Why I'm not a Roman Catholic

I mentioned in a post awhile ago that while I wish I could convert to Catholicism, I can’t with a good conscience. A kind reader inquired why, and I thought it was about time I got around to answering her question.

Before I do, I’d like to firmly state that it’s not because I think Roman Catholics are not Christians. While I’m sure some aren’t, I’m also sure some Protestants aren’t. I think most probably are. The reason I can’t become Catholic is because if I were Catholic, I’d be a bad Catholic. I’d be a bad Catholic because I disagree with so many of their particular beliefs. If I were to convert, I’d want to be a good Catholic, and I’m not going to convert while that is impossible for me.

Anyway.

So, what is it that I disagree with? Well, it’s mostly the usual suspects: prayer to the saints, the theology of Mary, the primacy of the Pope, the doctrine of Purgatory, the position on birth control. There are other issues I’m not certain about, like transubstantiation and paedobaptism, but I’m not philosopher enough to really argue those. I find transubstantiation unlikely, and I’ll leave it at that. Paedobaptism is something my own church practices, and though I think it’s not best, it doesn’t seem hideously harmful.

I’d also like to say: I have read the Catholic arguments on each of these points. And I will continue to read them. There are so many Catholic writers that I respect and admire that I would be hypocritical to ignore them when they write on these issues. I figure if I’m willing to hear their wisdom on the devotional life, I should also be willing to hear their wisdom on the position of the Pope.

So far, they haven’t convinced me. But I’ll continue to read their arguments as I come across them, in case there is something I’ve missed, or considered incorrectly. In other words, I’m not a Protestant who plugs her ears and sings “La, La, LA” when someone from Rome opens his mouth. :)

I’ll take the points one at a time, and, though I don’t promise an exhaustive catalogue of my disagreements, I’ll try to give a good summary of each. (In other words, this is the short version.)

1) prayer to the saints: The very best thing ever said on this was, I think, said by George Herbert in his poem “To All Angels and Saints” which I would urge you all to read. He basically argues that though he greatly loves the saints, he may not act where he is not commanded to act, and the Bible urges no such communication with those who have gone before us. He further argues that all praise is due to God, and it is not his right to take from what is God’s and offer it to any “inferior power”.
On my own, I’d offer a few other points:
I think you can make a pretty convincing case from scripture against it. I’d start with the Old Testament command that we’re not to try to talk to the dead. It’s obviously possible (see Saul and Samuel), but not exactly encouraged.
I’d further argue a practical point: we humans tend to worship and fear (and fear and worship) what we can’t see. I’d argue that it’s dangerous for embodied spirits (like us) to talk to unembodied spirits – or at least spirits with bodies we can’t perceive – because we tend to worship them. Perhaps there are some very holy people that aren’t tempted to this, but I think most of us tend to worship entities we are talking to when we can’t physically sense them. When you ask your earthly friend to pray for you, all her bodiliness will remind you that she’s just human. When you ask St. Francis to pray for you, his lack of physical presence might keep you from remembering that he’s just as human as you. You might tend to think of him more highly than you ought.
2) the position of Mary: Yes, Protestants tend to make too little of her. Her “may it be unto me as you have said” is the exact pattern of the proper response of every Christian to God, and we’d all do well to meditate on it.
However, I think there isn’t any scriptural warrant for the Catholic doctrine of thinking her sinless. In fact, it seems unbiblical to me, as we are assured that Jesus alone was the only human being ever without fault.
Also, again, I think there is a very human tendency, when praying to Mary, to worship.
Finally, I think that the Catholic devotion to Mary does lead people away from devotion to God. Not always, but often. I also think, from the scriptural depiction of Mary, that this is the last thing she herself would want. She points us toward the mercy of God, and if we look at her too long, we might forget to look where she is looking: to her Son.
3) the primacy of the Pope: Yes, yes, I repeat myself: no scriptural warrant. :) I would also point to Paul’s correction of Peter as proof that the bishop of Rome was not, from the earliest of days, infallible.
4) the doctrine of Purgatory: Here I quibble a bit. Yes, it does seem obvious that something happens in between death and heaven. Somehow, the mortal is made immortal, the sinful becomes the sinless. However, the idea that this process is actually a place seems a bit imaginative to me.
5) NFP: The Catholic church argues that every form of birth control except for NFP is bad.
Okay. However, in the Bible, Paul tells us that husband and wife are not to abstain except for the purpose of prayer. And . . . trying to avoid having children is not prayer. It seems, therefore, that abstaining in order to avoid conception is directly violating Paul’s admonition. Which seems enough to start with.


Alright, hopefully I haven’t alienated my Catholic readers! I also am not writing this for the purpose of discouraging you, or persuading you away from your faith. Rather, I’m very aware that all of us, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox alike, are all suffering from being part of a divided church. One day, surely, Christ will return, and make our divisions cease. We'll each learn where we were right and where we were wrong. Until then, it seems to behoove us to love one another, and try to understand one another, and to obey. And to try to disagree honestly and charitably. I’m well aware that there are things that the Catholic church does better than the Protestant church, and I am very grateful for its witness to the world. But for now, it seems to me that the Protestants have it most right of the three branches. (Again, I don't think we have it all right.)

But I did want to answer the question, and I hope that it helps any of my readers who wanted to understand where I’m coming from.

It seems like a good thing to be able to say, “Here is where we really agree. Here is where we really disagree,” and to not lie about either one. There won’t be any common ground if we don’t tell the truth about the uncommon ground. And I do believe that what we have in common (i.e., everything in the Nicene creed) is much, much greater than what we don’t have in common. Until our Lord returns, may we each serve Him faithfully in the places where He has led us.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snells