The Roman Catholic Church has received major body blows yet still survives. The early conflicts with the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople; the virulent, violent, and vicious Crusades against the Muslims and later against “heretics” within the church; the bloody Inquisition; some vile popes (as many as three at a time); the frequent battles with European emperors; and the uneducated, unspiritual, and uncontrolled priests who often bought their positions–all made the church bleed profusely.

Sexual immorality was one of the biggest complaints (along with the selling of indulgences) against the Roman Church as admitted even by Roman Catholic historians. It was common for priests to solicit sexual favors from women in the confessional! Historian Will Durant revealed the alarming fact, “Thousands of priests had concubines, in Germany nearly all. In Rome it was assumed that priests kept concubines, and some reports estimated the prostitutes there at 6,000 in a population not exceeding 100,000.”

He suggests that the convents and monasteries differed “little from public brothels.” It seems the Catholic clergy had a taste for good food and bad women.

Then entered the Reformers!

The early reformers were led by John Wycliffe (died 1384) of England and John Hus (executed in1415) of Bohemia and William Tyndale (executed in 1536) of England who were the forerunners of the Reformation with their emphasis on personal piety and producing the Bible in the common language. Wycliffe died in his sleep following a stroke in 1384 but his bones were exhumed in 1428, burned, and cast into the River Swift as ordered by the Pope.

John Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance and had received a promise of safe conduct by the Emperor and had that assurance from the Pope who declared, “Even if he had killed my own brother…he must be safe while he is at Constance.” The Pope and Emperor lied and Hus was arrested when he arrived at the council. Hus refused to renounce his alleged errors unless he could be shown otherwise from Scripture. To the council he said, “I would not, for a chapel full of gold, recede from the truth.” He was burned at the stake.

Wycliffe, Hus, and Tyndale are called “Pre-reformers” but they were more than that. They set the stage for the major Reformation in the 1500s led by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others. They were all Reformers and the world owes them much gratitude.

It should be remembered that while Reformers were great men, they were still men and made many mistakes in their lives and ministry. Those mistakes, not to be excused, must not negate the major contributions they made to the Reformation. Readers should realize that most great leaders are complex people whom God uses in spite of their “clay feet.” Just like today.

Martin Luther shockingly wrote in On the Jews and Their Lies, “What shall we Christians do with this damned, rejected race of Jews. Since they live among us and we know about their lying and Blasphemy and cursing, we can not tolerate them if we do not wish to share in their lies, curses, and blasphemy. In this way we cannot quench the inextinguishable fire of divine rage nor convert the Jews. We must prayerfully and reverentially practice a merciful severity.”

His rant continued, “Perhaps we may save a few from the fire and flames [of hell]. We must not seek vengeance. They are surely being punished a thousand times more than we might wish them. Let me give you my honest advice.…their synagogues should be set on fire, and whatever does not burn up should be covered or spread over with dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder or stone of it. And this ought to be done for the honor of God and of Christianity in order that God may see that we are Christians, and that we have not wittingly tolerated or approved of such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of His son and His Christians.”

I am appalled that a sane man would make such a statement, but for a Christian leader to do so is beyond the pale.

He added: “Let their houses also be shattered and destroyed…Let their prayer books and Talmuds be taken from them, and their whole Bible too; let their rabbis be forbidden, on pain of death, to teach henceforth any more. Let the streets and highways be closed against them. Let them be forbidden to practice usury, and let all their money, and all their treasures of silver and gold be taken from them and put away in safety. And if all this be not enough, let them be driven like mad dogs out of the land.”
He even said, “We are at fault for not slaying them!”

Obviously, good men say and do some stupid things.

In Luther’s Works, he wrote a letter stating, “If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly…as long as we are here [in this world] we have to sin….No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day.”

Luther was correct to make the point that nothing can separate a Christian from Christ; however, it is astounding, and abhorrent and not accurate to suggest that any truly born again person would “commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day.”

It is believed by many that Luther was given to hyperbole since he often spoke of God’s grace covering our sins. He was not saying, “Go out and paint the town red. Live it up. Eat, drink, and be merry.” Whatever he meant, it was a stupid thing to write.

Concerning his position on the Peasants Revolt, he wrote Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants urging, “Therefore let everyone who can, smite, slay and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one must kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you, and a whole land with you.”

He added, “To kill a peasant is not murder; it is helping to extinguish the conflagration. Let there be no half measures! Crush them! Cut their throats! Transfix them. Leave no stone unturned! To kill a peasant is to destroy a mad dog! If they say that I am very hard and merciless, mercy be damned. Let whoever can stab, strangle, and kill them like mad dogs.”

By 1531, Luther believed that blasphemy was punishable by death and he included “false teaching” into that definition. He got that from his time in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1536, Philip Melanchthon drafted a memorandum demanding death for all Anabaptists and Luther signed it. Wow, now he’s getting close to me because my theological ancestors were Anabaptists.

Luther was not patient with the Roman potentates. He wrote, “We should take him—the pope, the cardinals, and whatever riffraff belongs to His Idolatrous and Papal Holiness—and (as blasphemers) tear out their tongues from the back, and nail them on the gallows.” It was one thing to point out the errors and crimes of the Roman Church but there was no excuse for Luther’s excessive ranting and encouraging physical violence. That’s what the Catholics were doing!

Luther’s problem was not only a problem of discretion but also one of doctrine. He wrote in On Marriage, “As to divorce, it is still a debatable question whether it is allowable. For my part I prefer bigamy to it.” In his Of Married Life, he wrote, “The word and work of God is quite clear, viz., that women are made to be either wives or prostitutes.”

“I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict the Scripture. If a man wishes to marry more than one wife he should be asked whether he is satisfied in his conscience that he may do so in accordance with the word of God. In such a case the civil authority has nothing to do in the matter.”

How would you react if your pastor taught those thoughts last Sunday?

Thomas Muentzer, usually identified as an Anabaptist, was a reformer in Germany and often was in opposition to Luther especially in the Peasants Revolt that Luther criticized and Muentzer championed. Muentzer wrote, “curse the unbelievers…don’t let them live any longer, the evil-doers who turn away from God. For a godless man has no right to live if he hinders the godly. The sword is necessary to exterminate them…if they resist let them be slaughtered without mercy…the ungodly have no right to live, save what the Elect choose to allow them…Now, go at them…it is time…The scoundrels are as dispirited as dogs…Take no notice of the lamentations of the godless! They will beg you… don’t be moved by pity…At them! At them! While the fire is hot! Don’t let your sword get cold! Don’t let it go lame!”

While we must remember the era in which these men lived, that is no justification for such outrageous and unchristian activities.

Muentzer was a leader in the Peasants’ War (1524-1525), and was later imprisoned by the Roman Church. He did not accept infant baptism and believed in additional revelation. He and his followers are usually described as Anabaptists, although there is no evidence that he re-baptized anyone. He recanted his “heresy” and accepted the Catholic mass just before his beheading, and his head was displayed outside the city for years as a warning to others. Muentzer is a good example to believers to be balanced in political matters and to keep one’s eyes on Christ and His teaching.

Ulrich Zwingli (died 1531) was a prominent reformer in Switzerland who had major personal problems. He had a brief affair with a barber’s daughter; slept with a woman from a previous church; was secretly married to Anna Reinhart which was commonly known. They were publically married three months before the birth of their first child. He defended his womanizing by saying he had never defiled a “virgin, nun or married woman.”

That is as bad as, “It depends on what the meaning of is is.”

Under Zwingli in Zurich beginning in 1518, Catholics were forbidden but so were Anabaptists. The city council declared, “It is our will, that wherever they be found, whether singly or in companies, they shall be drowned to death, and that none of them shall be spared.” Felix Manz was an Anabaptist who was arrested and executed for baptizing adults who had trusted Christ after having been sprinkled as babies.

John Calvin (died 1564) was a major reformer in France and Switzerland but influenced Europe and America. He was an intellectual, preacher, author, theologian, attorney, and statesman. His Institutes of the Christian Religion has made an incredible impact on the world. In 1541, Calvin was chosen by the city of Geneva to be their religious leader to supervise the religious education of the cities’ children and to implement his version of church order.

When Michael Servetus (medical doctor and preacher), who did not believe in the Trinity or infant baptism, mentioned that he would come to Geneva, Calvin wrote a letter to a friend noting that if Servetus were to come, “as far as my authority goes, I would not let him leave alive.” Strange talk for a Christian preacher.

Servetus went to Geneva and was arrested, tried, and found guilty of heresy. He was burned at the stake on the outskirts of Geneva. That was indefensible but Calvin’s followers make a feeble attempt to justify the murder. They still do!

While the Reformers were courageous and committed men, they were also challenged men who often failed in choosing to do right when faced with wrong.

The Reformers did their job that shook the world but their results have faded, after all, nothing lasts. Moreover, they failed when they formed state churches that still exist which should be disbanded today. Thank God for the reformers with all their flaws but with the modern sexual perversion endorsed by religious leaders, apostasy by all the mainline denominations, general unbelief and wicked rebellion of church members, it’s time for another Reformation!

It’s time to welcome the Reformers–again!

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

I am a Christian Fundamentalist, one who adheres closely to what the Bible teaches and I don’t find much in other religions and denominations to recommend religiously. Very frankly, I am right and the other religions, even parts of Christianity, are wrong. (What did you expect me to say?) Now that I have settled that, I am willing to admit the historical truth that the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox Churches have made major positive contributions to the world especially in the fourth century forward. I still maintain my right to disagree, even declare they wrote the histories to make them seem to be original Christians, but they made valuable contributions.

For the record, it should be remembered that the Catholic Church was hundreds of years in the making with many godly, dedicated, and true preachers of the Word associated with it during that time. While the Roman Church was forming, there were numerous independent churches growing alongside it. While those independent churches stayed true to the Scripture for the most part, they did not have the clout, the cash, and the crowds of the Roman Catholic Church; consequently, they did not make the social impact on citizens of the Roman Empire as did the larger, better financed Catholic Church.

While the Roman Catholic Church was gaining more and more power as the Empire collapsed, there were unaffiliated independent churches all over the Empire who refused to conform to the growing power of the Roman Church. Each pope became stronger throughout Europe until Leo I (died 461) claimed superiority over all bishops in the West and the East! Leo was met with resistance since all bishops were to be equal. The patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria “claimed equal authority with the Roman see” so as of 450 there was still no authoritative, supreme pope. That came with Gregory I in the late 500s (died 604) who was the first supreme pope.

The fabled civilization of a thousand years could see the handwriting on the wall as the brutal barbarians were at the gates of Rome and collapse was imminent. In 410 A.D., Rome collapsed as the city of the Caesars fell to uncivilized, uneducated, and uncouth barbarians. With the collapse of Rome, a chill went throughout the civilized world; however, as the Empire fell, the Church of Rome stepped in to fill the gap.

Following the alleged conversion of Constantine in the early fourth century, the churches constructed and maintained hospitals, hospices for strangers, and houses for orphans, widows, and the indigent. As Rome crumbled, the Church remained the one (and only) stable institution that helpless citizens could depend on for help and protection.

As the Empire collapsed because of internal decay, corruption of officials, and the barbarian invasions, the social structure decayed also. The bewildered citizens looked to the only large, powerful entity for succor–the Church. The churches, primarily the Roman Catholic Church as it was gradually forming, basically replaced the failing Empire. As internal confusion and inability to maintain the army in the north accelerated, Rome became a shadow of its former glory. The more the Empire crumbled the more important and powerful the Church became. Although the Church became heretical, it provided fearful citizens with protection, food, health care, etc.

The Church at Rome (that became the seat of the Roman Catholic Church) had over fifty thousand members and supported 1,500 widows, orphans, and the poor according to Gibbon. He adds that the church at Antioch “consisted of one hundred thousand persons, three thousand of whom were supported out of the public oblations [gifts to churches].” Of course, that was long before the formation of the Roman Catholic Church.

After the Council of Nicaea in 325, the bishops were told to go into every Cathedral city (the main city of a diocese where the bishops ruled) and start a hospital–and later universities. Consequently, a number of hospitals were founded by rich Christians in various cities.

About this time, monasteries and convents were organized with many purposes but they became the bastions of scholarship in many fields. Catholic engineers constructed massive and elaborate cathedrals throughout Europe that still amaze visitors with their beauty, size, and symmetry.

Basil of Caesarea (c.329-379) was the Greek bishop in Cappadocia (part of modern Turkey) who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed Arianism and other heresies. He was from a wealthy family and founded the first Christian hospital that ministered to the sick. It was the first hospital that had wards for specific diseases. He organized a soup kitchen and distributed food to the poor during a famine. He gave away his personal family inheritance to benefit the poor of his diocese. He actively worked to help thieves and prostitutes.

An obvious outcome of establishing hospitals was the need to provide workers; therefore, brotherhoods and orders were birthed to serve in hospitals, hospices, orphanages, etc. According to historian Kenneth S. Latourette, “One of the first of which we know began late in the ninth century in Siena. In the eleventh century many cathedrals and parish churches had hospitals…A large proportion, perhaps a majority of monasteries seem to have had hospitals attached to them, several gave training in medicine, and many abbots became expert physicians. Hospitals cared not only for the sick, but also for the orphaned and the poor, and in the cities many of them fed prisoners.”

Many groups organized and formed orders to care for the sick and dying. Catholic religious orders included the Order of Saint Benedict, the Order of Friars Minor, the Carmelites, the Dominican Order, and the Order of Saint Augustine. (All orders did not serve in hospitals or provide for the poor since each order had its own specialty.) Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak and homeless. The monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of the sick.

Historians admit that when the Roman Empire began to crack at its foundations, the Church had not only established hospitals but had also become “the schoolmaster of Western Europe and the tutor of the barbarian of the North.” The origin of many medieval universities can be traced back to the Catholic cathedral schools (monastic schools) which appeared as early as the 6th century.The Catholic Church is to be commended for being the impetus for most of the universities of the Middle Ages.

Catholic scientists that made the world better are Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Nicolas Copernicus, Louis Pasteur, Gregor Mendel, Roger Bacon, and many others. And the popes are to be commended for permitting dissecting of human bodies for medical research.

Moreover, the Cathedral churches and monasteries were the main preservers of literature after many libraries of the ancient world had been destroyed. Dedicated monks protected and copied books making them available for scholars throughout Europe.

Latourette reveals “the [Roman Catholic] Church was the first to accumulate reserves of capital, to begin the system of deposits, credit, and banking, and to advocate a stable coinage. The Templars were famous as bankers….The Church, too, inculcated the theory of the ‘just price.’” Again, much is owed to the Roman Church in the practical area of finance.

While there is much I disagree with in the Roman Church, especially its doctrine and religious ceremonial practices, I recognize their incredible contributions to giving some stability in very difficult, desperate and dangerous times; their production and protection of vast scholarly literature; their generous alleviation of suffering of millions; the construction and maintenance of universities; etc.

For all that, I tip my hat to my theological adversaries.

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published recently by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

The papacy was not established by Jesus nor prophesied by Isaiah and saying otherwise does not make it so. For about 300 years after Christ, very ordinary village priests were called pope (papa). (By the way, what of the Bible prohibition in Matthew 23:9 of calling any man “father” other than your own physical father?) Moreover, Peter was not the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church as some shallow historians loudly proclaim. Obviously, the Christian church was built upon Peter’s confession of Christ, not upon Peter. Peter was not a Catholic!

The Christian Reformers were on the march in 1544 giving the Roman Catholic Church leaders a perpetual heartburn. The reformers were shining the light upon the religious corruption, priestly incompetence (and wickedness), and numerous unscriptural doctrines that the Roman Church espoused. The Roman Catholic leaders determined to act and did so by calling the Council of Trent (in Trento, Italy) that lasted from Dec. of 1545 to Dec. of 1563. The Catholic Counter Reformation was on the move. Trent is considered one of Rome’s most important councils. It was 400 years before another council was held.

Trent decided that the Scripture alone was not sufficient and that truth would be decided by Scripture, the pope (and his bishops), and tradition. They decided that salvation was attained by faith and works in opposition to Luther’s demand for justification by faith alone as taught in the Bible.

All Protestants and Baptists who disagreed with the council’s decision were cursed as the Roman leaders hurled 125 anathemas (curses) at all who disagreed with their decisions. That meant that such people were out of the church and destined for hell.

Those who laugh at the thought that the Pope (or any other human) can ever be without error are condemned to eternal Hell, according to First Vatican Council.

If one does not believe that Purgatory is a reality since it is never mentioned in Scripture, he is to be cursed to Hell (Session 6). Purgatory has been an embarrassing, unscriptural fund-raiser for the Roman Church. If a Catholic pays money to his church, then a relative’s sins are forgiven and eventually the doors of Purgatory open so he or she can enter Heaven. However, Purgatory, like Limbo does not exist.

Session 7 declared, “If anyone says that baptism is …not necessary for salvation,” he is cursed. Well, that means all Baptists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Interdenominationalists, independents, and others are candidates for Hell even though John 14:7 clearly teaches that Christ is the only way of salvation. Water baptism is simply an outward sign of what happened inwardly.

In Session 12, the church leaders decreed that those who don’t believe that the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table are the actual body and blood of Christ are doomed to Hell. Church leaders insist that they are actually eating the body of Christ and drinking His blood! If one analyzed the bread and wine as it hits the tongue would it prove to be flesh and blood? Only a superstitious fool or religious fanatic would think so. Only 45% of Catholics believe that teaching. Acts 15 forbids the drinking of blood. Catholics would have us believe that Christ was saying as He held the bread, “This is my body that we will now devour together!” What an absurdity! Moreover, Christ had not yet died, so how could the bread be His body that was in the room with them?

It is incredible and a mangling of English to call Trent an “Ecumenical Council.” The churchmen showed no interest in genuine discussion of the doctrinal differences with the Protestants. The Roman leaders were determined to reinforce their agenda with some housecleaning to satisfy the protesters. It is interesting that no Baptists were even close to the council. They wanted nothing to do with either side. Baptists are neither Catholics nor Protestants!

When Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council (1962), he made a Declaration of Faith. He said that he accepted everything declared by the Council of Trent. He specifically said that he anathematized everything that contradicted it, a position that was reaffirmed by Pope Paul VI. It was said that Paul “sought dialogue with the world, with other Christians, other religions, and atheists, excluding nobody.” But that is not true. With a wink and a nod, he spoke of inclusiveness while he reinstituted the vile curses of Trent. It is time for the Roman Catholic Church to apologize for Trent and lift all curses. Of course, the curses have no effect on non-Catholics but it is a matter of principle that the curses should be lifted if the Church leaders sincerely believe in ecumenicity. They are hypocrites if they don’t.

This evil attack upon all non-Catholics cannot be relegated to the Middle Ages; it is as current as it was at Trento. All curses are still in effect! Hardly a gracious and inclusive thought. It is way past time to lift the curses. Will the new Pope do so?

An Augustinian monk named Luther hammered to his church door in Wittenberg his objections to Roman Catholic doctrine and other abuses, accelerating the necessity of Trent. It is now time for Rome to admit that the simple monk was right and lift their curses on those who agree with him.