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Sunday, December 27, 2015

Catholics Worship Saints. False!: Misconceptions About Catholicism 101, Lesson 1:

My early misconceptions:


When I was teenager, and a Protestant, I was told that Catholics worship statues and/or the saints.  Like many do in their younger years, I believed whatever I was told, especially if the person doing the telling did so in a convincing enough way.  I did not consider myself an authority of anything religious; I believed anything if someone more spiritual said it.  So, I pretty much believed anything I was told by those who majored in Bible, Religious Studies, Theology, or even if they merely led a Bible study a few weeks out of the year.

I started college thinking that Catholics were Christians just like any other denomination.  However, at the small Christian college I attended I was soon told something like, "oh, no, Catholics are not Christians.  They worship Mary and pray to statues.  They're idolaters."   Without checking facts and primary sources - i.e. without asking a Catholic authority - I accepted this as truth from my well-meaning Protestant classmates.

Fast forward nearly thirty years (or so):


In my thirties I made some Catholic friends who were kind, patient, and informed about the faith.  They explained to me that Catholics do not worship Mary or the Saints; in fact it is forbidden!  But, my Protestant worldview told me again and again that Catholics in fact did these things even though they may not realize it.

One evening in 2012 I was listening to Catholic Answers Live on the radio.  I was listening for two reasons.  1.) Catholics do share many good philosophical and classic theism ideas with my Protestant views, and 2.) I was looking for holes in their arguments so I could be a better witness and help evangelize Catholics to a better form of Christianity.  On this particular program someone called in with a similar question that I had:  "Why do Catholics pray to Mary and other Saints?"   My ears & brain were tuned to the Catholic apologist's response.   After he finished they went to a commercial break and I said to myself, "that makes a lot of sense.  I must confess I agree with them."

One of my biggest stumbling blocks towards Catholicism had been crushed into dust that was blown away by the smallest breeze.

Pray for one another:


For as long as I can remember I've heard Christians say:  "Please pray for me that..." or "I'll pray for you."  It's a good thing that Christians pray for one another and ask others to keep us in their prayers.  I would have ended up in a worldly mess if it wasn't for the godly prayers of my parents and loved ones.   Many times I have dropped to my knees in earnest prayer for those I love.

The Bible tells us to pray for one another:

  • Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.   (James 5:16)
  • ... bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.  (Luke 6:28)
  • And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."  (Acts 8:24)
  • So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church.  (Acts 12:5)

The Saints prayers have a "hot line" to God the Father:


Did you notice James 5:16 tells us that the prayers of a righteous man has great power in its effects?  In this age of social media many Christians have no problems sending out prayer requests to all those on their friends list.  I know I'm guilty of asking 100's of people at a time to pray for me (many I would not suspect of being very righteous based on their own profession of skepticism).

The Catholic Church venerates a Saint because of the passion they held in their Christian beliefs, the dedication they showed in prayer and charity.  They are good Christian role models (of course, Jesus is THE role model, but you have to admit the Saints are good ones to include).  They are considered the great Christian heroes; the Christian Hall of Fame, if you will.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives a list of great men & women who lived by faith; others were tortured, beaten, and cut in two.  Yet, these people "though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect."  (Heb 11:39 - 40, RSVCE)

The the first verse of Hebrews chapter twelve refers to these people as a "great cloud of witnesses ... and let us run with perseverance the race that is before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith..."  (Heb 12:1 - 2, RSVCE).

The image I get is this:  We are running a race through a battlefield.  Jesus Christ is our goal.  The Devil is doing everything he can to get us to quit this race.  I struggle daily.  Sometimes I feel like I just can't make it.  Sometimes I feel like I'm failing miserably.  Then this cloud of witnesses is cheering me on.  "Don't quit, Mark!"   "Keep going!  We made it through tougher trials.  You can make it!  You're going to make it!"   "We're praying for you, Mark!"

Is this too far-fetched?  

 I don't think so.  Don't we say these kind of things to each other when we know they're going through tough times?


Death is not an end to existence.


Christians do not believe that death annihilates the person.  Death is separation.  The wages of sin is death in that we are separated from God.  Our souls are separated (temporarily) from the body when we die on this earth.  The account of the Transfiguration (See Matt 17) tells of Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah.   Now, granted Elijah never died, but Moses did (see Josh 1:1).  To be with God is to be alive.  The Saints whose souls are in heaven are more alive than we are.  (See also 2 Cor 3:18)

But can they hear us?  

Revelation 6: 9 - 10 indicates they at least are aware of some of what is happening on earth:  "I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne; they cried out with a loud voice, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before thou wilt judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?'"  (RSVCE)

Revelation 5:8 and 8:3 - 4 informs us that the prayers of the saints are presented before the throne of God.   We cannot say that these verses pertain only to those saints still alive on earth, because the text reads: "...he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints..." (Rev 8:3).  All the saints, on Earth and in Heaven.  In context with the other verses mentioned above, this verse in Revelation cannot be only in some future sense.

But isn't communication with the dead forbidden in the Bible?


Yes it is.  It is also forbidden in the Catholic Church.  Paragraph 2116 of the Catechism (which means teaching) of the Catholic Church says:
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.  Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers.  They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
When Catholics pray to Saints, we are asking them to pray for us.  We're not asking them for foreknowledge or magical powers.  We're certainly not worshiping or adoring them - that is due to God alone.

Why not just go to Jesus?


The Bible tells us to pray for others and take our prayer requests to other believers.  If you're a Christian and believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then I suggest to do as it says.  Take your prayer requests to others and pray for others (even if they don't ask you to). Absolutely, we should pray to Jesus; we can always go straight to Him. But if asking the Saints for prayers isn't something you are comfortable doing, Catholics aren't required to do so. But, hey, sometimes we can use all the prayers we can get, right?

What about all those statues?


Christians consider each other family - as in the family of God.  Every family I know has pictures of their parents, their grandparents, and sometimes even their great-grandparents in their home.  We love to have family heirlooms.  These things are good if we keep them in their proper place - to remind us of our past and of those who made sacrifices to get us where we are today.  Pictures and icons of Saints have the same meaning and place in the Catholic Church.  They remind us of our spiritual family who have sacrificed much to get us where we are today.  There is much to learn in the examples they have left us.

People have no objections with statues of political leaders, sports legends, and military heroes.  I haven't heard complaints about those being forms of idolatry.  Jacques Douillet writes in his book What Is A Saint? (Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1958):
That martyrs are heroes is plain enough.  Their selflessness, indeed, is often like that of military heroes, though it is more difficult to die heroically alone and forgotten in a dungeon than at the head of one's regiment. ... [Martyrs] knew that their example would encourage others, either to give in or to triumph. ... He wants his brethren to love God as he does, and with him to find their happiness in definitive union with Jesus Christ.
Douilett then shifts to Saints:
The same heroism is to be seen in the life of saints who are not called to the glory of martyrdom.  There is a day-to-day heroism that is not less fine than the courage of him who gives his life all at once. 

Showing honor and respect for these kinds of Christians is something that makes sense to me.

Reality check.


I know this is a sore spot for Protestants; it was for me as a Protestant.  Protestants have had troubles with this aspect of Catholicism for nearly 500 years.  I do not expect to heal all their wounds with one blog post.  The reason for this post is that the veneration of Saints was the first major block to fall out of the wall separating me from the Catholic Church. As I was beginning my conversion to Catholicism, I didn't start asking Saints to pray for me right away, but I did understand and respect why Catholics do this.  I hope my Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ can get a glimpse of why Catholics do what they do when they ask Mary, St. Michael, and others to pray for them.

In conclusion.


1.)  The Bible says the Church is the whole of believers - including those in Heaven.
2.)  The Bible says we are to pray for each other and ask others to pray for us.
2.)  The Bible says prayers of a righteous person have much effect.
3.)  The Bible says Saints in Heaven are certainly more righteous than any person on Earth (only the righteous can see God) and they pray for us.
4.)  The Bible says Saints in Heaven are aware of at least some of the events that happen to believers on Earth.

Therefore, asking Saints in Heaven to pray for us is Biblical...and a good thing to do.

P.S.


I'm praying for you.  

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