Protestants have virtually no theology, not even much false theology.  By contrast, Catholics have a very great and well-developed theology, especially from the Doctors of the Church.[1]  For example, St. Augustine, the Church’s Doctor of Grace, wrote four long and excellent treatises on different aspects of the single (though massive) topic of grace and free will.  The Catholic Church’s great theologians cover countless topics of Catholic Truth in great detail and explain them to us very clearly.

Protestants tend to simply “go to the bible” and quickly reach rash conclusions based on narrowly taking a verse of the bible in isolation, with little or no analysis.  Luther’s so-called “theology” is so flimsy that St. Thomas Aquinas refutes his heresy of salvation by “faith alone” in the answer to a single objection of a single article of a single question of the Summa Theologica, which was written hundreds of years before Luther.

Luther’s “theology” is extremely superficial (as well as false) but is better than that of the “micro-theologians” of the other protestant groups, whose “theologians” have an even smaller stature.  Therefore, as strange as it is, one finds members of the Baptist sect and other protestant groups citing Luther for support for what they believe, even though Luther founded a different (false) “religion”.

When arguing with a Lutheran, the experience of the Catholic Candle Team shows that the Lutherans have many false talking points that are usually “around the edges” of what they believe and do not directly address the chief heresies of their sect.  A Catholic can debate all day with them on such things and accomplish nothing.

We have found the best way to get to the heart of their rejection of the true Catholic Faith is to remind them of Our Lord’s teaching:

If you love Me, keep My commandments.  …  If anyone love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him.  He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words.

 

St. John’s Gospel, ch.14, verses 15, & 23-24.

Then remind the Lutheran that the founder of Lutheranism taught them:

Sin boldly but believe more boldly.

Quoting Luther from his letter #99, to Melanchthon, on August 1, 1521, written at Wartburg Castle.

This evil of Luther’s teaching is breathtaking!  One would expect that the Lutherans would find that teaching so abhorrent and embarrassing that they would reject that teaching when they are reminded of it or deny that Luther’s letter #99 is authentic and is really his teaching.  But, in our experience, Lutherans don’t do either of these things, but rather fall to silence.

It would be too embarrassing for them to admit that they promote all sin!  Furthermore, they probably don’t approve of every sin themselves.  How could they do so?  By approving of Luther’s teaching, a Lutheran would admit supporting every evil: theft of his own property, murder of himself, Satan-worship, paganism, infidelity of his own spouse, etc.  So, in our experience, the Lutheran lapses into silence.

Recently, when one of the youngest members of the Catholic Candle editing staff was at the house of a customer of his business and his customer asked for donation help to benefit her Lutheran “church”, this staff member (politely) explained he could not help the Lutherans because theirs was a false religion.

She responded, “But we are Christians”.[2]  He replied, “Christians are followers of Christ and Christ said, “‘If you love Me, keep My Commandments’.  But the founder of your religion said, ‘Sin boldly but believe more boldly’.  How is that following Christ’s law?”

Strangely, this Lutheran woman responded, “I didn’t hear what you said.”  He repeated his response to her.  She again said, “I didn’t hear what you said.”  At that point it was clear that “no one is so deaf as the person who refuses to hear”.

The Catholic Faith is a free unearned gift of God.  It is a great act of charity for us to make clear the problems and evils of false religions and not to minimize them.

Please pray for the conversion of this Lutheran woman.  Situations (such as this encounter which was narrated above) can “plant seeds” resulting in the Lutheran’s future conversion even when the Lutheran does not appear receptive at the time.  We want to be God’s tools in His work of converting souls through His grace.  “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”  Psalm, 126, v.1.