Happy Easter, Christ is Risen! Christ is Truly Risen! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
As you probably know, I currently spend more time attacking the heresy of Modernism than Protestantism. Why? Because the former is a cancer that any traditionalist Catholic will admit is more hidden, ubiquitous and destructive than the latter. So, I will keep defending the original Apostolic Faith against modernists who control the buildings.
But I first cut my teeth on defending the True Faith by doing open-Bible debates with Protestants in my world travels starting 30 years ago. Before getting to how I did this, let’s define terms. Even National Geographic or a secular Social Studies book will admit there’s only three main branches of Christianity: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
Yet, today I meet many evangelicals, Pentecostals, “emergent church” folks and non-denominationalists who all dislike the term “Protestant.” Unfortunately, they’re still Protestant despite not liking Luther as much as their forefathers. This is simply a linguistic fact since they cannot be categorized within either Apostolic branch of Christianity (Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. )
And yes, I’m aware some Medieval Popes even declared that only Catholics could be labeled as “Christians” among those three groups. But again, due to linguistic limitations, I will consider all three groups here to be “Christian” if they maintain a Trinitarian confession.
But back to how I usually debate Protestants on the Bible. I usually end our verse-wars by asking my new Protestant friend one of these questions: By whose authority do you claim that Scriptural interpretation? What did the Church Fathers say about that verse? Does the Bible interpret itself? Does the Bible say anywhere that it’s the sole rule of the Christian faith?
An honest answer to any of those questions automatically sinks the Sola Scriptura plank to which Protestants still cling. Also, if the Church produced the Bible (not vice-versa) then this would also capsize Protestants’ claim to the other two planks, namely Sola Gratia and Sola Fide. (Sola Scriptura means the Bible is the sole rule of the faith. Sola Gratiameans we are saved by grace alone. Sola Fide means faith without works is required.) All three sound very humble. However, none of the three is in the Bible or even in the early Church.
For many years now, here is the challenge I frequently issue to Protestants when we meet in real life at a coffee shop or somewhere else: “If you can find me one Christian that you admire within the first Thousand Years of Christianity who did not believe in the sinlessness of Mary or the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, I will not only leave the Catholic Priesthood, but I’ll even leave the Catholic Church.”
In fifteen years of issuing that challenge, I have had no “takers.”
Notice I could have placed that 1000 AD number up to the Protestant Revolt in 1500, but the Millennium seems neater since nearly every denomination wants to emulate how Christians lived and believed in the beginning. So, I still think that is the best challenge to issue anyone who claims to be Christian but does not believe in the sacraments. I would encourage you to use this method, too.
In two days, I will give the best tool to overturn Sola Scriptura.
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Blessed Paschaltide, Christ is Truly Risen!