What can Catholics and Protestants learn from each other?

9/27/18       Steve,  about 40

There is no earthly church organization that is not without its faults, and the Catholic Church nor any of the many Protestant denominations are an exception. But both also have some very redeeming qualities, and I think that is important for me as a Protestant to keep in mind.

In my mind, the elevation of church authority and tradition over the word of God is the source of the problems in the Catholic Church, resulting in some unbiblical teachings, some unqualified and ungodly leaders and sexual abuse scandals. But every so often in my outreach conversations I come across faithful Catholics who have not lost sight of the Gospel, and I found Steve, a lawyer whom I talked with at our local coffeeshop, to be one of them.

In our dialogue we found much in common in our beliefs, so in the end I asked Steve what he thought might be the key difference between Catholics and Protestants. He thought for a minute, then mentioned the Catholic emphasis on the sacraments.

As I think about it, I believe he has a point. In my Protestant emphasis on the scriptures and their ability to make clear the message of the Gospel, there are still certain truths that are beyond words. The sacraments, holy communion for example, have a way of allowing us to physically experience truths that are beyond simple explanation. As a result, Catholics are more willing, in my opinion, to accept the “mysteries” of the faith, without feeling the need to always explain them in words.

This can be carried to excess, but there will always be paradoxes, such as Christ’s deity and humanity, the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or predestination vs. free will, that defy logical explanation. The ability to accept the mystery, I think, can help bring unity between people who may differ on just how to explain such paradoxes.

There is another paradox I’ve been thinking about lately, one that I think Steve was very comfortable with after his years of faithful devotion. That is the seeming contradiction between our need to fear God and yet “fear not”.

In Luke 12, Jesus continued the theme of fearing the Lord that runs through the Old Testament when he said “I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” but then He tells of a paradox, a seeming contradiction: “…Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

We are told to fear God, but to not be afraid. This might not be a mystery on the level of, say, the hypostatic union, but I believe it’s one of those concepts we can only learn through faithful reverence and obedience to God and his Word. It’s a mystery that faithful participation in the sacraments can help both Catholics and Protestants understand.

PS –Steve graciously allowed me to record our conversation, which can be seen in its entirety at https://youtu.be/GnReUSe-Rkc on my YouTube channel.