You may wish to study the teachings, liturgical practices, and rituals of the early Church fathers and the teachings of the Catholic Magisterium and dogmas before you wade into waters that might be too deep.
Perhaps a Protestant historical scholar who converted to Catholicism might better explain this to you. Of course, we Catholics are mindful that asking a Protestant to think deeply is like asking a fish to fly. But let’s give it a try.
A VERY SHORT ABSTRACT OF EVANGELICAL HISTORIAN
DR. A. DAVID ANDERS
MADE RIGHT TURN ON HIS ROAD TO SHOW
WHY CATHOLICISM IS WRONG
From Dr. A. David Anders, who was born, raised and educated, as an Evangelical Protestant and graduate of Wheaton College. He set out deliberately to show why Catholicism was wrong. He ended up a Catholic convert. He brilliantly essays the belief in the Eucharist in these compelling terms. But first a short summary of his journey,
PROTESTANTISM: A CONFUSED MASS OF INCONSISTENCIES
AND TORTURED LOGIC
“By the time I finished my Ph.D., I had completely revised my understanding of the Catholic Church. I saw that her sacramental doctrine, her view of salvation, her veneration of Mary and the saints, and her claims to authority were all grounded in Scripture, in the oldest traditions, and in the plain teaching of Christ and the apostles.
I also realized that Protestantism was a confused mass of inconsistencies and tortured logic. Not only was Protestant doctrine untrue, it bred contention, and could not even remain unchanged.
The more I studied, the more I realized that my evangelical heritage had moved far not only from ancient Christianity, but even from the teaching of her own Protestant founders.”
THE EUCHARIST
“Scripture teaches that the Church is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). Evangelicals tend to dismiss this as mere metaphor, but the ancient Christians thought of it as literally, albeit mystically, true. St. Gregory of Nyssa could say, “He who beholds the Church really beholds Christ.” As I thought about this, I realized that it spoke to a profound truth about the biblical meaning of salvation. St. Paul teaches that the baptized have been united to Christ in His death, so that they might also be united to Him in resurrection (Romans 6:3-6).”
“This union literally makes the Christian a participant in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). St. Athanasius could even say, “For He was made man that we might be made God” (De incarnatione, 54.3). The ancient doctrine of the Church now made sense to me because I saw that salvation itself is nothing other than union with Christ and a continual growth into His nature. The Church is no mere association of like-minded people. It is a supernatural reality because it shares in the life and ministry of Christ.”
CATHOLIC SACRAMENTS
“This realization also made sense of the Church’s sacramental doctrine. When the Church baptizes, absolves sins, or, above all, offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it is really Christ who baptizes, absolves, and offers His own Body and Blood. The sacraments do not detract from Christ. They make Him present.”
“The Scriptures are quite plain on the sacraments. It you take them at face value, you must conclude that baptism is the “bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5 NAB). Jesus meant it when he said: “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:55 NAB). He was not lying when he promised “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (John 20:23 NAB). This is exactly how the ancient Christians understood the sacraments.”
ANCIENT CHRISTIANS & CATHOLIC PRACTICES
“I could no longer accuse the ancient Christians of being unbiblical. On what grounds could I reject them at all? The ancient Christian doctrine of the Church also made sense of the veneration of saints and martyrs. I learned that the Catholic doctrine on the saints is just a development of this biblical doctrine of the body of Christ. Catholics do not worship the saints. They venerate Christ in His members. By invoking their intercession, Catholics merely confess that Christ is present and at work in His Church in Heaven.”
“Protestants often object that the Catholic veneration of saints somehow detracts from the ministry of Christ. I understood now that the reverse is actually true. It is the Protestants who limit the reach of Christ’s saving work by denying its implications for the doctrine of the Church.”
“My studies showed this theology fleshed out in the devotion of the ancient Church. As I continued my investigation of Augustine, I learned that this “Protestant hero” thoroughly embraced the veneration of saints. The Augustine scholar Peter Brown (born 1935) also taught me that the saints were not incidental to ancient Christianity. He argued that you could not separate ancient Christianity from devotion to the saints, and he placed Augustine squarely in this tradition. Brown showed that this was no mere Pagan importation into Christianity, but rather tied intimately to the Christian notion of salvation (See his The Cult of Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity).”
MARIAN DOGMAS
“Once I understood the Catholic position on salvation, the Church, and the saints, the Marian dogmas also seemed to fall into place. If the heart of the Christian faith is God’s union with our human nature, the Mother of that human nature has an incredibly important and unique role in all of history. This is why the Fathers of the Church always celebrated Mary as the second Eve. Her “yes” to God at the annunciation undid the “no” of Eve in the garden. If it is appropriate to venerate the saints and martyrs of the Church, how much more is it appropriate to give honor and veneration to her who made possible our redemption?”
Steel fish,
I hope this finds you well today.
I read through your post and I’d like to reflect back to you my impressions.
1. First, your posts seem to constantly include ad hominem denigration of those who hold a different view than you. I mentioned this to you in a post earlier this week.
When you include insults, instead of arguing facts, evidence and logic, it screams that you have little to support your claims - or worse. This habit weakens your claims and makes your posts come across as less that I suspect you would prefer. I find it off-putting when anyone who claims to be a Christian does this - any denomination.
2. In regards to the convert you put forth as your champion, I personally do not find his story compelling. Maybe it is that my theological education was longer than his. Perhaps it is my close association with so many other students of theology. I witnessed many with personal issues that colored their “theological views”. It was often sad.
3. That said, his credentials do not impress me. His conversion to Catholicism doesn’t impress me. I sincerely wish him the best. No doubt he will be looked upon as some sort of trophy to affirm the beliefs of Catholics that they are right.
4. As a Christian with a high view of the inspiration and authority of Scripture, his arguments - rationalizations really - are not compelling and certainly not convincing.
I continue to wish you the best.
For a professed Christian engaged in apologetics you seem to have a bad 'tude. My guess is that you have esteem problems based on insecurity. This leads you to overcompensate by grabbing onto a groupthink solution (in your case, Roman Catholicism) where you can feel safe as a part of the herd and not have to think for yourself. Instead you can have your thoughts handed to you from elite visionaries viewed as authoritative and look down on anyone who does not agree.
Insults are never about intellectual engagement, but of projecting intimidation because one has no confidence in one's own arguments. Of course, being a part of the herd helps you feel safe to throw stones.
I suggest you break away from the herd and perhaps get some professional help.
Or you can remain as part of the herd and continue on your path toward more bitterness.
Your choice...
I was ready to comment on this, got distracted for a couple of hours, and came back to see that it had rubbed others the wrong way, too.
This constant belittling of Protestants, along with puffing up the credentials of Catholics and former Protestants, is getting really tiresome for several reasons. First, it comes across as incredibly arrogant - perhaps you should review the book of Proverbs to see how frequently humility is praised. Second, people who resort to personal insults usually have weak arguments and wish to intimidate the opposition into silence. Third, you personally haven't shown a superior spiritual understanding. Your posts are typically cut and post jobs with you personally adding little content. You really haven't shown that you are somehow "swimming in the deep end of the pool." Fourth, lavishing praiseful adjectives on someone to puff up their credentials does not make them some heavy-hitter in the theological world. Finally, it simply comes across as childish and unbecoming to someone who claims the name of Christ.