Protestant
Man-Made
Traditions...
Since the Protestant reformation,
and the subsequent separation by them from the Catholic Church, Protestantism
lost the teaching arm of the Catholic Church and the holding of Sacred
Tradition. In so doing, they reverted to a condemnation of holding all
tradition. They then turned to the only resource they had left, the Holy
Bible, a product of the Catholic Church by the way. At about the same time,
they invented a new man-made doctrine called
Sola Scriptura, which insisted that if it is not in the Bible, then it
is simply did not happen, or it is not to be believed.
Interestingly, Protestants reject keeping the traditions by the Catholic
Church, yet they have several man-made traditions
of their own which they hold. Holy Scripture is very clear in separating
man-made tradition from GOD made, or Apostolic
tradition. Scripture commands us to "Hold the Traditions that you
have learned, whether by word or
by letter of ours", 2Thess 2:15.
See, "The Legacy of the One Legged Stool",
and "The Origin of Sola Scriptura",
found elsewhere on this website, for much more on what I have stated here.
Here listed are a few of Protestant invented man-made traditions which
are not to be found in Scripture. These Protestant 'traditions' are used
to attack the Catholic Church in many ways.
1. The man-made false doctrine of "Sola Scriptura" is itself
a Protestant tradition. Read my files, "For Whom the Bell
Tolls", and "The Origin of Sola Scriptura",
and other files of this same subject on this web site. The man-made tradition
of Sola Scriptura is not to be found in Scripture. In fact it is not to
be found in history either, before the reformation.
2. The man-made false doctrine of "Individual Interpretation of Holy
Scripture" is condemned by Scripture itself. However, Protestants
do it all the time, while ignoring the many verses which admonish them
not to do so. This is a Protestant invented man-made tradition. See the
same references listed above for the many verses.
3. The man-made false doctrine of "Not Baptizing Infants". Interestingly,
Protestants attack the Catholic Church for baptizing infants, yet nowhere
in Scripture does it say, "Do not Baptize Infants". I have been
told that we should not baptize children until they are old enough to accept
Jesus Christ. What happens to their souls if they die or are killed before
that time? Where in Scripture does it say to wait until they can reason
it out for themselves? In fact, Holy Scripture says to baptize all, as
I have shown in another file called, "Baptism",
found on this web site. This is yet another Protestant tradition.
4. The man-made false doctrine of "Baptism by Immersion Only".
Protestants attack the Catholic Church for not baptizing by immersion.
This is a false attack, as the Catholic Church does baptize by immersion.
There is nothing in Holy Scripture that says "Baptism must
be done by immersion", so a lack of Scriptural proof makes that charge
another Protestant tradition. See the same "Baptism"
file for the facts.
5. The man-made false doctrine that "Catholics Worship Mary".
Show me where Scripture says that? If you cannot show me the Scripture,
then show me the authentic Catholic document which tells Catholics that
they must worship Mary? This is yet another Protestant invented tradition
concocted specifically to attack the Catholic Church with yet another false,
and baseless charge.
6. The man-made false doctrine which shows that the "Catholic Church
Apostatized" in the early centuries and is therefore, not the Church
which Jesus Christ founded. This charge is certainly not Scriptural, and
it is not even historical, as no genuine historical document has proved
this to be true. To the contrary, if anyone would take the time to read
the writings of the historians of the Church, the Church Fathers, they
would find just the opposite of this false charge to be true. From the
first fathers to the last, spanning over five centuries, they mention the
Catholic Church by name and how it grew and expanded. There is not one
word of this "Great Apostasy" which Protestants invented. Yet,
Protestants teach this lie, as it is one of their man-made traditions to
do so.
I do not understand why Protestants read of the history of their country,
and of the world, and yet shun the wealth of historical documents regarding
the most important historical topic, the history of Christianity.
See "Lord, That I May See", elsewhere on
this website for the proof of what I said here of the writings of the Church
Fathers.
7. The man-made false doctrine that "This IS
My Body", as said by Jesus Christ Himself in
Matt 26:26, is really only "a symbol" of His body. Where did
Jesus Christ ever say, "This is a symbol of my body"? Here is
yet another example of a false charge against the Catholic Church, as it
is NOT Scriptural. This
is merely another Protestant man-made tradition. When they separated themselves
from the Catholic Church , they lost (and now do not even acknowledge)
the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Therefore, their ministers lost the power
to call the Holy Spirit through a valid priesthood, in order to consecrate
the host into the real Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, of Jesus Christ.
So therefore, in Protestantism, it IS only
a symbol. Just because they have only a symbol, they should not charge
the Catholic Church with having only a symbol, as we have had a valid priesthood
for almost 2000 years. I would be happy to explain what the definition
of IS is, as
used in Matt 26:26 by Jesus Christ Himself.
Written by Bob Stanley, January 22,
2000
Updated February 9, 2000
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