The Unbiblical Teachings

of
Roman Catholicism
A review of Loraine Boettner's
Roman Catholicism
by Joe Morecraft
All of Loraine Boettner's books are helpful to Christians
who are seeking to understand the great truths of Biblical,
Refonned Christianity. Writing as a Christian layman,
his books are some of the most readable in'my entire
library. His book, The Reformed Doctrine of
Predestination, transformed my life and my preaching.
Boettner's book,Roman Catholicism, is no less important
It is the clearest and most thorough critique of the
teachings of Roman Catholicism from a Reformed
Christian perspective that I know of. I earnestly pray that
these "tastes" of this book will only whet your appetite to
buy the book and "devour" the whole thing.
Boettner's one concern in his book is to compare the
teachings of Rome with the unerring standard of the
Bible: "To the law and the testimony! If they speak not
according to this word, surely there is no moroing for
them," (Isa 8:20). His conclusions about Rome can be
summarized by Mark 7:7,13-"But in vain do they
worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of
men .... making void the word of God by your tradition,
which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye
do."
1. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
VERSUS
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Boettner quotes John Gerstner, formerly Professor of
Church History in Pittsburgh Theological Seroinary, to
distinguish "catholic" from "Roman Catholic"-"Strictly
speaking 'Roman Catholic' is a contradiction of terms.
Catholic means universal; Roman means partiCUlar. Itis
the Protestant and not the Romanist who believes in the
catholic church. Protestants believethechurchis universal
or catholic; Rome cannot discover it beyond her own
communion. Our formula is: 'UbiSpiritusibiecclesia'-
'Where the Spirit is there is the church.' Her motto is:
'Ubi ecclesia ibi Spiritus'-'Where the (Roman) church
is there is the Spirit.' It is because of the proper historic
use of the word' catholic' that Protestants do not hesitate
to recite it in the Apostles' Creed. We cling to the word
because we cherish the concept. Rome has no monopoly
on it; indeed, as we have suggested, it is a question
whether she has any right to it." (page 22)
2. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD
As over against the great Biblical doctrines of the
unique and all- sufficient mediatorship and priesthood of
Jesus Christ and the priesthood of all believers in Christ,
The Council of Trent, "whose decrees," writes Boettner,
"must be accepted by all Roman Catholics under pain of
mortal sin or excommunication, says: 'The priest is the
man of God, the minister of God .... He that despiseth the
priest despiseth God; he that hears him hears God. The
The Counsel of Chalcedon FebruaryfMarch 1991 Page 31
priest remits sins as God, and that which he calls his body
at the altar is adored as God by hiInself 8nd by the
congregation.... It is clear that their function is such that
none greater can be conceived. Wherefore they are justly
called not only angels, but also God, holding as they do
among us the power and authority of the immortal God.'"
(pageS!)
Boettner quotes another source, bearing the official
approval of the Roman Catholic Church, as . saying:
"Without the priest the death and pasSion of oUr Lord
would be of no avail tous. See the power of the priest! By
one word from his lips he changeS a piece of bread into a
God! A greater fact than the creation of a world." (page
51)
3. THE TRADITION OF THE CHURCH
Boettner believes that the controversy over tradition and
biblical authority is ''the basic difference between
Protestantism and Roman Catholicism." (page 75) True
Protestants believe that all traditions and standards of the
Church must be kept subordinate to the Bible, as the
written Word of God, the divine authority of which is
inerrant, all- sufficient, and final. In contrast to this,
Roman Catholicism teaches that there are three sources of
authority: the Bible, the developing traditions of the
which, and nature/reason. \
''In professing to interpret the Bible in ilie ' light of
tradition, the Roman Church in reality places. tradition
above the Bible, so that the Roman Catholic is governed;
not by the Bible, nor by the Bible and tradition, but by the
I church itself which sets up the tradition and says whatit
I !means. - ...
or destroys the Word. She maintains that alongside of the
written Word there is also an unwritten Word, an oral
tradition, which was taught by Christ and the apostles but
which is not in the Bible,whichrather was handed down
generation after generation .. .. This unwritten Word of
God,itis said, comes toexpressionin the pronouncements
of the church councils and in papal decrees. It takes
precedence over the written Word and inteiprets it The
pope, as s personal representative on the earth, can
legislate for things additional to theBibleas new situations
arise." (page 76-77)
The Counsel of Chalcedon FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 32
Boettner goes on to point out that the Bible of Roman
Catholicism is differentfrom the Bible of Protestantism.
This is a serious difference, which is often overlooked.
4. THE PAPACY
Boettner pointS out that Roman Catholicism teaches
that Peter, the apostle of ChriSt, was the frrst Roman
Catholic Pope. He then spends twenty pages using the
Bible to refute that yiewpoint. His arguments are
convincing. He concludes his comments with this
paragraph: "The doctrine of the primacy of Peter is just
one moreof'the many errors that the Church of Rome has
added to the Christian religion. With the exposure of that
fallacy the foundation of the :Roman Church is swept
away. The whole papal system stands orfans depending
on whether or not Peter was a pope in Rome, and neither
the New Testament nor reliable historical records give
any reason to believe that he ever held thatposition orthat
he ever was in ROme." (page 124)
According to an official New York Catechism: "The
pope takes the place ofJesus Christon earth .... By divine
right the pope has supreme and full power in faith and
morals Over each andeverypastorandhis flock Heisthe
true Vicar of Christ, the head of the entire church, the
father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible
ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge
of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the
world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge
of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth."
Pope Leo xm declared that the Pope holds "upon earth
the place of God Almighty." (page 127)
s. THE PLA(:E OF MARY
IN ROMAN CATHOLICISM
Mary, the mother of Jesus, plays a central role in Roman
theology. Although Protestantism appreciates Mary, as
most blessed of God, being themotherofJesus, whilestill
a virgin. ButRoman Catholicismleads people to worship
her. Margaret Shepherd, an ex -nun, illustrates this
worshipful veneration of Mary, when she writes: "No
words can define to my readers the feeling of reverential
love I had for the Virgin Mary. As the humble suppliant
kneels before her statue he thinks of her as the tender,
compassionate mother of Jesus, the friend and mediatrix
of sinners. The thought of praying to Christ for any
special grace without seeldng the intercession of I\1Ju:y
never occurred to me." (page 141)
Boettner describes how Rome has idolatrously exalted
Maly by teaching her immaculate conception, i.e., she
was born sinless, her perpetual virginity, (inspite of the
fact that she and Joseph had other children after Jesus),
her assumption, i.e., she was raised from the dead and
enthroned as "Queen of Heaven," and her position as co-
redemptrix with Christ
A particularly helpful distinction betweenofficialRoman
statements on Mary and the Bible is drawn on pages 138-
140, where Boettner shows that Mary is given the exalted
position belonging to Christ alone, that she is glorified
more than Christ, that she is the gate to heaven instead of
Christ, that she is given the power that belongs to Christ
alone, that she is our peace-make rather than Christ, and
that she is given the glory that belongs to Christ alone.
6. THE MASS
One of the most repugnant things about Roman
Catholicism is the Mass. "The Creed of Pope Pius IV,
which is one of the official creeds of the Roman Church,
says: 'I profess that in the Mass is offered to God a true,
proper, and propitiatory sacrifice [that is, a sacrifice
which satisfies the justice of God and so offsets the
penalty for sin 1 for the living and the dead; and that in the
most holy sacramentoftheEucharist [Communion] there
is truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood,
together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus
Christ; and that there is a conversion of the whole
substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole
substance of the wine into the blood, which the Catholic
Church calls Transubstantiation.' The Council of Trent
declared: 'The sacrifice [in the Mass 1 is identical with the
sacrifice of the Cross, inasmuch as Jesus Christ is a priest
and victim both. The only difference lies in the manner
of offering, which is bloody upon the cross and bloodless
on our altars.'
"A Roman Catholic, John A. 0' Brien, whose books are
widely read, says: 'The Mass with its colorful vestments
and vivid ceremonies is a dramatic re-enactment in an
unbloody manner of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. '"
(page 169)
Boettner explains Rome's view of the Mass by saying
that: "The Church of Rome holds that the mass is a
continuation of the sacrifice that Christ made on Calvary,
that it is in reality a re-crucifixion of our Lord over and
overagain,inanunbloodymanner.-Christsupposedly
is offered in sacrifice every time the mass is celebrated,
that is, daily, in thousands of Roman Catholic churches
throughout the world. - In the sacrifice of the mass the
Roman priest becomes an 'AlterChristus,' that is, 'Another
Christ,' in that he sacrifices the real Christ upon the altar
and presents Him for the salvation of the faithful and for
the deliverance of souls in purgatory. The Roman Church
teachesthatChrist,intheformofthe 'host' (the consecrated
wafer), is inreality upon the altar, and that the priests have
Him in their power, that they hold Him in their hands, and
carry Him from place to place." (page 174).
This is in direct contradiction to the Word of God which
teaches us that by the once-for-all and unrepeatable
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, He has cleansed us from all sin,
Reb. 9:12; I John 1:7. Transubstantiation in the Mass
amounts to.cannibalism, i.e. the eating of the literal flesh
and blood of Jesus.
7. THE CONFESSIONAL
Concerning the confession of sins, Roman Catholicism
teaches: "Confession is the telling of our sins to an
authorized priest for the purpose of obtaining forgiveness.
- The priest does not have to ask God to forgive your
sins. The priest himself has the power to do so in Christ's
name. Your sins are forgiven by the priest the same as if
you knelt before Jesus Christ and told them to Christ
himself." (pages 196- 197)
This flies in the face of the Word of God. "Who can
forgive sins, but one, even God?" (Mark2:7). " ... TheSon
of man has authority on earth to forgive sins," (Mat. 9:6).
Every penitent sinner has the blessed privilege of
confessing his sins directly to God-"If we confess our
The Counsel of COOleedou FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 33
sins, he is faitbfulandrighteous to forgive us oursins,.and
to, cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (I John 1:9).
''There is one God, One Mediator also between God and
men, himself man, Christ Jesus," (I Tim. 2:5). The
publican, burdened with his sense of sin, simply bowed
his head and in prayer directly to God, prayed, "God, be
thou merciful to me a sinner," (Lk. 18:9f).
We are also commanded to confess our faults to one
another as Christians, when we have sinned against each
other, James 5:16; Acts 19:18, but never are we
commanded to confess our sins to office-holders called
priests in order to receive forgiveness from God:
8. THE PLACE OF PURGATORY ,
IN ROMAN CATHOLICISM
Boettner explains that: "The Roman Catholic Church
has developed a doctrine in which it is held that all who
die at peace with the church, but who are notperfect, must
undergo penal and purifying suffering in an intermediate
realm known as purgatory. Only those believers who
haveattainedastateofChristianperfectiongoimmediately
to heaven. - The doctrine of purgatory rests on the
assumption that while God forgives . sin, His justice
nevertheless demands that the sinner must sllffer the full
punishment due to him for his sin before he will be
allowed to enter heaven.
''The Roman Catholic people are taught that the souls of
their relatives and friends in purgatory suffergreat torment
in the flames, that they are unable to help themselves, that
not even God can help them until His justice has been
satisfied, and that ouly their friends on earth can shorten
or alleviate that suffering. Purgatory is supposed to be
under the special juris(iiction of the pope, and it is his
prerogative as the representative of Christ on earth to
grant indulgences (Le., relief from suffering) as he sees
fit" (pages 218-219) .
"This doctrines gives to the death and funeral of the
Roman Catholic a dreadful and repellent aspect Under
theshadowofsuchadoctrinedeathisnot,asinevangelical
Protestantism, the corning of Christ for his loved one, but
the ushering of the shrinking soul into a place of
unspeakable torture. It is no wonder that millions of
The Counsel of Chalcedon FehruarylMarch 1991 Page 34
. people bom in the Roman Catholic Church, mowing
practicallynothingabouttheBiblebutbelievingimplicitly
in the doctrines of their church, should live and die in fear
ofdeath,infearofspendinganunkiloWnnumberofyears
in the pain and anguish of that place called purgatory.
How tragic that these people live in fear and servitude to
the priests, who they are taught to believe hold in their
hands the power of life anddeath, when all the time Christ
has paid for their redemption in full." (pages .219- 220)
Romanism teaches that: ''The pains of purgatory arevery
severe, surpassing anything endured in this life." ''There
is absolutely no doubt that the pains of purgatory in some
cases endure for entire centuries." (page 220)
The doctrine of purgatory cannot be found in the Bible.
Instead, wereadChristSaying: ''Hethathearethmyword,
and believeth him that sent me, HATH eternal life, and
cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death
into life," (John 5:24).
8. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
OF PENANCE (SALVATION BY WORKS)
A Roman Catholic training manual, INS1RUCTIONS
FOR NON-CATHOLICS, states: "in the sacrament of
penance, God gives the priest the power to bring sinners
back into the state of grace and to prevent them from
falling into the abyss of hell. Moreover, after confession
some temporal punishment due to sin generally remains,
and some of this punishment is taken away in the penance
(prayers) the priest gives you to say . You should perform
other acts of penance also so that you can make up for the
temporal punishment due to sin and to avoid a long stay
in purgatory." (pages 254-255)
Over against this merit system of forgiveness of sins
earnedbygood works stands Protestantism, which teaches
that salvation is by grace through faith, and not by
meritorious works, Eph. 2:8ff; Rom. 3:28. Boettuer
drives home his point. by quoting C.D. Cole: "The basic
andfataierrorofRomanismisthedenialofthesufficiency
of Christ as Savior. It denies the efficacy of His sacrifice
on the cross. Romanism has a Christ, but .he is not
sufficient as a Savior. What he did on Calvary must be
repeated (in the Mass) and supplemented (through works
of penance), and this makes priestcraft and
sacrarnentarianismnecessary. Romanismis acomplicated
system of salvation by works. It has salvation to sell, but
not on Isaiah's terms-without money and withoutprice,
!sa 55: 1. It offers salvation on the insta1bnent plan, and
then sees to it that the poor sinner is always behind in his
payments, so that when he dies there is a large balance
unpaid, and he must continue payments by sufferings in
purgatory, or until the debt is paid by prayers, alms,and
sufferings of his living relatives and friends. The whole
system and plan calls for merit and money, from the
cradle to the grave, and even beyond." (page 257-258).
Considerthi.s contrast: Rome says-"If anyonesaith that
justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine
mercy which remits sin for Christ's sake alone; or, that
this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified, Jet
him be anathema," (i.e. cursed of God), (Sess. VI, Can.
12). (page 261) The Bible says that anyone who would
base his salvation on his own merit or works is "Being
ignorant of God' s righteousness, and seeking to establish
their own, they did not subject themselves to the
righteousness of God," Rom. 10:3.
9. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC LITURGY,
CEREMONIES AND RITUALS
"The gorgeous vestments, colorful processions, pageantry
and mystifYing symbolism, the stately music, the solemn
intonations of the priests ina singsong voice, the flickering
candles, the tinkling bells, the sweetsmellingincense ... -
all are designed to impress the senses and the emotions."
All of which is "a purely man-made religious display, a
ritualistic ceremony that is not even hinted at anywhere in
the Bible!" (page 270)
Boettner's assessment of all this pageantry and liturgy is
to the point: ''Romanismis largely areligion of ceremonials
and rituals, and as such it is a far departure from the purity
and simplicity of the Gospel. The supposed blessing is
mysterious andmagical. No really intelligentparticipation
is required on the part of the people. THey are largely
spectators watching the pageantry , and are supposed to be
blessed simply because they are there. - Fifteen
centuries of history make it clear that the Roman ritual is
powerless to uplift the world. Indeed,is it any wonder that
Roman Catholic countries areproverbially impoverished,
illiterate, and degraded ? We charge Rome with obscuring
rather than revealing the simply truth of the way of
salvation as set forth in the Bible, and with the addition of
many doctrines and practices not found in the Bible."
(page 276)
10. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW
OFCELmACY
According to Rome, a single, celibate state is superior
to marriage, and The Council of Trent "even pronounced
an anathema against all who teach that the married state
is preferable to that of virginity or celibacy. Thus on the
one hand she exalts marriage, [as a sacrament], while on
the other she degrades it In the eyes of Rome there is
something unclean about marriage. The boy who enters
a monastery to study for the priesthood, and the girl who
enters a convent, are taught, not that sex is the normal
reproductive instinct found in every healthy person and
animal, butthattheseromanticdesires aresinful, something
to be ashamed of." (page 299)
Over against this Roman view, which originates with
Manichaeism and Gnosticism, is the Biblical view of
marriage and family as presented by Charles Hodge: "It
is only in the married state that some of the purest, most
disinterested, and most elevated principles of our nature
are called into exercise. All that concerns filial piety, and
parental and especially maternal affection, depends on
marriage for its very existence. It is in the bosom of the
family that there is a constant call for acts of kindness, of
self-denial, of forbearance, and of love. The family,
therefore, is thespherethebestadaptedforthedevelopment
of all the social virtues; and it may be safely said that there
is far more of moral excellence and of true religion to be
foundin Christian households, thanin the desolate homes
of priests, or in the gloomy cells of monks and nuns."
(pages 303-304)
Boettner concludes his book with a chapter entitled, "A
System Tested by Its Fruits: ' in which he writes: "We
have now examined the distinctive features of Roman
Catholicism and have found that each one of them is false
and truly formidable in its consequences of leading
(Boettner continued on page 23)
The Counsel of Cbalcedon FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 35
Boettner--continued from page 35
people astray from the Gospel. These things have been
shown to be not peripheral but to concern the very heart
of the Christian message as setforthin the New Testament.
To an unbelievable extent Rome has apostatized from the
faith. - All of this is a strong indictment of the Roman
system. But it is no stronger than the facts justify.
"We have attempted to show that the Achilles heel of
Romanism is the false theological basis on which the
system rests, and that the strength of evangelical
Protestantism is its rigid adherence to what the Scriptures
teach. Protestantism can never defeat Rornanism, nor
even defend itself againstRomanism, merely by pointing
out the latter's corrupt political alliances, its inordinate
greed for money, and its suppression of political and
religious liberties. All of these things are true and should
be exposed. But they relate only to external methods and
practices. Romanism is basically a religious system and
must be challenged and forced to defend its doctrines on
the basis of Scripture. This method, and this method
alone, can bring victory to the evangelical faith." (page
449-450)0
Warfteld & Lloyd-Jones
continued from page 45
evangelist, he was aroighty theologian; so was Calvin; so
were all of them (the Reformers). It was that great system
of truth, worked out in its details and presented to the
. people, that undermined and even shook the Church of
Rome. Nothing less than that is adequate to meet the
present situation.
"Christian people, your responsibility is terrible. You
mustknow the truth, you must understand it, you must be
able to counter false teaching. There are innocent people
who are being deluded by this kind of falsity ,anditis your
business and mine to open their eyes and to instruct them.
Not only that, it is as we stand foursquare for the truth of
God that we shall be entitled to pray with fervor and with
confidence for the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon us. It
is as we stand on tlle Scripture and its truth that the Spirit
of God, I believe, will descend upon us in a mighty
revival. And nothing less that such a revival can shake
that homble institution, that great ' whore' which calls
herself, 'The Church of Rome. "'0
Authors & Articles on Evangelism
Wetrustthatthe material we present inthis magazine
will be LJsefulin helping youto understand and apply
the Scriptures to your life and increase your zeal to
speak out boldly for the cause of Christ. Some of
the authors of articles in this current issue have
written material that could be very helpful to you in
learning howto faithfully do the work of evangelism.
Dr. Morton Smith was for many years the Stated
Clerk of the PCA, taught at Westminster and
Reformed Seminaries, and is currently the Dean of
the Faculty at Greenville Presbyterian Theological
Seminary. Among his books is one on evangelism
entitled, Reformed Evangelism published by Multi-
Communication Ministries, Inc. Clinton, MS. Dr.C.
John Miller serves on the faculty of Westminster
Seminary and is Pastor of New Life Presbyerian
Church (OPC) in Jenkintown, PA. His article
"Witnessing to Roman Catholics"is reprinted from
the Westminster Theological Joumal. He also
authored two excellent and practical books that will
be very helpful to you on evangelism, Evangelism
& Your Church, published by Presbyterian and
Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, New
Jersey and Repentance and the 20th Century Man,
published by Christian Uterature Crusade, Fort
Washington Pennsylvania. John Murray (1898-
1975) was Professor of Systematic Theology at
Westminster Seminary from 1930 to 1966. His
article "The Crux of the Reformation" appears in
Volume 1 pp.298-304ofhis Collected Writings. Also
in that same volume pp.124-135, appears an article
on evangelism, "The Message of Evangelism"
published in an attractive four volume set by The
Banner Of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA. He also
authored one of the greatest books ever written on
the atoning work of Christ, entitled, Redemption
Accomplished and Applied, published by Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids Michigan.
All of the articles and books listed above are highly
readable and would be an excellent place to develop
a theologically sound and practical evangelistic
ministry.
"For God sent not his Son Into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world should be saved through him."
(John 3:17)0
The Counsel of Chalcedon FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 23