Forgotten Truth: Is Catholicism Christian?

In light of some current events within our nation, with the visit of the "pope," I wanted to share some quick thoughts.
EDIT 2/4/2019: Continued current events in multiple forms have brought this to mind again, and additional information has been added.

Much ado was made about the papal visit and all of the things that he would be doing that had been done by no previous pope. Many talked about how nice a man he is and how wonderful some of the things he said are.
There is good reason why his predecessors had so little to do with this nation, and it is unfortunate that most seem to have forgotten that reasoning. This nation was largely established by those fleeing religious oppression, and one of the major founding ideas of our nation was religious liberty. Our forefathers remembered well the religious oppression that Catholicism maintained for centuries, and the state sponsored churches that followed in that tradition established by the Catholics.
The US maintained a strong distance from Catholicism at many points because of that background and because of the religious convictions of the people that lived here.

I could make a number of points from scripture, and I could say a lot more, but let's do it the easy way.

Here are a few quotes from the founders of most of the Christian groups within the US (or notable preachers from said groups) on what they thought of Catholicism and the pope.

Martin Luther (Lutherans and considered one of the great Reformers)

"We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist…personally I declare that I owe the Pope no other obedience than that to Antichrist" (sermon on Aug 18, 1520).
“Already I feel greater liberty in my heart; for at last I know that the pope is antichrist, and that his throne is that of Satan himself” (after a Papal edict against him).
"I am practically cornered, and can hardly doubt any more, that the Pope is really the Antichrist... because everything so exactly corresponds to the way of his life, actions, words and commandments" (Schriften volume 21a, column 234).

John Calvin (Presbyterians and others)

"Daniel and Paul had predicted that Antichrist would sit in the temple of God...we affirm him to be the Pope…Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak" (Prophetic Faith of our Fathers Volume 2).
"I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy" (Institutes).

John Wesley (Methodists) - Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms

He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers.

Westminster Confession of Faith - 1646 (Presbyterian) - Chapter 26, Point 4

There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God.

For those of you who consult your WCFs today (like I do from my handy "Trinity Hymnal" which is a Presbyterian hymnal, and has the WCF in the back), you won't find most of that statement. American revisions of the WCF and the adaptation of it by the PC USA in 1903 removed the statement that the Pope is the Antichrist.


London Confession of Faith - 1689 (Baptist) - Chapter 26, Point 4

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner; neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God; whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
(Colossians 1:18; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11, 12; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-9)

I find this particular one fun for a couple of reasons. Yes, I am a Baptist. However, I like the more positive outcome at the end that was added, recognizing the inevitable destruction of Catholicism by the return of Christ. Also, I love the way that the Baptist confession adds in references to each point.

Charles Spurgeon (Baptist)

"We must have no truce, no treaty with Rome. War! war to the knife with her! Peace there cannot be. She cannot have peace with us—we cannot have peace with her. She hates the true Church, and we can only say that the hatred is reciprocated. We would not lay a hand upon her priests; we would not touch a hair of their heads. Let them be free; but their doctrine we would destroy from the face of the earth as the doctrine of devils. So let it perish, O God, and let that evil thing become as the fat of lambs. Into smoke let it consume: yea into smoke let it consume away."
- Excerpt from sermon (May 1, 1859)

Truth in Music 2: "How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours"

Seeing the general positive response to my last post, I wanted to continue looking at some of the spiritual truths found within the writings of various spiritual pieces of music.

This time I wanted to share one of my long-time favorite spiritual songs. Though many may not know this particular one, it has been with me all of my life. I have to admit that as a child, I liked this song because of the lilting tune that accompanies it. However, as I grew older, the words grew into a source of comfort in times of distress and randomly can still be heard on days of joy.

How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours

By John Newton

John Newton?

Yes, the same man that wrote "Amazing Grace" wrote this.

It might surprise some that Newton wrote over 250 hymns, since he is known so strongly for that most famous of English spiritual songs. Other compositions of his include: "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken," "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds," and "One There is Above All Others" (some of which might be on this blog at a later point).

Because the general story of Newton's early life, conversion, and then dedication to Christianity is fairly well known, I'm not going to put much more about him as a person in this post.

However, I have to point out the depth of feeling and content in the works of Newton as well. His works deal with a lot of Christian experience, and the emotion that can come along with that experience. This particular song expresses one side of those emotions.

A recording of the hymn to enjoy while you read

1. How tedious and tasteless the hours
When Jesus I no longer see;
Sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flowers,
Have all lost their sweetness to me;
The midsummer sun shines but dim,
The fields strive in vain to look gay.
But when I am happy in Him,
December’s as pleasant as May.

• What strange words to begin a song about Christian life with! "Tedious?" "Tasteless?"
  Yes, that's the attitude Newton had toward the life he led when Jesus wasn't the focus of his view.
• The sweet elements of the world: the sounds, sights, and ideas; he became unable to enjoy because of the absence of the true joy of his life.
• Look at the nature around you; God created some marvelous things. The power of the sun in midsummer is undeniable; the fields in their fruitfulness are glorious under the power of that light.
  Yet, those wonderful aspects of the creation are empty of their true power and enjoyment without that Creator in view.
• In contrast to the vanity of those naturally happy experiences, if we have the love of Jesus and the joy that He brings in our lives, the most lifeless and dreary natural environments can become full of pleasure.

2. His Name yields the richest perfume,
And sweeter than music His voice;
His presence disperses my gloom,
And makes all within me rejoice.
I should, were He always thus nigh,
Have nothing to wish or to fear;
No mortal as happy as I,
My summer would last all the year.

•  Stop and think for a moment about the things we make sure are around us in our lives. Though it might sound silly for a moment, consider it. Yes, the words that begin this are symbolic, but consider the way in which we apply ourselves toward earthly things, and if we do the same for heavenly.
  We put all manor of effort in to making things smell good for ourselves and others. Are we afraid to speak the name of Jesus Christ, is it a shame to us? God compares our prayers to the sweet smell of incense (Rev 5:8).
  Some of us surround ourselves with music constantly (I like to do that). Do we take effort to surround ourselves with the words that He spoke to us in the scriptures?

3. Content with beholding His face,
My all to His pleasure resigned,
No changes of season or place
Would make any change in my mind:
While blessed with a sense of His love,
A palace a toy would appear;
All prisons would palaces prove,
If Jesus would dwell with me there.

• This verse has provided comfort in difficulty over and over in my life. When facing stress, anger, loneliness, and failure; these words would come to my mind and provide the peace that can and does pass understanding.
• Consider for a moment a scriptural parallel. A rich man could have a marvelous home and eat the best of food every day, but find himself in Hell and his riches profiting him nothing at all. Outside of his gate could be laid a man in abject poverty and with grave sickness; but that man is carried to Heaven by the angels (Luke 16:19-23).
  Whose place would you rather be in; of those two.
• So, what if the world around you were to shift in manners unexpected? Would a great rise or great misery modify how you felt?
  If you were brought high until you lived in a palace? What is a mansion in comparison to the presence of Christ in your life? It is merely a toy: a bauble with little meaning!
  And if you fell to the position of being in a miserable prison? If the LORD of Glory is there with me, no palace on Earth could be better!

4. Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine,
If Thou art my sun and my song,
Say, why do I languish and pine?
And why are my winters so long?
O drive these dark clouds from the sky,
Thy soul cheering presence restore;
Or take me to Thee up on high,
Where winter and clouds are no more.

• Here is the thing that I love about Newton's hymns. To this point he has painted the ideal for how Christians should be able to view the world. We should be able to be happy in any circumstance if we have fellowship with Christ. However, he was just a man, and he is willing to admit his own failings.
• He knew that he experienced times in which his life had less joy than it should have, and when all seemed cold and unfulfilling. Yes, the great writer of "Amazing Grace" felt the same periods of spiritual dullness that we all can and do.
• Yet, he also knew the response! He knew that asking God for help with that lack of a relationship is the key. He wasn't content with merely having an average and mediocre relationship with God. He wanted to be on fire entirely or to be freed from this world that drags us down so easily. That is dedication and love of God.

So, though only some of you will have known this hymn before, I hope that you can see some more important and practical truths contained within the words of songs that Christians have sung for years (in this case, well over 100 years).
This song is personal to me. When I lose sight of the important things and become embroiled in the problems of this world, it has pulled my eyes back on the true focus of Christian life, and that has brought my thoughts and attitude back into line.
The intent of this is simple: do we really think about and consider the words that escape our lips as we sing, or do we merely go through the motions? There is great value in what we sing, but do we ever even think of it or use it.

Truth in Music: "Marching to Zion"

After a recent discussion on the lyrics of "Father Abraham" and how a simple child's song contains strong scriptural truth, and thinking of some of the depth of meaning contained within other hymns that I love; I wanted to share some thoughts on the content of Christian songs.

The most important thing that I want to convey in this is: we should be considering what we are singing. One of the stated purposes for music within church and in our lives is for the sake of "teaching and admonishing" ourselves and others (Col 3:16). When we are singing things toward God or about Him, we shouldn't merely be making noise with no thought. God demands worship that is in both "spirit and truth" (John 14:17), and that applies to our music. Even more, we are told that our singing should be both in the spirit, but also in understanding (I Cor 14:15). We should not be singing about or to God without both of those things.
When you consider the content of the music more than just the sound of it, you can find some significant things. Some music is mostly fluff, little content doctrinally or practically, and I personally find it hard to get excited to sing such (even when the music is beautiful). Some hymns are just plain wrong in what they say, and I choose not to sing those (though that's not a problem I usually face). Then there are those that convey great depth of meaning and teach wonderful lessons from the word of God.

I intend for this to be the first in a series of posts about various hymns that have caught my attention for their depth. It is a goal of mine to stir those around me up to consider the things they sing a little better and to appreciate the truth that can be found therein.
I also may include information about the author that I find to be of particular value for hope or edification.

 Marching to Zion

By Issac Watts

Let's take a moment to think about Issac Watts.

He is one of the most prolific writers of hymns (around 750), and if that were all we knew about him, he would be most impressive. However, he did far more than simply write a lot.

He is consider the "father of English hymnody" for a good reason. During the time that he began writing; almost all singing in church was from psalters, words from the Psalms put into meter to make them easier to sing. There were those who opposed the idea of making songs for church from material outside of scripture. To remedy such concerns, Watts made many of his hymns by taking passages of scripture outside of the Psalms and combining them into songs about specific topics, and then adding in ideas regarding the Christian life.

Throughout his work, you can see his other strong interest shining through. This other interest was that of logic. The depth of ideas and consistent reasoning found within his hymns matches up with a man that loved the use of reasoning. He wrote Logic, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the Sciences, which was published in 1724 and was used as a textbook in logic classes for some of the most prestigious English speaking universities for a long period of time.

I will freely confess that the hymns of Watts hold several high positions in my list of favorites.

Why this particular song first?
I almost always have some musical piece floating around in my head, and this one has been recently. While enjoying the soundtrack that it was providing that particular day, it occurred to me how powerful the doctrine of the third verse is. I was moved to want to share the thoughts with someone else. Yet, as I thought about that, I thought through the rest of the verses and could see that same kind of truth in every one.
No, this song does not make the top ten list for me (this week, since it is prone to change), but I still want to share how marvelous the reasoning of its words can be for the Christian.

(I have simplified the verses by removing the repeated lines found in the version of this song that I know) 

A recording of this hymn to enjoy while you read.

1. Come, we that love the Lord,
and let our joys be known;
join in a song with sweet accord, 

and thus surround the throne. 

• "Come, we that love the Lord." The phrasing of the first line gives an emphatic call for the people of God. "Come!"
  The worship of God is not an onerous duty! We should be enthusiastic! If we have love for our God in our hearts, then there should be enthusiasm for giving Him the glory that is due to His name.
• "And let our joys be known." Again, following God is not a life of drudgery. There are great joys to be experienced by His children. Part of the fruit in a Christian's life to show that they have the Spirit within them is joy (Gal 5:22)! If you're lacking joy in worshiping God, the problem isn't with Him, it's with you.
  Not only should we have joy, but it is a blessed duty to let that joy be known to those around us. Why would you ever be ashamed to let others see and hear such a response?
• "Join in a song with sweet accord." This line is important to understanding the full meaning of this hymn. If you don't consider the full implication, you might miss some of the meaning of the rest.
  Where can one go to "join in" such a song? Where is there a "sweet accord?" You can't join something or have an accord while alone. This hymn is discussing how one should view the assembly of God's people, what they should do as part of it, and the benefits derived from being a part.
  That assembly, the "Zion" referenced in this song is the New Testament church. Now, I know some might question that assertion, instead looking to identify this as some other meaning of Zion, such as Jewish worship (past or supposed future) or Heaven. However, that assertion will be proven out later by other lines of the hymn.
•  "And thus surround the throne." Another reference to this being corporate worship of God. One person cannot "surround" something. But there is more there than just that additional indication.
  How can a fallen and sinful person come before the throne of the Blessed and Only Potentate? Is He not a "consuming fire" (Heb 12:29)? Indeed, but He accepts such lowly wretches as us!
  What manner of worship would He accept from us? Doesn't He expect "reverence and godly fear" (Heb 12:28)? Yes, but part of that reverence and fear is being joyful for what He has done!
  The "thus" of how we come before that throne is letting our "joys be known" while in "sweet accord" with our fellow brethren.

Refrain:

We're marching to Zion,

beautiful, beautiful Zion.

We're marching upward to Zion,

 the beautiful city of God.

• The refrain would be the least doctrinally heavy portion of the hymn, but even here it contains ideas that are significant.
• The word choice is plural, showing that it a group of people on a journey to approach God together.
• More than that, we see the attitude of the people of God toward going to be with His people. They view it as beautiful and of great value. It's not just a place that they are going, but to the place where they know that God dwells.

2. Let those refuse to sing
who never knew our God;
but children of the heavenly King, 

may speak their joys abroad. 

(Refrain)

• The second verse reflects the character of those who are God's children.
• This life and this world are hardly reasons to express joy for those that not the children of God. What cause have they for such surpassing gladness? Indeed, all of life and the things done in it are vanity (Ecc 1:14), and then comes death, which drives much of mankind to madness trying to avoid (Ecc 9:3).
  It should be of little shock to a thinking person that those who do not know God would refuse to show the joys of their lives in things like song and outward praise. They have truly nothing to be happy about and they have no one to express thankfulness to.
• Contrast that to the people of God from the second half of the verse. Start with the title they were just given: children, and heirs, of the King that rules over Heaven! Our inheritance is the perfect world; free of sin, sorrow, and pain, in which God rules forever. If that alone is not enough to make you want to proclaim the joys that you have abroad, your priorities are off; and that is just one part of what we have.
• This begs the question: which side do you show in your life? Do you find it a struggle to be happy, despite all that He has done? Do you give thanks to God for His infinite goodness? Either your priorities are off entirely, or you're showing the character of those in the first half of the verse.

3. The hill of Zion yields
a thousand sacred sweets 
before we reach the heavenly fields,
or walk the golden streets. 

(Refrain)

• These are the words that first drew me to wanting to share the content of a hymn with people in this format. The amount of depth here is easily overlooked, but should be appreciated by those who want to understand.
  Here we see the true identification of the Zion the hymn describes.
• This great city of  God gives us a multitude of spiritual blessings! Here we, as a group of believers, find the things that help sustain us and give us such transcendent joy. Why would we neglect such an opportunity for the things that make life truly worth living? We must identify where these things are to be found, so that we can have them for ourselves. 
• So, where is this Zion? It is in the local assembly of God's children, the church. Note, this takes place "before we reach" Heaven. Also, the sweets that are given are enjoyable right now, not at some other point in time. These words can not be addressing any place other than the church.
  Watts has managed well to fit with Hebrews 12:22-24 (an oft overlooked passage) in which the audience of the book is told that they have already come to "Mount Sion" and the "heavenly Jerusalem" and are in full communion with Christ, the angels, and the spirits of those purified children of God who've already passed to glory. We, as Christians are not waiting, as so many say, for a Jerusalem on this Earth (the city that contains Mount Zion). Instead, we're already part of one in Heaven! And one day, when our lives end, we'll merely be changing where our spirits reside rather than our relationship with it.

   
4. Then let our songs abound,
and every tear be dry;
we're marching through Emmanuel's ground, 

to fairer worlds on high. 

(Refrain)

• "Then let..." It should come as no surprise that a logician like Watts would choose to begin the last verse of this song with a logical conclusion. Because of the ideas contained within the other verses, we should have reached a clear thought on how we should respond to the worship of God. There is no ambiguity in the difference between a child of God with a heavenly mindset and those of the world.
• Our praise to God should be enthusiastic and frequent in His house, and the greatness of our God should be able to put away any of the hardships that we might face as part of our lives. Yes, there is a time and a place for tears, but what He has given in this world and the next for His children should help sustain us and cheer us, especially while surrounded by those of like mind.
• "We're marching through Emmanuel's ground." We're in the place that belongs to Emmanuel, "God with us." That place isn't Heaven, since we're marching to those "fairer worlds on high." That ground is something that is present with us now, so it's not a description of a coming kingdom or one of the past. This is a final indication of the identity of the Zion of the song being the church and the role that it should have in our lives. That church is where we get to have God with us in a special sense and as a group.
• "To fairer worlds on high." The church should be moving toward one goal together, and that's the coming of Jesus for His people and the Heaven that awaits. There is the focus of our lives, not the trivial matters of this world. While there are so many great blessings that we can enjoy in Christ now, they all pale before what is to come in eternity.