Question:
Dear Greg,
I
came to the faith of Christ in 1990 through a non-denominational Christian
church. Just recently I became a
Catholic because the woman I married is Catholic and because of the influence of
her parents. Do you think Christ is
in the Catholic Church? I believe
completely in Christ, and I believe that Christ is the only way to salvation.
Thanks,
Steven
Answer: Dear Steven,
The
denomination or name brand of Christianity that we embrace should not be thought
of as a union card that will allow us to be an insider with God, rather than an
outsider. It is better if we,
whether we are friends, parents, children, spouses, etc., allow each other to
embrace our choice of denomination. Of
course, our denominational choice should be within biblical teaching and the
historic orthodox beliefs of Christianity, rather than overtly or covertly
pressuring each other to join our “better” church.
Having
said that, do we behave in this way? No,
we naturally want our loved ones to join us in our denomination.
Often there are no problems with such a practice.
But problems do arise. Sometimes
when people get married they simply decide to attend a church that neither one
of them has been a member of before. However,
it’s not always that easy because there are parents and grandparents, and
traditions and pressures, etc. There
are problems when the church that we attend (again, as long as it teaches and
follows the gospel of Jesus Christ) becomes a big issue.
When the specific church we attend becomes an issue, what we are really
saying to others who are not a part of our specific fellowship is that they are
“chopped liver” spiritually, unless and until they become more like us!
Whatever happened to being more like Jesus?
Of course, we can become more like Jesus apart from any one specific
denomination because God is bigger than any one humanly incorporated
denomination. Thank God for that!
Do
I think Christ is in the Catholic Church? I
do not think all Catholics are Christians. But
then again, I don’t think any denomination can boast that 100% of its members,
whether they attend religiously and give religiously or not, are Christians.
Membership in any particular denomination has nothing to do with one’s
Christianity.
There
are some denominations that present unique hurdles for those who would be
Christians and continue to be members of that denomination.
I believe the Catholic Church, as an organization, is one of them.
For starters, officially, the Catholic Church embraces:
1.
Maryology
2.
at
the very least, some form of idolatry—saints, prayers to saints, etc.
3.
salvation
and justification by a combination of what humans do and what
These
teachings and practices are unbiblical—as is the practice of confessing sins
to a person and having that person extend God’s forgiveness, and unless and
until that denominational representative does so, a person is believed to be
unforgiven. These points are just a
start.
Are
there Christians within the Catholic Church?
Of course. Many members of
the Catholic Church do not agree with official church teaching--such as birth
control. Many parish churches and
priests are far more biblically orthodox than the official teaching of the
Catholic Church, so it would be an error to say that there are no Christians in
the Catholic Church, or that all Catholics believe yada, yada, yada.
If
we are simply “into” religion and some kind of club that will keep everyone
happy, then we can accept the idea that pressure from friends and family will
dictate our understanding of Christianity. But
if we understand that God is bigger than any church and that denominationalism
and exclusivism is pride and self-righteousness, and if we accept that God is
bigger than our narrow labels and our family traditions, we will be a little
more inclusive. Such a view is
really far more Christian than making sure that everyone wears the same uniform,
sings the same hymns and stands up/sits down at the right time.
In
Christ,
Greg
Albrecht