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Protestants now regard
Romanism with far greater favor than in former
years. In those countries where Catholicism is
not in the ascendancy, and the papists are taking
a conciliatory course in order to gain influence,
there is an increasing indifference concerning
the doctrines that separate the reformed churches
from the papal hierarchy; the opinion is gaining
ground that, after all, we do not differ so
widely upon vital points as has been supposed,
and that a little concession on our part will
bring us into a better understanding of Rome. The
time was when Protestants placed a high value
upon the liberty of conscience that had been so
dearly purchased. They taught their children to
abhor popery and held that to seek harmony with
Rome would be disloyalty to God. However, how
widely different are the sentiments now
expressed!
The defenders of the
papacy declare that the church has been maligned,
and the Protestant world is inclined to accept
the statement. Many urge that it is unjust to
judge the church of today by the abominations and
absurdities that marked her reign during the
centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse
her horrible cruelty as the result of barbarism
of the times and plead that the influence of
modern civilization has changed her sentiments.
Have these persons
forgotten the claim of infallibility put forth
for eight hundred years by this haughty power? So
far from being relinquished, this claim was
affirmed in the nineteenth century with greater
positiveness than ever before. As Rome asserts
that the “church never erred; nor
will it, according to the Scriptures, ever
err” (John L. von Mosheim,
Institute of Ecclesiastical History, book 3,
century II, part 2, chapter 2, section 9, note
17), how can she renounce the principles which
governed her course in past ages?
The papal church will
never relinquish her claim to infallibility. All
that she has done in her persecution of those who
reject her dogmas she holds to be right; and
would she not repeat the same acts, should the
opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now
imposed by secular governments be removed and
Rome reinstated in her former power, and there
would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and
persecution.
A well-known writer
speaks thus of the attitude of the papal
hierarchy as regards freedom of conscience, and
of the perils which especially threaten the
United States from the success of her policy:
“There are many who
are disposed to attribute any fear of Roman
Catholicism in the United States to bigotry or
childishness. Such see nothing in the character
and attitude of Romanism that is hostile to our
free institutions, or find nothing portentous in
its growth. Let us then, first compare some of
the fundamental principles of our government with
those of the Catholic Church.
“The Constitution of
the United States guarantees liberty of
conscience. Nothing is dearer or more
fundamental. Pope Pius IX, in his encyclical
Letter of August 15, 1854, said: ‘The absurd
and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of
liberty of conscience are a most pestilential
error-a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded
in a state.’ The same pope, in his
Encyclical Letter of December 8, 1864,
anathematized ‘those who assert the liberty
of conscience and of religious worship,’
also ‘all such as maintain that the church
may not employ force.’
“The pacific tone of
Rome in the United States does not imply a change
of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless.
Says Bishop O’Connor: ‘Religious
liberty is merely endured until the opposite can
be carried into effect without peril to the
Catholic world.’… The archbishop of St.
Louis once said: ‘Heresy and unbelief are
crimes; and in Christian countries, as in Italy
and Spain, for instance, where all the people are
Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an
essential part of the law of the land, they are
punished as other crimes.’…
‘Every cardinal,
archbishop, and bishop in the Catholic church
takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which
occur the following words: ‘Heretics,
schismatic, and rebels to our said lord (the
pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my
utmost persecute and oppose.’”
–Josiah Strong, Our country, ch. 5, par 2-4.
It is true that there are
real Christians in the Roman Catholic communion.
Thousands in that church are serving God
according to the best light they have. They are
not allowed access to His word, and therefore
they do not discern the truth. They have never
seen the contrast between a living heart service
and a round of mere forms and ceremonies. God
looks with pitying tenderness upon these souls,
educated as they are in faith that is delusive
and unsatisfying. He will cause rays of light to
penetrate the dense darkness that surrounds them.
He will reveal to them the truth as it is in
Jesus, and many will yet take their position with
His people.
However, Romanism as a
system is no more in harmony with the gospel of
Christ now than at any former period in her
history. The Protestant churches are in great
darkness, or they would discern the signs of the
times. The Roman-Church is far-reaching in her
plans and modes of operation. She is employing
every device to extend her influence and increase
her power in preparation for a fierce and
determined conflict to regain control of the
world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo
all that Protestantism has done. Catholicism is
gaining ground upon every side. See the
increasing number of churches and chapels in
Protestant countries. Look at the popularity of
her colleges and seminaries in America, so widely
patronized by Protestants. Look at the growth of
ritualism in England and the frequent defections
to the ranks of the Catholics. These things
should awaken the anxiety of all who prize the
pure principles of the gospel.
Protestants have tampered
with and patronized popery; they have made
compromises and concessions which papists
themselves are surprised to see and fail to
understand. Men are closing their eyes to the
real character of Romanism and the dangers to be
apprehended from her supremacy. The people need
to be aroused to resist the advances of this most
dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty.
Many Protestants suppose
that the Catholic religion is unattractive and
that its worship is dull, meaningless round of
ceremony. Here they mistake. While Romanism is
based on deception, it is not a coarse and clumsy
imposture. The religious service of the Roman
Church is a most impressive ceremonial. Its
gorgeous display and solemn rites fascinate the
senses of the people and silence the voice of
reason and of conscience. The eye is charmed.
Magnificent churches, imposing processions,
golden altars, jeweled shrines, choice paintings,
and exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of
beauty. The ear is also captivated. The music is
unsurpassed. The rich notes of the deep-toned
organ, blending with the melody of many voices as
it swells through the lofty domes and pillared
aisles of her grand cathedrals, cannot fail to
impress the mind with awe and reverence.
This outward splendor,
pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks the longings
of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward
corruption. The religion of Christ needs not such
attractions to recommend it. In the light shining
from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure
and lovely that no external decorations can
enhance its true worth. It is the beauty of
holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of
value with God.
Brilliancy of style is
not necessarily an index of pure, elevated
thought. High conceptions of art, delicate
refinement of taste, often exist in minds that
are earthly and sensual. They are often employed
by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of
the soul, to lose sight of the future, immortal
life, to turn away from the infinite Helper, and
to live for this world alone.
A religion of externals
is attractive to the unrenewed heart. The pomp
and ceremony of the Catholic worship has a
seductive, bewitching power, by which many are
deceived; and they come to look upon the Roman
Church as the very gate of heaven. None but those
who have planted their feet firmly upon the
foundation of truth, and whose hearts are renewed
by the Spirit of God, are proof against her
influence. Thousands who have not an experimental
knowledge of Christ will be led to accept the
forms of godliness without the power. Such a
religion is just what the multitudes
desire.
The church’s claim
to the right to pardon leads the Romanist to feel
at liberty to sin; and the ordinance of
confession, without which her pardon is not
granted, tends also to give license to evil. He
who kneels before fallen man, and opens in
confession the secret thoughts and imaginations
of the heart, is debasing his manhood and
degrading every noble instinct of his soul. In
unfolding the sins of his life to a priest, -an
erring, sinful mortal, and too often corrupted
with wine and licentiousness, -his standard of
character is lowered, and he is defiled in
consequence. His thought of God is degraded to
the likeness of fallen humanity, for the priest
stands as a representative of God. This degrading
confession of man to man is a secret spring from
which has flowed much of the evil that is
defiling the world and fitting it for final
destruction. Yet, to him who loves
self-indulgence, it is more pleasing to confess
to a fellow mortal that to open the soul to God.
It is more palatable to human nature to do
penance than to renounce sin; it is easier to
mortify the flesh by sackcloth, nettles, and
galling chains than to crucify fleshly lusts.
Heavy is the yoke that the carnal heart is
willing to bear rather to bow to the yoke of
Christ.
There is a striking
similarity between the Church of Rome and the
Jewish Church at the time of Christ’s first
advent. While the Jews secretly trampled upon
every principle of the law of God, they were
outwardly rigorous in the observance of its
precepts, loading it down with exactions and
traditions that made obedience painful and
burdensome. As the Jews professed to revere the
law, so do Romanists claim to reverence the
cross. They exalt the symbol of Christ’s
suffering; while in their lives deny Him whom it
represents.
Papists place crosses
upon their churches, upon their altars, and upon
their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia
of the cross. Everywhere it is outwardly honored
and exalted. However, the teachings of Christ are
buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions,
false interpretations, and rigorous exactions.
The Savior’s words concerning the bigoted
Jews, apply with still greater force to the
leaders of the Roman Catholic Church: “They
bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and
lay them on men’s shoulders; but they
themselves will not move them with one of their
fingers.” Matthew 23:4. Conscientious souls
are kept in constant terror fearing the wrath of
an offended God, while many of the dignitaries of
the church are living in luxury and sensual
pleasure.
The worship of images and
relics, the invocation of saints, and the
exaltation of the pope are devices of Satan to
attract the minds of the people from God and from
His Son. To accomplish their ruin, he endeavors
to turn their attention from Him through whom
alone they can find salvation. He will direct
them to any object that can be substituted for
the One who has said: “Come unto Me, all ye
that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest.” Matthew 11:28.
It is Satan’s
constant effort to misrepresent the character of
God, the nature of sin, and the real issues at
stake in the great controversy. His sophistry
lessens the obligation of the divine law and
gives men license to sin. At the same time, he
causes them to cherish false conceptions of God
so that they regard Him with fear and hate rather
than with love. The cruelty inherent in his own
character is attributed to the Creator; it is
embodied in systems of religion and expressed in
modes of worship. Thus, the minds of men are
blinded, and Satan secures them as his agents to
war against God. By perverted conceptions of the
divine attributes, heathen nations were led to
believe human sacrifices necessary to secure the
favor of Deity; and horrible cruelties have been
perpetrated under the various forms of idolatry.
The Roman Catholic
Church, uniting the forms of paganism and
Christianity, and, like paganism, misrepresenting
the character of God, has resorted to practices
no less cruel and revolting. In the days of
Rome’s supremacy, there were instruments of
torture to compel assent to her claims. There
were massacres on a scale that will never be
known until revealed in the judgment. Dignitaries
of the church studied, under Satan their master,
to invent means to cause the greatest possible
torture and not end the life of the victim. In
many cases, the infernal process was repeated to
the utmost limit of human endurance, until nature
gave up the struggle, and the sufferer hailed
death as a sweet release.
Such was the fate of
Rome’s opponents. For her adherents she had
the disciple of the scourge, of famishing hunger,
of bodily austerities in every conceivable,
heart-sickening form. To secure the favor of
Heaven, penitents violated the laws of God by
violating the laws of nature. They were taught to
sunder the ties that He has formed to bless and
gladden man’s earthly sojourn. The
churchyard contains millions of victims who spent
their lives in vain endeavors to subdue their
natural affections, to repress, as offensive to
God, every though and feeling of sympathy with
their fellow creatures.
If we desire to
understand the determined cruelty of Satan,
manifested for hundreds of years, not among those
who never heard of God, but in the very heart and
throughout the extent of Christendom, we only to
look at the history of Romanism. Through this
mammoth system of deception the prince of evil
achieves his purpose of bringing dishonor to God
and wretchedness to man. Moreover, as we see how
he succeeds in disguising himself and
accomplishing his work through the leaders of the
church, we may better understand why he has so
great antipathy to the Bible. If that Book is
read, the mercy and love of God will be revealed;
it will be seen that He lays upon men none of
these heavy burdens. All that He asks is a broken
and contrite heart, a humble, obedient spirit.
Christ gives no example
in His life for men and women to shut themselves
in monasteries in order to become fitted for
heaven. He has never taught that love and
sympathy must be repressed. The Savior’s
heart overflowed with love. The nearer man
approaches to moral perfection, the keener are
his sensibilities, the more acute is his
perception of sin, and the deeper his sympathy
for the afflicted. The pope claims to be Vicar of
Christ; but how does his character bare
comparison with that of our Savior? Was
Christ ever known to consign men to the prison or
the rack because they did not pay Him homage, as
the King of heaven? Was His voice heard
condemning to death those who did not accept Him?
When He was slighted by the people of a Samaritan
village, the apostle John was filled with
indignation, and inquired: “Lord, wilt Thou
that we command fire to come down from heaven,
and consume them, even as Elias did?” Jesus
looked with pity upon His disciple, and rebuked
his harsh spirit, saying: “The Son of man is
not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save
them.” Luke 9: 54,56. How different from the
spirit manifested by Christ is that of His
professed vicar.
The Roman Church now
presents a fair front to the world, covering with
apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She
has clothed herself in Christ like garments; but
she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy
that existed in the past ages exists today. The
doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still
held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy
that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the
same that ruled the world in the days of the
Reformation, when men of God stood up, at the
peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She
possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption
that lorded it over kings and princes, and
claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no
less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed
out human liberty and slew the saints of the Most
High.
The papacy is just what
prophecy declared that she would be the apostasy
of the latter times. 2 Thessalonians 2: 3,4. It
is a part of her policy to assume the character
that will best accomplish her purpose, but
beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon,
she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent,
“Faith ought not to be kept with heretics,
nor persons suspected of heresy” (Lenfant,
volume 1, page 516), she declares. Shall this
power, whose record for a thousand years is
written in the blood of the saints, be now
acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?
It is not without reason
that the claim has been put forth in Protestant
countries that Catholicism differs less widely
from Protestantism than in former years. There
has been a change; but the change is not in the
papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the
Protestantism that now exists, because
Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since
the days of the Reformers.
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