Relics

Relics and their veneration are Catholic’s practice that have at least negative connotation for Protestants and “Bible only” Christians. Many would consider them as superstitious belief copied from other religions and even condemn them as idolatry, i.e. “worshipping” pieces of cloth or personal belongings of departed saints, their bones and believing they have supernatural power. 

The teaching of the Church on veneration of relics and of images is related to that of the Communion of Saints and is declared at Council of Trent (Session XXV) and summarized below (emphasis in bold letters is mine):

• The saints [in heaven] who reign together with Christ [2 Timothy 2:12] offer up their prayers to God for men, that it is good and beneficial suppliantly to invoke them and to have recourse to their prayers, assistance and support in order to obtain favours from God through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is our redeemer and saviour.
• The holy bodies of the holy martyrs and of others living with Christ, which were the living members of Christ and the temple the Holy Ghost, to be awakened by Him to eternal life and to be glorified, are to be venerated by the faithful, through which many benefits are bestowed by God on men.
• The images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and of the other saints are to be placed and retained especially in the churches, and that due honour and veneration is to be given them; not, however, that any divinity or virtue is believed to be in them by reason of which they are to be venerated, or that something is to be asked of them, or that trust is to be placed in images, as was done of old by the Gentiles who placed their hope in idols; but because the honour which is shown them is referred to the prototypes which they represent, so that by means of the images which we kiss and before which we uncover the head and prostrate ourselves, we adore Christ and venerate the saints whose likeness they bear.
• Great profit is derived from all holy images, not only because the people are thereby reminded of the benefits and gifts bestowed on them by Christ, but also because through the saints the miracles of God and salutary examples are set before the eyes of the faithful, so that they may give God thanks for those things, may fashion their own life and conduct in imitation of the saints and be moved to adore and love God and cultivate piety.
• In the invocation of the saints, the veneration of relics, and the sacred use of images, all superstition shall be removed, all filthy quest for gain eliminated, and all lasciviousness avoided, so that images shall not be painted and adorned with a seductive charm, or the celebration of saints and the visitation of relics be perverted by the people into boisterous festivities and drunkenness, as if the festivals in honour of the saints are to be celebrated with revelry and with no sense of decency.

If there are miracles attributed to relics Catholics believe they come from God.  Examples from Scripture are: bones of prophet Elisha were able to bring back to life a dead person (2 Kings 13:21) and handkerchiefs or apron, upon touching apostle Paul’s body, have healing power and are able to cast away evil spirit (Acts 19:12). Granted that not all relics have such miraculous power and the Catholic Church never encourages belief in a magical virtue, or physical curative efficacy residing in the relic itself (Source: Catholic Encyclopaedia ). While veneration of relics has parallel with similar practices in other religions it is not the reason to reject it.  Other religions have priesthood system, which also belongs to Christianity.  The belief that God became man is neither unique to Christianity nor Christianity was the first who teaches such thing.

Sacrilege

One of mortal sins that violates God’s first commandment is sacrilege. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines sacrilege as:

Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us.

Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2120

Do we have scriptural support of sacrilege or is it just Catholic’s superstition?  From Daniel we read:

King Belshaz’zar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshaz’zar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver which Nebuchadnez’zar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden and silver vessels which had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Daniel 5:1-4 (RSV)

 

Belshazzar’s Feast

A painting by Rembrandt (c. 1635)

National Gallery, London

(picture taken from www.flickr.com)

Then the king saw a hand write on the wall, which he and all his men were not able to decipher.  At the advice of the queen mother, Daniel was summoned and he was able to read and to interpret the words.

but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Daniel 5:23 (RSV)

Those vessels refer to those his father (or great grandfather) Nebuchadnezzar looted from Jerusalem Temple.  They were consecrated to God and are not supposed to be used for other purpose – this is what angered God.  Was God angry because he praised his gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone?  This action certainly did not please God – yet it was unlikely in the feast recorded in Daniel 5 he first practised idolatry.  His sacrilege action, compounded with praising his idols, was the one that brought him destruction.

On the Communion of Saints

Every time Catholics recite the apostolic creed they will say “I believe in the communion of saints“.  What does communion of saints mean?  Catholics understand that the Church is communion of saints.  Who are those saints, literally means “the holy ones”?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church # 962 declares: We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers.  Most, even Catholics, might think that in Catholicism the title saint is only applied to already deceased persons who have been known to lead exemplary holy life, have a number of miracles attributed to them and their sainthood will be declared solemnly by the Church.  They, in fact, are the canonized saints – they serve as role models and intercessors, the latter may scandalize some Protestants.  However all members of the Church are saints. The Church, then, is ‘the holy People of God’, and her members are called ‘saints’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 823). Saint is not the opposite of sinner – in fact ‘All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners (ibid, # 827). As long as we are still on earth we are both saints and sinners at the same time.

Catholic’s belief that saints in heaven can intercede for us may scandalize some Protestants and “Bible only” Christians.  Some may even accuse Catholics of practising necromancy, a practice condemned in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. Others says asking saints in heaven to intercede for us is robbing Christ’s position as the only mediator between God and us (1 Timothy 2:5). Protestants and “Bible only” Christians have no problem in asking other saints on earth to pray for them and vice versa – Scripture says “pray for one another” (James 5:15). Asking somebody to pray for us requires communication.  We can communicate with saints on earth orally (directly or via telephone) or through letter, email, SMS etc.  Protestants and “Bible only” Christians avoid communication with the dead – as scriptural proof usually they quote 1 Samuel 28:8-19 where Saul, through a medium, communicated with (what is supposed to be) Samuel.  What Saul did was necromancy – he consulted the dead to get information of his future.  The Catholic Church forbids such practice – all forms of divination are to be rejected; recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2116).  From Scripture we know that it is possible to communicate with saints in heaven.  John of Revelation was able to talk with one of the twenty-four elders who are in heaven (Revelation 5:5, 7:13-14). If communication with saints is heaven is forbidden then Christ gave bad example when He talked with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3).  Christ said “he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).  Thus Catholics believe all saints, whether they are alive on earth or alive in heaven, are able to communicate with us. We can ask saints, on earth or in heaven, to pray for us and their prayers will go through Christ, the only mediator, to God. Our communication with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 957). Keep in mind that Catholics do not pray to the saints in heaven - we ask them to pray for us, just like we ask saints on earth to do the same.  It is God who ultimately answers their prayers – those saints; whether they are on earth or in heaven, only intercede for us.  In necromancy it is the dead whom we expect to provide us with information, usually about our future (life, marriage, business, investment etc.)  Finally Catholics also can pray and intercede for saints who are also alive and are being purified in purgatory (ibid # 958).

Is the Reformation over? An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism

The title of this post comes from that of a book by Mark A. Noll and Carolyn Nystrom and published by Baker Academic in 2005.  The first author is McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College while the second one is freelance writer, based in St. Charles, Illinois.  The title itself explains the content of the book.  It first summarized chronologically history of conflicts between Catholics and Protestants.  The authors noted these two communities in the past regarded each other with the gravest suspicion.  This started to change from early 1960’s – “Things Are Not The Way They Used to Be” is the title of the first chapter. 

Based on anti-Catholic literature, the authors summarized common Protestant’s view on Catholicism, i.e. they think the Catholic Church:

• taught that people earned their salvation by doing good deeds

   

  ;

• prevented common people from reading the Bible and from taking their guidance for life from Scripture;
• manufactured extra-biblical saints, festivals, and rites that substituted human imagination for biblical pattern of worship;
• took away glory from Christ by making Mary a coauthor of salvation;
• wantonly corrupted Scripture by forcing new doctrines onto people merely at the whim of popes and councils whose supposed authority was no more than the imperialistic expression of their own selfish ambition; and
• promoted a corrupting, despotic hierarchy that stripped the faithful of their proper status as priests before God.

On the other hand, according the authors, Catholics view Protestants as those who:

• offered a “salvation” by faith that denied the need of holiness before God;
• abandoned the Bible to the interpretation of every Tom, Dick and Mary (no matter how bizarre those interpretations might be) and, by so doing, effectively stripped the Bible of normative, authoritative meaning;
• denied the ability of the Holy Spirit to work through ongoing teaching officers in the church as the Spirit had earlier worked to bring the church into existence;
• scandalously neglected God’s gracious help provided to humanity in the person of the blessed Virgin Mary and the exemplary saints;
• rejected the apostolic authority of bishops, councils, and popes and so abetted the rising Western tide of rationalism, secularism, and moral anarchy;
• foolishly neglected the seven sacraments that brought God’s grace to every crucial point in a person’s life; and
• forsook genuine ecclesiastical leadership of the God-given community of faith in favour of a political free-for-all in which authority was reduced to individualism as a principle and individualistic manipulation as a practice.

In chapter three the authors analyzed the reason why there was a change in the relation between Catholics and Protestants.  From Catholic side there was Vatican II council that declared non-Catholic Christians as “brothers” and acknowledged both sides were to blame for ecclesiastical rupture of the Reformation.  In other words  the Catholic Church started becoming ecumenical after Vatican II.  The authors listed a number of ecumenical dialogues between Catholic Church and various Protestant (and non-Catholic) denomination in Chapter 4.  The so-called ECT (Evangelical and Catholics Together) is discussed separately in Chapter 6.  Near end of chapter 4 four un-reconciled differences are listed. They are (1) ecclesial authority of the Church, (2) Tradition and Scripture as Authority, (3) Sacraments and (4) small but practical unresolved differences (they are: devotion to Mary, celibacy of clergy, birth control, saints, marriage and divorce, and women in ordained ministry).  Interestingly they wrote that ‘Catholics and Protestants agree that it was the church exercising its authority that defined the present canon of Scripture.’

Chapter 5 deals solely with Catechism of the Catholic Church. The authors estimated that evangelicals can embrace at least two-thirds of the Catechism (page 119).  They noted that evangelicals will not be able to embrace all areas of Catholic devotion as outlined in the Catechism. Rosaries; relics; sacred places; pilgrimages; prayer to and through the saints; devotion to the elements of the Eucharist, to Mary, to a crucifix, and to Scripture itself (page 124).   The explanation is simple – with few exceptions Protestants and “Bible only” Christians are not accustomed to sacramental principle, i.e. that God can use material or ritual to channel His Grace; because of this they tend to associate all those practices with idolatry.  As for (prayer to and through) Mary and saints (in heaven) the difference comes from different understanding of what is called communion of saints.  To Catholics it means we have interaction between saints on earth, those who are in heaven and in purgatory – this is why we can ask saints in heaven to pray for us, just as we ask saints on earth to do the same. Here the authors made a mistake when they wrote ‘Since evangelicals speak of saints as all true believers in Christ, they are mystified as to why Catholics set apart certain people for their designation (page 143).  Had they checked the Catechism more thoroughly they would discover that it explicitly declares “The Church, then, is “the holy People of God,” and her members are called “saints.” (# 823) Nevertheless the authors wrote that evangelicals will find much to approve Catechism declaration on issues like respect for human life and sexual ethics.    They correctly explained that Catholic Church is sacramental church: the Eucharist is the high point of the Mass that all other aspects of worship point toward or flow from. By contrast, evangelical tradition has given the sermon pre-eminence in worship.  They also noted that Catholic worship does not disregard Scripture. Indeed, long passages of biblical text are read aloud in each service, covering much of the Bible every year – resulting in far more public hearing of Scripture than in almost any Protestant denomination (underlined emphasis is added).  Chapter 5 ends with a question to evangelicals: Why do we [evangelicals] not possess such a thorough, clear, and God centered account of our faith as the Catechism offers to Roman Catholics?   If I may answer this question, as former evangelical, it will be: there is no unity within evangelicalism – they may agree and disagree in many aspects of faith; under such circumstances it is impossible to define a unified catechism for all evangelicals, thoroughly detailed as the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The authors themselves noted that evangelicals themselves are divided on what the sacraments are and how they should be used (page 235). Are they only remembrances or are they events when God on his own initiative does something of saving significance to and for his people (page 236)?  Other issues like whether our salvation is assured or conditional, human freedom and predestination also divide evangelicalism, though not many are aware.

In the last chapter the authors wrote that the central difference that continues to separate evangelicals and Catholics is not Scripture, justification by faith, the pope, Mary, the sacraments, or clerical celibacy – though the central difference is reflected in differences on these matters – but the nature of the church. For Catholics, the visible, properly constituted, and hierarchically governed church is the principal God-ordained agent for the work of apostolic ministry. For evangelicals, the church is the body of Christ made up of all those who have responded to the apostolic proclamation of the God-given offer of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ (page 237). In other words evangelicals view church as community of believers while to Catholics the Church is both community of believers and institution with God-given authority.  Near the end of their book the authors wrote: asking whether the Reformation is over may not even be the most pertinent question. It may be more to the point to ask other questions: Is God truly going to draw people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation – and major Christian tradition – to worship together the Lamb who was slain? Can he really make of them – all these tongues and peoples and traditions – a single kingdom united in the body of his Son Jesus Christ? Should believers in an all-powerful, all-merciful God doubt that such signs and wonders might still take place?