdom of Heaven." Recall that Christ is considered a King of a "Spiritual Kingdom," and the Jews believed their future Messiah would be a King. As such, the Jews believed the Messiah would have to be a descendant from the royal line of King David. Under the Davidic Kings, the second most powerful person in the Kingdom was a prime minister, who took care of the daily affairs of managing the kingdom on the King's behalf, along with a cabinet of ministers (See 1st Kings 4:1-6). Whenever the prime minister was replaced, their would be a symbolic "handing over of the keys to the Kingdom" to the prime minister's successor (See Isaiah Chapter 22). In addition, the phrase "bind and loosen," was understood in the Jewish context  as having authority to "teach" and "administer," such as when Jewish authorities provided guidance for following Jewish law.      

Incidentally, during the period of the David Kings, it was the King's Mother, not his wife/wives, that were considered to be the Queen of the Jewish people (See 1 Kings 2:20). While too much for this post to get into, this fact is what provides the basis for many of the Catholic belief's about the Virgin Mary.

E. THE HOLY SPIRIT 

John 14:26- "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Given to Church at Pentecost (See Acts Ch. 2), we believe the Holy Spirit works through the ordained leaders of the Church to provide accurate teachings of the Gospel, through the instrumentality of Church. Of course all of those ordained into the Church are fallible human beings, and as such, ordained leaders have often over time held different viewpoints on theological matters. That is why the Church places so much emphasis on the teachings of Church Councils, ratification actions taken by the Pope, and teachings from the Church Magisterium. While not denying the Holy Spirit is a gift provided to all baptized Christians which strengthens and guides us, the Church does not believe the Holy Spirit provides every Christian, whether laity or religious, with the means to discern the full meaning of the Gospel and Scriptures. As Catholics, we believe it is the institution of the Church through which the Holy Spirit works, to provide the full truth of the Gospel and provide humanity the necessary knowledge for salvation. 

F.  APOSOTOLIC SUCCESSION 

Titus 1:5- "This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town that I directed you."

As discussed above, the Catholic Church traces it's founding back to to Christ's words to his disciple Peter in Mathew Ch. 16. In the above verse and elsewhere in the New Testament, we see how the Church grew through the Apostles sharing the Gospel with others in different communities, which led to the founding of Churches. Once established, the founding Apostle would appointing leaders within those Churches after having spent time giving them suitable instruction. In this chapter of Titus, Paul gives instructions as to the qualifications Titus should look for in appointing  bishops for the Churches in different towns in Crete. He gives similar instructions to Timothy, mentioning the practices of "the laying of hands" (1 Tim 4:14) upon those who have been authorized to serve as teachers of the gospel within their churches. Paul also references the Church office of "bishop" (1 Tim 3:1).  

Today, whenever a Priest is ordained, he has the hands of a bishop laid upon him to signify he has been given his office in accordance with the practice of "Apostolic Succession" as established in the New Testament. Evidence of the existence and importance of Apostolic Succession can be seen as early as the second century. In a document written by St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, he speaks of the importance of the succession of the bishops, and lists all the bishops of Rome who have held the post up to then present bishop Eleutherius (174-189 AD). Further, he says it's a necessity for all Churches to agree with the Roman Church, given it has preeminent authority due to it's Apostolic origins. Thanks to St. Irenaeus and other early Church Fathers, we know the name and chronological order of every bishop of Rome since the time of the Church's founding by St. Peter the Apostle, up to Pope Francis, the 266th bishop in Rome's history.  

Conclusion

As illustrated above, the key to understanding Catholic Christianity is to know not only the Bible, but to be well versed in Old Testament history and the history of the early Church. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below. I'm not a licensed theologian, but am reasonably knowledgeable guy who occasionally likes to play one on the Internet:)