He said what? The Reformers Curious Quotations

Today's post will cause all of us especially the Protestants among us to pause and scratch our heads. Some of the things we think that we know about the 16th century founders of the new and novel Protestant churches is mixed up and wrong.  Lest you think I am a great brain and have done a lot of research on this subject, let me confess, I have not. The quotes were researched by a wonderful author named Devin Rose in the book entitled If Protestantism is True which is available through Amazon.com's Kindle service.

Protestant apologists often castigate the Catholic Church for believing things that they cannot find in the Bible.  Well, to them I would say where does the Bible say that all Christian belief has to be found in the Bible.  But that is a subject for another post.  Today I am going to let the great "reformers" to speak on several subjects that are bones of contention between Catholics and Protestants. I will not comment on what they say, I will let their quotations stand on their own merit.  I have to say that these people are the ones responsible for creating the many thousands of Christian sects that exist today. It was through their words that we have Lutheran churches, Presbyterian churches, Baptist Churches, Churches of God, and all of the other denominations that have sprung up.  It was their sword that carved up the Church and destroyed the unity that Jesus prayed for.  And so, without further delay, direct from the frozen tundra of Illinois I present to you the reformers.

On Mary the Mother of God

Martin Luther:

"In this work whereby she was made the Mother of God, so many and such great good things given her that no one can grasp them. Not only was Mary the mother of Him who is born in Bethlehem, but of him who, before the workd was eternally born of the Father from a Mother in time and at the same time man and God. (1)

John Calvin:

"It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son granter her the highest honor. Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God." (2)

On the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

Martin Luther

"Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity. When Matthew says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought for her so, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her. This babble is without justification he (one who interprets the Bible against Mary's perpetual virginity) has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either scripture of the common idiom." (3)

John Calvin

"The inference Helvidius drew from Matthew 1:35 was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband. No just and well grounded inference can be drawn from these words as to what took place after the birth of Christ.  He is called the "first born"; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that He was born of a virgin. What took place afterwards the historian dies not inform us. No man will obstinately keep up the argument except from a extreme fondness for disputation."  (4)

Martin Luther on Jews 

"The Jews are full of devil's feces which they wallow in like swine. (5)

Martin Luther on Marriage

"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 civil authority has nothing to do in such a matter. (6)

Back to my narrative. These quotes are shown how the two greatest reformers thought about things.  I found the antisemitism and his tacit approval of polygamy striking.  

When there appears any article about the Roman Catholic Church on the internet you can bet that the trolls that hate the Church will come out in force and trot out all of the old tried and true accusations against the church such as that we worship Mary, pray to statues, worship bread and wine, you know the stuff.  I take a few minutes to correct the troll, knowing full well that I am not going to change the troll's mind. But there may be some out there who will read what I say and perhaps, just perhaps, their heart will soften and they will start looking at the resources I recommend to them. 

We Catholics have a great responsibility to our Protestant brothers and sisters.  I am not excluding rabid anti-Catholics either, those such as Jack Chic to give an example of someone who truly hates the Catholic Church.  We are tasked with bringing them home and to undo five hundred years of separateness back into the unity Christ wanted in the first place.  The quotes just serve to indicate that some of the people that hate us the most have no idea how far they have strayed from not only the Catholic Church but from their own Protestant roots. 

We are called to be one in Christ. It is not for the Catholic Church to divide herself among the denominations to bring this about. It is rather the denominations, large and small, that must unite themselves into one Church that teaches the Good News to those who need it most.  

I have come a long way in a short period of time in my own personal understanding of our differences. At one time I considered all Protestants beyond hope and hell bound.  Then I studied what my Church teaches and found out that I was in effect the Catholic version of Jack Chick, unreasonable, uncharitable, and not very Christ like.  The Catholic Church write in the documents of Vatican II what my understanding should be: 

"Even in the beginnings of this one and only Church of God there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly condemned. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions made their appearance and quite large communities came to be separated from full communion with the Catholic Church-for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame.  The children who are born into these communities and who grow up believing in Christ cannot be accused of the sin involved in the separation, and the Catholic Church embraces upon them as brothers, with respect and affection. For men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church event though this communion is imperfect.  (7)

In the Decree on Ecumenism we read: 

Moreover, some and even very many of the significant elements and endowments with together go to build bu and give life to the Church itself, can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church: the written word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spitit, and visible elements too.  It follows that the separated Churches and Communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as a means of salvation which devive their efficacy frin the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church. 

I as a dutiful son of Holy Mother Church therefore am to treat Protestants with great respect, admiration, and love.  This is contrasted with certain Protestant sects that teach that he Catholic Church are idol worshipers, calling the pope the anti-Christ. 

So that is all I have to say today.  thank youfor listening. 

Footnotes 

(1) On the Divine Motherhood of Mary, Weimer's The Works of Luther English translation by Pelikan Concordia St Louis V7 P 572

(2) Ca;vini Oera Corpus Reformatorium Braunschweig Berlin 1863-1900 V 45 P 348

(3) Pelikan ibid v45:206, 212-3 / That Jesus Christ was born a Jew

(4) Pringle vol 1 p 107

(5) On the Jews and Their Lies - circa 1543

(6) Martin Luther, DeWette, II 459.

(7) Second Vatican Council, Unitatis Redintgratio, I 3