PROUD TO BE A PROTESTANT
The Contents of this article are based upon an Address given by Pastor Campbell on Reformation Sunday,
1985, at the Cregagh Pentecostal Fellowship, Belfast.
INTRODUCTION
The recent remarks by Cardinal Tomas O’Fiaich, the Roman Catholic Primate in Ireland, that 90% of all bigotry in Ulster was attributable to Protestants, have I believe, highlighted what amounts to a virtual conspiracy to make us ashamed of the historic and Scripturally based title of Protestant, and to remove it if possible from our thinking and our vocabulary. In the media, it has become the accepted thing to refer to the elected representatives of the Protestant community as “controversial Loyalists:” In the mainline denominations we are told to forget the Reformation and the unhappy divisions of the past, whilst just a short time ago, one of our Protestant Societies was banned from a city centre Christian auditorium because of the inclusion of the word Protestant in their title. Even more ominous is the trend amongst Full Gospel and Evangelical people to claim that:
“We are not Protestants, just New Testament Christians.”
We in this Fellowship at Cregagh stand separate from this departure from Truth. This is an unashamedly Protestant Pentecostal Fellowship, we have no link with any Council of Churches, we have no unholy association with the Roman Catholic Church or the Charismatic Movement. For us, PROTESTANT is not a dirty word or badge of shame, it is a name we bear with honour, and I will now set forth the reasons why this is so.
THE ORIGINS OF THE NAME
A dark and threatening day had dawned for the followers of the Reformed Faith. Luther had been declared an outlaw, and his teachings strictly forbidden. In 1526, the great Reformer was summoned to appear before the Diet or Council of Spires, and an Imperial decree annulled all previously granted civil and religious liberty. In the face of such a grave situation, the Reformed Princes in Germany drew up the following solemn protest:
“WE PROTEST, by these present, before God our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer and Saviour, and who will one day be our Judge, as well as before all men and creatures, that we, for us and our people, neither consent nor adhere in any manner whatsoever to the proposed decree in anything that is contrary to God, His Word, to our right consciences or to the salvation of our souls….There is no true doctrine but that which conforms to the Word of God. The Lord forbids the teaching of any other faith.”
From this is derived the word Protestant, meaning a witness for the Truth of the Word of God and against the unscriptural errors of Romanism. Now let us see why we are proud to bear such a worthy name:-
1.We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the fraudulent claims of the Papacy and the Romish Priesthood.
“And call no man your father upon the earth; for One is your Father,Which is in Heaven.” – Matthew 23:9.
In his Encyclical “Sapienteae Christianae” issued in 1890, some twenty years after the decree of Papal Infallibility, Pope Leo XIII declared:
“The Supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds therefore requires, together with perfect accord in the faith, complete submission and obedience of the will to the Church and the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself.”
The original Decree of Infallibility issued on July 18th, 1870, states that:
“The Pope of Rome, when he speaks ex-cathedra … is possessed of that infallibility, by which the divine Redeemer wished His church to be instructed in defining doctrines about faith or morals; therefore, definitions of the Roman Pontiff are of themselves infallible … if anyone shall presume to contradict this definition of ours …let him be accursed.”
The claims contained in these utterly outrageous and untrue statements, rest almost entirely on myth and forgery.The Roman Catholic claims that the Pope is in direct Apostolic Succession from Peter to whom they assert, our Lord gave the keys of the Kingdom and to bind and loose. Contrary to the traditions of the Gerarchia Cattolica, which claims Peter as Bishop of Rome from 42 AD until his martyrdom in that same city in 67 AD, the Scriptures proclaim the opposite. According to the Book of Acts, Peter was still in the area of Lydda and Joppa in 40AD. He was still in Jerusalem around 54 AD when Paul went there to attend a Church Council. In 58 AD, when Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, in all his greetings by name to prominent members of that local church, there is not one mention of Peter whom they assert was their Bishop. In all of Paul’s letters from his own imprisonment in Rome, Ephesians, Philippians. Colossians, Philemon and 2nd Timothy, not one mention of Peter being in Rome. Paul even goes as far as to say that all had forsaken him, with the exception of Luke, and Peter’s own Epistle places him in Babylon. So much for the myth of Apostolic Succession from Peter. However, in order to bolster their claims to primacy and headship over the church, the Popes produced two blatant forgeries: The Isidorian Decretals and the Donation of Constantine.
These Decretals were attributed to one, Isidore the Archbishop of Seville in Spain and first appeared in the Ninth Century. Here is what Dr. James Heron has to
say concerning them in this book “The Evolution of Latin Christianity.”
“The first part contained among other things, spurious decretals purporting to have been issued by Roman Bishops from Clement of Rome to Melchiades who died in 314. The second part contained the forged Donation of Constantine, to the effect that Constantine gave to Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome, not only the Lateran Palace as a place of residence for him and his successors, but all the Imperial insignia with a large tract of Roman and Italian territory, thus ante-dating the temporal power of the Popes by more than four centuries. The third part of the work contained what purported to be the decretals of Roman Bishops from Sylvester onwards, 35 of them being forgeries.”
Through the Middle Ages, these forgeries added to the myths and traditions regarding Peter became the basis for the elevation and exaltation of the Pope. In these forgeries, the Romish clergy are said to be above the laws of man, and the power of governments inferior to the power of the Pope. These became the very foundation for Papal Infallibility, yet even the Catholic Dictionary edited by Donald Attwater and bearing an official imprimatur or stamp of approval, admits they are a forgery and describes them in the following words:
“A number of forged Papal letters, purporting to be of the Popes of the first six centuries written by and included in a collection of Canon Laws by one who called himself Isidore Mercator about 850AD. They cover the whole field of Christian Doctrine and Discipline and lay stress on the rights of the episcopate of the Holy See …They were accepted as genuine and used by canonists throughout the Middle Ages.”
The whole Papal System, its Popes, Cardinals and sacrificing priests have their origin, not in the Word of God, but in the Chaldean Mystery Cults of ancient Babylon. The Pope’s own title of Supreme Pontiff can be traced right back to Babylon where we find it being used by none other than Belshazzar. The Papal Hierarchy is an unscriptural hoax based upon fraud and spurious tradition. The only offices set in the New Testament Church are those of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. In rejecting these claims of the Papacy, we are indeed proud to be called Protestants.
2. We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the traditions of men and rely on Scripture alone as our rule of faith and practice.
“To the law and to the testimony: If they speak not according to this work, it is because there is no light In them.” – Isaiah 8:20
Although the Church of Rome may pay an outward lip service to the concept that the 66 books of our Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God, yet they undermine this in the following way:
A) BY ADDING THE APOCRYPHA
Whilst there may be much that is of historical value in the Apocrypha, especially in Esdras and in Maccabees, our Reformation forefathers, following the example of the early church, rejected these books from the Canon of Scripture. They are not inspired, nor do they form a basis upon which to establish sound doctrine. Popery insisted upon their inclusion as part of the Word of God at the Council of Trent in 1564, in order to get some slim pretext for her pagan Babylonish doctrines, e.g., Prayers for the Dead.
B) BY ADDING APOSTOLIC TRADITION
Whilst Protestants can accept such tradition where it conforms to the plain teaching of Scripture, we reject it where it does not. The Church of Rome reverses this stand, seeking to make Scripture conform to tradition. They say:
“There is a body of doctrine over and above that which is given in the Bible.”
Furthermore, the Creed of Pope Pius IV states:
“I most steadfastly admit and embrace apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and all other observances … I also admit the Holy Scriptures according to that sense which our Holy Mother the Church has held and does hold, to which it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures; neither will I ever take and interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the fathers.”
In the Ritual for the Reception of a Convert, the one being admitted into the Church of Rome has to state that they adhere to:
“The authority of apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and of the Holy Scriptures, which we must interpret and understand only in the sense which our Holy Mother the Catholic Church has held.”
So we see that Romanism adds the uninspired books of the Apocrypha, plus the Traditions of the Church. and that all of this is then subject to the interpretation of the Pope and the Church Fathers.
Not only has Romanism added to the Scripture of Truth and sought to make the Word of God of none affect by her tradition, but throughout the centuries she has sought to ban, to burn, and to restrict the free circulation of the Bible. During the Dark or Middle Ages, the Scriptures were available only in the Latin tongue, and even this was curtailed by the Council of Toulouse in 1229 AD, which stated:
“We prohibit also the permitting of the laity to have the books of the Old and New Testament …We strictly forbid them to have the above mentioned books in the vulgar tongue.”
So great was the hatred of Popery for those who gave us the Bible in our own language, that in the case of John Wycliffe, they exumed his body from the grave, burned the remains and scattered the ashes on the River Swift. As for William Tyndale, the other great translator of the Scriptures, he was strangled and burned at Vilvorde in 1536 by the agents of the Church of Rome. Coming from the Middle Ages and the Reformation era to the Nineteenth Century, we read the following in the book “Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIll”, pages 412, 413:
“If the Holy Bible in the vernacular is generally permitted without any distinction, more harm than utility is thereby caused …all versions in the vernacular even by Catholics are prohibited unless approved by the Holy See . . or published with annotations taken from the Fathers of the Church, and learned Catholic writers … all versions of the Holy Bible …made by non-Catholics are prohibited, especially those published by the Bible Societies.”
In Encyclicals issued in 1824, 1829, 1844 and 1846, the Bible Societies came under vicious attack, and Cardinal Wiseman in his book “Catholic Doctrine on the use of the Bible” page 11, says:
“Years of experience have strengthened our conviction that … we must deny to Protestantism any right to use the Bible, much more to interpret it”
Whilst Rev. J. B. Bagshaw DD, in his book entitled “The Threshold of the Catholic Church” pages 249/50 says:
“The Church does place restrictions on reading the Bible.”
Many will no doubt contend that since Vatican II and the rise of Ecumenism and the Charismatic Movement, Roman Catholics are now reading the Bible, and the attitude of the Hierarchy has changed. Let me quote to you one incident, not from centuries ago, but from the present time:
“Missionaries from the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade, report that in a series of meetings in Tarancon, Spain, young people visited door to door, giving out copies of John’s Gospel. Opposition arose with the ringing of the Church bells and 1,000 people descended on the Christians. Police protection was needed and soon after, the persecutors had a public burning of the Gospels, accompanied by the Rosary being said for the salvation of the Protestants.”
(Lancashire Orange News, Nov./Dec. 1986).
From such gross darkness we turn away to proudly declare again that “The Bible, and the Bible alone is the religion of Protestants.”
3. We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the Popish Mass, for the finished work of Christ at Calvary.
“But this Man (the Lord Jesus) after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God:” – Hebrews 10:12
It has became popular in these days of Ecumenism, to tell ill-informed and deluded Protestants that the Popish Mass is just a Roman Catholic equivalent of our Communion or Breaking of Bread Service. It is NOT. When we gather for Communion as Protestants, we are partaking in a Sacrament, not a Sacrifice for sins. We are remembering the Lord’s death, we are not re-enacting it or repeating it. The bread and wine at our Protestant Communion remain just what they are, emblems representing the price paid for our salvation, they have not been changed by any magical words into the Body and Blood of Christ. What then is the teaching of Romanism? The Creed of Pope Pius IV gives us the answer:
“That in the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist 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 made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood; which conversion the Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation”
The Council of Trent went on to state:
“If anyone shall deny that the body and blood together with the soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ are truly, really and substantially contained in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, let him be anathema (accursed).”
In the book. ”’The Secrets of Romanism.” bv the ex-priest Zachello, we read that Romanists believe that:
“The Mass is the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ offered on our altars under the appearance of Bread and Wine, to commemorate and CONTINUE the Sacrifice of the Cross. The Holy Eucharist is not only a Sacrament but a Sacrifice, and this double mystery is accomplished in the Mass … the most sublime, sacred and solemn act of religious worship we can perform.”
In the Roman Mass Book we read:
“After the words of consecration, the priest kneeling, adores the Sacred Host (Communion Wafer); rising, he elevates it …saying, My Lord and my God:”
Is it any wonder that our Anglican forefathers declared this to be a “blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit?” Is it any wonder that our Presbyterian forefathers said that “the Mass is abominably injurious to the one sacrifice of Christ for sins forever?” We need no massing priest, the Lord Jesus is our great High Priest who ever lives to intercede for us. We need no sacrifice other than that which He made once and for all at Calvary. We will never bow in worship, calling a little flour and water pancake our Lord and our God. From such depths of Satanic sorcery we turn away and state again that we are proud to be Protestants.
4. We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the concept of Confession to a Priest or any fellow sinner.
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man, Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all.” I Timothy 2:5 and 6
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
The Roman Catholic practice of confessing to a priest, who then grants remission of sins or absolution, conditional upon performing a penance which he sets, was unknown to the New Testament Church, and for many centuries thereafter until Romanism evolved in completed form. Confession to a priest was first officially promulgated by the Lateran Council of 1215 AD, and was only officially declared to be a Sacrament in 1439 AD, by the Council of Florence. Yet Popery has the audacity to declare:
“That every man and woman after they come to the years of discretion, should privately confess their sins to their own priest at least once a year and endeavour to faithfully perform the penance enjoined on them; and after, they should come to the Sacrament (the Mass), at least at Easter, unless the priest for some reasonable cause, judge it fit for them to abstain for a time; and whosoever does not perform this, is to be excommunicated from the church and if he die, he is not to be allowed Christian burial”. (The Decrees of the Lateran Council).
Priestly arrogance naturally grew from such a system, to such an extent that the Roman “Saint” AIphonsus Ligouri wrote the following piece of blasphemy:
“Were the Redeemer to descend into a church and sit in a Confessional to administer the Sacrament of Penance, and a priest to sit in another Confessional, Jesus would say over each penitent’ Ego te absolvo’ (I absolve you) and the priest would likewise say’ Ego te absolvo’ and the penitents of each would be equally absolved. “
So the priest of Rome is made the equal of the Lord Jesus!! Such a system is unbiblical, being without foundation in Scripture, it is deceptive, giving the penitent a false assurance that his or her sins have been remitted or forgiven by the priest who is himself a sinner. The entire system has been shown to encourage sin and immorality and as already shown, it results in the exaltation of a fellow sinner, namely the priest of Rome. Furthermore, in the Confessional, there need be no real repentance or sorrow for sin.
“To obtain pardon, it is not necessary to be sorry for the crimes committed, because they are offences against society or God, BUT it is sufficient if the criminal is sorry for fear he will go to hell forever if he does not confess them and obtain the forgiveness of the priest.” “Secrets of Romanism Page 109.”
The story is told of an elderly Christian lady who, on her death bed, was visited by a priest of Rome who told her he had come to forgive her sins. She asked to see his hands, and having examined them, told him bluntly that he was a fraud and imposter. “The only priest who can forgive my sins, has nail prints in his hands,” she rightly declared.
We are therefore proud and thankful to be Protestants, for we will never kneel before a Popish priest in the darkness of a Confessional Box to confess our sins, and our most intimate thoughts and actions. We by-pass such a fraud and go direct to our great High Priest, our Advocate and Mediator, the Lord Jesus, who alone has the power not only to forgive our sins, but to free us from the power of sin itself.
5. We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the hoax of a Papal Purgatory.
“The blood of Jesus Christ … cleanseth us from all sin.” I John 1:7
One of the most hellish doctrines of Popery is that of a mythical Purgatory, the origin of which lay in the greed of the Church, and the natural outcome of which is that salvation is for sale, even though our Lord said it was free, “without money and without price:” Like most of Rome’s dogmas, Purgatory is a Dark Age innovation, having its roots in Babylon. The concept of Purgatory first became an Article of Faith in 1439 AD, at the Council of Florence, and it was subsequently confirmed in 1548 AD, by the Council of Trent. Rome maintains that Purgatory is a place where departed spirits suffer purification, and the Creed of Pope Pius IV states:
“I constantly hold that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls detained there are helped by the suffrages of the faithful”
St.Thomas Aquinus taught that:
“It is the same fire that torments the reprobate in Hell, and the just in Purgatory.”
The Church then teaches that the years, perhaps even centuries which must be spent in such a dreadful place can be reduced either by living Roman Catholics paying to have Masses said to release the souls of their departed loved ones from this place of torment, or by the purchase or obtaining by religious observances, that which Rome calls Indulgences, an Indulgence being:
“a remission in part of the temporal punishment due to forgive sin, granted by the Pope and the Bishops, out of the Church’s spiritual treasury, which is made up of the infinite redemptive merits of Jesus Christ AND the superabundant merit of the Saints.”
Roman Catholics can earn remission from Purgatory by visiting shrines, such as Fatima, Lourdes or the Holy Stairs in Rome. Alternatively, they can pay into societies or guilds, e.g.,The Society of the Perpetual Novena, The Confraternity of the Miraculous Medal.
They can also earn an Indulgence for saying the Rosary, for devotion to the Sacred Heart, or by wearing such charms as the Agnus Dei or the Brown Scapular of the Blessed Simon Stock. Gross superstition attends such practices and poor, deluded Roman Catholics are encouraged to try and work for, or buy pardon for sin. The entire hoax results in increasing the wealth of the Papacy at the expense of the people. It was against this abominable teaching that Martin Luther was compelled to raise a voice of protest, thus formally commencing the work of the Reformation. We stand where the Reformer stood, and proud of our Protestant heritage, we too, reject any concept of Purgatory. Indulgences, or of working or buying our way into God’s Kingdom.
6.We are Proud to be Protestant because we believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone.
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28
“Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ” Romans 5:1
Many of Rome’s unscriptural doctrines such as Purgatory, the Mass and Confession to a priest, stem from one basic root error, that salvation is not by grace through faith alone, but that it can somehow be merited, worked for or purchased. In fact, the central theme of the Scriptures rediscovered at the Reformation, of salvation by faith in the finished work of Christ’s atonement, is explicitly denied by Roman Catholicism. The Council of Trent states:
“Whosoever shall affirm that men are justified solely by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, or that the Grace of God, by which we are justified, is the only favour of God, LET HIM BE ACCURSED“
This is a clear repudiation of New Testament teaching and shows for all with eyes to see, the anti-Christian nature of the Papal religion. We are proud to be Protestants today, because there was a time in our experience when we realised our lost and sinful condition before God, realised that we were condemned and under the curse of the law of sin and death, realised that no religious observance, ordinance, sacrament or ritual, nor amount of prayers, good works or financial gifts, could purchase our salvation, but that Jesus had done it all. He went all the way to Calvary and shed His precious atoning blood for us, that if we would have faith in that all-sufficient sacrifice that He made, and repent of our sins, we would be fully justified. That is why we sing so often the lovely chorus in this Fellowship:
“I am covered over with the Robes of Righteousness, My Father gives to me;
I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus and He lives in me.
O what joy it is to know My Heavenly Father loved me so
He gave to me my Jesus
And when He looks at me,
He sees not what I used to be
But He sees JESUS.”
7. We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the degrading Idolatry of the Papal system:
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… thou shalt not bow thyself down to them nor serve them.” Exodus 20:4 and 5
There is no more sad or degrading sight than to watch an adult man or woman of even average intelligence in a civilised western nation, prostrate themselves before an image of wood or stone to adore it, worship it, kiss it and pray to it. Such scenes we expect to witness in the darkest corners of heathendom in Africa or Asia, yet such practices are an everyday part of Popish worship. Some would have us believe them to be the excesses of a few fanatics in Spain or South America, but again let us read the official teaching of the Roman Church:
“I do most firmly assert that the images of Christ and the Mother of God … and also of the other Saints, are to be had and retained, and that due honour and veneration are to be given to them.” (Creed of Pope Pius IV).
“It is also right to honour the sacred images of Jesus Christ and the Saints .. we also honour the relics of the Saints.” (Compendium of Pope Pius X).
“Besides honouring the Saints directly in themselves, we honour them indirectly in their relics and images.” (Students of Catholic Doctrine by C. Hert).
“The Commandment does not forbid the making of images.” (Catechism – Canon Cafferata).
In fact it is common practice amongst Papists to omit entirely the Second Commandment forbidding idolatry, and to seek to conceal this by splitting the Tenth into two different parts. Rome even divides her worship into three distinct categories:
a. LATRIA– To be given to God.
b. DULIA– To be given to the Saints.
c. HYPERDULIA– To be given to the Virgin Mary.
Romanism is the greatest system of Idolatry in existence today. Her poor spiritually blind dupes worship the Saints, angels, images, relics, even the wafer at the Mass. Never will we bow to such vile superstition, never will we worship anything other than the one true and living God, and for that reason we are proud to be Protestants.
8. We are Proud to be Protestants because we reject the pagan worship of the Virgin Mary.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: For there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Out of the polluted waters of idolatry which characterise Romanism, there has come the very ultimate in blasphemy: The exaltation of the mother of our Lord to the status of Queen of Heaven, Co-Redemptress, Co-Mediatrix, Advocate of Sinners, immaculately conceived, and now reigning in Heaven with her Son. This is of course, nothing more or less than a revival of the old pagan worship of the Mother Goddess which has its roots in the Egyptian and Babylonian mystery cults. We could produce volumes of evidence from Roman Catholic devotional books to prove the lengths to which Mariolatry is taken, but the following few should suffice:
“Have recourse to her – (Mary) frequently and fervently… ask her to obtain your requests … if she prays for you, you may rest assured God grants what she asks.”
“The Church assisted and instructed by the Holy Spirit, gives to Mary titles which resemble those given to her divine Son. Jesus is our King, Mary is our Queen, Jesus is our Advocate and Mediator, Mary is our Advocate and Mediatrix … Jesus is the way which leads to Heaven. Mary is the gate of Heaven. “
“Why was Mary left on earth? To comfort and sustain, to instruct and advise the first disciples of Christ …in Heaven she is still our Comforter, adviser and guide.”
“It was not enough that Mary should be received into Heaven.. . by her co-operation in the passion of her Son, she was to be crowned Queen of Heaven by the eternal Father… to have a throne at her Son’s right hand …day by day, hour by hour she is praying for us, obtaining graces for us, preserving us from danger … showering down blessings upon us. What a confidence we have in her … we cry out:
“O Mary, conceived without sin O Mary, Queen of Heaven, Pray for us that have recourse to thee.”“No infirmity is so malignant that it will not yield without delay to the efficacy of the Blessed Virgin’s Name.”
Did you ever listen to such utter blasphemy? Jesus Christ alone is our Mediator, Advocate, Saviour, Healer and King. The Holy Spirit, not the Virgin Mary, is our Comforter who leads and guides us into all truth. This is the sort of dark Satanic teaching which even in these closing years of the Twentieth Century, can cause thousands of Irish Roman Catholics to stand for hours in adoration before a so-called “Moving Statue” of the Queen of Heaven (as at Ballinaspital). Now (1987), the Pope has declared at his New Year Mass that this will be the Year of Mary. Special worship and devotions will commence on June 7th, and will last until 15th August, 1988. A special Papal Encyclical on devotion to Mary is to be issued. We reject such a system of baptised paganism, and we are proud to be Protestants who worship Christ and Christ alone.
9. We are Proud to be Protestants because we are Loyal British Patriots.
“No man can serve two masters”. Mathew 6:24
Some of our Evangelical friends will say we should omit this final point, as we are entering into the realm of political controversy. However the facts must be stated, for facts are stubborn things. The Church of Rome is the undying foe of of our civil and religious liberty, and throughout history, has sought to subjugate this Protestant nation to her evil will. It was Romanism which sent the Spanish Armada against Great Britain, but God “blew with His winds” and it was scattered. It was disloyal Roman Catholics and Jesuit priests who plotted and planned to assassinate Elizabeth I and place the Papist Mary Queen of Scots upon the throne of Britain. It was the Roman Catholic Guy Fawkes and his fellow Papist conspirators who sought to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. It was the Papist King James II who sought to destroy Civil and Religious Liberty, but for the intervention of King William III of Orange in 1688-90. Every rebellion in this emerald isle of Ireland has been fomented by Roman Catholicism, even during World War I when Britain was locked in a life and death struggle with Germany, the stab in the back, IRA uprising in Dublin in 1916 had the blessing of the then Pope Benedict.
Just listen to what Rome’s saints and spokesmen have said of our Protestant liberties:
“The death of an infidel (non-R.C.) pleases God.” St. Bernard.
“No man has the right to have his own religion.” Bishop Hughes, January 26th, 1852.
“The Catholic Church does not, and cannot accept or in any degree favour liberty in the Protestant sense.” The Catholic World, April 1870.
“The state has not the right to leave every man free to profess and embrace whatsoever religion he may desire.” Pope Pius IX
“When we Catholics demand liberty in a modern state, we are appealing to its own principles NOT TO OURS“
“A Catholic State will not shrink from repressive measures to secure the domination of Catholic principles.” Monsignor Ronald Knox.
“We have said it before – and we say it again – Protestantism is not a religion, it is a disease.” ‘Father’ Lester S.J. writing in the R.C.‘Universe’, 19 March, 1923.
Roman Catholics regard this United Kingdom as the Dowry of Mary which must again be subjugated to the Pope – let them speak for themselves:
“We are out to re-instate the Pope.” Cardinal Bourne.
“Our aim is the conversion of every single man, woman and child in Britain.” R.C. Bishop of Clifton writing in Daily Telegraph, 8 May,1957.
Hence Cardinal Manning could rightly set out their aim in these words:
“It is your task, Reverend Fathers, to SUBJUGATE and SUBDUE to CONQUER and RULE an Imperial race … We have to BEND or BREAK that which nations have found invincible and inflexible. Were heresy conquered in England, it would be conquered throughout the world.”
We are Proud to be Protestants because we have no divided, dual loyalties. We are faithful, patriotic British citizens owing our allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and her successors being Protestants.
CONCLUSION
For these nine reasons, and for many others which time does not permit me to explore today, we gladly declare that we are proud to be Protestants, proud that this is a Protestant Pentecostal Fellowship, standing foursquare on Reformation Truth, saying NO to Popery, NO to Ecumenism, NO to the Charismatic Counterfeits.
Like Luther we say:
“Here I stand, I can do no other.”
and like Joshua of old addressing Israel in his day, we challenge all who hear and read this message:
“Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
APPENDIX
Opinions of Great Minds on Romanism
I. CHARLES DICKENS
“Roman Catholicism is the most horrible means of political and social degradation left in the world:”
2. GLADSTONE (Prime Minister)
“In Roman Catholicism, everything which nurtures freedom has been harassed and denounced.”
3. RUSKIN
“Roman Catholicism is the most debasing and degrading of all creeds.”
4. SIR WALTER SCOTT
“Roman Catholicism is a mean and depraving superstition:”
5. H.G.WELLS
“Roman Catholicism is a broken and desperate thing, capable only of malignant mischief in our awakening world.”
6. ADAM SMITH (Economist)
“The Roman Catholic Church is the most formidable combination that has ever been formed against the authority and security of Civil Government – as well as against Liberty, Reason and the Happiness of Mankind:”
